It all comes down to this weekend. Variety’s Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider break down the Oscar categories one last time and share their latest predictions on this week’s edition of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit podcast.
It’s a mega roundtable of the podcast, as the team goes through all the categories and offers their latest thoughts. Will “Everything Everywhere All at Once” sweep the night away? Or are there surprises waiting for you? Listen as you fill your desk’s Oscar pool:
Here are some of the potential wins the team is looking for:
Jenelle Riley hopes to see ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ star Michelle Yeoh win best actress. “It’s been almost a year since I saw this fabulous performance and I’m counting the days until Yeoh wins an Oscar and goes down in history as the first Asian woman to win in the category,” Riley said. . “My handkerchiefs are ready.”
Riley also predicts that ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ will win an adapted screenplay – but she dreams of a win for ‘Women Talking’. “While I wish ‘Women Talking’ had received more love from Academy voters, a win for Sarah Polley’s excellent screenplay will be cause for encouragement,” she says.
Jazz Tangcay says it’s hard not to pick ‘Everything, Everywhere, At The Same Time’ star Ke Huy Quan’s win as supporting actor as ‘something I’d love to see happen’ Oscar Sunday. His story is indeed beautiful, the stuff of which Hollywood dreams are made. Last year was a trip to see him back on screen and hear how after “Crazy Rich Asians” he had a sense of FOMO.
“He’s been one of the nicest people on the tour this season, so humble and kind, but also so deserving of every win,” she adds. “He’s my top pick as a supporting actor, and I can’t wait to grieve with the world when he wins.”
And in cinematography, Tangcay is pushing for a win for DP “Elvis” Mandy Walker. Such a win, she notes, “would go down in history as the first woman to win the Oscar for film. It’s been 95 years, and who better to land in the history books than the DP behind ‘Mulan’, ‘Australia’ and ‘Hidden Figures’,” she notes.
Michael Schneider shoots for an “everything everywhere all at once” sweep. And he promises to finish watching all the great movies. But he’s already ready to talk TV. Will more people watch ‘The Last of Us’ season finale or the Oscars on Sunday night?
And then there are Clayton Davis’ picks. Here’s who he predicts will win:
Best Picture: “Everywhere Everywhere All at once”
Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere Everything at once”
Actor:Austin Butler, “Elvis”
Actress: Michelle Yeoh, “Everywhere All at Once”
Supporting actor: Ke Huy Quan, “Everywhere Everywhere All At Once”
supporting actress: Kerry Condon, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Original screenplay: “Everywhere Everywhere All at once”
Adapted scenario: “Women who speak”
Animated feature: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
production design: “Babylon”
Cinematography: “In the west, nothing is new”
costume design: “Elvis”
Film editing: “Top Gun: Maverick”
Make-up and hairstyle: “Elvis”
Her: “Top Gun: Maverick”
Visual effects: “Avatar: The Way of the Water”
Original score: “The Fabelmans”
original song: “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”
Documentary feature film: “Navalny”
International feature: “In the west, nothing is new”
Animated short film: “The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse”
Documentary short film: “The Elephant Whisperers”
Live action short film: “An Irish goodbye”
The 95th Oscars, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air live from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Sunday, March 12 at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT, on ABC.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, who also co-hosts with Clayton Davis, is your one-stop-shop for lively conversations about the best in film and TV. Each week, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much more. Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you download podcasts. New episodes released every week.