Roll out the red carpet and start writing those acceptance speeches because the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony is rapidly approaching on February 9, 2020, 8:00 PM EST on ABC.. The entertainment world has been buzzing with anticipation to find out who is loved and who is snubbed. 

The nominations list was announced on January 13, with front runners including Joker, with a whopping 11 nominations, as well as Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, 1917, and The Irishman,tied with 10 nominations. 

Sadly, actors like Robert De Niro, Adam Sandler, Willem Dafoe, Awkwafina, and Christian Bale won’t be receiving any Oscar recognition for their performances. There are no female directors nominated for the award of Best Director, which came as a shock. Greta Gerwig, director of Little Women, and Marielle Heller, director of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, rocked the silver screen with their tremendous visions. and should’ve received recognition.

More often than not, women and minorities are overlooked. As much as the entertainment business likes to toot their own horn about just how woke they are, they simultaneously under value these groups every year. 

Voting for the awards works by members of the Academy creating a full ballot ranking in each category. Academy members are sworn to secrecy and are given a specific time-frame to vote.  A film wins when a movie has a majority vote that’s more than 50%. 

Ever since 1929, the glam and glitz of the Academy Awards has served as a means of getting people to watch more movies. The Oscar buzz thrills eager watchers into viewing as many films as they can prior to the ceremony. Here at Lancer Media, we intend to hop on the Oscar bandwagon and throw our hat in the ring as to who we think will take home the gold. 

Best Picture

1917 — Will win

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Joker — want to win

Little Women

Marriage Story

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Parasite 

Ford v Ferrari

1917 has been leading the charge with its Golden Globe wins of Best Score, Best Drama, and Best Director of a Motion Picture followed with its 10 Oscar nominations. The film has artistic visions through its cinematography and set design, even if it’s lackluster script left some viewers wanting more. Its ambitious changes to the form may just be enough to lock it in place for victory. 

Ever since comic books first leaped off their panels and onto the screen, most film industry figures have written them off as not real cinema, looking at a superhero film not as genuine a means of expression, but as a theme park stage show. 

Joker has seen its controversies following its release last October. People feared that its glorification of violence and terrorism may inspire copycat events. Those events never happened.

The film’s heavy themes confront abuse, mental illness, abandonment, neglect, and purpose reflect many real world issues that no one talks about. We’d rather pretend that these issues don’t exist and when someone finally tries to bring them to light, they are tarred and feathered by reviewers. 

The Joker has always been a devilishly mysterious character. His unknown origin made for a gritty rainbow of expression in the film. Under all of the madness and make-up, the Joker’s message of kindness being the shining savior of society  is more often than not overlooked. Giving compassion to people who are suffering instead of casting them aside is how we become stronger. 

Everyone wants to put and end to the real world acts of violence, but if we ignore the warning signs and shun those who bring these issues to light, nothing will get better. We need to be more outspoken on these issues if change is ever going to happen. 

1917’s win would well deserved, but Joker’s win mean something more than just being an exceptional film. 

Best Director

Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite” — want to win

Sam Mendes, “1917” — will win 

Todd Phillips, Joker

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”

Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”

The amount of staging Sam Mendes and his team had to do to make the film’s stage-based performing work for the big screen took months of preparation. The blocking, lighting, cinematography, and sound mixing and editing made for a truly unique viewing experience. 

Bong Joon-ho is 100% in his thriller element. The film is crawling with suspense. Every character interaction and story beat is pulled and its sharp blocking creates well executed organized chaos. Please, just give Joon-ho the gold. 

Best Actor

Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker” — will win

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”

Adam Driver, “Marriage Story” — want to win

Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

Don’t get me wrong, Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as The Joker was hauntingly good, but there was just something so inherently human about Adam Driver’s characterization of Charlie Barber. The moment where Driver broke out into song really hit home for me as we were given the full look into his struggles throughout his long divorce. Driver clearly put his all into this performance. His broad range of emotions, appearing soft and docile one moment yet loud and aggressive the next, was perfectly showcased in Driver’s performance. He’s on his way to becoming one of my favorite actors. 

Best Supporting Actor

Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” — will win/want to win

Al Pacino, “The Irishman”

Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”

Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes”

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”

Brad Pit brings his A-list charm to the role of Cliff Booth, creating a character full of comedy, violence, and mystery with his performance. 

Best Actress

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”

Renée Zellweger, “Judy” — will win

Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story” — want to win

Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”

Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”

Renée Zellweger’s transformative performance as Judy Garner is sure to rack in her first Best Actress Oscar. She’s been swimming in award paradise, with her most recent win at the SAG awards. Scarlett Johansson had an amazing year with Jojo Rabbit, Avengers Endgame, and Marriage Story all receiving critical and box office success. The subtleties Johansson brings to her performance gives her A-list status a human touch, which makes her more admirable as a protagonist. 

Best Supporting Actress

Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” — will win/want to win

Florence Pugh, “Little Women” 

Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”

Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

Laura Dern’s commanding presence in this film has viewers’ eyes locked on her in every scene. This is a well-deserved first-time title for a powerhouse performer.

Of course, these predictions are all opinionated, but we at The Lance would love to here who you think will win. Click the image and put in your predictions into the Google form below for a chance to win a special prize.