I’m still in the midst of my annual February screening, so I have no solid opinions yet. However, who are your picks? The Oscars are on March 7. Last year, I was pre-empted because I was en route to the Philippines, but I’ve my normal Academy punditry this season.
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
A Serious Man
An Education
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
The Hurt Locker
Up
Up in the Air
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious
Best Achievement in Directing:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen:
Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino
The Hurt Locker – Mark Boal
The Messenger – Alessandro Camon; Oren Moverman
A Serious Man – Joel Coen; Ethan Coen
Up – Bob Peterson; Pete Docter; Thomas McCarthy
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
District 9 – Neill Blomkamp; Terri Tatchell
An Education – Nick Hornby
In the Loop – Jesse Armstrong; Simon Blackwell; Armando Iannucci; Tony Roche
Precious – Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air– Jason Reitman; Sheldon Turner
Best Achievement in Cinematography:
Avatar – Mauro Fiore
Das weisse Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte – Christian Berger
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Bruno Delbonnel
Inglourious Basterds – Robert Richardson
The Hurt Locker – Barry Ackroyd
Best Achievement in Art Direction:
Avatar – Rick Carter (art director); Robert Stromberg (art director); Kim Sinclair (set decorator)
Nine – John Myhre (art director); Gordon Sim (set decorator)
Sherlock Holmes – Sarah Greenwood (art director); Katie Spencer (set decorator)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – David Warren (art director); Anastasia Masaro (art director); Caroline Smith (set decorator)
The Young Victoria – Patrice Vermette (art director); Maggie Gray (set decorator)
Best Achievement in Costume Design:
Bright Star – Janet Patterson
Coco avant Chanel – Catherine Leterrier
Nine – Colleen Atwood
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – Monique Prudhomme
The Young Victoria – Sandy Powell
Best Achievement in Sound:
Avatar – Christopher Boyes; Gary Summers; Andy Nelson; Tony Johnson
Inglourious Basterds – Michael Minkler; Tony Lamberti; Mark Ulano
Star Trek – Anna Behlmer; Andy Nelson; Peter J. Devlin
The Hurt Locker – Paul N.J. Ottosson; Ray Beckett
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Greg P. Russell; Gary Summers; Geoffrey Patterson
Best Achievement in Editing:
Avatar – Stephen E. Rivkin; John Refoua; James Cameron
District 9 – Julian Clarke
Inglourious Basterds – Sally Menke
Precious – Joe Klotz
The Hurt Locker – Bob Murawski; Chris Innis
Best Achievement in Sound Editing:
Avatar – Christopher Boyes; Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
Inglourious Basterds – Wylie Stateman
Star Trek– Mark P. Stoeckinger; Alan Rankin
The Hurt Locker – Paul N.J. Ottosson
Up – Michael Silvers; Tom Myers
Best Achievement in Visual Effects:
Avatar – Joe Letteri; Stephen Rosenbaum; Richard Baneham; Andy Jones
District 9 – Dan Kaufman; Peter Muyzers; Robert Habros; Matt Aitken
Star Trek – Roger Guyett; Russell Earl; Paul Kavanagh; Burt Dalton
Best Achievement in Makeup:
Il divo – Aldo Signoretti; Vittorio Sodano
Star Trek – Barney Burman; Mindy Hall; Joel Harlow
The Young Victoria – John Henry Gordon; Jenny Shircore
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song:
Crazy Heart – Ryan Bingham; T-Bone Burnett
– For the song “The Weary Kind”
Faubourg 36 – Reinhardt Wagner (music); Frank Thomas (lyrics)
– For the song “Loin de Paname”
Nine – Maury Yeston
– For the song “Take It All”
The Princess and the Frog – Randy Newman
– For the song “Almost There”
The Princess and the Frog – Randy Newman
– For the song “Down in New Orleans”
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score:
Avatar – James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox – Alexandre Desplat
Sherlock Holmes – Hans Zimmer
The Hurt Locker – Marco Beltrami; Buck Sanders
Up – Michael Giacchino
Best Short Film, Animated:
French Roast – Fabrice Joubert
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty – Nicky Phelan; Darragh O’Connell
La dama y la muerte – Javier Recio Gracia
Logorama – Nicolas Schmerkin
Wallace and Gromit in ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’ – Nick Park
Best Short Film, Live Action:
Istället för abrakadabra – Patrik Eklund; Mathias Fjällström
Kavi – Gregg Helvey
Miracle Fish – Luke Doolan; Drew Bailey
The Door – Juanita Wilson; James Flynn
The New Tenants – Joachim Back; Tivi Magnusson
Best Documentary, Short Subjects:
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province – Jon Alpert; Matthew O’Neill
Królik po berlinsku – Bartosz Konopka; Anna Wydra
Music by Prudence – Roger Ross Williams; Elinor Burkett
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner – Daniel Junge; Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant – Steven Bognar; Julia Reichert
Best Documentary, Features:
Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land – Anders Østergaard; Lise Lense-Møller
Food, Inc. – Robert Kenner; Elise Pearlstein
The Cove – “tbd”
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers – Judith Ehrlich; Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home – Rebecca Cammisa
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year:
Ajami – Israel
Das weisse Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte – Germany
El secreto de sus ojos – Argentina.
La teta asustada – Peru
Un prophète – France
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year:
Coraline – Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox – Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog – John Musker; Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells – Tomm Moore
Up – Pete Docter