The 87th Academy Awards ceremony is this Sunday so here’s your last chance to play AwardOptions of the Oscar nominees in the top 8 categories and profit from your predictions before trading halts on Sunday at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
Best Picture
With the exception of the January breakout American Sniper [A5PAMS], the eight nominees in Best Picture this year have mostly been an arthouse affair. The main race has wound down to between early favorite Boyhood [A5PBOY] and late surging Birdman [A5PBRD]. Although Boyhood won the Golden Globes and BAFTA, Birdman has won the industry top prizes at the more indicative PGA, SAG and DGA awards. Could Birdman overtake Boyhood in the collective minds of HSX by Sunday?
Best Director
Like Best Picture, the Best Director category has come down between Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Birdman [A5DAGI] and Richard Linklater for Boyhood [A5DRLI]. The winner of the DGA award, Inarritu this year, has gone on to take the Oscar 90% of the time in the previous 66 years. However, HSX traders appear confident that Linklater’s 12-year perseverance will pay off.
Best Actor
This appears to be the only acting category still in contention. The Golden Globes honored both Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything [A5AERE] and Michael Keaton for Birdman [A5AMKE] by splitting the acting categories, but Redmayne has won the SAG award as well as the BAFTA. Keaton had been the favorite of the HSX community since nominations were announced, but the two are now neck and neck as trading goes down to the wire.
Best Actress
Julianne Moore for Still Alice [A5CJMO] has been the runaway favorite in this category and she has collected all the precursor awards including Golden Globes, BAFTA and SAG.
Best Supporting Actor
This category usually honors a long-time actor and J.K. Simmons for Whiplash [A5RJKS] perfectly fits the bill. Simmons has also won all the other awards to distance himself from his closest competitor Edward Norton for Birdman [A5RENO].
Best Supporting Actress
While a young star like Emma Stone for Birdman [A5SEST] would typically win the category, this is not a typical year with Patricia Arquette for Boyhood [A5SPAR] among the nominees. Her 12 years-in-the-making performance has claimed all the forerunner awards. Stone led early but has fallen like a rock, while Arquette rose steadily to take a commanding lead.
Adapted Screenplay
BAFTA winner The Theory of Everything [A5ETOE] has led this category since the nominations, but WGA Award winner The Imitation Game [A5ETIG] has gained within striking distance. Whiplash [A5EWHP] had some early supporters, but then faded perhaps along with its hopes of an upset.
Original Screenplay
Boyhood [A5OBOY] was the early favorite in this category, but has been overtaken by Golden Globes winner Birdman [A5OBRD] as well as BAFTA and WGA winner The Grand Budapest Hotel [A5OGBH]. Birdman’s margin over The Grand Budapest Hotel has shortened as both head into the final stretch.
Tag(s): A5PAMS, A5PBOY, A5PBRD, A5DAGI, A5DRLI, A5AERE, A5AMKE, A5CJMO, A5RJKS, A5RENO, A5SEST, A5SPAR, A5ETOE, A5ETIG, A5EWHP, A5OBOY, A5OBRD, A5OGBH