And the nominees are...

Below is the official Oscar ballot (reformatted for easy blog reading). Nominees who I think will win will be noted with a W; nominees who I think should win will be denoted with a S. I have not seen all the films, so some of this will just be pure conjecture. But, still... it'll be fun. And, the Academy voters don't have to see all the films. Yeah, I know... thhey're supposed to, but they get the DVDs sent to them and they still can't manage to see them all? Pshaw..., I feel no guilt at all that I didn't shell out $10.50 a pop to see all the films nominated.


ACTOR -- LEADING
___Leonardo DiCaprio – BLOOD DIAMOND
___Ryan Gosling – HALF NELSON
W__Peter O’Toole – VENUS
___Will Smith – THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
S__Forest Whitaker – THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
I haven't seen any of the movies, but I hear that Forest Whitaker was just amazing in The Last King of Scotland. Still, I think Peter O'Toole has the sentimental vote sewn. I also hope that this is not the first nomination of Ryan Gosling's career. He is talented, and I've thought so since he first appeared on my radar as a guest star on the Canadian series, Flash Forward (which also introduced Ben Foster to American audiences).

ACTOR -- SUPPORTING
___Alan Arkin – LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
___Jackie Earle Haley – LITTLE CHILDREN
___Djimon Hounsou – BLOOD DIAMOND
SW_Eddie Murphy – DREAMGIRLS
___Mark Wahlberg – THE DEPARTED
While it's cool that Jackie Earle Haley is back in the movie theaters after a couple of decades of absence (he was the Kelly Leak in the original Bad News Bears), I think Eddie Murphy has this in the bag. Not only does he have the paid his dues vote sewn up, but he was really good in a pretty good movie.

ACTRESS -- LEADING
___Penélope Cruz – VOLVER
S__Judi Dench – NOTES ON A SCANDAL
W__Helen Mirren – THE QUEEN
___Meryl Streep – THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
___Kate Winslet – LITTLE CHILDREN
Okay, I just want this stated... Meryl Streep was FANTASTIC as Miranda in The Devil Wears Prada. She made a blah movie into something really enjoyable. But... it was really a supporting role. And Helen Mirren was really good in The Queen and she's wrapping up all the awards. But, Judi Dench scared me in the commercials for her film.

ACTRESS -- SUPPORTING
___Adriana Barraza – BABEL
___Cate Blanchett – NOTES ON A SCANDAL
___Abigail Breslin – LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
SW_Jennifer Hudson – DREAMGIRLS
___Rinko Kikuchi – BABEL
Jennifer Hudson was just great. And, yeah... maybe she hasn't had to pay her dues (which seems to be an issue with the Academy), but she had to be disparaged by Simon Cowell, and it's not like any of the other nominees (with the exception of Cate Blanchett) are household names.

ANIMATED FEATURE
W__CARS
S__HAPPY FEET
___MONSTER HOUSE
Pixar just always seems to win these things, don't they? And while Cars has the Paul Newman factor, my nephews just adore Happy Feet, so I say... go Happy Feet!

CINEMATOGRAPHY
___THE BLACK DAHLIA
SW_CHILDREN OF MEN
___THE ILLUSIONIST
___PAN’S LABYRINTH
___THE PRESTIGE
Haven't seen any of these, but folks say that Children of Men is just gorgeous.

COSTUME DESIGN
___CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
___THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
S__DREAMGIRLS
W__MARIE ANTOINETTE
___THE QUEEN
While the clothing of Prada and The Queen was great. Both were too modern to really take home the gold. I thought the period costumes of Dreamgirls (from the 60s through the 70s) were great, but with the aged Academy, it's probably still considered too modern, so I'll bet Marie Antoinette will win.

DIRECTING
___BABEL
SW_THE DEPARTED
___LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
___THE QUEEN
___UNITED 93
As Jon Stewart said last year... 3-6 Mafia has an Oscar before Marty Scorcese is crazy (though I did like their song), and I suspect that oversight will be remedied this year.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
___DELIVER US FROM EVIL
SW_AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
___IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS
___JESUS CAMP
___MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY
C'mon... who do you think is going to win... in Hollywood? Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. I think it will win. And iI think it should win. A) cause maybe Gore will declare himself a candidate for the presidency at the podium (how cool would that be?) And B) it'll make conservatives see red. And that's always good for a laugh.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
___AFTER THE WEDDING
___DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES)
___THE LIVES OF OTHERS
SW_PAN’S LABYRINTH
___WATER
Didn't see any of these, but I hear nothing but great things about Pan. And anytime you hear a foreign film be talked seriously about possibly being nominated for or even winning against English language films, it's usually a shoo-in.

ORIGINAL SCORE
S__BABEL
___THE GOOD GERMAN
___NOTES ON A SCANDAL
___PAN’S LABYRINTH
W__THE QUEEN
Okay, seriously... I know nothing about this category. I threw darts.

ORIGINAL SONG
S__“I Need to Wake Up” – AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
W__“Listen” – DREAMGIRLS
___“Love You I Do” – DREAMGIRLS
___“Our Town” – CARS
___“Patience” – DREAMGIRLS
I just like Melissa Etheridge. And, I do think there is a real chance that the three Dreamgirls songs will split the vote too much... I just think that Beyonce singing (and kinda sorta co-writing) Listen is too much star power to the Academy. I also think that the Oscars will want to prove that they're not racist (because they didn't nominate the musical for Best Picture) by giving Dreamgirls several victories in the more minor categories.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
___THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT
S__RECYCLED LIFE
___REHEARSING A DREAM
W__TWO HANDS
I read an article about the folks in Recycled Life. It's about a poverty stricken group of folks who live on a land fill in Guatemala. It's a great story. But, the Academy loves tales of common folks overcoming diversity. So, I think Two Hands pulls it out.

ART DIRECTION
SW_DREAMGIRLS
___THE GOOD SHEPHERD
___PAN’S LABYRINTH
___PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
___THE PRESTIGE
Dreamgirls was just beautiful to watch. And I still think the Academy will want to make up for the lack of a Bes Picture nod.

MAKEUP
___APOCALYPTO
___CLICK
SW_PAN’S LABYRINTH
I'm thinking Hollywood still hasn't forgiven Mel Gibson and even the folks at Sony didn't see Click, so I think Pan wins it in a walk.

FILM EDITING
W__BABEL
___BLOOD DIAMOND
___CHILDREN OF MEN
S__THE DEPARTED
___UNITED 93
In my mind, film editing and directing always go hand in hand, so since I'm picking Marty for director, I think his editing partner should win for The Departedalso. But, Babel had several separate stories to intercut together, so based on sheer complexity, Babel might win.

VISUAL EFFECTS
SW_PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
___POSEIDON
___SUPERMAN RETURNS
I loathed Pirates II. Loathed it wiht a passion. I want the 2 plus hours of my life back. To make matters worse I saw it in the theaters and wasted one of the last weekends I spent in LA seeing this drek. Stilll... the special effects in Superman were laughable. And, all of three people saw Poseidon, so holding my nose, I'm picking Pirates.

SOUND EDITING
___APOCALYPTO
___BLOOD DIAMOND
___FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
SW_LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
___PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
While there's a real possiblity that Flags and Letters will split the vote, I've just been hearing great things about Letters and I think they're gonna go home with something.

SCREENPLAY -- ADAPTED
___BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
___CHILDREN OF MEN
SW_THE DEPARTED
___LITTLE CHILDREN
___NOTES ON A SCANDAL
While I would love it if Borat wins something (seriously, how could Sasha Baron Cohen not get an acting nod?), I think there was too much improv involved for it to get a writing nomination. So, I'm putting my money on The Departed.

SCREENPLAY -- ORIGINAL
___BABEL
___LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
SW_LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
___PAN’S LABYRINTH
___THE QUEEN
While there is an outside shot that Little Miss Sunshine gets the Best Picture prize, I think this is their best shot at a major award.

SOUND MIXING
___APOCALYPTO
___BLOOD DIAMOND
SW_DREAMGIRLS
___FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
___PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
Always go with the musical in this category. You're gonna be right more often than not.

SHORT FILM -- LIVE ACTION
___BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA)
S__ÉRAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY)
___HELMER & SON
___THE SAVIOUR
W__WEST BANK STORY
Did not see these and I know nothing about any of the movies, but anything about Israel or the Holocaust usually wins in their category. So, we'll see if the Middle East is close enough to keep that trend alive.

BEST PICTURE
___BABEL
SW_THE DEPARTED
___LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
___LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
___THE QUEEN
I really do think the Oscars are up in the air in most categories, especially Best Picture. All of these movies have won major awards, but I just think it's Scorcese's year. With the star power on screen and behind the camera... I think it's The Departed's to lose.

SHORT FILM -- ANIMATED
___THE DANISH POET
___LIFTED
SW_THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL
___MAESTRO
___NO TIME FOR NUTS
I actually did see The Little Matchgirl and it made me cry. The animation was simple, but befitting a classic.

Okay, so those are my picks and my thoughts. As I mentioned, there will be live blogging of the awards themselves and after the show, we'll see how I did.