[~*kYo*~]

THE OSCARS
Live February 25, 2007 : 5pt/8et : ABC
hosted by Ellen DeGeneres

For a complete list of the nominees click here

If you were to choose who gets to go home with an Oscar, who would you pick? why?

Best Picture

Babel
Several interwoven storylines unfold across four countries as difficulties in communication and understanding
complicate life in the shrinking global village. A Moroccan shepherd, a pair of American tourists, a deaf Japanese
teenager, and a Mexican nanny and her two young American charges are among the characters whose lives connect in unexpected ways.


The Departed
Unbeknownst to the Massachusetts state police department, crime boss Frank Costello has placed a mole in its
ranks: cadet Colin Sullivan. The police succeed in infiltrating Costello's organization as well, however, providing
a credible criminal background for undercover cadet Billy Costigan, who manages to gain Costello's trust.


Letters From Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Second World War, is examined from the point of view
of the Japanese soldiers defending the island. A cache of letters found years later provides the perspectives of several
soldiers as they prepare for the coming American attack, longing for home and knowing they face almost certain death.


Little Miss Sunshine
Seven-year-old Olive dreams of winning a children's beauty pageant and convinces her family to drive her from their home
in New Mexico to California for the Little Miss Sunshine competition. Along for the ride are Olive's father, a failed
motivational speaker, her heroin-addicted grandfather, silent brother, suicidal uncle, and her increasingly frustrated mother.


The Queen
In the days immediately following the death of Princess Diana in 1997, public grief turns to outrage at the perceived
lack of response to the tragedy on the part of Britain's royal family. As the recently elected Prime Minister Tony Blair
urges her to be more responsive to the mood of the nation, Queen Elizabeth confronts the changes that modern life
has forced on the centuries-old monarchy.

Actor in a Lead Role
Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling – Half Nelson
Peter O’Toole – Venus
Will Smith – The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker – The Last King Of Scotland

Actress in a Lead Role
Penelope Cruz – Volver
Judi Dench – Notes On A Scandal
Helen Mirren – The Queen
Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet – Little Children

Actor in a Supporting Role / Actress in a Supporting Role
(Sorry for putting these two categories together. I had too due to the restriction in the number of poll questions allowed. But I set it up as a multiple choice question so you can vote accordingly)
Alan Arkin – Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley – little Children
Djimon Hounsou – Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg – The Departed

Adriana Barraza – Babel
Cate Blanchett – Notes On A Scandal
Abigail Breslin – Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi –Babel

Have fun voting! It would be fun to see how our votes match up with the actual winners.

Photo Credits to Oscar.com and Yahoo Movies

[Soy]

My choices .. lol

Little Miss Sunshine for best Motion Picture .. why ? the movie it self was very witty and it wasnt just surface stuff, it had more substance to it than most hollywood movies

Will Smith deserves best actor award hands down, this was possibly his best performance in his career, it was oscar material.

Meryl Streep is his counterpart, and deserves to get another oscar. shes just amazing.

jennifer hudson for supporting .. i didnt pick a male supporting, but those were my choices

[dumpyfledgling]

WOAH!!!! Ryan Gosling was nominated for an Oscar...WHOA!!!!! I never thought he would leave the Mickey Mouse Club image.

[yum yum dimsum]

yay!! Abigail Breslin got nominated. My pick for BSA goes to Rinko Kikuchi but now that Abigail's nominated dont know which one to pick. But Jennifer Hudson might win it though nothing against her but her performance in Dreamgirls was flat but congratulations to her anyway.. and if Little Miss Sunshine wins for Best Film, ill be very happy but it will probably just get Best Orig Screenplay.

Best Supporting Actress - Abigail Breslin/Rinko Kikuchi.

Best Actress - Helen Mirren all the way!

Best Supporting Actor - who knows.

Best Picture - LMS or Babel

Best Actor - dont know, might go to Leo though .errrrr

[boatswain]

Little Miss Sunshine for best picture. This movie was just hands down amazing. It's sweet, unexpectedly funny, and just plain awesome with a great plot.

Supporting Actress? Let's go back to Little Miss Sunshine, shall we? ABIGAIL BRESLIN ALL THE WAY. (Alan Arkin for supporting actor too )

Best Actor? Leonardo di Caprio. Face it, he's an absolutely amazing actor. He can even pull off bad roles and make them amazing. He really deserves an Oscar.

[Myss Blewm]

I need to still watch a lot of these films. I want "The Departed" to win for Best Picture.

Best Actor: *looks around for Leo for "The Departed"* Darn. Oh well. I'll go with Forest Whitaker. I haven't seen "The Last King of Scotland" but I heard he did a great job, And Whitaker is amazing. But that O'Toole....you have to look out for him.

Best Actress: I WANT Kate Winslet to win for "Little Children" because Kate is one of my favorite actresses and though I haven't seen it, it looks good. But I KNOW Helen Mirren will win it for "The Queen"; not that she doesn't deserve.

Best Supporting Actor: MARKY MARK!!!! But I have a feeling Eddie Murphey's going to win this.

Best Supporting Actress: Hmmmm Kate Blanchette. Another of my favorite actresses. But this one seems like any of the girls can win it.

[joonage]

BEST PICTURE: The Departed - I never watch it ... but I think it'll win. (On another note, Dream Girls should have been nominated)

BEST ACTOR: Will Smith - Pursuit was a great role for him.

BEST ACTRESS: I voted for Helen Mirren. Never watched the movie, but I heard she did heck of a good job.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tough choice between Djimon Hounsou and Eddie Murphy. Djimon did a great job in Blood Diamond, but so did Eddie. Also, Eddie Murphy did something out of his bubble ... Hmm ... Not sure.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: This one is wide open. But that's pretty much the same for all the nominees ... hmmm ... I like Jennifer Hudson ... Did a great job pretty much as a rookie. Also, I see the Dream Girls cast getting a lot of Oscars after their Best Picture snub.

[XhoXho]

Babel!!!
The Departed was a good remake but Babel is the best film that came out of the nominees. The film was well thought out and made me go home and think about things in our world. The ending was open-ended, but that fit it well, even though I wanted MORE. har har har.
It won the Golden Globe, so who knows if it'll win the Oscar. I hope it will though!!

[tengteng]

The Queen,
Will Smith,(I haven't watch the movie yet but the trailer seems really promising)
The Queen (I heard she did a great job)
and Little Miss Sunshine

[Carrieke]

Best movie of the nominees for me is def "The Departed"...Very nicely done by Scorcese. Babel also had it's good points and it's a more "rethink the world when you go home" theme but it missed something that made it "woooooh"...

Actor pick, i wanted Dicaprio for the departed but he was also good in the Blood diamond. I think he should snitch this one although Whitaker has some very good chances and he also had a magnificent play...(btw, Ryan Gosling's nominated??)

Actress IMO Kate Winslet, this woman can act and should finally get the credit she deserves for it. Helen Mirren was fab in the Queen off course but I'd love it if Winslet would snitch this one...

supporting, Breslin did a good job considering her age, but it's been a while since a child won the oscar, still it would be nice...

[.moony.]

Best Picture just has to be Little Miss Sunshine, the movie was unexpectedly amazing. It has everything that is needed in a great movie. I hope it will win.

Best actor - Leonardo di carpo. Blood diamond = good!!

Supporting actress: Abigail from Lil miss sunshine

[VersusVillain]

WOAH!!!! Ryan Gosling was nominated for an Oscar...WHOA!!!!! I never thought he would leave the Mickey Mouse Club image.

I guess playing a crack addicted teacher does the trick.

I can't believe Leo Dio got nominated for Blood Diamond instead of The Departed. He probably split votes between Supporting and Lead though, since the Academy didn't know which category to put him in. I'm glad he got nominated and I thought he was great in Blood Diamond (though the film is kind of "meh"), but his performance in The Departed was far, far superior.


The REST of the Oscar nominations (I'd type up everyone's names who got nominated but I'm too lazy- I'll just name the films):

Animated Feature Film
"Cars"
"Happy Feet"
"Monster House"

Art Direction
"Dreamgirls"
"The Good Shepherd"
"Pan's Labyrinth"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
"The Prestige"

Cinematography
"The Black Dahlia"
"Children of Men"
"The Illusionist"
"Pan's Labyrinth"
"The Prestige"

Costume Design
"Curse of the Golden Flower"
"The Devil Wears Prada"
"Dreamgirls"
"Marie Antoinette"
"The Queen"

Directing
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel"
Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"
Clint Eastwood, "Letters from Iwo Jima"
Stephen Friers, "The Queen"
Paul Greengrass, "United 93"

Documentary Feature
"Deliver Us from Evil"
"An Inconvenient Truth"
"Iraq in Fragments"
"Jesus Camp"
"My Country, My Country"

Documentary Short
"The Blood of Yingzhou District"
"Recycled Life"
"Rehearsing a Dream"
"Two Hands"

Film Editing
"Babel"
"Blood Diamond"
"Children of Men"
"The Departed"
"United 93"

Foreign Language Film
"After the Wedding"
"Days of Glory"
"The Lives of Others"
"Pan's Labyrinth"
"Water"

Makeup
"Apocalypto"
"Click"
"Pan's Labyrinth"

Music (Score)
"Babel"
"The Good German"
"Notes on a Scandal"
"Pan's Labyrinth"
"The Queen"

The Babel score was horribly mediocre. Clint Mansell was snubbed for "The Fountain", damnit to hell.

Music (Song)
"I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth"
"Listen" from "Dreamgirls"
"Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls"
"Our Town" from "Cars"
"Patience" from "Dreamgirls"

Short Film (Animated)
"The Danish Poet"
"Lifted"
"The Little Matchgirl"
"Maestro"
"No Time For Nuts"

Short Film (Live Action)
"Binta and the Great Idea"
"Eramos Pocos"
"Helmer and Son"
"The Saviour"
"West Bank Story"

Sound Editing
"Apocalypto"
"Blood Diamond"
"Flags of Our Fathers"
"Letters from Iwo Jima"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"

Sound Mixing
"Apocalypto"
"Blood Diamond"
"Dreamgirls"
"Flags of Our Fathers"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"

Visual Effects
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
"Poseidon"
"Superman Returns"

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"Borat"
"Children of Men"
"The Departed"
"Little Children"
"Notes on a Scandal"

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Babel"
"Letters from Iwo Jima"
"Little Miss Sunshine"
"Pan's Labyrinth"
"The Queen"

Dreamgirls leads with 8 although it missed Director, Picture and three of it's nominations are in one category (LOL!!!), Babel is in second place with 7, and Pan's Labyrinth and The Queen tie third place with 6 each.

[HeffyEnd]

Picture: The Departed (I hope) (Babel may win but then it'd be last year all over again)
Actress: Helen Mirren
Actor: Forrest Whitaker
S. Actor: Eddie Murphy
S. Actress: Jennifer Hudson
Director: Martin Scorsese

^What I think will win.

Just Marty a damn oscar already. Geez.

Pan's Labyrinth with 6! AHAHAHA!!!!

I'm glad Children of Men got some love. Cinematography<33

[cat1177]

Ryan Gosling?

Scorsese should finally get that Best Director for The Departed
and Leo should finally get that Oscar...i think it's long overdue!!
(but i think his performance in The Departed was better than in Blood Diamond)

[losborrachos]

ok this is gonna be long, and this is more what i want rather than objective predictions...

BEST PICTURE - BABEL
My vote is split between Babel and Iwo Jima and I have a feeling Babel is more Academy-type... But now Iwo Jima is def. my second choice while The Departed is third... I'd be shocked if LMS or The Queen gets it...

BEST ACTOR - FOREST WHITAKER (Last King of Scotland)
For me it's either him or O'Toole, but Whitaker is pretty much a lock... Leo should've been nominated for The Departed, Half Nelson didn't get enough publicity and Will Smith was good, but not in Whitaker's calibre yet...

BEST ACTRESS - HELEN MIRREN (The Queen)
Hands down, no question. Her performance is brilliant and really she's swept every single best actress award this year... In the case that she doesn't win (at which point my suspicions about the Oscars being, in Mirren's words, "a complete bulls---" will be confirmed) Meryl Streep should get it just cos she's Meryl Streep...

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - EDDIE MURPHY (Dreamgirls)
What can I say, he stepped out of his typecast (which he regrettably stepped back into with Norbit) and he was great... Jimmy's Rap killed me it was so amazing...

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - RINKO KIKUCHI (Babel)
Ok, it's a tough category because I'm torn between Hudson and Kikuchi, and you know what, most probably Hudson's gonna get this one... But while Hudson's song numbers blew me away completely, acting-wise Kikuchi nailed her part (as a deaf-mute!) just a little more...

BEST DIRECTOR - CLINT EASTWOOD (Letters from Iwo Jima)
Okay, I think there's a big chance they'll give it to Marty just cos he deserves it after all these years... But damn as much as I think he shouldn't get another Oscar after his undeserved 2005 win, I have to admit Eastwood did a better job this year with Iwo Jima than Marty did with The Departed...

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE - CARS
It's gonna be a close call between this and Happy Feet, but I'm gonna stay loyal to Disney, and Happy Feet's deus-ex-machina ending probably did it harm...

BEST ART DIRECTION - JOHN MYHRE (Dreamgirls)
Anyone who's seen Dreamgirls can attest to how beautiful it looks... Hey, period setting and a shameless amount of glitter, count me in... John Myhre is one of the best art directors around and I think the only thing that can harm him is his win last year for Geisha... I doubt they'll go for two years in a row but I hope he wins anyways...

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - EMMANUEL LUBEZKI (Children of Men)
Fine, so it's been debated that that godawesome nine-minute shot during the climax was CGI'ed instead of one take, but the beautiful photography in this movie does not consist of that one scene alone... Zsigmond is my second choice... Too bad god of all that is cinematographically beautiful Chris Doyle is not in the running this year...

BEST COSTUME DESIGN - SHAREN DAVIS (Dreamgirls)
My formula for this is Best Art Direction -> Best Costume Design... Hey it worked last year! Marie Antoinette is another strong contender for this I think...

BEST EDITING - THELMA SCHOONMAKER (The Departed)
What can I say, old lady's one of the best... Cinematography and editing are perhaps Departed's strongest areas (I was surprised Ballhaus didn't get nommed but hopefully the Academy gets it right with this category)

BEST DOCUMENTARY - AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
I don't really follow the doc scene, but this one did hit it big and it has interesting subject matter so why not?

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT
These short categories is where I start getting into no-good-reason land... Concerning this one, the title sounds cool and hasn't it been winning a ton of awards?

BEST FOREIGN FILM - PAN'S LABYRINTH
Can't believe Volver didn't get nominated... I'd go for Pan's Labyrinth (I like Guillermo and the film's concept is genius) or The Lives of Others...

BEST SCORE - GUSTAVO SANTAOLALA (Babel)
Santaolala did amazingly scoring this movie... That last track at the end got me sitting in the theater all through credits just waiting for the music to get done... Phillip Glass is another strong contender since people love him so much I have no idea why...

BEST SONG - LOVE YOU I DO (Dreamgirls)
Bias. I love Siedah Garrett since her Michael Jackson and Brand New Heavies days... Any of the Dreamgirls songs has a good chance of winning...

BEST ANIMATED SHORT - NO TIME FOR NUTS
Just to balance out the Disney-Pixar thing going on in the feature category

BEST SHORT - ERAMOS POCOS
No reason, okay because the title rhymes...

BEST SOUND EDITING - ALAN ROBERT MURRAY (Letters from Iwo Jima)
Because the guy gets nominated for two films, and because dammit Iwo Jima needs to win something!

BEST SOUND MIXING - DREAMGIRLS
Musicals are a challenge to mix obviously and they did great on this one...

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - POTC: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
Because The Krakken or whatever its name is looks awesome...

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - LITTLE CHILDREN
The Departed will probably win this again, but I honestly like Infernal Affairs' script better so I don't see why it should win...

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
I thought this category could not get any harder but it just did... Every single nominee in this category deserves to win but now I'll go with Iwo Jima because: a. you can't go wrong with Haggis and b. I think the script is one of the greatest strengths of this film... it might not win since academy members might not capture the Japanese nuances and sense of humor, in which case I hope it goes to The Queen...

BEST MAKEUP - PAN'S LABYRINTH
Agreed, because it'll probably win something else besides Best Foreign Film, and makeup is that something else. I haven't seen Click but why is it in this category?

yeah that was long... it's always great fun comparing my predictions during the ceremony!

[baoi]

Best Picture
Letters From Iwo Jima
MY LOVE NINO!!!!!!!!! I hope they win.. the pictures were AMAZING!



Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
I use to LOVE him.. plus he's a good actor


Actress in a Leading Role
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Heard she played the Queen really good.



Actor in a Supporting Role / Actress in a Supporting Role
Rinko Kikuchi -Babel
JUST SUPPORTING MY FELLOW ASIAN GIRL!

[xSHADOW]

Best Picture - The Departed
Actor In A Leading Role - Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness (I thought he did a fantastic job)
Actress in a Leading Role - Helen Mirren - The Queen
Actor in a Supporting Role / Actress in a Supporting Role - Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

[HeffyEnd]

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - EDDIE MURPHY (Dreamgirls)
What can I say, he stepped out of his typecast (which he regrettably stepped back into with Norbit)

Hah, I think that was actually probably some movie he did a couple of years ago that they shelved because it blows. But with all the Dreamgirls stuff and Eddies noms and wins, they finally decided to release it.

I'll just go ahead and post my final predictions in all catergories now. Excluding the short films, because I don't really know anything about them.

My predictions:

Picture: Babel
I know I posted The Departed a couple hours ago, but I don't want to get my hopes up. I liked Babel, but wow, 7 noms? I really liked the Japanese story in it, I thought that was the best part. But I thought it was very poorly constructed. The acting and cinematography were good, but it was just an international version of Crash. Which robbed Brokeback last year, so I think Babel will rob The Departed. The Academy loves Clint though so a surprise win isn't out of the question, and I really can't see LMS or the Queen winning.

Director: Scorsese
It was pretty much the same deal 2 years ago, but this time I think they'll give it to him. I hope. For Gods sake just give him the damn thing already.

Actor: Forest Whitaker
Having winning pretty much every single other award. O'Toole is his only threat cause he's an old veteran actor who's been nominated a billion times and never won. Still though, I think Forest.

Actress: Helen Mirren
KO. If she doesn't win my jaw will hit the floor.

Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy
I want Arkin to win and I think he's Murphy's only competition but still.

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson
It's pretty much the same deal as above but with Abigail Breslin.

Animated Film: Cars
I haven't seen any of them but I think Cars. Possibly Happy Feet but I'll stick with Cars.

Documentary Film: An Inconvenient Truth
Because it's Hollywood.

Foreign Film: Pan's Labyrinth
If this had been released earlier it probably would've gotten picture and director noms as well. Deservingly so. I really can't see this not winning.

Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine
Just cause.

Adapted Screenplay: The Departed
See above.

Cinematography: Children of Men
alt. Maybe Pan's. Either one I am absolutely 100% ok with. I'd probably prefer CoM though cause it has less noms.

Costume Design: Dreamgirls
I can't really see anything else winning. This'll be one of the consolation wins it gets for losing noms for BP and director.

Art Direction: Pan's Labyrinth
Other than foreign, I think it'll get a couple wins. This might be one of them. alt. Dreamgirls

Make-Up: Pan's Labyrinth
Just look at how beautiful Fauno is. Apoca's make-up was good but I don't think it'll win. And the Click nom still baffles the s--t out of me.

Original Score: Babel
Gag. It was ok, but no where near the best. I was so happy Javier got in for Pan's Labyrinth, but that doesn't quite make up for the Clint Mansell (The Fountain) snub. Also they nominated Alexandre for the wrong film (should've been The Painted Veil).

Original Song: "Listen" from Dreamgirls
Eh. With 3 noms, ones bound to win. This seems to be the favorite.

Visual Effects: PotC: Dead Man's Chest
I want Superman to win though, and if Poseidon wins Imma kill somebody.

Sound Mixing: Dreamgirls
Same reason I mentioned earlier.

Sound Editing: Letters From Iwo Jima
I just realized I'm not predicting it for anything so far, and it can't NOT win anything.

Film Editing: Children of Men
Because it deserves it.

I'm sure I'll get some of the techs wrong, and some of my predix may change before Oscar night.

[losborrachos]

oh yeah, i missed the makeup category cos i kept going back and forth on the nom list... i'll add it to the original post but since i don't like typing *EDIT* i'll do another one here...

BEST MAKEUP - PAN'S LABYRINTH
Agreed, because it'll probably win something else besides Best Foreign Film, and makeup is that something else. I haven't seen Click but why is it in this category?

and HeffyEnd it's nice to see someone else caring abt the tech categories... and yeah i think we have the same reasoning for a bunch of categories, including the just-cause ones... i agree, i probably shouldn't put my short categories up since i haven't seen any but last year i guessed based on names and got all three of them correct i believe... which means i'll get all of them wrong this year but w/e

[cksdayoff]

I hear Forest Whitaker is a shoe-in for best actor.

Scorcese or Eastwood for Best Director. Though I hope Eastwood wins it.