Best Production Design: Adam Stockhausen & Alice Baker (“12 Years a Slave”)

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The race should be between “The Great Gatsby” and “12 Years a Slave.” Though no period film I’ve seen holds a candle to the self-consciously garish, decadent, and sleazy world of “Gatsby”, stills from “12 Years a Slave” reveal what must have been a mythic effort to make costume and set constantly complement each other’s muted colors. I have a feeling that voters’ positive associations with the movie’s message will prevail. If the Academy turned off the sound and forgot that Catherine Martin has already won an Oscar in production design for “Moulin Rouge!” I would call it a sure thing. —Hayden S. Betts

Best Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze (“Her”)

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“Sometimes I think I have felt everything I’m ever gonna feel,” Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) whispers about halfway through Spike Jonze’s “Her.” “And from here on out, I’m not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I’ve already felt.” It’s the type of halting confession that only comes late at night, when it’s dark enough to make a first attempt at trust with someone new. It doesn’t matter that Theodore’s talking to an operating system—Theodore and OS Samantha stumble into a relationship that’s premised by necessity on words, and Jonze’s wistful but realistic screenplay makes us believe that’s possible without getting bogged down in self-importance or preachiness. —Natalie T. Chang

Staff writer Tree A. Palmedo can be reached at tree.palmedo@thecrimson.com. Staff writer Petey E. Menz can be reached at petey.menz@thecrimson.com. Staff writer Austin Siegemund-Broka can be reached at austin.siegemund-broka@thecrimson.com. Contributing writer Ha D.H. Le can be reached at hadohuyle@college.harvard.edu. Staff writer Natalie T. Chang can be reached at natalie.chang@thecrimson.com. Contributing writer Hayden S. Betts can be reached at haydenbetts@college.harvard.edu.