Oscar Nominations Predictions Here! 'MStars News' Tells You Who Will Be Nominated For An Academy Award! Will We Hear Chris Pine Say 'Boyhood,' 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' And 'Birdman' On Thursday?

The 87th annual Academy Award nominations will be announced Thursday morning, Jan. 15, at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time by actor Chris Pine, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and directors Alfonso Cuarón and J.J. Abrams. MStars News gives our readers a preview of who we think will be up for the gold in the top categories come February.

Best Picture (in alphabetical order):

American Sniper

Birdman

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Gone Girl

The Imitation Game

Nightcrawler

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

Could be nominated: Foxcatcher

Analysis: It's always a crapshoot how many best picture nominees there will be up to 10. Every year there have been nine, but I'll cheat and list 10 to have a better chance of all of them making it. Eleven films are feasibly fighting for those spots. American Sniper has registered well with many of the guilds while Selma has done terribly, but I think Selma gets in with a passionate group of supporters and the odd man out in the end will be Foxcatcher.

Best Actor:

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game

Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler

Michael Keaton, Birdman

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Could be nominated: Steve Carell, Foxcatcher; David Oyelowo, Selma; Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

Analysis: I may be totally wrong here, but I'm going with Ralph Fiennes being nominated over Carell, Cooper and Oyelowo. The Grand Budapest Hotel has done extremely well with the all-important guilds and has a lot of momentum going into the nominations. I think the general love for the film will push Fiennes to the top five.

Best Actress:

Marion Cotillard, 2 Days, 1 Night

Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Could be nominated: Jennifer Aniston, Cake; Amy Adams, Big Eyes

Analysis: The odd nominee here is Marion Cotillard for her astounding turn in 2 Days, 1 Night. She has won a lot of the critics awards for this role as well as her other performance in The Immigrant, which is why I think she will be nominated. If she gets snubbed, look for Jennifer Aniston to be nominated after receiving noms from the Golden Globes and SAG Awards, which may put her in the top five, but I just don't think her performance is strong enough to make it.

Best Supporting Actor:

Robert Duvall, The Judge

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood

Edward Norton, Birdman

Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Could be nominated: No one

Analysis: These nominees are basically locked. No one else other than these five has registered with any other group. It would be a shock if anyone else was nominated.

Best Supporting Actress:

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year

Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game

Emma Stone, Birdman

Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Could be nominated: Rene Russo, Nightcrawler, Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer; Laura Dern, Wild

Analysis: These five have been pretty locked all season long, but Russo received a well-deserved surprise British Academy Award nomination for her amazing turn in Nightcrawler. My top two performances in this category are Arquette and Russo so I would be extremely delighted if Russo got in. If she does, she'll most likely replace Streep. Here's hoping she does!

Best Director:

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Damien Chazelle, Whiplash

David Fincher, Gone Girl

Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman

Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Could be nominated: Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game; Clint Eastwood, American Sniper; James Marsh, The Theory of Everything; Ava DuVernay, Selma; Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Analysis: Best director is always tough to predict because they usually throw a curveball or two that no one saw coming. This year, I think that curveball will be Damien Chazelle for his amazing work in Whiplash. Many other newbies could be nominated, but I think the Academy really appreciated the work he did in the independent film. The important Directors Guild nominated Clint Eastwood for American Sniper and Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game over Fincher and Chazelle, but I'm sticking with these predictions.

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