Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Oscars 2024: Predictions for all 23 categories
LOS ANGELES — In Saturday’s Part 1 of Oscar predictions, we detailed five wins for “Oppenheimer” out of its 13 overall nominations. It will need at least three nods to become the 16th film to garner at least eight wins.
Here are the remaining Oscar categories not covered in Part 1, including five in which “Oppenheimer” has a chance to take home a golden statue.
Film editing
■ “Anatomy of a Fall,” Laurent Sénéchal
■ “The Holdovers,” Kevin Tent
■ “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Thelma Schoonmaker
■ “Oppenheimer,” Jennifer Lame
■ “Poor Things,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Will win: “Oppenheimer” Lame believes there’s nothing more exciting than people talking in rooms. That conviction served her well, making her the right person for the job of cutting “Oppenheimer.” The movie never lags in momentum or energy during the course of its threehour running time.
Makeup and hairstyling
■ “Golda,” Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-blue
■ “Maestro,” Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori Mccoy-bell
■ “Oppenheimer,” Luisa Abel
■ “Poor Things,” Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston
■ “Society of the Snow,” Ana López-puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé
Will win: “Maestro”
“By a nose ...”
Original score
■ “American Fiction,” Laura Karpman
■ “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” John Williams
■ “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Robbie Robertson
■ “Oppenheimer,” Ludwig Göransson
■ “Poor Things,” Jerskin Fendrix
Will win: “Oppenheimer” Göransson’s violin-heavy score matched the intensity of the title character’s journey. He’ll have another Oscar to go along with the trophy he won for “Black Panther” in 2019.
Original song
■ “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot”; music and lyric by Diane Warren
■ “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie”; music and lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
■ “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony”; music and lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson
■ “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon”; music and lyric by Scott George
■ “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie”; music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’connell
Will win: “What Was I Made For?”
Could surprise: “I’m Just Ken”
If Eilish and O’connell win, they’ll be the youngest two-time Oscar winners in history. Currently, it’s Luise Rainer, who won two Oscars by age 28; on Oscar night, Eilish will be 22 and O’connell will be 26. Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese, at 81, became the oldest person to be nominated for director with “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Scorsese has one Oscar for his career. Talk among yourselves.
Production design
■ “Barbie,” production design: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer
■ “Killers of the Flower Moon,” production design: Jack Fisk; set decoration: Adam Willis
■ “Napoleon,” production design: Arthur Max; set decoration: Elli Griff
■ “Oppenheimer,” production design: Ruth De Jong; set decoration: Claire Kaufman
■ “Poor Things,” production design: James Price and Shona Heath; set decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek
Will win: “Poor Things” Could surprise: “Oppenheimer”
“Poor Things” has taken the most precursors, winning with the Art Directors Guild, Set Decorators Society and BAFTA. Its fantastical re-creations of Victorian London, Lisbon, Alexandria and Paris meshed with the progression of lead character Bella Baxter’s journey, informing and delighting each step of the way.
Sound
■ “The Creator,” Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
■ “Maestro,” Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
■ “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
■ “Oppenheimer,” Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’connell
■ “The Zone of Interest,” Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn
Will win: “Oppenheimer” Could surprise: “The Zone of Interest”
So much has been written about “The Zone of Interest” and the disconnect between its scenes of idyllic family life and the disturbing sounds — industrial noise, screaming, gunfire — we hear in the background. Enough voters saw the film to give it five nominations, a haul that nudged other academy members to check it out. If you’ve seen it, I don’t know how you don’t vote for it in this category. Unless that seat-rattling Trinity test detonation is still ringing in your ears. (It’s going to be “Oppenheimer,” isn’t it?)
Visual effects
■ “The Creator,” Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould
■ “Godzilla Minus One,” Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima
■ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek
■ “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould
■ “Napoleon,” Charley Henley, Luc-ewen Martin-fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould
Will win: “Godzilla Minus One”
Could surprise: “The Creator”
The first-ever nomination for a Godzilla movie! Who doesn’t have a soft spot for Godzilla and especially the team behind this iteration, which stretched its $15 million budget to create the “most persuasively bestial Godzilla ever filmed.”
Animated short
■ “Letter to a Pig”
■ “Ninety-five Senses”
■ “Our Uniform”
■ “Pachyderme”
■ “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko”
Will win: “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko”
Could surprise: “Letter to a Pig”
“War Is Over” feels like a mash-up of “1917,” the forgotten pigeon animated feature “Valiant” and the Oscar-winning Pixar short “Geri’s Game.” It doesn’t work, and it makes “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” feel like a lump of coal. But it won the Annie and probably will have a sentimental pull for many voters.
Documentary short
■ “The ABCS of Book Banning”
■ “The Barber of Little Rock”
■ “Island in Between”
■ “The Last Repair Shop”
■ “Nai Nai & Wài Pó”
Will win: “The Last Repair Shop”
Could surprise: “Nai Nai & Wài Pó”
“The Last Repair Shop,” highlighting the work of craftspeople servicing 80,000 musical instruments for Los Angeles Unified School District students, is moving and inspirational and just sparked a $15 million capital campaign to keep the program going. The film is co-distributed by Searchlight and L.A. Times Studios, so a victory here would make my overlords happy. Me too. It’s a terrific film.
Live-action short
■ “The After”
■ “Invincible”
■ “Knight of Fortune”
■ “Red, White and Blue”
■ “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”
Will win: “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”
Wes Anderson finally wins an Oscar. Just remember: Sic transit gloria.