The 85th Academy Awards nominations are to be announced at roughly 1:30PM GMT today, and naturally, the Internet has been abuzz with predictions over who is going to be nominated; who will secure their place in film history, who will be epically snubbed, and who will shock us all by ending up on cinema's most prestigious list? I've been following the awards circuit all year - and have seen practically every film nominated in every category - so I've decided to chime in with my predictions as to what will and won't show up during the announcement that's just a few short hours away. Inevitably, some big hitters will swing and miss, and some indie darlings will surprise the world, and in 2 hours' time, we'll have all the answers.
Best Picture
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Argo Lincoln Zero Dark Thirty Life of Pi Les Miserables Silver Linings Playbook Beasts of the Southern Wild Django Unchained Amour Best Picture is a tough nut to crack because we don't even know yet how many films will make the cut; it could be 5 or it could be 10, or any in between. Skyfall could be a spoiler here and take away Amour's spot.
Best Director
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Ben Affleck (Argo) Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) Ang Lee (Life of Pi) Tom Hooper (Les Miserables)
The BAFTA snub yesterday will hurt Tom Hooper, so if he doesn't make it, expect David O'Russell, Michael Haneke or Paul Thomas Anderson to probably sneak in there.
Best Actor
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) John Hawkes (The Sessions) Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) Denzel Washington (Flight) Given how much Phoenix has badmouthed the Oscars, and how Washington's performance is far better than the actual film itself, don't be surprised if Bradley Cooper nudges one of them out of the running.
Best Actress
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone) Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) Fifth slot is a tad contested; can Amour break into an acting slot, or will they opt for something more mainstream (if less good), like Naomi Watts (The Impossible), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock) or Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea)?
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master) Alan Arkin (Argo) Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln) Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook) Javier Bardem (Skyfall) Again, slot 5 could go to a number of people, but it's basically considered the novelty "blockbuster" option; don't be surprised of Leonardo DiCaprio/Christoph Waltz/Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained), Matthew McConaughey (Magic Mike/Bernie) or even Dwight Henry (Beasts of the Southern Wild) crash the party.
Best Supporting Actress
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) Sally Field (Lincoln) Helen Hunt (The Sessions) Maggie Smith (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy) A depressing sign of the times that Kidman will probably get nominated, but there's always the hope she will be edged out by Amy Adams (The Master), Judi Dench (Skyfall) or especially Ann Dowd (Compliance).
Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Argo Lincoln Silver Linings Playbook Beasts of the Southern Wild The Perks of Being A Wallflower Slot 5 is the one to fight for; Life of Pi, Skyfall, The Sessions and Les Miserables could all nab this one.
Best Original Screenplay
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Zero Dark Thirty Moonrise Kingdom The Master Django Amour Lots of outside possibilities here; Looper, Flight, Magic Mike, even The Intouchables.
Best Animated Film
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Wreck-It Ralph Paranorman Frankenweenie Brave Rise of the Guardians Recent years have proven that the foreign animated films and indies love to sneak in here; could it be the year for Zarafa?
Best Foreign Film
Nominees (in order of likelihood): The Intouchables Amour No War Witch Sister It's possible War Witch or Sister could be replaced by popular Danish costume drama A Royal Affair, and don't count the sublime Beyond the Hills out of the race yet.
Best Documentary
Nominees (in order of likelihood): Searching for Sugarman The Imposter How to Survive A Plague Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God The House I Live In Slot five is hugely contended once again; The Gatekeepers, This Is Not A Film and The Invisible War are all socially conscious, incendiary films that could easily nab the nod. Who do you think will get nominated? Will Skyfall score the first ever Best Picture nomination for a James Bond film? Stay tuned on What Culture, and we'll have all the latest developments once the nominations are out!