Will The King’s Speech top The Social Network for Best Picture? We think so, and as we do every year — in the last several years, our correct prediction percentage has soared over 80-percent — SheKnows is set to unveil our picks for who will win the 2011 Academy Awards.
Without further ado, here are the nominees and who will win at the 2011 Oscars and stay with SheKnows throughout Oscar week and of course with the big show.
We’ve got your Academy Awards night play-by-play, who won and interviews with the winners as soon as they step off the Kodak Theatre stage, as well as day-after Best and Worst Dressed and the seen and heard red carpet coverage as only SheKnows can bring you.
Academy Award nominees and predicted winners
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
Winner: The King’s Speech
Why: It’s the best movie of the year. Well, it’s the best movie of the year with the best chance to win Best Picture!
Best Actor
Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
Javier Bardem – Biutiful
Jeff Bridges – True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
James Franco –127 hours
Winner: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
Why: Besides being the front-runner, of the five performances in this category, it is Firth that brought the most power to his role. Can you imagine The King’s Speech without Colin Firth? Hardly! Plus, he’s earned it after a stellar career.
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale – The Fighter
John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner – The Town
Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech
Winner: Christian Bale – The Fighter
Why: Christian Bale has always altered his body in order to succeed in a role. When he lost all the weight and even shaved part of his hair for The Fighter, he took that passion for a role to new heights. He is unbeatable in this category.
Best Actress
Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman – Black Swan
Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine
Winner: Natalie Portman – Black Swan
Why: Natalie Portman has won every major award leading up to Oscar night. There is no reason to think anything other than a Portman Best Actress trophy should happen Sunday evening. It should be noted there is a late surge for Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right. Since there have been no film awards between the SAGs and now, it’s hard to judge how powerful the swing has been. Two things to watch for: One, the Academy loves awarding pregnant actresses (see Catherine Zeta-Jones) and two, the Independent Spirit Awards the night before Oscar. If Bening takes the prize there, Portman could be upset.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams – The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit
Melissa Leo – The Fighter
Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom
Winner: Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
Why: Melissa Leo was the front-runner, but there has been a bit of backlash from her taking out her own advertisements in Hollywood trades to promote her chances of Oscar gold. Studios have long taken out “For Your Consideration” ads, so why the double standard? But, it is what it is and because of that fact, either Hailee Steinfeld or Helena Bonham Carter will take the prize. Our call: Helena Bonham Carter rides The King’s Speech sweep!
Best Animated Film
Toy Story 3
The Illusionist
How to Train Your Dragon
Winner:Toy Story 3
Why: This is a no-brainer. Toy Story 3 is not only the best animated film of the year, it is one of the best films of the year — period.
Best Art Direction
Alice in Wonderland
Inception
True Grit
The King’s Speech
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Winner:Alice in Wonderland
Why: This category is a battle between Alice in Wonderland, The King’s Speech and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Look for Alice in Wonderland to take the prize because of its extraordinary, colorful and out-of-this-world visual feel.
Best Cinematography
Black Swan
The King’s Speech
Inception
The Social Network
True Grit
Winner:True Grit
Why: When it comes to Best Cinematography, think scope. No film on this list exudes powerful scope as much as True Grit.
Best Costume Design
Alice in Wonderland
I Am Love
The King’s Speech
The Tempest
True Grit
Winner: Alice in Wonderland
Why: Again coming back to the look of the film, Alice in Wonderland is a visual marvel and its costumes are as equally important to that fact as makeup and art direction. Although Oscar loves to give this category to period pieces (think England), we believe the eye-candy costumes of Alice will take the cake.
Best Director
Black Swan – Darren Aronofsky
The Fighter – David O. Russell
The King’s Speech – Tom Hooper
The Social Network – David Fincher
True Grit – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Winner: Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
Why: More often than not, the winner of Best Picture and Best Director are of the same film. Last year proved that fact with Kathryn Bigelow winning over James Cameron and The Hurt Locker beating Avatar. This year will be no different as Tom Hooper’s expert hand throughout The King’s Speech will triumph over the rat-a-tat pace of The Social Network.
Best Documentary Feature
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Gasland
Inside Job
Restrepo
Waste Land
Winner:Exit Through the Gift Shop
Why: Like Toy Story 3 in its win for Best Animated Feature, Exit Through the Gift Shop is also one of the best films of the year, and certainly qualifies for Best Documentary Feature. Many are huge fans of Inside Job, but in the end, Exit Through the Gift Shop is just a bit more powerful.
Best Documentary Short
Killing in the Name
Poster Girl
Stranger no More
Sun Come Up
The Warrior of Qiugang
Winner:The Warrior of Qiugang
Why:The Warrior of Qiugang, whether a short or full-length film, is the type of movie the Academy adores.
Best Editing
Black Swan – Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter – Pamela Martin
The King’s Speech – Tariq Anwar
127 Hours – Jon Harris
The Social Network – Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Winner:The Social Network
Why:The Social Network cannot possess its pizzazz if not for the work done by Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter in the editing room.
Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful
Dogtooth
In a Better World
Incendies
Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)
Winner: Biutiful
Why: Biutiful is beautiful in its ability to capture an emotionally trying story and with Javier Bardem (nominated for Best Actor) giving the performance of his career, score this category for Biutiful.
Best Makeup
Barney’s Version – Adrien Morot
The Way Back – Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
The Wolfman – Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
Winner:The Wolfman
Why: Considering the creatures that Rick Baker and Dave Elsey had to turn actors into, The Wolfman wins in this lighter category than in most years. Sure, making Paul Giamatti age over 30 years is not an easy task, but surely there were other contenders out there for this esteemed category, such as Alice in Wonderland?
Best Original Score
How to Train Your Dragon – John Powell
Inception – Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech – Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours – A.R. Rahman
The Social Network – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Winner: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Social Network
Why:The Social Network’s first-time score-writers managed to provide a soundtrack to a movie about our time that sounds timeless.
Best Original Song
Coming Home from Country Strong – Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
I See the Light from Tangled – Alan Menken, Glenn Slater
If I Rise from 127 Hours – A.R. Rahman, Dido and Rollo Armstrong
We Belong Together from Toy Story 3 – Randy Newman
Winner:I See the Light from Tangled
Why: Best Original Song in 2011 is a tough race to call. The Oscar could easily go to either one of the Disney flicks in this category, Toy Story 3 and Tangled. Both are impeccable songs for each of their respective films. Everyone loves Randy Newman, so when it comes to favoritism, he may win. Although having Alan Menken work his magic again for Disney, one could argue he could be out-loved in Hollywood over Randy Newman. Considering Menken’s appreciation in Tinseltown, expect I See the Light from Tangled to bring Menken Oscar gold.
Best Animated Short Film
Day & Night
The Gruffalo
Let’s Pollute
The Lost Things
Madagascar, carnet de voyage
Winner:The Gruffalo
Why: Pixar created Day & Night, so already we have to give a serious look to that film to win Best Animated Short Film. But, the Helena Bonham Carter-starring The Gruffalo is a kids’ book favorite and look for the Academy to salute their inner child.
Best Live Action Short
The Confession
The Crush
God of Love
Na Wewe
Wish 143
Winner:The Confession
Why: This year’s Live Action Short category is a tough call. Each of the nominees could easily walk away with Oscar gold, but we give it to The Confession by the smallest of margins.
Best Sound Editing
Inception
Toy Story 3
Tron: Legacy
True Grit
Unstoppable
Winner:Unstoppable
Why: Many are calling this and the next category, Best Sound Mixing, for Inception. We, honestly, have to split the gold. Best Sound Editing will go to Unstoppable. The sound of steel has never been so terrifying.
Best Sound Mixing
Inception
The King’s Speech
Salt
The Social Network
True Grit
Winner:Inception
Why: The entire mix on Inception is beyond stellar. There was no better film mixed for sound in 2001.
Best Visual Effects
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2
Winner:Inception
Why: Again, pundits are calling this category an easy win for Inception. Although we too pick Inception, we are not so sure. Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland do wonders for fantasy with both possessing chilling effects. Either could pull an upset, but given the mind-blowing, dream-capturing sequences from Christopher Nolan’s special effects team, they will be hard to beat.
Best Adapted Screenplay
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
Winner:The Social Network
Why:Aaron Sorkin’s script is as perfect as they come. Want proof? Check out the opening scene of The Social Network. Never has a break-up scene in a film been so verbally verbose.
Best Original Screenplay
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
Winner:The King’s Speech
Why: It’s going to win Best Picture and thus, must have had the Best Original Screenplay. Plus, the other four films are likely to split the rest of the vote as Inception gets the idea people, The Fighter captures real life perfectly, The Kids Are All Right speaks to our day and Another Year is the double-barreled power of a great script delivered by a great cast. In the end, The King’s Speech will rise above.
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