So, the 80th annual Academy Awards are scheduled for February 24th. We don’t know who will be there or who will picket, but we do know the nominees - which means every clueless yahoo out there gets to make predictions based on almost nothing. Including me!

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Juno might be the dark horse here, being more likely than either Atonement or Michael Clayton to take the statue home. However, it’s generally considered to be a contest between No Country and Blood. Since No Country had somewhat of an ensemble cast, the Academy might take a tip from the SAG and give it Best Picture, while awarding Best Actor to Daniel Day-Lewis for Blood.

Best Director
P.T. Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)
Jason Reitman (Juno)
Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

This one is hard to call, since Julian Schnabel’s film got snubbed for everything else (being independent and foreign). They may choose to honor him here, or pick one of the obvious top two choices. Gilroy and Reitman are about equally likely to win - that is, not very.

Best Actor
George Clooney (Michael Clayton)
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)
Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah)
Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)

Daniel Day-Lewis is considered almost a shoe-in here, as he had one of the strongest male roles last year. Johnny Depp is not likely to win for this particular film, nor are the rest of them - and George Clooney/Michael Clayton was just too much of a dark horse. Better luck next year.

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)
Julie Christie (Away from Her)
Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose)
Laura Linney (The Savages)
Ellen Page (Juno)

In my opinion, this is Juno’s best chance at an award. Ellen Page is beloved and the Academy loves to seem “hip.” By giving the award to a 20-year-old starlet, they might regain some of their street cred.

Check out the rest of the nominees, and share your own predictions with me. I love a good debate.

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