The Edge of the Frame

These might be my final set of predictions before last call on January 23rd. There’s still a mess-load of guilds on their way and a box office that could still declare certain films winners (or losers), but I still feel pretty confident about these choices. Feel free to comment whether you agree or think I’m crazy.

One note: I have spent the entire year not predicting “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” while everyone else was jumping on the bandwagon. Now that the film has all but completely fallen off the radar (thanks to the utter panning of critics), I can’t help but feel a sense of unadulterated joy. Maybe I’ll be eating my words, later on, but for now…huzzah.

One more note: The Academy’s new method of having and indiscriminate amount of Best Picture nominees has made predicting that category nearly impossible. Therefore, I will still guess on the full ten and you can go ahead and judge by the numbers I provide as to what will make it if there are nine or eight, etc…

BEST PICTURE

1. “The Artist”
2. “Hugo”
3. “The Descendants”
4. “The Help”
5. “War Horse”
6. “Midnight in Paris”
7. “Moneyball”
8. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
9. “Bridesmaids”
10. “The Tree of Life”

Alt 1: “Drive”
Alt 2: “My Week with Marilyn”

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”
2. Michael Hazavanicius – “The Artist”
3. Alexander Payne – “The Descendants”
4. Steven Spielberg – “War Horse”
5. Woody Allen – “Midnight in Paris”

Alt 1: Tate Taylor – “The Help”
Alt 2: David Fincher – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

BEST ACTOR

1. George Clooney – “The Descendants”
2. Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”
3. Jean Dujardin – “The Artist”
4. Leonardo DiCaprio – “J. Edgar”
5. Michael Fassbender – “Shame”

Alt 1: Michael Shannon – “Take Shelter”
Alt 2: Gary Oldman – “Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy”

BEST ACTRESS

1. Viola Davis – “The Help”
2. Meryl Streep – “The Iron Lady”
3. Michelle Williams – “My Week with Marilyn”
4. Tilda Swinton – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
5. Glenn Close – “Albert Nobbs”

Alt 1: Rooney Mara – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Alt 2: Charlize Theron – “Young Adult”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”
2. Kenneth Branagh – “My Week with Marilyn”
3. Albert Brooks – “Drive”
4. Jonah Hill – “Moneyball”
5. Nick Nolte – “Warrior”

Alt 1: Armie Hammer – “J. Edgar”
Alt 2: Patton Oswalt – “Young Adult”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Octavia Spencer – “The Help”
2. Berenice Bejo – “The Artist”
3. Jessica Chastain – “The Help”
4. Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids”
5. Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

Alt 1: Janet McTeer – “Albert Nobbs”
Alt 2: Vanessa Redgrave – “Coriolanus”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. “The Artist”
2. “Midnight in Paris”
3. “Win Win”
4. “Bridesmaids”
5. “Beginners”

Alt 1: “50/50”
Alt 2: “Margin Call”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. “The Descendants”
2. “Moneyball”
3. “The Help”
4. “Hugo”
5. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

Alt 1: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Alt 2: “We Need to Talk About Kevin”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1. “Project Nim”
2. “Hell and Back Again”
3. “We Were Here”
4. “Pina”
5. “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”

Alt 1: “Bill Cunningham New York”
Alt 2: “Buck”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1. “Rango”
2. “The Adventures of Tintin”
3. “Puss in Boots”
4. “Arthur Christmas”
5. “Cars 2”

Alt 1: “Winnie the Pooh”
Alt 2: “Kung Fu Panda”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. “A Separation” – Iran
2. “Le Havre” – Finland
3. “In Darkness” – Poland
4. “Miss Bala” – Mexico
5. “Declaration of War” – France

Alt 1: “Where do We Go Now?” – Lebanon
Alt 2: “Footnote” – Israel

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. “The Tree of Life”
2. “War Horse”
3. “The Artist”
4. “Hugo”
5. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

Alt 1: “Drive”
Alt 2: “Moneyball”

BEST EDITING

1. “War Horse”
2. “Hugo”
3. “The Artist”
4. “Moneyball”
5. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

Alt 1: “Drive”
Alt 2: “Contagion”

BEST ART DIRECTION

1. “Hugo”
2. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows”
3. “The Artist”
4. “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
5. “Anonymous”

Alt 1: “War Horse”
Alt 2: “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1.”The Artist”
2. “Jane Eyre”
3. “Hugo”
4. “The Help”
5. “My Week with Marilyn”

Alt 1: “Annonymous”
Alt 2: “Water for Elephants”

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. “War Horse”
2. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
3. “Super 8”
4. “Hugo”
5. “The Artist”

Alt 1: “The Adventures of Tintin”
Alt 2: “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. “War Horse”
2. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
3. “The Adventures of Tintin”
4. “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”
5. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

Alt 1: “Rango”
Alt 2: “Super 8”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
2. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part II”
3. “Hugo”
4. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
5. “The Tree of Life”

Alt 1: “X-Men: First Class”
Alt 2: “Real Steel”

BEST MAKEUP EFFECTS

1. “The Iron Lady”
2. “J. Edgar”
3. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part II”

Alt 1: “The Artist”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. “The Artist”
2. “War Horse”
3. “Hugo”
4. “The Adventures of Tintin”
5. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

Alt 1: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part II”
Alt 2: “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. “Pictures in My Head” – “The Muppets”
2. “The Living Proof” – “The Help”
3. “Lay Your Head Down” – “Albert Nobbs”
4. “Life’s a Happy Song” – “The Muppets”
5. “Star-Spangled Man” – “Captain America: The First Avenger”

Alt 1: “The Keeper” – “Machine Gun Preacher”
Alt 2: “Think You Can Wait” – “Win Win”