This year's Oscar telecast won't exactly have the element of surprise. Even before the nominations have been announced, it's clear all of the acting categories are sown up already with Mo'Nique and Christoph "Incoherent Acceptance Speech" Waltz taking the supporting categories, and Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep taking top honors. (Sorry, I just don't buy that Sandra Bullock is winning an Oscar for The Blind Side.)
If there is one surprise factor, however, it's for the top two categories of Best Picture and Best Director, which is essentially a battle between Avatar and The Hurt Locker and possibly Up in the Air. (I still say "Locker" upsets the blue world.) But, I don't want to get too ahead of myself. The nominations are announced next Tuesday, and unlike the telecast, plenty of room for surprises when the nominees are announced. Here's my predictions of who will get nominated in most categories.
Best Picture
An Education
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Could slip in: A Single Man
Should but won't slip in: Star Trek
Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Could slip in: Matt Damon, The Informant!
Should but won't slip in: Tobey Maguire, Brothers
Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Should but won't slip in: Maya Rudolph, Away We Go
Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Could slip in:Alfred Molina, An Education
Best Supporting Actress
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Mo'Nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Could slip in: Penelope Cruz, Nine
Should but won't slip in: Samantha Morton, The Messenger
Best Director
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Could slip in: Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Animated Film
Up
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Coraline
Score
A Single Man
Avatar
The Informant!
Invictus
Up
Original Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer
Inglourious Basterds
The Hangover
The Hurt Locker
A Serious Man
Adapted Screenplay
Fantastic Mr. Fox
An Education
Precious
The Last Station
Up in the Air
Best Cinematography
The Hurt Locker
Where the Wild Things Are
The Road
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Best Costumes
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria
Inglourious Basterds
Best Art Direction
Sherlock Holmes
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
A Single Man
The Lovely Bones
The Young Victoria
Best Editing
The Hurt Locker
District 9
Star Trek
A Serious Man
Avatar
Sound Editing
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek
The Hurt Locker
Where the Wild Things Are
Makeup
The Road
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Star Trek
Best Achievement in Sound
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Distict 9
Inglourious Basterds
Best Original Song
"All is Love" from Where the Wild Things Are
"Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog
"I See You" from Avatar
"(I Want to) Come Home" from Everybody's Fine
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from Crazy Heart
Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek
Best Foreign Language Film
The White Ribbon
Un Prophete
Ajami
Winter in Wartime
The Milk of Sorrow