My FINAL Oscar Predictions

Well, tomorrow it will all be over. Tomorrow the Academy will announce their nominations for the 2013 Oscars and we can stop predicting what will be nominated and start talking about what will win. These are my final predictions for what will be nominated and I'll be waking up early tomorrow morning to watch the announcements and see who will win!

BEST PICTURE:

• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

ANALYSIS: My Best Picture predictions remain the same as they did the last time I uploaded Oscar predictions. At this point, I just can't imagine The Master being nominated and while I may be trying to be accurate with my predictions I wouldn't mind being wrong if it means getting Moonrise Kingdom a nomination. But, I don't see either one happening. As for these eight, they all seem quite likely. The only one that's got me second guessing myself is Beasts of the Southern Wild but I have faith in it getting a slot. 

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

• Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
• John Hawkes, The Sessions
• Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
• Denzel Washington, Flight

ANALYSIS: Another category where my predictions remain the same. A snub for Cooper is, I suppose, possible, but with the help of the Weinsteins and the fact that Joaquin Phoenix has lost almost all of his momentum, I can't help but feel confident in these five choices. 

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

• Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
• Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
• Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
• Quevanzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Naomi Watts, The Impossible

ANALYSIS: Yet again, I'm keeping my predictions the same. Wallis is a bit of a risky pick, but filling the slot with Riva also feels like a bit of a risk and I just can't imagine Mirren getting in there for a lackluster film that most people have forgotten about. Wallis just seems like the best pick out of the bunch, and the other four are almost locked at this point. I feel confident in my choices. 

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

• Alan Arkin, Argo
• Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
• Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

ANALYSIS: This was, by far, the toughest category to predict. A part of me really wants to swap in Christoph Waltz in Leonardo DiCaprio's place, and I can also foresee Javier Bardem getting in there for Skyfall. This one could definitely go in a number of different directions though, so I'm just gonna play it safe.

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

• Amy Adams, The Master
• Sally Field, Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
• Helen Hunt, The Sessions
• Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

ANALYSIS: Another difficult category to predict as Field, Hathaway and Hunt are all locked for an award and the last two spots are up for grabs. I could definitely see Samantha Barks sneaking in there (and would love to see that happen!) or, possibly, Nicole Kidman, but Amy Adams feels like a safe (and deserved) nomination to predict and I feel the most confident selecting Smith above all the other possible nominees. 

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING:

• Ben Affleck, Argo
• Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
• Tom Hooper, Les Miserables
• Ang Lee, Life of Pi
• Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

ANALYSIS: This is the category where I feel, by far, the most optimistic. Hooper and Lee are, I suppose, not locks, but I see them getting in before O. Russell and Tarantino and, even then, I can't imagine both of them getting locked out. 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

• Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• David Magee, Life of Pi
• David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
• Chris Terrio, Argo
• Tony Kushner, John Logan and Paul Webb, Lincoln

ANALYSIS: Another relatively easy category. Lincoln, Argo and Silver Linings Playbook are all locked and Life of Pi feels more than likely. Perks is, by far, the wildcard of the bunch but with a WGA nomination in it's pocket I definitely see this getting in long before Les Miserables or Beasts of the Southern Wild.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: 

• Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
• Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
• Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
• John Gatins, Flight
• Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

ANALYSIS: Another easy category. I suppose I could see Amour getting in there but I get the sense that the love for Amour is being overblown by fans of the film on message boards. After all, it's not even the Foreign Film frontrunner. 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: 

• Roger Deakins, Skyfall
• Greig Fraser, Zero Dark Thirty
• Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln
• Mihai Malaimare Jr., The Master
• Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi

ANALYSIS: It was between Lincoln or Django Unchained for the final slot, and I'm giving Lincoln the edge simply because Lincoln feels more up the Academy's alley than Django, and I predict that Lincoln will end up with the most nominations for any film this year. 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

• Rick Carter, Jim Erickson and Peter T. Frank, Lincoln
• Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, Anna Karenina
• J. Michael Riva, Django Unchained
• Eve Stewart, Les Miserables
• David Crank, Jack Fisk and Amy Wells, The Master

ANALYSIS: A part of me could see Life of Pi sneaking on here but this is a fairly tough field to break into. I'm sticking with these five. 

BEST FILM EDITING:

• Chris Dickens, Les Miserables
• William Goldenberg, Argo
• Michael Kahn, Lincoln
• Tim Squyres, Life of Pi
• Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty

ANALYSIS: Common knowledge suggests that the Best Picture contenders tend to earn nominations in this category, so I'm going with the five biggest contenders for the prize. Makes sense to me.

BEST SOUND EDITING: 

• The Dark Knight Rises
• Django Unchained
• Flight
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

ANALYSIS: I can't pretend I know anything about this category. These are just five random guesses. 

BEST SOUND MIXING: 

• The Dark Knight Rises
• Flight
• Les Miserables
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

ANALYSIS: See above.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

• Sharen Davis, Django Unchained
• Paco Delgado, Les Miserables
• Jacqueline Durran, Anna Karenina
• Joanna Johnston, Lincoln
• Anna Maskrey and Richard Taylor, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

ANALYSIS: I could see Argo getting in there, but I'm giving the edge to The Hobbit, as two of the three LOTR films earned nominations in this category. Granted, response to The Hobbit hasn't been nearly as strong as the other films in the franchise, but I could still see this getting in there. 

BEST MAKEUP & HAIR STYLING:

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 
• Les Miserables
• Lincoln

ANALYSIS: Another relatively easy category to predict. A part of me could see Hitchcock making it in there instead of Les Miserables but it's a chance I'm willing to take. 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

• The Avengers
• Cloud Atlas
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Prometheus

ANALYSIS: It's either Cloud Atlas or Snow White & the Huntsman getting the last spot, and I'm sending goodwill to Cloud Atlas by giving it a slight edge. I don't understand how it could possibly be ignored in this category.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

• Myhcael Danna, Life of Pi
• Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek andTom Tykwer, Cloud Atlas
• Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina
• John Williams, Lincoln
• Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

ANALYSIS: Yet again, I'm giving Cloud Atlas a very slight edge here. I really want it to make it into the top 5, but at the same time wouldn't be surprised if it gets snubbed. But, I have a Golden Globe nomination on my side with this one, so I'm rooting for it. The other four, however, are most definitely getting in. 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:

• "Learn Me Right" by Birdy and Mumford & Sons from Brave
• "Skyfall" by Adele from Skyfall
• "Still Alive" by Paul Williams from Paul Williams Still Alive
• "Suddenly" by Hugh Jackman from Les Miserables
• "Who Did That To You?" by John Legend from Django Unchained

ANALYSIS: I made a slight switch in terms of which Django Unchained song gets nominated, but this is a pretty hard category to predict regardless. I feel like the songs from Brave, Les Miserables and Skyfall are almost guaranteed though, so three out of five ain't bad. On a side note, have you heard "Who Did That To You?" from the Django Unchained soundtrack yet? It is, by far, the best song of the bunch.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Rabbi's Cat
• Wreck-it-Ralph

ANALYSIS: Another category that is (hopefully) easy to predict, all five of the predictions make sense in my opinion. A part of me could see ParaNorman getting snubbed, but we'll just have to see. 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

• The Gatekeepers 
• The House I Live In
• How to Survive a Plague 
• The Invisible War
• Searching for Sugar Man

ANALYSIS: I'm going against my gut by putting The Gatekeepers instead of The Imposter or Bully but these are five of the most talked about documentaries at the moment, and I feel that the Academy will honor them. 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

• Amour (Austria)
• The Intouchables (France)
• Lore (Australia)
• No (Chile)
• A Royal Affair (Denmark)

ANALYSIS: The hardest category to predict outside of Amour and The Intouchables. Fingers crossed that this gamble pays off. 

That's all for me! Leave your predictions, or your thoughts on mine, and we'll see how it all turns out tomorrow!