It’s the day before the 83rd Academy Awards, and that means it’s time for my annual predictions. For the four years I’ve been posting these, my average has been pretty consistent, normally getting slightly more than half correct. I expect this will probably be true again this year. There are only two categories I consider to be completely locked. I won’t tell you what they are, but they might have the word “Leading” in the title…
So let’s get to it. As always I’ll list each category and its nominees. The film which I think will receive the Oscar will be highlighted in RED. In the instances where I think the most deserving film will lose, I will highlight the film I feel should win in BLUE.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Javier Bardem in “Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions)
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit” (Paramount)
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Colin Firth in “The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company)
James Franco in “127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Christian Bale in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone” (Roadside Attractions)
Jeremy Renner in “The Town” (Warner Bros.)
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features)
Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features)
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate)
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone” (Roadside Attractions)
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight)
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company)
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit” (Paramount)
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Page 1.
Best animated feature film of the year
“How to Train Your Dragon” (Paramount) Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
“The Illusionist” (Sony Pictures Classics) Sylvain Chomet
“Toy Story 3” (Walt Disney) Lee Unkrich
Achievement in art direction
“Alice in Wonderland” (Walt Disney) Production Design:
Set Decoration:
Robert Stromberg
Karen O'Hara
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part
1” (Warner Bros.)
Production Design:
Set Decoration:
Stuart Craig
Stephenie McMillan
“Inception” (Warner Bros.) Production Design:
Set Decoration:
Guy Hendrix Dyas
Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
“The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company) Production Design:
Set Decoration:
Eve Stewart
Judy Farr
“True Grit” (Paramount) Production Design:
Set Decoration:
Jess Gonchor
Nancy Haigh
Achievement in cinematography
“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight) Matthew Libatique
“Inception” (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
“The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company) Danny Cohen
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeff Cronenweth
“True Grit” (Paramount) Roger Deakins
Achievement in costume design
“Alice in Wonderland” (Walt Disney) Colleen Atwood
“I Am Love” (Magnolia Pictures) Antonella Cannarozzi
“The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company) Jenny Beavan
“The Tempest” (Miramax) Sandy Powell
“True Grit” (Paramount) Mary Zophres
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Page 2.
Achievement in directing
“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight) Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter” (Paramount) David O. Russell
“The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company) Tom Hooper
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing) David Fincher
“True Grit” (Paramount) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Best documentary feature
“Exit through the Gift Shop” (Producers
Distribution Agency)
A Paranoid Pictures Production
Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
“Gasland”
A Gasland Production
Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics)
A Representational Pictures Production
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Restrepo” (National Geographic Entertainment)
An Outpost Films Production
Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
“Waste Land” (Arthouse Films)
An Almega Projects Production
Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley
Best documentary short subject
“Killing in the Name”
A Moxie Firecracker Films Production
Nominees to be determined
“Poster Girl”
A Portrayal Films Production
Nominees to be determined
“Strangers No More”
A Simon & Goodman Picture Company Production
Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
“Sun Come Up”
A Sun Come Up Production
Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
“The Warriors of Qiugang”
A Thomas Lennon Films Production
Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Page 3.
Achievement in film editing
“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight) Andrew Weisblum
“The Fighter” (Paramount) Pamela Martin
“The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company) Tariq Anwar
“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight) Jon Harris
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Best foreign language film of the year
“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions)
A Menage Atroz, Mod Producciones and Ikiru Films
Production
Mexico
“Dogtooth” (Kino International)
A Boo Production
Greece
“In a Better World” (Sony Pictures Classics)
A Zentropa Production
Denmark
“Incendies” (Sony Pictures Classics)
A Micro-Scope Production
Canada
“Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” (Cohen Media Group)
A Tassili Films Production
Algeria
Achievement in makeup
“Barney's Version” (Sony Pictures Classics) Adrien Morot
“The Way Back” (Newmarket Films in association with
Wrekin Hill Entertainment and Image Entertainment)
Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda
Toussieng
“The Wolfman” (Universal) Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“How to Train Your Dragon” (Paramount) John Powell
“Inception” (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
“The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company) Alexandre Desplat
“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
(Sony Pictures Releasing (Screen Gems))
Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and
Hillary Lindsey
“I See the Light” from “Tangled”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Glenn Slater
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
(Fox Searchlight)
Music by A.R. Rahman
Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3”
(Walt Disney)
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Best animated short film
“Day & Night” (Walt Disney)
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Teddy Newton
“The Gruffalo”
A Magic Light Pictures Production
Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
“Let's Pollute”
A Geefwee Boedoe Production
Geefwee Boedoe
“The Lost Thing” (Nick Batzias for Madman Entertainment)
A Passion Pictures Australia Production
Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
“Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey
Diary)”
A Sacrebleu Production
Bastien Dubois
Best live action short film
“The Confession” (National Film and Television School)
A National Film and Television School Production
Tanel Toom
“The Crush” (Network Ireland Television)
A Purdy Pictures Production
Michael Creagh
“God of Love”
A Luke Matheny Production
Luke Matheny
“Na Wewe” (Premium Films)
A CUT! Production
Ivan Goldschmidt
“Wish 143”
A Swing and Shift Films/Union Pictures Production
Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite
Achievement in sound editing
“Inception” (Warner Bros.) Richard King
“Toy Story 3” (Walt Disney) Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
“Tron: Legacy” (Walt Disney) Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
“True Grit” (Paramount) Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
“Unstoppable” (20th Century Fox) Mark P. Stoeckinger
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Page 6.
Achievement in sound mixing
“Inception” (Warner Bros.) Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
“The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company) Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
“Salt” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and
William Sarokin
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark
Weingarten
“True Grit” (Paramount) Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and
Peter F. Kurland
Achievement in visual effects
“Alice in Wonderland” (Walt Disney) Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean
Phillips
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” (Warner
Bros.)
Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and
Nicolas Aithadi
“Hereafter” (Warner Bros.) Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and
Joe Farrell
“Inception” (Warner Bros.) Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and
Peter Bebb
“Iron Man 2” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment,
Distributed by Paramount)
Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick
Adapted screenplay
“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
“Toy Story 3” (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Michael Arndt Story
by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee
Unkrich
“True Grit” (Paramount) Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Winter's Bone” (Roadside Attractions) Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne
Rosellini
Original screenplay
“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Mike Leigh
“The Fighter” (Paramount) Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric
Johnson
Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric
Johnson
“Inception” (Warner Bros.) Written by Christopher Nolan
“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features) Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
“The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company) Screenplay by David Seidler
Best motion picture of the year
“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight)
A Protozoa and Phoenix Pictures Production
Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin,
Producers
“The Fighter” (Paramount)
A Relativity Media Production
David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark
Wahlberg, Producers
“Inception” (Warner Bros.)
A Warner Bros. UK Services Production
Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features)
An Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision and Gilbert
Films Production
Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray,
Producers
“The King's Speech” (The Weinstein Company)
A See-Saw Films and Bedlam Production
Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin,
Producers
“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight)
An Hours Production
Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson,
Producers
“The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
A Columbia Pictures Production
Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and
Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Toy Story 3” (Walt Disney)
A Pixar Production
Darla K. Anderson, Producer
“True Grit” (Paramount)
A Paramount Pictures Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“Winter's Bone” (Roadside Attractions)
A Winter's Bone Production
Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Page 5.
And that’s it. Tomorrow night we’ll all see how well I did (and if it was good enough to win the office Oscar pool).
Sleep well,
DTE
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Songs of the moment:
Florence + The Machine – Dog Days Are Over; Brave Saint Saturn – Enamel; Daft Punk – Derezzed
Music while I wrote:
Scott Pilgrim vol. 5 Soundtrack
