As we all know, Oscar day is finally upon us.  We’ve spent this past week offering more in-depth commentary on who should and will win in ten of the main categories, and below are two of our writers last-minute predictions for who will win in all 24 categories come this evening.

Final Predictions for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards By John C.

Below are my predictions for who will likely win in all 24 categories at tonight’s Oscars.  They aren’t necessarily representative of what should win, rather just predictions.  I have also included brief reasonings on why I think these ones will win.  They might not hold much weight come the end of the night, (last year I predicted 17 out of 24), but here are the films that I’ve got my money on for tonight’s Oscars.

 

Best Picture – The King’s Speech

– At this point, the excellent King’s Speech is the one to beat for the top prize.

 

Directing – David Fincher – The Social Network

– If The King’s Speech pulls a clean sweep it will be Tom Hooper, but I’m still going to go with David Fincher.

 

Actor in a Leading Role – Colin Firth in The King’s Speech

– If there’s a lock, this is it.

 

Actor in a Supporting Role – Christian Bale in The Fighter

– Bale’s work here was career-defining.

 

Actress in a Leading Role – Natalie Portman in Black Swan

– It will be a major upset if Portman doesn’t win.

 

Actress in a Supporting Role – Melissa Leo in The Fighter

– Could be Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit, but Leo seems like a safe bet.

 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network

– This will be the winner, and it should be the winner.

 

Writing (Original Screenplay) – David Seidler – The King’s Speech

– There’s chance of an upset, but Seidler’s script will likely get the gold.

 

Art Direction – Alice in Wonderland

– It could be The King’s Speech, but I can see ‘Alice’ pulling an upset.

 

Cinematography – Roger Deakins – True Grit

– It could be The King’s Speech, but Deakins has had 9 nominations and never won.

 

Costume Design – The King’s Speech

– Period pieces usually win in this category.

 

Film Editing – The Social Network

– Any of the nominees would deserve it, but I think The Social Network will ultimately win.

 

Makeup – The Wolfman

– It could be Barney’s Version, but The Wolfman undeniably had the most memorable make-up.

 

Music (Original Score) – Alexandre Desplat – The King’s Speech

– It’s a toss-up between this and The Social Network, but I think The King’s Speech will ultimately win.

 

Music (Original Song) – Randy Newman – “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3

– It’s a strong field, but Newman deserves it.

 

Sound Editing – Inception

– This is pretty much a lock.

 

Sound Mixing – The King’s Speech

– This will likely also go to Inception, but the sound mixing in The King’s Speech was quite impressive.

 

Visual Effects – Inception

– The spectacular visual effects in Inception will be remembered long after the night is through.

 

Animated Feature Film – Toy Story 3

– It’s an excellent line-up, but Toy Story 3 is the clear favourite.

 

Foreign Language Film – Incendies

– It could be Denmark’s In a Better World, but Quebec’s Incendies seems to be the favourite.

 

Documentary (Feature) – Exit through the Gift Shop

– They might go with one of the more traditional features, but documentaries are meant to evoke conversations, and the best representation of that is ‘Exit.’

 

Documentary (Short Subject) – Killing in the Name

– I can’t rightfully offer commentary on this category, so this is pretty much a blind guess.

 

Short Film (Animated) – Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)

– As much as I want to go with Pixar’s Day and Night, this one will likely win.

 

Short Film (Live Action) – God of Love

– It could be one of the more dramatic features, but this one also won the Student Academy Award, and will be included on this week’s Blu-ray release of 127 Hours.

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Final Predictions for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards By Erin V.

Below are my very last-minute predictions for tonight’s Oscars.  A couple are just plain ‘out there,’ but most are pretty reasonable guesses.  My thoughts on each choice are below my selections.  I usually get about 15 of 24 right so we’ll see how I do…

 

I marked the ones I got right – all in all, 14/24.  Checked back – both last year and the year before it was 16/24…  This year in the writing & acting categories, as well as best director & best picture, I nailed them all – technicals, not so much…

 

Best Picture – Iain Canning, Emile Sherman & Gareth Unwin – The King’s Speech

– Best film of last year that touched millions of viewers – I think tonight it will be recognized as such.  (WINNER)

 

Directing – Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech

– The King’s Speech is set to sweep – it’s not unlikely it will win here as well.  (WINNER)

 

Actor in a Leading Role – Colin Firth in The King’s Speech

– Pretty much a lock – despite other strong contenders, I think the world will be shocked if Firth loses this one.  (WINNER)

 

Actor in a Supporting Role – Christian Bale in The Fighter

– Amazing work here – deserves a win.  (WINNER)

 

Actress in a Leading Role – Natalie Portman in Black Swan

– Again, this was a film that was carried by the performance of its lead – playing a descent into madness, Portman has this win pretty well locked down.  (WINNER)

 

Actress in a Supporting Role – Melissa Leo in The Fighter

– Tossup for me – this could go to Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), or if they’re going to a sweep, even Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech).  (WINNER)

 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network

– A showcase of quick-moving dialogue, saying no more than needed to move the story along, but also giving us a representative of our characters thinking from page one.  (WINNER)

 

Writing (Original Screenplay) – David Seidler – The King’s Speech

– Chance of an upset.  Could be Inception for it’s masterful screenwriting, but Christopher Nolan wasn’t even nominated for Best Director… so, ultimately, I think for his the years of work on it, David Seidler will get this one.  (WINNER)

 

Art Direction – Eve Stewart (Production Design); Judy Farr (Set Decoration) – The King’s Speech

– Everything about The King’s Speech felt authentic – the overall visual feel of the film was amazing – thanks in huge part, to the art department.  (ALICE IN WONDERLAND)

 

Cinematography – Danny Cohen – The King’s Speech

– Could be Roger Deakins for True Grit, but the cinematography in The King’s Speech was also noticeably spot on – framing, lighting, camera work…  (INCEPTION)

 

Costume Design – Jenny Beavan – The King’s Speech

– Period piece – but didn’t call attention to itself as we watched – the costumes felt natural to the film’s environment – that is a job well done.  (ALICE IN WONDERLAND)

 

Film Editing – Tariq Anwar – The King’s Speech

– It could be any of the others, but the editing here was perfect, showcasing every small emotional nuance from the actors without calling attention to the cuts.  (THE SOCIAL NETWORK)

 

Makeup – Rick Baker & Dave Elsey – The Wolfman

– Could be Barney’s Version, but I don’t know why – The Wolfman seemed to do a good job makeup-wise – other than that…  (WINNER)

 

Music (Original Score) – John Powell – How To Train Your Dragon

– This is the one I would want to see win it.  Fingers crossed…  (THE SOCIAL NETWORK)

 

Music (Original Song) – Alan Menken & Glenn Slater – “I See The Light” from Tangled

– Could easily be “We Belong Together” from TS3 – but it’s a tossup for me.  (TOY STORY 3)

 

Sound Editing – Richard King – Inception

– As much a sound oriented movie as a visual one – Inception was a technical feat.  (WINNER)

 

Sound Mixing – Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen & John Midgley – The King’s Speech

– The nuances of language, ambiance, music – this would be deserving win.  But will Inception sweep both sound categories?  (INCEPTION)

 

Visual Effects – Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley & Peter Bebb – Inception

– Do you have to ask if you’ve seen this one?  (WINNER)

 

Animated Feature Film – Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois – How To Train Your Dragon

– Yes, I am crazy – I think we all know it’s going to be Toy Story 3 (which I loved), but I really think that in another year this would have had a strong, strong chance.  Besides, if there is a monumental upset, at least I can say I predicted it!  (TOY STORY 3)

 

Foreign Language Film – Denmark – In a Better World

– Could be Canada’s own Incendies, but this is my guess for tonight.  (WINNER)

 

Documentary (Feature) – Banksy & Jaimie D’Cruz – Exit through the Gift Shop

– A much discussed film – always a good thing for a doc.  (INSIDE JOB)

 

Documentary (Short Subject) – Karen Goodman & Kirk Simon – Strangers No More

– Blind guess.  (WINNER)

 

Short Film (Animated) – Bastien Dubois – Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)

– Day and Night could win, but I’ve been hearing about this one for a while and I think it may be the winner tonight.  (THE LOST THING)

 

Short Film (Live Action) – Luke Matheny – God of Love

– Winner of the Student Academy Award, this one stands as good a chance as any.  (WINNER)