I'd love if Cuaron won something finally. And if Gravity is to sweep, I'd think of that as additional payment for the COM snub.

You obviously can't read.

Bullock was fantastic.

It's Sandra Bullock's world and we're all just living in it. As much as I loved El Blanchett in Blue Jasmine, I'm hitching my train to Sandy again this season. Hilary Swank this bitch up, gurl.

Once Gravity clears $200 m +, its going to be hard to stop the momentum. I thought best actor was a near lock, but Sandra Bullock says otherwise.

Huxley for the win!

I'd consider Sandra Bullock close to a 95% chance of happening now. Audience and critical reception is outpacing The Blind Side. Could do $300 m +. She's the anchor on the movie. It even has a chance at making it into the top 3 for the year.

Variety just had an article on how Bullock could win it again:

http://variety.com/2013/film/opinion/5- ... 200716172/

I am predicting Judi Dench to win at the moment.

Me too.

Unless Philomena is just absolutely tiny in the States, à la Being Julia or Venus.

Yeah, that is possible, of course. My reasoning is mainly that Dench seems due for a Best Actress Oscar, her turn in Philomena is very acclaimed and the British will throw themselves behind her big time.

Worse than Hilary Swank?

I mean, say what you will about Bullock's acting capabilities, but at least she has done appealing work outside of Oscar bait. The same cannot be said for Swank, save maybe for Freedom Writers.

Swank is also a much more gifted and intuitive actress in general, even if her career has ended up in a strange place (at least at the moment).

I'm not feeling Dench. I'm sticking with Blanchett right now, who could do well with critics and translate that to televised awards wins. Bullock is also a threat though. I could easily see her winning GG and SAG, with that being enough to win.

U mad?

For the record, I still think Blanchett has the edge in actually winning the award.

Again, I will be rooting for Sandy just to troll Magnus.

I think Swank deserved it for Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby. Bullock didn't deserve to win for The Blind Side and she wouldn't for Gravity either, though her performance in Gravity is better than in The Blind Side. I actually like Bullock, but these performances aren't "best of the year" amazing.

O was dead on last time he said SaBu would win, I'm leaning this way as well

If I throw enough predictions out there, eventually 1 or 2 of them end up being right.

I think the Academy knows they have to be more progressive but they are also going to go with a safe choice. This year, I think Bullock offers both. She is more or less anchoring a $300 m blockbuster which will resonate with audiences. She also has big appeal in the community.

The film itself though, as the Variety article mentioned, is a sign of changing times that the Academy might want to latch onto as well to seem "relevant." Technology is changing the film industry, but Bullock still demonstrated the need for actors in the environment of fast advances in tech. Not only is it a strong performance that offers mainstream appeal, its also a legacy type move on the Academy's part to give the Oscar to Bullock again.

Maybe I'm very off on this though! We'll see in a few months.

Current predix:

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

^ Looks like a solid line-up there. Though you think Amy Adams won't get her first leading role nom? I mean David O. Russell's last two films got seven acting noms...

I keep going back and forth on whether it'll be Amy or Emma Thompson. Probably won't make up my mind until awards season actually starts, lol

Bullock is winning this.

It'd be painful to see Adams losing her fifth nomination. She's turning into another Kate Winslet...

She keeps getting overshadowed by co-stars in flashier roles. Personally, I thought she should've won the Oscar for Junebug and The Fighter.