This started out as a drinking game post, but I realized I couldn't throw out a drinking game for the Oscars without first predicting what will happen. Therefore: a predictions post, guaranteed to be nigh-foolproof. Feel free to use it in any office pools you do. My vig is 10%.
Every Oscars broadcast has some sort of narrative to it – a neck-and-neck race for Best Actor, a possible surprise for Best Picture, a “will the Academy stay conservative or make the daring choice?”* conversation. So what’s the conversation this year?
*The answer to this is always – always - “go conservative.”
Last year, we assumed this year’s Oscars would be about reacting to the #oscarssowhite controversy. Every branch added new members, pushed out old ones, increased diversity, etc. That had to affect things, right? Maybe we’d get some unusual choices this year!
Nope! We got exactly what we expected (though the nominations are much more diverse this year than last, there just aren't any surprises). But all the diversity directives will affect what is certain to be the theme of this year’s broadcast: this year’s overarching story is going to be “how much will people talk about Trump?” That’s right, guys, this year’s broadcast is going to be about the speeches! What a lot of fun we’re all gonna have.
