The Oscar noms come early this year, and once again as many as 10 films may be up for best picture. But which ones? And how many?
Here I have a handicapping, in descending order, of the most likely nominees in all the categories. After the nominations come out Thursday morning, check to see how well we (and you) did. My picks are below.
PICTURE
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty
Life of Pi
Django Unchained, pictured
Argo
Silver Linings Playbook
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Skyfall
The Master
Amour
Beasts of the Southern Wild
DIRECTING
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero
Ang Lee, Pi
Ben Affleck, Argo
Quentin Tarantino, Django
Tom Hooper, Les Miz
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
David O. Russell, SLP
Sam Mendes, Skyfall
Michael Haneke, Amour
ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miz, pictured
Denzel Washington, Flight
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, SLP
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
Ben Affleck, Argo
ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero
Jennifer Lawrence, SLP
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Rachel Weisz, Deep Blue Sea
Emmanuel Riva, Amour
Quvanzhane’ Wallis, Beasts
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Django
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Javier Bardem, Skyfall, pictured
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
Alan Arkin, Argo
Ewan MacGregor, The Impossible
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django
Robert DeNiro, SLP
Bruce Willis, Moonrise
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Les Miz
Sally Field, Lincoln
Amy Adams, The Master
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Maggie Smith, Marigold Hotel
Judi Dench, Skyfall
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Zero
Looper
Moonrise
Django
Master
Flight
Beasts
Amour
Seven Psychopaths
Flight
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Lincoln, pictured, written by Tony Kushner
Argo
SLP
Pi
Beasts
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Les Miz
Bernie
On the Road
The Sessions
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Lincoln
Pi
Skyfall
Les Miz
Django
Zero
Dark Knight Rises
Cloud Atlas
The Impossible
The Master
FILM EDITING
Lincoln
Life of Pi
Zero
Argo
Dark Knight Rises
Skyfall
Master
Les Miz
Django
Cloud Atlas
ART DIRECTION
Les Miz
Anna Karenina, pictured
Lincoln
The Hobbit
Life of Pi
Cloud Atlas
The Master
Django
Dark Knight Rises
Prometheus
COSTUMES
Les Miz
Anna Karenina
Lincoln
Hobbit
Snow White
The Master
Django
Cloud Atlas
Argo
Hyde Park on Hudson
SCORE
Lincoln
Brave
Skyfall
The Hobbit
Dark Knight Rises
Life of Pi
Zero
Anna Karenina
Cloud Atlas
Argo
SONG
“Skyfall,” Skyfall (written and sung by Adele, pictured)
“Learn Me Right,” Brave
“Suddenly,” Les Miz
“Breath of Life,” Snow White
“Still Alive,” Paul Williams: Still Alive
“From Here to the Moon and Back,” Joyful Noise
“Ancora Qui,” Django
SOUND MIXING
Skyfall
Dark Knight
Zero
Les Miz
Pi
Avengers
Django
Hobbit
Impossible
Cloud Atlas
SOUND EDITING
Skyfall
Dark Knight
Zero
Les Miz
Pi
Avengers
Django
Impossible
Cloud Atlas
Prometheus
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Dark Knight Rises
John Carter
Cloud Atlas
The Avengers
Life of Pi
Prometheus
Skyfall
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Amazing Spider-Man
Snow White and the Huntsman
MAKEUP
The Hobbit, pictured
Lincoln
Hitchcock
Snow White
MIB:3
Les Miz
Looper
ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Wreck-It Ralph
ParaNorman
Frankenweenie
Rise of the Guardians
Ice Age: Continental Drift
The Painting
Hotel Transylvania
The Lorax
Madagascar 3
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour (Austria)
The Intouchables (France)
War Witch (Canada)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
Sister (Switzerland)
No (Chile)
Kon-Tiki (Norway)
The Deep (Iceland)
Beyond the Hills (Romania)
Our Children (Belgium)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Searching for Sugar Man
How to Survive a Plague
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Bully
Mea Maxima Culpa
The Gatekeepers
The Waiting Room
