Advertisement

Fill Out Your Own 2017 Oscars Ballot

Oscar statues for the 89th Academy Awards red carpet await the ceremony on Sunday. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Oscar statues for the 89th Academy Awards red carpet await the ceremony on Sunday. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

The Academy Awards are Sunday, and we wondered who among our ARTery readers has the best Oscars ballot.

We ran around the station asking a couple of our hosts and film critics their predictions of who will win for eight main categories. Take a look at their answers, and then make your own predictions in the ballot below (jump to ballot) by Sunday, Feb. 26 at 8:30 p.m. EST, to be entered to win an arts and culture ticket package from WBUR. (Included are passes to "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," William Forsythe's "Artifact," Harvard Art Museums and an upcoming Moth StorySLAM.)

Robin Young, host of NPR and WBUR's Here & Now, predicts:

  • Best Picture: "La La Land" (but hopes "Moonlight" wins)
  • Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman, "Jackie"
  • Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Leading Role: Casey Affleck, "Manchester by the Sea"
  • Actor in a Supporting Role: Dev Patel, "Lion"
  • Documentary: "O.J.: Made in America"
  • Directing: "La La Land"

Jeremy Hobson, host of NPR and WBUR's Here & Now, predicts:

  • Best Picture: "La La Land"
  • Actress in a Leading Role: Emma Stone, "La La Land"
  • Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Leading Role: Denzel Washington, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"
  • Documentary: "Life, Animated"
  • Directing: "La La Land"
  • Animated Feature: "Zootopia"

Meghna Chakrabarti, host of WBUR's Radio Boston, predicts:

  • Best Picture: "Hidden Figures"
  • Actress in a Leading Role: Ruth Negga, "Loving"
  • Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis, "Fences," and Octavia Spencer, "Hidden Figures"
  • Actor in a Leading Role: Denzel Washington, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Supporting Role: Dev Patel, "Lion"
  • Documentary: "13th"
  • Directing: "Manchester by the Sea"
  • Animated Feature: "The Red Turtle"

Bob Oakes, host of WBUR's Morning Edition, predicts:

  • Best Picture: "Hidden Figures"
  • Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman, "Jackie"
  • Actress in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer, "Hidden Figures"
  • Actor in a Leading Role: Viggo Mortensen, "Captain Fantastic"
  • Actor in a Supporting Role: Lucas Hedges, "Manchester by the Sea"
  • Documentary: "O.J. Made in America"
  • Directing: "Manchester by the Sea"
  • Animated Feature: "Zootopia"

Lisa Mullins, host of WBUR's All Things Considered, predicts:

  • Best Picture: "Hidden Figures"
  • Actress in a Leading Role: Isabelle Huppert, "Elle"
  • Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Leading Role: Denzel Washington, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"
  • Documentary: "I Am Not Your Negro"
  • Directing: "Moonlight"
  • Animated Feature: "Kubo and the Two Strings"

Joyce Kulhawik, a film critic for The ARTery, predicts:

  • Best Picture: "La La Land"
  • Actress in a Leading Role: Emma Stone, "La La Land"
  • Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Leading Role: Denzel Washington, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"
  • Documentary: "O.J.: Made in America"
  • Directing: "La La Land"
  • Animated Feature: "Zootopia"

Sean Burns, a film critic for The ARTery, predicts:

  • Best Picture: "Manchester by the Sea"
  • Actress in a Leading Role: Isabelle Huppert, "Elle"
  • Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Leading Role: Casey Affleck, "Manchester by the Sea"
  • Actor in a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"
  • Documentary: "I Am Not Your Negro"
  • Directing: "Manchester by the Sea"

Erin Trahan, a film critic for The ARTery, hopes these films win:

  • Best Picture: "Moonlight"
  • Actress in a Leading Role: Isabelle Huppert, "Elle"
  • Actress in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer, "Hidden Figures"
  • Actor in a Leading Role: Ryan Gosling, "La La Land"
  • Actor in a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"
  • Documentary: "I Am Not Your Negro"
  • Directing: "Moonlight"
  • Animated Feature: "Kubo and the Two Strings"

Tom Meek, a film critic for The ARTery, predicts:

  • Best Picture: "La La Land"
  • Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman, "Jackie"
  • Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Leading Role: Denzel Washington, "Fences"
  • Actor in a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"
  • Documentary: "O.J.: Made in America"
  • Directing: "La La Land"
  • Animated Feature: "Zootopia"

In the prior two years, people of color were noticeably left off the nomination list, leading to a lot of backlash and discussion around #OscarsSoWhite. This year, Best Picture nominations include films about the experiences of black Americans and a number of artists in lead categories are black. The documentary field is unusually competitive this year, with films telling the stories of migration, race and life with disabilities.

Take a look at the top categories below and let us know your picks:

This article was originally published on February 23, 2017.

Related:

Headshot of Amy Gorel

Amy Gorel Senior Editor
Amy Gorel is a senior editor of digital news at WBUR.

More…

Advertisement

More from WBUR

Listen Live
Close