The climax of Awards Season is finally here – the Oscars are on Sunday!
While Hollywood has been breaking out the jewels, gowns, tuxes and spray tans, toofab's film fanatic Wendy has been conducting copious amounts of research to figure out who's going to win the trophies at the 84th Academy Awards this weekend! Do you agree with her picks?
Best Picture
Nominees: “The Artist;” “The Descendants;” “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close;” “The Help;” “Hugo;” “Midnight in Paris;” “Moneyball;” “The Tree of Life;” “War Horse”
Will win: The movie that's won the hearts of critics and audiences alike is a lock in this category -- ladies and gentlemen, “The Artist.”
Charming leading man, gorgeous leading lady, adorable sidekick dog, great story, beautifully shot … and something different? There's no way the Academy voters can say no.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees: Demian Bechir “A Better Life;” George Clooney “The Descendants;” Jean Dujardin “The Artist;” Gary Oldman “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy;” Brad Pitt “Moneyball”
Will win: This is a two horse race, with both George Clooney and Jean Dujardin in positions to take home the trophy ... but our money is on the Frenchman.
Jean lights up the screen using little more than his facial expressions and muted charm … plus George already has an Oscar. Who's to say if or when Jean will be back in this position? The Academy knows Clooney isn't going anywhere any time soon.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees: Glenn Close “Albert Nobbs;” Viola Davis “The Help;” Rooney Mara “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo;” Meryl Streep “The Iron Lady;” Michelle Williams “My Week with Marilyn”
Will win: Viola Davis and Meryl Streep are the two ladies who lead this pack. Viola was awarded the SAG and Critics Choice Award, and Meryl took home the Golden Globe and BAFTA … but Viola has the momentum heading into this weekend. We see it being a big night for the ladies of “The Help.”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Kenneth Branagh “My Week with Marilyn;” Jonah Hill “Moneyball;” Nick Nolte “Warrior;” Christopher Plummer “Beginners;” Max von Sydow “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Will win: With a career that's spanned nearly 60 years, this will be Christopher Plummer's long overdue first Oscar win. He is captivating in “Beginners” as a 75-year-old man who comes out of the closet and starts living his life as a gay man, then eventually succumbs to cancer. Heartbreaking.
Interesting fact: This win will also make Christopher the oldest Oscar winner in history at the ripe of age of 82 – surpassing Jessica Tandy who won her “Driving Miss Daisy” gold at 80-years-old.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Berenice Bejo “The Artist;” Jessica Chastain “The Help;” Melissa McCarthy “Bridesmaids;” Janet McTeer “Albert Nobbs;” Octavia Spencer “The Help”
Will win: Octavia Spencer cleaned up (get it?!) at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, SAGs and BAFTAs, she is sure to take home her first Oscar on Sunday for her portrayal of the irreverent and sassy maid Minny in “The Help.”
Achievement in Directing
Nominees: Woody Allen “Midnight in Paris;” Michel Hazanavicius “The Artist;” Terrence Malick “The Tree of Life;” Alexander Payne “The Descendants;” Martin Scorsese “Hugo”
Will win: In a time where it feels like every film is in 3D, Michel Hazanavicius did a masterful job with the black-and-white, silent “The Artist” … plus he took home the Directors Guild Award this year. There's only been six times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 when its winner has not gone on to take home the Best Director trophy. In other words -- congrats, Michel.
Best Animated Feature Film
Nominees: “A Cat in Paris;” Chico & Rita;” “Kung Fu Panda 2;” “Puss in Boots;” “Rango”
Will win: Although it didn't gross as much as "Kung Fu Panda 2" or "Puss in Boots," "Rango" was a critical smash, boosted by its awesome director Gore Verbinski, with its main character voiced by previous Oscar nominee Johnny Depp. That little lizard is taking the trophy.
Best Original Song
Nominees: “Man or Muppet” (“The Muppets”) music and lyrics by Bret McKenzie; “Real in Rio” (“Rio”) music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, lyrics by Siedah Garrett
Will win: The Muppets plus a “Flight of the Conchords” star? We have to go with “Man or Muppet” in this category. Bret McKenzie knocked it out of the park with this Conchords-esque song, and we can't wait for him to be present to accept this award. (See what we did there, Conchord fans?!)
The bigger question is -- will the Academy surprise us all and reverse its decision to NOT have The Muppets sing at the show? We can only hope.
Find out the answer and all the big winners when the 84th Academy Awards air this Sunday on ABC!
Also, be sure to come back to toofab that day for our full coverage of the show, and click here for the list of nominees, best and worst dressed of past Oscar red carpets, and much more!
