Predictions for who will win the 2017 Academy Awards.

There’s no #Oscarssowhite controversy at this year’s Academy Awards, but there is plenty to talk about. Will La La Land walk away with a record number of Oscars? (The record, for the record, for most wins is 11, shared by three movies: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), Titanic (1997) and 1959’s Ben-Hur.) Will Denzel Washington win his third, and Meryl Streep her fourth? Will Matt Damon’s feud with host Jimmy Kimmel rear its ugly (and hilarious) head? Lots of questions, but this column focuses on the “big six” categories.

Best Picture

The result is a runaway. La La Land tied a record with 14 nominations. La La Land won the BAFTA (British Oscar), Producer’s Guild (PGA) and Director’s Guild (DGA) awards, all of which are notable precursors to Oscar glory. It’s also a technically impressive, beautiful film about struggling artistry, which the Academy has repeatedly embraced (The Artist and Birdman). Anything other than a La La victory will be a tremendous upset; if it happens (and it won’t), it’ll be either Hidden Figures, Manchester By The Seaor Moonlight. Nominees Hacksaw Ridge, Fences, Lion, Hell or High Water and Arrival are all good movies, but not strong contenders.

Will win: La La Land.

Should win: La La Land, my number-one movie of 2016.

Best Director

Usually Best Director aligns with Best Picture, and that’ll be the case again, as La La Land director Damien Chazelle is the heavy favorite. He won the DGA and BAFTA awards, and his film is beloved by the Academy. Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) is only the fourth black director ever nominated in this category, Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge) received his first nomination of any kind since winning for Braveheart (1996), and Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) and Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea) are each enjoying their first director nominations.

Will win: Chazelle.

Should win: Chazelle.

Best Actor

Although Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) and Ryan Gosling (La La Land) were great, this is a two-horse race between Denzel Washington (Fences) and Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea). Washington was superb because he went big as a man struggling to come to terms with his life, and the Academy loves showy performances. In contrast, Affleck went “small” by internalizing much of his character’s grief and numbness. It’s a hard thing to do, and perhaps even harder to recognize and fully appreciate.

Will win: Washington.

Should win: Affleck.

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali won SAG for the critically beloved Moonlight, while Dev Patel took the BAFTA for Lion. But this category could yield the surprise of the evening: Former winner Jeff Bridges is nominated for Hell or High Water, Lucas Hedges was great as a troubled teen in Manchester By The Sea, and Michael Shannon was superb inNocturnal Animals. When predicting this, how risky do you want to be? Safe money is on Ali.

Will win: Ali.

Should win: Hedges.

Best Supporting Actress

All eyes are on Viola Davis (Fences). Naomie Harris was phenomenal in Moonlight. Michelle Williams broke our hearts in Manchester By The Sea. Nicole Kidman was an ideal adoptive mother in Lion. And Octavia Spencer was strong and resilient in Hidden Figures. In the end, though, it’ll be three-time nominee Davis, whose performance as a woman who puts all her faith into a flawed man is one of the most stirring pieces of acting you’ll ever see.

Will win: Davis.

Should win: Davis.

Best Actress

This is Emma Stone’s to lose, and what a treat that will be for La La Land fans. However, Isabelle Huppert gave the best performance among the nominees as a woman who is raped and then plots an unusual course of revenge in Elle. Meryl Streep earned her 20th nomination for her performance as a lovably terrible opera singer in Florence Foster Jenkins, Ruth Negga excelled as one half of an interracial couple during the civil rights movement in Loving, and Natalie Portman shined bright as former first lady Jackie Kennedy in Jackie.

Will win: Stone.

Should win: Huppert.

JIMMY KIMMEL hosts the 89th Academy Awards at 4pm Sunday, Feb. 26 on ABC.