For our thirteenth Rundown article, we look at the light and the composition. After the jump, you’ll find our winner and runner-up predictions for Best Cinematography as well as general commentary about the race. Thursday, we’ll cover the musical categories.

Best Cinematography

Winner Predictions

• Carol
• The Hateful Eight
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant (WL O) (PP R) [New] (TB O) (TL O)
• Sicario

Runner-Up Predictions

• Mad Max: Fury Road (WL O) (PP R) [New] (TB R) [New] (TL R) [New]

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Wesley Lovell: Emmanuel Lubezki’s been one of the hottest streaks ever in this category and things don’t appear to be letting up. He’s picked up nearly every award that hasn’t been bolted to the floor and seems destined to carry over to the Oscars as well.
Peter J. Patrick: I give up.
Tripp Burton: This category actually has two nominees that got a lot of mainstream discussion about their cinematography this year: Emmanuel Lubezki’s all-natural The Revenant and Robert Richardson’s all-70mm The Hateful Eight. Only one of those seems in the conversation of an Oscar win, though, and that is ASC winner The Revenant. This would make Lubezki a three-in-a-row winner in this category, and as unrealistic as that sounds, all signs seem to point to it being a reality. If Lubezki somehow doesn’t win another Oscar, it is because Mad Max: Fury Road is on a real hot streak. Poor Roger Deakins, on his thirteenth nomination for Sicario, will probably go home empty-handed for the thirteenth time.
Thomas La Tourrette: After winning the ASC award over the weekend, it looks like Emmanuel Lubezki will win an unprecedented third Oscar in a row for his cinematography. I cannot complain about this as his work on the film was absolutely beautiful. There was little light each day to film, but the shots look cohesive. This was one thing everyone comments on when they see the film, and this will be its most deserved award. I don’t really know what film might come in in second place, though Mad Max and The Hateful Eight are probably the strongest entries, but they have little chance of winning. Mad Max probably has the stronger case for winning as the shooting of the car chases in real time could not have been easy. Carol stands no chance, and poor Roger Deakins will go home empty handed for the 13th time for his work on Sicario. Lubezki easily wins for his gorgeous work on The Revenant.

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