The Edge of the Frame

It’s time for phase 2, ladies and gentleman. Things aren’t going as well as I would have liked, but they almost never do. As Sasha Stone at Awardsdaily quotes “All the President’s Men,” in regards to the Oscar race, “The trick is not minding.” You’ve got to roll with the punches and accept that even if the deserving film doesn’t win, hopefully your predictions are still right. Therefore, at least your pride is still intact.

I have “The King’s Speech” down for the big win, sadly. Maybe later on, if there’s a potential change in vibe, I might make an alteration back. But for now, one has to put the money where the money’s gonna win. I have, meanwhile, kept David Fincher in the frontrunner position for Best Director. I simply cannot imagine a world in which Tom Hooper wins that trophy from him. It’s simply unnatural that the Academy could be that ridiculous.

You can pretty much take all of the acting wins to the bank. Melissa Leo is the only one who’s kind of flimsy, at this point, but I have a feeling her age and fantastic personality will help her beat out the unworthy newcomer.

Going over this, it still boggles me that Lee Smith missed an editing nomination for “Inception.” It really makes no sense. I have the “The Social Network” down, and my God, it deserves it. Yet, the nomination feels flimsy, and yet I can’t figure out what could possibly take it down.

With that, here are my first winner predictions for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, complete with all of the nominees ranked in order of their chances. I will keep them posted and, hopefully, updated in the “PREDICTIONS” tab at the top of the homepage.

Click “Read More” to see the full list and tally.

BEST PICTURE
1. “The King’s Speech”
2. “The Social Network”
3. “The Fighter”
4. “True Grit”
5. “Black Swan”
6. “Toy Story 3”
7. “Inception”
8. “127 Hours”
9. “Winter’s Bone”
10. “The Kids Are All Right”

BEST DIRECTOR
1. David Fincher – “The Social Network”
2. Tom Hooper – “The King’s Speech”
3. Darren Aronofsky – “Black Swan”
4. Joel and Ethan Coen – “True Grit”
5. David O’Russell – “The Fighter”

BEST ACTOR
1. Colin Firth – “The King’s Speech”
2. James Franco – “127 Hours”
3. Jesse Eisenberg – “The Social Network”
4. Jeff Bridges – “True Grit”
5. Javier Bardem – “Biutiful”

BEST ACTRESS
1. Natalie Portman – “Black Swan”
2. Annette Bening – “The Kids Are All Right”
3. Jennifer Lawrence – “Winter’s Bone”
4. Nicole Kidman – “Rabbit Hole”
5. Michelle Williams – “Blue Valentine”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Christian Bale – “The Fighter”
2. Geoffrey Rush – “The King’s Speech”
3. John Hawkes – “Winter’s Bone”
4. Jeremy Renner – “The Town”
5. Mark Ruffalo – “The Kids Are All Right”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Melissa Leo – “The Fighter”
2. Hailee Steinfeld – “True Grit”
3. Amy Adams – “The Fighter”
4. Jacki Weaver – “Animal Kingdom”
5. Helena Bonham Carter – “The King’s Speech”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. “The King’s Speech”
2. “Inception”
3. “The Kids Are All Right”
4. “Another Year”
5. “The Fighter”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. “The Social Network”
2. “Toy Story 3”
3. “True Grit”
4. “Winter’s Bone”
5. “127 Hours”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
1. “Toy Story 3”
2. “How to Train Your Dragon”
3. “The Illusionist”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
1. “Inside Job”
2. “Exit Through the Gift Shop”
3. “GasLand”
4. “Restrepo”
5. “Waste Land”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
1. “Incendies”
2. “In a Better World”
3. “Biutiful”
4. “Outside the Law”
5. “Dogtooth”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. “True Grit”
2. “Inception”
3. “Black Swan”
4. “The King’s Speech”
5. “The Social Network”

BEST EDITING
1. “The Social Network”
2. “The King’s Speech”
3. “Black Swan”
4. “The Fighter”
5. “127 Hours”

BEST ART DIRECTION
1. “The King’s Speech”
2. “Inception”
3. “Alice in Wonderland”
4. “True Grit”
5. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part I”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
1. “Alice in Wonderland”
2. “The King’s Speech”
3. “True Grit”
4. “The Tempest”
5. “I Am Love”

BEST SOUND MIXING
1. “Inception”
2. “True Grit”
3. “The Social Network”
4. “Salt”
5. “The King’s Speech”

BEST SOUND EFFECTS EDITING
1. “Inception”
2. “Toy Story 3”
3. “TRON: Legacy”
4. “True Grit”
5. “Unstoppable”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
1. “Inception”
2. “Alice in Wonderland”
3. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part I”
4. “Iron Man 2”
5. “Hereafter”

BEST MAKEUP
1. “The Wolfman”
2. “The Way Back”
3. “Barney’s Version”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
1. “The Social Network”
2. “The King’s Speech”
3. “Inception”
4. “How to Train Your Dragon”
5. “127 Hours”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
1. “We Belong Together” – “Toy Story 3”
2. “If I Rise” – “127 Hours”
3. “I See the Light” – “Tangled”
4. “Coming Home” – “Country Strong”

As of now, my tally stands at:

“The King’s Speech” – 4 wins
“The Social Network” – 4 wins
“Inception” – 3 wins
“Toy Story 3” – 2 wins
“The Fighter” – 2 wins
“True Grit” – 1 win
“Black Swan” – 1 win
“Alice in Wonderland” – 1 win
“The Wolfman” – 1 win
“Incendies” – 1 win
“Inside Job” 1 win

Stay tuned….