“I think this is a slam dunk for Rami Malek,” insists Pete Hammond (Deadline) about the Best Actor race in our Oscar predictions slugfest. Watch video above or listen to the audio podcast version below.
Pete makes his pick “based on the feeling I get in town from the people I talk to,” he says. “Rami has run a great campaign. He’s been everywhere. He’s very sincere. It’s a great hometown story. He’s from Sherman Oaks.”
Pete believes Glenn Close has been out front for Best Actress ever since she pulled off that upset at the Golden Globes and wowed Hollywood with her heart-tugging acceptance speech. “She wasn’t expected to win there,” Pete notes. “Everybody thought Lady Gaga. Glenn got three standing ovations for that speech!”
Pete and I recorded this Oscar predictions chat a few days before BAFTA where Rachel Weisz prevailed as Best Supporting Actress. Pete’s been picking Weisz to win for some time even though she lost at the Globes, SAG and Critics’ Choice Awards. “A BAFTA win, which she got, was part of my strategy” all along, he asserts.
See Oscar predictions for Best Picture by 30 leading Hollywood pundits. Check out our latest Oscars racetrack odds based upon combining all Experts’ picks. Disagree? Make your predictions here and compete against our Experts and Editors to prove that you are the smartest prognosticator on the planet!
BELOW: Audio podcast version of our chat. Or listen at iTunes, Spotify, Libsyn, Google Play or Stitcher where you can subscribe to our channel.
