Oscar night is right around the corner, so we headed over to Ogden 6 to get some hints about who might be going home with the gold.
At this year’s 89th Academy Awards, though dramas fill up the docket, most feel that this will be the year of the musical; including Mark Mazrimas, Marketing Manager for Classic Cinemas.
“My pick really is La La Land,” he predicted. “There has not been a musical to win Best Picture, so look for La La Land when they open the envelope.”
With 14 nominations, the toe tapping film is tied for the most of all time, and Mazrimas thinks lead Emma Stone is sure to win in the Best Actress category. But when it comes to lead actor, Ryan Gosling might find he’s singing the blues.
“My guess is that Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea or Ryan Gosling for La La Land,” says Mazrimas, adding, “I think Manchester by the Sea, Casey Affleck wins.”
And he predicts that film, a story about an uncle returning to care for his orphaned nephew, will take Best Screenplay as well.
In the fields of Best Supporting Actress and Actor, there are a wide variety of choices.
Mazrimas notes, “We have a lot of diversity in the nominations this year, which is good. I think we have seven of the acting categories are minority based.”
But it’s a major talent that seems to be the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress.
“My guess here is that Viola Davis for Fences. She won a Tony already for doing this on Broadway with Denzel Washington,” says Mazrimas. “It’s her third time nominated so I think this is her year to win, and probably the biggest lock I see in the nominations.”
And for Best Supporting Actor, it’s a star in a western heist film that he thinks will steal the win.
“I’ll go with the sentimental choice, I’ll go with Jeff Bridges,” says Marzrimas. “Plus I really loved Hell or High Water. A small film that found an audience and I thought was one of the best films of the year.”
Another of his favorites has a very different type of plot, and look, but he thinks will ride off with a win.
“To me, Zootopia was one of my favorite movies of the year, not just animated, just movies I saw,” he shares. “So I’m going to go with Zootopia for Best Animated Feature.”
Wrapping up the top categories is Best Director, and this could be a year when top director is in perfect harmony with top picture.
“I think Damien Chazelle is going to be the winner here, his La La Land is an ode to Hollywood musicals,” says Mazrimas, “so I think he’s going to be recognized.”
First time host Jimmy Kimmel will provide the play-by-play, in a night filled with the brightest stars in Hollywood.
And if you’d like to make some guesses of your own, Classic Cinemas has a predict the Oscars contest. Just fill in your picks before February 25 and get a chance for some great prizes of your own.
Naperville News 17’s Kim Pirc reports.
