An unprecedented year has led to an unprecedented Oscar. And my Oscar 2021 predictions can help you fill out your virtual ballot, whether your usual Oscar pool is happening this year or just you want to follow at home. Many things have changed, but some remain the same and come this Sunday, so those golden statuettes will go home with the worthy winner.

Unlike other ceremonies in the past, the Oscar 2021 live stream will have limited attendance, ensure social distancing on the red carpet, and virtual attendance from "hubs" around the world. But like all previous Oscars, the 2021 edition includes many worthy contenders, including nomads, Minari, Judas, Black Messiah, and more.

As long as my Oscar predictions resume, I have won many Oscar pools over the years, including the last two among a group of friends. In my Oscar 2020 prediction, I correctly picked 24 out of 21 categories — the winner of the best picture, including parasites.

So, with that said, here's my Oscar 2021 pick.

Last year's race ended with a photo finish, and Parasite won in 1917 with a pleasant surprise. This year, there are a lot of clear front-runners of nomads.

As of 1917, nomads took all the right precursors: Producers Guild, Directors Guild, BAFTA, Critics Choice and the Golden Globe. In 1917, he was nominated for the Best Ensemble Award, but he was unsuccessful and eventually won. It foreshadowed the final Oscar victory of the latter.

Nomadland also did not receive SAG nom, but it does not predict a repeat of last year. For one thing, Nomadland featured a cast in which a real person was playing a version of himself (technically not an actor). Second, the Ensemble Award went to the Chicago 7 exam, where no one thinks they have a shot with the best photos.

On a personal level, I want to see Minari's underdog win. Perhaps it has a chance at a preferred vote, but it feels that victory by nomads is inevitable.

The Directors Guild Awards have been alongside Oscar Nine for the past 11 years. 1 of these mistakes, however, was last year when Sam Mendes won the DGA in 1917, but Bon Joon Ho won the Oscar. It could happen to Dga winner Zhao.

The Academy is growing more diverse, not only by race and gender, but also by nationality. This means that there is a slight chance that the respected Danish writer Vinterberg will get rid of the upset, but it still seems very unlikely. In addition, many academy members may prefer to make history and bring back the trophy of the best director by making Zhao the second woman and the first woman of color.

And he will take this too. So, we expect another touching and heartwarming acceptance speech from his widow, Taylor Simone Redward.

This is the hardest to predict from the top category. Davis's victory in the sag leads her slightly, but the precursor does not favor the actress more than the other actresses.

You'd think McDormand would be a front-runner because he's probably fixing the best picture winner, but she already has 2 Oscars and Davis has 1, but for supporting actress.

Day had a surprise victory at the Golden Globe Awards, which allowed her to follow in the footsteps of last year's lead actress, Lenny Zellweger (who also played a real-life singer in the film with a single nomination). But Davis's biggest challenger is Mulligan, a respected performer who is clearly at the heart of promising young women.

A lot has been made out of the oddities of this category as both Kaluuya and Stanfield support the candidates (Judas and Black Messiah Jesse Plemons).

Strange classification quirks aside, Kaluuya already bags the Golden Globes, SAG and BAFTA and goes home with Oscar.

When the nominations were announced, this category felt the hardest to predict. But things started to become clear recently. Youn has won both SAG and BAFTA and captivated everyone's hell on the awards circuit.

No one near thinks you should also get an Oscar for a performance nominated by the Ratzies. Colman is great among the fathers, but her victory for the favorite is too recent. Bakalova is Youn's strongest competitor, but I think the Academy will prefer a veteran Korean actress over a newcomer.

Nomadland, Borat, Father and another toss-up category with good shots at every win.

Borat won the wga Award, but neither of the other 2 were eligible to be nominated. Nomadland is the frontrunner of the best picture and gives it additional weight. Because this is probably the only category that can win from multiple nominations, and the Academy wants to spread its wealth as much as possible.

The original screenplay category often hints toward edge fare like Get Out (then again, the Green Book won so long ago).

Fennel really hits it out of the park with her feature film debut, and she'll probably win an Oscar for her script by the WGA, over veterans like Sorkin, and, along with Zhao, make it a very feminine celebration.

The gorgeous Wolfwalkers deserve this year's Animated Feature Award, but alas, Apple will walk away empty-handed because Pixar will hardly lose. Not to say that the soul is not very good, but I would like to see an animated film from a small house get out of the shadow of Disney's juggernaut.

The inclusion of Vinterberg in the Best Director nomination shows a high level of support for entry into the Danish Academy.

Kuo Vadis, Aida. As is collective, it is a very worthy competitor (the latter is also nominated for the best documentary, but it can also lose). But it's hard not to root another round for a likeable, boozy drama.

Launch the streaming service and find all of these documentaries immediately, because they are all exceptional. I hardly need to pick 1 more than the others, but that's what it is for prediction. Academy voters tend to go for emotion and heart in this category, and my Octopus teacher on Netflix is full of seas.

Every 5 candidates have a ton of emotional weight, but if something happens I love you speak to the times with the story of two parents who really mourn their daughter who was killed in a school shooting.

Another short, two distant stranger grappling with the current cultural moment is a story like Groundhog Day of black people killed again, and a white cop

Colette is a tearjerker who tracks an elderly woman's visit to a World War II concentration camp. Usually I would say it's invincible, but the concerto is just as emotional as following the composer Chris Bowers who examines his family roots.

The American Society of Cinematographers awarded Mank an award, but they tend to prefer black and white films and often don't match the Oscars. In this case, I think the voters of the Academy will follow their best picture vote and choose a nomadic naturalistic look.

The American Cinema Editors Guild honored the Chicago 7 and Palm Springs trials, but not much to match the Oscar. The best film editors often end up more like most editing awards (to wit, last year went to the Ford v Ferrari). This year, however, I think the more subtle sound of metal will prevail.

This Oscar usually goes to production for a period that puts a strike against the father. And the only other candidate for the best picture is Mank, a film about cinema — and there's nothing the Academy loves more.

And this Oscar almost always goes to the works of the times. Last year, I wrote, "When in doubt, however, go with the one with the big, poofy dress" (and my prediction, the little lady, won). This year, it will be Emma. Instead, I think the Academy can't resist the chance to honor 89-year-old Ross and make her the oldest woman to win an Oscar.

This Oscar rewards the biggest transformations, especially those in which famous actors become famous real people (previous winners: Bomb, Vice, Darkest Hour). But there is no obvious choice here. Pinocchio features perhaps the most jaw-dropping transformation, but hardly anyone had seen it. Mank is a contender, but I have a stunning makeover of Davis on Ma Rainey's black bottom.

Reznor and Ross are dual candidates, but you don't have to worry about splitting the vote. Music at the heart of the soul, and its score is honored accordingly.

Is not the original song category banner year, which, let's face it, requires an overhaul. 4 of the candidates will play the end credits, but it is not likely to win the 5th "Husavik" (as far as I want). "Speak Now" is the perfect national anthem that speaks to the times and is played by the candidates who support it.

The Academy finally combined the Sound Editing and Sound Mixing Awards into one, which is great because most people didn't know the difference and they usually went to the same movie (although not always — last year had split). Usually I would say that you can not go wrong choosing a war film like the Greyhound, but in this case, the sound of metal is a clear favorite with its unique and subtle take on the loss of a man of hearing.

In general, I predict a win by the best picture contenders in this category, even over blockbuster franchises. Last year, I was right to choose 1917 over Avengers:Endgame. But this time, none of the candidates are up for the best photos, so go with the biggest one, which is the doctrine.