Academy Awards 2016: Patch California Film Critic's Predictions

By Beau Behan, Film Critic:

Lights! Camera! Action! – And Fashion!

Hollywood’s biggest night of the year is just around the corner. The 88th Academy Awards will be simulcast live from the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. The red carpet event starts at 4 p.m. Hollywood time, followed by the awards ceremony at 5:30. Chris Rock returns as host of the program on ABC.

Televised around the globe, the Oscars will try something new and different this year. Nominees have provided the Academy, in advance, a list of people they would like to thank, and those names will run across the bottom of the screen. As a result, the winners will have the chance to fill their 45 seconds on the podium with speeches that are much more memorable and engaging. Whether this thank you ticker tape is a boon or a bane for the viewers is yet to be seen.

Without further ado, here are the nominees of the 2016 Oscars, and my “gut-feeling” predictions of winners:

Best Picture

Prediction: “The Revenant”

Best Director

Prediction: Alejandro G. Inarritu (“The Revenant”)

Best Actor

Prediction: Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Revenant”)

Best Actress

Prediction: Brie Larson (“Room”)

Best Supporting Actor

Prediction: Sylvester Stallone (“Creed”)

Best Supporting Actress

Prediction: Alicia Vikander (“The Danish Girl”)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Prediction: “The Big Short”

Best Original Screenplay

Prediction: “Spotlight”

Best Animated Feature

Prediction: “Inside Out”

Best Documentary Feature

Prediction: “Amy”

Best Foreign Language

Prediction: “Son of Saul”

Best Cinematography

Prediction: “The Revenant”

Best Costume Design

Prediction: “Carol”

Best Film Editing

Prediction: “Mad Max: Fury Road”

Best Visual Effects

Prediction: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”