Attitude predicts the 2014 Academy Awards

The biggest awards bash of the year takes place on Sunday night (March 2) – but who’s waking up on Monday morning with a shiny new Oscar to polish, and who’s waking up wishing they hadn’t drowned their sorrows by doing shots with Judi Dench till 5am? Here are our predictions in the seven biggest categories.

Best Picture
12 Years a Slave – OUR PICK!
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

The Hollywood film industry tends to favour its own, and they don’t really like non-Americans telling American stories – particularly when it’s something as awkward as the slavery narrative told by British director Steve McQueen in 12 Years A Slave. So, it’s fairly likely this will go to American Hustle, a strong ensemble piece which is noticeably more American. But since it seems the main actors will miss out on their nominations, it’s only right that McQueen’s epic wins this top prize. Symbolically, he’d be the first black director to win Best Picture.

Best Actor
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) – OUR PICK!

If you’d told Leonardo DiCaprio just a few years ago that he’d be missing out on Best Actor (again) to rom-com go-to man Matthew McConaughey, he’d have had a good laugh with the rest of us. But sadly for Leo, that’s what is going to happen. Playing an AIDS sufferer who emerges as an unlikely hero (with a commendable accent and shocking weight loss), McConaughey ticks the Academy’s winning boxes, and after nailing this career-defining performance he’s been on an awards winning streak for months. Leo, call Scorsese and get back to the drawing board.

Best Actress
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) – OUR PICK!
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

This no-brainer is probably the only thing you can bet your bottom dollar on. Despite being considered one of the greats of modern screen acting, Cate Blanchett’s previous five Oscar nominations have only earned her Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator. In the role of this displaced, psychologically-troubled New York socialite – somewhere between Carrie Bradshaw and Blanche DuBois – Woody Allen’s brilliant script has enabled Blanchett to score a complete home run during awards season, which will on no account be prevented, even by the legends who challenge her in this category.

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) – OUR PICK!

For portraying a transgender AIDS sufferer in Dallas Buyers Club, we commend Jared Leto – who spoke to Attitude in our February issue. Quite like his on-screen ally Matthew McConaughey, this win for Leto would have seemed unlikely a few years ago, but his performance has been widely (and rightly) praised. His closest competitor Michael Fassbender is an emerging modern giant, who will probably steal the main prize himself within a few years – for something more similar to his performances in Hunger and Shame – so he won’t shed many tears over this.

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) – OUR PICK!
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)

Despite being the emerging star of 2014, and suffering unthinkable torture as Patsey in 12 Years A Slave, Lupita Nyong’o is set to lose out here to Hollywood sweetheart Jennifer Lawrence, last year’s Best Actress winner. On the scheme of things, Lawrence has come out of nowhere, but she inspires more praise than a North Korean loyalty spot check. We’d squeal if Sally Hawkins came up from the outside lane and snatched this, but if all does go to plan, make sure you master the stairs this time, Jen.

Best Director
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)
David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) – OUR PICK!
Alexander Payne (Nebraska)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)

In an ideal world, Steve McQueen would win this as well as Best Picture, and the Brits could rejoice, but we’re not that greedy. Best Director would also be well deserved by Alfonso Cuarón, whose British-produced film Gravity is an incredible piece of space drama that’s all the more frightening for having not an ounce of sci-fi in it: this shit is real. One of the few 3D movies you really must see in its full glory (and IMAX helps too), mainly because of the incredible directorial work of Cuarón – as if truth be told, it’s not a film that deserves massive praise for its script or acting.

Best Song
“Alone Yet Not Alone” (Alone Yet Not Alone)
“Happy” (Despicable Me 2)
“Let It Go” (Frozen) – OUR PICK!
“The Moon Song” (Her)
“Ordinary Love” (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Are we even having this debate? Let It Go is already a Disney classic, performed by gay favourite Idina Menzel. We couldn’t be more behind it if it was a float on a pride parade. In fact, everybody else can go home. However, at the Golden Globes, U2 won this for Ordinary Love. You know, that song no one has heard of, from the Mandela film no one watched? We’re not sure what kind of politics were at play there, but if there’s a repeat of that, our leader Ellen will freeze the place out, Elsa style – we’ve got that in writing. Regardless, we’ll have the joy of seeing Idina sing it on the night. Fun!

The 86th Academy Awards take place this Sunday (March 2).