Why not, right? Even as the industry is still figuring out what the rest of the year will be like, 2020 deserves to have some kind of accolades for its best titles, no? In some form or another, we’re going to have the Oscars. We now know that streaming titles will have more ability to contend than ever before, while the overall slate of films competing for love from the Academy could be the smallest in a long time. That’s going to present an interesting scenario, one we can’t quite fully comprehend yet. For the moment, it’s just a blind guessing game as to which movies will be able to come out in time for the awards, which will be worthy, and who the nominees will be. Today, I update my picks, if only to not seem horribly misinformed. Plus, it’s an excellent distraction… Here’s my best guess at Academy Award predictions, for now, at least: BEST PICTURE 1. West Side Story 2. Mank 3. The Trial of the Chicago 7 4. Da 5 Bloods 5. C’mon C’mon 6. News of the World 7. Nomadland 8. Stillwater 9. Ammonite 10. Tenet Next in Line: 11. The Last Duel 12. The French Dispatch 13. 14. I’m Thinking of Ending Things 15. Minari 16. Promising Young Woman 17. The Eyes of Tammy Faye 18. Annette 19. On the Rocks 20. Dune 21. Next Goal Wins 22. Hillbilly Elegy 23. Those Who Wish Me Dead 24. Never Rarely Sometimes Always 25. Respect 26. The Way Back 27. Soul 28. The Invisible Man 29. Wonder Woman 1984 30. The King of Staten Island BEST DIRECTOR 1. David Fincher – Mank 2. Spike Lee – Da 5 Bloods 3. Steven Spielberg – West Side Story 4. Mike Mills – C’mon C’mon 5. Chloe Zhao – Nomadland Next in Line: 6. Paul Greengrass – News of the World 7. Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7 8. Ridley Scott – The Last Duel 9. Christopher Nolan – Tenet 10. Tom McCarthy – Stillwater BEST ACTOR 1. Tom Hanks – News of the World 2. Matt Damon – Stillwater (or The Last Duel) 3. Gary Oldman – Mank 4. Joaquin Phoenix – C’mon C’mon 5. Ben Affleck – The Way Back Next in Line: 6. Bill Murray – On the Rocks 7. Adam Driver – Annette (or The Last Duel) 8. Andrew Garfield – The […]