KATY: I thought long and hard about some of these choices but when it came down to it, I go with my heart which means nearly any time MOONLIGHT was up, I picked it! I’m a MOONLIGHT fan-girl, I think it’s just an incredible work of humanity; I love it and I want it to have all the awards.
In my picks you’ll also see ARRIVAL crop up wherever I could pick it because I also like to celebrate the genre films. I’d also like to give Natalie Portman a shout-out: her performance in JACKIE was my favorite (though it was almost an impossible choice between her and Isabelle Huppert).
Generally, the nominees across the categories are very, very worthy - I love seeing THE LOBSTER in there, some attention to KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS and THE RED TURTLE, the stunning lineup of documentaries (they are ALL so good, I won’t be mad at any of them winning). The only remaining disappointment for me is the shut out of SWISS ARMY MAN. Overall, there are a lot more films here that cheer me than piss me off which is always a pleasant experience! (You may also notice that I fully shut LA LA LAND out of my picks. I’ll just note that without comment.)
LAURA: When I choose my Oscar picks, I go with my gut and heart as well as a nice blend of what the industry will most likely vote for. You’ll notice that out of the three of us, I checked the LA LA LAND box the most. Yes, I’m a fan of musicals. No, it wasn’t my favorite film this year (although the film would probably make it to the top ten). My reasoning to select it for the most wins is because the film was something refreshing that “Hollywood” hasn’t seen in decades. I want to see more original movie musicals in the future and I believe the rest of the industry does as well and they’ll just vote down the line for LA LA LAND without batting an eye.
With that said, I have a big heart for the film, ARRIVAL, and I want that to win all the awards it was nominated for... and then some - I’m still pretty sore about Amy Adams not getting nominated.
MARLEE: This was a bit of a strange year for me - normally I am a strategic predictor - I make my own predictions based off my film experiences and then compare those with predictions made by film publications and critics I trust and then select my official predictions based off all of the research. However, this year, there were several films that I felt strongly enough about that I chose them over the generally-predicted front runner. For example, I chose MANCHESTER BY THE SEA for Best Picture because that was the film that had the most emotional impact on me this year and also, I just couldn’t justify going with LA LA LAND as the best film of 2016 - I saw way too many films last year for that to be my favorite (even though I truly did enjoy it - I’m a sucker for a good musical)!
I agree with Katy that all of the nominated films are worthy of nominations (some categories I don’t agree with more - I’m looking at you LA LA LAND for Original Screenplay - pfft!). I am a bit bummed over a few films that I believe deserved a nomination: SWISS ARMY MAN, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE, and SING STREET - they were all nomination-worthy IMO. They are for sure winners in my heart.
Best Picture
ARRIVAL
FENCES
HACKSAW RIDGE
HELL OR HIGH WATER
HIDDEN FIGURES
LA LA LAND LAURA'S PICK
LION
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA MARLEE’S PICK
MOONLIGHT KATY’S PICK
Actor in a Leading Role
CASEY AFFLECK - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA MARLEE’S PICK
ANDREW GARFIELD - HACKSAW RIDGE
RYAN GOSLING - LA LA LAND
VIGGO MORTENSEN - CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
DENZEL WASHINGTON - FENCES KATY’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
Actress in a Leading Role
ISABELLE HUPPERT - ELLE MARLEE’S PICK
RUTH NEGGA - LOVING
NATALIE PORTMAN - JACKIE KATY’S PICK
EMMA STONE - LA LA LAND LAURA’S PICK
MERYL STREEP - FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
Actor in a Supporting Role
MAHERSHALA ALI - MOONLIGHT KATY’S PICK & MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
JEFF BRIDGES - HELL OR HIGH WATER
LUCAS HEDGES - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
DEV PATEL - LION
MICHAEL SHANNON - NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
Actress in a Supporting Role
VIOLA DAVIS - FENCES KATY’S PICK & MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
NAOMIE HARRIS - MOONLIGHT
NICOLE KIDMAN - LION
OCTAVIA SPENCER - HIDDEN FIGURES
MICHELLE WILLIAMS - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Animated Feature Film
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
MOANA
MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI
THE RED TURTLE
ZOOTOPIA KATY’S PICK & MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
Cinematography
ARRIVAL KATY’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
LA LA LAND MARLEE’S PICK
LION
MOONLIGHT
SILENCE
Costume Design
ALLIED
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
JACKIE KATY’S PICK & MARLEE’S PICK
LA LA LAND LAURA’S PICK
Directing
ARRIVAL
HACKSAW RIDGE
LA LA LAND LAURA’S PICK
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
MOONLIGHT KATY’S PICK & MARLEE’S PICK
Documentary Feature
FIRE AT SEA
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO KATY’S PICK
LIFE, ANIMATED
O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
13TH
Documentary Short Subject
EXTREMIS
4.1 MILES
JOE'S VIOLIN MARLEE’S PICK
WATANI: MY HOMELAND LAURA’S PICK
THE WHITE HELMETS KATY’S PICK
Film Editing
ARRIVAL
HACKSAW RIDGE
HELL OR HIGH WATER
LA LA LAND MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
MOONLIGHT KATY’S PICK
Foreign Language Film
LAND OF MINE
A MAN CALLED OVE
THE SALESMAN LAURA’S PICK
TANNA
TONI ERDMANN KATY’S PICK & MARLEE’S PICK
Makeup and Hairstyling
A MAN CALLED OVE KATY’S PICK
STAR TREK BEYOND MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
SUICIDE SQUAD
Music (Original Score)
JACKIE
LA LA LAND MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
LION
MOONLIGHT KATY’S PICK
PASSENGERS
Music (Original Song)
AUDITION (THE FOOLS WHO DREAM) - LA LA LAND MARLEE’S PICK
CAN'T STOP THE FEELING - TROLLS KATY’S PICK
CITY OF STARS - LA LA LAND LAURA’S PICK
THE EMPTY CHAIR - JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY
HOW FAR I'LL GO - MOANA
Production Design
ARRIVAL KATY’S PICK
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM MARLEE’S PICK
HAIL, CAESAR!
LA LA LAND LAURA’S PICK
PASSENGERS
Short Film (Animated)
BLIND VAYSHA
BORROWED TIME
PEAR CIDER AND CIGARETTES
PEARL KATY’S PICK & MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
PIPER
Short Film (Live Action)
ENNEMIS INTERIEURS
LA FEMME ET LE TGV MARLEE’S PICK
SILENT NIGHTS LAURA’S PICK
SING
TIMECODE KATY’S PICK
Sound Editing
ARRIVAL KATY’S PICK & MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
DEEPWATER HORIZON
HACKSAW RIDGE
LA LA LAND
SULLY
Sound Mixing
ARRIVAL MARLEE’S PICK
HACKSAW RIDGE
LA LA LAND LAURA’S PICK
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY KATY’S PICK
13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI
Visual Effects
DEEPWATER HORIZON
DOCTOR STRANGE MARLEE’S PICK
THE JUNGLE BOOK KATY’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
ARRIVAL
FENCES KATY’S PICK
HIDDEN FIGURES
LION
MOONLIGHT MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
Writing (Original Screenplay)
HELL OR HIGH WATER
LA LA LAND
THE LOBSTER KATY’S PICK
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA MARLEE’S PICK & LAURA’S PICK
20TH CENTURY WOMEN