Last year, my early Oscar predictions, posted in September, were not perfect, but not awful either. I went 5/5 with my Best Actress predictions, but the other acting categories were tough.
I was correct in predicting The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Midnight in Paris, War Horse, and eventual champion The Artist would score Best Picture nominations. Of the four other films I predicted, only J. Edgar proved a complete misfire, with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, My Week with Marilyn, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy enjoying multiple nominations in other top acting and writing categories.
Best Picture
Same as last year, there could be up to ten films nominated for Best Picture, but also as few as five. I will place a * next to the five I feel most confident in predicting.
Anna Karenina*
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained*
Kathryn Bigelow's untitled bin Laden film (Zero Dark Thirty?)
Les Misérables*
Lincoln*
The Master*
The Sessions
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Tom Hooper, Les Misérables
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Joe Wright, Anna Karenina
Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina
Laura Linney, Hyde Park on Hudson
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Best Supporting Actor
Jim Broadbent, Cloud Atlas
Russell Crowe, Les Misérables
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
John Goodman, Argo
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Kelly Macdonald, Anna Karenina
Olivia Williams, Hyde Park on Hudson
Best Original Screenplay
Django Unchained
Kathryn Bigelow's untitled bin Laden film
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
The Sessions
Best Adapted Screenplay
Anna Karenina
Argo
Les Misérables
Lincoln
The Silver Linings Playbook
Best Cinematography
Anna Karenina
The Dark Knight Rises
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
The Master
Best Art Direction
Anna Karenina
The Great Gatsby
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
The Master
Best Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Dark Shadows
Django Unchained
The Great Gatsby
Les Misérables
Best Film Editing
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
Kathryn Bigelow's untitled bin Laden film
Les Misérables
The Master
Best Makeup
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Hyde Park on Hudson
Best Original Score
Anna Karenina
Brave
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Best Sound Editing
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Kathryn Bigelow's untitled bin Laden film
Prometheus
Best Sound Mixing
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Kathryn Bigelow's untitled bin Laden film
Les Misérables
Best Visual Effects
The Avengers
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
