Best Picture
Several films at the top of Oscar watchers' lists aren't even completed yet: Munich, Steven Spielberg's examination of the aftermath of the 1972 Olympics massacre, only finished shooting in September, while the ensemble drama Syriana, a tough look at the oil business, just wrapped in the edit suite. Although festival prizewinners Brokeback Mountain and Good Night, and Good Luck take place decades ago, their themes resonate especially strongly in today's political climate, and the charged dramas Jarhead and The Constant Gardener are also sure to have voters talking...and disagreeing. Two visually oriented directors whose last films made the shortlist will try to accomplish that feat again: Rob Marshall (Chicago) brings the popular novel Memoirs of a Geisha to the screen, while Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line) tackles the tale of Pocahontas in The New World. Meanwhile, festival darlings Walk the Line (pictured), Capote, A History of Violence, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada will try to ride their solid buzz through the winter. Rent and The Producers aim to become the first musical to land in this category since Chicago, while lighter fare like Pride & Prejudice and Mrs. Henderson Presents may appeal to voters looking for a break from all the seriousness. Woody Allen's Match Point is said to be his return to form, while fantasies like King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe will hope to follow The Lord of the Rings' lead. And campaigners for the summer entries Crash and Cinderella Man will work overtime to remind voters that the films were in fact released in 2005.

BEST DIRECTOR

They split the big prizes at this year's Venice Film Festival. Now filmmakers Ang Lee (nominated once before for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and George Clooney (who's never even attended the Oscars) could stand side by side as Best Director nominees thanks to their work in the acclaimed Brokeback Mountain and Good Night, and Good Luck (pictured), respectively. Awards-show mainstays like Munich's Steven Spielberg (five directing nominations, two wins) and Match Point's Woody Allen (six nominations, one win) will try for a return engagement, as will more recent winners like Jarhead's Sam Mendes, Cinderella Man's Ron Howard, and King Kong's Peter Jackson. A trio of directors who have scored one nomination but didn't win — The New World's Terrence Malick, Memoirs of a Geisha's Rob Marshall, and The Constant Gardener's Fernando Meirelles — could make the list again. Many of the contenders — Walk the Line's James Mangold, Capote's Bennett Miller, The Producers' Susan Stroman, and A History of Violence's David Cronenberg — are shooting for the first nomination of their careers. Then there are the guys who've had Academy recognition in other categories but not as directors: Tommy Lee Jones, a past Supporting Actor winner for The Fugitive, won raves at Cannes for shepherding The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada; Stephan Gaghan, who picked up a screenplay trophy for Traffic, wrote and directed Syriana; and Million Dollar Baby screenplay nominee Paul Haggis pulled similar double duty on Crash.

BEST ACTOR
Last year, this category's five nominees included a record four men who were recognized for playing real people. That tally could be matched again this year: At this point the two actors closest to being locks are Philip Seymour Hoffman (pictured), who won across-the-board raves for Capote, and Joaquin Phoenix for his channeling of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line — plus, he one-ups Jamie Foxx by doing his own singing. Other possible true-life candidates include David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck; Russell Crowe as boxer Jim Braddock in Cinderella Man; Eric Bana as an Israeli secret-service agent (code-named Avner) in Munich; and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jarhead's Marine-turned-author Anthony Swofford. This year could also mark the first time more than one Best Actor nominee portrayed a gay man on screen: Besides Hoffman as Truman Capote, Heath Ledger has already received phenomenal critical praise for his performance as a conflicted cowboy in Brokeback Mountain, while Irish actor Cillian Murphy takes on the role of a cross-dresser in Breakfast on Pluto. Past nominees like Separate Lies' Tom Wilkinson and Broken Flowers' Bill Murray may be invited back for a second time, and Johnny Depp aims for three nods in a row with The Libertine. Two-time nominee Ralph Fiennes boasts a pair of notable performances this year, in The Constant Gardener and The White Countess, while Tommy Lee Jones could find himself in the lead race for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. Finally, a quintet of respected actors — Syriana's George Clooney, A History of Violence's Viggo Mortensen, Hustle & Flow's Terrence Howard, The Producers' Nathan Lane, and The Squid and the Whale's Jeff Daniels — may hear their names called for the first time.

BEST ACTRESS
With all the under-35 international beauties turning in deserving performances this year, this race could end up looking like the lineup at the Miss Universe pageant. Besides such homegrown talents as Walk the Line's Reese Witherspoon, Proof star Gwyneth Paltrow, and Shopgirl lead Claire Danes (pictured), there's South African-born Charlize Theron, angling for Oscar No. 2 with North Country, Chinese phenom Ziyi Zhang from Memoirs of a Geisha, Brit breakout Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice, Australian Radha Mitchell for her dual roles in Melinda and Melinda, and multiracial actresses Rosario Dawson (Rent) and 15-year-old newcomer Q'Orianka Kilcher, who snagged the role of Pocahontas in The New World. But the non-teenybopper crowd could be well represented too, thanks to Joan Allen's powerhouse performance in The Upside of Anger; recent Emmy winner Felicity Huffman's turn as a preoperative transsexual in Transamerica; Julianne Moore's retro mom in The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio; Natasha Richardson's work in the final Merchant Ivory production, The White Countess; and Judi Dench's at once comic and steadfast embodiment of the title character in Mrs. Henderson Presents.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
There are so many movies offering up multiple contenders, this category could be filled with actors from only two films. Three members of Crash's lauded ensemble — Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, and Terrence Howard — should all score votes, while Syriana's Supporting Actor brigade includes Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, and Christopher Plummer. Meanwhile, several pairs of performers from the same films will go head-to-head: A History of Violence's Ed Harris and William Hurt, Jarhead's Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard, and Munich's Daniel Craig and Geoffrey Rush. After two consecutive Best Actor snubs for American Splendor and Sideways, Paul Giamatti could earn his first statuette for Cinderella Man, as could rising stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, pictured), Barry Pepper (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada), and Clifton Collins Jr. (Capote) and accomplished actors Donald Sutherland (Pride & Prejudice), Oliver Platt (Casanova), and Frank Langella (Good Night, and Good Luck). Previous nominees who may return include Mrs. Henderson Presents' Bob Hoskins, Memoirs of a Geisha's Ken Watanabe, Oliver Twist's Ben Kingsley, and The Upside of Anger's Kevin Costner. And one veteran who's never made the shortlist could learn that the key is playing against type: Steve Martin for his quiet work in Shopgirl.

SUPPORTING ACTRESSES
Where do Best Actress Oscar winners go years after their victories? Apparently, to the Supporting Actress race. Three past Best Actresses could compete against each other thanks to strong secondary performances this year: In North Country, Frances McDormand dusts off her Fargo accent; In Her Shoes' grandma Shirley MacLaine proves she can be immensely affecting in a subtle role; and The Family Stone's matriarch Diane Keaton exhibits her typically unique combination of humor and heartbreak. Other top contenders include past nominees Laura Linney (The Squid and the Whale), Catherine Keener (Capote), and Uma Thurman (The Producers, pictured), while the rest of the field is composed of potential first-timers: A History of Violence's Maria Bello, Brokeback Mountain's Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway, Memoirs of a Geisha's Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh, Thandie Newton and Sandra Bullock from Crash, and Walk the Line's Ginnifer Goodwin for their dramatic turns, and Proof's Hope Davis and Junebug's Amy Adams for their comedic work.

Ya, I read this the second I got my EW in the mail. LOL!

I don't think it's their predictions, just who they think are in the race cuz they have at least about 10 per category.

Funny still some predictors have Jarhead as a contender yet so many have dismissed it completely. I still think it's a contender. I don't think it will get into the top 5 anymore and I don't think it might get any nods at all, but it will be on some voters' minds. Those who liked it, REALLY liked it.
And you guys always say that critics aren't the ones voting!!

Yeah, their Oscar issue, where they predict the five nominees + a FYC for each category, isn't out yet.

Who do you think will get the cover this year?

My bet is a big picture of Bana.

Memoirs girls, probably Ziyi on the left and Gong Li on the right.

Johnny Cash and June Carter-Cash. (joaquin and Reese)

They did the all female thing 2 years ago already with Connelly, Theron, and Watts. That was one hot issue!!


I think it will either Munich-y or (and I'm leaning more towards the following) a Memoirs one.

If they don't give Memoirs a cover issue for its release (they might go for Brokeback the same week) then I'd say they go with Memoirs for the Oscar issue!

*ahem*

But that is not the Oscar issue. Thus, it is unliely they will be on the cover of the Oscar issue now.

It's not? Then what's with the blurb about their performances?

Bana is a good possibility. But I'll go with Depp as he's in a contender and he's someone that might sell more magazines for them than most actors.

Doesn't always work like that... with Lord of the Rings (for example) they just did another cover.

It is not the official Oscar issue. Don't know how it works, just know that it isn't.

Okay, but WTL isn't LOTR.

Memoirs of a Geisha on the cover sounds right to me.

Ya, it's not the Oscar issue (which usually comes out first week of the new year).
So, basically, that takes em out of the running to be on the cover again.

Aside from that, however, I must say that is a BEAUTIFUL cover. I don;t what it is.. I mean it's just the two of them close-up, but it's amazing! I love it!