Beyond the Awkward: Take a Trip to Crazytown! Oscar 2011 Predictions

Come on down to Crazytown, folks! It's been a mere couple of days since the last Oscar season ended, and we here at Awkward is What We Aim For are preparing for the 84th Academy Awards--in one year's time.

Why are we doing this, you might ask? Well, call us certifiable, but we always love to be a step ahead. And this is about a thousand steps ahead. As a result, these predictions are sure to fail in a grand fashion (which is why we kept it to the top six categories), but really, they were just fun.

Joining me in this ridiculous venture is AIWWAF contributor Andrew Sheridan, making this both a Beyond the Awkward feature and a Oscar Predictions post. Double the crazy, double the fun!

We made our predictions independently of each other, so you'll see both lists below, followed by some quick analysis. The overall list (both synthesized into the best guess) will appear in the Current Oscar Predictions section. Enjoy our insanely early Oscar picks!

BEST PICTURE

Andrew's Picks

Contagion

The Ides of March

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

J. Edgar

Like Crazy

Restless

Shame

Twixt Now and Sunrise

The Tree of Life

War Horse

Kevin's Picks

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Contagion
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
Like Crazy
Midnight in Paris
Restless
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Both Andrew and I have a lot of faith in the films headed up by the veterans, and as he says, "This is going to be a big year for veterans--no Tom Hoopers, no Jennifer Lawrences." We both think Contagion, The Ides of March, J. Edgar, Like Crazy, Restless, The Tree of Life and War Horse are likely to get nominated, so that's the most likely batch of predictions.

BEST DIRECTOR

Andrew's Picks

Clint Eastwood, J. Edgar

Frances Ford Coppola, Txist Now and Sunrise

Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Steven Soderbergh, Contagion

Steven Spielberg, War Horse

Kevin's Picks
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Clint Eastwood, J. Edgar
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Steven Soderbergh, Contagion
Stephen Spielberg, War Horse

"A big year for veteran directors" is what Andrew calls it, and I have to agree with him. We both agree on four of the five directors likely to be nominated, and while Andrew picks Coppola to be nominated and I pick Clooney, each is, like the other four, at least once an Oscar nominee for directing.

BEST ACTRESS

Andrew's Picks

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Felicity Jones, Like Crazy

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Michelle Williams, Meek's Cutoff

Kevin's Picks
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Rachel McAdams, Midnight in Paris
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Andrew and I agree on four of the actors but only three of the performances, with his nod for Williams going towards her performance in Meek's Cutoff rather than My Week With Marilyn. Andrew prefers Jones to McAdams for the fifth spot, a smarter bet. He also thinks that Streep won't win her third Oscar this year--instead, she'll win for August: Osage County next year.

BEST ACTOR

Andrew's Picks

Johnny Depp, The Rum Diary

Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar

Sean Penn, This Must be the Place

Brad Pitt, The Tree of Life

Michael Fassbender, Shame

Kevin's Picks
Johnny Depp, The Rum Diary

Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Colin Firth, The Promised Land
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Sean Penn, The Tree of Life

An interesting conundrum in this and the supporting male actor categories--where to place the Tree of Life men? I put Penn here but only have him getting one nod, whereas Andrew places Pitt here and has Penn getting nominated for This Must be the Place here in lead. He also firmly believes Penn could win a third for one of the two performances. (He and I also agree on Depp and DiCaprio.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Andrew's Picks

Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life

Marion Cotillard, Midnight in Paris

Judi Dench, J. Edgar

Frances McDormand, This Must be the Place

Kate Winslet, Contagion

Kevin's Picks

Marion Cotillard, Midnight in Paris
Viola Davis, The Help
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Like Crazy
Naomi Watts, J. Edgar

Andrew and I agree a lot less here than we did in the other categories--my faith in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel gives Dench her nomination here instead of for J. Edgar, which I place my faith in Watts getting her nomination for. We both agree on Marion Cotillard for Midnight in Paris, however.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Andrew's Picks

Eric Bana, Hanna

Armie Hammer, J. Edgar

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Ides of March

Sean Penn, Tree of Life

Jim Sturgess, The Promised Land

Kevin's Picks

Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Ides of March
Ezra Miller, We Need To Talk About Kevin
Brad Pitt, The Tree of Life
Tom Wilkinson, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

See Best Actor for more on the Pitt/Penn category placement confusion. Hammer and Hoffman are our shared nominees here.

Well, that brings us to the end of our tour of Crazytown--what do you all think? What nominees are you expecting next year? Are we overlooking something obvious? Who do you place more faith in: me or Andrew? Take it to the comments!