Fierce Beaver

Greetings. I am a longtime anonymous editor who finally decided to make an account. I first started using Wikipedia as a reference in 2003 or 2004, made my first edits around mid-2005, and have been a regular contributor ever since.

2008 Oscar predictions

It's almost time for Oscar nominations to come out, so I figured I'd get my predictions in (for both the nominees and the winners) before the official announcement...

Post-nomination update: I was totally shocked to see how thoroughly the academy voters snubbed Revolutionary Road. In my opinion, most of the nominations heaped on The Reader should have instead gone to RR.

Lead Actor

• Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road
• Clint Eastwood – Gran Torino (while I enjoyed his performance, I don't know if I'd consider it best actor material, but I think the hype is so large he'll probably get nominated)
• Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
• Sean Penn – Milk
• Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Lead Actress

• Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married (one of the few potential award contenders I didn't see, but I can't think of anything else from what I did see that I would consider particularly deserving, so I'll throw it in to mix things up)
• Angelina Jolie – Changeling
• Meryl Streep – Doubt
• Emma Thompson – Last Chance Harvey
• Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road

Supporting Actor

• James Franco – Milk
• David Kross – The Reader
• Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight (not sure if this role could qualify as supporting, but according to the Golden Globes it was, so I'm throwing it in here. If it's not eligible, then my pick is with Bruce Willis's criminally overlooked performance in What Just Happened)
• Viggo Mortensen – Appaloosa
• Bruce Willis – What Just Happened

Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams – Doubt
• Rebecca Hall – Vicky Cristina Barcelona (if her role was too large for this category, substitute Penelope Cruz)
• Alison Pill – Milk
• Amy Ryan – Changeling
• Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler

(I refuse to put Kate Winslet in this category! There is no way her part in The Reader could be considered supporting instead of lead, and it wasn't nearly as great as some critics have been making it out to be...)

Director

• Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
• Clint Eastwood – Gran Torino
• Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
• Sam Mendes – Revolutionary Road
• Gus Van Sant – Milk

Film

• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• Revolutionary Road
• Slumdog Millionaire
• The Wrestler (I really enjoyed the acting performances, but the movie itself didn't completely do it for me. However, it's getting so much critical acclaim that I almost have to throw it in here)

Cinematography

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Reader
• Revolutionary Road
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Valkyrie

Original Screenplay

• Changeling
• Gran Torino
• Milk
• Synecdoche, New York
• The Wrestler

Adapted Screenplay

• Doubt
• Frost/Nixon
• Revolutionary Road
• Slumdog Millionaire
• The Reader

Original Score

• A. R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire

(not even bothering to add other nominees... this was the only film whose entire score resonated with me and stuck with me long after I left the theater, and prompted me to actually go out and buy the soundtrack over a month after I originally saw the film)

Original Song

• Bruce Springsteen – "The Wrestler"

(couldn't think of any other original songs, aside from maybe the Peter Gabriel song at the end of WALL-E (which, thinking about it now, was actually pretty good), but this song was so subtle and fit perfectly with the film itself that it has to win)

Makeup

• Changeling
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• Frost/Nixon
• W.

Visual Effects

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Iron Man

Costume Design

• Changeling
• The Dark Knight
• The Duchess
• Revolutionary Road
• Valkyrie