Oscar Predictions, or How The Race Begins... now if only I could make some $ out of this...

Cause nothing's more exciting than playing a blind-guessing game. There are those movies that I'm rooting for either because I've seen them and loved them (Wall-E, The Dark Knight), because I support the people in them (Hugh, Nicole and Baz, Meryl and Amy, Leo and Kate), and then there are those that trailers and buzz have whet my appetite (Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire) and there are two movies that despite everyone being very gung-ho about them I don't feel it (Frost/Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)... in any case, here amy predictions. I do it for fun, to keep track of what movies I want to see, to catch myself in January thinking: idiot! and to pass the time, really.

Best Picture

Australia

The Dark Knight (A+)

Doubt

Milk 

Slumdog Millionaire (A+)

Other Possibilities

Wall-E (A+), Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, Gran Torino

Best Director

Baz Luhrmann (Australia)

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight - A+)

David Fincher 

(The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road)

Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire - A+)

Other Possibilities

Andrew Stanton (Wall-E - A+), John Patrick Shanley (Doubt), Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino), Gus Van Sant (Milk), Stephen Daldry (The Reader)

Best Lead Actor

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Clint Eastwood 

(Gran Torino)

Sean Penn (Milk)

Leo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)

Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Other Possibilities

Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), 

Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey), Hugh Jackman (Australia), Josh Brolin (W. - B)

Best Lead Actress

Nicole Kidman (Australia)

Meryl Streep (Doubt)

Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky - A-)

Kristin Scott-Thomas (I've Loved You So Long - A+)

Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)

Other Possibilities

Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married - A), Angelina Jolie (The Changeling), Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy)

Best Supporting Actor

Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight - A+)

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)

James Franco (Milk)

Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire - A+)

Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

Other Possibilities

Robert Downey Jr (Tropic Thunder), Josh Brolin (Milk), Eddie Marsan 

(Happy-Go-Lucky - A-), Brandon Walters (Australia)

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis (Doubt)

Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona - A)

Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married - A)

Michelle Williams (Synecdoche, New York - B++)

Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Other Possibilities

Kathy Bates (Revolutionary Road), Amy Adams (Doubt), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler), Elsa Zylberstein (I've Loved You So Long - A+), Samantha Morton (Synecdoche, New York - B++), [ADDITION, for Dame James]: Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical 3: Senior Year - B+)

Best Original Screenplay

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - A

Milk 

Happy-Go-Lucky (A-)

Wall-E (A+)

Synecdoche, New York (B++)

Other Possibilities

Australia, Rachel Getting Married (A), The Wrestler, Gran Torino, I've Loved You So Long (A+)

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Dark Knight (A+)

Doubt

Slumdog Millionaire (A+)

The Reader

Revolutionary Road

Other Possibilities

Frost/Nixon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Defiance