Forecasting Oscar’s Decisions: 2012 Nomination Predictions

It’s almost time for everybody’s favorite Tuesday of the year. You know, when you have to wake up earlier than you usually do and are too tired to even keep up with the nominations as they appear on the television. Luckily enough for you, if you get yourself acquainted with the list below, you will know most of the nominations already. Part of that is in jest towards my prognosticating ability, but it also hold a good amount of truth as well. Simply put, there shouldn’t bee too many big surprises to come across your screen.

For Best Picture, the biggest question is how many films will be nominated. There seem to be six films that are virtual locks for nomination. I’ve went with eight, adding in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (based mostly off the films recent success with guilds in the past two weeks) and The Tree of Life, which has received a healthy amount of praise from the critic groups. Of the top eight categories, Best Actress might be the most volatile. There are five heavyweights that everybody is favoring, but then you have the likes of Rooney Mara, Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Olsen, and Kirsten Dunst all clinging for a nomination as well. I only have one (Theron) receiving a nomination, but in my eyes, all four are deserving. Having to choose between Fassbender, Oldman, and Shannon was quite possibly the most difficult decision I had to make, though. The boldest pick? Thinking (and hoping) Andy Serkis will receive love for his performance, even if I do believe that should be considered lead performance.

From there, it looks like The Artist will show up in almost every tech category, while Hugo should receive a number of below the line nominations as well. If War Horse is able to sneak in a Best Picture nomination, I’m afraid that would ruin a good amount of the tech nominations as well. The audio categories are probably more open than I can ever remember, which adds some much needed suspense; it’s a shame that couldn’t happen with more categories. As much as I want to be correct with my predictions below, it would also be welcoming to receive some nice surprises as well.

The Academy will announce the Oscar nominations Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m., which most news shows tend to cover.

Check out the lists below, and make sure you let us know who you think will be receiving nominations. Who is your biggest sleeper pick? What “lock” do you think will be eating lunch tomorrow nomination-less?

Best Picture

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• The Help
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• Moneyball
• The Tree of Life
• Just Missed: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy; War Horse

Best Director

• Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
• Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
• Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
• Alexander Payne, The Descendants
• Martin Scorsese, Hugo
• Just Missed: David Fincher, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Actor

• George Clooney, The Descendants
• Jean Dujardin, The Artist
• Michael Fassbender, Shame
• Brad Pitt, Moneyball
• Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• Just Missed: Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Best Actress

• Viola Davis, The Help
• Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
• Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
• Charlize Theron, Young Adult
• Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
• Just Missed: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Supporting Actor

• Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
• Albert Brooks, Drive
• Nick Nolte, Warrior
• Christopher Plummer, Beginners
• Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Just Missed: Brad Pitt, The Tree of Life

Best Supporting Actress

• Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
• Jessica Chastain, The Help
• Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
• Octavia Spencer, The Help
• Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
• Just Missed: Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus

Best Adapted Screenplay

• The Descendants
• The Help
• Hugo
• Moneyball
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• Just Missed: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Original Screenplay

• The Artist
• Beginners
• Bridesmaids
• Midnight in Paris
• Young Adult
• Just Missed: Win Win

Best Editing

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• Moneyball
• Just Missed: The Tree of Life

Best Cinematography

• The Artist
• Hugo
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse
• Just Missed: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Art Direction

• The Artist
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• Jane Eyre
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• Just Missed: Midnight in Paris

Best Costume Design

• The Artist
• The Help
• Hugo
• Jane Eyre
• W.E
• Just Missed: Anonymous

Best Makeup

• Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• The Iron Lady
• Just Missed: The Artist

Best Music (Original Score)

• The Artist
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• The Ides of March
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• Just Missed: Hanna

Best Music (Original Song)

• “Star Spangled Man”, Captain America: First Avenger
• “The Living Proof”, The Help
• “The Keeper”, Machine Gun Preacher
• “Life’s A Happy Song”, The Muppets
• “Pictures in my Head”, The Muppets
• Just Missed: “Man or Muppet”, The Muppets

Best Sound Editing

• The Adventures of Tintin
• Drive
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Super 8
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• Just Missed: War Horse

Best Sound Mixing

• Hanna
• Hugo
• Super 8
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• War Horse
• Just Missed: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Best Visual Effects

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• The Tree of Life
• Just Missed: Captain America: First Avenger

Best Animated Feature Film

• The Adventures of Tintin
• Cars 2
  
• Puss in Boots
• Rango
• Winnie the Pooh
• Just Missed: Chico and Rita

Best Documentary Feature

• Bill Cunningham New York
• Buck
• Pina
• Project Nim
• Undefeated
• Just Missed: We Were Here

Best Foreign Language Film

• Footnote
• In Darkness
• Monsieur Lazhar
• Pina
• A Separtion
• Just Missed: Bullhead