Our Oscar predictions, 2014

By the time the big night rolls around, it always seems like Oscar season has taken an extra long time to wrap up. This year is no different, although the schedule has shifted a bit this year due to the Winter Olympics. Nonetheless, it's hard to mind a long deliberation time when the quality of content you are considering is this high.

This year in film has given us so much quality to celebrate, and literally several of the nominees would be worthy 'Best Pictures' in any given year, despite how it may seem if you are championing a singular selection. Personally, I can't imagine anything besting "Gravity"—a film that contributes more to the art and craft of cinema than any other title in recent years. However, it would be silly of me to discount "12 Years a Slave," "American Hustle" or "Her" as perfectly acceptable titles in the Oscar cannon, should they be bestowed the honor. They are all much better than "Argo," after all.

All three of us—Cameron, Christo and Lucy—have given you our personal picks, be they 'will win' predictions or 'should win'/'want to win'/'should be here instead' favorites. We've abstained from the Documentary and Animated Short categories, as none of us have seen any of these nominees.

[Edit] RESULTS: Christo wins! Though our final picks might have changed by the time the telecast started, the results from our picks below are:

• Cameron: 17 correct, 4 incorrect, 1 abstain
• Christo: 19 correct, 2 incorrect, 1 abstain
• Lucy: 16 correct, 5 incorrect, 1 abstain

Best Picture
"12 Years A Slave"
"American Hustle"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Her"
"Nebraska"
"Captain Phillips"
"The Wolf of Wall Street"
"Gravity"
"Philomena"

• Cameron — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Christo — Will win: "12 Years a Slave"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Lucy — Will win: "12 Years a Slave"  Want to win: "Her"

Best Actor
Bruce Dern - "Nebraska"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "12 Years A Slave"
Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Christian Bale - "American Hustle"
Leonardo DiCaprio - "The Wolf of Wall Street"

• Cameron — Will win: Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"  Should be here: Oscar Isaac - "Inside Llewyn Davis" 
• Christo — Will win: Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"  Should win: Leonardo DiCaprio - "The Wolf of Wall Street"
• Lucy — Will win: Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"  Should win: Leonardo DiCaprio - "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi - "Captain Phillips"
Michael Fassbender - "12 Years A Slave"
Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Bradley Cooper - "American Hustle"
Jonah Hill - "The Wolf of Wall Street"

• Cameron — Will win: Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"  Should be here: John Goodman - "Inside Llewyn Davis" 
• Christo — Will win: Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"  Should win: Michael Fassbender - "12 Years A Slave"
• Lucy — Will win: Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"  Should be here: Paul Dano - "12 Years a Slave"  

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"
Sandra Bullock - "Gravity"
Judi Dench - "Philomena"
Meryl Streep - "August: Osage County"
Amy Adams - "American Hustle"

• Cameron — Will win: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"  Should win: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"
• Christo — Will win: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"  Should win: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"
• Lucy — Will win: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"  Should win: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins - "Blue Jasmine"

Jennifer Lawrence - "American Hustle"
Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years A Slave"
Julia Roberts - "August: Osage County"
June Squibb - "Nebraska"

• Cameron — Will win: Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years A Slave"  Should be here: Rhoda Griffis - "Congratulations!"
• Christo — Will win: Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years A Slave"  Should win: Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years A Slave"
• Lucy — Will win: Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years A Slave"  Should win: Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years A Slave"

Best Animated Film

"The Croods"
"Despicable Me 2"
"Frozen"
"The Wind Rises"
"Ernest & Celestine"

• Cameron — Will win: "Frozen"  Should win: I only saw "Despicable Me 2" and I don't want it to win.
• Christo — Will win: "Frozen"  Should win: "Frozen" 
• Lucy — Will win: "Frozen"  Should win: "The Wind Rises" 

Best Cinematography

"The Grandmaster"
"Gravity"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Nebraska"
"Prisoners"

• Cameron — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Christo — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Lucy — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Inside Llewyn Davis" 

Best Costume Design

"American Hustle"
"The Grandmaster"
"The Great Gatsby"
"The Invisible Woman"
"12 Years a Slave"

• Cameron — Will win: "American Hustle"  Should be here: "Man of Steel"
• Christo — Will win: "American Hustle"  Should win: "American Hustle"
• Lucy — Will win: "American Hustle"  Should be here: "Her" 

Best Director

Alfonso Cuarón - "Gravity"
Steve McQueen - "12 Years A Slave"
Alexander Payne - "Nebraska"
David O. Russell - "American Hustle"
Martin Scorsese - "The Wolf of Wall Street"

• Cameron — Will win: Alfonso Cuarón - "Gravity"  Should win: Alfonso Cuarón - "Gravity"
• Christo — Will win: Alfonso Cuarón - "Gravity"  Should win: Alfonso Cuarón - "Gravity"
• Lucy — Will win: Alfonso Cuarón - "Gravity"  Want to win: Steve McQueen - "12 Years A Slave"

Best Documentary

"The Act of Killing"
"20 Feet from Stardom"
"Cutie and the Boxer"
"Dirty Wars"
"The Square"

• Cameron — Will win: "The Act of Killing"  Should be here: "¡Vivan las Antipodas!"
• Christo — Will win: "The Act of Killing"  Should win: "The Act of Killing"
• Lucy — Will win: "The Act of Killing"   Should win: "The Square"

Best Film Editing

"American Hustle"
"Captain Phillips"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Gravity"
"12 Years a Slave"

• Cameron — Will win: "Gravity"  Should be here: "Upstream Color"
• Christo — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Lucy — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "12 Years a Slave" 

Best Foreign Language Film

"The Broken Circle Breakdown" - Belgium
"The Great Beauty" - Italy
"The Hunt" - Denmark
"The Missing Picture" - Cambodia
"Omar" - Palestine

• Cameron — Will win: "The Great Beauty"  Should be here: "The Past" 
• Christo — Will win: "The Great Beauty"  Should win: "The Great Beauty" 
• Lucy — Didn't see any.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa"
"The Lone Ranger"

• Cameron — Will win: "Dallas Buyers Club"  Should be here: "American Hustle"
• Christo — Will win: "Dallas Buyers Club"  Should be here: "American Hustle"
• Lucy — Will win: "Dallas Buyers Club"  Should be here: "American Hustle"

Best Score

"The Book Thief" - John Williams
"Gravity" - Steven Price
"Her" - William Butler and Owen Pallett
"Philomena" - Alexandre Desplat
"Saving Mr. Banks" - Thomas Newman

• Cameron — Will win: "Gravity" - Steven Price  Should be here: "Upstream Color" - Shane Carruth
• Christo — Will win: "Gravity" - Steven Price  Should win: "Gravity" - Steven Price
• Lucy — Will win: "Her" - William Butler and Owen Pallett  Should win: "Her" - William Butler and Owen Pallett

Best Original Song

"Let it Go" - "Frozen" - Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
"Ordinary Love" - "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" - U2, lyrics by Paul Hewson, aka Bono
"Happy" - "Despicable Me 2" - Pharrell Williams
"The Moon Song" - "Her" - music by Karen O, lyrics by Karen O and Spike Jonze

• Cameron — Will win: "Let it Go" - "Frozen" - Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez  Should win: "Ordinary Love" - U2 (I don't love the song, but I love U2)
• Christo — Will win: "Let it Go" - "Frozen" - Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez  Should win: "The Moon Song" - "Her" - music by Karen O, lyrics by Karen O and Spike Jonze
• Lucy — Will win: "Let it Go" - "Frozen" - Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez  Should win: "The Moon Song" - "Her" - music by Karen O, lyrics by Karen O and Spike Jonze

Best Production Design

"American Hustle"
"Gravity"
"The Great Gatsby"
"Her"
"12 Years a Slave"

• Cameron — Will win: "The Great Gatsby"  Should win: "Her"
• Christo — Will win: "The Great Gatsby"  Should win: "Her"
• Lucy — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"

Best Short Film (Live Action)

"Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)"
"Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)"
"Helium"
"Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)"
"The Voorman Problem"

• Cameron — Didn't see any. 
• Christo — Didn't see any. 
• Lucy — Will win: "The Voorman Problem"  Should win: "Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)"

Best Sound Editing

"All Is Lost"
"Captain Phillips"
"Gravity"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Lone Survivor"

• Cameron — Will win: "Gravity"  Should be here: "Upstream Color"
• Christo — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Lucy — Will win: "Gravity"  Should be here: "Upstream Color"

Best Sound Mixing

"Captain Phillips"
"Gravity"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Lone Survivor"

• Cameron — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Christo — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Lucy — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"

Best Visual Effects

"Gravity"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Iron Man 3"
"The Lone Ranger"
"Star Trek Into Darkness"

• Cameron — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Christo — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"
• Lucy — Will win: "Gravity"  Should win: "Gravity"

Best Adapted Screenplay

"Before Midnight" - Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
"Captain Phillips" - Billy Ray
"Philomena" - Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
"12 Years A Slave" - John Ridley
"The Wolf of Wall Street" - Terence Winter

• Cameron — Will win: "12 Years A Slave" - John Ridley  Should be here: "Short Term 12" - Destin Cretton 
• Christo — Will win: "12 Years A Slave" - John Ridley  Should win: "The Wolf of Wall Street" - Terence Winter
• Lucy — Will win: "12 Years A Slave" - John Ridley  Should win: "The Wolf of Wall Street" - Terence Winter

Best Original Screenplay

"American Hustle" - Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
"Blue Jasmine" - Woody Allen
"Her" - Spike Jonze
"Nebraska" - Bob Nelson
"Dallas Buyers Club" - Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

• Cameron — Will win: "American Hustle" - Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell  Should win: "Her" - Spike Jonze
• Christo — Will win: "Her" - Spike Jonze  Should win: "Her" - Spike Jonze
• Lucy — Will win: "Her" - Spike Jonze  Should be here: "Frances Ha" - Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig