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Answer by Mark Hughes, Screenwriter, Forbes Blogger, @markhughesfilms
Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave (close runner up -- Gravity)
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón (close runner up -- David O. Russell)
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (runner up -- Judi Dench)
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (runner up: Leonardo DiCaprio)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (runner up: Lupita Nyong'o)
Best Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi (runner up: Jared Leto)
Best Original Screenplay: American Hustle
Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave
Best Animated Feature: Frozen
Best Visual Effects: Gravity
Film Editing: Gravity
Sound Editing: Captain Phillips (runner up: Gravity)
Sound Mixing: Captain Phillips (runner up: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
Production Design: 12 Years a Slave (runner up: American Hustle)
Best Original Song: Let It Go
Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet From Stardom (runner up: The Act of Killing)
*Note: These are my early "same day as nomination announcements" predictions (and are just that, predictions, not my personal favorites to win), and I'll update this answer if and when I have any changes of heart. Specifically, I have a suspicion that if American Hustle performs strongly at the SAG Awards, the PGA Awards, and the DGA Awards, it could be a surprise winner for Best Picture. It is nominated in all seven of the "big" categories that tend to (usually) define Best Pictures, and the broad nominations in those key categories signals strong support among AA voters of different professions, particularly the film's strong showing in all acting categories (a sign of significant support among the SAG voters who are one of the biggest contingents of voters at the Academy).
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Answer by Mark Hughes, Screenwriter, Forbes Blogger, @markhughesfilms
Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave (close runner up -- Gravity)
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón (close runner up -- David O. Russell)
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (runner up -- Judi Dench)
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (runner up: Leonardo DiCaprio)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (runner up: Lupita Nyong'o)
Best Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi (runner up: Jared Leto)
Best Original Screenplay: American Hustle
Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave
Best Animated Feature: Frozen
Best Visual Effects: Gravity
Film Editing: Gravity
Sound Editing: Captain Phillips (runner up: Gravity)
Sound Mixing: Captain Phillips (runner up: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
Production Design: 12 Years a Slave (runner up: American Hustle)
Best Original Song: Let It Go
Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet From Stardom (runner up: The Act of Killing)
*Note: These are my early "same day as nomination announcements" predictions (and are just that, predictions, not my personal favorites to win), and I'll update this answer if and when I have any changes of heart. Specifically, I have a suspicion that if American Hustle performs strongly at the SAG Awards, the PGA Awards, and the DGA Awards, it could be a surprise winner for Best Picture. It is nominated in all seven of the "big" categories that tend to (usually) define Best Pictures, and the broad nominations in those key categories signals strong support among AA voters of different professions, particularly the film's strong showing in all acting categories (a sign of significant support among the SAG voters who are one of the biggest contingents of voters at the Academy).
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