Oscar winners 2017

So there you have it – despite the entire world thinking La La Land would win Best Picture … and then that it had won Best Picture – the biggest surprise of the night must have been Moonlight taking the top award.  I don’t think many people saw that coming.  That said, La La Land was still the biggest winner on the night, taking home 6 Oscars in total, which ain’t bad.  But I know the real question on everyone’s lips is – how many of my predictions did I get correct?!

When the smoke cleared I got 8 out of 10 correct, which is an improvement on last year’s 7/10 (and I doubt many people got 10/10 this year with Moonlight’s surprise win)…

Best picture winner – Moonlight

My Prediction – La La Land.

I think the entire world thought La La Land had this in the bag, so it was no surprise when it was announced the winner … but in possibly the biggest Oscar fiasco ever, Moonlight was belated declared the winner, much to (I think) everyone’s surprise.

Best actress winner – Emma Stone (La La Land)

My Prediction – Emma Stone for La La Land.

I thought there was a slim chance Natalie Portman might be a dark horse, but this was Emma Stone’s night, especially as she was briefly the winner of “Best Picture” too!

Best actor winner – Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

My Prediction – Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea.

I really began to doubt myself thinking that Denzel Washington would steal this, but my initial gut prediction turned out to be correct (phew!).

Best supporting actress winner – Viola Davis (Fences)

My Prediction - Viola Davis for Fences.

I thought Viola Davis was a shoo-in for the Oscar, and she was!

Best supporting actor winner – Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

My Prediction – Mahershala Ali for Moonlight.

I’m really happy for Mahershala Ali, as he’s an actor that I’ve loved for years.  I particularly admire the way his career has combined critically acclaimed “highbrow” projects like Moonlight and House of Cards, alongside great genre-work in things like Luke Cage, The Hunger Games and the hugely underrated The 4400.

Best director winner – Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

My Prediction – Damien Chazelle for La La Land.

I thought Damien Chazelle couldn’t lose, and although La La Land missed out on Best Picture, Damien Chazelle has become the youngest winner of the Best Director Oscar.

Best adapted screenplay winner – Moonlight (Barry Jenkins and Alvin McCraney)

My Prediction – Moonlight (Barry Jenkins and Alvin McCraney)

I said at the time my guess was an absolute shot in the dark … but it paid off!

Best original screenplay winner – Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan)

My Prediction – Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan)

I thought Manchester by the Sea has the momentum behind it, and that was enough for it to take that Oscar.

Best cinematography winner – La La Land (Linus Sandgren)

My Prediction – La La Land (Linus Sandgren)

I was quietly confident about my prediction in this category…

Best costume design winner – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Colleen Atwood

My Prediction – Jackie (Madeline Fontaine)

I said this was probably the hardest category to call this year, and that any of the nominees could potentially take the Oscar, so I wasn’t too surprised not to have got this prediction right.

I’d also like to give a shout out to Zootropolis for winning the Best Animated Film Oscar – after I named it my favourite animated film of 2016!  And to Suicide Squad which, after taking a lot of flak from critics, is now the Oscar winning Suicide Squad, having taken the Best Hair & Make-Up award!