“The Irishman” And “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”: Year In Advance Academy Award Predictions For 2019

Folks, there is absolutely no rest for the weary. As I like to say, just like the Oscar winning film Crazy Heart once said in its signature song, “this ain’t no place for the weary kind”. Yes, only a matter of days after the 91st Academy Awards ceremony, I’m already bringing you some year in advance predictions. Almost exactly a year ago, I did this, and around the same time year before (and so on and so forth), so that’s sort of what you do in early March when the most recent show is in the rearview mirror and you need something to look forward to. Plus, it’s just plain fun to do. This is always a pleasure, and good for a laugh a year later, if nothing else.

At this early juncture, it’s all simply guesswork, but some potential contenders do stick out to me. Some are pretty obvious, but one or two could just be hunches. The ones most prominently mentioned below include John Crowley’s The Goldfinch, Dexter Fletcher’s Rocketman, Noah Hawley’s Lucy In The Sky, Marielle Heller’s It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. That doesn’t even include the myriad festival titles, surprises, and undiscovered gems that will arise during the year. The 2020 awards season won’t be one to lack baity prestige pics, that’s for sure. Anyway, time to get to the predictions…

Here now is my first set of early Academy Award predictions:

BEST PICTURE

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Knives Out
3. The Irishman
4. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
5. The Goldfinch
6. Untitled Roger Ailes Project
7. Rocketman
8. Lucy In The Sky
9. Harriet
10. The Report

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Martin Scorsese – The Irishman
3. Rian Johnson – Knives Out
4. Marielle Heller – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
5. Jay Roach – Untitled Roger Ailes Project

BEST ACTOR

1. Timothée Chalamet – The King
2. Adam Driver – The Report
3. Leonardo DiCaprio – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
5. Taron Egerton – Rocketman

BEST ACTRESS

1. Cynthia Erivo – Harriet
2. Amy Adams – The Woman in the Window
3. Natalie Portman – Lucy In The Sky
4. Alfre Woodard – Clemency
5. Cate Blanchett – Where’d You Go Bernadette?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Al Pacino – The Irishman
3. John Lithgow – Untitled Roger Ailes Project
4. Matthew Rhys – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
5. John Hamm – Lucy In The Sky

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Annette Bening – The Report
2. Margot Robbie – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
3. Nicole Kidman – The Goldfinch
4. Charlize Theron – Untitled Roger Ailes Project
5. Zazie Beetz – Lucy In The Sky

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Knives Out
2. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
3. The Report
4. Untitled Roger Ailes Project
5. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. The Goldfinch
2. The Irishman
3. Little Women
4. The Woman in the Window
5. Toy Story 4

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1. Toy Story 4
2. Frozen 2
3. Missing Link
4. Sonic the Hedgehog
5. Wonder Park

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. The Irishman
3. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
4. Ad Astra
5. The Goldfinch

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. The Goldfinch
3. Ad Astra
4. The Irishman
5. Knives Out

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Rocketman
3. Downton Abbey
4. The Irishman
5. Harriet

BEST FILM EDITING

1. The Irishman
2. Knives Out
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. The Goldfinch
5. Star Wars Episode IX

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

1. Rocketman
2. Avengers: Endgame
3. Cats

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. Rocketman
2. Avengers: Endgame
3. Cats
4. Ad Astra
5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Star Wars Episode IX
3. Ad Astra
4. Ford v Ferrari
5. Rocketman

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. The Irishman
2. Avengers: Endgame
3. Star Wars Episode IX
4. Ad Astra
5. Captain Marvel

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. Ad Astra
2. Star Wars Episode IX
3. The Irishman
4. Harriet
5. The Goldfinch

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

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4. ???
5. ???

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1. Knock Down the House
2. Apollo 11
3. Wrestle
4. Ask Dr. Ruth
5. Love, Antosha

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE

1. ???
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

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2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

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2. ???
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5. ???

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

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2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???

Stay tuned for an update to these early predictions in the next month or so!