[Insert typically long-winded climactic intro to the last ditch Oscar predictions here.]
Or, just don’t. Predictions listed, plus some waffle, and something short sometimes about who I want to win.
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GO
Best Picture:
Argo
Being snubbed for Best Director is probably the best thing to have happened for Argo’s Best Picture chances. It has crashed through the British Bulldog awards season like a juggernaut. Lincoln is the rightful winner, but Argo’s momentum will see Affleck (and Clooney) getting his big moment tonight.
Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln
Best Actress:
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained
Waltz has collected most of the gold this season, despite some strong peers. But Tommy Lee Jones’s is a career defining performance, and he should be heading home with his second Oscar.
Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables
Hathaway’s had this in the bag for about a year. Nobody’s going to touch her and that’s fine by me. Despite about only 15 minutes of screen time, she steals Les Mis.
Best Director:
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln
Best Original Screenplay:
Mark Boal for Zero Dark Thirty
It would be an utter travesty. Haneke’s Amour is the best of a disappointing bunch.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Chris Terrio for Argo
Chris Terrio’s WGA win puts him in pole position, but Tony Kushner’s screenplay has everything and should take the award after losing out in 2006 for Munich.
Best Animated Feature:
Wreck-It Ralph
High on originality and fun and is slightly better than strong competition from Frankenweenie and The Pirates!
Best Foreign Language Film:
Amour (Austria)
But No from Pablo Larrain is a more accessible work with more to say and style in abundance.
Best Original Song:
“Skyfall” by Adele and Paul Epworth for Skyfall
A genuinely brilliant and original Bond theme. Might be beaten by Les Mis but host MacFarlane looks set to lose out.
Best Cinematography:
Life of Pi
Claudio Miranda should win here at the second time of asking, after The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. His impressive graphics for Life of Pi should see off Roger Deakins for Skyfall – yet again.
Best Editing:
Lincoln
Spielberg’s long time collaborator Michael Kahn deserves his record breaking 4th win. He some how conjures up a parliamentary procedural drama to run swiftly and coherently in its 2-and-a-half hour running time.
Best Production Design:
Les Misérables
Eve Stewart brings the West End feel and cranks it up to the big screen. But its a shame that Anna Karenina’s creative theatre-bound setting will miss out.
Best Costume Design:
Mirror Mirror
Brilliant, innovative costumes for a dreadful, dreadful film.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Peter Jackson’s creation should be back on the Oscar stage after 9 years away. Certainly a lot better than Hitch’s ropey old fat suit.
Best Original Score:
Anna Karenina
Dario Marianelli won for Atonement and his Russian-influenced score should suit him out for another.
Best Sound Mixing:
Les Misérables
Les Mis’s original use of live mics should give it the edge here.
Best Sound Editing:
Life of Pi
All sea this and animals that. Another technical award for Life of Pi.
Best Visual Effects:
Life of Pi
All sea this and animals that. Another technical award for Life of Pi.
Best Documentary:
5 Broken Cameras
A remarkable insight into Palestinian/Israeli relations on the front line. Searching for Sugar Man is interesting in its own way, but lacks the transcendent resonance.
Best Documentary Short:
Inocente
Best Short Film:
Asad
Best Short Animation:
Paperman