Jane TV’s 2023 Oscar Predictions

By Jane TV

The Academy Awards are this Sunday and I’m excited to see who will take home the big awards, hopefully without a slap.

Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the festivities kick off at 5:00 p.m. Sunday on ABC. I’ve watched every nominated film this year, and even those that were snubbed (more on that below), so here are my predictions. Granted, this who I’d like to see win but we all know the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has their own thoughts, feelings, politics, and dare I say, agendas.

Jane TV’s 2023 Oscar Winner Predictions

Best Director

Todd Field, Tár
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert [aka “The Daniels”], Everything Everywhere All at Once
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ruben Ostlund, Triangle of Sadness
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

Who Will Win: Toss up between Todd Field and “The Daniels.”

Who Should Win: All of the above directors are great, but the continuous absence of female directors is noticable. I would have nominated and voted for Sarah Polley for Women Talking.

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Who Will Win: Angela Bassett or Jamie Lee Curtis

Who Should Win: ANGELA BASSETT!

Best Supporting Actor

Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway

Who Will Win & Who Should Win: Ke Huy Quan. His comeback story alone is inspiring and I can’t wait to see his acceptance speech.

Best Actress

Ana de Armas, Blonde
Cate Blanchett, Tár
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Who Will Win: This is a close toss up between Blanchett and Yeoh, although I believe Yeoh has the advantage.

Who Should Win: Yeoh’s performance was so varied and versatile, she deserves the golden statue for her range alone.

Best Actor

Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Bill Nighy, Living
Paul Mescal, Aftersun

Who Will Win: Fraser for his stunning transformation and deeply emotional performance despite the film’s offensive portrayal of obesity.

Who Should Win: I’m personally a fan of Nighy’s performance.

Best Screenplay (Adapted)

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT – Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY – Rian Johnson
LIVING – Kazuo Ishiguro
TOP GUN: MAVERICK – Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks
WOMEN TALKING –  Sarah Polley

Who Will Win: Kazuo Ishiguro

Who Should Win: While Ishiguro is a brilliant writer, for this award my vote goes to Sarah Polley for brilliantly depicting horrific abuse without being gratuitous. 

Best Screenplay (Original)

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN – Martin McDonagh
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE – Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
THE FABELMANS – Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
TÁR – Todd Field
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS – Ruben Östlund

Who Will Win: The Daniels.

Who Should Win: The Daniels or Todd Field.

Best Picture

All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking

Who Will Win: Tár

Who Should Win: This is pretty hard. The majority of these films were really good and it seems like it comes down to preferance. Tár and Everything Everywhere All at Once for their originality, Fabelmans for its heartwarming stories, Women Talking and All Quiet on the Western Front for its horrific and meaningful portrayals of trauma. Hard to decide here.

Who Was Snubbed?

1. All Women Filmmakers. Only seven women have ever been nominated for Best Director in the 95-year history of the Academy Awards. This year it was more of the same: men. Gina Prince Bythewood for The Woman King and Sarah Polley for Women Talking were glaringly snubbed.

2. The Woman King. Starring Oscar-winner Viola Davis as a general of the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries. The film was extraordinarily done and received glowing reviews, yet the film, Davis, and director Gina Prince Bythewood received no love at all.

3. Danielle Deadwyler in Till. Honored at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Deadwyler was sure to be a front-runner in the Best Actress category for her portrayal of Emmett Till’s mother. Her performance was gripping and to deny her a nomination is blasphemous. 

4. Wakanda Forever. Giving Angela Bassett a much deserved nom for her role in the Marvel film but not recognizing the film in general is an interesting choice. Some were quite upset by this but while I enjoyed the film, I’m not that heartbroken over it. 

5. The Menu. I expected at least the screenplay to get some recognition this year but the thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor Joy hasn’t been mentioned at all.