Final Oscar Predictions 2012

Best Picture:
Argo
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
*Sticking with the top 6 here. If there is 7, Amour. If 8, Moonrise Kingdom. If 9, Django Unchained. If 10, Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Best Director:
Ben Affleck, Argo
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
*Sticking with Russell, based on their perceived love for the film. Hooper got the DGA nod, but missed a BAFTA and that was probably a bigger deal than Spielberg missing. I have Michael Haneke (Amour) in 7th, followed by Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master) in 8th, but both would be a lone director without a BP nod.

Best Lead Actor:
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Denzel Washington, Flight
*I kept Joaquin Phoenix this whole time, but after going back and forth over the SAG snub, I think voters will leave him off just because he hasn't been playing the game as much as Cooper/Hawkes/Jackman. Washington has been a bit quiet too, but they love him.

Best Lead Actress:
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
*I'm getting very worried about Helen Mirren (Hitchock). I really hope that doesn't happen. In 7th would be Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) followed by Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea).

Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
*I actually think Javier Bardem is now in the 5th spot, but I refuse to predict big category chances for Skyfall (the multiple tech nods is already a lot). DiCaprio is hanging by the strength of his NBR win, but Christoph Waltz is seriously stealing votes from him. Matthew McConaughey (Magic Mike) needed some biggie from the industry to support him (but at least he'll win the Indie Spirit) and Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables) needs to hope they really love the film.

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams, The Master
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
*Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy) is in a stinker of a film that I doubt voters will watch. Maggie Smith (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) missed at BAFTA, but America has Downton Abbey fever. Still, I think that won't translate anymore. I really want to predict an upset from Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty) but instead I went with Dowd.

Best Original Screenplay:
Amour
Django Unchained
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty
Next in Line: Looper

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Silver Linings Playbook
Next in Line: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Animated Feature:
Brave
Frankenweeenie
The Painting
ParaNorman
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Foreign Film:
Amour, Austria
The Intouchables, France
Kon Tiki, Norway
A Royal Affair, Sweden
War Witch, Canada

Best Documentary:
The Gatekeepers
The Invisible War
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
Searching for Sugar Man
This is Not a Film

Best Cinematography:
Anna Karenina
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Next in Line: Argo, Cloud Atlas, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, The Master

Best Costume Design:
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Lincoln
A Royal Affair
Next in Line: Argo, Hitchcock, The Master, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Film Editing:
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Next in Line: Django Unchained, Flight, Les Miserables, Looper, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Men in Black 3
Next in Line: Hitchcock, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Looper

Best Original Score:
Anna Karenina
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty
Next in Line: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Cloud Atlas, The Master, On the Road, Skyfall

Best Original Song:
“From Here to the Moon and Back,” Joyful Noise (Dolly Parton and Kris Kristofferson)
“Learn Me Right,” Brave (Mumford and Sons and Birdy)
“Skyfall,” Skyfall (Adele)
“Still Alive,” Paul Williams: Still Alive (Paul Williams)
“Suddenly,” Les Miserables (Hugh Jackman)
Next in Line: “Ancora Qui,” Django Unchained; “Breath of Life,” Snow White and the Huntsman; “Pi’s Lullaby,” Life of Pi; “Touch the Sky,” Brave; “Who Did That to You,” Django Unchained

Best Production Design:
Anna Karenina
Cloud Atlas
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Next in Line: Argo, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Master, Prometheus, Skyfall

Best Sound Editing:
The Avengers
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Next in Line: Cloud Atlas, The Dark Knight Rises, Django Unchained, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Life of Pi

Best Sound Mixing:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Next in Line: Argo, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Django Unchained, Life of Pi

Best Visual Effects:
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Next in Line: The Amazing Spider-Man, Cloud Atlas, John Carter, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Animated Short:
Adam and Dog
Dripped
The Eagleman Stag
Head Over Heels
Paperman

Best Documentary Short:
The Education of Mohammad Hussein
Inocente
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart

Best Live Action Short:
Asad
Curfew
Death of a Shadow
The Night Shift Belongs to the Stars
when you find me

Totals:
Lincoln: 14
Les Miserables: 9
Zero Dark Thirty: 9
Life of Pi: 7
Argo: 6
Silver Linings Playbook: 6
Skyfall: 6
Anna Karenina: 4
Django Unchained: 4
Amour: 3
The Master: 3
The Avengers: 2
Brave: 2
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: 2
A Royal Affair: 2
The Sessions: 2