PREDICTIONS? Hardly, as if Sharlto Copley and Michael Sheen are getting nominated...

I have made the roughest combination of a dream list/prediction sheet. You'll see some glaring omissions, particularly from films I haven't seen yet, although some clear front-runners to get nominated I have left in some categories either for lack of a better suggestion or because I have faith that said film is awesome in that particular field. There are a couple categories that have an extra nominee because I couldn't narrow it down. There is a very clear bias in these selections. I have cut out a lot of Nine, there's no Invictus to be found, very little The Lovely Bones, but I also haven't seen any of those three so that's no surprise.

Movies yet to be watched, Oscar-wise, include (but are not limited to): The Lovely Bones, Nine, Invictus, The Last Station, The Young Victoria, The Hurt Locker, A Single Man, Crazy Heart, The Messenger, Brothers, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and a big host of others I could see. As it is, chances I'll see The Last Station or Brothers are kind of wobbly. Love Helen Mirren and the stars of Brothers, but goddamn does the material look eh.

Also to note, my original best Actor category had eight people (Michael Stuhlberg, George Clooney, and Matt Damon were also on it). I feel like a traitor totally ignoring Morgan Freeman, but this is a tough category this year, IMO.

ANYWAY, here is my intensely rough list praising District 9 and Bright Star far more than either will ever get praised:

(*asterisks mark movies I haven't seen*)

Best Picture
Avatar
District 9
An Education
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Julie & Julia
A Serious Man
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air

Best Actor
*Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
Sharlto Copley – District 9
*Colin Firth – A Single Man
*Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker
Michael Sheen – The Damned United

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Abbie Cornish – Bright Star
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabby Sidibe – Precious
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
*Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Alfred Molina – An Education
Stanley Tucci – Julie & Julia
*Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Cristoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
Melanie Laurent – Inglourious Basterds
*Julianne Moore – A Single Man
Mo’Nique – Precious

Best Director
*Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
James Cameron – Avatar
Jane Campion – Bright Star
Joel and Ethan Coen – A Serious Man
Lone Scherfig – An Education
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

Best Original Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up

Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9
An Education
The Informant!
Precious
Up in the Air

Best Editing
Avatar
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up in the Air

Best Cinematography
Avatar
Bright Star
District 9
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds

Best Costume Design
Bright Star
*The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Inglourious Basterds
Julie & Julia
*Nine
*The Young Victoria

Best Make-Up
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek
Where the Wild Things Are

Best Art Direction
Bright Star
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
*Nine
A Serious Man

Best Visual Effects
2012
9
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

Best Sound Editing
Avatar
District 9
*The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Up

Best Sound Mixing
Avatar
District 9
*The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Up

Best Original Score
Avatar
The Informant!
The Princess and the Frog
Star Trek
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

Best Song
“I See You” – Avatar
*“The Weary Kind” – Crazy Heart
“Almost There” – The Princess and the Frog (or “When We’re Human” or “Down in New Orleans”)
“Cinema Italiano” – Nine
“All Is Love” – Where the Wild Things Are

Best Animated Feature
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
*Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
Up

(excluded: Best Animated Short, Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentary Feature)