Revving up for the Oscars

Who is getting the Oscar gold, who will be left cold?

KARACHI:

It’s that time of the year again, when the elite of Hollywood get together, sit formally (read: uncomfortably) in their bow ties and poufy dresses, and get recognised for the work that they have done in the last year. Yes — you guessed it — the Oscars! Just recently, the dates for the final list of nominees as well the 84^th Academy Awards presentation were announced. Since the nominations are being announced in late January and the presentation will take place on February 26, 2012, we decided to indulge in some healthy speculation to reel in some of our award season excitement.

Best Actress

Reasonable bets for this category are Glenn Close, Charlize Theron, Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, and Michelle Williams. However, Rooney Mara for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo may be the dark horse in the competition.

Fingers crossed for: Viola Davis — The Help

Best Supporting Actress

For this category, The Help’s Octavia Spencer should not be forgotten. Other memorable performances sure to be nominated are: Sandra Bullock’s in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Berenice Bejo’s in The Artist, Vanessa Redgrave in Coriolanus, Shailene Woodley in The Descendants.

Fingers crossed for: Sandra Bullock — Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Picture

As the nominations in this category seem to keep increasing each year, it is the hardest category to predict. With The Artist and The Descendants battling it out the hardest, they are both sureshot nominees to make it into the final list. Close runners are Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, War Horse, The Help, Midnight in Paris and Moneyball. Hugo, Martin Scorsese’s film Hugo, which celebrates the history of the cinema, may also be included.

Fingers crossed for: The Artist

Best Actor

Since 2011 has been a great year for male leads, this is one of the easiest categories to predict. With five
slots open, at least two of these film stars — George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt — will be part of the final lineup. On the other hand, Jean Dujardin for The Artist and Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy should get the Oscar nod.

Fingers crossed for: Jean Dujardin — The Artist

Best Supporting Actor

It’s really hard to put your money on anyone in this category. However, Christopher Plummer for Beginners, Max Von Sydow for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Kenneth Branagh for My Week With Marilyn and Jonah Hill for Moneyball seem to have attracted the critics attention in a positive way.

Fingers crossed for: Christopher Plummer − Beginners

Best Directors

For directors, it’s a deadlock between Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist, Alexander Payne for The Descendants, Martin Scorsese for Hugo, Steven Spielberg for War Horse, Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life. Other favorites include Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris and David Cronenberg for A Dangerous Method.

Fingers crossed for: Martin Scorsese − Hugo

(With additional information from Washington Post and INDIEWIRE.COM)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2011.