The Oscar telecast is a little over a week away and we thought it was time to announce our Oscar predictions (we will update these predictions next Friday). There are still a few races we do not feel confident enough to call. Most notably, we have new doubts that Penelope Cruz will win Best Supporting Actress come Oscar night. Earlier in the week we felt her BAFTA win had solidified her as the strong favorite. Now, some pundits have gotten behind Viola Davis. One is even calling Amy Adams! All this should come as no surprise, as nothing is ever certain with the Oscars. Especially when it comes to Supporting Actress, which has proven to be the most unpredictable category over the years. Nevertheless, below are our predictions (v1.0).
PREDICTIONS AS OF FEBRUARY 13, 2009
« Our pick to win.
w One of our picks to win, final decision pending.
Best Picture
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
« “Slumdog Millionaire”
Actor
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
« Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
Actress
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
« Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
« Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road”
Supporting Actress
wAmy Adams, “Doubt”
w Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
w Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
Director
« Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Gus Van Sant, “Milk”
Animated Feature
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
« “WALL-E”
Adapted Screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” screenplay by Eric Roth, screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
“Doubt,” written by John Patrick Shanley
“Frost/Nixon,” screenplay by Peter Morgan
“The Reader,” screenplay by David Hare
« “Slumdog Millionaire,” screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
“Frozen River,” written by Courtney Hunt
“Happy-Go-Lucky,” written by Mike Leigh
“In Bruges,” written by Martin McDonagh
« “Milk,” written by Dustin Lance Black
“WALL-E,” screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
Art Direction
“Changeling,” James J. Murakami; set decoration: Gary Fettis
w“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Donald Graham Burt; set decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
w “The Dark Knight,” Nathan Crowley; set decoration: Peter Lando
“The Duchess,” Michael Carlin; set decoration: Rebecca Alleway
“Revolutionary Road,” Kristi Zea; set decoration: Debra Schutt
Cinematography
“Changeling,” Tom Stern
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Claudio Miranda
w “The Dark Knight,” Wally Pfister
“The Reader,” Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
w“Slumdog Millionaire,” Anthony Dod Mantle
Costume Design
“Australia,” Catherine Martin
« “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Jacqueline West
“The Duchess,” Michael O’Connor
“Milk,” Danny Glicker
“Revolutionary Road,” Albert Wolsky
Documentary Feature
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
« “Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”
Documentary Short
“The Conscience of Nhem En”
“The Final Inch”
“Smile Pinki”
«“The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306″
Film Editing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
w “The Dark Knight,” Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon,” Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Milk,” Elliot Graham
w “Slumdog Millionaire,” Chris Dickens
Foreign Language Film
“The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany
w“The Class,” France
“Departures,” Japan
“Revanche,” Austria
w “Waltz with Bashir,” Israel
Makeup
« “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Greg Cannom
“The Dark Knight,” John Caglione Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
Original Score
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance,” James Newton Howard
“Milk,” Danny Elfman
« “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E,” Thomas Newman
Original Song
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, lyrics by Peter Gabriel
w“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar
w “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” music and lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
Animated Short
“La Maison en Petits Cubes”
“Lavatory — Lovestory”
“Oktapodi”
« “Presto”
“This Way Up”
Live-action Short
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)”
“Manon on the Asphalt”
“New Boy”
“The Pig”
« “Spielzeugland”
Sound Editing
« “The Dark Knight,” Richard King
“Iron Man,” Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire,” Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
“WALL-E,” Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
“Wanted,” Wylie Stateman
Sound Mixing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
« “The Dark Knight,” Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
“Slumdog Millionaire,” Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“WALL-E,” Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
“Wanted,” Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt
Visual Effects
« “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
“The Dark Knight,” Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
“Iron Man,” John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
