Oscar Predictions

Time to show my cards. Here's what I think will win at the 83rd Academy Awards (in the categories I care about):

Best Supporting Actor
Jeremy Renner "The Town" - Mr. Renner did a great job in the movie and I think this is where the Academy decides to throw its curveball with most people assuming Christian Bale gets it for his role in "The Fighter". This may be a consolation prize for Ben Affleck's film not getting more nominations but Renner will take it!

Best Supporting Actress
Hailee Steinfeld "True Grit" - Maybe it was the great performance. Maybe some Academy members have hard-ons for John Wayne or Jerry Seinfeld (you did a double-take at her name too, don't lie). Maybe it's that lightning doesn't strike twice for Jeff Bridges (and it shouldn't), but Steinfeld gets it because she's crazy good and Helena Bonham Carter is just crazy.

Best Actor
Colin Firth "The King's Speech" - It'll be as much for a great performance as for a lifetime of great performances as much for being British (swoon). James Franco was great in "127 Hours" but it might be too much for him to host the show the same year he wins the award plus I think he might face backlash for a certain superhero trilogy of which he was a part. Jesse Eisenberg was actually my favorite this year because his "speeches" were so crisp and vitriolic in "The Social Network" and I've loved him in everything in which he's acted. Hooray for "Zombieland 2"!

Best Actress
Natalie Portman "Black Swan" - She's everyone's darling this year. She's got the baby bump and hopefully avoids the Oscar Curse. We loved her in "Garden State" and "V for Vendetta" and it's just time. Her nomination (and win) should also be shared by Mila Kunis who did a great job acting opposite of her but missed out on her own nomination probably because no one sees her as a "serious" actress (her most notable work is "That 70's Show" and "Family Guy") kind of like a Cameron Diaz type. Hopefully the Academy doesn't just throw one at Annette Bening ("The Kids Are All Right") for having been around longer AND playing a lesbian because that'd do a disservice to Ms. Portman's performance. Dark Horse = Michelle Williams who gave a powerful performance in "Blue Valentine" but whose co-star (Ryan Gosling) missed out on a nomination.

Best Director
David Fincher "The Social Network" - he took over 2 hours of people talking and had us on the edge of our seats. "Black Swan" and "The King's Speech" (the front runner for a lot of categories) make strong cases, but I feel BS was ultimately too hectic between having a girl who was obsessive or was it her mom that drove her nuts or was the competition too much and just, well, you get the picture.

Best Animated Feature Film
Toy Story 3 - because everyone loves playing with Pixar's toys.

Best Original Score
"Inception" - and this may be somewhat of a consolation prize since it'll probably miss out on as many awards as it did nominations.

Best Picture
"The Social Network" - A win here recognizes the great individual acting jobs of the entire ensemble for which only Mr. Eisenberg was nominated, the fast, edge of your seat pace at which the movie moved, and the entire world who has bought into the Facebook phenomenon since 2003. Recognizing this film recognizes the time in which we live and 500 million people are secretly thinking the shiny gold statue belongs, at least in part, to them for being part of the movement the inspired the movie.

Everybody knows the Oscars are full of surprises and sometimes the Academy has its head stuck up its rear-end. Luckily, this year offers a lot of films in the Best Picture category that have reached the $100 million mark making it feel like we, the viewers, have a vested interested in them. Enjoy the show and tomorrow's follow up about the fashion hits and misses!