Oscar Predictions

It's that time again ladies and gentlemen...Oscar season. With most of the big name Oscar bait out right now and the buzz in high gear, it is time for me to weigh in with my predictions. It is still a bit early so this could end up being amended before Oscar nominations are announced, but here is how I see it going...

Best Picture

- The Aviator *lock*
- Million Dollar Baby *lock*
- Sideways *lock*
- Finding Neverland
- Hotel Rwanda

Just Missed: Ray
Sleeper: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Best Actor

- Jamie Foxx (Ray) *lock*
- Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator) *lock*
- Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland) *lock*
- Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda)
- Paul Giamatti (Sideways)

Just Missed: Liam Neeson (Kinsey)
Sleeper: Javier Bardem (The Sea Inside)

Best Actress

- Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) *lock*
- Annette Benning (Being Julia) *lock*
- Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) *lock*
- Kate Winslett (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
- Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace)

Just Missed: Uma Thurman (Kill Bill: Volume 2)
Sleeper: Julie Delphy (Before Sunset)

Best Director

- Martin Scorsese (The Aviator) *lock*
- Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby) *lock*
- Alexander Payne (Sideways) *lock*
- Marc Forster (Finding Neverland)
- Mike Nichols (Closer)

Just Missed: Taylor Hackford (Ray)
Sleeper: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

Best Supporting Actor

- Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) *lock*
- Thomas Haden Church (Sideways) *lock*
- Clive Owen (Closer)
- Peter Sarsgaard (Kinsey)
- Alan Alda (The Aviator)

Just Missed: Jamie Foxx (Collateral)
Sleeper: Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland)

Best Supporting Actress

- Virginia Madsen (Sideways) *lock*
- Cate Blanchett (The Aviator) *lock*
- Laura Linney (Kinsey)
- Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda)
- Natalie Portman (Closer)

Just Missed: Meryl Streep (The Manchurian Candidate)
Sleeper: Cloris Leachman (Spanglish)

Best Original Screenplay

- Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) *lock*
- John Logan (The Aviator) *lock*
- Bill Condon (Kinsey)
- Taylor Hackford, James L. White (Ray)
- Keir Pierson, Terry George (Hotel Rwanda)

Just Missed: Brad Bird (The Incredibles)
Sleeper: Zack Braff (Garden State)

Best Adapted Screenplay

- Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor (Sideways) *lock*
- Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby) *lock*
- David Magee (Finding Neverland)
- Patrick Marber (Closer)
- Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries)

Just Missed: David Aaron Cohen (Friday Night Lights)
Sleeper: Richard Linklater, Julie Delphy, Ethan Hawke (Before Sunset)

Best Animated Feature

- The Incredibles *lock*
- Shrek 2
- The Polar Express

Just Missed: Shark Tale
Sleeper: Ghost in the Shell 2

Best Visual Effects

- The Aviator *lock*
- Spiderman 2 *lock*
- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Just Missed: Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban
Sleeper: The Day After Tomorrow

Best Cinematography

- Collateral *lock*
- The Passion of the Christ *lock*
- The Aviator
- A Very Long Engagement
- Million Dollar Baby

Just Missed: Ray
Sleeper: Sideways