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This Sunday, the stars of Hollywood will come together to celebrate the 84th Annual Academy Awards.
With films like 12 Years a Slave, Gravity and The Wolf of Wall Street battling it out for golden statuettes, Purple Revolver have made their final predictions for the hugely-anticipated event:
BEST PICTURE
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
Our pick: 12 Years Slave
Why? – The powerful historical drama, which depicts the true story of Solomon Northop, has won a large majority of Best Film awards in this year’s race including the Golden Globe and the BAFTA. Given its historical context and the fantastic critical reviews, it would be an absolute crime to see it lose out. However, its lack of recognition elsewhere could see it lose out in favour of the more popular Gravity.
BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne – Nebraska
David O. Russell – American Hustle
Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street
Our pick – Alfonso Cuaron
Why? – Having helmed one of the biggest box-office hits of recent years, Cuaron has comfortably swept every Best Director accolade going. Although the win wouldn’t be as deserving as Steve McQueen, you can’t deny the hard work that the Spanish filmmaker put into this breathtaking film.
BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale – American Hustle
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club
Our pick – Matthew McConaughey
Why? – The former rom-com star has managed to resurrect his career through his physically-challenging role in the solid Dallas Buyers Club. His recent performances in general have been key in his success story and a golden statue would be the icing on the cake. It’s just a shame that the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leonardo Di-Caprio are missing out on in such a strong category.
BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams – American Hustle
Cate Blanchett- Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Judi Dench – Philomena
Meryl Streep – August: Osage County
Our pick – Cate Blanchett
Why? – The Australian actress’s mesmerising performance in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine has been hugely appreciated by many this year to the point of winning a large majority of Best Actress awards. Her undeniable talent is worthy of a second Oscar although we can only hope that Amy Adams will end her barren Oscar spell one day.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club
Our pick – Jared Leto
Why? – The 30 Seconds to Mars singer excelled in his first major role in years with his touching portrayal of AIDs suffering transvestite Rayon. Like his co-star Matthew McConaughey, his dominance has surely guaranteed him an Oscar win at the first attempt. Nevertheless it would be great to see Michael Fassbender or even recent BAFTA winner Barkhad Abdi produce a shock.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
June Squibb – Nebraska
Julia Roberts – August: Osage County
Our pick – Jennifer Lawrence
Why? – Her nominated role in American Hustle and the box-office success of the Hunger Games have helped J-Law become Hollywood’s biggest star. What’s even more remarkable is that she could end up winning back-to-back Oscars at the tender age of 23. However she still faces stern competition from newcomer Lupita Nyong’o in what is likely to be a close call.
Rest of the field
The screenplay awards remain tight but John Ridley should land Best Adapted Screenplay for his 12 Years a Slave script. In contrast, Best Original Screenplay will be closely fought between David O. Russell for American Hustle or Spike Jonze for Her.
Aside from a possible Best Picture triumph, Gravity could end up winning as many as seven Oscars. The sound and visual effects categories are easily guaranteed for the sci-fi blockbuster while Cinematography and Best Original Score are also up for grabs.
Period drama The Great Gatsby should be a shoe-in for Costume Design and could win Production Design too.
Another film likely to win two awards is Disney’s Frozen which is tipped to clinch Best Animated Film and Best Original Song (“Let it Go”).
Finally, the Jackass crew will be hoping to pull off a shock win in the Best Makeup category for their work on Bad Grandpa. They face stern competition from Dallas Buyers Club and The Lone Ranger.