Best actor in a leading role:

Steve Carrell (Foxcatcher)

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)

Benedict Cumberbatch (Imitation Game)

Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

This is an interesting mix of pasty, beautiful white men. Steve Carrell is the only actor in the category whose film, Foxcatcher, is not nominated for best picture. So which white man will be presented a gold statue by another white man?

My guess is Eddie Redmayne, who plays Dr. Steven Hawking in The Theory of Everything, and everyone knows that one of the fastest ways to win an Oscar is to play someone with some sort of disability that triumphantly overcomes it (Forrest Gump, anyone?).

They only problem is that The Theory of Everything lost a lot of its traction after the other films in this category came out. The performance is not as fresh or searing as say Bradley Cooper’s or Steve Carrell’s. So while I think Eddie Redmayne will win, my secret hope is that Steve gets the gold. But what about David Oyelowo who plays the lead role in Selma?

Where’s his nomination? David has won other awards for this role but it seems that the biggest fish eludes him. There is no solid answer as to why David was snubbed this year. Is it because of a large scale diversity problem? Most likely. But let’s take comfort in the fact that people are now seeing that there is a diversity problem and actually talking about it. Take comfort in the fact that a movie like Selma was made and was done expertly. The road to a well diversified world requires lots of baby steps.