I will voluntarily wake up at 8:15 on Thursday morning for one of the most exciting moments of the year for me. I will be huddled over my computer screen, anxious, waiting for a press release that changes lives. Yes, Thursday is a day that can turn someone from just a regular beautiful, wealthy, Hollywood star to an Oscar-nominated beautiful, wealthy, Hollywood star.

Here are my ranked predictions of who will earn Academy Award nominations. Additionally, I have provided a “money pick” for each category. This is a person or film that probably won’t get nominated, but if you were betting on them, you’d get a great return if they made it. These aren’t impossible, but simply improbable.

For Best Picture, there will be anywhere from 5-10 nominees, so they are ranked in order of how likely I feel a nomination is. Thus, if there are five nominees, I think “The Martian” will be the cutoff. But if there are 10, I feel every movie up to “Room” will make it.

Best Picture
1. “Spotlight”
2. “The Big Short”
3. “The Revenant”
4. “Carol”
5. “The Martian”
6. “Bridge of Spies”
7. “Mad Max: Fury Road”
8. “Brooklyn”
9. “Straight Outta Compton”
10. “Room”
Money Pick: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Best Actor
1. Leonardo DiCaprio – “The Revenant”
2. Matt Damon – “The Martian”
3. Michael Fassbender – “Steve Jobs”
4. Eddie Redmayne – “The Danish Girl”
5. Bryan Cranston – “Trumbo”
Money Pick: Johnny Depp – “Black Mass”

Best Actress
1. Brie Larson – “Room”
2. Saoirse Ronan – “Brooklyn”
3. Cate Blanchett – “Carol”
4. Charlotte Rampling – “45 Years”
5. Helen Mirren – “Woman in Gold” (Many people would say this is a money pick, but the Academy loves Helen Mirren. Watch it happen.)
Money Pick: Jennifer Lawrence – “Joy”

Best Supporting Actor
1. Mark Rylance – “Bridge of Spies”
2. Sylvester Stallone – “Creed”
3. Idris Elba – “Beasts of No Nation”
4. Mark Ruffalo – “Spotlight”
5. Paul Dano – “Love & Mercy”
Money Pick: Christian Bale – “The Big Short”

Best Supporting Actress
1. Rooney Mara – “Carol” (Though it would not be shocking to see her in the lead actress category)
2. Kate Winslet – “Steve Jobs”
3. Jennifer Jason Leigh – “The Hateful Eight”
4. Alicia Vikander – “The Danish Girl”
5. Rachel McAdams – “Spotlight”
Money Pick: Jane Fonda – “Youth”

Best Director
1. Alejandro G. Iñarritu – “The Revenant”
2. Ridley Scott – “The Martian”
3. Tom McCarthy – “Spotlight”
4. George Miller – “Mad Max: Fury Road”
5. Adam McKay – “The Big Short”
Money Pick: F. Gary Grey – “Straight Outta Compton”

Best Original Screenplay
1. “Spotlight”
2. “The Hateful Eight”
3. “Bridge of Spies”
4. “Inside Out”
5. “Straight Outta Compton”
Money Pick: “Trainwreck”

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. “Steve Jobs”
2. “The Big Short”
3. “The Martian”
4. “Carol”
5. “Trumbo”
Money Pick: “Anomalisa”

How will I do? We’ll find out at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday!

Erik Benjamin is a sophomore television, radio and film major. You can email him at [email protected] or follow him @embenjamin14 on Twitter.

Published on January 13, 2016 at 10:01 pm