Oscars 2018: And the winner predictions are in ...

On the eve of the 90th Academy Awards, Darragh Leen peers inside the envelope for some Oscar clues, and predictions.

On the eve of the 90th Academy Awards, Darragh Leen peers inside the envelope for some Oscar merit, clues, and predictions.

There’s a bulky nine nominees in the Best Picture category for Sunday’s Academy Awards, but even with that, there’s a sliver of disappointment that some quality projects got left on the cutting room floor. Imagine Sean Baker’s sophomore attempt, ‘The Florida Project’, the utterly sui generis mockumentary-style feature that is ‘I, Tonya’ or the lived-by-me, told-by-me unconventional rom-com ‘The Big Sick’ had made the no-longer shortlist? Hence the diversity of opinion and betting on the prospective winners Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre.