Golden Globes are done. Critics have had their say. Next up in Hollywood's award season: The announcement of the Academy Awards nominations this Tuesday. After studying all the precursor awards, here's a potential breakdown of the Oscars' biggest categories. As always, expect some surprises.

Best Picture

New rules enable anywhere from five to 10 movies to be nominated for the top prize, based on a certain percentage of first-place votes. That leaves us with a lot of possibilities. There are still five (relatively) sure things: "The Artist," "The Descendants," "The Help," "Hugo" and "Midnight in Paris."

I'd say we get two more nominations, but picking the movies at this point is a crapshoot. "War Horse" hasn't been as well received as expected, and "The Tree of Life" has lost all momentum after scoring with so many critics earlier in the season. Many think "Bridesmaids" might sneak in, but I'll go with my personal favorite of the year, "Moneyball," and the surging "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

Three guaranteed nominations: George Clooney in "The Descendants," Brad Pitt in "Moneyball" and Jean Dujardin in "The Artist." Michael Fassbender has scored well during award season for his NC-17 rated indie "Shame." Though he missed a Screen Actors Guild nomination, I think the criminally under-appreciated Gary Oldman will take the last spot for "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," beating out Leonardo DiCaprio for "J. Edgar" and Michael Shannon for "Take Shelter."

Actress

Three more easy picks: Viola Davis in "The Help," Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady" and Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn." Tilda Swinton keeps popping up for "We Need to Talk About Kevin," and Glenn Close has earned raves for pretending to be a man in "Albert Hobbs." I'd love to see Charlize Theron in for "Young Adult," but something tells me Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" will steal the last spot from ol' Albert.

Director

Of the guaranteed Best Picture nominees, only Tate Taylor of "The Help" stands to be snubbed here. So, in addition to Martin Scorsese ("Hugo"), Michael Hazanavicius ("The Artist"), Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris") and Alexander Payne ("The Descendants"), it will probably be David Fincher ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"), or if "War Horse captures the hearts of nostalgic voters, Steven Spielberg.

Supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer ("The Help"), Jessica Chastain ("The Help"), Berenice Bejo ("The Artist") and Melissa McCarthy ("Bridesmaids") are all in. Wishful thinking has me going for Shailene Woodley in "The Descendants," but don't be surprised to see Janet McTeer from "Albert Nobbs."

Supporting Actor

One thing is for sure: Andy Serkis will be snubbed again for his brilliant motion capture performance in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." The likely nominees are at least just as deserving: Christopher Plummer in "Beginners," Jonah Hill in "Moneyball," Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn" and Albert Brooks in "Drive." Some say the last spot goes to Max Von Sydow in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" or Viggo Mortensen in "A Dangerous Method," but I really want something from "Warrior" to be nominated - how about supporting standout Nick Nolte?

Original Screenplay

Real fast: "The Artist," "Midnight in Paris," "Bridesmaids," "50/50" and "Young Adult." Potential spoilers: "A Separation," "Beginners," "Win Win" and "The Tree of Life."

Adapted Screenplay

Predictions: "The Descendants," "The Help," "Hugo," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Moneyball."

Spoilers: "Tinker, Tailor Soldier, Spy," "War Horse" and "The Ides of March."

Animated Feature

This is tough, especially with Pixar (probably) out of the race with "Cars 2." Assuming there are five nominees, I'd say "Rango," "Arthur Christmas," "The Adventures of Tintin," "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Winnie the Pooh" in that order of possibility.

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