2013 Academy Awards predictions: And the Oscar goes to…

The 2013 Academy Awards are finally here! The big question remains: Who will take home the top prizes at this year’s ceremony? Let’s break down the front-runners and make a few predictions.

Best Picture

• Amour
• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Argo is the one to beat in the Best Picture category. Ben Affleck and his team nabbed every major award for the film this year, including big wins at the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Best Actor

• Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
• Denzel Washington, Flight
• Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
• Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Everyone loved Hugh Jackman‘s portrayal of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, but the Oscar will go to Daniel Day-Lewis for his complete metamorphosis into President Abraham Lincoln.

Best Actress

• Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
• Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
• Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
• Naomi Watts, The Impossible
• Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Jennifer Lawrence has this one in the bag. Jessica Chastain and Emmanuelle Riva were strong in their respective roles, but Lawrence’s performance as the troubled Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook makes her the one to beat.

Best Supporting Actor

• Alan Arkin, Argo
• Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
• Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
• Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

The Best Supporting Actor category has no clear front-runner. Tommy Lee Jones won the SAG Award in the category, while Christoph Waltz won the Golden Globe and Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Critics’ Choice Award. We’re going to go out on a limb and say Waltz will get the statue in this category.

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams, The Master
• Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
• Sally Field, Lincoln
• Helen Hunt, The Sessions
• Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Anne Hathaway will top off her winning awards season with an Oscar. The big question: Will she remember to thank everyone while onstage?

Best Director

• Ang Lee, Life of Pi
• David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
• Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Michael Haneke, Amour
• Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

This category is a bit of a toss-up since Affleck wasn’t nominated for Argo. Look for Steven Spielberg to get the big W come Sunday night.

Best Original Screenplay

• Amour
• Django Unchained
• Flight
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Zero Dark Thirty

It’s a tie between Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty in this category, but we expect Quentin Tarantino to get the win for Django Unchained.

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook

Argo all the way, naturally.

Best Animated Feature

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Wreck-It Ralph

Brave picked up the Golden Globe in this category, so expect the animated feature to get the Oscar, too.

Best Foreign Language Film

• Amour
• A Royal Affair
• No
• Kon-Tiki
• War Witch

Michael Haneke’s haunting Amour is this year’s foreign film darling. It won’t win the big categories, but it will get the win for Best Foreign Language Film.

Best Original Song

• “Before My Time” from Chasing Ice
• “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from Ted
• “Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi
• “Skyfall” from Skyfall
• “Suddenly” from Les Misérables

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