Who will take glory in awards ceremony

JESSICA Boulton, Showbiz Editor (Features), predicts Who Will Win and Who Should Win the big awards on Sunday.

Best picture

Will: Nomadland.

Worthy? check. Antitrump? check. Starring Oscar-bait Frances Mcdormand? check, check, check.

Should: Promising Young Woman. Quirky, clever, and hopefully another Metoo-era wake-up call.

Lead actor

Will: Brits Riz Ahmed, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Gary Oldman are all up, but this one’s all but a done deal for the late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom).

Should: Chadwick.

Lead actress

Will: Andra Day for The United States Vs Billie Holliday.

It’s her film debut, and, boy, what a bar to set. Centred on Billie’s long fight with authorities over her protest song Strange Fruit, it’s incredibly poignant in the week of the

George Floyd verdict.

Should: Probably

Andra. But I’d like to also see a push for The Crown’s young Princess Margaret Vanessa Kirby after her 25-minute birth scene in Pieces of a Woman.

Supporting actor

Will: Sasha Baron Cohen (The Trial of Chicago 7) will probably snag this one over fellow Brit Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah).

Should: Ali G. Sorry, I mean, Sasha.

Supporting actress

Will: The Crown’s Olivia Colman’s up for dementia drama The Father. But Minari’s Yuh-jung Youn is likely to become the second Asian woman ever to win an acting gong.

Should: Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy). She’s had seven nominations, no wins. That’s seven dresses and seven times she’s had to do the “I’m so pleased for you” smile.

Best director

Will: David “Fight Club” Fincher is up for Mank, about a subject LA loves above all others: itself. Yet the safe money’s on womanof-the-moment Chloe Zhao (Nomadland).

Should: Emerald. Just for once, Camilla deserves the spotlight.