Official Pre-Announcement Predictions

the nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards come out tomorrow.... so you know what that means, my lovelies? time for my official predictions!

and away we go........

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Spoiler: Doubt or The Wrestler

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Gus van Sant, Milk

Spoiler: Well, Aronofsky would be the real spoiler and I think Ron Howard might be a more secure prediction for Frost/Nixon. But let’s have a little fun.

Best Actor
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Spoiler: I would love to see Richard Jenkins nominated for The Visitor.

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kristen Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Spoiler: Angelina Jolie replaces Thomas for The Changeling.

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire

Spoiler: Either James Franco or Emile Hirsch for Milk. In fact, I can easily see Franco taking Patel’s spot.

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Spoiler: It seems that this category may be the most up-in-the-air. I could easily see Amy Adams snag a nod for Doubt. But I also think a Slumdog groundswell could pull Frieda Pinto into a nod instead of DeWitt. DeWitt is the most vulnerable.

Other Possible Scenarios:
Okay...just to put some fear into everyone. Here are some possible scenarios that I could see happening but hope will not. Awardsdaily.com gave me the idea and some of these are from there:

The Dark Knight is left out of every major category except Best Supporting Actor. Instead, Eastwood and Torino slip in or even The Wrestler. Or that fourth nomination comes for Amy Adams from Doubt which pushes that film into a Best Picture/Director race.

Kate Winslet is seen as a lead in both her films and cancels herself out and receives a nomination for neither. (Please note: I'm predicting two nominations for her tomorrow.)

Slumdog receives NO acting nominations I see this as a strong possibility.

Also...if Revolutionary Road gains any traction, expect noms for Picture and Actor, Leonardo DiCaprio.

But these are all outside chances...and I remain true to my predictions... Knowing full well that I’ve made some dicey predictions just to make things fun, I fully expect to get a couple wrong.

But I do love this time of year.......

e.