Laaleen’s Oscar predictions

Official nominations for this year’s Academy Awards will be announced on January 25.

Every year, no matter where I am on this planet, I start living the Oscars from my sofa set to my television screen — my live viewing of the Oscars starts early evening or very early morning (depending on the time zone) with the red-carpet pre-show till the very last after-party has been reported and the cameras switch off. Later, bleary-eyed and tired, I check online coverage to see if there’s anything I’ve missed (there isn’t) and whether I share the Oscar fashion trends reported by the glossies (I do, but not all of their hits and misses). I’m like every Pakistani that sits glued to a Pakistan and India cricket match or a football buff waiting for the Fifa World Cup to unfold.

The official nominations for this year’s Academy Awards will be announced on the 25th of January, but the diehards among us can’t wait that long and have already seen several films that have shouted ‘Oscar’ in their entire script, direction and acting. We may not always agree with whomever the Academy votes for, but it’s always fun to see who each year’s surprise winner is (it’s usually one of the actors nominated from an indie film). From a betting point of view, it gets much easier to predict Oscar winners after the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards that have already taken place, but where’s the fun in that?

Since the Academy increased the number of nominations for each category from 5 to 10, the writing and technical categories have been reduced for clarity, however, some movies have been a common link to all the divisions at the event and they include Black Swan, Blue Valentine, The Social Network, The King’s Speech, Inception and The Kid’s Are All Right.

Here are my valiant predictions for this year’s winners:

Best Picture

Black Swan

Why?

It has a winning combination of strong writing, inspired direction, powerful performances and an artistic merit.

Best Actor, Male

Colin Firth for The King’s Speech

Why?

He’s more than just the BBC Mr. Darcy and is finally getting the acclaim he deserves.

Best Actor, Female

Natalie Portman for Black Swan

Why?

Natalie is long overdue for an Oscar, the star has truly matured in this film.

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan

Why?

Rachel Weisz’ ex carries viewers from the pinnacle of flight to the depths of delusion.

Best Animated Feature

Despicable Me

Why?

Sardonic and original.

Best Screenplay (Original/Adapted)

The Social Network

Why?

It was inspired, understated, and absorbing.

Best Original Score

Country Strong

Why?

America loves country music y’all.

The producers and writers Guild make their predictions

Film producers and writers on Tuesday jumped into Hollywood’s Oscar race with their choices of 2010’s best movies that include The Social Network, The Fighter and Black Swan, among others. The Producers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America, which represent their respective groups in the film and television industries, annually issue lists of best movies, and their picks are closely watched in the race for the Oscars.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2011.