Final Oscar Predictions [The Nominees]

Tomorrow we enter the last phase of Awards Season with the announcement of the 2009 Academy Award nominees...and then we wait just over a MONTH before we learn the winners, with only the BAFTAs to hold us over in between. As such, it's time for me to submit my final set of predictions about the names/titles that will be read off tomorrow morning by Matt Sherak and Anne Hathaway. It's been a season full of quiet surprises, schedule switches, and a few surprise underwhelmers (deserved or not), and all of the precursors have simply been a big build up to see which performances and films will make it into the running for the film industry's highest honor. So, what will the roster of nominees look like tomorrow morning? Here's my take: no alternates, no commentary, just straight up predictions...

**Nominees are not ranked

Best Picture:

• The Hurt Locker
• Avatar
• Inglourious Basterds
• Up in the Air
• Precious
• An Education
• A Serious Man
• Invictus
• UP
• District 9

Best Director:

• Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
• Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron - Avatar
• Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
• Lee Daniels - Precious

Best Actor:

• Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
• Colin Firth - A Single Man
• Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker
• George Clooney - Up in the Air
• Morgan Freeman - Invictus

Best Actress:

• Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
• Carey Mulligan - An Education
• Meryl Streep - Julie and Julia
• Gabourey Sidibe - Precious
• Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria??? (this slot is totally up for grabs)

Best Supporting Actor:

• Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
• Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
• Alfred Molina - An Education

Best Supporting Actress:

• Mo-Nique - Precious
• Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
• Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
• Julianne Moore - A Single Man
• Penelope Cruz - Nine (please, Academy, prove me wrong and put Cotillard...PLEASE)

Best Original Screenplay:

• Inglourious Basterds
• The Hurt Locker
• A Serious Man
• (500) Days of Summer
• UP

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Up in the Air
• Precious
• An Education
• District 9
• Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Editing:

• The Hurt Locker
• Up in the Air
• Inglourious Basterds
• Avatar
• District 9

Best Cinematography:

• Avatar (wtf...)
• The Young Victoria
• Nine
• A Single Man
• Inglourious Basterds
  

Best Art Direction:

• Nine
• The Young Victoria
• Where the Wild Things Are
• Inglourious Basterds
• The White Ribbon

Best Costume Design:

• The Young Victoria
• Nine
• Inglourious Basterds
• Bright Star (plllllleeeeeease)
• Sherlock Holmes

Best Original Score:

• Michael Giacchino - UP
• Abel Korzeniowski - A Single Man
• James Horner - Avatar
• Alexandre Desplat - Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Hans Zimmer - Sherlock Holmes

Best Original Song:

• "The Weary Kind" - Crazy Heart
• "Cinema Italiano" - Nine
• "Down in New Orleans" - The Princess and the Frog
• "Winter" - Brothers
• "I See You" - Avatar

Best Foreign Language Film:

• The White Ribbon (Germany)
• A Prophet (France)
• Broken Embraces (Spain) - might be ineligible...need to check
  
• Samson and Delilah (Australia)
• The Secret of Her Eyes (?)

Best Animated Film:

• UP
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Coraline
• The Princess and the Frog
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Best Visual Effects:

• Avatar
• District 9
• Star Trek

Best Makeup:

• District 9
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
• The Hurt Locker