Oscars

Well they'll be rolling out the red carpet in Hollywood tomorrow for the 81st annual Academy Awards. The hosting duties have been bestowed upon the Aussie Hugh Jackman. This selection is a bit different from the usual Jon Stewart, Ellen DeGeneres, or Chris Rock; however Jackman is no novice when it comes to hosting. He actual won an Emmy in 2004 for his hosting performance of the Tony's (awards in broadway), which he hosted from 2003-2005. Jackman also co-starred with fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman in the aptly named 2008 film Australia, directed by Baz Luhrmann, that was expected to be a contender come awards season, but only garnered one Oscar nomination (Best Costume Design).

For those of you that don't remember, I handicapped the Oscars back in January when the nominations were unveiled. Now it is time to make my final predictions.

Best Picture

Even though they normally save this award for last, I'll tackle the night's biggest award right off the bat.

The movie that I am rooting for: Slumdog Millionaire
The movie that will win: Slumdog Millionaire

It's an uplifting story that everyone should see. It already won the Golden Globe, which is like winning the NIT in men's college basketball, and now it's time to win the big one. They are even flying the kids, their first ever flight, from India for the Awards Ceremony.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

The actor that I am rooting for: Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon
The actor that will win: Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

I'm basically just covering my bases here because I wouldn't mind if either won. Rourke is the favorite because he won the Golden Globe, but I'm pulling for Langella because he portrayed Tricky Dick and because it was his first on screen performance. Brad Pitt is also in the mix here, but I do not want to see him win.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

The actress that I am rooting for: Angelina Jolie in Changeling
The actress that will win: Kate Winslet in The Reader

Winslet is the best actress going and I'm just bitter that she didn't get nominated for her role in Revolutionary Road. Angelina won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in her last trip to the nuthouse (Girl Interrupted (1999)), so it would make sense if that factor put her over the top again.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

The actor that I am rooting for: Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road
The actor that will win: Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

I don't want to sound like a 14-year-old girl by "rooting" for Heath Ledger posthusmously. Ledger is going to win, and he actually deserves it because he was awesome, but the fact that he died brings so much unneccessary hoopla along with it. On a sidenote, Shannon was very good in his portrayal of a mental patient.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

The actress that I am rooting for: Amy Adams in Doubt
The actress that will win: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona

As I wrote in my preview, it would be fitting for Penelope to win for portraying a crazed, emotionally unstable ex-girlfriend because she has the life experience to back it up. She had a mental breakdown in 2002.


Well there are my picks. Just a quick sidebar here. Over under 7 1/2 times winners thank "The Academy"? On that note, I wonder what it takes to get inclusion into such an esteemed club. It sounds a little pretentious, but it's still a very cool title.

- So what do you do?
- I'm a member of the Academy.