Nominees for Original Song plus my borrowed predictions of the Oscar winners

For part one of the Sunday entertainment feature, I am making good on my promise at the end of 'Fox & Friends' won't say anything about the Dominion lawsuit, so 'SNL' says it for them in its cold open before it turns into a pumpkin: "I guess I'll have to make my own Oscar predictions when I write about 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'RRR.'" The two movies are only competing against each other in one category, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song), along with "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," "Tell It Like A Woman," and "Top Gun: Maverick." Fortunately, I found a compilation video of all five songs with exactly the preview image I wanted, BEST ORIGINAL SONG NOMINEES - OSCARS 2022 - 2023 from Scores & Soundtracks.*

00:00 “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler & Ludwig Göransson, Lyric by Tems & Ryan Coogler)
02:52 “This Is A Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once (Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne & Mitski, Lyric by Ryan Lott & David Byrne)
05:10 “Naatu Naatu” from RRR (Music by MM Keeravaani, Lyric by Chandrabose)
08:28 “Applause” from Tell It like a Woman (Music & Lyric by Diane Warren)
11:26 “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick (Music & Lyric by lady Gaga & Bloodpop)

I was prepared to find fault with this field, but I liked every one of the nominees. "Lift Me Up," "Applause," and "Hold My Hand" are very pretty and emotional songs, while I found "This Is a Life" to be exactly as interesting and quirky as I expected from David Byrne. This is Byrne's second Oscar nomination, but his first for Original Song. He shared an Oscar win for Best Music, Original Score in 1988 for "The Last Emperor." In contrast, Diane Warren has 14 Academy Award nominations, but will only receive an honorary Oscar this year. She's not winning Original Song this year, either. Instead, I'm pretty sure that "Naatu Naatu" will take home the little gold man as the only Oscar for "RRR." Unlike all the other nominees, "Naatu Naatu" made me want to get up and dance. I didn't care that it's in Telegu, not English; the rhythm and enthusiasm are that contagious.

Follow over the jump for my borrowed predictions, which I'm taking from Gold Derby.

Best Picture: "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Director: The Daniels for "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh for "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Actor: Austin Butler for "Elvis."
Best Supporting Actress: Angela Bassett for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" has the plurality of expert's picks with thirteen of twenty-nine, but Jamie Lee Curtis from "Everything Everywhere All at Once" has nine and Kerry Condon from "The Banshees of Inisherin" earned seven, including two from Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen. Bassett won the Golden Globe and Critics' Choice, Curtis won SAG, and Condon won BAFTA. My first choice is Bassett and my second choice would actually be Stephanie Hsu, who earned a nomination at the Saturn Awards while Curtis was snubbed, but I don't think she has a chance over Curtis with the Academy voters. As I say repeatedly about awards shows, electorates matter. Also, Curtis could get carried along with the sentiment for "Everything Everywhere All at Once."
Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan for "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Best Adapted Screenplay: "Women Talking"
Best Original Screenplay: "Everything Everywhere All at Once" is my choice, but it is tied with "The Banshees of Inisherin" close behind with 14 experts picking each. Will the Academy voters want to reward the big winner or spread the wealth? We'll see!
Best Cinematography: "All Quiet on the Western Front"
Best Costume Design: "Elvis"
Best Film Editing: "Everything Everywhere All at Once" but my vote for the Saturn Awards, "Top Gun: Maverick," could upset it.
Best Makeup and Hair: "Elvis"
Best Production Design: "Babylon"
Best Score: Either "All Quiet on the Western Front" or "Babylon" with "The Fabelmans" as the spoiler. I honestly think I'd have to listen to the music to make my pick.
Best Song: "Naatu Naatu" from "RRR." I listened to this and easily agreed with the experts.
Best Sound: "Top Gun: Maverick"
Best Visual Effects: "Avatar: The Way of Water"
Best Animated Feature: "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio"
Best Documentary Feature: "Navalny"
Best International Film: "All Quiet on the Western Front"
Best Animated Short Subject: "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse" although it would be funny if "My Year of Dicks" won instead.
Best Short Documentary: "The Elephant Whisperers" has a narrow majority with 16 experts picking it, followed by "Stranger at the Gate" with eleven, including both Eng and Rosen, and "The Martha Mitchell Effect" with two. I'd prefer "The Elephant Whisperers," but seeing Eng and Rosen choose "Stranger at the Gate" makes me less confident.
Best Short Subject: "Le Pupille" leads "An Irish Goodbye" by two experts' picks, thirteen to eleven. Eng picked "An Irish Goodbye" while Rosen was one of four who picked "The Red Suitcase," so I'll choose "An Irish Goodbye."

That's it for part one. Stay tuned for part two, highlights of last night's "Saturday Night Live" episode.

*Yes, I had enough DOOM for one day, so I skipped my Fukushima post. Also, If the video gets taken down, I'll embed the preview image from Pinterest and the official videos of each song, so I have a plan B.

Previous entries about the 2023 Academy Awards

• 'Fire of Love' and 'All That Breathes' — two Oscar-nominated documentaries I'm recommending to my students
• 'Navalny,' 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,' and 'A House Made of Splinters' — three political and social issue documentaries nominated at the Oscars
• 'The Elephant Whisperers' and 'Haulout' - two Oscar-nominated short documentaries for World Wildlife Day
• 'The Martha Mitchell Effect,' 'Stranger at the Gate,' and 'How Do You Measure a Year?' — three Oscar-nominated short documentaries