Film Feature: HollywoodChicago.com’s 2016 Oscar Predictions

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WILD CARD

We took assignments on some other individual categories, just to comment upon some favorite gems buried in the mass of Oscar beyond the above-the-line interest.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT (Patrick McDonald)
Will Win: “World of Tomorrow” Don Hertzfeldt
Should Win: “World of Tomorrow”
Should Had Been Nominated: “Chasm” Joel Benjamin

I mention this category because I was privileged to see all the nominees, and “World of Tomorrow” is one of the best films of the entire year. It meditates on the meaning of life, through a toddler’s meeting with her future self – it’s funny and futuristic, with true poignancy being the outcome. It’s worth the four buck rental on Vimeo, click here. “Chasm” is from director/animator Joel Benjamin – and I’ve seen a couple of his works at the Chicago International Film Festival. He is a future pick for this category.

World of Tomorrow, Directed by Don Hertzfeldt
Photo credit: Bitter Films

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (Spike Walters)
Will Win: “The Big Short” Adam McKay and Charles Randolph
Should Win: “The Big Short”
Should have been nominated: “Steve Jobs” Aaron Sorkin

It’s criminal that Aaron Sorkin wasn’t nominated for his best work since The Social Network. Something about the emerging ways of technology seems to bring out the best in him. The team behind the Big Short deserves special kudos though because they took a complicated subject and made it into a movie without sacrificing what made the book so fascinating in the first place.

Steve Carell in ‘The Big Short’
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

ODDS FOR THE REST

To complete the rest of the categories, here are the latest odds for each…

BEST SCREENPLAY
Spotlight 1/14
Inside Out 13/2
Bridge Of Spies 16/1
Ex Machina 25/1
Straight Outta Compton 25/1

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Son Of Saul 1/20
Mustang 7/1
Embrace Of The Serpent 25/1
A War 25/1
Theeb 33/1

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Inside Out 1/100
Anomalisa 20/1
Shaun the Sheep Movie 33/1
Boy & the World 66/1
When Marnie Was There 66/1

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Ave Maria 8/11
Shok 2/1
Stutterer 3/1
Day One 12/1
Everything Will Be Okay 16/1

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Til It Happens To You - The Hunting Ground 4/11
Writings On The Wall - Spectre 7/2
Earned It - 50 Shades Of Grey 6/1
Simple Song 3 - Youth 7/1
Manta Ray - Racing Extinction 20/1

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Amy 1/5
Cartel Land 7/2
The Look of Silence 16/1
What Happened Miss Simone? 50/1
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom 66/1

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Body Team 12 11/10
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah 11/10
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness 7/1
Last Day of Freedom 20/1
Chau Beyond the Lines 20/1

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Hateful Eight 1/8
Star Wars: The Force Awakens 4/1
Bridge Of Spies 20/1
Carol 25/1
Sicario 33/1

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Revenant 1/25
Mad Max: Fury Road 17/2
Sicario 33/1
Carol 33/1
The Hateful Eight 50/1

BEST FILM EDITING
Mad Max: Fury Road 1/4
The Big Short 9/4
Spotlight 14/1
The Revenant 14/1
Star Wars: The Force Awakens 50/1

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Star Wars: The Force Awakens 1/2
Mad Max: Fury Road 6/4
The Revenant 10/1
The Martian 33/1
Ex Machina 40/1

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Mad Max: Fury Road 4/6
Cinderella 2/1
Carol 5/1
The Danish Girl 14/1
The Revenant 14/1

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Mad Max: Fury Road 1/10
The Revenant 10/1
The Danish Girl 12/1
The Martian 14/1
Bridge Of Spies 16/1

BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIR STYLING
Mad Max: Fury Road 1/5
The Revenant 3/1
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared 25/1

BEST SOUND EDITING
Mad Max: Fury Road 4/7
The Revenant 11/8
Star Wars: The Force Awakens 11/1
The Martian 25/1
Sicario 80/1

BEST SOUND MIXING
Mad Max: Fury Road 8/11
The Revenant 6/5
Star Wars: The Force Awakens 16/1
The Martian 40/1
Bridge Of Spies 80/1

CLICK HERE for the 10 Best Films of 2015 by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com.

CLICK HERE for the 10 of 2015’s Worst Films by Patrick McDonald and Spike Walters of HollywoodChicago.com.

CLICK HERE for the 20 Best interviews of 2015 by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com.

By PATRICK McDONALD Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com