Oscar Forecast- The Major Awards

Since we are screening "Gremlins" at midnight for my 40th birthday (which was actually Thursday) at the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., things are a bit hectic around here, but we did excuse ourselves from the dinner table long enough to post our projected victors for tomorrow night's Oscars.

For this entry, we focus on major categories (including Best Song, which one could argue should not be a major category).


Let's start with Best Picture:

The Nominees: "Avatar," "The Blind Side," "Precious," "A Serious Man," "Up in the Air," "The Hurt Locker" (pictured), "Up," "Inglorious Basterds," "District 9" and "An Education."

WHO SHOULD WIN: "Up in the Air" or "The Hurt Locker"
WHO WILL NOT WIN: "District 9," "A Serious Man" or "An Education"
WHO WILL WIN: "Avatar" or "The Hurt Locker"
OUR PICK: "The Hurt Locker" (because I still live in a world where the good guy wins except during the 2000 American presidential election)


BEST ACTRESS:

The Nominees: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious).

Who Should Win: Mulligan
Who Will Win: Bullock (It's the Oscars, after all----eyes rolling) or (maybe) Streep
Our Pick: Bullock (It's the Oscars after all---------eyes rolling)

BEST ACTOR:

The Nominees: Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart"), Morgan Freeman ("Invictus"), George Clooney ("Up in the Air"), Clin Firth ("A Single Man") or Jeremy Renner (pictured-"The Hurt Locker)

Who Should Win: Clooney or Bridges
Who Will Win: Bridges.......he won the Independent Spirit Award last night; this seems like his year.
Our Pick: Bridges

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

The Nominees: Penelope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Maggie Gyllenthal (Crazy Heart), Anna Kedrick (Up in the Air), Mo'Nique (Precious)

Who Should Win: Farmiga or Kedrick
Who Will Win: Cruz (stranger things have happened) or Mo'Nique
Our Pick: Mo'Nique..........when two actresses are nominated from the same film- that's a problem (though Shirley Maclaine beat out co-star and fellow Best Actress nominee Debra Winger in "Terms of Endearment back in 1984)


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

The Nominees: Matt Damon "Invictus," Woody Harrelson "The Messenger," Stanley Tucci "The Lovely Bones," Christopher Plummer "The Last Station" or Christoph Waltz "Inglorious Basterds"

Who Should Win: Damon, Tucci or Waltz
Who Will Win: Damon or Waltz
Our Pick: Waltz

BEST DIRECTOR:

The Nominees: James Cameron ("Avatar"), Katrhyn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker"), Quentin Tarantino ("Inglorious Basterds)," Jason Reitman ("Up in the Air") or Lee Daniels ("Precious)

Who Should Win: Bigelow or Reitman
Who Would Give Best Acceptance Speech: Tarantino (we all know that)
Who Will Win: Bigelow or Cameron
Our Pick: Cameron (because sometimes the basterds win!).


BEST SONG:

Who Should Win: "The Weary Kind" from "Crazy Heart"
Who Will Win/Our Pick: "Take it All" from "Nine" (pictured)

NOTE: GO TO OUR OTHER BLOG "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" for our remaining picks!