Final 84th Academy Award Predictions

Best Picture
-The Artist
-The Descendants
-The Help
-Hugo
-Midnight in Paris
-Moneyball

Best Director
-Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
-Michel Hazanvicius, The Artist
-Alexander Payne, The Descendants
-Martin Scorsese, Hugo
-Tate Taylor, The Help

Best Lead Actor
-George Clooney, The Descendants
-Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
-Jean Dujardin, The Artist
-Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
-Brad Pitt, Moneyball


Best Lead Actress
-Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
-Viola Davis, The Help
-Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
-Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
-Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor
-Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
-Albert Brooks, Drive
-Jonah Hill, Moneyball
-Nick Nolte, Warrior
-Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress
-Berenice Bejo, The Artist
-Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
-Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
-Octavia Spencer, The Help
-Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Adapted Screenplay
-The Descendants
-The Help
-Hugo
-Moneyball
-Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Original Screenplay
-The Artist
-Bridesmaids
-Midnight in Paris
-A Separation
-Young Adult

Best Animated Feature Film
-The Adventures of Tintin
-Arrugas
-Arthur Christmas
-Kung Fu Panda 2
-Rango

Best Documentary Feature
-Buck
-Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
-Pina
-Project Nim
-Undefeated

Best Foreign Language Film
-A Separation
-Footnote
-In Darkness
-Pina
-Superclasico

Best Animated Short Film
-The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
-I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat
-La Luna
-Luminaris
-A Morning Stroll

Best Documentary Short
-The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
-In Tahrir Square: 18 Days of Egypt's Unfinished Revolution
-Incident in New Baghdad
-Pipe Dreams
-The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Live-Action Short Film
-Je Pourrais Etre Votre Grand-Mere
-Sailcloth
-The Shore
-Time Freak
-Tuba Atlantic

Best Art Direction
-The Artist
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
-Hugo
-Jane Eyre
-Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Cinematography
-The Artist
-The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
-Hugo
-The Tree of Life
-War Horse

Best Costume Design
-The Artist
-The Help
-Hugo
-Jane Eyre
-W.E.

Best Film Editing
-The Artist
-The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
-Hugo
-Moneyball
-War Horse

Best Makeup
-Anonymous
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
-The Iron Lady

Best Original Score
-The Artist
-Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
-The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
-Hugo
-War Horse

Best Original Song
-Albert Nobbs
-Gnomeo & Juliet
-The Help
-The Muppets
-The Muppets

Best Sound Editing
-The Adventures of Tintin
-Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol
-Super 8
-Transformers: Dark of the Moon
-War Horse

Best Sound Mixing
-The Artist
-The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
-Hugo
-Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
-Super 8

Best Visual Effects
-Captain America: The First Avenger
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
-Hugo
-Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
-Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The buzz recently seems to suggest the final set of Best Picture nominees will be closer to 5 than 10. I am going with 6, but I don't see Moneyball as being that far above Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  I just can't fathom that we will end up with 5 nominees.  I am very interested to see where the last spot in the director field and the last two spots in the lead actor field go because they are completely up in the air.  The only big surprise I am predicting in the major fields is that Jessica Chastain is snubbed.  It's just a hunch I have that I hope turns out to be false.  As for nomination leader tallies I've got The Artist with 11 and Hugo with 10.