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What follows is my latest assessment of all of the high-profile Oscar categories. I welcome your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of the post.
BEST PICTURE
Frontrunners
The Artist (The Weinstein Company, 11/23, PG-13, trailer) PGA, SAG, ADG, BFCA, HFPA, NYFCC
The Help (Disney, 8/12, PG-13, trailer) PGA, SAG, WGA, ADG, BFCA, HFPA, AFI
The Descendants (Fox Searchlight, 11/23, R, trailer) PGA, SAG, WGA, ADG, BFCA, HFPA, LAFCA, AFI
Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics, 5/20, PG-13, trailer) PGA, SAG, WGA, BFCA, HFPA, AFI
Hugo (Paramount, 11/23, PG, trailer) PGA, WGA, ADG, BFCA, HFPA, NBR, AFI
Moneyball (Columbia, 9/23, PG-13, trailer) PGA, WGA, BFCA, HFPA, AFI
War Horse (Disney, 12/25, PG-13, trailer) PGA, BFCA, HFPA
The Tree of Life (Fox Searchlight, 5/27, PG-13, trailer) BFCA, AFI
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Warner Bros., 12/25, PG-13, trailer) ADG, BFCA
Drive (FilmDistrict, 9/16, R, trailer) ADG, BFCA, AFI
Major Threats
Bridesmaids (Universal, 5/13, R, trailer) PGA, SAG, WGA, ADG, HFPA, AFI
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Sony, 12/21, R, trailer) PGA, WGA, ADG, AFI
The Ides of March (Sony, 10/14, R, trailer) PGA, HFPA
My Week with Marilyn (The Weinstein Company, 11/23, R, trailer) HFPA
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Focus Features, 12/9, R, trailer) ADG
Possibilities
50/50 (Summit, 9/30, R, trailer) WGA, HFPA
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 (Warner Bros., 7/15, PG-13, trailer) ADG
J. Edgar (Warner Bros., 11/11, R, trailer) AFI
Margin Call (Roadside Attractions, 10/21, R, trailer)
Beginners (Focus Features, 6/3, R, trailer)
BEST DIRECTOR
Frontrunners
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) BFCA, HFPA, NYFCC
Alexander Payne (The Descendants) BFCA, HFPA
Martin Scorsese (Hugo) BFCA, HFPA, NBR
Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) HFPA
Tate Taylor (The Help)
Major Threats
Steven Spielberg (War Horse) BFCA
Bennett Miller (Moneyball)
Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life) LAFCA, NSFC
Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) BFCA
Possibilities
Stephen Daldry (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) BFCA
David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
George Clooney (The Ides of March) HFPA
Clint Eastwood (J. Edgar)
BEST ACTOR
Frontrunners
Jean Dujardin (The Artist) SAG, BFCA, HFPA
George Clooney (The Descendants) SAG, BFCA, HFPA, NBR
Brad Pitt (Moneyball) SAG, BFCA, HFPA, NSFC, NYFCC
Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar) SAG, BFCA, HFPA
Demian Bichir (A Better Life) SAG
Major Threats
Michael Fassbender (Shame) BFCA, HFPA, LAFCA
Ryan Gosling (Drive) BFCA
Michael Shannon (Take Shelter)
Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
Possibilities
Thomas Horn (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)
Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March) HFPA
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50) HFPA
Woody Harrelson (Rampart)
BEST ACTRESS
Frontrunners
Viola Davis (The Help) SAG, BFCA, HFPA
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) SAG, BFCA, HFPA, NYFCC
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) SAG, BFCA, HFPA
Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin) SAG, BFCA, HFPA, NBR
Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs) SAG, HFPA
Major Threats
Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) HFPA
Charlize Theron (Young Adult) BFCA, HFPA
Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) BFCA
Possibilities
Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids) HFPA
Felicity Jones (Like Crazy)
Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia) NSFC
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Frontrunners
Christopher Plummer (Beginners) SAG, BFCA, HFPA, NBR, LAFCA
Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn) SAG, BFCA, HFPA
Jonah Hill (Moneyball) SAG, HFPA
Albert Brooks (Drive) BFCA, HFPA, NSFC, NYFCC
Nick Nolte (Warrior) SAG, BFCA
Major Threats
Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)
Ben Kingsley (Hugo)
Armie Hammer (J. Edgar) SAG
Possibilities
Viggo Mortensen (A Dangerous Method) HFPA
Patton Oswalt (Young Adult) BFCA
Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) BFCA
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Frontrunners
Berenice Bejo (The Artist) SAG, BFCA, HFPA
Octavia Spencer (The Help) SAG, BFCA, HFPA
Jessica Chastain (The Help) SAG, BFCA, HFPA, NSFC, NYFCC, LAFCA
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) SAG, HFPA
Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) BFCA, HFPA, NBR
Major Threats
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) SAG, BFCA
Carey Mulligan (Shame) BFCA
Sandra Bullock (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)
Possibilities
Vanessa Redgrave (Coriolanus)
Evan Rachel Wood (The Ides of March)
Judi Dench (J. Edgar)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Frontrunners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash (The Descendants) WGA, BFCA, HFPA, NBR, NYFCC
Stan Chervin, Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian (Moneyball) WGA, BFCA, HFPA
Tate Taylor (The Help) WGA, BFCA
John Logan (Hugo) WGA, BFCA
Eric Roth (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) BFCA
Major Threats
Richard Curtis, Lee Hall (War Horse)
Steven Zaillian (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) WGA
Hossein Amini (Drive)
Possibilities
George Clooney, Grant Heslov (The Ides of March) HFPA
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
Pedro Almodovar (The Skin I Live In)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Frontrunners
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) BFCA, HFPA
Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) WGA, BFCA, HFPA
Will Reiser (50/50) WGA, BFCA, NBR
Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids) WGA
Mike Mills (Beginners)
Major Threats
Tom McCarthy, Joe Tiboni (Win Win) WGA, BFCA
Diablo Cody (Young Adult) WGA, BFCA
Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) LAFCA
J.C. Chandor (Margin Call)
Possibilities
Dustin Lance Black (J. Edgar)
Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
James Ward Byrkit, John Logan, Gore Verbinski (Rango)
Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
BEST ANIMATED FILM (FEATURE)
Frontrunners
Rango (Paramount, 3/4, PG, trailer) PGA, BFCA, HFPA, NBR, LAFCA
Puss in Boots (DreamWorks, 11/4, PG, trailer) PGA, BFCA, HFPA
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Unicorn (Paramount, 12/21, PG, trailer) PGA, BFCA, HFPA
Kung Fu Panda 2 (DreamWorks, 5/26, PG, trailer) PGA, BFCA
Cars 2 (Disney, 6/24, G, trailer) PGA, HFPA
Major Threats
Arthur Christmas (Sony, 11/23, PG, trailer) BFCA, HFPA
Happy Feet 2 (Warner Bros., 11/18, PG, trailer)
Possibilities
Rio (20th Century Fox, 4/15, G, trailer)
Winnie the Pooh (Disney, 7/15, G, trailer)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM (FEATURE)
Frontrunners
If a Tree Falls (Oscilloscope, 6/22, TBA, trailer) WGA
Project Nim (Roadside Attractions, 7/8, PG-13, trailer) PGA, BFCA
Bill Cunningham New York (Zeitgeist Films, 3/16, TBA, trailer) PGA
Undefeated (The Weinstein Company, 2/10, TBA, TBA) BFCA
Semper Fi: Always Faithful (TBA, TBA, TBA, trailer)
Major Threats
Buck (IFC Films, 6/17, PG, trailer) BFCA
Battle for Brooklyn (TBA, 6/17, TBA, trailer)
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (HBO Documentary Films, TBA, TBA, trailer) NBR
Pina (Sundance Selects, 12/23, TBA, trailer) WGA
Long Way Home: The Loving Story (TBA, TBA, TBA, trailer)
Possibilities
We Were Here (Red Flag Releasing, 9/?, TBA, trailer)
Hell and Back Again (Docurama Films, 10/5, TBA, trailer)
Sing Your Song (HBO Documentary Films, 9/2, TBA, trailer)
Jane’s Journey (First Run Features, TBA, TBA, trailer)
Under Fire: Journalists in Combat (TBA, TBA, TBA, trailer)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Frontrunners
A Separation (Iran) BFCA, HFPA, NBR, NYFCC
Where Do We Go Now? (Lebanon) BFCA
Le Havre (Finland) BFCA
In Darkness (Poland) BFCA
Footnote (Israel)
Major Threats
The Flowers of War (China) HFPA
Declaration of War (France)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Simple Life (Hong Kong)
Pina (Germany)
Happy, Happy (Norway)
Possibilities
Terra Firma (Italy)
Sonny Boy (Netherlands)
Superclasico (Denmark)
Bullhead (Belgium)
Black Bread (Spain)
Postcard (Japan)
Omar Killed Me (Morocco)
BEST ART DIRECTION
Frontrunners
Hugo (Dante Ferretti) ADG, BFCA, LAFCA
The Artist (Laurence Bennett) ADG, BFCA
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Stuart Craig) ADG, BFCA
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Maria Djurkovic) ADG
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (K.K. Barrett) ADG
Major Threats
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Donald Graham Burt) ADG
War Horse (Rick Carter) BFCA
Drive (Beth Mickle) ADG
The Tree of Life (Jack Fisk) BFCA
J. Edgar (James J. Murakami)
Bridesmaids (Jefferson Sage) ADG
Captain America: The First Avenger (Rick Heinrichs) ADG
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (John Myhre) ADG
Anonymous (Sebastian Krawinkel) ADG
Cowboys & Aliens (Scott Chambliss) ADG
Possibilities
The Descendants (Jane Anne Stewart) ADG
The Help (Mark Ricker) ADG
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Sarah Greenwood)
My Week with Marilyn (Donal Woods)
Midnight in Paris (Anne Seibel)
A Dangerous Method (James McAteer)
Jane Eyre (Will Hughes-Jones)
Albert Nobbs (Patrizia von Brandenstein)
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Unicorn (TBD) ADG
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Frontrunners
The Tree of Life (Emmanuel Lubezki) BFCA, NYFCC, LAFCA
War Horse (Janusz Kaminski) BFCA
Hugo (Robert Richardson) BFCA
The Artist (Guillaume Schiffman) BFCA
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Jeff Cronenweth)
Major Threats
Drive (Newton Thomas Sigel) BFCA
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Chris Menges)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Hoyte Van Hoytema)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Eduardo Serra)
Possibilities
The Descendants (Phedon Papamichael)
Shame (Sean Bobbitt)
J. Edgar (Tom Stern)
A Dangerous Method (Peter Suschitzky)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Frontrunners
Jane Eyre (Michael O’Connor) BFCA
The Artist (Mark Bridges) BFCA
Hugo (Sandy Powell) BFCA
The Help (Sharen Davis) BFCA
W.E (Arianne Phillips)
Major Threats
My Week with Marilyn (Jill Taylor) BFCA
Midnight in Paris (Sonia Grande)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Jacqueline Durran)
War Horse (Joanna Johnston)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Trish Summerville)
J. Edgar (Deborah Hopper)
Possibilities
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Jany Temime)
Albert Nobbs (Pierre-Yves Gayraud)
Captain America (Anna B. Sheppard)
Anonymous (Lisy Christl)
A Dangerous Method (Denise Cronenberg)
BEST FILM EDITING
Frontrunners
The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius, Anne-Sophie Bion) BFCA
War Horse (Michael Kahn) BFCA
Hugo (Thelam Schoonmaker) BFCA
The Help (Hughes Winborne)
Drive (Matthew Newman) BFCA
Major Threats
Moneyball (Christopher Tellefson)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall) BFCA
The Descendants (Kevin Tent)
Contagion (Stephen Mirrione)
Midnight in Paris (Alisa Lepselter)
Possibilities
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Claire Simpson)
The Ides of March (Stephen Mirrione)
J. Edgar (Joe Cox, Gary Roach)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Dino Jonsater)
Shame (Joe Walker)
BEST MAKEUP NEW
Frontrunners
The Iron Lady (Marese Langan, Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland) BFCA
Albert Nobbs (Matthew W. Mungle, Lynn Johnston, Martial Corneville) BFCA
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Joel Harlow, Peter King)
Major Threats
The Artist (Julie Hewitt, Cydney Cornell)
J. Edgar (Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman, Tania McComas, Carol A. O’Connell) BFCA
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight) BFCA
My Week with Marilyn (Jenny Shircore) BFCA
Possibilities
War Horse (Lois Burwell, Jon Henry Gordon)
Anonymous (Bjorn Rehbein, Heike Merker)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Torsten Witte, Eva von Bahr)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Frontrunners
Hugo (Howard Shore) BFCA, HFPA
The Artist (Ludovic Bource) BFCA, HFPA
War Horse (John Williams) BFCA, HFPA
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross) BFCA, HFPA
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Alexandre Desplat)
Major Threats
The Adventures of Tintin (John Williams)
Jane Eyre (Dario Marianelli)
The Help (Thomas Newman)
Moneyball (Mychael Danna)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Alberto Iglesias)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Alexandre Desplat)
Possibilities
W.E (Abel Korzeniowski) HFPA
The Ides of March (Alexandre Desplat)
Hanna (The Chemical Brothers) LAFCA
Super 8 (Michael Giacchino)
The Skin I Live In (Alberto Iglesias)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Frontrunners
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Justin Cornish, Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri, Brooke Lyndon-Stanford, R. Christopher White, Erik Winquist) BFCA
Hugo (David Burton, Matthew Gratzner, John Knoll, Robert Legato, Mark Weigert, Edson Williams) BFCA
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Tim Burke, Greg Butler, Dadi Einarsson, Adam Gascoyne, Rudi Holzapfel, Matt Jacobs, Seth Mathiesen, John Moffatt, Clark Parkhurst, Chris Shaw, Ulcun Tan, David Vickery) BFCA
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Brennan Doyle, Scott Farrar, Samir Hoon, Reupal D. Rawal, Scott Squires)
The Tree of Life (Tom Debenham, Olivier Dumont, Dan Glass, Bryan Hirota, Matt McDonald, Dominic Parker, Daniel P. Rosen, Michael Shand) BFCA
Major Threats
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Gary Brozenich, Tony Clark, Charles Gibson, Ian Hunter, Charlie Iturriaga, Gregory Oehler, Christian Pokorny, David Sanger, Ben Snow, Simon Stanley-Clamp, Greg Strause)
Possibilities
Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (John Knoll, Dave Morley)
Captain America: The First Avenger (Craig Barron, Stephane Ceretti, Vincent Cirelli, Sean Andrew Faden, Florian Gellinger, Jonathan Harb, Richard Higham, Dave Morley, Charlie Noble, Daniel P. Rosen, Kathy Siegel, Stephen Swanson, Christopher Townsend, Edson Williams)
X-Men: First Class (Nicolas Aithadi, Jay Barton, Stephane Ceretti, Vincent Cirelli, Jon Cowley, Laurens Ehrmann, Florian Gellinger, Rob Hodgson, Matt Johnson, Greg Steele, Steven Swanson, Shailendra Swarnkar, Guy Williams, Anton Yri)
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