Place your bets
With autumn heralding the start of Oscar season, Team Empire offer their tips — and pick their favourites
AVENGERS: WHAT SHOULD WIN: INFINITY WAR
The Academy may have ditched that silly popular film category (for now), but Infinity War is no less viable a ‘proper’ Best Picture than the likes of Gladiator, Braveheart or The Return Of The King. It is a vast, epic spectacle, featuring a strong ensemble cast, which tackles a big, ethical question (at what cost the greater ‘good’?) and deals emotional gut-jabs while orchestrating all its cosmic action. DAN JOLIN
WHAT WILL WIN: ROMA
Alfonso Cuarón’s memory movie of growing up in ’70s Mexico ticks so many Oscar boxes without consciously trying. It is deeply autobiographical, mixes the personal and political in a way that wins over the liberal base, boasts naturalistic performances that will resonate with the acting block, and has technical razzledazzle for the craft folk. IAN FREER
WHO SHOULD WIN: RYAN COOGLER (BLACK PANTHER)
You need as much skill, dedication and artistry to make art within a huge studio machine as to make a low-budget, intimate drama, and it’s time the Oscars acknowledge that. Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther swaggered into the MCU with undeniable style and personality, and smuggled in a thoughtful discussion of race, identity, colonialism and de-colonialism. The superheroes are just window dressing.
WHO WILL WIN: ALFONSO CUARÓN (ROMA)
The Mexican maestro has Oscar form, winning Best Director in 2014 for giant-canvas space thriller
Gravity. Since then he’s been busily working on his follow-up. It has no stars, no action scenes and only one instance of zero-g — but is just as boldly conceived and masterfully executed. NICK DE SEMLYEN
WHO SHOULD WIN: ROBERT REDFORD (THE OLD MAN & THE GUN)
Crime comedy The Old Man & The Gun is the perfect swansong for the legendary movie star, and quite literally the performance of a lifetime, his character (real-life lawbreaker Forrest Tucker) reflecting on past glories in tandem with the actor. It’s hard to think of a more deserving winner. JOHN NUGENT
WHO WILL WIN: BRADLEY COOPER (A STAR IS BORN)
At the Venice premiere of A Star Is Born, lightning struck the cinema. It’s up to you whether you choose to take this as divine indication that A Star Is Born will sweep the board in February, but the momentum is there. Cooper’s first stab at direction is impressive, but his acting might be his best yet. JOHN NUGENT
BEST ACTRESS TONI COLLETTE WHO SHOULD WIN: (HEREDITARY)
Ari Aster’s Hereditary is hardly lacking in moments that haunt, but one that persistently spooks is that full-frame, close-up of Toni Colette’s face as she looks at us in pure, abject terror. This isn’t a performance of ‘scream queen’ lung workouts, but one of insidious distress, and Colette sells it perfectly. DAN JOLIN
WHO WILL WIN: LADY GAGA (A STAR IS BORN)
Her appearances in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete-verse and American Horror Story aside, Lady Gaga makes an arresting acting debut proper with a stellar performance in Bradley Cooper’s musical. The Academy’s love of a reinvention story (see also: Cooper’s bid for Best Director) bodes well for Gaga’s chances, coupled with the fact that she’s, well, genuinely great. BEN TRAVIS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR WHO SHOULD WIN: MICHAEL B. JORDAN (BLACK PANTHER)
As groundbreaking as Black Panther was for its representation, it’s also noteworthy in overcoming Marvel’s villain problem. In Erik Killmonger, Michael B. Jordan created a nuanced, layered and relatable antagonist, imbuing him with the fury to make him formidable but enough pain and resentment to make him wholly human. JAMES DYER
WHO WILL WIN: TIMOTHEÉ CHALAMET (BEAUTIFUL BOY)
Missing out after Call Me By Your Name, this looks set to be Timothée Chalamet’s year. Oscar loves a heartthrob doing unglamorous, and his performance as Nic Sheff, descending into crystal meth addition, is relentlessly committed in its pursuit of darkness and tragedy. The Academy’s now younger voting base will help, too. IAN FREER
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS WHO SHOULD WIN: TILDA SWINTON (SUSPIRIA)
As Madame Blanc, Tilda Swinton is fairly extraordinary, equally terrifying as a dance teacher and a murderous witch. As Dr Josef Klemperer, however, the mysterious elderly man credited to unknown actor ‘Lutz Ebersdorf’ but widely rumoured to be Swinton, she gives an unreal dual performance. (At least, we assume she does.) JOHN NUGENT
WHO WILL WIN: CLAIRE FOY (FIRST MAN)
Claire Foy, you may well have noticed, is having something of a moment. And while her role in First Man may never be the thing you’ll most associate her with, it is the obvious choice for the Academy. She’s superb in it — essential even, providing the heart and warmth opposite Ryan Gosling’s emotionally withdrawn Neil Armstrong. JONATHAN PILE