My 2021 Oscar Picks
I've already given you the list of my 10 favorite films released in 2020. Now I'm going to go one step further and pick my personal favorites for each category in the 2021 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. However, like this year’s Oscars ceremony, I will be recognizing films deemed eligible from both 2020 and 2021. 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
“Speak Now” - One Night in Miami
”Fight for You” - Judas and the Black Messiah
”Hear My Voice” - The Trial of the Chicago 7
”Wuhan Flu” - Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm
”Rain Song” - Minari
Best Animated Feature*
Soul
Onward
Wolfwalkers
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Best International Feature Film*
Another Round
Collective
The Mole Agent
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Two of Us
Best Documentary Feature*
The Last Dance
Dick Johnson is Dead
All In: The Fight for Democracy
Time
Collective
Best Animated Short*
If Anything Happens I Love You
Burrow
Out
Opera
Yes-People
Best Documentary Short*
A Love Song for Latasha
Do Not Split
Colette
A Concerto is a Conversation
Hunger Ward
Best Live Action Short*
Feeling Through
The Present
Two Distant Strangers
The Letter Room
White Eye
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Birds of Prey
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Hillbilly Elegy
Mank
One Night in Miami
Best Costume Design
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Promising Young Woman
Mangrove
Red, White, and Blue
Best Production Design
David Byrne’s American Utopia
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mangrove
Lovers Rock
Another Round
Best Visual Effects
Tenet
Mank
Soul
Birds of Prey
Da 5 Bloods
Best Sound
Sound of Metal
Nomadland
David Byrne’s American Utopia
Lovers Rock
The Last Dance
Best Original Score
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste - Soul
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross - Mank
Ludwig Goransson - Tenet
Daniel Pemberton - The Trial of the Chicago 7
Terence Blanchard - Da 5 Bloods
Best Cinematography
Joshua James Richards - Nomadland
Erik Messerschmidt - Mank
Ellen Kuras - David Byrne’s American Utopia
Shabier Kirchner - Mangrove
Lachlan Milne - Minari
Best Film Editing
David Byrne’s American Utopia
Nomadland
The Last Dance
Promising Young Woman
Minari
Best Adapted Screenplay
Kelly Reichardt, Jonathan Raymond - First Cow
Chloe Zhao - Nomadland
Ruben Santiago-Hudson - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Kemp Powers - One Night in Miami
Thomas Vinterberg, Tobias Lindholm - Another Round
Best Original Screenplay
Emerald Fennell - Promising Young Woman
Steve McQueen, Alastair Siddons - Mangrove
Lee Isaac Chung - Minari
Aaron Sorkin - The Trial of the Chicago 7
Steve McQueen, Courttia Newland - Lovers Rock
Best Supporting Actor
Leslie Odom Jr. - One Night in Miami
Daniel Kaluuya - Judas and the Black Messiah
Frank Langella - The Trial of the Chicago 7
David Strathairn - Nomadland
Chadwick Boseman - Da 5 Bloods
Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova - Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm
Yuh-jung Youn - Minari
Ellen Burstyn - Pieces of a Woman
Glenn Close - Hillbilly Elegy
Letitia Wright - Mangrove
Best Director
Chloe Zhao - Nomadland
Emerald Fennell - Promising Young Woman
Regina King - One Night in Miami
Spike Lee - David Byrne’s American Utopia
Lee Isaac Chung - Minari
Best Actor
Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Delroy Lindo - Da 5 Bloods
Riz Ahmed - Sound of Metal
Mads Mikkelsen - Another Round
Steven Yeun - Minari
Best Actress
Andra Day - The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman
Frances McDormand - Nomadland
Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman
Viola Davis - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Best Picture
David Byrne’s American Utopia
The Last Dance
Nomadland
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Minari
Mangrove
Promising Young Woman
Another Round
One Night in Miami
Lovers Rock
Most Nominations
Nomadland - 8
Minari - 8
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - 7
David Byrne’s American Utopia - 6
Mangrove - 6
Promising Young Woman - 6
One Night in Miami - 5
Another Round - 5
Lovers Rock - 4
The Last Dance - 4
Most Wins
David Byrne’s American Utopia - 3
Nomadland - 2
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - 2
One Night in Miami - 2
Soul - 2
The Last Dance - 1
Promising Young Woman - 1
Birds of Prey - 1
Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm - 1
Tenet - 1
The United States vs. Billie Holiday - 1
Sound of Metal - 1
First Cow - 1
If Anything Happens I Love You - 1
Another Round - 1
A Love Song for Latasha - 1
Feeling Through - 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.
Rachel Brosnahan (I’m Your Woman) - Best Actress
Steve McQueen (Mangrove) - Best Director
Julia Hart (I’m Your Woman) - Best Director
Shaun Parkes (Mangrove) - Best Actor
John Boyega (Red, White, and Blue) - Best Actor
Steve McQueen (Lovers Rock) - Best Director
Amanda Seyfried (Mank) - Best Supporting Actress
Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) - Best Director
Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7) - Best Director
Jack Fincher (Mank) - Best Original Screenplay
Marcel Rev (Malcom and Marie) - Best Cinematography