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The Oscar nominations were recently announced and soon people will be making their predictions (some even placing bets). The nomination list is full of surprises and snubs but there are some clear cut winners. Yet, some categories leave me in a quandary. Perhaps you can help me with those ones. Either way, here are my predictions for major categories:

Best Picture – The go to choice is clearly The Artist. Not only is it a fantastic film, it has the advantage of being silent and black and white. What is this advantage you might ask? Well, I think the Oscar voters would love the idea of such a classic approach to filmmaking winning in 2012. The film still has stiff competition especially from Hugo, Moneyball and The Help. If The Artist does not clench the win, I’d expect one of those three to take it. On a side note, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close was a wasted slot.

Best Animated Feature – This category is typically dominated by mainstream American features. This makes the clear choices Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots and Rango. Kung Fu Panda 2 is not a realistic expectation and Puss in Boots is an unlikely underdog. Rango is favored in this category.

Best Actor – George Clooney and Brad Pitt are typical nomination fodder. Gary Oldman and Demian Bichir’s nominations seem more like courtesy nods (not to say their roles were not great). These four are outshined by Jean Dujardin for The Artist who is most likely to take home the gold.

Best Actress – A fine array of performances with one getting so much buzz that it is impossible to ignore; Viola Davis in The Help. Rooney Mara and Meryl Streep both give very committed performances as well and they are the likely alternatives.

Best Supporting Actor – The Beginners was a film that I liked but was not overly impressed with. The exception was Christopher Plummer’s character which I think touched the audiences in a way that the other nominees just don’t. Jonah Hill and Nick Nolte are unlikely wins especially Hill. Branagh and Sydow are the only serious alternatives to clenching the win with the latter probably having the best chance.

Best Supporting Actress – McCarthy is another one of those courtesy nominations that we can cast aside. McTeer is also an unlikely winner in a film that hasn’t garnered a great deal of attention. This leaves Bejo, Spencer and Chastain as the only serious contenders. My money is on Bejo.

Best Director – This is a hard category for me. A great deal of films that are nominated for many awards but are snubbed will often find themselves still getting Best Director. This makes me lean towards The Descendants and Midnight in Paris. The first pick and clear winner is Hazanavicius for The Artist. Yet, I am troubled by the love affair between the Academy and Martin Scorsese. Then we have the visionary Malick who seems ripe for an Oscar. Again, The Artist seems to be the likely choice but if there is an upset I just can’t pick a clear alternative.

Adapted Screenplay – Hugo is the choice for me though all the others barring Ides of March are great alternatives.

Original Screenplay – 50/50 was a film that I was sure to get nominated and it wasn’t. Bridesmaids did so I guess that’s looking on the bright side of things (sarcasm). Midnight in Paris is my choice here and this relies on the fact that I don’t think the film is likely to win the other categories it was nominated for (and it was a superbly written film as well). Yet, I have a sinking feeling The Artist will sweep at the same time.

Cinematography – All these films have great potential to win. The Artist seems like a clear winner here but Hugo, The Tree of Life and War Horse are serious alternatives. If The Artist somehow doesn’t get it then I would expect Hugo to be the likely second.

Foreign Language Film – A Separation has the most buzz and that is usually enough when looking at the Foreign category.

Original Score – The Artist is a silent film and as such it relies heavily on score. The audience is allowed to concentrate on the music in this way much more than the other films. Thus, Bource is a favorite to win.

So, there we have it. The Artist seems geared to sweep its categories in my opinion. What do you think?