2016 OSCARS: The Winners

Here is the list of winners of the 2016 Oscars. This year I correctly predicted 6 of the top 8 categories correctly. Best Picture for Spotlight took almost everyone by surprise, since no Best Picture had ever occurred with only one other win it (also took home Best Original Screenplay). Mad Max: Fury Road cemented its status as the best film of 2015  with six(!) wins in the technical categories, with The Revenant only managing to win in tree categories when the personality overshadowed the vehicle: Iñárritu for Director (for the second year in a row!), Dicaprio for Best Actor (finally!) and Chivo Lubezki for Cinematography for the third year in a row (Gravity, Birdman, The Revenant).
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Martian, Brooklyn and Carol were all shut out while other Best Picture nominees Room, The Big Short and Bridge of Spies each won one award.

The only other major shock of the night was the surprise win of Sam Smith's execrable Writing's on the Wall winning the Best Song Oscar over Lady Gaga and Dianne Warren's Till It Happens To You.

• Best Picture: Spotlight
• Actor in a Lead Role: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
• Actress in a Lead Role: Brie Larson, Room
• Directing: Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant
• Original Score: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
• Original Song: "Writings on the Wall," Spectre, Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
• Best Foreign Language Film: Hungary, Son of Saul
• Live Action Short Film: Stutterer, Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage
• Documentary Feature: Amy, Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees
• Documentary Short Subject: A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
• Actor in a Supporting Role: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
• Animated Feature Film: Inside Out, Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
• Animated Short Film: Bear Story, Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala
• Visual Effects: Ex Machina, Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
• Sound Mixing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
• Sound Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Mark Mangini and David White
• Film Editing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Margaret Sixel
• Cinematography: The Revenant, Emmanuel Lubezki
• Makeup and Hairstyling: Mad Max: Fury Road, Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
• Production Design: Mad Max: Fury Road, Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson
• Costume Design: Mad Max: Fury Road, Jenny Beavan
• Actress in a Supporting Role: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
• Best Adapted Screenplay: The Big Short, Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
• Original Screenplay: Spotlight, Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy

2016 OSCARS: Nominations Announced!

The nominations for the 2016 Oscars were announced today! Chris Rock will host the 88th Annual AcademyAwards, for the second time in his career, on Sunday February 28, 2016. The Revenant led with 12 nominations, with Mad Max: Fury Road right behind with 10 nominations. The other big story is that all 20 of the nominees in the acting categories are white, and Ridley Scott, the director of The Martian (my pick for best film of the year) did not get nominated for Best Director even though he has never won an Oscar, despite previously making Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise.

Here are the top 8 categories that I usually make predictions about:

Best Picture

• The Big Short
• Bridge of Spies
• Brooklyn
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• The Revenant
• Room
• Spotlight

Best Director

• Alejandro G. Inarritu, "The Revenant"
• Lenny Abrahamson,       "Room"
• Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"
• Adam McKay, "The Big Short"
• George Miller, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Best Actor

• Bryan Cranston, "Trumbo"
• Matt Damon, "The Martian"
• Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"
• Michael Fassbender, "Steve Jobs"
• Eddie Redmayne, "The Danish Girl"

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett, "Carol"
• Brie Larson, "Room"
• Jennifer Lawrence, "Joy"
• Charlotte Rampling, "45 Years"
• Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn"

Best Supporting Actor

• Christian Bale, "The Big Short"
• Mark Ruffalo, "Spotlight"
• Mark Rylance, "Bridge of Spies"
• Sylvester Stallone, "Creed"
• Tom Hardy, "The Revenant"

Best Supporting Actress

• Jennifer Jason Leigh, "The Hateful Eight"
• Rooney Mara, "Carol"
• Rachel McAdams, "Spotlight"
• Kate Winslet, "Steve Jobs"
• Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"

Best Original Screenplay

• Bridge of Spies
• Ex Machina
• Inside Out
• Spotlight
• Straight Outta Compton

Best Adapted Screenplay

• The Big Short
• Brooklyn
• Carol
• The Martian
• Room

I am looking forward to seeing Carol, The Revenant, Room and Bridge of Spies in the near future.