Oscars 2015 predictions: Here's who will take the prizes on Hollywood's biggest night
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Some of the acting races seem like sure things, but it鈥檚 the question of what movie will take Best Picture on Oscar night that has many stumped.
The Best Picture race, in which the movies 鈥淏oyhood鈥� and 鈥淏irdman鈥� have emerged as the leading contenders, echoes last year鈥檚 ceremony, in which the struggle between space-based film 鈥淕ravity鈥� and historical drama 鈥�12 Years a Slave鈥� was looked at as almost too close to call. (鈥淪lave鈥� ended up taking the prize, though the Best Director award went to 鈥淕ravity鈥� helmer Alfonso Cuaron. We may see a split like that again, with the movie that wins Best Picture not matching the director who wins.)聽
The Golden Globe Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards can be clues as to what names will be read when the envelopes are opened on Oscars night. At the Golden Globes, 鈥淏oyhood鈥� and 鈥淏irdman鈥� were nominated in separate categories, so they didn鈥檛 compete against one another. 鈥淏oyhood鈥� took the Best Drama Golden Globe. (Interestingly, 鈥淏irdman鈥� didn鈥檛 win its category of Best Comedy or Musical 鈥� that went to the movie 鈥淭he Grand Budapest Hotel.鈥� Could there be an upset?) However, at the Screen Actors Guild Awards when the two films faced off in the race for the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award, 鈥淏irdman鈥� won. Look for the movie to take the prize on Oscar night, too.
Another interesting race is that for the Best Actor award. Both 鈥淏irdman鈥� actor Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne of 鈥淭he Theory of Everything鈥� are regarded as strong contenders, with Keaton winning the Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Golden Globe and Redmayne winning the Best Actor in a Drama Golden Globe. However, when the two faced off at the SAG Awards, Redmayne won the Best Actor award. He鈥檒l most likely be going up on stage at the Oscars, too.聽
The rest of the acting races seem like sure things. Actress Julianne Moore won both the Best Actress in a Drama and the SAG Best Actress award for her work in 鈥淪till Alice,鈥� while J.K. Simmons of 鈥淲hiplash鈥� picked up the Best Supporting Actor award at the SAG Awards and the Golden Globes. Similarly, "Boyhood" actress Patricia Arquette won the Best Supporting Actress prize at the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards.聽
The Oscars will be held on Feb. 22.
