So, it has come to that time of year again. Last year I spent a fair bit more time pondering the predictions of the Oscars. With the annoucement of the winners of the Golden Globes, and the date of nominations looming ever so closer, I’ve decided on my final predictions for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.
Now, last year I predicted 40 out of 45 nominees correctly, giving me a nice accuracy rating of 88%. Let’s hope this year, my odds will be beaten!
Best Picture
The Social Network
Black Swan
127 Hours
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
True Grit
Toy Story 3
The King’s Speech
The Fighter
(I’m not great with these ten nominees, however, last year did provide three rather surprising inclusions with The Blind Side, District 9 and A Serious Man, so I’m welcoming an upset. I’d love to see Blue Valentine or Somewhere included in the list. Fingers crossed!)
Best Director
David Fincher, The Social Network
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
(This list seems fairly predictable. Perhaps the most predictable category so far. However, there could be a surprise from say Danny Boyle.)
Best Actor
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Robert Duvall, Get Low
(Now, this is a category with about 6 or 7 likely candidates. It’s a lock for Eisenberg, Firth and Franco. But Gosling or Duvall could EASILY be replaced by Mark Wahlberg or Jeff Bridges.)
Best Actress
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Hilary Swank, Conviction
(This category is a tough one for me. It seems like the Swank spot is VERY open. Michelle Williams deserves to take the spot, but Anne Hathaway could snag it, as could Julianne Moore. Maybe even Halle Berry for Frankie and Alice, but I doubt enough Academy members have seen it. Or a big surprise could be Noomi Repace for Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. They do love their foreign inclusion sometimes.)
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
(This category is a little tricky. I’m not completely confident in Ruffalo or Garfield. John Hawkes from Winter’s Bone could pull a surprise on everyone. As could Michael Douglas for Wall Street 2. Maybe even Justin Timberlake for The Social Network. I hear he’s been campaiging!)
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
(This category is the nearest to me; due to some patriotic roots. However, I think it’s another category with 6 slots, but only enough room for 5 nominees. Weaver is very likely to be replaced by Hailee Steinfeld. Helena BC was good in King’s Speech, but not at the cost of JACKI “You’ve done some bad things, sweetie” WEAVER. Please for the love of oh merciful god let this woman be nominated. Even so just to prove that Sony Pictures Classics did a most excellent job of campaigning in the politicised event that is the Oscars…)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, True Grit
Michael Arndt, etc, Toy Story 3
Debra Granik, Anne Rossellini, Winter’s Bone
Best Original Screenplay
David Seidler, The King’s Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Eric Johnson, Paul Tamasay, Scott Silver, The Fighter
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin, Black Swan
(I’m shite at these categories, especially after the Writers Guild made so many more probably contenders, out of contention for their awards, such as Toy Story 3, Blue Valentine and more…)
