The chance and quantity of rain for tomorrow in Los Angeles has been bumped up so it looks like it will rain on the Academy Awards. Given how much of the U.S. is getting repeatedly snowbound, that may seem like no big deal…but come on. These are wealthy movie stars with expensive outfits and precision hair-dos. They're not supposed to get rained-on.
I saw almost none of the nominated movies this past year but here are my guesses based on industry buzz: Boyhood for Best Picture, Alejandro González (Birdman) for Best Director, Michael Keaton (Birdman) for Best Actor, Julianne Moore (Still Alice) for Best Actress, J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) for Best Supporting Actor, Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) for Best Supporting Actress, The Grand Budapest Hotel for Best Original Screenplay, The Imitation Game for Best Adapted Screenplay and beyond that, your guess is not only as good as mine but probably better.
I was kidding about Meryl Streep always winning. I think Into the Woods will be overlooked.
I'll also predict that Neil Patrick Harris will be a great host, that he's planning something that will try to out-Tweet Ellen De Generes' selfie stunt last year, and that there'll be several remarks about the non-nomination of Selma or black people. Also, at least one person will utter one of those gross exaggerations of how many people are watching worldwide, and after the show, the Internet will be abuzz with folks saying it was The Worst Oscars Ever and also complaining about some egregious omissions from the In Memoriam reel.
My Big Tip: Record the thing on your TiVo or other D.V.R., wait until around 90 minutes into the show and then start watching and doing a lot of Fast-Forwarding. I try to get caught up to the live broadcast in time to watch the last half-hour as it happens. It's never that bad a show if you can get it down to around half its actual length.