Yes I realise it’s only just turned November….

But to many Oscar fans (including myself), awards season usually starts around this time with plenty of films already gathering acclaim and momentum as the first set of awards begin to come round next month. Us Brits are still awaiting the arrival of much-publicised films like Gravity, Saving Mr Banks, Inside Llewyn Davies and the early favourite 12 Years a Slave while American Hustle and Martin Scorsese’s the Wolf of Wall Street have not yet been seen by critics.

Nevertheless, a lot of us have already begun making predictions for the 86th Academy Awards with the ceremony set to begin four months today (which ironically will be the day of my birthday!). Whoop whoop!

My own predictions, which will be done monthly, include some films that I have already seen like Blue Jasmine, Captain Phillips and Philomena but I am also relying on the current consensus from those on IMDB, AwardsWatch and other blogs to support me with my picks.

Well….here goes….

BEST PICTURE

• 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• AMERICAN HUSTLE (waiting on reactions)
• AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
• CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
• GRAVITY
• NEBRASKA
• SAVING MR BANKS
• THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (waiting on reactions)

ALT: All is Lost, Before Midnight, Blue is the Warmest Color, Blue Jasmine,
The Butler, Dallas Buyers Club, Fruitvale Station, Inside Llewyn Davies, Philomena, Prisoners, Rush

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BEST DIRECTOR

• Alfonso Cuaron – GRAVITY
• Paul Greengrass – CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
• Steve McQueen – 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• Alexander Payne – NEBRASKA
• David O. Russell – AMERICAN HUSTLE (waiting on reactions)

ALT: Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine, J.C Chandor – All is Lost,
Lee Daniels – The Butler, Joel & Ethan Coen – Inside Llewyn Davies,
John Lee Hancock – Saving Mr Banks, Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street,
John Wells – August: Osage County

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BEST ACTOR

• Bruce Dern – NEBRASKA
• Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• Tom Hanks – CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
• Matthew McConaughey – DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
• Robert Redford – ALL IS LOST

ALT: Christian Bale – American Hustle/Out of the Furnace,
Leonardo Di-Caprio – The Wolf of Wall Street,
Idris Elba – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davies,
Hugh Jackman – Prisoners, Michael B. Jordan – Fruitvale Station,
Joaquin Phoenix – Her, Forest Whitaker – The Butler

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BEST ACTRESS

• Cate Blanchett – BLUE JASMINE
• Sandra Bullock – GRAVITY
• Judi Dench – PHILOMENA
• Meryl Streep – AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
• Emma Thompson – SAVING MR BANKS

ALT: Amy Adams – American Hustle, Berenice Bejo – The Past,
Julie Delpy – Before Midnight, Adele Exarchopoulos – Blue is the Warmest Color,
Brie Larson – Short Term 12, Kate Winslet – Labor Day

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Bradley Cooper – AMERICAN HUSTLE (waiting on reactions)
• Michael Fassbender – 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• Tom Hanks – SAVING MR BANKS
• Jonah Hill – THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (waiting on reactions)
• Jared Leto – DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

ALT: Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips, Josh Brolin – Labor Day,
Daniel Bruhl – Rush, George Clooney – Gravity, Steve Coogan – Philomena,
Chris Cooper – August: Osage County, Harrison Ford – 42,
James Gandolfini – Enough Said, Jake Gyllenhaal – Prisoners,
Matthew McConaughey – Mud

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Jennifer Lawrence – AMERICAN HUSTLE (waiting on reactions)
• Lupita Nyong’o – 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• Julia Roberts – AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
• June Squibb – NEBRASKA
• Oprah Winfrey – THE BUTLER

ALT: Naomie Harris – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine, Margo Martindale – August: Osage County,
Carey Mulligan – Inside Llewyn Davies, Lea Seydoux – Blue is the Warmest Color, Octavia Spencer – Fruitvale Station

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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• AMERICAN HUSTLE (waiting on reactions)
• BLUE JASMINE
• GRAVITY
• INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIES
• NEBRASKA

ALT: The Butler, Dallas Buyers Club, Enough Said, Fruitvale Station, Her, Mud,
The Place Beyond the Pines, Prisoners, Rush, Saving Mr Banks

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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
• BEFORE MIDNIGHT
• CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
• PHILOMENA

ALT: Blue is the Warmest Color, The Book Thief, Labor Day, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,
The Wolf of Wall Street

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BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• GRAVITY
• THE GREAT GATSBY
• THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
• SAVING MR BANKS

ALT: American Hustle, The Butler, The Invisible Woman, Man of Steel, Oz: The Great and Powerful, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
• GRAVITY
• PRISONERS
• RUSH

ALT: All is Lost, American Hustle, The Butler, The Great Gatsby, Her, Inside Llewyn Davies, Nebraska, Saving Mr Banks, The Wolf of Wall Street

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BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• AMERICAN HUSTLE
• THE GREAT GATSBY
• THE INVISIBLE WOMAN
• OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

ALT: The Book Thief, The Butler, The Lone Ranger, Man of Steel, Saving Mr Banks

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BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

• THE BUTLER
• THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
• RUSH

ALT: 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, The Great Gatsby, Oz: The Great and Powerful,
Saving Mr Banks

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BEST EDITING

• 12 YEARS A SLAVE
• AMERICAN HUSTLE
• CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
• GRAVITY
• THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

ALT: All is Lost, The Butler, Fruitvale Station, Inside Llewyn Davies, Nebraska, Philomena, Prisoners, Rush, Saving Mr Banks

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BEST SOUND MIXING

• ALL IS LOST
• CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
• GRAVITY
• INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIES
• RUSH

ALT: 12 Years a Slave, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Iron Man 3, Lone Survivor,
Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, Star Trek into Darkness

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BEST SOUND EDITING

• ALL IS LOST
• CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
• GRAVITY
• PACIFIC RIM
• RUSH

ALT: Fast & Furious 6, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Iron Man 3, Lone Survivor,
Man of Steel, Star Trek into Darkness

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BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• GRAVITY
• THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
• MAN OF STEEL
• PACIFIC RIM
• THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY

ALT: Ender’s Game, Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger, Oz: The Great and Powerful, Rush,
Star Trek into Darkness, Thor: The Dark World, The Wolverine, World War Z

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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Alexandre Desplat – PHILOMENA
• Thomas Newman – SAVING MR BANKS
• Steven Price – GRAVITY
• John Williams – THE BOOK THIEF
• Hans Zimmer – 12 YEARS A SLAVE

ALT: Carter Burwell – August: Osage County, Henry Jackman – Captain Phillips,
Johan Johansson – Prisoners, Randy Newman – Monsters University, Mark Orton – Nebraska,
Hans Zimmer – Rush

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BEST ORIGINAL SONG (TBC)

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BEST ANIMATED FILM

• THE CROODS
• ERNEST & CELESTINE
• FROZEN
• MONSTERS UNIVERSITY
• THE WIND RISES

ALT: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Despicable Me 2, Epic, A Letter to Momo

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My next update will come in early December. There will also be a later article for my Golden Globes predictions around mid-December. Here’s hoping I don’t have to make too many changes to my current lineup!