88th Annual Academy Awards Predictions- How I Did

I made the following predictions in the major Oscar categories.  

Best Picture:  The Revenant       Winner:   Spotlight

The Revenant appeared to be rolling toward a Best Picture win after winning Best Director and Best Actor late.    Not to be.     Spotlight won two awards all night including the big one.     This has not happened to a Best Picture winner since 1952's The Greatest Show on Earth.    I thought Spotlight was dead in the water.

Best Actor:   Leonardo DiCaprio      Winner:   Leonardo DiCaprio

This was a foregone conclusion in this category.    DiCaprio won every major acting award since awards season started.    

Best Actress:  Brie Larson       Winner:  Brie Larson.

See Leonardo DiCaprio, only substitute Larson for DiCaprio


Best Supporting Actor:   Mark Rylance       Winner:   Mark Rylance

Sylvester Stallone was a sentimental favorite, but let's face it Rocky Balboa is a role he has played in seven films.     (Soon to be eight, maybe nine).     Stallone's early Golden Globe and Critics Choice wins were not chosen by peers.     These actors did not square off against each other in any peer-voted awards until this one.       All the performances were strong in this category, including Stallone's, but an ostensible lifetime achievement award wasn't to be.    Rylance was a deserving winner. 


Best Supporting Actress:    Kate Winslet       Winner:  Alicia Vikander

Winslet had the early lead with a Golden Globe win, while Vikander won a SAG award for her role in The Danish Girl.     I'm sure it was a tight race, but we don't know who finished second.


Best Director:   George Miller         Winner:  Alejandro G. Inarritu

Mad Max: Fury Road went on a tear in the technical categories.     However, Inarritu won his second consecutive Director's Guild Award two weeks ago and now has his second straight Oscar.     This is the first time since 1950 a director has won back-to-back Oscars and only the third time ever overall.    The Director's Guild Award is about as close as you can get to predicting an Oscar win in this category.


Best Adapted Screenplay:   The Big Short      Winner:    The Big Short

The screenplay based on Michael Lewis' book used plenty of originality in explaining what and how the characters were trying to make money off of a potential housing market crisis in the mid-2000s.    

Best Original Screenplay:    Straight Outta Compton     Winner:   Spotlight

I predicted this win for Straight Outta Compton as a way for the writers' branch to reflect diversity that wasn't present in the acting branches this year.     Spotlight proved to be too much to overcome with its powerful subject matter.