Sunday, March 4, 2018. It is not my dentist appointment. It is the night when the seventh art celebrates! Yes, Hollywood industries is a more proper term here, still, it is about the cinema and the movies. The 90th Academy Awards will be hosted again by Jimmy Kimmel who hosted last year’s ceremony. The ‘misunderstanding’ with the announcement of Best Picture, is still fresh in our minds, however, everyone – including me - hopes that this time everything will go smoothly.

This year there is no "La La Land" or "Moonlight." There are titles which will be remembered on the 4th of March such as "Dunkirk" and "Darkest Hour." No, it is not about The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Both of the mentioned movies examine the same historical period in the United Kingdom. War movies and biographies are a ‘trap’ for Oscar’s voters. Some of the movies are not yet released in cinemas, nevertheless, they made their presence known at film festivals like Cannes and Venice. Here you can find the most important categories.

And the nominees are:

Best Original Score

  • "Dunkirk" (Hans Zimmer)
  • "Darkest Hour" (Dario Marianelli)
  • "The Shape of Water" (Alexandre Desplat)
  • "Victoria & Abdul" (Thomas Newman)
  • "Call Me By Your Name" (Sufjan Stevens)

Possibilities: "Detroit" (James Newton Howard), "War for the Planet of the Apes" (Michael Giacchino), "Wonderstruck" (Carter Burwell), and "Wonder Woman" (Rupert Gregson-Williams)

Cinematography

  • "The Shape of Water"
  • "Dunkirk"
  • "Darkest Hour"
  • "Blade Runner 2049"
  • "Beauty and the Beast"

Possibilities: "Lady Bird", "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing", "Missouri", "Battle of the Sexes", "Molly's Game"

Best Original Screenplay

  • "The Shape of Water" (Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor)
  • "Darkest Hour" (Anthony McCarten)
  • "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (Martin McDonagh)
  • "Dunkirk" (Christopher Nolan)
  • "Downsizing" (Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor)

Possibilities: "Lady Bird" (Greta Gerwig), "Get Out" (Jordan Peele), "Detroit" (Mark Boal), "The Florida Project" (Sean Baker & Chris Bergoch)

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • "Call Me By Your Name" (James Ivory)
  • "Molly's Game" (Aaron Sorkin)
  • "Mudbound" (Dee Rees & Virgil Williams)
  • "The Beguiled" (Sofia Coppola)
  • "Victoria & Abdul" (Lee Hall)

Possibilities: "First They Killed My Father" (Angelina Jolie & Loung Ung), "War for the Planet of the Apes" (Mark Bomback & Matt Reeves), "Wonderstruck" (Brian Selznick), "Beauty and the Beast" (Stephen Chbosky & Evan Spiliotopoulos)

Best Supporting Actress

  • Mary J. Blige ("Mudbound")
  • Kristin Scott Thomas ("Darkest Hour")
  • Melissa Leo ("Novitiate")
  • Julianne Moore ("Wonderstruck")
  • Octavia Spencer ("The Shape of Water")

Possibilities: Allison Janney ("I, Tonya"), Laurie Metcalf ("Lady Bird"), Holly Hunter ("The Big Sick"), Andrea Riseborough ("Battle of the Sexes")

Best Supporting Actor

  • Sam Rockwell ("Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri")
  • Willem Dafoe ("The Florida Project")
  • Armie Hammer ("Call Me By Your Name")
  • Mark Rylance ("Dunkirk")
  • Jason Mitchell ("Mudbound")

Possibilities: Michael Stuhlbarg ("Call Me By Your Name"), John Boyega ("Detroit"), Michael Shannon ("The Shape of Water"), Richard Jenkins ("The Shape of Water")

Best Actress

  • Jessica Chastain ("Molly's Game")
  • Saoirse Ronan ("Lady Bird")
  • Sally Hawkins ("The Shape of Water")
  • Judi Dench ("Victoria & Abdul")
  • Diane Kruger ("In the Fade")

Possibilities: Frances McDormand ("Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"), Margot Robbie ("I, Tonya"), Emma Stone ("Battle of the Sexes"), Jennifer Lawrence ("Mother!")

Best Actor

  • Gary Oldman ("Darkest Hour")
  • Timothee Chalamet ("Call Me By Your Name")
  • Matt Damon ("Downsizing")
  • Benedict Cumberbatch ("The Current War")
  • Robert Pattinson ("Good Time")

Possibilities: Denzel Washington ("Roman J.

Israel, Esq."), Timothee Chalamet ("Call Me By Your Name"), Jake Gyllenhaal ("Stronger"), Andrew Garfield ("Breathe")

Best Director

  • Christopher Nolan ("Dunkirk")
  • Guillermo del Toro ("The Shape of Water")
  • Joe Wright ("Darkest Hour")
  • Alexander Payne ("Downsizing")
  • Dee Rees ("Mudbound")

Possibilities: Jordan Peele ("Get Out"), Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird"), Patty Jenkins ("Wonder Woman"), Aaron Sorkin ("Molly's Game")

Best Picture

  • "Dunkirk" (Warner Bros.)
  • "The Shape of Water" (Fox Searchlight)
  • "Darkest Hour" (Focus Features)
  • "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (Fox Searchlight)
  • "Battle of the Sexes" (Fox Searchlight)
  • "Call Me By Your Name" (Sony Classics)
  • "Molly's Game" (STX)
  • "Okja" (Netflix)
  • "Downsizing" (Paramount)
  • "Mudbound" (Netflix)

Possibilities: "The Big Sick" (Amazon), "I, Tonya" (Neon), "Get Out" (Universal)

How I make my predictions

Every year in the last two decades I have made my own predictions for almost every film festival and ceremony.

Apart from my personal impressions, these predictions are based on several facts such as genre, previous winners, voter’s favorites, release dates, other film festivals, reviews, and the buzz around each film.