Who Will Win At The 2020 Oscars, A Year Which Saw The Release Of Films Like Joker, Bombshell, Harriet?

For over 92 years everyone involved in the movie industry has aspired to win the Oscars. Each year people scramble to know who will receive the prestigious Academy Award. While some actors (ahem Joaquin Phoenix), films, directors, etc. may be considered favorites, the awards are full of surprises. 

While nothing is for sure we are free to speculate on what might happen. Here are our predictions for the 2020 Oscars. 

1. Best Directing

Martin Scorsese is an icon among icons and his visually stunning films with excellent stories and stellar performances from iconic actors like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro many would’ve guessed that he is the favorite to win the best director but the competition this year is very tough.   

In fact, it contains the likes of the legendary Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Sam Mendes (1917), and Bong Joon Ho (Parasite), but our pick for best director is The Hangover director Todd Phillips for the dark and grim rendition of the comic book villain, Joker.     

Nominations:

1. Quentin Tarantino: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Bong Joon-ho: Parasite
3. Sam Mendes: 1917
4. Todd Phillips: Joker
5. Martin Scorsese: The Irishman

2. Best Original Screenplay  

Parasite thrilled audiences a lot with its enthralling plot and head-turning performances. The Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood also was a culmination of all things good with cinema. 

In a similar fashion, 1917 made us feel as though watching a one-shot film and being inside one of the trenches in war rather than in a comfy seat in the theatre. Knives Out gave us the best mystery plot of the year.  

Marriage Story brought life into the overdone genre of romantic dramas and is arguably the best film in the genre and it's our pick to win the award. 

Nominations:

1. Quentin Tarantino: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Bong Joon-ho: Parasite
3. Han Jin-won: Parasite
4. Krysty Wilson-Cairns: 1917
5. Rian Johnson: Knives Out
6. Sam Mendes: 1917
7. Noah Baumbach: Marriage Story

3. Best Supporting Actress

The past year saw the release of many films where actresses gave some of the best acting performances of the past decade. The list of nominees includes the likes of Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell) and Laura Dern (Marriage Story). 

Marriage Story might be the best Romance-Drama-Comedy of 2020 and Laura Dern was also scintillating in her role. 

Scarlett Johansson was also in the film as a lead and is nominated for Jojo Rabbit in this category. Florence Pugh in Little Women also stunned audiences.         

Bombshell was arguably the most important film for professional women and it masterfully depicts the horrors of workplace harassment and Margot Robbie should take home the Academy Award in this category even though her character was fictional. 

Nominations:

1. Kathy Bates: Richard Jewell
2. Margot Robbie: Bombshell
3. Scarlett Johanson: Jojo Rabbit
4. Laura Dren: Marriage Story
5. Florence Pugh: Little Women

4. Best Supporting Actor

The list of nominees for this category has all won Oscar awards in the past. 

With Tom Hanks, his identical performance of Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Sir Anthony Hopkins’ pivotal acting in The Two Popes this category’s winner will truly be an actor’s actor.   

Under the direction of Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt gave one of the most entertaining character performances in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. 

Joe Pesci and Al Pacino were both nominated for The Irishman. Pesci has already won Best Supporting Actor for his work on another Martin Scorsese movie, Goodfellas. 

In spite of all this Jimmy Hoffa in the movie was such a quintessentially Al Pacino character in The Irishman that we feel he will win.   

Nominations:

1. Anthony Hopkins: The Two Popes
2. Joe Pesci: The Irishman
3. Al Pacino: The Irishman
4. Tom Hanks: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
5. Brad Pitt: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

5. Best Actress

Actresses in 2019 gave their heart and soul in their performances to bring absolute gold on the big screen. Saoirse Ronan in Little Women portrayed the coming of age character beautifully. Scarlett Johansson was incredible in Marriage Story. 

In fact, Johansson’s acting in the film is considered by many as the most accurate depiction of a woman in a troubled marriage.

Renée Zellweger was almost unrecognizable as she morphed into Judy Garland in Judy and the dramatic scenes of the film are where she really shines. 

The most socially impactful and important films for women, of 2019 though have to be Bombshell and Harriet. Charlize Theron gave a gut-wrenching performance as she portrayed one of the victims, of the Fox News sexual harassment controversy, Megyn Kelly in Bombshell.  

Likewise, Cynthia Erivo also portrayed the vile nature of slavery and a woman slaves struggle to be free as well as carry the abolitionist principles to bring an end to slavery in America. 

For this, she might take the award as her character and performance resonate with almost all audiences. 

Nominations:

1. Charlize Theron: Bombshell
2. Cynthia Erivo: Harriet
3. Saoirse Ronan: Little Women
4. Renee Zellweger: Judy
5. Scarlett Johansson: Marriage Story

6. Best Actor

Most audience members believe that Joaquin Phoenix should just be handed the Oscar for best actor for his role as the mentally ill Arthur Fleck in the grim and dark Joker (2019). 

The film and especially Phoenix’s performance was considered a reflection of our modern society and how we treat others less fortunate than us. 

Our pick is also Joaquin Phoenix but as the saying goes nothing is certain but death and taxes so the presentation of Rick Dalton in the alternate history film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was also Oscar-worthy. 

Similarly, Adam Driver is, in our opinion the toughest competition to Joaquin Phoenix. Driver and his performance in Marriage Story coupled with Scarlett Johansson’s excellent retort give him the best chance to give audiences the upset. 

Nominations:

1. Adam Driver: Marriage Story
2. Jonathan Pryce: The Two Popes
3. Antonio Banderas: Pain and Glory
4. Leonardo DiCaprio: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Joaquin Phoenix: Joker

7. Best Film 

The last year of the 2010's gave us some legendary films, this category is almost always impossible to predict and even presenters get it wrong sometimes like the “La La Land” fiasco. Out of all the nominated films, Joker has the best chance to win. 

More of a character study than a commercial film, Joker broke all sorts of records and became the first R rated film to cross over $1 Billion in earnings. 

Nominations:

1. 1917
2. Ford v. Ferrari
3. Joker
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Parasite
6. The Irishman
7. Little Women
8. Jojo Rabbit
9. Marriage Story

The grand Oscar ceremony is held on 9 Feb 2020 and here we have the list of some of the important winners of the night.

1. Lead Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (JOKER)
2. Supporting Actor Male: Brad Pitt (ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD)
3. Lead Actress: Renée Zellweger (JUDY)
4. Supporting Actor Female: Laura Dern (MARRIAGE STORY)
5. Best Animated Feature Film Of The Year: TOY STORY 4 
6. Achievement In Cinematography: 1917
7. Achievement In Costume Design: LITTLE WOMEN
8. Best Original Screenplay: Bong Joon Ho and Jin Won Han (Parasite)
9. Best Director: Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)
10. Best Film: Parasite