82nd Academy Awards (Oscar Predictions)

I’ve put this off for a while for a few reasons, the first of which is: This will be a damn weird year. There are ten Best Picture nominees, but also there is a weighted ballot system (rank your films from 1 to 10, as opposed to check your favorite and that’s it). Plus, I’m in Korea so it is unlikely I will be able to watch the Oscars live, so I may as well have some fun with my predictions this year.

It’s also a weird year because the movie winning most of the awards if ‘The Hurt Locker’, which made practically zero money, and the movie winning almost no big awards, ‘Avatar’, made the most money ever. Here’s a rundown of what I think will win and what I would vote for.

Best Picture
Prediction: The Hurt Locker
My pick: Avatar

There are plenty of good movies, but everything nominated has flaws. I’ve listed them elsewhere so I won’t retype them here. ‘Avatar’ deserves to win because it was the most seen movie of the year, by far, and it will be remembered (by some, spitefully) many years from now. I do have a feeling, though, that ‘Inglourious Basterds’ may be closer to the top prize than most think….

Best Director
Prediction: Kathryn Bigelow (for ‘The Hurt Locker’)
My pick: Kathryn Bigelow

She deserves it, she was the best director of the year, give her the Oscar.

Lead Actor
Prediction: Jeff Bridges
My pick: Jess Bridges

I didn’t even see ‘Crazy Heart’, but I like Bridges, so why not? He’s a lock anyway.

Lead Actress
Prediction: Meryl Streep
My pick: Carey Muligan

Sandra Bullock is the easy money favorite, but her performance wasn’t noteworthy, which can be said for all of her work. Meryl Streep delivers a great performance every single year and maybe this time she’ll get her due. Though I think Carey Muligan deserves it the most this year, even more than Meryl.

Supporting Actor
Prediction: Christoph Waltz
My pick: Christoph Waltz

No one else should even show up.

Supporting Actress
Prediction: Mo’Nique
My pick: Anna Kendrick

This category is a joke this year. I would vote for Kendrick because I liked her in ‘Rocket Science’. She’s been in two good movies, which is more than can be said for Mo’Nique.

Original Screenplay
Prediction: Mark Boal
My pick: Joel and Ethan Coen

Tough category to call, but I cannot support Tarantino even getting close to this Oscar. ‘Basterds’ was good, but look at this horrible, God-awful grammar. No. However, ‘The Hurt Locker’ was good, but ‘A Serious Man’ is where it’s at.

Adapted Screenplay
Prediction: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner
My pick: Nick Hornby

‘An Education’ was much better than ‘Up in the Air’, but I guess I’m the only one who sees it.

Editing: The Hurt Locker
Cinematography: Avatar
Art Direction: Avatar
Sound Mixing: Avatar
Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker
Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Original Score: Up
Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon
Documentary Feature: The Cove
Animated Feature: Up will win, but Coraline was better
Visual Effects: Avatar
Makeup: Star Trek
Best Song: The Weary Kind
Live Action Short: The Door (completely random guess)
Doc. Short: Music by Prudence (completely random guess)
Animated Short: A Matter of Loaf and Death