2016 Oscar Predictions (UPDATE: Winners are highlighted in blue)

I've seen all of the Best Picture Nominees (Reviews of 2016 Best Picture Nominees) plus some of the others nominated for other awards (Inside Out, Joy, Creed, Carol, Steve Jobs, and The Danish Girl), so I am ready to make my predictions. I feel pretty confident about these with Best Picture being the toughest to predict. So here they are, my 2016 Oscar predictions along with who I personally would pick to win if I was voting.

UPDATE: Winners are highlighted in blue. I was 6 for 8 with my predictions.

Best Picture

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

PREDICTION: The Big Short
MY CHOICE: Brooklyn

So many great movies here (and one big turd, Mad Max)! My personal favorite is Brooklyn, but my predicted winner is The Big Short.

Best Director

Adam McKay – The Big Short
George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson – Room
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight

PREDICTION: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
MY CHOICE: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

How is Ridley Scott NOT nominated for The Martian (and George Miller IS nominated for Mad Max!)? Anyway...I think Iñárritu wins again.

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston – Trumbo as Dalton Trumbo
Matt Damon – The Martian as Mark Watney
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant as Hugh Glass
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs as Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl as Lili Elbe / Einar Wegener

PREDICTION: Leonardo DiCaprio
MY CHOICE: Leonardo DiCaprio

Leo is overdue and he will finally win.

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett – Carol as Carol Aird
Brie Larson – Room as Joy "Ma" Newsome
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy as Joy Mangano
Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years as Kate Mercer
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn as Eilis Lacey

PREDICTION: Brie Larson
MY CHOICE: Brie Larson

Everything about Brie Larson's performance is spot-on.

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale – The Big Short as Michael Burry
Tom Hardy – The Revenant as John Fitzgerald
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight as Michael Rezendes
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies as Rudolf Abel
Sylvester Stallone – Creed as Rocky Balboa

PREDICTION: Sylvester Stallone
MY CHOICE: Mark Ruffalo

As great as Sly is, Ruffalo is the emotional centerpiece of Spotlight. But I think Stallone will actually win.

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight as Daisy Domergue
Rooney Mara – Carol as Therese Belivet
Rachel McAdams – Spotlight as Sacha Pfeiffer
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl as Gerda Wegener
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs as Joanna Hoffman

PREDICTION: Alicia Vikander
MY CHOICE: Alicia Vikander

Before I saw The Danish Girl, I personally thought McAdams should win. But then I did see The Danish Girl and Vikander is spectacular in it.

Best Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies – Matt Charman, Joel Coen, and Ethan Coen
Ex Machina – Alex Garland
Inside Out – Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, and Ronnie del Carmen
Spotlight – Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer
Straight Outta Compton – Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, and Alan Wenku

PREDICTION: Spotlight
MY CHOICE: Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short – Adam McKay and Charles Randolph from The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Brooklyn – Nick Hornby from Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
Carol – Phyllis Nagy from The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
The Martian – Drew Goddard from The Martian by Andy Weir
Room – Emma Donoghue from Room by Emma Donoghue

PREDICTION: The Big Short
MY CHOICE: The Big Short