The only oscar material I've seen all year is Kill Bill Vol 2 though I doubt it will be nominated. There are a lot of limited budget movies I've missed out on though.

Unless the movies coming in the next 3 months do not disappoint, I'm looking at a major limited release indie type movies in the running for this .. ranging from such films as Garden State to .. well .. thats all I can think of for now.

Any thoughts?

I've yet to see the movie but I heard The Motorcycle Diaries might get a nod for at least something. If it's getting the buzz that it's getting a nod is worthwhile.

Its foreign language though.

Is it? I thought it was english language. Then couldn't it be a contender for best foreign film?

It could still be contender for both.

has there ever been a foreign language film that got nominated for an oscar?

quite a few
In rcent years only,
Crouching Tiger
Life is Beautiful

i totally forgot about those. Are there any winners?

I cant recall any. Though when it comes to awards, I'm often wrong.

Hopefully Loyalfromlondon will join this board and help us out here.

Yea we need Loyal here to help us out with the "movie" stuff.

If Incredibles is good enough, which I'm almost 100% sure it will be, it may get nominated for best pic... if it's allowed.

It'll obviously be nominated for best animated. Hopefully this year the competition will be a little harder then last years Nemo.

The best animated category is a bitter sweet thing for me. Th fact that it allows more animations to get noticed is great, I think it pretty much killed the chances of another animated movie from even being nominated.

Yay but best picture is supposed to be the combination of every aspects of movie making. Acting, directing, writting etc... In an animated movie all you have to have is a funny voice and a good computer techy.

As far as I know, no foreign language film has won Best Picture. Crouching Tiger has the most nominations for a foreign film with 10. Recently, foreign films have gotten more and more notices, especially in the screenplay category, such as The Barbarian Invasions, City of God, Talk to her, etc.

The Motorcycle Diaries hasn't been submitted by any country to be their official selection for the Best Foreign Language Film, so it isn't eligible for that category yet. It's definitely a contender for Best Picture though.

From the early releases, I think the ones that have a chance are Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind and Passion of the Christ. The former is a lock for the screenplay nom and strong contender for acting noms. It may be too small for Best Picture, like Adaption. The latter has the technical branches behind it, and it is kind of an event film. However, if Passion does get nominated for either Picture or Director, I think it'll occupy that one BP/BD split slot the Academy likes to have each year.

We don't have an oscar-worthy epic yet this year, and Oliver Stone has delivered some great films, so I expect Alexander to grab a spot. The Aviator isn't having nearly the bad pre-release buzz and delays that Gangs of the New York had, so I think it's close to a lock as well. I have mix feeling about Closer, which is very highly anticipated by some, including me, but may be too dark and artsy for Oscar. The other contenders include Finding Neverland, The Sea Within, The Phantom of Opera, biopics Ray and Kinsey, and Vera Drake. Hotel Rwanda got great visibility help from Toronto Film Festival, but the studio behind it is probably too small to contend for categories other than acting and screenplay.

I really hope Mel gets a nom for best director. He deserves that one.

I doubt Alexander's chances. Especially since LOTR won last year.

I think we can anticipate having a biopic win. And with Ray Charles having died last year, and a supposed strong performance from Jamie Foxx, I think "Ray" has a good chance.

Right now, I'm expecting Closer or Ray to win the award.

And, ya, I think Gibson deserves a nod just for the risk he took. I am Jewish, but, he deserves recognition for that.

I hope Alexander wins something. It looks fantastic.

(Yes, this is Zingaling)

I never thought I'd hear that come outta that mouth of yours.

Now that the Motorcycle Diaries has fallen a little flat, it looks like Eternal Sunshine may be the nerd-drama from Focus with the best shot at a Picture nomination.

Wait, why has it fallen flat? Wasn't it a hit with critics?

BTW, get on IRC. .

My current predictions:

The Aviator-winner
Alexander
The Motorcycle Diaries
Closer
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Runner-Ups: Ray, Phantom of the Opera, Finding Neverland

I think at least one or two of the major candidates will have to be big disappointments for Incredibles to be nominated. I would love to see Pixar get their big break, but let's be realistic...

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Closer
Ray - winner
Finding Neverland
The Aviator

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
Closer
Alexander
The Aviator
Finding Neverland

Close runner up: Ray

I want Alexander to win, but I think it will be either The Aviator or Finding Neverland. We'll see though.