There are three precursors announcing prizes the same night (Saturday). One of them, the Annie Awards, will be live streamed (At least, it should be. I haven’t checked, but it has been in the past.) Since the Annies are quite a bit more difficult to predict since they sometimes feel so whim-intensive, none of our contributors have provided commentary. Just look for the most nominated film to win the most, but since there’s a tie, count on Frozen, since it’s the big Oscar contender.

The American Society of Cinematographers and Writers Guild of America are much more important to the precursor season as they represent in-industry voters (not that the Annie Awards don’t, but ASC and WGA have much more telling histories). Anyway, our comments on those guilds are included after the break.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS AWARDS

Best Cinematography

12 Years a Slave – Sean Bobbitt (RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)
Captain Phillips – Barry Ackroyd
The Grandmaster – Philippe Le Sourd
Gravity – Emmanuel Lubezki (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Inside Llewyn Davis – Bruno Delbonnel (RU:Wesley)
Nebraska – Phedon Papamichael
Prisoners – Roger Deakins

Wesley Lovell: So many nominees, but only one can win. That one is most likely Emmanuel Lubezki, a well known cinematographer who is currently the frontrunner for the Oscar, which should make him an easy choice here. However, Bruno Delbonnel has a much more vivid palette to work with, especially in dark environments and smokey rooms. That might help him win but I really doubt anyone else can. Then again, they didn’t go for past Oscar juggernauts Hugo or Life of Pi, so Delbonnel, Sean Bobbit, Phedon Papamichael and oft-honored Roger Deakins could all take a victory lap with this.
Peter J. Patrick: Lubezki seems poised to take home his third ASC trophy for Gravity. He previously won Children of Men and The Tree of Life. If there is an upset it will most likely go to British cinematographer Sean Bobbitt on his first nomination.
Tripp Burton: Gravity has to be the odds-on favorite here, although the ASC has not been as welcoming to heavily CGI-effected films as the Oscars have (they chose more traditional films the past two years over Oscar winners Hugo and Life of Pi). I think that Lubezki will still manage a win here, but this is also a place where 12 Years a Slave could sneak in for a win. Although you also can’t count out favorite Roger Deakins for Prisoners.

WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA

Best Original Screenplay

American Hustle (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyers Club
Her (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Nebraska

Wesley Lovell: Many think American Hustle‘s utter popularity will have an impact on its chances to overcome critics awards leader Her. This will be our first opportunity to see if that dream can become a reality. If Hustle wins, I’ll be changing my Oscar prediction. If Her triumphs, it could be a down-to-the-wire selection at the Oscars and I’ll hedge my bets towards Her
Peter J. Patrick: This one is toss-up. Will they go for the quirky Her or the box office hit, American Hustle? Hard to say.
Tripp Burton: Original Screenplay is looking to be one of the most interesting races of the year, where two films with a strong bloc of supporters are vying for what could be their best chance at an Oscar. American Hustle has broad support, but its script is not one of its most praised qualities, whereas the originality of Her is exactly what makes it so popular. I think that Her is going to win here, much in the way that similarly-clever films like American Splendor and Eternal Sunshine managed WGA wins, but wouldn’t be surprised to see the WGA endorse American Hustle‘s bid for Best Picture.

Best Adapted Screenplay

August: Osage County
Before Midnight (Wesley, Peter, RU:Tripp)
Captain Phillips
Lone Survivor
The Wolf of Wall Street (Tripp, RU:Wesley, RU:Peter)

Wesley Lovell: While there are two Best Picture Oscar nominees on this list, neither are particularly celebrated for their scripts. Meanwhile, one of the few aspects of the Richard Linklater/Julie Delpy/Ethan Hawke Before trilogy has been its screenplay. It’s also a minimalist effort, so something showier like August: Osage County could sneak through. I’m leaning towards Before Midnight simply because of its almost-legendary status, but wouldn’t be surprised to see The Wolf of Wall Street or August: Osage County triumph here.
Peter J. Patrick: I’m guessing they’ll want to honor the “before” trilogy by giving an award to the third entry in the 19-year saga. With 12 Years a Slave and Philomena out of the running, The Wolf of Wall Street seems the most likely to benefit from an upset.
Tripp Burton: The two Oscar frontrunners in this category were ineligible here (12 Years a Slave and Philomena), so this category is pretty up in the air. The Wolf of Wall Street is probably the frontrunner, but if the film is too divisive it might have trouble holding on. If that is the case, then the much-praised Before Midnight could manage a surprise win here.

Documentary Screenplay

Dirty Wars (Peter, RU:Wesley)
Herblock
No Place on Earth
Stories We Tell (Wesley, RU:Peter)
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks

Wesley Lovell: It’s hard to know what the WGA will favor, but I’m leaning towards the familial research of Stories We Tell over the general research of the other films. Dirty Wars and We Steal Secrets both seem likely victors as well.
Peter J. Patrick: I really have no idea what they’ll opt for in this category but Dirty Wars sounds like the kind of serious film that most often honor here. The popular Stories We Tell could upset as could the WikiLeaks documentary.

ANNIE AWARDS

Best Animated Feature

A Letter to Momo
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Monsters University
The Croods (RU:Tripp)
The Wind Rises (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter)

Best Animated Short Subject

Despicable Me 2 – Puppy (RU:Wesley)
Get A Horse! (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Gloria Victoria
My Mom is an Airplane (RU:Peter)
The Numberlys (RU:Tripp)

Best Animated Effects, Animation

Alen Lai, David Quirus, Diego Garzon Sanchez, Ilan Gabai – Epic (Peter, RU:Wesley)
David Jones – Dragons: Defenders of Berk
Joshua Jenny, Jason Johnston, Matthew Wong, Eric Froemling, Enrique Vila – Monsters University (RU:Peter)
Jeff Budsberg, Andre Le Blanc, Louis Flores, Jason Mayer – The Croods (Wesley, Tripp)
Greg Gladstone, Nikita Pavlov, Allen Ruilova, Matt Titus, Can Yuksel – Turbo (RU:Tripp)

Best Animated Effects, Live Action

Jonathan Paquin, Brian Goodwin, Gray Horsfield, Mathieu Chardonnet, Adrien Toupet – Man Of Steel (Peter)
Ben O’Brien, Karin Cooper, Lee Uren, Chris Root – Star Trek: Into Darkness (RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Dan Pearson, Jay Cooper, Jeff Grebe, Amelia Chenoweth – Star Trek: Into Darkness (RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Michael Balog, Ryan Hopkins, Patrick Conran, Florian Witzel – Pacific Rim (Wesley, Tripp, RU:Peter)

Best Character Animation, Animated Feature

Thom Roberts – Epic (RU:Tripp)
Jonathan Del Val – Despicable Me 2
Jakob Jensen – The Croods (RU:Tripp)
John Chun Chiu Lee – Monsters University (RU:Wesley)
Kitaro Kosaka – The Wind Rises (RU:Peter)
Tony Smeed – Frozen (Wesley, Peter)
Patrick Imbert – Ernest & Celestine

Best Character Animation, Live Action Feature

Jeff Capogreco, Jedrzej Wojtowicz, Kevin Estey, Alessandro Bonora, Gino Acevedo – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Gollum (Wesley, Peter)
Dave Clayton, Simeon Duncombe, Jung Min Chan, Matthew Cioffi, Guillame Francois – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Goblin King (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)
Hal Hickel, Chris Lentz, Derrick Carlin, Steve Rawlins, Kyle Winkelman – Pacific Rim (Tripp)

Best Character Design

Carter Goodrich, Takao Noguchi, Shane Prigmore – The Croods (RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)
Sylvain Deboissy, Shannon Tindle – Turbo (Tripp)
Craig Kellman – Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2
Chris Sasaki – Monsters University (Wesley)
Christophe Lourdelet – A Monster in Paris
Eric Guillon – Despicable Me 2
Bill Schwab – Frozen (Peter, RU:Wesley)

Best Directing

Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco – The Croods (RU:Wesley)
David Soren – Turbo
Chris Wedge – Epic (RU:Tripp)
Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier – Ernest & Celestine (RU:Peter)
Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – Frozen (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)

Best Music

Alan Silvestri – The Croods (RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Henry Jackman – Turbo
Mark Mothersbaugh – Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2
Heitor Pereira, Pharrell Williams – Despicable Me 2
Danny Elfman – Epic (RU:Peter)
Randy Newman – Monsters University
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, Christophe Beck – Frozen (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Dominic Lewis – Free Birds

Best Production Design

Christophe Lautrette, Paul Duncan, Dominique R. Louis – The Croods (Tripp)
Yarrow Cheney, Eric Guillon – Despicable Me 2
Michael Knapp, Greg Couch, William Joyce – Epic
Zaza, Zyk – Ernest & Celestine
Ricky Nierva, Robert Kondo, Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi – Monsters University (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)
Michael Giaimo, Lisa Keene, David Womersley – Frozen (Wesley, Peter)

Best Storyboarding

Steven MacLeod – The Croods
Eric Favela – Despicable Me 2 (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter)
Dean Kelly – Monsters University (Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Jason Hand – Planes
John Ripa – Frozen (Peter, Tripp)

Best Voice Acting

Paul Giamatti as the voice of Chet – Turbo (RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)
Terry Crews as the voice of Earl – Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2
Kristen Wiig as the voice of Lucy – Despicable Me 2
Steve Carell as the voice of Gru – Despicable Me 2
Pierre Coffin as the voice of Minions – Despicable Me 2 (Wesley)
Billy Crystal as the voice of Mike – Monsters University
Josh Gad as the voice of Olaf – Frozen (Peter, Tripp, RU:Wesley)

Best Writing

Daniel Pennac – Ernest & Celestine
Daniel Gerson, Robert L. Baird, Dan Scanlon – Monsters University
Miyazaki Hayao – The Wind Rises (Peter, Tripp, RU:Wesley)
Jennifer Lee – Frozen (Wesley, RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)

Best Editing

Darren Holmes – The Croods (RU:Peter)
James Ryan – Turbo (RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Fabienne Alvarez-Giro – Ernest & Celestine
Greg Snyder, Gregory Amundson, Steve Bloom – Monsters University
Jeff Draheim – Frozen (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)