The University Observer's editorial team reflect on their top predictions for who will win Hollywood’s high honour at the 97th Academy Awards
Best Actress: Demi Moore (by Film and TV Editor John O’Connor)
Demi Moore’s official Oscar campaign began the moment we heard her say “30 years ago I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress” while winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical last month for The Substance. Since this moment, Moore has become the clear frontrunner and The Substance has slowly been gaining speed all awards season.
Despite not being one of the names seriously considered in the Best Actress race at the beginning of awards season, two major components are playing in Moore’s favour for her to snatch the award. Firstly, if Moore were to win it would become a career win with the Academy deciding to celebrate the actress’ career rather than the individual performance itself. The Academy loves to reward actresses with an empty trophy cabinet and an underappreciated filmography.
Secondly; lack of competition. Other nominees have been embroiled in controversy such as Anora’s lack of intimacy coordinator for Mikey Madison, Karla Sofia Kascon’s deleted tweets and more. Fernanda Torres who also won Best Actress in a Drama at the Golden Globes remains Moore’s biggest competition but I believe the Academy should begin carving Moore’s name onto the Best Actress statuette ahead of the ceremony in March
Best Actor: Timothee Chalamet (by Sports Editor Adam Schmitz)
Timothee Chalamet has joked in recent weeks about how putting on a brave face after losing at awards ceremonies is becoming an annual event for him - but that could be about to change at the 2025 Oscars. Chalamet’s performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown was phenomenal. He showed raw emotion in the scenes around visiting a sick Woody Guthrie; an incredible showing of arrogance when portraying Dylan’s complicated love life; and played the perfect rock star towards the film’s climax at Newport Folk Festival 1995.
Chalamet learned to play guitar and harmonica for the film and in a classic Oscar campaign move, he made sure he was seen visiting Dylan’s old homes - something Academy voters will love. The film is unlikely to win Best Picture, and Edward Norton’s stand out performance will likely lose out to Kieran Culkin - but don’t be surprised to see Timothee Chalamet walk away with the Best Actor Oscar at his second time of asking.
Best Director: Brady Cobert v. Sean Baker (by Head of Reviews Robert Flynn)
A couple of months ago, Brady Corbet’s exceptional direction in The Brutalist seemed more or less a guarantee for the Best Director award at the Academy Awards. The soaring imagery and undeniable visual talent of Corbet is the sort of vision that the Academy very often cannot refuse. However, the director has lost some integral momentum after controversy surrounded the film concerning its use of A.I in the post production process. After winning some imperative precursor awards at the Producers Guild Awards as well as the Directors Guild Awards, it is safe to say that Sean Baker has now successfully stolen his contemporary’s thunder in the final lead up to March. Baker’s direction in Anora is comparatively much more subtle but the director’s unique blend of hilarious and evocative scenes will surely win him the much coveted Best Director award.
Best Picture: Nickel Boys (by OTwo Co-Editor Laura Kiely)
Admitting this won’t vouch for my prediction – but I’ve only seen 5/10 nominated Best Pictures. The one that brings me here is RaMell Ross’s Nickel Boys, adapted from the 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner authored by Colson Whitehead.
Another transparency: I don’t care for the Oscars… not really. And yet I’ll be tuning in this time just for Nickel Boys. It’s maybe once every couple of years that we’re lucky enough to consume a piece of media that permanently alters our critical lens for the better. The aw-ha moment when we discover that - we thought we understood something, but we most certainly did not. Not until now.
Highly credited for its uniquely confrontational POV direction, every image drips with more life than ever seen before in film (Or that I know of…) This is not an easy film to see, but it takes a certain kind of inhumanity to look away. As viewers, we are confronted with something so colossal that we’re almost ready to give up at once– except we don’t. Nickel Boys is not just an expose of the vile shortcomings of humanity, it’s a treatise on how we respond to them. If the Oscars truly endeavour to award meaningful filmmaking – I doubt it can get better than this.