The Oscars

The 86th Academy Awards will be held this Sunday at Los Angeles’s Dolby Theatre. Speculation is fierce this year as the competition has never been better. A spree of outstanding films came out in the latter parts of 2013 turning this year’s award ceremony into a tough race and sharpening everyone’s opinions. Having seen most of the nominees in action, having reviewed and discussed everything from the movies themselves to the outfits on the red carpet, we’ve formed some pretty staunch loyalties here in IMAGE HQ. So while we’ve been keeping an eye on William Hill, we’ve also been betting on things ourselves.

So here we go with our highly contested and fought over predictions:

For Best Actress we’re gunning hands down for Amy Adams – she sassed her way through American Hustle like there was no tomorrow.

For Best Actor we absolutely MUST see Matthew McConaughey bring home the bacon – outstanding and nuanced performances over the past year in everything from Wolf of Wall Street to True Detective, give this man what he deserves.

Best Supporting Actress has to go to coolest-kid-on-the-block Lupita Nyong?o. She’s a newcomer and has been the most wonderful thing to watch, on and off the screen.

If Jared Leto doesn’t win a Best Supporting Actor for his brilliant and shocking portrayal of a beautiful heroin-addicted drag queen in Dallas Buyers Club, we will pull a hernia.

Her was not just one of the best movies we saw this year, but a work of art and one of the best movies we’ve seen in a long time. Deserves best picture without a shadow of a doubt Best Film.

After having churned out one excellent movie after another, with flawless cinematography, astounding direction and haunting stories, Steve McQueen should bring home Best Director and take a long holiday.

And of course we have an opinion on the Best Original Song. Pharrell Williams’ “Happy”. Because why not?

William Hill’s predictions can be found here. Follow our advice, this is how the night is going to go down? Full list of nominees below…

Roisin Agnew @Roxeenna

Best Picture
“12 Years A Slave”
“American Hustle”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“Her”
“Nebraska”
“Captain Phillips”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”
“Gravity”
“Philomena”

Actor in a Leading Role
Bruce Dern – “Nebraska”
Chiwetel Ejiofor – “12 Years A Slave”
Matthew McConaughey – “Dallas Buyers Club”
Christian Bale – “American Hustle”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Barkhad Abdi – “Captain Phillips”
Michael Fassbender – “12 Years A Slave”
Jared Leto – “Dallas Buyers Club”
Bradley Cooper – “American Hustle”
Jonah Hill – “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett – “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock – “Gravity”
Judi Dench – “Philomena”
Meryl Streep – “August: Osage County”
Amy Adams – “American Hustle”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Sally Hawkins – “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence – “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o – “12 Years A Slave”
Julia Roberts – “August: Osage County”
June Squibb – “Nebraska”

Directing
Alfonso Cuaron – “Gravity”
Steve McQueen – “12 Years A Slave”
Alexander Payne – “Nebraska”
David O. Russell – “American Hustle”
Martin Scorsese – “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Documentary (Feature)
“The Act of Killing”
“20 Feet from Stardom”
“Cutie and the Boxer”
“Dirty Wars”
“The Square”

Foreign Language Film
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” – Belgium
“The Great Beauty” – Italy
“The Hunt” – Denmark
“The Missing Picture” – Cambodia
“Omar” – Palestine

Music (Original Song)
“Let it Go” – “Frozen” – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“Ordinary Love” – “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” – U2, lyrics by Paul Hewson, aka Bono
“Happy” – “Despicable Me 2” – Pharrell Williams