We are now entering the final hours of Oscar season and I haven’t made an official post spelling out my predictions for tomorrow that we come to expect from every film blogger across the world. Oh me, oh my! I’ve been writing about the Oscars all year. I eat, sleep, breathe and roll around in this shit every day. Therefore, I can claim being an official expert at the amateur level. The Academy is going to do exactly what I say here. Just wait for that last minute envelope switch for Best Picture. They’re reading, I can feel their judging eyes. Anyway, in case you’re wondering, here are my predictions in some main categories:
Best Actor:
While I haven’t seen Biutiful and have a great respect for Javier Bardem’s work, I have to pick Colin Firth. His performance was more than a stuttering, it was bringing human flaw to a king with beauty.
Best Actress:
Ain’t no one got nothin’ on Natalie Portman. She has been picking up awards for this role all season, made ballet a beautiful nightmare and has a baby on the way because of this film. There will be no end to my ranting if she doesn’t win.
Supporting Actor:
Hands down Christian Bale. I now want to see him go straight from Batman voice into Dicky on crack. It’s night and day, that range is powerful.
Supporting Actress:
Here’s where it gets tricky. I want to say Hailee Steinfeld, but realize that the Oscars like to award the one thing she lacks: age. Helena Bonham Carter makes a wonderful queen and it’s so nice to see her out of a Burton film. But if I were betting, I’d go with Melissa Leo. There’s a lot of heart and guts she puts into that role and it shows.
Best Director:
While David Fincher may be well overdue, The Social Network is not the best I’ve seen from him, nothing beats Fight Club. I would love to see Darren Aronofsky awarded for his beautiful direction of Black Swan, but I feel the political strings pulling already. Tom Hooper is going to win for The King’s Speech.
Original Screenplay:
I’m going to just say it, Inception was plotted out perfectly. You take something that sounds confusing when anyone else talks about it and it makes perfect sense on film, that’s a winner.
Adapted Screenplay:
I want to say 127 Hours, because really, let’s see you make five days stuck in one spot interesting for two hours. But I feel True Grit sneaking ahead here. I think that proper dialogue will go far.
Cinematography:
Please let this one go to Black Swan! The way the camera moves with the dancers, the way it spins and that club scene visually blows The Social Networks club scene away. I know this isn’t the Academy’s usual taste, they’re more likely to go for True Grit’s western landscapes and rocks, but come on. Please?
Art Direction:
Forgive me, but I want to say Alice in Wonderland, but I know the Academy doesn’t care for Tim Burton’s creepy time anymore. Somehow, I feel those oddly speckled walls in The King’s Speech holding their merit.
Sound Mixing:
Inception rattled my fish tank. I want to see an Oscar awarded for that.
Sound Editing:
Honestly, between 127 Hours, Black Swan and The Fighter, who had the best broken body parts sound effects? When that arm broke 127 Hours, I nearly pissed my pants. Award that.
Original Score:
Everytime I hear that awards music for The Social Network I feel sleepy, but there was something about The King’s Speech’s music that I just loved.
Animated Feature:
Uh, duh, who is also competing for Best Picture here? Toy Story 3. Sadly, I see it as their only award for the night.
And…I made you scroll all the way to the bottom because you know there is only one award that defines Oscar night. Best Picture:
Honestly…I don’t know. From what I’ve been learning through this extensive blog is that this category is so unpredictable and what wins isn’t necessarily what we will all love and remember thirty years from now. I feel like the front runners are The King’s Speech, The Social Network and Black Swan. The Academy has awarded both inspiring films and films that show the times in recent years. My honest guess: you’ll find The King’s Speech crowned Best Picture tomorrow night.
To view all my reviews of the current Best Picture nominees, click under the 2010 category. And have a happy Oscar night.
The Best Picture Project 
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Mmmmmm…let’s play Academy voter:
Actor: Colin Firth should have won last year for SINGLE MAN, so this year it’s James Franco for carrying that entire movie in a commanding performance.
Actress: who else, Natalie Portman
Supp Actor: I’m kind of partial to Jeremy Renner in THE TOWN
Supp Actress: Helena Bonham Carter, a great queen mum
Director: Fincher should have won for BEJAMIN BUTTON, so give it to him this time!
Screenplay: INCEPTION & 127 HOURS
Cinematography: BLACK SWAN
Art Direction: INCEPTION
Sound: INCEPTION & 127 HOURS
Best Film: Out of KING’S SPEECH, BLACK SWAN, & 127 HOURS, I want to eat crow for my negativity about Danny Boyle two years ago for SLUMDOG. Partly as an apology, partly because it was just all around GREAT movie-making, I’ll go with 127HOURS.
Not that any of this is predictive, just personal preference. enjoy the show!
For some reason I think Aronofsky will get best director for Black Swan, though Tom Hooper is pretty plausible.
Oh my, no one has noticed anything interesting in the Sound Editing category? 127 Hours isn’t even nominated there. I think I was looking under Editing and had sound on the mind, my bad. Let me rethink that mix up.
Sound Editing: Not Unstoppable. Maybe Inception
And the one I skipped, Editing: Why not 127 Hours? I’d just like to see that take home more Oscars than The Social Network.
I agree. Unfortunately, many folks didn’t see 127 HOURS after hearing about the climactic scene (including several in my family), so they missed a really good film which deserves a lot more recognition than it’s going to get.
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No, no no. The Social Network is way better than Fight Club.
Sounds like you did alright, but overestimated 127 hours.