An “Alternate” Oscar Lineup To Ponder

Yesterday was something, wasn’t it? Friends, after the intensity of waiting for the Academy Award nominations, it’s time for something a little bit fun today that It like to do right after nominees are announced. As we wait for the ballots to go out to Academy members and final Oscar voting to get underway (which is still a little ways away at this point, though sooner than normal with the tightened window this year), why not play around with a hypothetical situation that we all speculate about? What better time is the time to do it than now, after all? This is something I’ve done from time to time over the past few years, and I really enjoy it. What is it, exactly? Well, what I do here is to look at what the Oscar nominations could have looked like if you remove all of the actual nominees. Weird, I know, but hey, it’s fun to do.

Below you will be able to check out what these alternate Academy Award nominations could have been. In some categories, it’s easy to speculate, like with Best Picture and how films like Bombshell, Knives Out, Rocketman, and The Two Popes were probably next in line. Or, you can look at Best Director and be incredibly confident that Taika Waititi for Jojo Rabbit or Greta Gerwig for Little Women were next in line. In terms of the Acting categories, Taron Egerton for Rocketman and Jennifer Lopez for Hustlers were near misses. These are just my guesses though, so keep that in mind, even if many seem obvious. Now, on to the actual fun…

Here now is an “alternate” look at how the Oscar nominations could have gone:

BEST PICTURE

1. Knives Out
2. Bombshell
3. Rocketman
4. The Two Popes
5. Judy
6. Pain and Glory
7. Uncut Gems
8. The Farewell
9. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
10. Harriet

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Taika Waititi – Jojo Rabbit
2. Greta Gerwig – Little Women
3. Noah Baumbach – Marriage Story
4. James Mangold – Ford v Ferrari
5. Pedro Almodovar – Pain and Glory

BEST ACTOR

1. Taron Egerton – Rocketman
2. Christian Bale – Ford v Ferrari
3. Robert De Niro – The Irishman
4. Adam Sandler – Uncut Gems
5. Eddie Murphy – Dolemite Is My Name

BEST ACTRESS

1. Awkwafina – The Farewell
2. Lupita Nyong’o – Us
3. Mary Kay Place – Diane
4. Ana de Armas – Knives Out
5. Alfre Woodard – Clemency

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Song Kang-ho – Parasite
2. Jamie Foxx – Just Mercy
3. Sam Rockwell – Richard Jewell
4. John Lithgow – Bombshell
5. Alan Alda – Marriage Story

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Jennifer Lopez – Hustlers
2. Nicole Kidman – Bombshell
3. Annette Bening – The Report
4. Zhao Shuzhen – The Farewell
5. Taylor Russell – Waves

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Bombshell
2. The Farewell
3. Booksmart
4. Ford v Ferrari
5. Uncut Gems

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
2. Judy
3. Dark Waters
4. Just Mercy
5. Hustlers

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1. Frozen 2
2. Abominable
3. Weathering with You
4. Okko’s Inn
5. Spies in Disguise

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. Little Women
2. The Two Popes
3. Joker
4. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
5. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Ford v Ferrari
2. Parasite
3. Jojo Rabbit
4. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
5. Marriage Story

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Dolemite Is My Name
2. Rocketman
3. Downton Abbey
4. Judy
5. Aladdin

BEST FILM EDITING

1. Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood
2. 1917
3. Marriage Story
4. Uncut Gems
5. Little Women

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

1. Rocketman
2. Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood
3. Downton Abbey
4. Little Women
5. Dolemite Is My Name

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. Rocketman
2. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
3. The Irishman
4. Avengers: Endgame
5. Uncut Gems

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. Rocketman
2. The Irishman
3. Ad Astra
4. Avengers: Endgame
5. Uncut Gems

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. Gemini Man
2. Alita: Battle Angel
3. Terminator: Dark Fate
4. Cats
5. Captain Marvel

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. Jojo Rabbit
2. Ford v Ferrari
3. Us
4. Avengers: Endgame
5. Motherless Brooklyn

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. Wild Rose (Glasgow (No Place Like Home))
2. The Lion King (Spirit)
3. The Black Godfather (Letter To My Godfather)
4. Aladdin (Speechless)
5. Motherless Brooklyn (Daily Battles)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1. Apollo 11
2. Maiden
3. The Biggest Little Farm
4. One Child Nation
5. Knock Down the House

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

1. Atlantics
2. Beanpole
3. Truth and Justice
4. Those Who Remained
5. The Painted Bird

Stay tuned for plenty more on the race in the weeks to come, right up until Oscar night!