Support your favorite college newsroom with a gift! We’re offering the first 200 donors who make a gift of $44 or more a copy of the book published by The D.O. chronicling the men’s basketball team’s 2002-03 season. Donate today and help us win College Media Madness.

On Sunday, the 2023 awards season will come to a close with the 95th Academy Awards, live from Los Angeles. 2022 marked a near-complete return for movie theater audiences and Sunday night’s show is expected to be a strong celebration of some of the films that helped bring people back to the cinema. This year, there are a few intriguing storylines surrounding the nominees. Will Steven Spielberg garner recognition for his most personal film, “The Fabelmans?” Will Brendan Fraser or Colin Farrell finally take home a “Best Actor” award? Will “Everything Everywhere All At Once” become one of the most unique “Best Picture” winners of all time?

Here are our screentime columnists’ predictions for some of Sunday’s top prizes.

Henry O’Brien

Best Original Screenplay: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Original Screenplay is a two-horse race between “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and Martin McDonagh’s script for “Banshees of Inisherin.” McDonagh, a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker, has won awards for his writing before, like at the Golden Globes for his 2017 film, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” While his dark humor is my preferred choice, Daniels’ knocked it out of the park with the perfect blend of humor, emotion, nihilism and warmth to bring home one of probably many awards on Sunday.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Sarah Polley – “Women Talking”

Writer and director Sarah Polley’s latest film takes its basis from author Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel of the same name. It’s a fictional retelling of an actual story where Mennonite women in a small Bolivian community were exploited for years by the colony’s men. Polley’s film takes place almost entirely in a barn where the Mennonite women (played by big name actresses like Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley) contemplate whether or not to leave their colony. At many times, it feels like a play and Polley’s screenplay gives these star actresses a space to shine. With a Best Adapted Screenplay win at the 2023 Writers Guild Awards, Polley’s latest work seems like the safe bet to win the award.

Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Who would’ve thought the minds behind farting Harry Potter would make a film that would be the favorite to win Best Picture? But sure enough, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has been the presumptive favorite, and it’s not hard to see why. The film somehow captures the essence of the sheer chaos of a multiverse. But the Daniels duo puts the Marvel Cinematic Universe to shame with their portrayal of the multiverse with dynamite performances and raw moments of emotion. Plus, how can you pick against a raccoon hibachi chef?

Anish Vasudevan

Best Director: Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans”

I thought “The Fabelmans” was okay. It’s really two movies trapped in one: a coming-of-age story biopic about Spielberg and a random high school comedy. But to all the cinephiles in Hollywood who had a similar childhood experience where they realized they loved movies, this was a masterpiece. Yes, there are shots in this movie which Spielberg has never previously used. The fact that he made such a personal story cinematic means he deserves a lot of praise. The Academy loves a legacy pick and it’s been 24 years since Spielberg has won an Oscar. This will be the time to celebrate one of Hollywood’s greatest auteurs.

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Tár”

“You cannot start without me!” This line from Blanchett at the start of “Tár” immediately sets the precedent for the control she has over the screen, her presence demanding your attention in every second. Todd Field allows Blanchett to be at her best in one of the more complex and interesting movies of the year. She perfectly portrays a broken, psychotic and tortured artist. Michelle Yeoh is a close second for this award, having also won the SAG Best Actress award, but I expect Blanchett to win this one.

Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

The fact that the creators of the “Turn Down for What” music video are favored to win the Best Picture is an accomplishment in itself. But after “Swiss Army Man” showed that Daniels could make an absurd plot enjoyable, the rise of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” shouldn’t be that surprising. “EEAAO” pays homage to some of the greatest action movies with compelling performances from Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu. A lot of older people in the Academy might disagree, but all the versions of each character are captivating and the ending is perfect. Goodbye, Oscars of old. It’s time for a multiverse, immigrant family drama to win Best Picture.

Arlo Stone | Design Editor

Teddy Hudson

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

No nominee in any category this year is more of a lock to win than Ke Huy Quan. The 51-year-old former child star, who audiences will remember from ‘80s hits like the “Indiana Jones” franchise and “The Goonies,” has mounted a major comeback with his supporting role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Quan’s performance as Waymond Wang, a mild-mannered laundromat owner, has earned him dozens of awards, including key victories at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, and SAG Awards. With such widespread buzz, his first Oscar win is almost guaranteed and well-deserved.

Best Animated Feature: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

Oscar voters are notorious for not taking Best Animated Feature very seriously. An anonymous Academy member admitted to The Hollywood Reporter this week that they only saw three of the five nominees before voting. This means the award tends to become a brand name recognition contest, which Disney routinely wins. But this year’s nominee pool includes a new competitor — former Best Picture winner Guillermo del Toro. The director’s first animated film, a stop-motion passion project aptly titled “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” has swept the animation categories at most major award shows this season. After nine Disney victories in the past 10 Academy Awards, “Pinocchio” has a chance to change the narrative.

Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” may not have a script as thoughtful as “The Banshees of Inisherin” or the incisive character study ambitions of “Tár,” but its flashy, imaginative direction and populist sentimentality have clearly won over voters this awards season. The film’s recent top prize win at the PGA Awards and record-breaking four wins at the SAG Awards have secured its frontrunner status in the Best Picture race. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” would be an unorthodox pick for the Academy, easily the most high-concept since “The Shape of Water,” but its momentum is undeniable.

Nate Lechner

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”

There’s nothing Hollywood loves more than a good comeback story, and none has been more discussed this awards season than Brendan Fraser. Fraser was one of the biggest stars of the ‘90s, with films like “School Ties,” “George of the Jungle” and “The Mummy,” but he hasn’t seen much success in the 21st century. In “The Whale,” Fraser gives a very powerful and emotional performance as an obese English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter. He has already picked up Best Actor wins at the BAFTAs, Critics Choice and SAG awards, and is primed to truly cement his legacy with the Best Actor Oscar.

Best Supporting Actress: Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has produced many successful films featuring outstanding performances, nobody has made the most of their time on screen than Angela Bassett in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” As Queen Romonda, she has to carry the emotional weight of the first half of the film and does it perfectly. Basset plays Romonda as a powerful leader, who is still struggling to get over the tremendous loss that she has experienced in her life. Basset was previously nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actress category for 1993’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and 30 years later, she seems in line to bring home an Oscar for the first time.

Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

When “Everything Everywhere All at Once” first came out in March 2022, there was next to no buzz for the release. But the film quickly found tremendous success, becoming the highest-grossing film in the history of the A24 production company. In the year following its release, “EEAAO” has been nominated for 11 Academy Awards, won the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures at the PGAs, swept the Screen Actors Guild Awards and captured the hearts of millions of movie fans around the world. The rise of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has been one of the most surprising in recent film history, and it is primed to cap off the journey with a Best Picture win on Sunday night.

Published on March 8, 2023 at 11:55 pm