January 21, 2009 
The announcement of this year’s Oscar nominees are just 30 hours away, at which time the most respected films of 2008 will be revealed, and the shroud of mystery will be lifted from Hollywood’s most coveted prize – a naked gold man.
I know, the Oscar’s don’t really mean anything. After all, who’s to say whether Slumdog Millionaire is better than Benjamin Button (it is) or whether Crash is better than Brokeback Mountain (it isn’t).
Either way, it’s the closest us movie fans get to watching sport, so why the hell shouldn’t we get excited.
Here are my predictions for the nominees for 81st Academy Awards. In (cowardly) alphabetical order:
My hopes for a WALL-E resurrection are mostly dashed, especially considering these five films have dominated all of the Guild nominations. Nonetheless, there are 3 brilliant films here and 1 that is very good (TCCOBB). I’m yet to see Milk, but support has been rapturous. Winner: Slumdog Millionaire.
It wouldn’t be the Oscars unless one Best Picture nominated director was left off the ballot. My pick is Ron Howard, who will sit out to give Darren Aronofsky a moment in the sun. No matter though – Danny Boyle’s already won.
Clint’s retiring; Jenkins is a respected character actor with a lot of friends; Langella was passed over last year; Penn is always solid; Rourke is the comeback kid. Anyone got a five-sided die? Look, I think people will vote with their gut on this one, and they’d be hard pressed to overlook Rourke.
Everyone is dividing their votes between Hathaway, Streep and Winslet, but I’m going to put my money on Hawkins. There is always one huge surprise on Oscar night, and this one would be the nicest.
Arguably, Heath has it in the bag. But could the swell of support for Slumdog carry Patel to the podium? Possibly the one category I’m not willing to post a bet for just yet.
Cruz dominated the field early on, but a sudden case of Winslet-mania has hit the awards circuit. I’m worried votes will be split between the two Doubt ladies, because either one deserves the prize over the other three nominees.
WALL-E deserves more than Best Animated Feature (which it already has in the bag), so let’s see it earn Original Screenplay. Of course, this has been the realm of the quirky indie comedy for almost a decade, so maybe Happy Go Lucky will sneak its nose in?
Doubt and Frost are adapted from plays, while Benji Button built on very little source material and Dark Knight elaborated on loads of canon. Consider Slumdog to collect, if only because it’s the most lovable. That’s a good enough reason for me.
Check back on Friday morning to see the REAL nominees, and how embarrasingly far-out my predictions actually were.
Quickflix 
I hope Kate Winslet doesn’t get one. I just saw her golden globe speech. I hate it when these acting-types cry when they accept an award.
Very competitive in the leading acting categories. Richard Jenkins will probably lose out on a nomination though he really deserves one. Nobody is talking about Melissa Leo but she might sneak in.