(UTV | COLOMBO) – It’s been a year like no other. Actually, make that two years like no other, since eligibility in the unusual 14-month Oscar calendar was extended by two months until February 28, 2021. This will be the first Academy Awards since the sixth edition, listed as 1932-33, that will have included one year and part of the other, and this year’s awards will technically be categorized as 2020-21.
While many theaters remained closed, streamers like Netflix and Amazon became more prominent than ever — a sea change that even the cinema-centric Academy had to acknowledge by making films automatically eligible even if they first debuted on a streamer, at least for this year.
Still, as the nominations showed, and my predictions will support, the traditional studios, whether alone or with the help of their specialty divisions, still look to triumph once the history of this weird season finally is written.
n earlier version of this predictions piece appeared in the Awardsline digital edition, but there have been some changes made since then. These represent my final predictions in a year that, for many reasons, could produce some surprising results. If you use this for your Oscar pools, please remember you can’t sue me if you lose.
