2014 Dream Oscar Ballot

Tomorrow are the Academy Award nominations and at this point their success rate is anyone's guess. This year was so uneven that the Oscars have a real chance to think outside of the box and honor some deserving contenders. Or, more likely, they could play it entirely safe and stick within their playhouse of designated Academy fare. 2014 was a better year than they're making it out to be, but you wouldn't guess that by some of the frontrunners.

I could go on complaining or I could present my own choices for the Oscar nominations tomorrow. Nominees below, there are six nominees in each category to spread the love, except Best Actress which had to have seven this year (a "weak year" for women). Winners are bold, runners-up are italicized. Enjoy!

BEST PICTURE

Birdman

Boyhood

Gone Girl

Leviathan

Nightcrawler

Pride

Selma

Snowpiercer

Two Days, One Night

Under the Skin

BEST DIRECTOR

Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Two Days One Night

Ava Duvernay, Selma

David Fincher, Gone Girl

Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin

Mike Leigh, Mr. Turner

Richard Linklater, Boyhood

BEST LEADING ACTRESS

Essie Davis, The Babadook

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Beyond the Lights

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

Jenny Slate, Obvious Child

Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night

Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin

BEST LEADING ACTOR

Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler

Bill Hader, The Skeleton Twins

Michael Keaton, Birdman

John Lithgow, Love is Strange

Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Kim Dickens, Gone Girl

Agata Kulesza, Ida

Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars

Imelda Staunton, Pride

Emma Stone, Birdman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood

Alfred Molina, Love is Strange

Edward Norton, Birdman

Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Noah Wiseman, The Babadook

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Gone Girl

Obvious Child

Pride

Snowpiercer

Under the Skin

We Are the Best!

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Birdman

Boyhood

Force Majeure

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Ida

Love is Strange

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Birdman

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Ida

Inherent Vice

Mr. Turner

Under the Skin

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Babadook

Birdman

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Inherent Vice

Mr. Turner

Snowpiercer

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Beyond the Lights

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Inherent Vice

A Most Violent Year

Mr. Turner

Only Lovers Left Alive

BEST EDITING

Boyhood

Gone Girl

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Guest

Snowpiercer

Under the Skin

BEST SOUND

The Babadook

The Guest

The LEGO Movie

Snowpiercer

Under the Skin

Whiplash

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Birdman

Gone Girl

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Guest

Inherent Vice

Under the Skin

BEST ANIMATED FILM

The Boxtrolls

How to Train Your Dragon 2

The LEGO Movie
Song of the Sea

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Force Majeure

Ida

Leviathan

Stranger By the Lake

Two Days, One Night

We Are the Best!

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Birdman

Gone Girl

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Pride

Selma

Snowpiercer

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

Essie Davis, The Babadook

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Beyond the Lights

Maika Monroe, The Guest

Jack O’Connell, Starred Up

Jenny Slate, Obvious Child

Katherine Waterston, Inherent Vice

BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER

The Babadook

Blue Ruin

Locke

Nightcrawler

Obvious Child

Whiplash