The Conversation: 2015 Oscar Predix: Best Picture… B is for Boyhood

The Nominations: Best Picture

American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
“The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers

Shoulda Been a Contender: “Nightcrawler”

Perhaps too dark and misanthropic for Academy voters (plus, it isn’t based on a true story), Dan Gilroy’s castigation of media headline hunting would have been the type of film to snag a Best Picture nod circa the 1970s.

Should Win: “Selma”

Could this be another Argo/Ben Affleck upset? Screener snafu has been cited as explanation for Ava DuVernay’s snub in the Best Director category, so there’s certainly a possibility that this could take the gold in lieu of that hubbub.

Could Win: “Birdman” or “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Both dark horses, a rash of critic guilds have given both these films top honors in several or more categories, so it neither choice would be completely out of left field.

Will Win: “Boyhood”

We’re willing to bet that Academy voters will fall for Linklater’s twelve-year spanning opus, even if it does underwhelm under the weight of its concept.