Oscar Predictions: First Round
Rex Okpodu, based in London, is not only my friend but my partner in Oscar prognostication. Even though the current round of awards ceremonies may be disrupted by the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike, I will nonetheless be publishing Rex’s predictions right up to the February 24 date of the Oscar parade. Here are Rex’s current choices for nominations.
Best Picture: “Atonement,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Michael Clayton,” “There Will Be Blood”; Alternate: “Into the Wild”
Best Director: Ethan and Joel Coen, “No Country for Old Men”; Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”; Tim Burton, “Sweeney Todd”; Joe Wright, “Atonement”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”; Alternate: Sean Penn, “Into the Wild”
Best Actor: George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”; Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”; Ryan Gosling, “Lars and the Real Girl”; Emile Hirsch, “Into the Wild”; Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”; Alternate: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Savages”
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”; Julie Christie, “Away from Her”; Marion Cotillard, “La Vie En Rose”; Angelina Jolie, “A Mighty Heart”; Ellen Page, “Juno”; Alternate: Laura Linney, “The Savages”
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”; Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”; Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”; Tommy Lee Jones, “No Country for Old Men”; Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”; Alternate: Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”; Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”; Catherine Keener, “Into the Wild”; Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”; Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”; Alternate: Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”
