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Best Sound Mixing (aka Best Sound)

Like last year, the match between sound effects and overall sound is nearly exact, with only Bridge of Spies appearing on this list but not the other. Thus, the other four nominees are Mad Max, The Revenant, The Martian, and Star Wars. Last year, I was one of the first pundits to predict that Whiplash, the one movie in Mixing without the Editing nomination, could pull off a victory for its combined use of the loud drumming and the crescendo screams by J.K. Simmons.

There is no obvious contender for that loud music mix this year - although one does wonder why the mixing effects in Love & Mercy and maybe even Straight Outta Compton did not find space here instead of the more muted The Martian. I’m also counting out Star Wars, as the movie is heavier on effects than on total sound. Bridge of Spies seems to be in third place - the music, dialogue, and sound in that movie are, as in every Spielberg film, superbly adept to the tone and tenor of the picture. Still, wins for Inception, Whiplash, and The Hurt Locker in this category show that louder movies are favored. This gives the edge, once more, to Mad Max and its loud music over sound effects.

This seems like a year in which the same movie will win both awards, so if you’re not sure of which, placing one in each category on your ballot may increase your score. For now I’m sticking with Mad Max.

Will win: Mad Max
Could win: The Revenant

Best Original Song

I always think of the sound branch of the Academy as the Joe-Schmo branch. They’re sound nerds or technicians that are not necessarily lovers of beauty in film. They constitute a significant portion of the so-called “steak-eaters” of the Academy, who can be counted on to reward male-driven dramas like The Revenant and snub emotional ones like Carol.

Not so the music branch, one of the ones that likes to show independence in its nominations (although, one may reasonably question that independence after last year’s fiasco of removing a nominee from the list after evidence of strong-arming in the nominations surfaced). In any case, this year they nominated Earned It from 50 Shades of Grey, Manta Ray from Racing Extinction, Simple Song #3 from Youth, Til It Happens to You from The Hunting Ground, and Writing’s On the Wall from Spectre. I was most surprised to see missing See You Again from Furious 7, given Paul Walker’s death, and I expected Love Me Like You Do to make it in from the SM-porn 50 Shades.

Off the bat we can eliminate the Racing Extinction song from the obscure Manta Ray, and I have trouble seeing them wanting to make an Oscar winner of 50 Shades. Writing’s on the Wall becomes the obvious, default choice, as it comes from the most recognizable movie. Still, the song was nowhere near as acclaimed as Adele’s Skyfall, which leaves room for something else. Simple Song #3 is perhaps the best part of Youth, although that movie’s somewhat surprising miss in every other category makes me wonder if it is too weak to make it.

Finally, some are saying that it could finally be Diane Warren’s turn to win, after seven nominations spanning three decades (and losses for hits such as I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing and Because You Loved Me). Nothing would please me more than that, seeing as it would also make an Oscar winner of Lady Gaga. But, remember that the names of the nominees do not appear in the tech categories on voters’ ballots - only the movie does. And if Manta Ray is unknown, so is The Hunting Ground. So I just don’t think it’s in the cards absent a stronger campaign for it than what we have seen so far

Will Win: Writing’s On the Wall – Spectre
Could Win: Simple Song #3 – Youth

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