ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY AND AWARD NEWS  FEBRUARY 06, 2020 The Only Oscar Predictions You Need Gather ’round, Oscar fanatics, and listen close: Vanity Fair’s staffers have consulted the oracles, read the tea leaves, reviewed our favorite tarot decks—and closely followed all the precursor and guild awards—to determine who seems most likely to win all 24 prizes when the 92nd Academy Awards are handed out on Sunday. We’re calling it now: The acting categories will be handed out to the same actors who have been winning all season. The screenplay categories will be divided between two quirky Oscar newcomers. And the ultimate prize will go to the sweeping war epic, despite a certain Korean fan favorite’s noble quest to make history. “Which is not to say that Sam Mendes’s WW I drama 1917 isn’t inventive or daring,” assures Mike Hogan. “The ‘single-take’ conceit makes the audience feel like they are in the trenches, fighting a spectacularly hellish war for the future of civilization. That combination of technical dazzle and moral clarity is likely to prove irresistible to voters.” Fill out your interactive ballot accordingly. Elsewhere in HWD, Anthony Breznican takes us back to the 2000 Oscars, when 55 Oscar statuettes went missing; Chris Norris makes the case for the creation of a “best-soundtrack” Oscar; Gary Susman remembers Kirk Douglas, who died this week at the age of 103; and Yohana Desta chats with Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan.

And the Winners Will Be… Can Parasite go all the way—or will it fall to 1917? Is Sam Mendes positioned to beat Bong Joon Ho? And can anybody catch Joaquin Phoenix? READ MORE » The Case of the Missing Oscars Twenty years later, a detective revisits when 55 statuettes mysteriously vanished before the 2000 Oscars. READ MORE » For Your Consideration The Academy doesn’t honor those responsible for curating perfect film-accompanying playlists, but it should—starting with one overwhelmingly deserving candidate. READ MORE » RIP, Kirk Douglas “To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years,” his son Michael said in a statement. “But to me and my brothers, Joel and Peter, he was simply Dad.” READ MORE » Director’s Chair Filmmaker Cathy Yan on Margot Robbie’s perfect handwriting, Chris Messina’s thirst-inducing blond locks, and how she landed one of the biggest directing jobs of the year. READ MORE »