Oscar Nomination Predictions 2011

The films of 2011 are a hodgepodge of films. Unique, inventive pieces, such as "The Artist," exist alongside the top ten films of the year, which are all comic book adaptations or sequels (or both!). Many of these sequels have performed with lessened commercial impact than their predecessors (save for "Fast Five" and "Harry Potter 7 vol. 2"). "The Help" and "Bridesmaids," however, proved that audiences are willing to flock to character-driven pieces. Hopefully, next year will see more films like "Bridesmaids," rather than "Bridesmaids 2: The Ladies are Back!" or "The Help, Vol. II: A New Job."

This year, with a set of new rules governing how Best Picture nominees are chosen, has made it far more difficult to predict what the honored films will be, simply because we will not know if there are five, six, eight or even ten films nominated until they are announced. I will assume that this year has been a bit too weak to name ten films, but there are more than five, so I shall eight.

Best Picture
The Artist
Midnight in Paris
The Descendants
Hugo
The Help
Bridesmaids
War Horse
Tree of Life
(I really hope "Moneyball" will not sneak in here)

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
Terence Malick, "Tree of Life"

Best Actor
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"
Leo DiCaprio, "J. Edgar"
Michael Fassbender, "Shame"
(Ryry Gosling could replace Fassbender for "Ides of March," however I would prefer Ryry in "Drive")

Best Actress
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Meryl Streep, "Iron Lady"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Michelle Williams, "My Week with Marilyn"
Tilda Swinton, "We Need to Talk about Kevin"

Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week with Marilyn"
Albert Brooks, "Drive"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"

Best Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help" (she should get it for "Tree of Life")

Best Adapted Screenplay
"The Descendants"
"Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"
"The Help"

Best Original Screenplay
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Artist"
"Young Adult"
"Bridesmaids"
"50/50"