Oscar Predictions 2012

Hello all. Mark here.

I’ve gotten over the sting of Take Shelter, Warrior, The Guard, Drive and Like Crazy getting little love and I’m ready to make my predictions.

I am going to break down all the major categories and fearlessly pick the winners. Some of my picks will be based on prior award shows, buzz and hunches.

Best Picture

This all comes down to a competition between The Artist and Hugo. The Artist won big at the DGA and BAFTA awards so it is the clear front-runner. However, Hugo is a wonderful film about the preservation of cinema. The Descendants is still a dark horse and you can never count out War Horse or The Help. I’d love to see Midnight in Paris or Tree of Life win. Also, how in the world did Extremely Loud get nominated? The movie has been panned by a whole lot of critics and is certified rotten on Rotten Tomatoes.

My prediction:  The Artist dances away with the Oscar and Uggie the dog steals the show while people complain that the Academy Awards are boring.

Best Actor

Jean Dujardin has been charming everyone. Check out this hilarious Funny or Die clip where he auditions to play every upcoming bad guy  http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/6jq0

His main competition is George Clooney. Clooney is the honorary mayor of Tinsletown and hasn’t won a Best Actor award yet. I’d wager the award is leaning 60/40 towards Jean.

The other nominees are Damian Bichir and Brad Pitt. Pitt was perfectly understated yet is up against stiff competition. Damian should be happy with the nomination for his popular role in A Better Life.

My Prediction: I am going out on a limb and picking Gary Oldman to walk away with the Oscar. People love him, people love Tinker Tailor Solider Spy and he has been doing a great promotional job http://collider.com/gary-oldman-dark-knight-rises-call-of-duty-interview/144183/

Best Actress

Viola Davis is going to win the Oscar. She was the best part of The Help and has been in the acting game for a long time. Kudos to Streep, Mara, Close and Williams for being nominated.

My Prediction: Davis for the win.

Best Supporting Actor:

Christopher Plummer is the clear-cut winner. However, I read Max Von Sydow was the only one to get a standing ovation during the Oscar luncheon. I’m hoping Nick Nolte will walk away with the statue because his work in Warrior was amazing. Jonah Hill and Kenneth Branagh are cool dudes but their nominations are award enough.

My prediction: Plummer will win the award for his likable character in Beginners. He was able to take an oscar bait role and add subtlety and nuance to an already great character.

Best Supporting Actress

Chastain was great in everything. I find it odd that she was nominated for the The Help because she was better in Tree of Life and Take Shelter.  Berenice Bejo charmed, danced and wowed in The Artist. McCarthy killed in Bridesmaids and Janet McTeer got raves for Albert Nobbs. None of this matters though because The Help train is barreling down the tracks.

My Prediction: Octavia Spencer will walk away with the gold statue due to her superb comic timing and sassy pie.

Best Original Screenplay

I’d love to see Bridesmaids win an Oscar. It won’t happen but it would be a riot. Margin Call is a crafty little flick and The Artist was lovely. However, this is a two film race. A Separation and Midnight in Paris will pick up the Oscar. Separation is sitting pretty at #70 on the IMDB top 250 list but people dig Woody Allen.

My Prediction: Midnight in Paris was a smart, charming and imaginative film that is pure Oscar bait.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Ooof…This is a tough category to pick because there are so many good films. Moneyball, Hugo, Descendants, Ides of March and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

My prediction: The Descendants will win due to elegant writing that kept it out of sitcom territory and made it a unique character driven story.

Best Director:

The DGA and BAFTAS chose  The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius as the best director so I have a hard time going against him. However, Scorsese may walk away with the gold.

My Prediction: Hazanavicius has won every prior award. I don’t see him losing.

Best Animated Feature:

Tin Tin isn’t on the list so the field is wide open. Chico and Rita uses classical animation but Rango is the hip choice.

My Prediction: Rango is too strange to ignore. It will ride off into the sunset with the gold.