Academy Award Week (2013): Costume Design, Telling a Story

Over the years at the Academy Awards one of my favorite and most under appreciated categories is Costume Design.  The costumes tell a story, and help make some of the best visual representation on screen.

If you think about the many years of film there are numerous iconic costumes, which have become unforgettable. All the way back to 1939 you have Scarlet O'Hara's numerous dresses including her curtain dress, to Dorothy's plaid dress to costuming people in a galaxy far far away in Star Wars, all the way to Miranda Priestly's many outfits and jackets she threw on Andrea's desk.  Film costumes throughout time have evolved fitting the need of their film, and defined a viewer's experience.

Scott Feinberg at The Hollywood Reporter (THR) put together a great piece talking with their fashion consultant at THR about this year's costumes.  One of my favorite comments that was made was that films that do not fit within the fantasy or period piece realm are often not recognized at the Academy Awards.  A couple examples which were cited even citing some period film which were ignored this year were Moonrise Kingdom, Argo, and Skyfall.  Skyfall is the perfect example, look at those fantastic suits, and the dresses of the Bond girls.  These films told a story through the clothes on the screen, and while many take them for granted they are one of the most important elements of a film.

If you look at past years think of films like Devil Wears Prada, and their great costumes.  Prada was competing against the power house period costumes from Marie Antoinette. Period films from much older eras, and fantasy films often dominate these categories.  If you look at the last 10 years of Costume Design nominees 98 percent of the nominees fit within this category.  Even looking at this year the fantastic costumes the nominees completely within this trend.  The major question is will the Academy break from this and realize the role in which non-traditional costume design plays within a film, or will they keep up with the same pattern?

Anna Karenina-Jaqueline Durran

Les Miserables-Paco Delgado

Lincoln-Joanna Johnston

Mirror Mirror-Eika Ishioka

Snow White and the Huntsman-Colleen Atwood

Of all the nominees the favorite is Anna Karenina, Jacquline Durran's works is flawless and based on the pictures above as a representation of of the costumes as characters it is the easy favorite to win this trophy.   Durran should have won this award for her work in Atonement, but was beat by another period film Elizabeth: The Golden Age. If any film were to challenge Karenina I would like that to be Mirrror Mirror, the costumes elevated this film beyond any level.  Eika Ishioka passed away before Mirror Mirror was even released and she did not get to see see her fantastic work hit the screen.  Colleen Atwood is the veteran in this category; she has nine nominations and three wins, and while her work is solid she will not be making it up to the podium this year.

Will Win: Anna Karenina
Spoiler: Mirror Mirror

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Film Predictions

Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

This typically is this branch's version of the Best Picture award, and sometimes they pick the award show juggernaut more recent wins like The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Slumdog Millionaire No Country for Old Men, and The King's Speech, but more often than not they pick the true "ensemble film" The Birdcage, The Full Monty, Traffic, Gosford Park, Sideways, Inglorious Basterds, and The Help.

What type of year will this be?  An award show sweep or one where they pick a truly great ensemble.  The problem with that is that Argo has been sweeping up the trophies, and their ensemble is pretty great.  Argo is the spoiler.  Silver Linings Playbook won this award at the Broadcast Film Critics Awards like The Help last year.  Silver Linings is the favorite, and will probably win.  If Lincoln happens to win it will win Best Picture.  A win here here would obviously bump up the chances of Silver Linings Playbook too.

Will Win: Silver Linings Playbook
Should Win: Argo
Spoiler Lincoln, Argo

Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Motion Picture
Bradley Cooper-Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis-Lincoln
John Hawkes-The Sessions
Hugh Jackman-Les Miserables
Denzel Washington-Flight

Day-Lewis wins this in a walk, when people think Lincoln they think his performance, and this could be the reason it has not been winning in the "Best Picture" categories.

Will and Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis-Lincoln

Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Motion Picture
Marion Cotillard-Rust and Bone
Jessica Chastain-Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence-Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren-Hitchcock
Naomi Watts-The Impossible

The battle is one, Jessica Chastain versus Jennifer Lawrence.  While at the beginning of this award season this race looked to be one of the most boring, but in fact its one of the most interesting again this year (like last year).  I will add this SAG category is the one of the worst at predicting a win, past winners, which did not win at Oscar were Viola Davis for The Help, Meryl Streep in Doubt, Julie Christie in Away from Her, Renee Zellweger from Chicago, and Annette Bening for American Beauty.    These five women won here at SAG and lost at the Oscars.

I am going to stick with my initial prediction, and go with Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty, but Jennifer Lawrence is a very very very close second.  If Lawrence wins look for this category to have a surprise winner on Oscar night.

Will and Should Jessica Chatain-Zero Dark Thirty
Massive Spoiler-Jennifer Lawrence-Silver Linings Playbook

Best Performance by an Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Alan Arkin-Argo
Javier Bardem-Skyfall
Robert DeNiro-Silver Linings Playbook
Phillip Seymour Hoffman-The Master
Tommy Lee Jones-Lincoln

One of the biggest toss ups, with Bardem out of the race, and Arkin a distant fourth.  Silver Linings Playbook, and Lincoln were well loved by this group, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the only nominee from The Master.  So its DeNiro versus Jones.  Jones unlikeable move at the Globes could hurt him.  I am going to to go with DeNiro, but I do not think he deserves a nomination for this role.

Prediction: Robert DeNiro-Silver Linings Playbook
Should Win and Spoiler: Tommy Lee Jones

Best Performance by an Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Sally Field-Lincoln
Anne Hathaway-Les Miserables
Helen Hunt-The Sessions
Nicole Kidman-The Paperboy
Maggie Smith-The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Get a better speech ready Ms. Hathaway, you will win tonight, and at the Oscars!

Will Win: Anne Hathaway
Should Win: Sally Field-Lincoln

In a Murky Awards Season, Argo, Les Miserables, and Django Unchained with big at the Golden Globes. On the Television side Girls, and Homeland Dominate, while Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Hilariously Lead the Way

In the larger scheme of award show season the Golden Globes may not matter anymore, and they may just be or have always been a fun party.  In the grand scheme of award show history the Golden Globes always used to be the major pre-Oscar indicator.  Films, screenplays, actors who won here typically won at the Oscars.

In 1995 the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) came onto the scene and added even more intrigue into the award show season.  SAG's members are actors (clearly) whose member could be voting members of the Academy and became a better predictor of the Oscar than the Globes, or validated the nominations, and winners.

Then the critics stepped in stating they wanted a piece of the pie, and started televising the Broadcast Film Critics Awards (BFCA) along with this award show social media helped gain more awareness of winners for the critics group winners.

Suddenly everyone wanted a piece of the pie and the Oscars became a stale leftover.  Last night the Globes proved the award season is has changed.  The three films who won the most trophies at the Globes (in the film world) were Les Miserables with three on the comedy/musical side, while Argo and Django Unchained went home with 2 each toppling the 7 time nominated Lincoln.  Both Argo and Django Unchained are on the lower end of the nomination totals this year.  Argo 7 nominations, missing out on Best Director, and Django Unchained has 5 nominations, also missing out on Best Director.  Les Miserbles has eight Academy award nominations, but not directing nomination as well,.  The day the Academy Award nominations were announced these three films were written off as major contenders, but does their winning change things?  Maybe, but probably not.

On the film side the Globes have proven to be somewhat irrelevant on the Best Picture side.  Looking back on the last few years only a handful of films have won at the Globes (in a Best Picture category),Chicago, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Artist.  If you look at the Oscar statistics, and who has the best shot of winning, its the films that only took home one award, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Life of Pi, in that order.  So are the wins irrelevant? Yes and no.  I would never want to take away the joy of someone winning an award for their accomplishment, but this award season has changed.

The Globe ballots for voting members were due before the Oscar nominations came out, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Amour are much bigger players at the Oscars, the Director's Guild Award nominations came out after Oscar ballots were due.  The Oscars being moved up and shifting the entire calendar messed with things more than ever, and they did this in order to reclaim the title as the most prestigious award show, who says whose the best, forget those silly Globes.  The problem is they are going to face a lot of backlash after this year especially with the snub heard round the world of Ben Affleck.

While the Globes may not "matter" they certainly proved something they have their own mind, and they don't care about the Academy.  The Oscars are going to face could lose a lot of people if they and other award shows do not move back to their proper time, and place.  The Oscar remain the most coveted prize in the film world, but Affleck's snub like Christopher Nolan's will sting them.  Argo could still win Best Picture, but it would be the first film to win without a director since 1989's Driving Miss Daisy, and the second ever in Academy history.  This is one of the most fascinating years with Best Picture/Best Director, and only time and the other guilds will tell, on to the actual show.

Hosts Amy Poehler and Tiny Fey were delightful from the great James Cameron zinger to Fey clutching Jennifer Lopez and Poehler casually chatting with Clooney during the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical announcement.  These two were better than Gervais because they were not only biting in their jokes, but charming, and fit into pieces of the ceremony letting the award show happen.

Beyond the hosts, and the awards a few other highlights were real life folks presenting the Best Film nominee clips. Bill Clinton giving the Presidential seal to Lincoln, and Tony Mendez presenting Argo. Kristin Wiig and Will Ferrell were the best presenters of the night, their SNL schtick of making fun of presenters was great!

The Cecille B. DeMille Award is usually when I doze off a little, but Jodie Foster changed that!Foster gave an electrifying speech, which I just re-watched because I was a bit buzzed while watching; she was heartfelt and more real than any celebrity can be in Hollywood.  Foster does take as much work these days, but this speech proved her greatness.

In regard to the winners, I have my Golden Globe television predictions down to a science only missing one category Lead Actor in a Comedy or Musical, I should have known the Globes would whore it out for the bigger celebrity on the newest show, Don Cheedle in House of Lies.  Girls, Homeland and Game Change dominated this side of the awards, and the Globes picked right here, these were the best of their nominees.

There is not much more to say about the television aspect of the Globes, I will say on the film side Lincoln winning only one of seven is a bit surprising, but who thought Daniel Day-Lewis would lose?  Best Actress is now all about Chastain vs. Lawrence, whoever wins at the Globes will take the lead in the race, but enter Emanuelle Riva.  Riva is a threat, and proves that you can't bank on these other award shows to help you with Oscar betting.  The same can be said about Christoph Waltz winning for Django Unchained.  I switched to Waltz at the last hour, and was right, but he is not nominated at SAG, will that matter?  The award season has changed, but it could be for the better because I have never felt this much anticipation in 4 major categories.  Overall this was a fun night, and one of the best Globes in recent memory.

Here is the full list of winners:

Film
Best Picture: Argo
Best Director: Ben Affleck, Argo
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Picture, Musical/Comedy: Les Miserables
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour, Michael Haneke
Best Actress Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
best Actor Musical: Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Best Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Best Original Score: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi
Best Song: Adele, Skyfall
Best Animated Feature: Brave
Television
Best TV Comedy: Girls
Best TV Drama: Homeland
Best Actress TV Drama: Claire Danes, Homeland
Best Actor TV Drama: Damian Lewis, Homeland
Best Actress TV Comedy: Lena Dunham, Girls
Best Actor TV Comedy: Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Best Actor: Miniseries: Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys
Best Actress Miniseries: Julianne Moore, Game Change
Best Supporting Actress Miniseries: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Supporting Actor Miniseries: Ed Harris, Game Change
Best Miniseries: Game Change

Golden Globes Predictions: Film

Best Drama Film
Argo 
Django Unchained 
Lincoln
Life of Pi
Zero Dark Thirty

Lincoln is the front runner with the most nominations, and the Globes typically go with the most nominated film in each category, but Argo is a real threat.  To be honest the Globes like to be unpredictable, so this is a tough category to predict.  My gut says Argo, but something says they will crown the eventual Best Pic winner Lincoln.

Will Win: Lincoln
Spoiler: Argo 

Best Drama Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis-Lincoln
Richard Gere-Arbitage
John Hawkes-The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix-The Master
Denzel Washington-Flight

Day-Lewis is the obvious choice with Denzel as the spoiler, but I am pretty sure no one can take down the President in this race.

Will Win: Daniel Day Lewis-Lincoln
Spoiler-Denzel Washington-Flight

Best Drama Actress
Jessica Chastain-Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard-Rust and Bone
Helen Mirren-Hitchcock
Naomi Watts-The Impossible
Rachel Weisz-The Deep Blue Sea

Chastain is out front, her role is one of the central things folks are talking about with Zero Dark Thirty, and with good reason.  Yet there is a lot of passion for Watts performance; she has a little more celebrity clout to go with that great performance.  Watts is a serious spoiler.

Will Win: Jessica Chastain-Zero Dark Thirty
Spoiler:Naomi Watts-The Impossible

Best Comedy/Musical Film
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

This is a tough call, on one hand the Globes love musical, and on the other Silver Linings Playbook is a Weinstein film.  Two very strong possible winners, but even like with 2008 even Sweeney Todd won over Juno.

Will Win: Les Miserables
Very Big Spoiler: Silver Linings Playbook
Should Win-Moonrise Kingdom

Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical
Jack Black-Bernie
Bradley Cooper-Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman-Les Miserables
Ewen McGregor-Salmon Fishing in Yemen
Bill Murray-Hyde Park on Hudson

Another race between Les Mis, and SLP.  Jackman sings, but Cooper proves he's more than a pretty face with some great acting.  I think Jackman takes this award.

Will Win: Hugh Jackman-Les Miserables
Spoiler: Bradley Cooper-Silver Linings Playbook
Should win Jack Black-Bernie 

Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical
Emily Blunt-Salmon Fishing in Yemen
Judi Dench-The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence-Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith-Quartet
Meryl Streep-Hope Springs

There is no way Lawrence will lose this award!

Will and Should Win: Jennifer Lawrence
Spoiler: No One!

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin-Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio-Django Unchained
Phillip Seymour Hoffman-The Master
Tommy Lee Jones-Lincoln
Christoph Waltz-Django Unchained

This race is the biggest toss-up, and while many are predicting DiCaprio, which is possible, and would be ironic because he does not have Oscar nomination, I do not think this will happen.  I think race will come down between Jones and Waltz, and I think Waltz may win this award, but I think the Oscar will go to Tommy Lee Jones.  This will probably be the most exciting Oscar race, and is the most unpredictable tonight.

Will Win: Christoph Waltz-Django Unchained
Spoiler and Should Win: Tommy Lee Jones-Lincoln

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams-The Master
Sally Field-Lincoln
Anne Hathaway-Les Miserables
Helen Hunt-The Sessions
Nicole Kidman-The Paperboy

Hathaway is on a runaway train to win her first Oscar, but Sally Field could always be a spoiler, they like her they really like her!

Will and Should Win-Ann Hathaway-Les Miserables
Spoiler-Sally Field-Lincoln

Best Director
Ben Afflec-Argo
Kathryn Bigelow-Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee-Life of Pi
Steve Spielberg-Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino-Django Unchained

As weird as this is going to sound, I think Ben Affleck would have won Best Director if he were nominated at the Oscars.  With that said watch out for him and Argo to spoil Spielberg's party here.  I still think the globes will be predictable and go with eventual Oscar winner Steven Spielberg.  I think it would be funny if Bigelow won, because that would mean the BFCA, and Globes broke away from the Oscars.

Will Win: Steven Spielberg-Lincoln
Spoiler: Ben Affleck-Argo
Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow

Best Screenplay-Lincoln (with Django as a spoiler)
Best Animated Feature-Frankenweenie
Best Foreign Language Film-Amour
Best Original Score-Lincoln
Best Original Song-"Skyfall" from Skyfall

Argo Wins Top Prizes at the Broadcast Film Critics Awards While the Show Itself Almost Put Me to Sleep

First and foremost the host, Sam Rubin was a bit creepy, and not very funny, I love film critics, but they should never be hosts.  Could they not find anyone?  I will leave him alone, but boy was he bad!  Rubin did not know how to interact with Jackman, Hathaway, but Goodman's punch at him that his interview was Communist torture was one of the best moments of the night.  There was not even enough time to fill the two hours, there was a commercial break between all of the awards at the end.

Beyond the host, I have to ask why they even bother to televise this garbage.  Beyond the CW whoring out stars from their shows, this award show was about as entertaining as watching paint dry. Oh wait, I am watching a patch dry on my wall now and it's actually more interesting to watch.  The show plugged that they are "different" because they had genre awards, which is great and it was fun to see them honor action, comedy etc, but at the sake of showing Best Screenplay or Best Animated Feature?  You are not going to get more viewers because you do this.

I have to say thank God for Rebel Wilson.  Her presentation of the Genius Award to  Judd Apatow, was one of the best moments of the evening.  The two of them made this boring show come to life for the brief moments they were on the stage.

I also have to say that their winners were exceptional, Argo taking Best Picture and Director was awesome.  Chastain winning Best Actress, all of these wins were solid.

Best Picture-Argo
Best Director-Ben Affleck-Argo
Best Actress-Jessica Chastain-Zero Dark Thirty

Best Supporting Actor-Phillip Seymour Hoffman-The Master

Best Supporting Actress-Anne Hathaway-Les Miserables
Original Screenplay-Django Unchained
Best Adapted Screenplay-Lincoln
Best Foreign Language Film-Amour
Best Documentary Feature-Searching for Sugarman
Best Animated Feature-Wreck-it Ralph
Best Acting Ensemble-Silver Linings Playbook

Best Art Direction-Anna Karenina

Best Cinematography-Life of Pi

Best Editing-Zero Dark Thirty

Best Costume Design-Anna Karenina

Best Makeup-Cloud Atlas

Best Score-Lincoln 

Best Original Song-"Skyfall" from Skyfall

Best Visual Effects-Life of Pi
Best Young Actor/Actress-Quvenzhane Wallis-Beasts of the Southern Wild
Best Action Movie-Skyfall
Best Actress in an Action Movie-Jennifer Lawrence-The Hunger Games
Best Actor in an Action Movie-Daniel Craig-Skyfall
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie-Looper
Best Comedy Movie-Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actress in a Comedy-Jennifer Lawrence-Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actor in a Comedy-Bradley Cooper-Silver Linings playbook

Lincoln leads BAFTA Nominations this Year, While they Leave Most Brits Behind

A couple of days ago in analyzing and predicting the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) there were couple of trends, they line up with Oscar pretty well, but also tend to bolster British nominees.  This year broke with that pattern to some extent, although this years nominees have that traditional feel.

While films like Skyfall and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel made the Best British Film list, I was convinced one of them would make the Best Film list.  BAFTA did not ignore one of their British made films, they nominated Les Miserables in both categories.  

The Best Director category had some shake ups as well, making the BAFTA more unique.  Michael Haneke and Quentin Tarantino were nominated, replacing sure fire bet Steven Spielberg for Lincoln and shockingly the British director Tom Hooper, for Best Film nominee Les Mis!  One day after the Director's Guild Awards (DGA) this shakes things up more than ever.  One thing is certain Spielberg will not be ignored this year, and I am shocked he missed the cut here because the film has the most nominations with 10, but Hooper is more vulnerable than ever! Hooper not being embraced by his own statesmen is a big deal.  The DGA will typically nominate a musical director, while Oscar will forget them Bill Condon for Dreamgirls, and Baz Lurhmann for Moulin Rouge are two examples of this within the last decade.  Hooper got a boost yesterday, but being forgotten today is proof this category is a hard one to predict.  Of the two BAFTA nominees Haneke has the biggest chance at unseating him tomorrow morning.

Haneke's nomination is proof this award group supports foreign language films more, but Oscar may follow suit this year.  Haneke's films received four major nominations, the other three nominations were Best Film Not in the English Language, Emanuelle Riva in Best Leading Actress, and Best Original Screenplay.  Amour could surprise tomorrow morning and earn nominations in all of these categories.  Amour helped shake things up in many of these categories, and BAFTA did not totally forget the Brits in the acting categories.

Skyfall helped Judi Dench score her 14th film nomination at the BAFTA's with a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Skyfall, and while not a Brit Javier Bardem was nominated in the Supporting Actor category for Skyfall as well.  Helen Mirren was the only other British acting nominee; she was nominated in the Lead Actress category for Hitchcock.  

These two ladies nominations were not surprising, but there were one or two surprises in the acting categories.  Ben Affleck got an acting nomination for Argo, this is his first nomination and he beat out John Hawkes whose co-star Helen Hunt received a nomination for the film.  Although beyond this most of the nominees were not unexpected.

While these awards do not have a perfect line-up with the Academy Awards they are a good barometer for who will get nominations, and who will get snubbed. Here is a list of all the nominees, and after a look at sure fire BAFTA nominees, who will show up at Oscar.

Surefire nominees tomorrow:

BEST FILM

• ARGO Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
• LES MISÉRABLES Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
• LIFE OF PI Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
• LINCOLN Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
• ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

• ANNA KARENINA Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Tom Stoppard
• THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL John Madden, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Ol Parker
• LES MISÉRABLES Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh, William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer
• SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin
• SKYFALL Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

• BART LAYTON (Director), DIMITRI DOGANIS (Producer) The Imposter
• DAVID MORRIS (Director), JACQUI MORRIS (Director/Producer) McCullin
• DEXTER FLETCHER (Director/Writer), DANNY KING (Writer) Wild Bill
• JAMES BOBIN (Director) The Muppets
• TINA GHARAVI (Director/Writer) I Am Nasrine

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

• AMOUR Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz
• HEADHUNTERS Morten Tyldum, Marianne Gray, Asle Vatn
• THE HUNT Thomas Vinterberg, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Morten Kaufmann
• RUST AND BONE Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux
• UNTOUCHABLE Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun

DOCUMENTARY

• THE IMPOSTER Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis
• MARLEY Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel
• McCULLIN David Morris, Jacqui Morris
• SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
• WEST OF MEMPHIS Amy Berg

ANIMATED FILM

• BRAVE Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
• FRANKENWEENIE Tim Burton
• PARANORMAN Sam Fell, Chris Butler

DIRECTOR

• AMOUR Michael Haneke
• ARGO Ben Affleck
• DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
• LIFE OF PI Ang Lee
• ZERO DARK THIRTY Kathryn Bigelow

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• AMOUR Michael Haneke
• DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
• THE MASTER Paul Thomas Anderson
• MOONRISE KINGDOM Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
• ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• ARGO Chris Terrio
• BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
• LIFE OF PI David Magee
• LINCOLN Tony Kushner
• SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK David O. Russell

LEADING ACTOR

• BEN AFFLECK Argo
• BRADLEY COOPER Silver Linings Playbook
• DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Lincoln
• HUGH JACKMAN Les Misérables
• JOAQUIN PHOENIX The Master

LEADING ACTRESS

• EMMANUELLE RIVA Amour
• HELEN MIRREN Hitchcock
• JENNIFER LAWRENCE Silver Linings Playbook
• JESSICA CHASTAIN Zero Dark Thirty
• MARION COTILLARD Rust and Bone

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• ALAN ARKIN Argo
• CHRISTOPH WALTZ Django Unchained
• JAVIER BARDEM Skyfall
• PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Master
• TOMMY LEE JONES Lincoln

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• AMY ADAMS The Master
• ANNE HATHAWAY Les Misérables
• HELEN HUNT The Sessions
• JUDI DENCH Skyfall
• SALLY FIELD Lincoln

ORIGINAL MUSIC

• ANNA KARENINA Dario Marianelli
• ARGO Alexandre Desplat
• LIFE OF PI Mychael Danna
• LINCOLN John Williams
• SKYFALL Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• ANNA KARENINA Seamus McGarvey
• LES MISÉRABLES Danny Cohen
• LIFE OF PI Claudio Miranda
• LINCOLN Janusz Kaminski
• SKYFALL Roger Deakins

EDITING

• ARGO William Goldenberg
• DJANGO UNCHAINED Fred Raskin
• LIFE OF PI Tim Squyres
• SKYFALL Stuart Baird
• ZERO DARK THIRTY Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg

PRODUCTION DESIGN

• ANNA KARENINA Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
• LES MISÉRABLES Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
• LIFE OF PI David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
• LINCOLN Rick Carter, Jim Erickson
• SKYFALL Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock

COSTUME DESIGN

• ANNA KARENINA Jacqueline Durran
• GREAT EXPECTATIONS Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
• LES MISÉRABLES Paco Delgado
• LINCOLN Joanna Johnston
• SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Colleen Atwood

MAKE UP & HAIR

• ANNA KARENINA Ivana Primorac
• HITCHCOCK Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger
• THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater
• LES MISÉRABLES Lisa Westcott
• LINCOLN Lois Burwell, Kay Georgiou

SOUND

• DJANGO UNCHAINED Mark Ulano, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Wylie Stateman
• THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Brent Burge, Chris Ward
• LES MISÉRABLES Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst
• LIFE OF PI Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill
• SKYFALL Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

• THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Peter Bebb, Andrew Lockley
• THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
• LIFE OF PI Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer
• MARVEL AVENGERS ASSEMBLE Nominees TBC
• PROMETHEUS Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, Trevor Wood, Paul Butterworth

SHORT ANIMATION

• HERE TO FALL Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath
• I’M FINE THANKS Eamonn O’Neill
• THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

SHORT FILM

• THE CURSE Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries
• GOOD NIGHT Muriel d’Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir
• SWIMMER Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw
• TUMULT Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews
• THE VOORMAN PROBLEM Mark Gill, Baldwin Li

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)

• ELIZABETH OLSEN
• ANDREA RISEBOROUGH
• SURAJ SHARMA
• JUNO TEMPLE
• ALICIA VIKANDER

Surefire Oscar Nominees

Best Picture-All of them!

Best Director-Affleck, Bigelow, and Lee

Best Actor-Cooper, Jackman, Day-Lewis

Best Actress-Lawrence, Chastain, and Cotillard

Best Supporting Actress-Field, Hathaway Hunt

Best Supporting Actor-Arkin, Seymour Hoffman, and Lee Jones

Of the rest of the nominees many have them have a strong chance, but these awards never line up right away, so prepare to pick a few changes for tomorrow morning, my predictions are coming later today!