BLACK SHEEP'S OSCAR PREDICTIONS

And here we are. Awards season typically begins to take shape during the height os festival season in September and is in full swing by the time December rolls around. ARGO and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK were the early frontrunners when they launched at the Toronto International Film Festival but this awards season has been anything but predictable, which is an incredibly welcome change for this critic. It is no fun to know exactly where everything is leading months before you get there but we are one day away now and this year's top prize could still go to LINCOLN or LIFE OF PI or ZERO DARK THIRTY. I don't see AMOUR taking it that doesn't mean it will walk away empty handed. I believe the love will be spread around this year and this is how I see it going.


BEST PICTURE

AMOUR

ARGO

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LES MISERABLES
LIFE OF PI
LINCOLN
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
ZERO DARK THIRTY

BEST DIRECTOR

Michael Haneke for AMOUR
Ang Lee for LIFE OF PI
David O. Russell for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Steven Spielberg for LINCOLN

Benh Zeitlin for BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

BEST ACTOR

Bradley Cooper for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Daniel Day-Lewis for LINCOLN

Hugh Jackman for LES MISERABLES
Joaquin Phoenix for THE MASTER
Denzel Washington for FLIGHT

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain for ZERO DARK THIRTY
Jennifer Lawrence for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Emmanuelle Riva for AMOUR

Quvenzhane Wallis for BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Naomi Watts for THE IMPOSSIBLE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Alan Arkin for ARGO

Robert De Niro for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Philip Seymour Hoffman for THE MASTER
Tommy Lee Jones for LINCOLN
Christoph Waltz for DJANGO UNCHAINED

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams for THE MASTER
Sally Field for LINCOLN

Anne Hathaway for LES MISERABLES

Helen Hunt for THE SESSIONS
Jacki Weaver for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

AMOUR
DJANGO UNCHAINED
FLIGHT
MOONRISE KINGDOM

ZERO DARK THIRTY

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

ARGO

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
LIFE OF PI
LINCOLN
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

BRAVE

FRANKENWEENIE

PARANORMAN

THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS

WRECK-IT RALPH

CINEMATOGRAPHY

ANNA KARENINA

DJANGO UNCHAINED

LIFE OF PI

LINCOLN

SKYFALL

COSTUME DESIGN

ANNA KARNINA

LES MISERABLES

LINCOLN

MIRROR MIRROR

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

5 BROKEN CAMERAS

THE GATEKEEPERS

HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

THE INVISIBLE WAR

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

INOCENTE

KING'S POINT

MONDAYS AT RACINE

OPEN HEART

REDEMPTION

EDITING

ARGO

LIFE OF PI

LINCOLN

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

ZERO DARK THIRTY

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

AMOUR (Austria)

NON-TIKI (Norway)

NO (Chile)

A ROYAL AFFAIR (Denmark)

WAR WITCH (Canada)

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

HITCHCOCK

THE HOBBIT

LES MISERABLES

ORIGINAL SCORE

ANNA KARENINA

ARGO

LIFE OF PI

LINCOLN

SKYFALL

ORIGINAL SONG

BEFORE MY TIME from CHASING ICE

EVERYBODY NEEDS A BEST FRIEND from TED

PI'S LULLABY from LIFE OF PI

SKYFALL from SKYFALL

SUDDENLY from LES MISERABLES

PRODUCTION DESIGN

ANNA KARENINA

THE HOBBIT

LES MISERABLES

LIFE OF PI

LINCOLN

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

ADAM AND DOG

FRESH GUACAMOLE

HEAD OVER HEELS

MAGGIE SIMPSON IN "THE LONGEST DAYCARE"

PAPERMAN

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

ASAD

BUZKASHI BOYS

CURFEW

DEATH OF A SHADOW

HENRY

SOUND EDITING

ARGO

DJANGO UNCHAINED

LIFE OF PI

SKYFALL

ZERO DARK THIRTY

SOUND MIXING

ARGO

LES MISERABLES

LIFE OF PI

LINCOLN

SKYFALL

VISUAL EFFECTS

THE AVENGERS

THE HOBBIT

LIFE OF PI

PROMETHEUS

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN