Critics see clear favourites
If you’re a movie fan who loves drama, this year’s Oscars telecast might not be for you.
Critics asked to predict the winners have a firm consensus about who will win at least four of the six major categories. Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, RogerEbert.com and The Associated Press’s two writers all seem confident of the following wins:
Damien Chazelle for Best Director ( La La Land)
Emma Stone for Best Actress ( La La Land)
Mahershala Ali for Best Support- ing Actor ( Moonlight)
Viola Davis for Best Supporting Actress ( Fences)
What’s more, only Jake Coyle — half of The Associated Press’s contingent — doubts La La Land is going to win Best Picture; he thinks Moonlight might well pull off one of “most historic upsets in Oscar history.”
All but one publication surveyed has settled on Denzel Washington as the winner of the Best Actor trophy, for Fences; Vanity Fair thinks it will be Manchester By the Sea’s Casey Affleck.
If neither that nor Coyle’s Best Picture upset scenario happens, your Oscar pool will probably be settled by categories well down the ballot.