The nominations for the 2020 Academy Awards have been released this morning, and you can see the full list below along with our picks to win. Who would have thought (before seeing it) that JOKER would be up for an Academy Award?! Kind of like how BLACK PANTHER was a surprise entry last year. There’s been some criticism from a lack of female director nominees (all dudes in that category – no Greta Gerwig, no Lulu Wang), and a lack of diversity in the actor/actress noms (with the exception of Cynthia Erivo, but where is Awkwafina?!). PARASITE was nominated for Best Picture, but strangely not THE FAREWELL. Also odd that ROCKETMAN won big at the Golden Globes, but Taron Egerton didn’t get a Best Actor nom, and the movie didn’t get a Best Picture nom… kind of strange. Expect to see a return of the 2016’s #OscarsSoWhite controversy on social media. Still, some great choices this time around, and it’s clear this past year was a good year for films…. who would you pick to win? Noticeable omissions in the Best Picture category include IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD and of course THE FAREWELL. Will 1917 sweep? Maybe JOJO RABBIT or JOKER? Will Joaquin Phoenix finally get his well-deserved Best Actor Oscar?? ABC will broadcast the show live on Sunday, February 9, 2020.
I always note, for what it’s worth, the picks defined below of what we think will win are not necessarily what we think should win, rather what we expect will win…
Best Picture:
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917 – our pick to WIN!
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Lead Actor:
Antonio Banderas – Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver – Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix – Joker – our pick to WIN!
Jonathan Pryce – The Two Popes
Lead Actress:
Cynthia Erivo – Harriet
Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan – Little Women
Charlize Theron – Bombshell
Renee Zellweger – Judy – our pick to WIN!
Supporting Actor:
Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins – The Two Popes
Al Pacino – The Irishman
Joe Pesci – The Irishman
Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – our pick to WIN!
Supporting Actress:
Kathy Bates – Richard Jewell
Laura Dern – Marriage Story – our pick to WIN!
Scarlett Johansson – Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh – Little Women
Margot Robbie – Bombshell
Director:
Martin Scorsese – The Irishman
Todd Phillips – Joker
Sam Mendes – 1917 – our pick to WIN!
Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho – Parasite
Animated Feature:
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – Dean DeBlois – our pick to WIN!
I Lost My Body – Jeremy Clapin
Klaus – Sergio Pablos
Missing Link – Chris Butler
Toy Story 4 – Josh Cooley
Animated Short:
Dcera – Daria Kashcheeva
Hair Love – Matthew A. Cherry
Kitbull – Rosana Sullivan – our pick to WIN!
Memorable – Bruno Collet
Sister – Siqi Song
Adapted Screenplay:
The Irishman – Steven Zaillian
Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi – our pick to WIN!
Joker – Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Little Women – Greta Gerwig
The Two Popes – Anthony McCarten
Original Screenplay:
Knives Out – Rian Johnson
Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
1917 – Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
Parasite – Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han – our pick to WIN!
Cinematography:
The Irishman – Rodrigo Prieto
Joker – Lawrence Sher
The Lighthouse – Jarin Blaschke
1917 – Roger Deakins – our pick to WIN!
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Robert Richardson
Best Documentary Feature:
American Factory – Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar – our pick to WIN!
The Cave – Feras Fayyad
The Edge of Democracy – Petra Costa
For Sama – Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
Honeyland – Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Best Documentary Short Subject:
In the Absence – Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam – our pick to WIN!
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone – Carol Dysinger
Life Overtakes Me – Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
St. Louis Superman – Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
Walk Run Cha-Cha – Laura Nix
Best Live Action Short Film:
Brotherhood – Meryam Joobeur
Nefta Football Club – Yves Piat
The Neighbors’ Window – Marshall Curry – our pick to WIN!
Saria – Bryan Buckley
A Sister – Delphine Girard
Best International Feature Film:
Corpus Christi – Jan Komasa
Honeyland – Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Les Miserables – Ladj Ly
Pain and Glory – Pedro Almodovar
Parasite – Bong Joon Ho – our pick to WIN!
Film Editing:
Ford v Ferrari – Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland – our pick to WIN!
The Irishman – Thelma Schoonmaker
Jojo Rabbit – Tom Eagles
Joker – Jeff Groth
Parasite – Jinmo Yang
Original Score:
Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir – our pick to WIN!
Little Women – Alexandre Desplat
Marriage Story – Randy Newman
1917 – Thomas Newman
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – John Williams
Original Song:
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” – Toy Story 4
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” – Rocketman – our pick to WIN!
“I’m Standing With You” – Breakthrough
“Into the Unknown” – Frozen 2
“Stand Up” – Harriet
Sound Editing:
Ford v Ferrari – Don Sylvester
Joker – Alan Robert Murray
1917 – Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Wylie Stateman
Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker – Matthew Wood, David Acord – our pick to WIN!
Sound Mixing:
Ad Astra – Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulanobr
Ford v Ferrari – Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow
Joker – Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic and Tod Maitland
1917 – Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson – our pick to WIN!
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler and Mark Ulano
Production Design:
The Irishman – Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
Jojo Rabbit – Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
1917 – Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh – our pick to WIN!
Parasite – Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee
Visual Effects:
Avengers: Endgame – Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken and Dan Sudick – our pick to WIN!
The Irishman – Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser and Stephane Grabli
The Lion King – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Elliot Newman
1917 – Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach and Dominic Tuohy
Makeup and Hair:
Bombshell – Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker – our pick to WIN!
Joker – Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou
Judy – Jeremy Woodhead
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil – Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White
1917 – Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole
Costume Design:
The Irishman – Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
Jojo Rabbit – Mayes C. Rubeo
Joker – Mark Bridges
Little Women – Jacqueline Durran – our pick to WIN!
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Arianne Phillips
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
