September Oscar Predictions

Will 12 Years a Slave really be this awards season's Schindler's List?

Well, it was fun while it lasted. Since my last predictions, several Oscar contenders have been bumped to 2014, dropping out of this year's race. Among those to vacate 2013 are Foxcatcher, The Wolf of Wall Street (unofficially), Grace of Monaco and The Immigrant. With that in mind, 12 Years a Slave might be the one to beat, even if early frontrunner status doesn't always lead to Oscar wins. Gravity will be a threat, though. In other news, Fruitvale Station and The Counselor are virtually dead in the Oscar race, and Nebraska and Lee Daniels' The Butler could get a few nominations. Also, I've added specific Best Foreign Language Film predictions, as the submissions list is quite long now.

Note: I'm taking The Wolf of Wall Street out, but it will be back in my predictions if the film doesn't get delayed after all.

Best Picture:
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lee Daniels' The Butler
The Monuments Men
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
12 Years a Slave

Changes: Replaced Foxcatcher, Fruitvale Station and The Wolf of Wall Street with Captain Phillips, Nebraska and Lee Daniels' The Butler

Best Director:
George Clooney, The Monuments Men
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell, American Hustle

Changes: Replaced Miller and Scorsese with Greengrass and McQueen

Best Actor:
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford, All is Lost

Changes: Replaced DiCaprio and Jordan with Dern and Hanks

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Changes: Replaced Adams and Roberts with Bullock and Streep

Best Supporting Actor:
Josh Brolin, Labor Day
Daniel Brühl, Rush
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Saving Mr. Banks
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club 

Changes: Replaced Carell and Hill with Brolin and Leto

Best Supporting Actress:
Margo Martindale, August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels' The Butler

Changes: Replaced Diaz and Streep with Martindale and Squibb

Best Adapted Screenplay:
August: Osage County
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
The Monuments Men
12 Years a Slave

Changes: Replaced Foxcatcher and The Wolf of Wall Street with Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay:
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks

Changes: Replaced Fruitvale Station and Her with Blue Jasmine and Nebraska

Best Production Design:
The Great Gatsby
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Monuments Men
Saving Mr. Banks
12 Years a Slave

Changes: Replaced American Hustle with 12 Years a Slave

Best Cinematography:
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Prisoners
12 Years a Slave

Changes: Replaced Rush and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Captain Phillips and Prisoners

Best Costume Design:
American Hustle
The Great Gatsby
The Monuments Men
Saving Mr. Banks
12 Years a Slave

Changes: Replaced Grace of Monaco with 12 Years a Slave

Best Film Editing:
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Monuments Men
12 Years a Slave

Changes: Replaced Rush and The Wolf of Wall Street with Gravity and 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Score:
The Book Thief
Gravity
The Monuments Men
Saving Mr. Banks
12 Years a Slave

Changes: None

Best Original Song:
Frozen
The Great Gatsby
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Out of the Furnace

Changes: Replaced Turbo with Out of the Furnace

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Rush
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Changes: None

Best Sound Mixing:
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Rush

Changes: Replaced Elysium with All is Lost

Best Sound Editing:
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Elysium
Gravity
Rush

Changes: Replaced Man of Steel with All is Lost

Best Visual Effects:
Elysium
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Pacific Rim
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Changes: None

Best Animated Feature Film: 
The Croods
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
Monsters University
The Wind Rises

Changes: Replaced Epic with The Croods

Best Foreign Language Film:
Child's Pose (Romania)
Gabrielle (Canada)
The Hunt (Denmark)
Two Lives (Germany)
Wadjda (Saudi Arabia)

Changes: Replaced China, France and Hong Kong with Canada, Romania and Saudi Arabia