The Flickering Myth Oscar Predictions

The Flickering Myth team predict the winners of the Academy Awards....


It's Oscar time again - or the 85th Academy Awards, to be precise - arguably the biggest ceremony of the year. So big, in fact, a reported 100 tons of fake tan is being used for the event. It's in California, by the way. Not Essex.

The team here at Flickering Myth have compiled our assorted brains, Borg-style, to bring you our predictions for the event, with a bit of colour commentary, too.

But first, let's take a look at those nominees...

Best Picture: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Hugh Jackman, Joaquin Phoenix, Denzel Washington

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Emmanuelle Riva, Quvenzhané Wallis, Naomi Watts

Best Director: Amour (Michael Haneke), Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin), Life of Pi (Ang Lee), Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell), Lincoln (Steven Spielberg)

Actor in a Supporting Role: Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Actress in a Supporting Role: Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

...and now here's out esteemed writing team's picks...


Gary Collinson

Best Picture - Argo
Best Actor - Daniel Day Lewis
Best Actress - Jennifer Lawrence
Best Director - Steven Spielberg
Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz
Best Supporting Actress - Anne Hathaway


Oliver Davis

Best Picture - Les Miserables
Best Director - Michael Haneke, Amour
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress - Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Supporting Actor - Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Best Supporting Actress - Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables


Martin Deer



Tom Jolliffe

If DDL doesn't win, I'll eat my hat. I don't have a hat, but I'll purchase one just in case, and a big one. A novelty sized sombrero. And I'll soak it in extra hot tabasco sauce.


Jake Peffer

Best Picture - Argo
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress - Jennifer Lawrence
Best Director - Steven Spielberg
Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz
Best Supporting Actress - Sally Field


Matt Smith

Best Picture - Argo. Though I'd prefer Life of Pi to win, there isn't really a film in this list which, upon winning, would make me scream at the TV in anger. Which I never ever do anyway, that would be insane.

Best Actor - Daniel Day-something or other. I have a personal preference for Joaquin Phoenix, but then again DDL does become his character. Either one of them would do it for me, but let's just drop all pretense and give him the award already to save him the trip.

Best Actress - Emmanuelle Riva, although Naomi Watts and Jennifer Lawrence were both equally fantastic.

Best Director - Tough one to call, but I'll give Spielberg the slight edge over Ang Lee, who is my biased personal preference.

Supporting Actor - That's probably the toughest category for me to pick from. I don't know who it'll go to, but my personal preference is... ah! They're all so good! Just... yeah, just put all your money on that prediction...

Supporting Actress - I Dreamed a Dream. 'Nuff said.


Simon Moore

Right. Taking the plunge. Here are my tentative predictions, carefully prepared after slaughtering some chickens and examining their entrails in my very best voodoo head-dress. Research, ladies & gentlemen. Research.

Best Picture: Argo. Ben Affleck has come a long way since being so bloody awful in Pearl Harbour. Why didn't he grow a beard earlier?

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Daniel Day Lewis. Historical biopic + Anti-Slavery Theme + 'Murica = Oscar Win. The entrails are very clear on this point.

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain. Again, 'Murica wins the war. This time against Bin Laden. And she gets to be the one done got 'im, Sheriff.

Best Director: Benh Zeitlin. The entrails say his is by far the most original and affecting story. Don't look at me like that. When I pick a prediction gimmick, I stick with it.

Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz, for the most polite bounty hunter ever captured on film. Django was a hellishly uneven and overlong film, but one of the year's best performances can't go unsung. Errr also the chicken guts said so.

Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway, because apparently living off porridge and lying in a coffin for hours on end make for a heart-rending rendition of 'I Dreamed A Dream'.

Well, that's who'll win, and why. So the prophecy goes...


Scott Davis

Picture - Zero Dark (ain't seen Argo)
Director - Spielberg
Actor - Jackman
Actress - Lawrence
Sup Actor - Waltz
Sup Actress - Hathaway


Anghus Houvouras

What I think will win: Picture: Argo Actor: Daniel Day Lewis Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (upsetting Chastain) Supporting Actor: Waltz Supporting Actress: Hathaway..... 

Who I'd like to win... Best Picture: Argo Best Actor: Phoenix Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence Supporting Actor: Waltz Supporting Actress: I could give a damn, all the nominees were vastly overrated this year. The Sally Field nomination is a ******* travesty. There's so many phoned in nominations this year. Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Robert Deniro. I wish they'd nominate some talent over some name checking, celebrity baiting actors who have seen far better days and far more nuanced performances.


David Bishop

Best picture - Argo
Best director - Steven Spielberg
Best actor - Daniel Day-Lewis
Best actress - Jennifer Lawrence
Best supporting actor - Tommy Lee Jones
Best supporting actress - Anne Hathaway


Liam Trim

Best Picture - Lincoln
Best director - Steven Spielberg
Best actor - Daniel Day-Lewis
Best actress - Jennifer Lawrence
Best supporting actor - Tommy Lee Jones
Best supporting actress - Anne Hathaway


Jake Wardle

Best Picture - Argo, Best Actor - DDL (These two are lock-ins, surely?)
Best Director - David O. Russell, due to lack of Bigelow + affleck
Best actress - Jennifer Lawrence
Best supporting actor - Tommy Lee Jones, but that one's too close to call
Best supporting actress - Anne Hathaway, obviously


Piers McCarthy

Best Picture - Argo
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress - Emmanuelle Riva
Best Director: Benh Zeitlin. May seem left-field but for what Zeitlin did with such a small budget and unknown actors he accomplished a lot. Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz. Waltz may not get another award so soon after his last win, perhaps. And Tommy Lee Jones was fantastic in Lincoln.
Best Supporting Actress - Anne Hathaway. I think [it] should go to Sally Field (not part of my Les Mis boycott but because Field was wonderful in Lincoln). 


Trevor Hogg