Super Bowl Update

(there are plenty of awards ready to be put where the winners' hearts ought to be)


The Oscars are tonight! Here are my predictions for who will win, along with what I would personally vote for given the opportunity. In some of the more technical and obscure categories, I only offered a random bet to win since I don't have anything on which to base my vote. Let's see how well I do by the end of the night. Make your picks now, too!

I always look forward to Oscar Night. It's a fun viewing tradition and Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin should make for amusing hosts. My condolences to Cablevision customers who might miss the ceremony over a money squabble the company is having with ABC. I think that's bullshit, Cablevision. Don't make people miss the Oscars over some lame contract negotiations!

And the nominees are....

Best Picture:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) A Lightstorm Entertainment Production James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
*“The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.) An Alcon Entertainment Production Nominees to be determined
*“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Block/Hanson Production Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
*“An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) A Voltage Pictures Production Nominees to be determined
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg Production Lawrence Bender, Producer
*“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
*“A Serious Man” (Focus Features) A Working Title Films Production Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
*“Up” (Walt Disney)A Pixar Production Jonas Rivera, Producer
*“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) A Montecito Picture Company Production Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

My Bet To Win: Avatar

My Personal Vote: Inglorious Basterds

Best Director:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Cameron
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Kathryn Bigelow
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Quentin Tarantino
*“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Lee Daniels
*“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Jason Reitman

My Bet To Win: Kathryn Bigelow

My Personal Vote: Quentin Tarantino

Best Actor:
* Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
* George Clooney in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Colin Firth in “A Single Man” (The Weinstein Company)
* Morgan Freeman in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
* Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)

My Bet to win: Jeff Bridges

Best Actress:
* Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.)
* Helen Mirren in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Carey Mulligan in “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
* Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

My Bet to Win: Sandra Bullock

* Matt Damon in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
* Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
* Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones” (DreamWorks in association with Film4, Distributed by Paramount)
* Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company)

My Bet to Win & Personal Vote: Christoph Waltz

Best Supporting Actress:
* Penélope Cruz in “Nine” (The Weinstein Company)
* Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
* Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)

My Bet To Win & My Personal Vote: Mo'Nique

Best Original Screenplay:
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Written by Mark Boal
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Written by Quentin Tarantino
*“The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
*“A Serious Man” (Focus Features) Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
*“Up” (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter
Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

My Bet to Win and Personal Vote: Inglorious Basterds

Best Adapted Screenplay:
*“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
*“An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics) Screenplay by Nick Hornby
*“In the Loop” (IFC Films) Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
*“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
*“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

My Bet to Win: Up In the Air

My Personal Vote: District 9

Best Animated Film:
*“Coraline” (Focus Features) Henry Selick
*“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Wes Anderson
*“The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) John Musker and Ron Clements
*“The Secret of Kells” (GKIDS) Tomm Moore
*“Up” (Walt Disney) Pete Docter

My Bet to Win & My Personal Vote: Up

*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg
Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
*“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro
Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
*“Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Art Direction: John Myhre
Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
*“Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
*“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Art Direction: Patrice Vermette
Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

My Bet to Win: Avatar

Best Cinematography:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Mauro Fiore
*“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros.) Bruno Delbonnel
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Barry Ackroyd
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Robert Richardson
*“The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics) Christian Berger

My Bet to Win: Hurt Locker

My Personal Vote: Inglorious Basterds

Best Costume Design:
*“Bright Star” (Apparition) Janet Patterson
*“Coco before Chanel” (Sony Pictures Classics) Catherine Leterrier
*“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Monique Prudhomme
*“Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Colleen Atwood
*“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Sandy Powell

My Bet to Win: The Young Victoria

Best Documentary:
*“Burma VJ” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
A Magic Hour Films Production Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
*“The Cove” (Roadside Attractions)
An Oceanic Preservation Society Production Nominees to be determined
*“Food, Inc.” (Magnolia Pictures) A Robert Kenner Films Production Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
*“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
A Kovno Communications Production Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
*“Which Way Home” A Mr. Mudd Production Rebecca Cammisa

My Random Bet to Win: The Cove

Best Documentary Short:
*“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
A Downtown Community Television Center Production Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
*“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
A Just Media Production Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
*“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” A Community Media Production Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
*“Music by Prudence” An iThemba Production Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
*“Rabbit à la Berlin” (Deckert Distribution) An MS Films Production Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

My Random Bet To Win: Music By Prudence

Best Film Editing:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
*“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Julian Clarke
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Sally Menke
*“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Joe Klotz

My Bet to Win: Hurt Locker

My Personal Vote: Inglorious Basterds

Best Foreign Language Film:
*“Ajami”(Kino International) An Inosan Production Israel
*“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haddock Films Production Argentina
*“The Milk of Sorrow” A Wanda Visión/Oberon Cinematogràfica/Vela Production Peru
*“Un Prophète” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Why Not/Page 114/Chic Films Production France
*“The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics) An X Filme Creative Pool/Wega Film/Les Films du Losange/Lucky Red Production Germany

My Bet to Win & Personal Vote: The White Ribbon

Best Makeup:
*“Il Divo” (MPI Media Group through Music Box) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
*“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
*“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

My Bet To Win & Personal Vote: Star Trek (I love you, Star Trek!)

Best Original score:

*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Horner
*“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Alexandre Desplat
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
*“Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
*“Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino

My Bet to Win & Personal Vote: Up

Best Original song:
*“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
*“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
*“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36″ (Sony Pictures Classics) Music by Reinhardt Wagner. Lyric by Frank Thomas
*“Take It All” from “Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
*“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

My Bet to Win: Crazy Heart

*“French Roast”A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production Fabrice O. Joubert
*“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” (Brown Bag Films) A Brown Bag Films Production Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
*“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production Javier Recio Gracia
*“Logorama” (Autour de Minuit) An Autour de Minuit Production Nicolas Schmerkin
*“A Matter of Loaf and Death” (Aardman Animations) An Aardman Animations Production Nick Park

My Random Bet to Win: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Live Action Short:
*“The Door” (Network Ireland Television) An Octagon Films Production Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
*“Instead of Abracadabra” (The Swedish Film Institute) A Directörn & Fabrikörn Production Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
*“Kavi” A Gregg Helvey Production Gregg Helvey
* “Miracle Fish” (Premium Films) A Druid Films Production Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
*“The New Tenants” A Park Pictures and M & M Production Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

My Random Bet To Win: Kavi

Best Sound Editing:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Wylie Stateman
*“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
*“Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

My Bet to Win: Avatar

My Personal Vote: Star Trek (I love you, Star Trek!)

Best Sound Mixing:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
*“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
*“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount) Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

My Bet to Win: Avatar

My Personal Vote: Star Trek (I love you, Star Trek!)

Best Visual Effects:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
*“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
*“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

My Bet to Win: Avatar

My Personal Vote: District 9 (I still love you, Star Trek!)