Oscar Prediction Time

Its SuperBowl Sunday in Hollywood California. Thats Los Angeles for those who don't know. Its the most important day of the year for movie nerds. So its time to make those picks. A little more difficult than making a Super Bowl pick. I will list what Should win in the categories I have seen enough of the choices to feel comfortable.

Here we go:


Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:

----Winner: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Diana Ossana, James Schamus


Capote (2005) - Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven

Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - Grant Heslov

Should win: Munich (2005) - Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel



Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:

---Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (2005)



Should Win: Terrence Howard for Hustle & Flow (2005)

Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line (2005)

David Strathairn for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)



Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win Felicity Huffman for Transamerica (2005)



Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)

Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Charlize Theron for North Country (2005)

Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005)



Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win: Jake Gyllenhaal for Brokeback Mountain (2005)


George Clooney for Syriana (2005)

Matt Dillon for Crash (2004)

Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man (2005)

William Hurt for A History of Violence (2005)



Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

Amy Adams for Junebug (2005)

Catherine Keener for Capote (2005)

Frances McDormand for North Country (2005)

Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener (2005)

----Winner/Should Win: Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain (2005)



Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:

Should Win: George Clooney for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Paul Haggis for Crash (2004)


----Winner: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005)


Bennett Miller for Capote (2005)

Steven Spielberg for Munich (2005)



Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:

---Winner: Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco


Should Win: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - George Clooney, Grant Heslov

Match Point (2005) - Woody Allen

The Squid and the Whale (2005) - Noah Baumbach

Syriana (2005) - Stephen Gaghan



Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana


Capote (2005) - Dan Futterman

The Constant Gardener (2005) - Jeffrey Caine

A History of Violence (2005) - Josh Olson

Munich (2005) - Tony Kushner, Eric Roth



Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:

Batman Begins (2005) - Wally Pfister

Should Win: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Rodrigo Prieto


---Winner: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - Robert Elswit


Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Dion Beebe

The New World (2005) - Emmanuel Lubezki



Best Achievement in Editing
Nominees:

Cinderella Man (2005) - Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill

The Constant Gardener (2005) - Claire Simpson

Crash (2004) - Hughes Winborne


---Winner/Should Win:Munich (2005) - Michael Kahn


Walk the Line (2005) - Michael McCusker



Best Achievement in Art Direction
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - James D. Bissell, Jan Pascale


Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) - Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan

King Kong (2005) - Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Simon Bright

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - John Myhre, Gretchen Rau

Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer



Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) - Gabriella Pescucci

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Colleen Atwood

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) - Sandy Powell


---Winner: Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Jacqueline Durran


Walk the Line (2005) - Arianne Phillips



Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:

---Winner: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Gustavo Santaolalla


The Constant Gardener (2005) - Alberto Iglesias

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - John Williams

Munich (2005) - John Williams

Pride & Prejudice (2005) - Dario Marianelli



Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:

---Winner/Should Win: Hustle & Flow (2005) - Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, Paul Beauregard ("It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp")


Crash (2004) - Michael Becker, Kathleen York ("In the Deep")

Transamerica (2005) - Dolly Parton ("Travelin' Thru")



Best Achievement in Makeup
Nominees:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Howard Berger, Tami Lane

Cinderella Man (2005) - David LeRoy Anderson, Lance Anderson


---Winner/Should Win/Should be one of about 6 Oscar Nominations!!!Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) - Dave Elsey, Annette Miles



Best Achievement in Sound
Nominees:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Terry Porter, Dean A. Zupancic, Tony Johnson

King Kong (2005) - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline, John Pritchett

Walk the Line (2005) - Paul Massey, Doug Hemphill, Peter F. Kurland


---Winner/Should WinWar of the Worlds (2005) - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Ron Judkins



Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:

King Kong (2005) - Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Wylie Stateman


---Winner/Should Win: War of the Worlds (2005) - Richard King



Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, Scott Farrar

King Kong (2005) - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor


---Winner/Should Win: War of the Worlds (2005) - Pablo Helman, Dennis Muren, Randy Dutra, Daniel Sudick



Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:

Corpse Bride (2005) - Tim Burton, Mike Johnson

Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) - Hayao Miyazaki


---Winner: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) - Steve Box, Nick Park



Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:

Bestia nel cuore, La (2005) - Cristina Comencini (Italy)


---Winner: Joyeux Noël (2005) - Christian Carion (France)


Paradise Now (2005) - Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine)

Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (2005) - Marc Rothemund (Germany)

Tsotsi (2005) - Gavin Hood (South Africa)



Best Documentary, Features
Nominees:

Darwin's Nightmare (2004) - Hubert Sauper

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) - Alex Gibney, Jason Kliot


---Winner/Should Win: March of the Pinguins (2005) - Luc Jacquet, Yves Darondeau


Murderball (2005) - Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro

Street Fight (2005) - Marshall Curry



Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Nominees:

---Winner: God Sleeps in Rwanda (2005) - Kimberlee Acquaro, Stacy Sherman


A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (2005) - Corinne Marrinan, Eric Simonson

The Life of Kevin Carter (2004) - Dan Krauss

The Mushroom Club (2005) - Steven Okazaki



Best Short Film, Animated
Nominees:

Badgered (2005) - Sharon Colman

The Moon and the Son (2005) - John Canemaker, Peggy Stern

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005) - Anthony Lucas

9 (2005) - Shane Acker


---Winner/Should Win:One Man Band (2005) - Mark Andrews, Andrew Jimenez



Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:

Ausreißer (2004) - Ulrike Grote

Should Win: Cashback (2004) - Sean Ellis, Lene Bausager

Síðasti bærinn í dalnum (2004) - Rúnar Rúnarsson, Þórir Snær Sigurjónsson


---Winner: Our Time Is Up (2004) - Rob Pearlstein, Pia Clemente


Six Shooter (2005) - Martin McDonagh


So there it is. Good Luck to all, except for King Kong.

-T