With just days left to go before the 2022 Oscars nominations are announced, Gold Derby editors Marcus James Dixon, Chris Beachum, Daniel Montgomery and Denton Davidson are panicking over their last-minute predictions. (Click on each name to see that editor’s complete picks in all 23 categories.) They recently got together to debate their front-runners and potential spoilers in the four acting races, plus picture and director. Watch the Oscar video slugfest above and be sure to give us YOUR predictions down in the comments section.
For Best Actress, Dixon and Beachum aren’t letting the BAFTA snub of Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) sway them from predicting her to win the Oscar, though Beachum admits she’d be “helped” if her film got in for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Similarly, Montgomery still has Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) at #1 and Davidson thinks Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”) will “keep surprising us” despite them both being snubbed, too. Dixon points out that Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”) is the only leading lady to hit all of the precursors this year.
In Best Actor, Davidson thinks the time is right for Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”) to prevail, particularly as he’s in the Best Picture front-runner. Montgomery goes with odds-on favorite Will Smith (“King Richard”), though he adds, “He needs the SAG Award to cement this.” And Dixon and Beachum both have Andrew Garfield (“tick, tick… Boom!”) at the top of their Oscar lists, thanks in part to his amazing year that includes a supporting turn in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and a spoilery role in a box office heavyweight.
As for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor, the consensus is that Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) will both claim their first career Oscars. The editors agree on most of the other nominees, with potential spoilers including Marlee Matlin (“CODA”), Rita Moreno (“West Side Story”) and Cate Blanchett (“Nightmare Alley”) on the female side and Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”), Mike Faist (“West Side Story”) and Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”) on the male side.
The editors then ruminate over Best Picture and Best Director, with Davidson and Dixon predicting “The Power of the Dog” and its helmer Jane Campion to prevail. Beachum and Montgomery, however, are forecasting a picture/director split with “Belfast” claiming the top prize and Campion winning director. All four pundits also have Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”) in their line-ups, despite him missing out on a DGA Award nomination.
PREDICT the 2022 Oscar nominees through February 8
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