Final Oscar Nominations Predictions: Best Picture

With ten nominees this year (sigh), I'm going to give out two alternate picks for this category. This is the final stop before the exciting announcement on Tuesday morning.

Best Picture (Predicted 10)

Avatar

The biggest hit of the year, not to mention of all time, is being admired on so many levels. A surprise Golden Globe win means that people are willing to give this film a lot of credit.

District 9

The passionate support for this film is starting to come out at just the right time, and with an expanded field, this seems like a possibility.

An Education

I’m expecting this to be the European hit that shows up at the Oscars, and since Carey Mulligan has a lot of support, that might translate to the film on the whole.

The Hurt Locker

A huge critical hit with a pretty good shot at a Best Director win. That should mean no trouble at all, for a nomination at least.

Inglourious Basterds

Another film with a passionate base of supporters. It’s been a long time since a Tarantino film made it this far, and this will probably be another one.

Invictus

Even though Clint Eastwood has fallen out of favor a bit with the Academy, this is still a respected project that seems too baity to be ignored. If all else fails, a convenient space filler.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Even though the buzz has died significantly, there’s still a lot of passion for the film, as it has shown up in many other top categories.

A Serious Man

In a year of five nominees, this would be a tough sell. In a year of ten, you have a well respected film from a directing duo that commands so much respect from the industry.

Up

Since this decision for ten was partly in response to WALL-E, the logical animated film would be the one from Pixar, which still has a lot of positive notices.

Up in the Air

A critical darling that has at least one award sewn up. This would be safe with even just five.

Alts.

A Single Man

Granted, I admit that this is an extreme longshot. However, I can’t quite shake the feeling that the Academy might like this movie more than some people might believe. The performance from Colin Firth is revered, but I think it’s just a gateway into discovering the film as a whole. If this film isn’t called, then I won’t be surprised. Still, I have a gut feeling that the Weinstein presence might tip in this film’s favor on Oscar morning.

Star Trek

If this film manages to get in, this will be the slot that gives credit to The Dark Knight as the populist movie that gets an Oscar nomination. Like District 9, this is another sci-fi flick with a lot of passionate support. The only reason I don’t see this film quite making the cut is because I think there are other films that have a lot more support than this one. That doesn’t mean I don’t see this making it in over any number of films like Invictus or District 9 or even A Serious Man, but I also think it’s understandable if it’s snubbed.