2017 Oscar Nominations Predictions: Stars That Would Score A Spot

The nominees for the 89th Academy Awards will be announced Tuesday and it seems it is going to be hard for a comedy make it to the list for best picture.

"It is a pileup of sad on the front burner......Never has it been harder for a comedy to wade through." Thelma Adams, film critic and contributor to The New York Observer, said about this year's Oscar front-runners.  She is referring to the content and not the quality of the three top pictures in this year's Oscar race - "Manchester by the Sea," "La La Land," and "Moonlight."

According to ABC news, she also expects to see several nods for black actors on Tuesday due to the popular hashtag "#OscarsSoWhite" that cropped up last year when no black person received a nomination in the four acting categories.

Brie Larson, Emmanuel Lubezki, Jason Reitman, Jennifer Hudson, Ken Watanabe and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs will make the announcements Tuesday. Here's what to expect:

Best picture

Adams says she is expects only eight films to receive nominations even if there are around ten slots in this category with "Arrival," "Hidden Figures" and "Lion" having strong chances to score nods, in addition to the front-runners "La La Land,""Manchester by the Sea," and "Moonlight."

She added that "Hacksaw Ridge" and "To Hell or High Water" would also be in this category but she is not sure if "Loving," will make it to the list. "Sully," has also not had a strong showing on the awards circuit, but it might still make the cut.

Best actor

She place Casey Affleck, "Manchester by the Sea" at the top of this category, stating that his only competitor will be Denzel Washington, "Fences", whom Adams believes will score his fifth best actor nomination.

She also expects Ryan Gosling, "La La Land" to score a spot, along with Andrew Garfield, who performed really well in "Hacksaw Ridge" and "Silence." However, Viggo Mortensen will likely score the fifth slot for his performance in "Captain Fantastic."

Best actress

Adams believes that the strong female roles this year will make this category very competitive, despite that, She called Emma Stone "La La Land" and Isabelle Huppert "Elle" will make it to this category even though, Huppert has never been nominated for an Academy Award.

She also expects Natalie Portman to get a nomination for her film "Jackie," and Amy Adams for her role in "Arrival." Adams named some actresses who could possibly score the fifth spot: Annette Bening, "20th Century Women," Meryl Streep, "Florence Foster Jenkins" and Taraji Henson for "Hidden Figures."

Best supporting actor

She believes that Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight" will not only score a spot but also win this category. Others who Adams believe will make it to this category include Jeff Bridges "Hell or High Water", Dev Patel "Lion" and Lucas Hedges ("Manchester by the Sea") with the fifth nod going to either Hugh Grant "Florence Foster Jenkins", or Aaron Taylor-Johnson "Nocturnal Animals."

Best supporting actress

Adams said Viola Davis will top this category and will likely win for her performance in "Fences," meaning she push aside other potential nominees including Michelle Williams, "Manchester by the Sea," Naomie Harris "Moonlight," Octavia Spencer, "Hidden Figures," and Nicole Kidman "Lion."

Best director

She describes this category as "greenest" giving all the new directors likely to be nominated. However, she place Damien Chazelle at the top of the list for "La La Land," and then Barry Jenkins for "Moonlight." Adams said designer Tom Ford could make it to this list for his "Nocturnal Animals," and also Jeff Nichols for "Loving."

She said other possibilities are Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester by the Sea" and Denzel Washington for "Fences," but she doesn't think previous Oscar winner Mel Gibson, "Hacksaw Ridge," will score a nod.

Collider reports that Tom Cross "La La Land," Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders "Moonlight," Jennifer Lame "Manchester by the Sea," John Gilbert "Hacksaw Ridge" and Joe Walker "Arrival," would make it to the "Best Film Editing" category, with Zootopia, Moana, Kubo and the Two Strings, The Red Turtle and My Life as a Zucchini scoring a spot in the "Best Animated Feature" Category.

The Nominees will be announced on Tuesday at 5:18 a.m. PT/8:18 a.m. ET through a live stream on the Academy's official website and will also air live on ABC's "Good Morning America" and local broadcasters and satellite feed.