My 2020 Oscar Picks
I've already given you the list of my 10 favorite films released in 2019. Now I'm going to go one step further and pick my personal favorites for each category in the 2020 Academy Awards. This is not my attempt at predicting which films The Academy will actually reward. Instead, if the Oscars were completely up to me, this is how they would shake out. Nominees which appear in bold are my choice for the winner of that category. If a category has an asterisk next to it, that means that I saw an admittedly low number of the films in that category. In such situations, I fill out the nominations based upon the films that have previously been nominated in the various critics awards that have already taken place. Films that are nominated but that I have not seen are listed in italics. However, if there is no asterisk next to the category, that means I have personally seen each nominee as well as others that would compete in that category. In all categories, nominees appearing in bold (my picks for winners) represent films that I have personally seen.
Best Original Song
“Into the Unknown” - Frozen II
”A Glass of Soju” - Parasite
”I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” - Toy Story 4
”Catchy Song” - The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
”(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again - Rocketman
Best Animated Feature*
I Lost My Body
Frozen II
Toy Story 4
Missing Link
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Best International Feature Film*
Parasite
Pain and Glory
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Atlantics
Les Miserables
Best Documentary Feature*
Apollo 11
Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce
American Factory
Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
For Sama
Best Animated Short*
Hair Love
Hors Piste
Kitbull
Sister
Mind My Mind
Best Documentary Short
Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (If You’re a Girl)
The Nightcrawlers
Life Overtakes Me
In the Absence
Fire in Paradise
Best Live Action Short*
Nefta Football Club
Miller & Son
Sometimes, I Think About Dying
The Neighbors’ Window
Brotherhood
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Bombshell
Joker
Dolemite is My Name
The Two Popes
Avengers: Endgame
Best Costume Design
Dolemite is My Name
Little Women
The Irishman
The Two Popes
The Farewell
Best Production Design
The Two Popes
The Irishman
Parasite
Little Women
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Best Visual Effects
The Irishman
Avengers: Endgame
1917
Ad Astra
Captain Marvel
Best Sound Mixing
1917
Avengers: Endgame
Ad Astra
A Hidden Life
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Sound Editing
1917
Ad Astra
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Avengers: Endgame
A Hidden Life
Best Original Score
A Hidden Life (James Newton Howard)
1917 (Thomas Newman)
Marriage Story (Randy Newman)
Little Women (Alexandre Desplat)
Us (Michael Abels)
Best Cinematography
A Hidden Life (Jorg Widmer)
1917 (Roger Deakins)
Ad Astra (Hoyte van Hoytema)
The Irishman (Rodrigo Prieto)
Little Women (Yorick Le Saux)
Best Film Editing
The Irishman
Marriage Story
Little Women
Parasite
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Best Adapted Screenplay
Greta Gerwig - Little Women
Terrence Malick - A Hidden Life
Anthony McCarten - The Two Popes
Steven Zaillan - The Irishman
Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Best Original Screenplay
Lulu Wang - The Farewell
Noah Baumbach - Marriage Story
Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Nia DaCosta - Little Woods
Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won - Parasite
Best Supporting Actor
Joe Pesci - The Irishman
Tom Hanks - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Al Pacino - The Irishman
Anthony Hopkins - The Two Popes
Brad Pitt - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Supporting Actress
Florence Pugh - Little Women
Zhao Shuzhen - The Farewell
Laura Dern - Little Women
Margot Robbie - Bombshell
Scarlett Johansson - Jojo Rabbit
Best Director
Terrence Malick - A Hidden Life
Martin Scorsese - The Irishman
Lulu Wang - The Farewell
Greta Gerwig - Little Women
Marielle Heller - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Best Actor
Adam Sandler - Uncut Gems
Robert DeNiro - The Irishman
Adam Driver - Marriage Story
Brad Pitt - Ad Astra
Eddie Murphy - Dolemite is My Name
Best Actress
Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story
Sienna Miller - American Woman
Awkwafina - The Farewell
Valerie Pachner - A Hidden Life
Lupita Nyong’o - Us
Best Picture
A Hidden Life
The Irishman
The Farewell
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Little Women
Ad Astra
1917
Marriage Story
The Two Popes
Avengers: Endgame
Most Nominations
The Irishman - 11
Little Women - 10
A Hidden Life - 8
The Farewell - 6
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - 6
Ad Astra - 6
1917 - 6
Marriage Story - 6
The Two Popes - 6
Avengers: Endgame - 5
Parasite - 5
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - 4
Most Wins
A Hidden Life - 4
The Irishman - 3
Little Women - 2
1917 - 2
The Farewell - 1
Marriage Story - 1
The Two Popes - 1
Uncut Gems - 1
Parasite - 1
Dolemite is My Name - 1
Bombshell - 1
Frozen II - 1
Nefta Football Club - 1
Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (If You’re a Girl) - 1
Hair Love - 1
Apollo 11 - 1
I Lost My Body - 1
Honorable Mentions - Every year when the real Oscar nominations are announced, focus usually turns to those who were "snubbed." With any list of nominations like this, there will always be deserving artists that get left off. Even in these personal nominations, it's impossible for me to reward everyone who is deserving. I could do this for every category, but that might get a bit tedious. So, instead, below you will find a list of a few of the artists who very nearly made it on my nominations. I want to recognize them in some way, so consider this my list of honorable mentions.
The Farewell (Alex Weston) - Best Original Score
Chris Cooper (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) - Best Supporting Actor
Sam Mendes (1917) - Best Director
Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) - Best Actor
Margot Robbie (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) - Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern (Marriage Story) - Best Supporting Actress
Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) - Best Actor
August Diehl (A Hidden Life) - Best Actor
Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) - Best Director
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) - Best Director
The Two Popes - Best Costume Design
I Lost My Body (Dan Levy) - Best Original Score
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) - Best Actor
Anna Paquin (The Irishman) - Best Supporting Actress
Song Kang Ho (Parasite) - Best Supporting Actor
Rian Johnson (Knives Out) - Best Original Screenplay
Tessa Thompson (Little Woods) - Best Actress
Matthew Rhys (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) - Best Actor
Charlize Theron (Bombshell) - Best Actress
Sam Rockwell (Richard Jewell) - Best Supporting Actor
Rian Johnson (Knives Out) - Best Director
Wesley Snipes (Dolemite is My Name) - Best Supporting Actor
Joker (Hildur Guðnadóttir) - Best Original Score