Fearless Oscar Predictions 2013

Here are my annual Academy Awards picks. My prediction for the winner is noted in bold below. After the ceremony I’ll update with the actual winners.

This year, there appear to be three “locks” (Daniel Day-Lewis, Anne Hathaway, “Skyfall” / Adele) so if you’re going to wager these would be your best options even with low odds.  I kind of wanted to go out on a limb for Naomi Watts but none of the Oscar prognosticators are picking her so I’m going with Jennifer Lawrence who is a safer bet.

Update: I got 20/24 this year, even though there was a tie in one category and I incredibly didn’t get either of them. Should have been 21/24 but I just couldn’t bet against Skyfall for Best Cinematography in case it actually won.

Best Motion Picture

• Argo
• Amour
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Achievement in Directing

• Ang Lee, Life of Pi
• Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
• David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
• Michael Haneke, Amour
• Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

• Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
• Denzel Washington, Flight
• Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
• Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

• Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
• Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
• Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
• Naomi Watts, The Impossible
• Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

• Alan Arkin, Argo
• Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
• Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
• Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
• Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams, The Master
• Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
• Helen Hunt, The Sessions
• Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
• Sally Field, Lincoln

Best Animated Feature Film

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Wreck-It Ralph

Original Screenplay

• Amour, Michael Haneke
• Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
• Flight, John Gatins
• Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
• Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal

Adapted Screenplay

• Argo, Chris Terrio
• Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin
• Life of Pi, David Magee
• Lincoln, Tony Kushner
• Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell

Best Foreign-Language Film

• A Royal Affair (Denmark)
• Amour (Austria)
• No (Chile)
• War Witch (Canada)
• Kontiki (Norway)

Original Score

• Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
• Argo, Alexandre Desplat
• Life of Pi, Mychael Danna
• Lincoln, John Williams
• Skyfall, Thomas Newman

Original Song

• “Before My Time,” J. Ralph; Chasing Ice
• “Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” Walter Murphy and Seth McFarlane; Ted
• “Pi’s Lullaby,” Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri; Life of Pi
• “Skyfall,” Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth; Skyfall
• “Suddenly,” Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boulil; Les Misérables

Achievement in Production Direction

• Anna Karenina
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln

Achievement in Cinematography

• Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey
• Django Unchained, Robert Richardson
• Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda
• Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski
• Skyfall, Roger Deakins

Achievement in Costume Design

• Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran
• Les Misérables, Paco Delgado
• Lincoln, Joanna Johnston
• Mirror Mirror, Eiko Ishioka
• Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood

Best Documentary Feature

• 5 Broken Cameras
• The Gatekeepers
• How to Survive a Plague
• The Invisible War
• Searching for a Sugar Man

Best Documentary Short Subject

• Inocente
• Kings Point
• Mondays at Racine
• Open Heart
• Redemption

Achievement in Film Editing

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Achievement in Makeup & Hairstyling

• Hitchcock
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Misérables

Best Animated Short Film

• Adam and Dog
• Fresh Guacamole
• Head Over Heels
• Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”
• Paperman

Best Live-Action Short Film

• Asad
• Buzkashi Boys
• Curfew
• Death of a Shadow
• Henry

Achievement in Sound Editing

• Argo
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

Achievement in Sound Mixing

• Argo
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Achievement in Visual Effects

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Marvel’s The Avengers
• Prometheus
• Snow White and the Huntsman