And the Oscar goes to…
It’s time to make your Oscar predictions! Who do you think will win tonight? Who do you think should win? Who is most likely to create an upset? Who do you think should have been nominated that was snubbed? Any lingering ghosts of Oscars past? Think Titanic was the biggest ship trainwreck in Oscar history? Want to debate whether Shakespeare in Love really deserved top honors over Saving Private Ryan back in ’99? (Yes, it did.) Here’s the place for any and all Oscar chatter!
Now, let’s see just how phenomenal my cosmic powers are…
Best Picture
- 127 Hours
- Black Swan
- The Fighter
- Inception
- The Kids Are All Right
- The King’s Speech
- The Social Network
- Toy Story 3
- True Grit
- Winter’s Bone
Will Win: The King’s Speech
Should Win: The King’s Speech
Most Likely to Upset: The Social Network
Best Actor
- Javier Bardem for Biutiful
- Jeff Bridges for True Grit
- Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network
- Colin Firth for The King’s Speech
- James Franco for 127 Hours
Will Win: Colin Firth
Should Win: Colin Firth
Best Actress
- Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
- Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole
- Jennifer Lawrence for Winter’s Bone
- Natalie Portman for Black Swan
- Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine
Will Win: Natalie Portman
Should Win: Natalie Portman
Random Besmirchiness: Did anyone besides me find Annette Bening’s character in The Kids Are All Right to be completely unlikeable even though you were supposed to feel for her?
Also: What the heck is Rabbit Hole? I know Oscar is notorious for nominating movies that never hit the mainstream, but it’s strange that a star as big as Nicole Kidman could garner a nod for a film that flew completely under the radar.
Best Supporting Actor
- Christian Bale for The Fighter
- John Hawkes for Winter’s Bone
- Jeremy Renner for The Town
- Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right
- Geoffrey Rush for The King’s Speech
Will Win: Christian Bale
Should Win: Christian Bale
Most Likely to Upset: Geoffrey Rush
Biggest Snub: Matt Damon‘s Skeezy Mustache for True Grit
Best Supporting Actress
- Amy Adams for The Fighter
- Helena Bonham Carter for The King’s Speech
- Melissa Leo for The Fighter
- Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
- Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom
Will Win: Melissa Leo, because she won the Golden Globe and the SAG.
Should Win: Hailee Steinfeld, because she had such a long script to memorize due to there not being any contractions in it. (Also, she made me care far more about her character than I did about any of the others.
Most Likely Upset: Helena Bonham Carter, because she won the BAFTA.
Best Director
- Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
- Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for True Grit
- David Fincher for The Social Network
- Tom Hooper for The King’s Speech
- David O. Russell for The Fighter
Will Win: David Fincher, as a consolation prize for The Social Network.
Should Win: Christopher Nolan for Inception. Biggest snub of this year.
Most Likely Upset: Tom Hooper, because this year’s Oscars are pretty much a deathmatch between The King’s Speech and The Social Network.
Best Original Screenplay
- Another Year: Mike Leigh
- The Fighter: Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington
- Inception: Christopher Nolan
- The Kids Are All Right: Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
- The King’s Speech: David Seidler
Will Win: David Seidler for The King’s Speech, because Best Picture usually wins screenplay or director, if not both, and The Social Network will take director.
Should Win: Christopher Nolan, because the most difficult script to write is the one that must build an entire world. He is the architect.
Most Likely Upset: Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, because the Academy wants to give something to The Kids Are All Right.
Best Adapted Screenplay
- 127 Hours: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
- The Social Network: Aaron Sorkin
- Toy Story 3: Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
- True Grit: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- Winter’s Bone: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini
Will Win: Aaron Sorkin
Should Win: The Coen Brothers
Most Likely Upset: Toy Story 3, because the Academy wants to honor the entire Toy Story trilogy with one of the major awards.
Random Snark: When did they stop calling this award by the more concise title “Best Adapted Screenplay”? How do they fit the new title– “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published”–on the statuette?
Best Animated Film
- How to Train Your Dragon
- The Illusionist
- Toy Story 3
Will Win: Toy Story 3
Should Win: How to Train Your Dragon
Best Cinematography
- Black Swan: Matthew Libatique
- Inception: Wally Pfister
- The King’s Speech: Danny Cohen
- The Social Network: Jeff Cronenweth
- True Grit: Roger Deakins
Will Win: Inception
Should Win: Inception
Best Score
- 127 Hours: A.R. Rahman
- How to Train Your Dragon: John Powell
- Inception: Hans Zimmer
- The King’s Speech: Alexandre Desplat
- The Social Network: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Will Win: I don’t know–Oscar often flummoxes me here.
Should Win: How to Train Your Dragon
Here end my predictions; I’ve omitted most of the technical categories because I really don’t know enough about them (as if I’m an expert on the categories on which I have opined!) or care enough to judge.
