New Delhi:
America will wake up to the announcement of the Oscar nominations for 2011 today. At 7:30am in Chicago, Academy President Tom Sherak and last year's Best Supporting Actress Mo'nique will unveil the films, actors, directors, writers, composers and the rest of the crew making the cut for this year's awards.
This year's sure shot contenders for Best Film include The Social Network, The King's Speech, Black Swan, Inception and The Kids Are All Right. The Coen Brothers' True Grit, shockingly overlooked at The Golden Globes, is likely to make it to the list as well as is The Fighter. Film critic Roger Ebert picks Winter's Bone and Toy Story 3 for a Best Film nod as well. The last spot is up for grabs although insiders favour Mike Leigh's Another Year or Ben Affleck's The Town.
Colin Firth as the stuttering monarch is a shoo in for the acting honours as is last year's winner Jeff Bridges for his role in True Grit. Jesse Eisenberg will probably make it for his role as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, and so will James Franco - this year's co-host - for 127 Hours. The last spot will probably be a surprise nomination, though chances are Johnny Depp might join the Best Actor corner for his turn as The Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland, as the Academy has a long history of favouring accents and bad hair and makeup.
Natalie Portman's turn as a disturbed ballerina in Black Swan is top favourite for a Best Actress nod. Annette Bening is also certain to figure on the list for The Kids Are All Right. Both actresses scored at The Golden Globes - Natalie winning Best Dramatic Actress and Annette sccoping up Best Actress, Comedy or Musical - so this one is shaping up to be a potential humdinger. Julianne Moore might also score a nomination making it a rare double nod for The Kids Are All Right. Jennifer Lawrence is also likely to be make it for Winter's Bone. 5th place might go to either Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole or Halle Berry for Frankie & Alice, previous winners both.
Geoffrey Rush is sure to make the Best Supporting Actor list for The King's Speech as is Christian Bale for The Fighter. Bale hit the jackpot at The Golden Globes, and he might just trump Rush at the Oscars as well. Mark Ruffalo is expected to give them company in this category. From The Social Network, Andrew Garfield scored a nomination at The Golden Globes and may well do so at the Oscars as well, unless the Academy picks Justin Timberlake - not because he was better than Garfield but because the show badly needs a ratings boost and a hot pop star might just do the trick.
Melissa Leo is a name to expect in the Best Supporting Actress category for The Fighter, as is Mila Kunis who, according to Roger Ebert "essentially had the title role" in Black Swan. Hailee Steinfeld is a critic's favourite for True Grit and Helena Bonham Carter will probably make it for The King's Speech as well. Amy Adams may round up the top 5 for The Fighter, or Lesley Manville for Another Year.
For Best Director, the Academy will have to give the thumbs down to 5 of the 10 Best Picture nominees. Certain to make the cut are David Fincher for The Social Network, Tom Hooper for The King's Speech, Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan and David O Russelll for The Fighter. The last spot could be a toss up between Christopher Nolan for Inception and Lisa Cholodenko for The Kids Are All Right.
As with The Globes and The Producers' Guild awards, it all boils down to The Social Network vs The King's Speech. The Social Network was the big winner at The Globes, while The King's Speech trumped it at The Producers' Guild. We'll have to wait for Oscar day to see if the Academy friends The Social Network, or bows to The King's Speech.
This year's sure shot contenders for Best Film include The Social Network, The King's Speech, Black Swan, Inception and The Kids Are All Right. The Coen Brothers' True Grit, shockingly overlooked at The Golden Globes, is likely to make it to the list as well as is The Fighter. Film critic Roger Ebert picks Winter's Bone and Toy Story 3 for a Best Film nod as well. The last spot is up for grabs although insiders favour Mike Leigh's Another Year or Ben Affleck's The Town.
Colin Firth as the stuttering monarch is a shoo in for the acting honours as is last year's winner Jeff Bridges for his role in True Grit. Jesse Eisenberg will probably make it for his role as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, and so will James Franco - this year's co-host - for 127 Hours. The last spot will probably be a surprise nomination, though chances are Johnny Depp might join the Best Actor corner for his turn as The Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland, as the Academy has a long history of favouring accents and bad hair and makeup.
Natalie Portman's turn as a disturbed ballerina in Black Swan is top favourite for a Best Actress nod. Annette Bening is also certain to figure on the list for The Kids Are All Right. Both actresses scored at The Golden Globes - Natalie winning Best Dramatic Actress and Annette sccoping up Best Actress, Comedy or Musical - so this one is shaping up to be a potential humdinger. Julianne Moore might also score a nomination making it a rare double nod for The Kids Are All Right. Jennifer Lawrence is also likely to be make it for Winter's Bone. 5th place might go to either Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole or Halle Berry for Frankie & Alice, previous winners both.
Geoffrey Rush is sure to make the Best Supporting Actor list for The King's Speech as is Christian Bale for The Fighter. Bale hit the jackpot at The Golden Globes, and he might just trump Rush at the Oscars as well. Mark Ruffalo is expected to give them company in this category. From The Social Network, Andrew Garfield scored a nomination at The Golden Globes and may well do so at the Oscars as well, unless the Academy picks Justin Timberlake - not because he was better than Garfield but because the show badly needs a ratings boost and a hot pop star might just do the trick.
Melissa Leo is a name to expect in the Best Supporting Actress category for The Fighter, as is Mila Kunis who, according to Roger Ebert "essentially had the title role" in Black Swan. Hailee Steinfeld is a critic's favourite for True Grit and Helena Bonham Carter will probably make it for The King's Speech as well. Amy Adams may round up the top 5 for The Fighter, or Lesley Manville for Another Year.
For Best Director, the Academy will have to give the thumbs down to 5 of the 10 Best Picture nominees. Certain to make the cut are David Fincher for The Social Network, Tom Hooper for The King's Speech, Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan and David O Russelll for The Fighter. The last spot could be a toss up between Christopher Nolan for Inception and Lisa Cholodenko for The Kids Are All Right.
As with The Globes and The Producers' Guild awards, it all boils down to The Social Network vs The King's Speech. The Social Network was the big winner at The Globes, while The King's Speech trumped it at The Producers' Guild. We'll have to wait for Oscar day to see if the Academy friends The Social Network, or bows to The King's Speech.
