Los Angeles Times

YOUR OSCAR BALLOT

See the nominees for every category, with expert picks from our Gold Standard columnist, Glenn Whipp.

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Picture

❑ “Arrival” ❑ “Fences” ❑ “Hacksaw Ridge” ❑ “Hell or High Water” ❑ “Hidden Figures” ❑ “La La Land” ❑ “Lion” ❑ “Manchester by the Sea” ❑ “Moonlight”

And the winner is: No way “La La Land” earns a record-tying 14 nomination­s and doesn’t win best picture. It’s going to be a lovely night — and then some — for Damien Chazelle’s bold musical.

Director

❑ Denis Villeneuve, “Arrival” ❑ Mel Gibson, “Hacksaw Ridge” ❑ Damien Chazelle, “La La Land” ❑ Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight” ❑ Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

And the winner is: Chazelle. Voters will want to reward the creative force behind the best picture winner.

Lead actor

❑ Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea” ❑ Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge” ❑ Ryan Gosling, “La La Land” ❑ Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic” ❑ Denzel Washington, “Fences”

And the winner is: Washington. The SAG Awards were seen as a momentum-shifter, but Washington might have always been the favorite for his towering, dialogue-devouring turn.

Lead actress

❑ Emma Stone, “La La Land” ❑ Natalie Portman, “Jackie” ❑ Ruth Negga, “Loving” ❑ Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins” ❑ Isabelle Huppert, “Elle” And the winner is: Stone. She nailed the audition.

Supporting actor

❑ Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight” ❑ Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water” ❑ Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea” ❑ Dev Patel, “Lion” ❑ Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”

And the winner is: Ali must be considered the front-runner for his tender turn in “Moonlight,” as well as for all the eloquent speeches he’s made leading up to the Oscars.

Supporting actress

❑ Viola Davis, “Fences” ❑ Naomie Harris, “Moonlight” ❑ Nicole Kidman, “Lion” ❑ Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures” ❑ Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

And the winner is: Davis. She pretty much won this from the moment she signed on to reprise her Broadway turn.

Adapted screenplay

❑ “Arrival,” Eric Heisserer ❑ “Fences,” August Wilson ❑ “Hidden Figures,” Theodore Melfi and Allison Schroeder ❑ “Lion,” Luke Davis ❑ “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins And the winner is:

“Moonlight” wins for the poetic way Jenkins told a deeply personal story through the prism of harsh societal realities.

Original screenplay

❑ “20th Century Women,” Mike Mills ❑ “Hell or High Water,” Taylor Sheridan ❑ “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle ❑ “The Lobster,” Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos ❑ “Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan

And the winner is: Voters will want to tip their hats to “Manchester” somewhere, and what better place than Lonergan’s nimble, nuanced writing.

Cinematogr­aphy

❑ “Arrival,” Bradford Young ❑ “La La Land,” Linus Sandgren ❑ “Lion,” Greig Fraser ❑ “Moonlight,” James Laxton ❑ “Silence,” Rodrigo Prieto

And the winner is: “La La Land” for the way Sandgren made Los Angeles look like a place where magic hour lasts the entire day.

Documentar­y feature

❑ “13th” ❑ “Fire at Sea” ❑ “I Am Not Your Negro” ❑ “Life, Animated” ❑ “O.J.: Made in America” And the winner is:

No bad choices here. The ambitious, essential “O.J.” from Ezra Edelman will likely prevail, though Ava DuVernay’s shattering “13th” is a strong possibilit­y too.

Documentar­y short

❑ “4.1 Miles” ❑ “Extremis” ❑ “Joe’s Violin” ❑ “Watani: My Homeland” ❑ “The White Helmets”

And the winner is:

Three of the five nominees address the Syrian civil war and refugee crisis, most notably Netflix’s “White Helmets.” Then there’s “Joe’s Violin,” a heartwarmi­ng look at a Holocaust survivor who

donated his violin to a Bronx public school. With Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert in its corner, “Joe’s” high-profile friends give it an edge.

Foreign-language feature

❑ “Toni Erdmann,” Germany ❑ “The Salesman,” Iran ❑ “A Man Called Ove,” Sweden ❑ “Tanna,” Australia ❑ “Land of Mine,” Denmark

And the winner is: “The Salesman.” A vote for the latest film from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has a two-fold purpose — rewarding excellence and showing solidarity with immigrants. Academy members will respond accordingl­y.

Sound editing

❑ “Arrival” ❑ “Deepwater Horizon” ❑ “Hacksaw Ridge” ❑ “La La Land” ❑ “Sully”

And the winner is: “Hacksaw Ridge” for the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air …

Sound mixing

❑ “Arrival” ❑ “Hacksaw Ridge” ❑ “La La Land” ❑ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” ❑ “13 Hours”

And the winner is: “La La Land.” Musicals have historical­ly fared well here.

Original score

❑ “La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz ❑ “Jackie,” Mica Levi ❑ “Moonlight,” Nicholas Britell ❑ “Lion,” Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O’Halloran ❑ “Passengers,” Thomas Newman

And the winner is: “La La Land.” C’mon. Don’t make me have to explain jazz. Original song ❑ “City of Stars,” from “La La Land” ❑ “How Far I’ll Go,” from “Moana” ❑ “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” from “La La Land”

❑ “The Empty Chair,” from “Jim: The James Foley Story” ❑ “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from “Trolls”

And the winner is: “City of Stars.” Fess up. You’re humming it right now, aren’t you?

Production design

❑ “Arrival” ❑ “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” ❑ “Hail, Caesar!” ❑ “La La Land” ❑ “Passengers”

And the winner is: “La La Land’s” blend of vintage and modern-day Hollywood should prove irresistib­le.

Visual effects

❑ “Deepwater Horizon” ❑ “Doctor Strange” ❑ “The Jungle Book” ❑ “Kubo and the Two Strings” ❑ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

And the winner is: Robert Legato has won previously for “Hugo” and “Titanic.” Look for him to pull off the hat trick for the innovative “Jungle Book.”

Makeup and hairstylin­g

❑ “A Man Called Ove” ❑ “Star Trek Beyond” ❑ “Suicide Squad” And the winner is:

“Star Trek” won in 2010 and, with the category absent of any work from best picture nominees, the franchise should return to the winner’s circle.

Costume design ❑ “La La Land,” Mary Zophres ❑ “Jackie,” Madeline Fontaine ❑ “Florence Foster Jenkins,” Consolata Boyle

❑ “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Colleen Atwood

❑ “Allied,” Joanna Johnston

And the winner is: “Jackie” could prevail for rising to the challenge of re-creating the wardrobe of a fashion icon. But “La La Land” made canary yellow dresses a thing. Go with the fashion trendsette­r.

Film editing

❑ “Arrival” ❑ “Hell or High Water” ❑ “Hacksaw Ridge” ❑ “La La Land” ❑ “Moonlight”

And the winner is: Time was, this Oscar almost always lined up with the best picture winner, but that’s happened just once so far this decade. Make it 2 for 7 with “La La Land.”

Live-action short

❑ “Ennemis intérieurs” ❑ “La femme et le TGV” ❑ “Silent Nights” ❑ “Sing” ❑ “Timecode”

And the winner is: Producer Kim Magnusson already had five noms and two wins in this category and is up for another Oscar with the immigratio­n story “Silent Nights.” Consider it the favorite.

Animated short

❑ “Blind Vaysha” ❑ “Borrowed Time” ❑ “Pear Cider and Cigarettes” ❑ “Pearl” ❑ “Piper”

And the winner is: It’s either Pixar’s sweet rite-of-passage story “Piper” or “Pearl,” a beautifull­y told tale of a father and daughter bonding on a road trip. Pixar hasn’t won in 15 years, so let’s lean toward “Piper.”

Animated feature f ilm

❑ “Kubo and the Two Strings” ❑ “Moana” ❑ “My Life as a Zucchini” ❑ “The Red Turtle” ❑ “Zootopia”

And the winner is: “Zootopia” for its funny and thought-provoking take on tolerance.

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