Super Bowl Update

It's almost Oscar Time! Billy Crystal is hosting and I've only seen about 2% or the nominees. Is this 2012 or 1992? I don't know why I missed so many of the nominated films this year. Perhaps it was just poor timing on my part. Also it didn't help that every video store around me has closed and Netflix split its steaming and DVD services and I chose only streaming as a result. Great for easy access to TV on DVD, less great for watching new releases. Anyway, here are my predictions. I'm rooting for The Artist to take home the top prizes since it's really the only major nominee I saw this year - at least I picked a good one! The "short" categories are all wild guesses. The other categories mostly adhere to conventional wisdom, but we'll see how well conventional wisdom serves come late tomorrow night or early Monday morning - whenever the telecast finally ends and all the winners are announced! Remember all you Hollywood soon-to-be-losers: it's an honor just to be nominated.

Best Picture The Artist
Best Director Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Actor Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Best Actress Viola Davis, The Help
Best Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Supporting Actress Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Original Screenplay Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Best Adapted Screenplay Alexander Payne, Jim Rash, and Nat Faxon, The Descendants
Best Editing The Artist
Best Cinematography The Tree of Life
Best Costume Design The Artist
Best Art Direction Hugo
Best Original Score The Artist
Best Original Song “Man or Muppet,” The Muppets
Best Makeup Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Best Sound Editing Hugo
Best Sound Mixing Hugo
Best Visual Effects Hugo
Best Foreign-Language Film A Separation
Best Documentary Feature Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Best Animated Feature Rango
Best Animated Short La Luna
Best Live-Action Short Time Freak
Best Documentary Short Saving Face