Ellen DeGeneres Makes Year's First Oscar Prediction: It's Oprah

Critics aren't the only ones praising Oprah Winfrey's performance in "Lee Daniels' The Butler": Ellen DeGeneres, next year's Oscar host, used her Twitter account on Friday to give Winfrey an early boost for Best Supporting Actress -- this despite not even having seen "Lee Daniels' The Butler":

Daniels' film, which stars Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, David Oyelowo, Terrence Howard, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Mariah Carey and many other big-name stars, is set for release on Aug. 16. Thus far, most critics have enjoyed the film, while even those who didn't have praised Winfrey's performance.

"Oprah brings some much-needed levity -- and eventually high drama-- to the film," Katey Rich wrote at CinemaBlend. "When Cecil (Whitaker) comes home the day Kennedy is shot, her honest-to-God response is 'I'm really sorry about the President. But you and that White House can kiss my ass.' How can anybody else be expected to compete with that?"