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Ever since Memento exploded out of the independent film scene and into popular culture, Christopher Nolan has been a favorite of both critics and film fans alike. The director is back this Oscar season with his science fiction epic, Interstellar. The film boasts gorgeous special effects and a big ‘ole heart, but does it have the right stuff to take Oscar gold?

Interstellar has a lot in common with last year’s Gravity. While Gravity was a lean, mean 90-minute survival story, Interstellar is a sprawling three hour epic. But the two films are strikingly similar in that they are both technical masterpieces that put big stars in big pickles in outer space. Gravity took home most of the technical awards last year and Alfonso Cuaron nabbed the Best Director Oscar for his vision. Is this a good indication that Nolan will get the prize this year? And could Interstellar take home the Best Picture Oscar?

Many critics, including Lou Lumenick at the New York Post, found Interstellar to be a thrilling and emotional masterpiece. Others, though, including Wesley Morris from Grantland found it lacking emotional depth or real transcendence. (What did I think? So happy you didn’t ask. I found it very overwrought. As an ardent fan of science fiction, I was disappointed by how unoriginal the film was. I thought it was full of sound and fury, signifying Christopher Nolan’s descent into self-seriousness. But I liked the wave scene!)

It’s our humble opinion that not one of the amazing actors in Interstellar deserves an Oscar nomination for their performances. Its biggest chances will come from the technical awards, but that’s where Gravity‘s success might spell Interstellar‘s doom. Some of the shots are so similar that it will be almost impossible for Oscar voters not to compare them. However, Interstellar won’t just be battling against the ghost of Gravity (Ha! I made a dumb joke that references the movie…). Interstellar will also have to duke it out against the dazzling shots in Birdman and James Gunn’s technical take on outer space in The Guardians of the Galaxy.

That said, here are Decider’s current predictions for who we think will get nominated in the six major categories — not who we think deserves to be (ranked in order of buzziness):

BEST PICTURE

Front Runners: The Theory Of Everything, Birdman, The Imitation Game, Gone Girl, Boyhood, Foxcatcher, Unbroken, Selma, Interstellar, Whiplash

What’s The Buzz: We’re moving Into The Woods off of the list this week, and replacing it with Selma. Why? Because of trailers, dummy. Into The Woods‘ latest trailer has left a rotten taste in some hardcore fans’ mouths, and Selma‘s first trailer evokes Oscar buzz (Hey! It’s a Martin Luther King, Jr. movie! Starring Oprah!) and current events (Hey! What happened in Selma looks a lot like what’s happening in Ferguson!) J.C. Chandor’s A Most Violent Year made its premiere at the AFI film festival last week, and received some glowing, if cautious, reviews. It will be interesting to see if A24 can push it into the mix by the end of the year.

BEST DIRECTOR

Front Runners: Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman), Richard Linklater (Boyhood), David Fincher (Gone Girl), Bennet Miller (Foxcatcher), Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

What’s The Buzz: Last week, we were working under the assumption that Christopher Nolan was going to dazzle us with Interstellar. Given the film’s mixed critical reception, we are going to swap him out for The Imitation Game’s Morten Tyldum. We still want to hope that Richard Linklater will get his due for Boyhood, but Vulture is forecasting a swell for Whiplash‘s Damien Chazelle, which we are not at all opposed to. Chazelle’s lean, mean directing style pushed that film’s narrative to insanely satisfying emotional heights.

BEST ACTOR

Front Runners: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Steve Carrell (Foxcatcher), David Oyelowo (Selma)

What’s The Buzz: Two big things happened in the Best Actor race this week. One, Eddie Redmayne is receiving rave reviews for his performance in The Theory Of Everything. In fact, he’s going to get the Palm Springs Film Festival’s Desert Palm Achievement Award. That’s definitely going to give him some thunder. Also generating heat? David Oyelowo. He’s the guy playing Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma.

BEST ACTRESS

Front Runners: Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Reese Witherspoon (Wild), Amy Adams (Big Eyes), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Felicity Jones (The Theory Of Everything)

What’s The Buzz: Nothing’s really changed this week in the Best Actress race except for the fact that Eddie Redmayne and The Theory of Everything are getting so much buzz. We think all this goodwill towards the Stephen Hawking feature will finally translate for Felicity Jones. The actress has been slighted in the past by Oscar, but this could finally be her ticket to the Kodak Theater.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Front Runners: J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), Edward Norton (Birdman), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher)

What’s The Buzz: Yeah, we’re not really budging much here as it’s highly doubtful that Michael Caine (or Matt Damon) will get a nod for Interstellar. We also still put Simmons as this category’s frontrunner. That is, until we find out how audiences respond to Foxcatcher.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Front Runners: Meryl Streep (Into The Woods), Emma Stone (Birdman), Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game), Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)

What’s The Buzz: Last week, we were wondering where Jessica Chastain would land in the Oscar race — and if she would sneak in at all. Her underwhelming performance in Interstellar opens a door for her to submit for Best Supporting Actress in A Most Violent Year. While most critics say that the film belongs to film lead, Oscar Isaac, we highly doubt that the Inside Llewyn Davis star will get love from the Academy anytime soon. The film’s best bet for a nomination rests on the 1980s power suit-padded shoulders of Chastain.

Of course, the Oscars are nothing if not a political game. Every week, new films are released, reviewed, and hyped by the Hollywood machine. And that means that every week, new frontrunners might emerge. The Oscar Grouch will be back every Monday to keep you updated on this year’s Oscar race.

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[Photos: Everett Collection]