The 93rd Academy Awards are almost here! They’ll be taking place on Sunday, April 25th at 8PM on ABC. To prepare you all for Hollywood’s biggest night, I’ll be going through all 9 below-the-line categories and give you insights as to how the race in each of them is shaping up going into the Oscars. So let’s get on with it, shall we?

Best Production Design:

1. Mank
2. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
3. Tenet
4. The Father
5. News of the World

As the editor-in-chief of Gold Derby, Tom O’Neil, keeps saying “in order to win, you gotta have the most of something”. When it comes to Best Production Design, the most scenery tends to win. ​With accolades from the Critics’ Choice, BAFTA, and Art Directors Guild Awards, it looks like this category is Mank’s to lose. Production designer Donald Graham Burt and set decorator Jan Pascale did such a tremendous job of recreating Hollywood from the 1930s and early 1940s, which was when the story takes place. That kind of work should definitely appeal to older academy members like how Once Upon a Time in Hollywood did last year as it won this award for recreating the city of Los Angeles from 1969.

Best Costume Design:

1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
2. Mank
3. Emma.
4. Mulan
5. Pinocchio

Normally, this award tends to go to the big, British period piece. Of this year’s nominees, that would be the latest film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. However, the momentum appears to be behind Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom as it has won this category at the Critics’ Choice, BAFTA, and Costume Designers Guild Awards. The latter film may not have a wide variety of costumes due to most of the story being set around a recording session, but the work done by legendary designer Ann Roth is still very elaborate. So therefore, I think it’s a safe bet to predict Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom to win here. Although I can see Mank pulling an upset given that it is the frontrunner for Best Production Design, and we’ve seen how often that award and Best Costume Design go to the exact same film.

Best Cinematography:

1. Nomadland
2. Mank
3. Judas and the Black Messiah
4. News of the World
5. The Trial of the Chicago 7

First, let me say how impressive it is that four of this year’s Best Cinematography contenders are first time nominees. Journeyman director of photography Sean Bobbit, who was previously overlooked for his work on 12 Years a Slave, is now an Oscar nominee for Judas and the Black Messiah. Erik Messerschmidt, who had previously worked on the camera crew for several movies/television programs, is nominated for Mank, which happens to be his very first film credit as cinematographer. Joshua James Richards, who has been considered to be one of the biggest rising young DPs in the indy scene, is recognized for his work on Nomadland. Dariusz Wolski, a long time veteran who has worked with so many high profile directors over the years such as Tim Burton, Ridley Scott, and Robert Zemeckis, is finally an Oscar nominee for his work on News of the World. As for what I think is going to win here? Early on in the season, many predictors originally thought Mank would take the Oscar in a landslide due to how showy the camera work is in that movie as it was shot in black & white, making it look as if it was made in the 1940s. Yet despite winning this award from the ASC, Nomadland has won Best Cinematography prizes from the Critics’ Choice and BAFTA. The latter was especially telling because like the Oscars, it’s an industry award where the winner in that category is voted on by the organization’s entire membership (most of whom aren't even cinematographers). Which was why I, like many others, had for a while thought that Mank would win the Oscar because it has much showier cinematography that an entire academy would be more impressed by than Nomadland. While I think it’s still possible for the former movie to win, I’m playing it safe by predicting the latter to prevail instead. After all, there are several impressive landscape shots to be found in Nomadland.

Best Film Editing:

1. Sound of Metal
2. The Trial of the Chicago 7
3. ​The Father
4. Promising Young Woman
5. Nomadland

This is a very tricky race to figure out. Sound of Metal and The Trial of the Chicago 7 both tied for Best Editing at the Critics’ Choice. Though when it got to the industry awards, the former movie won the BAFTA while the latter won ACE Eddie. Usually, the most edited film tends to win this award at the Oscars. In that case, it would be The Trial of the Chicago 7, which editor Alan Baumgarten deserves a lot of credit for keeping that movie going through such strong pacing. However, every winner in this category since The Bourne Ultimatum back in 2007 has at least had a corresponding sound nomination. Of this year’s nominees for Best Film Editing, Sound of Metal is the only one that has that. Grant it, we only have one sound category this year after having gone through such a long period of time of having two (for Sound Editing and Sound Mixing). So who knows if The Trial of the Chicago 7 would’ve been nominated in either one of them. Though Sound of Metal winning BAFTA might’ve especially been telling because as I previously mentioned in Best Cinematography, like the Oscars, the winner in this category is voted on by the organization’s entire membership (most of whom aren't even editors). While I think it’s still possible for The Trial of the Chicago 7 to win here, Sound of Metal still has too much in its favor for me to bet against it.

Best Sound:

1. Sound of Metal
2. Soul
3. Mank
4. News of the World
5. Greyhound

With wins in this category from the Cinema Audio Society and BAFTA Awards, Sound of Metal pretty much has the Oscar in the bag. The sound work on display in that movie is very inventive. Not just in scenes where there's a musical performance going on, but all throughout as the main character experiences his hearing troubles. At times, it feels as though we the audience are almost as deaf as him. Of course, it also helps that the word ‘sound’ is in the title. So that should definitely capture the attention of a large majority of academy members when making their votes in this category.

Best Original Score:

1. Soul
2. Minari
3. News of the World
4. Mank
5. Da 5 Bloods

Typically, it’s hard for films not nominated for Best Picture to win this award. The last three that managed to do so are 1999’s The Red Violin, 2002’s Frida, and 2015’s The Hateful Eight. However, with wins from the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, and BAFTA, Soul pretty much has the Oscar locked up. The musical score Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (as well as Jon Batiste) crafted for that film is quite unique. Which a movie like Soul would especially need since the story does involve a musician. I think it’s closest competition here is probably Minari given how unique of a score Emile Mosseri was able to craft for that, but I think it’s very foolish to bet against Soul at this point.

For the next category, I've included links to all the nominated tunes so that you the reader can be able to listen to each of them for yourself.

Best Original Song:

1. ‘Speak Now’ from One Night in Miami
2. ‘Husavik (My Hometown)’ from Eurovision Song Contest
3. ‘Io Si (Seen)’ from The Life Ahead
4. ‘Fight for You’ from Judas and the Black Messiah
5. ‘Hear My Voice’ from The Trial of the Chicago 7

I have 'Speak Now' winning because despite One Night in Miami not getting in for Best Picture, it at least has more support in other categories unlike The Life Ahead and Eurovision Song Contest, both of which are not recognized anywhere else. Although with the end credits song for the former movie, ‘Io Si (Seen)’, it was written by Diane Warren, who is now on her 12th nomination and still has yet to win. She very surprisingly won the Golden Globe in this category, and has apparently been doing quite a bit of campaigning herself. Yet, The Life Ahead not only wasn’t recognized anywhere else, but its country of origin, Italy, didn’t even select it as their submission for Best International Feature Film. I have seen a few predictors going out on a limb for ‘Husavik’ from Eurovision Song Contest given that it’s the only nominee that isn’t an end credits song and is actually a part of the plot. Then again, there is the factor of how Academy members actually vote in the category of Best Original Song. Do they actually watch the movies they're in or just listen to the songs themselves? There is also the question of how many voters outside of the music branch actually saw Eurovision Song Contest (and The Life Ahead for that matter). Although with ‘Speak Now’, it did manage to win the Critics’ Choice Award, which usually has a better track record of forecasting what’s winning the Oscar here than the Golden Globes. Not to mention that co-songwriter Leslie Odom, Jr. has apparently been playing the campaign trail. Since Odom also happens to have a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in One Night in Miami, and that could give him a boost here. On paper, it would make sense to give Best Original Song to a tune that was co-written by an actor who plays real-life musician Sam Cooke in the movie.

​Best Visual Effects:

1. Tenet
2. The Midnight Sky
3. Mulan
4. The One and Only Ivan
5. Love and Monsters

An interesting stat that is worth noting is that the winner in this category usually has a corresponding nomination for Best Production Design. Of this year’s slate of Best Visual Effects contenders, Tenet is the only one that fits that criteria. The movie may not have the most VFX out of all the nominees, but it does have some impressive work regarding time travel. After all, it does help that Tenet managed to win this award at the Critics’ Choice and BAFTA. While I can see The Midnight Sky taking it given how that movie is supposed to have far more elaborate VFX shots that could win over a majority of academy members who aren’t experts on visual effects, I think the odds are too much in Tenet’s favor.

​Best Makeup & Hairstyling:

1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
2. Pinocchio
3. Hillbilly Elegy
4. Mank
5. Emma.

For a while, there didn’t appear to be a runaway favorite in this category. At first, people thought Hillbilly Elegy could win given how uncanny the makeup work in that movie was on Amy Adams and Glenn Close, visually transforming both of them into their characters. In fact, there’s footage of the real people depicted in the film that plays during the end credits, which shows how spot on the makeup team was in achieving that. Although the latest big screen adaptation of Pinocchio (from Italy) did surprisingly overperform a bit in nominations with not only a bid in this category, but also Best Costume Design as well. The movie even managed to win the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award for Best Special Makeup Effects in a Feature-Length Motion Picture, and does fit the mold of the film with the most makeup that typically wins the Oscar. However, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom has managed to win this award at the Critics’ Choice and BAFTA (as well as 2 Hollywood Makeup and Hair Stylist Guild Awards in a couple of other categories). The work in that film may not be as showy, but it does help put all the actors in character and time period of when the story takes place. Plus, with most of the action being set during a long recording session, I imagine the makeup team certainly had to create a ton of fake sweat for the cast to wear. Of course, there’s also the factor of visually transforming Viola Davis into real-life blues singer, Ma Rainey.

As a reminder, the Academy Awards will be taking place on Sunday, April 25th on ABC. The pre-show will begin at 6:30pm hosted by Ariana DeBose and Lil Rel Howery, which will feature performances from all 5 of the Best Original Song nominees. After that, the 93rd Oscars telecast will begin at 8:00 lasting for about three hours or so. And then the post-show hosted by Colman Domingo and Andrew Rannells will take place afterwards. Here is a quick rundown of my predictions for the three short categories…

Best Animated Short Film:

1. If Anything Happens, I Love You
2. Burrow
3. Opera
4. Genius Loci
5. Yes-People

Best Documentary Short Subject:

1. A Love Song for Latasha
2. A Concerto is a Conversation
3. Hunger Ward
4. Colette
5. Do Not Split

Best Live Action Short Film:

1. Two Distant Strangers
2. The Letter Room
3. Feeling Through
4. The Present
5. White Eye