Final Oscar Nomination Predictions 2012

It's the day before Oscar nominations announced! Nomination morning is always my Christmas Eve (with Oscar Day being Christmas, of course).

Hugh Jackman has a good reason to be excited: he's likely to receive his first (well-deserved) career nomination tomorrow for his work as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. It's amazing that it took Hollywood this long to recognize his musical talent - put him in more musicals, ASAP! (On a related note, make more musicals!)

It's been many months since I've last posted here - an entire fall has disappeared without me writing anything. I will soon explain what has been happening, as well as presenting my 2012 top 10 list and the recipients of the third annual Jarmo Awards. But until then, here's my final predictions for Oscar nominations.


BEST PICTURE (I'm predicting seven nominees this year)

Les Miserables

Lincoln

Zero Dark Thirty

Argo

Silver Linings Playbook

Life of Pi

Amour

(if more than seven, in order of likelihood of nomination)

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Moonrise Kingdom

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Ben Affleck, Argo

Tom Hooper, Les Miserables

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Michael Haneke, Amour

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

BEST ACTOR

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Denzel Washington, Flight

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Sally Field, Lincoln

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Amy Adams, The Master

Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Alan Arkin, Argo

Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Argo; screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on the article "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran" by Joshuah Bearman

Silver Linings Playbook; screenplay by David O. Russell, based on the novel "The Silver Linings Playbook" by Matthew Quick

The Sessions; screenplay by Ben Lewin, based on the article "On Seeing a Sex Surrogate" by Mark O'Brien

Lincoln; screenplay by Tony Kushner, based in part on the book "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Beasts of the Southern Wild; screenplay by Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar, based on the play "Juicy and Delicious" by Lucy Alibar

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Zero Dark Thirty; written by Mark Boal

The Master; written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Moonrise Kingdom; written by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola

Amour; screenplay by Michael Haneke

Looper; written by Rian Johnson