Oscar Contenders!

July is almost over and since not much from the first half of 2012 seems to be in major play for Oscars, I figured it's fine to just throw a list up here and see what sticks.

Best Picture/Director Contenders:
Amour (Love) (Michael Haneke)
Anna Karenina (Joe Wright)
Argo (Ben Affleck)
The Avengers (Joss Whedon)
Beast of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (John Madden)
The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan)
Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino)
The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson)
Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell)
Imogene (Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini)
Inside Llewyn Davis (The Coen Brothers)
Killing Them Softly (Andrew Dominik)
Les Misérables (Tom Hooper)
Life of Pi (Ang Lee)
Lincoln (Steven Spielberg)
The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson)
Quartet (Dustin Hoffman)
The Sessions (Ben Lewin)
Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)
Trouble with the Curve (Robert Lorenz)
Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow)

Best Lead Actor Contenders:
Ben Affleck, Argo
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Great Gatsby
Clint Eastwood, Trouble with the Curve
Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained
Martin Freeman, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables 
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Brad Pitt, Killing Them Softly
Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour (Love)
 
Best Lead Actress Contenders:
Amy Adams, Trouble with the Curve
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Viola Davis, Won't Back Down
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Won't Back Down
Helen Hunt, The Sessions 
Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Laura Linney, Hyde Park on Hudson
Carey Mulligan, The Great Gatsby
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour (Love)
Barbra Streisand, The Guilt Trip
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Kristen Wiig, Imogene
Michelle Williams, Take This Waltz

Best Supporting Actor Contenders:
Alan Arkin, Argo
Kyle Chandler, Argo
Kyle Chandler, Zero Dark Thirty 
Sacha Baron Cohen, Les Misérables 
Billy Connolly, Quartet
Tom Courtenay, Quartet
Bryan Cranston, Argo  
Russell Crowe, Les Misérables
Gérard Depardieu, Life of Pi
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Tate Donovan, Argo
Joel Edgerton, The Great Gatsby
Joel Edgerton, Zero Dark Thirty 
Michael Gambon, Quartet 
Victor Garber, Argo
James Gandolfini, Killing Them Softly 
Jared Gilman, Moonrise Kingdom 
John Goodman, Argo  
Woody Harrelson, Seven Psychopaths 
Jared Harris, Lincoln
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Zeljko Ivanek, Argo  
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Aaron Johnson, Anna Karenina
Irrfan Khan, Life of Pi
Jude Law, Anna Karenina
Ray Liotta, Killing Them Softly 
Matthew Macfayden, Anna Karenina
William H. Macy, The Sessions
Tobey Maguire, The Great Gatsby
Chris Messina, Argo  
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
Ian McKellen, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Bill Murray, Moonrise Kingdom
Bill Nighy, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Edward Norton, Moonrise Kingdom  
Dev Patel, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 
Édgar Ramírez, Zero Dark Thirty
Eddie Redmayne, Les Misérables 
Andy Serkis, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
David Strathairn, Lincoln
Mark Strong, Zero Dark Thirty 
Justin Timberlake, Inside Llewyn Davis
Justin Timberlake, Trouble with the Curve
Aaron Tveit, Les Misérables 
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Titus Welliver, Argo
Samuel West, Hyde Park on Hudson
Tom Wilkinson, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom

Best Supporting Actress Contenders:
Amy Adams, The Master
Samantha Barks, Les Misérables 
Annette Bening, Imogene
Helena Bonham Carter, Les Misérables 
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty 
Pauline Collins, Quartet
Olivia Colman, Hyde Park on Hudson 
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Laura Dern, The Master
Michelle Dockery, Anna Karenina
Clea DuVall, Argo
Sally Field, Lincoln 
Isla Fisher, The Great Gatsby 
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables 
Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom
Isabelle Huppert, Amour (Love)
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy 
Kelly Macdonald, Anna Karenina
Frances McDormand, Moonrise Kingdom
Carey Mulligan, Inside Llewyn Davis 
Amanda Seyfried, Les Misérables 
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Tilda Swinton, Moonrise Kingdom 
Tabu, Life of Pi
Kerry Washington, Django Unchained
Emily Watson, Anna Karenina
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
Olivia Williams, Anna Karenina
Olivia Williams, Hyde Park on Hudson
Penelope Wilton, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

So let's go with...

Best Picture:
Amour (Love) (Michael Haneke) 
Beast of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson 
Les Misérables (Tom Hooper)
Lincoln (Steven Spielberg)
The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson) 


Best Director:
Michael Haneke, Amour (Love)
Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom 

Best Lead Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables 
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour (Love) 

Best Lead Actress:
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Helen Hunt, The Sessions 
Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour (Love)
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Supporting Actor:
Bryan Cranston, Argo 
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
David Strathairn, Lincoln
Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom 

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams, The Master
Samantha Barks, Les Misérables
Annette Bening, Imogene
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Olivia Williams, Hyde Park on Hudson

Why not?

Best Picture:
The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson) 


Best Director:
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master 

Best Lead Actor:
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master 

Best Lead Actress:
Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina

Best Supporting Actor:
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables