Monday, December 15, 2025
51.0°F

Oscar Predictions ... Good ones, probably

Tyler Wilson | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 14 years, 9 months AGO
by Tyler Wilson
| February 25, 2011 8:00 PM

Anne Hathaway and James Franco host the Academy Awards on Sunday night, where "The King's Speech" is set to collect the most trophies. Does "The Social Network," or anything else for that matter, still have a chance at the big prize?

Here are my best educated guesses as to who will win, as well as the nominees for which I'd cast a vote.

Best Picture

"The King's Speech" won the Screen Actors, Producers and Directors Guild awards. That means it's all but guaranteed to win the big one. If there's any surprise, it will be "The Social Network," the year's critical darling. Will Win: "The King's Speech"

Should win: My favorite of the year is still "127 Hours," but a win for "Toy Story 3" would be an award for the previous installments and the entire Pixar library.

Best Actor

Will Win: Colin Firth had this in the bag months ago. Should win: Host James Franco gave the most vital performance to its film.

Best Actress

Will Win: Natalie Portman's physical transformation in "Black Swan" is probably too showstopping to ignore. Should Win: Annette Bening from "The Kids Are All Right." She could still sneak in to win.

Best Supporting Actor

Will and Should Win: Christian Bale in "The Fighter." It's an unforgettable performance, but Geoffrey Rush could snag the prize if the Academy goes gaga for "King's Speech."

Best Supporting Actress

Will Win: Melissa Leo from "The Fighter." Some say Hailee Steinfeld from "True Grit," but that leading role will suffer from being in the wrong category. Should Win: Steinfeld.

Best Director

Christopher Nolan. Oh wait, he wasn't even nominated. Should and Will Win: Even if "The Social Network" loses Best Picture, David Fincher probably has enough support (and goodwill from previous films) to win the award.

Best Original Screenplay

Will Win: "The King's Speech." Should Win: How is "Inception" NOT the most original screenplay of the year?

Best Adapted Screenplay

Should and Will Win: Aaron Sorkin's brilliant "Social Network" script.

Documentary

Should and Will Win: "Inside Job," although wouldn't it be neat if Banksy's "Exit Through the Gift Shop" has a surprise victory?

Animated Feature

Should and Will Win: "Toy Story 3." It has a Best Picture nomination, so anything else winning would be absurd.

Foreign Language Film

No obvious frontrunner here. Safe choice is "Biutiful," thanks to the presence of Javier Bardem.

Editing

Should and Will Win: "The Social Network"

Cinematography

Should and Will Win: Time for the great Roger Deakins to finally get his due for "True Grit."

Art Direction

Will Win: "The King's Speech" Should Win: "Alice in Wonderland"

Costume Design

Should and Will Win: "Alice in Wonderland"

Original Song

Should and Will Win: It may sound like all of his other songs, but Randy Newman's "We Belong Together" just seems like a safe Oscar bet.

Original Score

Should and Will Win: The innovative and unique "Social Network" score.

Makeup

Should and Will Win: "The Wolfman," because there's a lot of makeup in it.

Sound Editing and Mixing

Should and Will Win: Both go to "Inception"

Animated Short

Pixar's "Day & Night" had a unique spin. Don't know much about the others.

Documentary Short

Let's say "Strangers No More," but really this category can go anywhere.

Live Action Short

"The Confession." Really, who knows?

ARTICLES BY TYLER WILSON

The stay-at-home dad The patient zero is 2
February 26, 2020 12:16 p.m.

The stay-at-home dad The patient zero is 2

Germs bother me. I wash my hands constantly, use bottles and bottles of hand sanitizer and avoid touching most communal items like door handles with my bare hands.

Sunscreen - what you need and when you need it
August 15, 2019 3:12 p.m.

Sunscreen - what you need and when you need it

There’s no reason for subtlety - you need to protect your skin from the damaging rays of the sun.

August 15, 2019 3:22 p.m.

Summer fun smacked by surgeries, fractures

We live where people like to vacation. That can be a huge advantage major when life happens and sours summertime plans.