After a year of virtual film festivals, shuttered theaters, and Covid-delays, it’s finally time for Hollywood to crown the best movies of 2020(ish) via handing out Academy Awards at the 93rd Oscars. On Sunday at 5 pm, Steven Soderbergh will produce a real live actual in-person awards ceremony in Los Angeles (and maybe a few satellite locations for those unable to cross the pond and quarantine). Below, we prognosticate on who will win the major awards and opine on who would get our votes if we were magically granted membership in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Best Picture

Nominees: 

• The Father 
• Judas and the Black Messiah 
• Mank 
• Minari 
• Nomadland 
• Promising Young Woman 
• Sound of Metal
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 

Josh:  All of the tea leaves (guilds, critics, etc.) strongly point to Nomadland taking the top prize. That’s also where my heart is: it was my favorite movie of 2020 and I hope it wins. Unlike previous years with a hero vs. villain undercurrent, I honestly would be pretty pleased with any of these taking the prize at the end of the night (a Minari surprise would be especially sweet). 

However, I’d say that anyone looking for spoilers to differentiate your ballot, could look toward Promising Young Woman making a last-minute surge as an “edgy” socially-relevant choice or in the most traditional Academy members throwing their weight behind The Trial of the Chicago 7. Sorkin’s behemoth did win the Screen Actors Guild’s “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble” (which often rewards the most acting and the largest casts), but before you get too far ahead of yourself, just remember that Nomadland wasn’t eligible because most of its cast aren’t in SAG-AFTRA. 

Jenn:  Yeah that’s about the size of it. Personally, I make it a goal of mine each year to watch every single feature film that has been nominated in any category of the Academy Awards. This year I’m very close to crossing all 41 such films off my list; I’m down to just two exceptions currently outstanding. Unfortunately those two exceptions are both Best Picture nominees: The Father and Minari. Both are still only available as $20 digital rentals, which just feels unconscionable to me (a single person on a limited budget and almost infinite access to streaming services competing for my screen time). I feel mostly indifferent about The Father (I’m sure it’s fine), but I already know Minari is going to be so much my thing I really considered shelling out…but then I realized I could pre-order the blu-ray, and own it forever, for about the same price as just getting access to stream it for a couple of days. So I did that – my Minari blu-ray arrives next month and I know I’m going to love it – but as of this weekend’s deadline of the Oscars ceremony, I still have yet to see it. (Dang it!!) Honestly I’m rooting for Minari and want it to win everything, but that feels disingenuous without having even seen it yet, so I’m throwing my personal-preference weight behind what (at least until I see Minari) still remains my favorite film of last year: Sound of Metal. Nomadland is the obvious lock, and I did like that one quite a bit as well, although I was surprised to find a few off-putting things about it (like its uncritical depiction of Amazon that even sorta looks like an endorsement) that kept me from loving it as much as I personally expected to. 

Josh: I’m surprised that Minari is still at the premium price point. I paid to see it at a film festival and it was definitely worth it!

Morgen: I’m surprised at this as well, but maybe they’re bracing themselves for the inevitable plummet in views if they don’t end up winning many (or any) awards this year. I agree with Jenn on all counts, I know this is going to be a film I will absolutely love, but I just can’t justify $20 for a limited-time solo viewing. It’s at the top of my list and bet your booty I’ll be watching it soon.

Chase: I am a person who thinks that Nomadland is the obvious favorite that should win and still remain interested in the criticisms of how it depicts Amazon. I am of the perspective that it actually is more critical than people give it credit for as the company still tosses the seasonal workers to the side when they don’t need them. I wrote about that underlying tragedy as I think it shows how the characters, even with their personal grit and optimism, still are being systematically exploited by companies like Amazon. I would be fine with a Sound of Metal win, though I still think Nomadland has value in the conversation and offers up a unique portrait of people trying to pick up their pieces of their lives in the aftermath of economic devastation. 

Morgen: I decided to abstain from suggesting who I think should win since my viewing did not include many of the nominees this year. I want to throw out a mention for Judas and the Black Messiah. Yes, I’m highly interested in BLM-related films, but more importantly the fact that a film like this made into this category is something to be celebrated. Until the last year or two, this subject-matter, especially the way in which its portrayed in this film, would cause a hell of a lot of pearl clutching and very little acclaim. Representation matters.

Best Director

Nominees: 

• Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round)
• David Fincher (Mank) 
• Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) 
• Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) 
• Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) 

	Chase	Jenn	Josh
Will Win	Chloé Zhao	Chloé Zhao	Chloé Zhao
Should Win	Chloé Zhao	Chloé Zhao	Chloé Zhao

Josh: See above, all signs point to Chloé Zhao claiming a well-deserved win here, which would make her only the second woman to be recognized with an Oscar for Best Directing. I can’t think of anyone who makes movies like her and will view her win as nothing short of triumphant.  

Jenn:  And the very first woman of color (she’s the first even ever nominated)! Despite how imperfect I found Nomadland, I do want this win for Zhao.

Chase:  Chloé Zhao for Nomadland  is the easy lock again. I personally think her prior film, The Rider, is better put together as a whole, but her winning for Nomadland is still something I can get behind. 

Josh: I was fully dazzled by The Rider but think that the blend of professional and non-professional actors here also serves to convey deeper truths is an astonishing achievement.

Actor in a Leading Role (Female)

Nominees: 

• Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) 
• Andra Day (The United States v. Billie Holiday) 
• Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman) 
• Frances McDormand (Nomadland) 
• Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) 

	Chase	Jenn	Josh
Will Win	Andra Day	Frances McDormand	Carey Mulligan
Should Win	Frances McDormand	Carey Mulligan	Frances McDormand

Josh: I have no idea whatsoever! Viola Davis had the greatest transformation, which is often loved by the Academy, and just won the SAG award for this category. If I were gambling, though, given the wide support for the film and her integral role in its success I’d probably go with Carey Mulligan here just to differentiate my ballot. While a Nomadland sweep of so many top categories would be boring, I can also see Frances McDormand riding its wave to become one of the few actors to win three Oscars for leading roles. It’s impossible to imagine Nomadland working without her deeply empathetic performance that also served as the audience’s avatar into this world. Leo ate a buffalo liver to win his first Oscar, Frances shat in a bucket and worked on a beet farm to win her third. She’d get my vote. 

Jenn:  This one feels like it could be anyone’s game (except Vanessa Kirby’s). My personal favorite performance of this group was from Carey Mulligan, showing off so many modes in such a short span and feeling natural and heightened all at the same time. I do think the Nomadland sweep is possible so that’s my guess, but it’s an uncertain one. 

Chase:  I think Andra Day is likely to pull off the win. After winning The Golden Globe, I think she has a lot going for her even as I really don’t care for the film itself. I similarly think Carey Mulligan was the best of Promising Young Woman, though I would love to see Frances McDormand sneak in for the top spot.  

Actor in a Leading Role (Male)

Nominees: 

• Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) 
• Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) 
• Anthony Hopkins (The Father) 
• Gary Oldman (Mank) 
• Steven Yeun (Minari) 

	Chase	Jenn	Josh	Morgen
Will Win	Riz Ahmed	Chadwick Boseman	Chadwick Boseman	Chadwick Boseman
Should Win	Riz Ahmed	Riz Ahmed	Riz Ahmed	Chadwick Boseman or Gary Oldman

Josh: A posthumous Oscar for Chadwick Boseman feels like the closest thing to a lock on this year’s ballot. But I was less enchanted with the stage-to-film adaptation of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom than others and wouldn’t mind seeing a surprise win for Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal. 

Chase:  I am calling it now, Riz Ahmed upset is coming. He won the Spirit Award, which threw everything up in the air. Boseman’s legacy is still a remarkable one and his final role another fantastic performance. I still think there is a good chance that Ahmed takes it as he gave an absolutely stunning and career best performance. 

Morgen: I know there’s a lot of mixed feelings about Mank. I loved it. The story behind Citizen Kane fascinates me, from the drama of true-to-life ties to the screenplay to the cutting room floor filling mere hours before it was to be released. It has a delicious old Hollywood in aesthetic and feel (if you ignore the misogyny, racism and classism of course), and somehow as he always does, Gary Oldman works his magic to bring this story to life. That being said, while Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom wasn’t my favorite of the year, Boseman put on a snarky, sly and winning performance, so either of these fellas would be worthy of the win.

Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)

Nominees: 

• Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) 
• Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy) 
• Olivia Colman (The Father) 
• Amanda Seyfried (Mank) 
• Yuh-jung Youn (Minari) 

	Chase	Jenn	Josh
Will Win	Yuh-jung Youn	Yuh-jung Youn	Yuh-jung Youn
Should Win	Yuh-jung Youn	Maria Bakalova	Maria Bakalova

Josh: Don’t get me wrong — I will be thrilled when Yuh-jung Youn completes her barnstorming tour of awards shows with another phenomenal acceptance speech (who will she sweetly roast next?!). She’s the heart of Minari and that film needs some recognition at these awards. Still, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is nothing without Maria Bakalova’s truly daring high-wire performance. There has to be some reward for spending time in a hotel room with Rudi Giuliani, right?

Jenn:  As long as we leave Hillbilly Elegy out of it I’m cool (sorry Glenn Close, it’s not your time).

Chase:  Agreed, Hillbilly Elegy would be the worst case scenario. I am always for comedic performances sneaking in so Bakalova could pull it off. However, I think Yuh-jung Youn balances both comedy and drama in a really nuanced role that still sticks with me. 

Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)

Nominees: 

• Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7) 
• Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) 
• Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami) 
• Paul Raci (Sound of Metal) 
• Lakeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah)

	Chase	Jenn	Josh	Morgen
Will Win	Daniel Kaluuya	Daniel Kaluuya	Daniel Kaluuya	Daniel Kaluuya
Should Win	Paul Raci	Paul Raci	Paul Raci	Daniel Kaluuya

Josh: I’d love to see Paul Raci win this, but it’s going to Daniel Kaluuya whose Fred Hampton really should have been the lead in Judas and the Black Messiah. 

Jenn:  Yeah it’s nuts that Judas ran both those guys as Supporting. A film without a lead actor, they’re claiming??

Chase:  This is the most head scratching category where I pretty much like all of them and am similarly baffled by how they were categorized. Paul Raci still gave my favorite monologue in his final scene in the Sound of Metal so I am pulling for him even as Kaluuya, who also gave a fantastic performance, is likely to take it. 

Morgen: I totally agree with my fellow Sunbreakers, I have no idea why they would do both actors such a disservice. While it may have been a hard decision or politics involved, it’s a shame. I didn’t have a chance to catch Sound of Metal so most likely my pick is biased; I hope to remedy that very soon, but Kaluuya put together a powerful heart-rending performance so I won’t lament the decision if he wins.

Screenplay (Original)

Nominees: 

• Judas and the Black Messiah. (Screenplay by Will Berson, Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny Lucas, Keith Lucas)
• Minari (Lee Isaac Chung) 
• Promising Young Woman (Emerald Fennell) 
• Sound of Metal (Screenplay by Darius Marder, Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder, Derek Cianfrance)
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin) 

	Chase	Jenn	Josh
Will Win	Promising Young Woman	Promising Young Woman	Promising Young Woman
Should Win	Minari	Promising Young Woman	Minari

Josh: Original screenplay feels like the spot where the Academy awards the kids who are still too cool to win the big awards; so this might be where Promising Young Woman gets its prize. This is a point of widespread disagreement, but I thought that Promising Young Woman lost its way in the last act and Minari is far and away my favorite of these nominees, so if I were in the Academy, Lee Isaac Chung would get my vote.

Jenn:  I really loved Promising Young Woman so I’m very happy with that one as the frontrunner here. I suspect I’d be putting Minari in the “Should Win” column if I’d gotten to see it by now. Would be fun to have “Oscar winners the Lucas Brothers” out there in the world, but I don’t see that happening this week. Despite my well-described love for Sound of Metal, I don’t see its screenplay as its strongest aspect, so I’m ok to let that one slip by for it.

Chase:  This is where my frustration for Promising Young Woman can’t be ignored anymore. I am of the thought that the ending of the film undid almost everything that the rest of the story had going for it. What could and should have been a deeply disturbing conclusion flinches in a bizarre cop-out, pun intended. With that being said, I would still rather see that win than The Trial of the Chicago 7. I know Minari won’t win, but I still love it very much with how it writes a delicate story about family. 

Screenplay (Adapted)

Nominees: 

• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. (Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Nina Pedrad)
• The Father, Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller
• Nomadland, Chloé Zhao 
• One Night in Miami, Kemp Powers 
• The White Tiger, Ramin Bahrani 

	Chase	Jenn	Josh
Will Win	Nomadland	Nomadland	Nomadland
Should Win	Nomadland	Nomadland	Nomadland

Jenn:  Guessing this’ll most likely be a part of the impending Nomadland sweep, which is fine with me. Nothing else in this category really screams “Best Screenplay” to me, anyway. I thought Adarsh Gourav did a remarkable job as the lead in The White Tiger, but that’s not the question!

Chase: Nomadland will win this, though I similarly was taken by The White Tiger as well as One Night in Miami and The Father. I just think that the work Zhao did in adapting a very different piece of source material while still holding onto the core humanity of the novel is what makes it the best choice. 

Josh: I get that there’s a Amazon controversy and maybe this is where it shows up. I know that Jessica Bruder’s book was more openly critical, but it’s just hard for me to reconcile how someone can see this movie and think that it’s an endorsement of gig labor just because Fern seems happy to temporarily have a safe place to park and a regular paycheck in a world of isolated uncertainty. In any case, I appreciate Zhao’s choice to situate the film’s point-of-view and deep empathy with its main character (whose own feelings are certainly in conflict with themselves), trusting viewers to do some of their own critical thinking after the credits roll.

Cinematography

Nominees: 

• Judas and the Black Messiah, Sean Bobbitt 
• Mank, Erik Messerschmidt 
• News of the World, Dariusz Wolski 
• Nomadland, Joshua James Richards 
• The Trial of the Chicago 7, Phedon Papamichael 

	Chase	Jenn	Josh	Morgen
Will Win	Nomadland	Nomadland	Nomadland	Nomadland
Should Win	Nomadland	Nomadland	Nomadland	Nomadland

Josh:  Two words: Magic. Hour.

Chase:  Three words: Magic hour hustle. Having seen the behind the scenes work the whole crew of Nomadland had to do to move fast to capture some of those magic hour shots in a very narrow window is worthy of the top award. 

Morgen: Ok ok, I give in on this one. Nomadland was beautiful: the coastal sunsets, Grasslands landscapes, towering redwoods… breathtaking. The natural beauty of this country did most of the heavy lifting but the way Zhao wove it throughout the film making it part of the storyline; a silent but integral character.

Editing

Nominees: 

• The Father, Yorgos Lamprinos
• Nomadland, Chloé Zhao 
• Promising Young Woman, Frédéric Thoraval 
• Sound of Metal, Mikkel E.G. Nielsen 
• The Trial of the Chicago 7, Alan Baumgarten

	Chase	Jenn	Josh
Will Win	Nomadland	Sound of Metal	The Trial of the Chicago 7
Should Win	Nomadland	Sound of Metal	The Father

Josh:  This often goes to the most editing and boy is there a lot of it in The Trial of the Chicago 7. I’d probably give it to The Father, which plays like a horror movie about dementia, largely because of the skillful editing that takes us inside the increasingly confused mind of Anthony Hopkins’s character.

Chase:  Still Nomadland, though I similarly share in the praise for how well The Father puts together the terrifying descent into oblivion felt in an old man’s mind. I think that Nomadland does something similar with time, as scene to scene edits are precisely put together to create a flowing of time where you aren’t ever sure how much time is passing. It is a powerful effect, showing how the flowing of time can slowly pass us by on the road. 

Jenn:  Sound of Metal has been picking up a bunch of the earlier awards-season editing awards which makes it feel like a safe bet. I can’t say I particularly noticed its editing (which I normally do if it’s remarkably good or bad or innovative, but usually don’t when it’s just competent), but ya know I love that bad boi. Guess this is a category in which I’ll sigh about having not yet seen The Father. You know what, there is a film I did notice the editing in (in a good way) that’s in the Oscars mix but not in this category – how’d Da 5 Bloods get overlooked?!

Josh: “How did Da 5 Bloods get overlooked?” is a question I find myself asking in so many of these categories (did that MAGA hat doom Delroy Lindo? And what about Spike Lee? I guess that movie’s early-ish Netflix release may have caused it to get lost in the shuffle).

Original Score

Nominees: 

• Da 5 Bloods, Terence Blanchard 
• Mank, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross 
• Minari, Emile Mosseri 
• News of the World, James Newton Howard 
• Soul, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste 

	Chase	Jenn.	Josh.	Morgen
Will Win	Soul	Soul	Soul	Soul
Should Win	Minari	Soul	Soul	Soul

Josh: Jon Batiste’s jazz contributions to the terrestrial part of Soul’s original score are lovely, but like Tina Fey’s reluctant soul, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s soothing and otherworldly bleep-bloops would keep me living in the Great Before for millenia rather than plunging into an earthly existence, too. 

Jenn:  Totally wild that Reznor and Ross are competing against themselves in the Oscars this year. I’m always a fan of their scores, but one of these two was clearly the standout between them and it was surprisingly not the David Fincher piece. 

Chase:  I think Soul is good, though I found myself listening to Emile Mossesri’s fantastic score in Minari the most. Mosseri has created distinct pieces with every project he works on, the score The Last Black Man of San Francisco remains outstanding, and I will hold out hope Minari will win even as I know it is likely Soul. 

Documentary 

Nominees: 

• Collective, Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
• Crip Camp, Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder
• The Mole Agent, Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez
• My Octopus Teacher, Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster
• Time, Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn

	Chase	Jenn	Josh
Will Win	My Octopus Teacher	My Octopus Teacher	My Octopus Teacher
Should Win	Collective	Collective	Time

Josh:  A small injustice compared to the devastating personal and societal consequences of our country’s shameful plague of mass incarceration, but Garrett Bradley’s breathtaking documentary about Fox Rich’s decades-long quest to get her husband out of prison while raising a family and doing courageous abolitionist work is going to lose to a fucking octopus. If this prize was going to be stolen by a charismatic animal then why not Very Good Dog Birrrrrrrba from the Truffle Hunters, which didn’t even make it off the longlist? 

Jenn:  Yeah, I actually think I’d be equally psyched for any of the other four nominees to take it, but the octopus (and its solipsistic pupil) is the crowd pleaser and obvious front runner here. I’m gonna give my attention here to Collective, which is one of those docs that starts tight and goes wide and takes you on a wild and infuriating ride the whole way.

Chase:  Please not My Octopus Teacher. I know the inevitability is impossible to deny, though I still think that Collective or Time are both more worthy pieces of work. I still think the way Collective unfolds and puts together a horrifying series of revelations undercovered by journalists is the type of documentary filmmaking worth giving the top spot. Honestly, Crip Camp would also be a lovely surprise. 

Josh: A few minutes into Octopus I started imagining another, less sentimental, version with Werner Herzog narration — or even Herzog in conversation with David Attenborough — and that was it for my ability to enjoy whatever it was that this strange movie was going for. 

International Film 

Nominees: 

• Another Round (Denmark) 
• Better Days (Hong Kong)
• Collective (Romania) 
• The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia)
• Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 

	Chase	Jenn	Josh
Will Win	Another Round	Another Round	Another Round
Should Win	Collective	The Man Who Sold His Skin	Quo Vadis, Aida?

Josh: Hot tip: all five of these nominees are available on Hulu, so I’ve caught up with most of them and it’s been a rewarding little run of playing Oscar catch-up. Collective and Quo Vadis, Aida? are both essential films, astonishing and heartbreaking stories about individual tenacity in the face of failures of institutions. One’s also a nominated documentary, the other’s an under-the-radar docudrama, but it’s hard to imagine anything but Another Round claiming this Oscar on Sunday night. It’s a crowd pleaser with much-beloved Mads Mikkelsen at its heart (and exceptional finale), plus Thomas Vinterberg is nominated in the best director category. The Academy likes it, right now it really likes it. 

Jenn:  Yeah, nothing but Another Round has a chance here. I liked that film fine, but wasn’t as bowled over by it as everyone else…as for what I’d prefer to see win, tough call. It’s a super strong field, as this category usually is. What I’d really like to see here is Bacurau, but that didn’t even make the short list. I got a lot out of every film that did, though, and would sincerely recommend them all. I think my favorite of these might be The Man Who Sold His Skin, for its ability to address big issues like the Syrian refugee crisis, posturing in the modern art world, and more while also making for a compelling relationship drama and portrait of a character I really cared about.

Josh: Yeah, my guess is that Bacurau was too openly critical to get Brazil’s endorsement as its official submission.

Chase:  Another Round never really resonated with me either, though I think there is a lot of good stuff going on within it. I still would love to see Collective, yes I know I picked it for the last one too, though I just think it can’t be overstated how courageous of a film it is. It transcends the documentary category.

Animated Feature 

Nominees: 

• Onward (Pixar) 
• Over the Moon (Netflix) 
• A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (Netflix) 
• Soul (Pixar) 
• Wolfwalkers (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS) 

	Chase	Jenn	Josh
Will Win	Soul	Soul	Soul
Should Win	Wolfwalkers	Wolfwalkers	n/a

Josh:  I’m perpetually bad at keeping up with animation and only saw two of them, I was impressed with Soul (largely because it was a pleasant holiday surprise) and was charmed by Wolfwalkers, but that’s not enough homework for me to cast a vote for this category.

Jenn:  I liked all five of these for different reasons, but I don’t think anyone but Soul has a real chance at the trophy, while personally I think Wolfwalkers is the clear standout artistic achievement.

Chase:  Pixar still has a death grip on this category, regardless of the quality of their nominees, it is almost certain Soul will win. I have many problems with the film though I do think it says a lot about ambition and reflects on what makes life valuable in an interesting fashion. It still completely gets lost in the weeds and becomes a bizarre body swapping plot that really poisons much of the middle of the film. Will it win? Absolutely. Should Wolfwalkers be given the top spot? Yes, but that is unfortunately unlikely. 

Quick picks on the (sorry) “below the line” craft categories?  

Josh: I’m guessing that Ma Rainey gets costumes and makeup, but I’d give one or both of those to Emma.’s confectionery delights (but really: anything to avoid having to say Oscar-winning Hillbilly Elegy). In a year when many other big budget movies sat out wide release, it seemed like Mank and TENET might be the titans to beat this awards season. Instead, we might be on track to see the big swinging ambitions of two major auteurs making it out of the ceremony with just one technical award apiece with  Mank’s best shot for its meticulous Old Hollywood production design and TENET realizing that they already won a Visual Effects Oscar. 

Chase: The only one I would add is that Sound of Metal should and will win. Its use of sound is remarkable and makes for a wholly unique experience that puts you in the head of Riz Ahmed’s character so completely that it is overwhelming. Anything else would be a mistake. 

Josh: Agreed, in addition to collapsing the Editing and Mixing categories this year, the Academy made this even easier: “sound” is right there in the name. How can anyone vote otherwise? Finally, to those playing along at home: sorry, you’re going to have to make your own bets for the short films and original songs. With our disregard for these categories, we’ll end with a pre-emptive thank you to Steven Soderbergh for bumping the performances of these to the pre-show — it never made sense to me that a show celebrating the movies burned so much runtime celebrating songs often written for end-credits. 

With that, let’s close down this virtual Oscar pre-func and get back to catching up on any nominees that we missed. Good luck in any Oscar gambling and I look forward to all of us being proven wrong over and over again on Sunday night!