BEST ACTOR
Daniel Cohen:
Predictions: Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Analysis: Per usual, this is one of the most difficult awards to predict. Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne are locks. Steve Carell is basically a lock, but for some reason I’m a bit nervous on this one. Carell has lost a lot of steam in this race, but I’d be completely flabbergasted if he was denied a nomination here. There are four people vying for those last two spots: Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), David Oyelowo (Selma), and Jake Gyllenhaal. I know many disagree, but I think Cumberbatch is out. The competition is too tight, and Cumberbatch has a lot of franchise baggage to shed. He’s too much the new kid on the block. I’m going to remain consistent with my American Sniper momentum train and declare Bradley Cooper the big upset call as a nomination. That leaves the final spot for Oyelowo or Gyllenhaal. Man, this is close. At the end of the day, Gyllenhaal’s performance is just too damn good to be ignored, and the fact that he got the SAG nomination, and Oyelowo did not is the final clincher for me.
Bill Bodkin:
Predictions: Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), David Oyelowo (Selma), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Analysis: Holy crap this was tough. Cooper is going to come in as the “surprise” of sorts, but I mean American Sniper is getting nominated on his back and he’s a veteran of the Oscars already and many thought he got gipped not winning for Silver Linings Playbook. Oyelowo definitely gets the nom here – Brad Pitt sang his damn name at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards, come on, it’s a lay-up. Redmayne and Keaton are also locks. Carrell, will be here, but that loss to Redmayne did hurt what looked like a shoe-in. This leaves Cumberbatch who’s getting a mountain of praise out, which will be a true shame. Gyllenhaal had a lot of juice earlier this year but Nightcrawler really failed to resonate with people outside of the opening weekend.
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