Personal Oscar Predictions

[bizarre]

I think I am keeping my acting predictions the same but moving Max von Sydow out for Nick Nolte. ELAIC's appearance at the Globes was essential to keep the flame alive, I think.

BEST PICTURE:
Hugo
The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
War Horse

I think it is more and more likely that we will see a simple 5-nominee slate.

BEST DIRECTOR:
Michel Hazanavicius
Terrence Malick
Alexander Payne
Martin Scorsese
Steven Spielberg

Malick or Asghar Farhadi I could see as 'surprise' lone directors. But especially Malick given his strong run with smaller precursor groups from all across the country.

BEST ACTOR:
George Clooney
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jean Dujardin
Brad Pitt
Michael Shannon

I think the sexual content of Shame will scare voters off here. SAG was telltale. Meanwhile I think the love shown to Shannon from smaller groups will translate into a surprise nomination for him, the kind that has already happened for him once before.

BEST ACTRESS:
Viola Davis
Elizabeth Olsen
Meryl Streep
Tilda Swinton
Michelle Williams

Swinton is a bizarre choice to hit all the major precursors, but I guess it makes her relatively safe. I'm keeping Olsen in on the strength of her pre-awards buzz (this carried through, miraculously, for the likes of Tommy Lee Jones in 2007), the strength of her story and the fact that, SAG & Globes aside, she's actually had some of the most mentions from all (including smaller) precursors. The BFCA nomination shows that she IS on the radar even if she missed Globes and SAG. And she makes more sense than Rooney Mara at this point. I think Close's film had a story that struck a chord with SAG and Globes but there is still very little passion behind it.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Kenneth Branagh
Albert Brooks
Armie Hammer
Nick Nolte
Christopher Plummer

Max von Sydow still has the role and the career to get in without any precursor love for his film, but because it has been ignored so thoroughly I've taken him out. This category is so up in the air, but I think Brooks and Plummer are locks and Branagh is very safe. Nolte fits the bill of the veteran dragged into the equation for a specialty film (Forster, Coburn etc etc) and Hammer is just a hunch. I do have a feeling that John Goodman could Maggie Gyllenhaal his way in for The Artist but I'll wait and see if there's a backlash.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Bérénice Bejo
Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter)
Melissa McCarthy
Octavia Spencer
Shailene Woodley

I think Spencer and Woodley are the only two locks here, and the other three spots could be divided between Bejo, Chastain for Take Shelter or The Help, McCarthy, Mulligan or Redgrave (or even Bullock?!). McCarthy I'm the least sure about. I feel like indecision on Chastain voting could result in a Take Shelter nomination, which could ultimately equal a win for that performance in a strange year without a standout 'winning' performance.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Hugo
The Descendants
The Help
Moneyball
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

I'm dropping ELAIC & TGWTDT due to their lack of precursor passion. Either could still make a difference after they are released, but usually this doesn't happen in scenarios like this even for the baitiest projects. Even if Oldman is shut out TTSS could still be a default nominee.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
50/50
A Separation
Midnight in Paris
The Artist
Win Win

50/50 and Win Win have been surprisingly strong contenders with smaller groups. A Separation fits the bill of the foreign film de jour getting a nomination. Midnight in Paris and The Artist are locked in.

[Sabin]

Here are my first Post-SAG/Globe predictions. Right now, I have The Artist and Hugo down for ten nominations, The Help for eight, and War Horse for seven. I have Moneyball and The Descendants for four.

Best Picture
1. The Artist
2. The Descendants
3. The Help
4. Midnight in Paris
5. Hugo
6. Moneyball
7. War Horse
8. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
9. The Tree of Life
10. The Ides of March
Early Prediction - The Help. I was wrong about Little Miss Sunshine going all the way to a Best Picture win so I could be wrong again here, but it has so many advantages that The Artist does not.

Best Director
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Tate Taylor, The Help
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Early Prediction - very hard to say at this point. If I had to guess, I'd say Martin Scorsese for Hugo.

Best Actor
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Early Prediction - Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Early Prediction - Viola Davis, The Help

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Early Prediction - Christopher Plummer, Beginners (but Kenneth Branagh is likely as well)

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Early Prediction - Jessica Chastain, The Help

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Thomas McCarthy, Win Win
Annie Mumulo & Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Will Reiser, 50/50
Early Prediction - Midnight in Paris

Best Adapted Screenplay
George Clooney & Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimom, The Ides of March
Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants
Eric Roth, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian, Stan Chervin [story] Moneyball
Tate Taylor, The Help
Early Prediction - The Help

Best Original Score
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Thomas Newman, The Help
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore, Hugo
John Williams, War Horse
Early Prediction - The Artist

Best Original Song
“Lay Your Head Down”, Albert Nobbs
“Life’s a Happy Song”, The Muppets
“The Living Proof”, The Help
“Man or Muppet”, The Muppets
"The Pictures in Your Head", The Muppets
Early Prediction - ...really wish that "Think You Can Wait" in Win Win should win. I'll predict "The Pictures in Your Head" in "The Muppets".

Best Animated Feature
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Chico & Rita
Puss in Boots
Rango
Early Prediction - Rango

Best Foreign-Language Film
The Flowers of War [China]
In Darkness [Poland]
Pina [Germany]
A Separation [Iran]
Where Do We Go Now? [Lebanon]
Early Prediction - A Separation (gotta predict it)

Best Cinematography
Jeff Cronenweth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Emmanuel Lubeszki, The Tree of Life
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Early Prediction - The Tree of Life

Best Film Editing
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
War Horse
Early Prediction - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 2
Hugo
J. Edgar
War Horse
Early Prediction - Hugo

Best Costume Design
The Artist
The Help
Hugo
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
Early Prediction - The Artist

Best Makeup
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 2
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Early Prediction - The Iron Lady

Best Sound Mixing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Early Prediction - War Horse

Best Sound Effects
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Early Prediction - War Horse

Best Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Tree of Life
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Early Prediction - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

[bizarre]

This is probably the craziest and most unsettled year I've tracked in all of the acting categories.

I'll be making revisions again tomorrow, of course, but right now I'm going to say:

George Clooney / The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio / J. Edgar
* Jean Dujardin / The Artist
Brad Pitt / Moneyball
Michael Shannon / Take Shelter
Alternate: Michael Fassbender / Shame

* Viola Davis / The Help
Elizabeth Olsen / Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep / The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton / We Need to Talk About Kevin
Michelle Williams / My Week with Marilyn
Alternate: Charlize Theron / Young Adult

Kenneth Branagh / My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks / Drive
Armie Hammer / J. Edgar
Christopher Plummer / Beginners
* Max von Sydow / Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Alternate: Nick Nolte / Warrior

Bérénice Bejo / The Artist
* Jessica Chastain / Take Shelter
Melissa McCarthy / Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer / The Help
Shailene Woodley / The Descendants
Alternate: Carey Mulligan / Shame

[bizarre]

I’ll do the eight major categories:

BEST PICTURE*
* “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” - Scott Rudin
“Hugo” - Johnny Depp, Tim Headington, Graham King, Martin Scorsese
“The Artist” - Thomas Langmann, Emmanuel Montamat
“The Descendants” - Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” - Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin, Ole Søndberg, Søren Stærmose
“The Help” - Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green
“War Horse” - Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
ALTERNATIVE: “Moneyball” - Michael de Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: “Drive”, “Midnight in Paris”, “The Tree of Life”

The rule change (nominees need to have at least 5% of the vote and can be as few as 5 or as many as 10) doesn’t make this category any less predictable. I expect the stars to align for “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” in a big way - it’s the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Stephen Daldry is directing, it’s schmaltzy and the star power of Hanks + Bullock will = good BO returns. However it could easily go the opposite way as there are already accusations (similar to those levied at the book) of the film cashing in on the tragedy. Similarly, the unseen “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” could be a return to pre-2008 style and themes for the director, who never hit stride with the Academy until “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” despite a large critical and cult following. Otherwise I think these are pretty safe - even if the consensus for “War Horse” ends up middling-to-poor - and the only other question mark is whether or not the BO and crowd-pleasing success of “The Help” translate to a “The Blind Side”-style Best Picture nomination.

BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry, for “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”
David Fincher, for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
* Michel Hazanavicius, for “The Artist”
Martin Scorsese, for “Hugo”
Steven Spielberg, for “War Horse”
ALTERNATIVE: Alexander Payne, for “The Descendants”
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Asghar Farhadi (“A Separation”), Terrence Malick (“The Tree of Life”), Nicolas Winding Refn (“Drive”)

Again, pretty safe. Even with the rule change paring Best Picture down from a guaranteed 10 nominees Best Director will most certainly represent films nominated there. Daldry and Fincher are again the big question marks here, and Spielberg’s placement depends on whether “War Horse” is the rare überbait piece that flops with the Academy. Malick could surprise although his stateside following for this film is smaller than I expected earlier in the year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Farhadi here either - his film has become one of those “world cinema hits” that pop up every once in a while. However since 2009’s rotating rule changes it has been made harder for rogue nominees à la Pedro Almodóvar or Fernando Meirelles to make it in this category.

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, in “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio, in “J. Edgar”
* Jean Dujardin, in “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender, in “Shame”
Brad Pitt, in “Moneyball”
ALTERNATIVE: Gary Oldman, in “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Woody Harrelson (“Rampart”), Thomas Horn (“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”), Michael Shannon (“Take Shelter”)

Probably the smallest pool of contenders of any acting category this year, but one of the least predictable. Clooney, Dujardin and Pitt are locks without a doubt, and I think that, despite poor reviews, the biographical nature of “J. Edgar” and DiCaprio’s arguably overdue status could keep this from becoming, say, “Hereafter” on nominations morning. After all, “Invictus” got two acting nominations with a similarly lukewarm critical reception. The last spot is certainly up for grabs and I’d say it is between Fassbender, Oldman and Shannon unless Harrelson lands a surprise SAG nod or Horn zeitgeists his way in. I’m sticking with Fassbender as it is the consensus choice and he’s doing well with early precursors although the film’s rating and graphic sexual content (potentially the most risqué film since “Last Tango in Paris” to get a nod in this category?) still have me iffy on its awards prospects.

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, in “Albert Nobbs:
* Viola Davis, in “The Help”
Rooney Mara, in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep, in “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, in “My Week with Marilyn”
ALTERNATIVE: Charlize Theron, in “Young Adult”
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Felicity Jones (“Like Crazy”), Keira Knightley (“A Dangerous Method”), Elizabeth Olsen (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”), Tilda Swinton (“We Need to Talk About Kevin”), Kristen Wiig (“Bridesmaids”)

A packed field of contenders and, again, very unpredictable. We know that Davis and Streep are surefire nominees (fears of Davis reverting to a Supporting campaign were quelled after the IPA and WAFCA released their nominations) and Williams is very close to a lock. However the other two spots are up for grabs. I doubt “Albert Nobbs”’ ability to rile the Academy up sufficiently, but Close is a legend and a 5-time nominee who hasn’t been recognised here since 1988, this is a role she’s fought tooth-and-nail to play for decades, she co-wrote the film and helped fund it, and she’s shopping it all over town at the moment. She’s definitely got a story and her campaign is almost Melissa Leo levels of aggressive so it is strange that the film isn’t catching fire awards-wise in the way many people expected it to. She’s probably the weakest of the bunch here and Theron could easily take her spot. Rooney Mara has been hyped all year and the few reviews that have escaped the embargo praise her - she’s in here because I find it hard to see a contemporary lineup without at least one first-time nominee (this hasn’t happened since 1994). The other contenders are interesting - Olsen, once a sure thing, has sadly dropped behind a bit, while Swinton, whose film was always written off as too out-there for AMPAS, has had a surprisingly impressive run with the early awards. Olsen could easily be rescued by Globe, SAG or BFCA while Swinton could be shut out at all three - anything could happen.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, in “My Week with Marilyn”
Albert Brooks, in “Drive”
* Christopher Plummer, in “Beginners”
Corey Stoll, in “Midnight in Paris”
Max von Sydow, in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”
ALTERNATIVE: Ben Kingsley, in “Hugo”
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Armie Hammer (“J. Edgar”), John Hawkes (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”), Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”), Nick Nolte (“Warrior”), Patton Oswalt (“Young Adult”)

This is the most up-in-the-air category in a year full of them. I’d consider Plummer and Brooks locked in, Plummer moreso than Brooks. von Sydow has a great chance if the film is met with good reviews, Branagh got quite poor notices but the film is well-liked by Academy types and he’s playing his own mentor, and Stoll is the wildcard as, again, I don’t see a lineup fully comprised of Academy vets. He has the reviews, he’s doing interesting things on his campaign trail (reading Hemingway’s letters at the JFK Library) and his film made bank, but he’s hardly being predicted elsewhere - on the other hand, the rest of the potential first-timers are either in failed films (Hammer) or come off as highly unconventional nominees to me (Hill, Oswalt). Kingsley seems like a major player but he hasn’t been mentioned once by the early-season awards, while Nolte was by-and-large written off for his film’s BO failure - critics don’t mention, however, that “Beginners” only made slightly more. I think he is still a threat in this race.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo, in “The Artist”
* Carey Mulligan, in “Shame”
Vanessa Redgrave, in “Coriolanus”
Octavia Spencer, in “The Help”
Shailene Woodley, in “The Descendants”
ALTERNATIVE: Jessica Chastain, in “Take Shelter”
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Sandra Bullock (“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”), Jessica Chastain (“The Help”), Judy Greer (“The Descendants”), Melissa McCarthy (“Bridesmaids”), Janet McTeer (“Albert Nobbs”)

Redgrave, Spencer and Woodley are certain nominees. Bejo is close to one but hers is a major case of category fraud that could pose some problems. However her film is popular and I don’t think it’ll hurt her the way it did Johansson in 2003 or Bello in 2005. I would put the last spot between Mulligan (whose film’s prospects I’m a bit skeptical of but who would make a plausible winner if nominated) and Chastain for two of her hundredfold films this year. The consensus pick for her is “The Help” but I feel like in an open year she could sneak in for “Take Shelter”, a film that jumped right out the gate with screeners and has been getting good notices under-the-radar all year and in the early awards as well (an NBR mention will only help it). However her biggest obstacle is the threat of cancelling herself out. As for the other contenders Bullock could easily emerge as a lock in a few weeks’ time, and McCarthy has (incomprehensible to me) passion behind her that could translate to a Marisa Tomei-style nomination or win. Without someone like Mulligan or McCarthy in the game I could see Redgrave winning a second Oscar easily here.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
* “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” - Eric Roth
“Moneyball” - Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian
“The Descendants” - Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne, Jim Rash
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” - Steven Zaillian
“The Help” - Tate Taylor
ALTERNATIVE: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” - Bridget O’Connor, Peter Strong
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: “Albert Nobbs” (Glenn Close, John Manville), “Carnage” (Roman Polański, Yasmina Reza), “Drive” (Hossein Amini), “Hugo” (John Logan), “War Horse” (Richard Curtis, Lee Hall)

I think this lineup is unlikely to change - and if it is, it would be “Extremely Loud...” (still an unknown), “The Girl...” or “The Help” that go. “Hugo” and “War Horse” will most likely make waves elsewhere but neither are particularly ‘writers’ films’ and I can see even passionate fans comfortably leaving them off their ballot here.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“A Separation” - Asghar Farhadi
“Midnight in Paris” - Woody Allen
“Shame” - Steve McQueen, Abi Morgan
* “The Artist” - Michel Hazanavicius
“Young Adult” - Diablo Cody
ALTERNATIVE: “50/50” - Will Reiser
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: “Beginners” (Mike Mills), “Bridesmaids” (Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig), “Like Crazy” (Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones), “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (Sean Durkin), “Take Shelter” (Jeff Nichols)

This is a strange category - “J. Edgar”, once the pegged frontrunner, seems to have dropped out entirely, and promising indie contenders like “Martha Marcy May Marlene” have taken a blow. “Midnight and Paris” and “The Artist” are probably sure things but the other spots are up for grabs. “50/50” has had a surprisingly good run with early awards and could be the “In Bruges” of this year - a film not taken seriously pre-December that catches fire with awards bodies in this category. The WGA disqualifications (lots of films - including frontrunners like “The Artist” - are ineligible for their awards due to guild membership issues) and the resultant nominations will throw a couple wrenches into this race.

[criddic3]

Totally agree. Who's Afraid of Virginina Woolf? is miles ahead of Carnage.

[Reza]

It is strange to me that Foster can be seen as supporting, when I have also seen some mentions of Kate Winslet as a supporting possibility. Having seen Carnage, it is unclear how one can decide. The Foster and Reilly characters are on their home turf, but they share the same amount of screen time with Waltz and Winslet. While they are all good, I think all four can do this kind of work in their sleep, but that's a separate issue.

Best to watch Carnage and file it away in one's short term memory. Then review Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? for a better time at the movies and to check out what screen acting is all about.

[criddic3]

I think more mature kids will like Hugo. This is a theory I should test by bringing my 9 1/2 year old sister to see it if I have the opportunity. From an early age (3) she was very well-behaved and engaged in the movie theater. We, my other sister and I, took her to see Chicken Little. True that is a normal "kid" movie, but she laughed when she should and never got fussy. To this day she enjoys going to the movies, and she likes books to a fairly healthy extent. She also responded very well to Spielberg's E.T.. I think she'd have a good time watching Hugo.

Maybe she will, but trust me. It's a whole different animal.

I went to see it myself, and much of the time I thought how much she would like it. Particularly the first half, but she may also be interested in the revealing of how the movies began. I'm sure I can explain that the Kingsley character is based on a real person and all. At the very least, I'm sure she'll like the look of the film. She is fairly artistic.

Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain- The Help
Jodie Foster- Carnage
Melissa McCarthy- Bridesmaides
Evan Rachel Wood- The Ides of March
Shailene Woodley- The Descendants

Again I have seen all these. And the winner hands down for me is Melissa McCarthy. Followed by Evan Rachel Wood, and then Jodie Foster.

It is strange to me that Foster can be seen as supporting, when I have also seen some mentions of Kate Winslet as a supporting possibility. Having seen Carnage, it is unclear how one can decide. The Foster and Reilly characters are on their home turf, but they share the same amount of screen time with Waltz and Winslet. While they are all good, I think all four can do this kind of work in their sleep, but that's a separate issue.

[rolotomasi99]

A buddy of mine saw The Lady at AFI Fest and wasn't that impressed. I hope you're right about Elizabeth Olsen, but I'm willing to bet that Meryl Streep gets in there before Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Yeoh,and Elizabeth Olsen.

The Lady I felt was an extremely weak film. The only thing it really has going for it is Michelle Yeoh. Fingers crossed on her. Meryl Streep I'm sure she would but compared to the other ladies here this year I would rather see her not get nominated for TIL. Not Streep's best and honestly she can do better. I personally don't want to see her nominated on such a regular Streep performance. I want her to win for something BIG!!!

By BIG!!!! do you mean good, because I would think Margaret Thatcher is pretty damn big. I cannot imagine a recent female historical figure that would be considered bigger.

Streep should be nominated if she gives one of the top five female lead performances of the year, not whether she she is good enough by some separate standard for her alone. I remember seeing this sentiment back in 2009 when she was nominated for JULIE AND JULIA, and folks were saying she should not win simply because it was not the best performance of her career as opposed to just the best performance of the year. I am not saying she gave the best female lead performance, but she was certainly better than who ended up winning.

There may be many performances more worthy of being nominated for or winning Best Actress than Streep's in THE IRON LADY. However, her performance should only be judged against the performances of other actresses this year, not against her own past work.

[mojoe92]

A buddy of mine saw The Lady at AFI Fest and wasn't that impressed. I hope you're right about Elizabeth Olsen, but I'm willing to bet that Meryl Streep gets in there before Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Yeoh,and Elizabeth Olsen.

The Lady I felt was an extremely weak film. The only thing it really has going for it is Michelle Yeoh. Fingers crossed on her. Meryl Streep I'm sure she would but compared to the other ladies here this year I would rather see her not get nominated for TIL. Not Streep's best and honestly she can do better. I personally don't want to see her nominated on such a regular Streep performance. I want her to win for something BIG!!!

[Sabin]

A buddy of mine saw The Lady at AFI Fest and wasn't that impressed. I hope you're right about Elizabeth Olsen, but I'm willing to bet that Meryl Streep gets in there before Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Yeoh,and Elizabeth Olsen.

[mojoe92]

Are you doing your own choices or your predictions, Mojoe92?

My predictions.

[Sonic Youth]

I think more mature kids will like Hugo. This is a theory I should test by bringing my 9 1/2 year old sister to see it if I have the opportunity. From an early age (3) she was very well-behaved and engaged in the movie theater. We, my other sister and I, took her to see Chicken Little. True that is a normal "kid" movie, but she laughed when she should and never got fussy. To this day she enjoys going to the movies, and she likes books to a fairly healthy extent. She also responded very well to Spielberg's E.T.. I think she'd have a good time watching Hugo.

Maybe she will, but trust me. It's a whole different animal.

[Sabin]

Are you doing your own choices or your predictions, Mojoe92?

[mojoe92]

Best Actress
Kirsten Dunst- Melonchoila
Rooney Mara- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Elisabeth Olsen- Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams- My Week With Marilyn
Michelle Yeoh- The Lady

I have seen all of these ( many due to living in LA and going to the screenings here) and for me Olsen and Williams have the best performances. Last year I thought Michelle Williams had the best performance of the year in Blue Valentine and I wanted her to win greatly. So I would like to see Williams claim her Oscar from last year and this year with MWWM. BUT some stiff competition comes from Olsen in MMMM. Olsen is so genuine and unsettling in her debut performance that it's too hard to ignore. Can we do another tie this year? Streisand and Hepburn all over again? Either one will satisfy for me as the winner, but if I really had to choose. Michelle Williams

Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain- The Help
Jodie Foster- Carnage
Melissa McCarthy- Bridesmaides
Evan Rachel Wood- The Ides of March
Shailene Woodley- The Descendants

Again I have seen all these. And the winner hands down for me is Melissa McCarthy. Followed by Evan Rachel Wood, and then Jodie Foster.

[criddic3]

I think more mature kids will like Hugo. This is a theory I should test by bringing my 9 1/2 year old sister to see it if I have the opportunity. From an early age (3) she was very well-behaved and engaged in the movie theater. We, my other sister and I, took her to see Chicken Little. True that is a normal "kid" movie, but she laughed when she should and never got fussy. To this day she enjoys going to the movies, and she likes books to a fairly healthy extent. She also responded very well to Spielberg's E.T.. I think she'd have a good time watching Hugo.