2021 Oscars? It’s never too early! Going into the 2020 Oscars, I expected all of the favorites to win. 1917 and Sam Mendes would win Best Picture and Best Director, respectively. Joaquin Phoenix, Renée Zellweger, Brad Pitt, and Laura Dern would win in their respective acting categories. I would have been fine with all of those decisions.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
Hearing “Parasite” still gives me goosebumps. Parasite not only won Best Picture, Best Orginal Screenplay, and Best International Feature, but Bong Joon-ho shocked the world when he won Best Director. I’m here to firmly state that Parasite is the real deal. It was my favorite movie of 2019 and it deserved every major award and then some.
That being said, it’s time to look ahead to the 2021 Oscars. It may be considered “downtime” for award season movies, but I’m always looking towards what’s on the horizon. I did this same article last year and my predictions were rocky, to say the least. It’s bad, but I’ve definitely seen worse. Here were my predictions in Feb. 2019.
After I clean my mouth of vomit from those predictions, I’ll move on. So what’s on tap for 2020 that we could see at the 2021 Oscars? Three heavy hitters come right to mind: Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reunite as writers for the first time since Good Will Hunting in The Last Duel. Guillermo del Toro should be releasing his followup to the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water. Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, Spike Lee, David Fincher, and Aaron Sorkin all have films coming out in 2021. A lot can change from now until next February. However, here are my way-too-early (and reckless) predictions for the 2021 Oscars.
Best Picture
- Dune
- The French Dispatch
- Hillbilly Elegy
- Mank
- Nightmare Alley
- Nomadland
- Tenet
- The Trial of the Chicago 7
- Untitled David O. Russell film
- West Side Story
Best Actor
- Adam Driver, The Last Duel
- Anthony Hopkins, The Father
- Christian Bale, Untitled David O. Russell film
- Denzel Washington, Macbeth
- Gary Oldman, Mank
Best Actress
- Amy Adams, Hillbilly Elegy
- Ana de Armas, Blonde
- Cate Blanchet, Nightmare Alley
- Frances McDormand, Macbeth
- Jennifer Hudson, Respect
Best Supporting Actor
- Bill Murray, On the Rocks
- Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
- David Strathairn, Nomadland
- Mark Rylance, The Trial of the Chicago 7
- Willem Dafoe, Nightmare Alley
Best Supporting Actress
- Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy (If this movie gets positive reviews, expect a HUGE campaign for Close for Best Supporting Actress. Once again, if the movie is well-received by critics, Close will finally win an Oscar.)
- Jodie Comer, The Last Duel
- Octavia Spencer, The Witches
- Rita Moreno, West Side Story
- Saoirse Ronan, Ammonite
Best Director
- Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
- David Fincher, Mank
- David O. Russell, Untitled film
- Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
- Wes Anderson, The French Dispatch
If I get more than 5 of these predictions right, I’ll be happy. See you next February.
Do you agree or disagree with my predictions? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us, @danny_giro.