Oscar Predictions

A rather lackluster year for movies means a rather lackluster crop of films nominated at this year’s Academy Awards. It’s always lame when all the acting categories are predictable. I’d like to see some upsets this year, but I don’t really see that happening. Here are my predictions.

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children”
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond”
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls”
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed”

Will Win: Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls”
Should Win: Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed”
Should Have Been Nominated: James McAvoy in “The Last King of Scotland”

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel”
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal”
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls”
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel”

Will Win: Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls”
Should Win: Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal”
Should Have Been Nominated: Shareeka Epps in “Half Nelson”

Achievement in Visual Effects
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“Poseidon”
“Superman Returns”

Will Win: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
Should Win: “Superman Returns”
Should Have Been Nominated: “X-Men: The Last Stand”

Achievement in Sound Mixing
“Apocalypto”
“Blood Diamond”
“Dreamgirls”
“Flags of Our Fathers”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

Will Win: “Dreamgirls”
Should Win: “Dreamgirls”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Children of Men”

Achievement in Sound Editing

“Apocalypto”
“Blood Diamond”
“Flags of Our Fathers”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

Will Win: “Letters from Iwo Jima”
Should Win: “Blood Diamond”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Children of Men”

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
“Cars”
“Happy Feet”
“Monster House”

Will Win: “Cars”
Should Win: “Monster House”
Should Have Been Nominated: “A Scanner Darkly”

Achievement in Art Direction
“Dreamgirls”
“The Good Shepherd”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“The Prestige”

Will Win: “Dreamgirls”
Should Win: “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Volver”

Achievement in Cinematography
“The Black Dahlia”
“Children of Men”
“The Illusionist”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“The Prestige”

Will Win: “Children of Men”
Should Win: “Children of Men”
Should Have Been Nominated: “The Good Shepherd”

Achievement in Costume Design
“Curse of the Golden Flower”
“The Devil Wears Prada”
“Dreamgirls”
“Marie Antoinette”
“The Queen”

Will Win: “Dreamgirls”
Should Win: “Marie Antoinette”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Pan’s Labyrinth”

Best Documentary Feature
“Deliver Us from Evil”
“An Inconvenient Truth”
“Iraq in Fragments”
“Jesus Camp”
“My Country, My Country”

Will Win: “An Inconvenient Truth”
Should Win: “Jesus Camp”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Shut Up and Sing”

Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Blood of Yingzhou District”
“Recycled Life”
“Rehearsing a Dream”
“Two Hands”

Will Win: “The Blood of Yingzhou District”
Should Win: “Rehearsing a Dream”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Stringers”

Achievement in Film Editing

“Babel”
“Blood Diamond”
“Children of Men”
“The Departed”
“United 93”

Will Win: “Babel”
Should Win: “United 93”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Pan’s Labyrinth”

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
“After the Wedding”
“Days of Glory (Indigènes)”
“The Lives of Others”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“Water”

Will Win: “The Lives of Others”
Should Win: “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Volver”

Achievement in Makeup
“Apocalypto”
“Click”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”

Will Win: “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Should Win: “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Should Have Been Nominated: “X-Men: The Last Stand”

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
“Babel”
“The Good German”
“Notes on a Scandal”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“The Queen”

Will Win: “The Queen”
Should Win: “Notes on a Scandal”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Little Children”

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”
“Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”
“Our Town” from “Cars”
“Patience” from “Dreamgirls”

Will Win: “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
Should Win: “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
Should Have Been Nominated: “The Song of the Heart” from “Happy Feet”

Best Animated Short Film
“The Danish Poet”
“Lifted”
“The Little Matchgirl”
“Maestro”
“No Time for Nuts”

Will Win: “The Little Matchgirl”
Should Win: “Lifted”
Should Have Been Nominated: “One Rat Short”

Best Live Action Short Film
“Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)”
“Éramos Pocos (One Too Many)” (Kimuak)
“Helmer & Son”
“The Saviour”
“West Bank Story”

Will Win: “West Bank Story”
Should Win: “Helmer & Son”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Kidney Thieves”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond”
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson”
Peter O’Toole in “Venus”
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland”

Will Win: Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland”
Should Win: Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson”
Should Have Been Nominated: Sascha Baron Cohen in “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver”
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal”
Helen Mirren in “The Queen”
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada”
Kate Winslet in “Little Children”

Will Win: Helen Mirren in “The Queen”
Should Win: Kate Winslet in “Little Children”
Should Have Been Nominated: Sienna Miller in “Factory Girl”

Adapted Screenplay
“Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”
“Children of Men”
“The Departed”
“Little Children”
“Notes on a Scandal”

Will Win: “The Departed”
Should Win: “Little Children”
Should Have Been Nominated: “The Prestige”

Original Screenplay
“Babel”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“The Queen”

Will Win: “Little Miss Sunshine”
Should Win: “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Brick”

Achievement in Directing
“Babel” Alejandro González Iñárritu
“The Departed” Martin Scorsese
“Letters from Iwo Jima” Clint Eastwood
“The Queen” Stephen Frears
“United 93” Paul Greengrass

Will Win: “The Departed” Martin Scorsese
Should Win: “The Departed” Martin Scorsese
Should Have Been Nominated: “Children of Men” Alfonso Cuaron

Best Motion Picture of the Year
“Babel”
“The Queen”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“The Departed”

Will Win: “Little Miss Sunshine”
Should Win: “The Departed”
Should Have Been Nominated: “Children of Men”

SAG Award Predictions

Here are my predictions for who will win the coveted...and perhaps best predictor of the Oscars...the SAG awards which will air on Sunday.

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Will Win: Forest Whitaker / THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND – Idi Amin - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Should Win:Ryan Gosling / HALF NELSON – Dan Dunne - THINKFilm
Should Have Been Nominated: Sacha Baron Cohen / BORAT - Borat Sagdiyev - 20th Century Fox

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Will Win: Helen Mirren / THE QUEEN – The Queen - Miramax Films
Should Win: Kate Winslet / LITTLE CHILDREN – Sarah Pierce - New Line Cinema
Should Have Been Nominated: Sienna Miller / FACTORY GIRL - Edie Sedgwick - MGM

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Will Win: Eddie Murphy / DREAMGIRLS – James “Thunder” Early - Paramount Pictures
Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio / THE DEPARTED – Billy Warner Bros. Pictures
Should Have Been Nominated: James McAvoy / THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND -Nicholas Garrigan - Fox Searchlight Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Will Win: Jennifer Hudson / DREAMGIRLS – Effie White - Paramount Pictures
Should Win: Abigail Breslin / LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Olive - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Should Have Been Nominated: Shareeka Epps / HALF NELSON - Drey - THINKFilm

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Will Win: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Alan Arkin - Grandpa
Abigail Breslin - Olive
Steve Carell - Frank
Toni Collette - Sheryl
Paul Dano - Dwayne
Greg Kinnear - Richard

Should Win: THE DEPARTED - Warner Bros. Pictures
Anthony Anderson - Brown
Alec Baldwin - Ellerby
Matt Damon - Colin
Leonardo DiCaprio - Billy
Vera Farmiga - Madolyn
Jack Nicholson - Costello
Martin Sheen - Queenan
Mark Wahlberg - Dignam
Ray Winstone - Mr. French

Should Have Been Nominated: LITTLE CHILDREN - New Line Cinema
Jennifer Connelly - Kathy Adamson
Jackie Earle Haley - Ronnie J. McGorvey
Gregg Edelman - Richard Pierce
Noah Emmerich - Larry Hedges
Sadie Goldstein - Lucy Pierce
Ty Simpkins - Aaron Adamson
Phyllis Somerville - May McGorvey
Patrick Wilson - Brad Adamson
Kate Winslet - Sarah Pierce


PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Will Win: Michael C. Hall / DEXTER – Dexter Morgan - Showtime
Should Win: Michael C. Hall / DEXTER – Dexter Morgan - Showtime
Should Have Been Nominated: Matthew Fox / LOST - Jack Shepherd - ABC

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Will Win: Chandra Wilson / GREY’S ANATOMY – Dr. Miranda Bailey - ABC
Should Win: Edie Falco / THE SOPRANOS – Carmela Soprano - HBO
Should Have Been Nominated: Kristen Bell / VERONICA MARS - Veronica Mars - THE CW

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Will Win: Alec Baldwin / 30 ROCK – Jack Donaghy - NBC
Should Win: Alec Baldwin / 30 ROCK – Jack Donaghy - NBC
Should Have Been Nominated: John Krasinski / THE OFFICE - Jim Halpert - NBC

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Will Win: America Ferrera / UGLY BETTY – Betty Suarez - ABC
Should Win: America Ferrera / UGLY BETTY – Betty Suarez - ABC
Should Have Been Nominated: Becki Newton / UGLY BETTY - Amanda - ABC

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Will Win:GREY’S ANATOMY - ABC
Justin Chambers - Alex Karev
Eric Dane - Mark Sloan
Patrick Dempsey - Derek Shepherd
Katherine Heigl - Isobel “Izzie” Stevens
T.R. Knight - George O’Malley
Sandra Oh - Cristina Yang
James Pickens, Jr. - Richard Webber
Ellen Pompeo - Meredith Grey
Sara Ramirez - Callie Torres
Kate Walsh - Addison Montgomery Shepherd
Isaiah Washington - Preston Burke
Chandra Wilson - Miranda Bailey

Should Win: DEADWOOD - HBO
Jim Beaver - Ellsworth
Powers Boothe - Cy Tolliver
Sean Bridgers - Johnny Burns
W. Earl Brown - Dan Dority
Dayton Callie - Charlie Utter
Brian Cox - Jack Langrishe
Kim Dickens - Joanie Stubbs
Brad Dourif - Doc Cochran
Anna Gunn - Martha Bullock
John Hawkes - Sol Starr
Jeffrey Jones - A.W. Merrick
Paula Malcomson - Trixie
Gerald McRaney - George Hearst
Ian McShane - Al Swearengen
Timothy Olyphant - Seth Bullock
Molly Parker - Alma Garret
Leon Rippy - Tom Nuttall
William Sanderson - E.B. Farnum
Brent Sexton - Harry Young
Bree Seanna Wall - Sofia Metz
Robin Weigert - Calamity Jane
Titus Welliver - Silas Adam

Should Have been Nominated: VERONICA MARS - The CW
Kristen Bell - Veronica Mars
Jason Dohring - Logan Echolls
Enrico Colantoni - Keith Mars
Percy Daggs III - Wallace Fennel
Francis Capra - Eli "Weevil" Navarro
Teddy Dunn - Duncan Kane
Ryan Hansen - Dick Casablancas
Michael Muhney - Sheriff Don Lamb
Kyle Gallner - Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas
Tina Majorino - Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie
Charisma Carpenter - Kendall Casablancas
Steve Guttenberg - Woody Goodman
Chris Lowell - Stosh 'Piz' Piznarski
Julie Gonzalo - Parker Lee
Alona Tal - Meg Manning
Harry Hamlin - Aaron Echolls
Tessa Thompson - Jackie Cook
Krysten Ritter - Gia Goodman
Ken Marino - Vinnie Van Lowe
David Tom - Chip Diller
Ryan Devlin - Mercer Hayes
Ed Begley, Jr. - Cyrus O'Dell


Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

Will Win: UGLY BETTY - ABC
Alan Dale - Bradford Meade
America Ferrera - Betty Suarez
Mark Indelicato - Justin
Ashley Jensen - Christina
Eric Mabius - Daniel Meade
Becki Newton - Amanda
Ana Ortiz - Hilda
Tony Plana - Ignacio
Kevin Sussman - Walter
Michael Urie - Marc
Vanessa Williams - Wilhelmina Slater

Should Win: ENTOURAGE - HBO
Kevin Connolly - Eric Murphy
Kevin Dillon - Drama
Jerry Ferrara - Turtle
Adrian Grenier - Vincent Chase
Rex Lee - Lloyd
Debi Mazar - Shauna
Jeremy Piven- Ari Gold
Perrey Reeves - Mrs. Ari

Should Have Been Nominated: STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP - NBC
Matthew Perry - Matt Albie
Amanda Peet - Jordan McDeere
Bradley Whitford - Danny Tripp
Steven Weber - Jack Rudolph
D.L. Hughley - Simon Stiles
Sarah Paulson - Harriet Hayes
Nathan Corddry - Tom Jeter
Timothy Busfield - Cal Shanley
Nate Torrence - Dylan Killington
Ayda Field - Jeannie Whatley
Lucy Davis - Lucy Kenwright
Simon Helberg - Alex Dwyer
Merritt Wever - Suzanne
Diana-Maria Riva - Lilly Rodriguez
Camille Chen - Samantha Li
Columbus Short - Darius Hawthorne
Edward Asner - Wilson White

Oscar Nomination Predictions

The Oscar nominations are mere hours away, here is how I think they will go down.

Best Actor
Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Departed”
Peter O’Toole, “Venus”
Will Smith, “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Sacha Baron Cohen, “Borat”

Fingers crossed for: Ryan Gosling, “Half Nelson”

Best Actress
Helen Mirren, “The Queen”
Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”
Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada”
Penelope Cruz, “Volver”
Kate Winslet, “Little Children”

Fingers crossed for: Sienna Miller, “Factory Girl”

Best Picture
“The Departed”
“The Queen”
“Dreamgirls”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“Babel”

Fingers crossed for: “Pan’s Labyrinth” or “Little Children”

Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy, “Dreamgirls”
Djimon Honsou, “Blood Diamond”
Jackie Earle Haley, “Little Children”
Jack Nicholson, “The Departed”
Brad Pitt, “Babel”

Fingers crossed for: James McAvoy, “The Last King of Scotland”

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”
Rinko Kukuchi, “Babel”
Cate Blanchett, “Notes on a Scandal”
Adriana Barraza, “Babel”
Toni Collette, “Little Miss Sunshine”

Fingers crossed for: Abigail Breslin, “Little Miss Sunshine”

Best Director
Martin Scorsese, “The Departed”
Bill Condon, “Dreamgirls”
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarriut, “Babel”
Stephen Frears, “The Queen”
Clint Eastwood, “Letters from Iwo Jima”

Fingers crossed for: Guillermo Del Toro, “Pan’s Labyrinth”

Best Original Screenplay
Michael Arndt, “Little Miss Sunshine”
Peter Morgan, “The Queen”
Guillermo Arriaga, “Babel”
Zach Helm, “Stranger than Fiction”
Guillermo Del Toro, “Pan’s Labyrinth”

Fingers crossed for: Paul Greengrass, “United 93”

Best Adapted Screenplay
William Monahan, “The Departed”
Jason Reitman, “Thank You for Smoking”
Patrick Marber, “Notes on a Scandal”
Todd Field & Tom Perrotta, “Little Children”
Aline Brosh McKenna, “The Devil Wears Prada”

Fingers crossed for: Ron Nyswaner, “The Painted Veil”

Best Animated Feature
“Cars”
“Happy Feet”
“Flushed Away”

Fingers crossed for: “A Scanner Darkly”

Best Documentary
“An Inconvenient Truth”
“Deliver Us from Evil”
“Jesus Camp”
“Shut Up & Sing”
“The Ground Truth”


Best Foreign Language Film
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“The Lives of Others”
“Volver”
“Water”
“Black Book”

Best Cinematography
“Children of Men”
“Babel”
“Apocalypto”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“United 93”

Best Art Direction
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“Dreamgirls”
“Children of Men”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“Babel”

Best Editing
“Dreamgirls”
“The Departed”
“Babel”
“The Queen”
“United 93”

Best Visual Effects
“X-Men: The Last Stand”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“Superman Returns”
“Night at the Museum”
“Casino Royale”

Best Costumes
“Dreamgirls”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“Marie Antoinette”
“The Devil Wears Prada”

Best Makeup
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“Apocalypto”
“The Prestige”
“X-Men: The Last Stand”

Best Sound Mixing
“Dreamgirls”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“Babel”
“Flags of our Fathers”
“Blood Diamond”

Best Sound Editing
“Happy Feet”
“Flags of our Fathers”
“Casino Royale”

Best Original Score
Phillip Glass, “The Illusionist”
Alexandre Despiat, “The Painted Veil”
Clint Mansell, “The Fountain”
Gustavo Santaolalla, “Babel”
Hans Zimmer, “The Da Vinci Code”

Best Original Song
Prince – “The Song of the Heart” from “Happy Feet”
Beyonce Knowles – “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
Melissa Etheridge – “I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”
Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige – “Never Gonna Break My Faith” from “Bobby”
Sheryl Crow – “Try Not to Remember” from “Home of the Brave”

Allow Me to Explain Myself ... and my Golden Globe Predictions

Alright, so I posted some of my favorites of the year...but as you could probably tell, the major list...as in my favorite films and actors has not been posted. The thing is I'm still attempting to catch up on some of the movies I missed out on over the course of the year...films that were released too limited to see, etc. My list will hopefully be up within the next week before we fall too far into 2007. But, before all of that the Golden Globe Awards are on tomorrow night (my favorite award show! drunk celebrities!!) Here they are...

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Will Win: The Departed
Should Win: The Departed
Should have been nominated: United 93

The Departed has been one of the only films to sustain buzz since its opening to the awards. With strong performances, direction, writing, editing, etc. there is no reason why it won't take the top prize. Little competition from the other films...Whose idea was it to nominate Bobby anyway? I would have liked to have seen Paul Greengrass's understated epic take a nomination, like the Departed it's a strong film filled with compelling performances and fantastic taut direction.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Will Win: Helen Mirren – The Queen
Should Win: Maggie Gyllenhaal – sherrybaby
Should have been nominated: Sienna Miller – Factory Girl

There is nobody in this category that will dethrone the queen. The award is well deserved for sure, it's Mirren's year but Maggie Gyllenhaal gave the performance of her budding career in sherrybaby. At least a nomination should draw some attention, but I would love to see her accept the statue. Sienna Miller, as Edie Sedgwick in Factory Girl lights up the screen. She's a young ingenue proving some serious acting chops here, a nomination would have been great but this was a tough race to break into.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Will Win: Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland
Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond or The Departed
Should have been nominated: Ryan Gosling – Half Nelson

Whitaker is a given like Mirrent above but I would have liked to see James McAvoy, whose performance is a perfect balance to Whitaker's over the top portrayal of Amin, earn a nod in the supporting. Whitaker is great but DiCaprio is the best actor of the year with two amazing performances. Gosling was robbed...plain and simple!

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Will Win: Dreamgirls
Should Win: Little Miss Sunshine
Should have been nominated: A Prairie Home Companion

It's an obvious choice here but I would love to see the biggest little indie in years take the prize. Dreamgirls is fine but a little overhyped. My choice for best musical of the year is A Prairie Home Companion, brilliantly subtle and full of feeling.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Will Win: Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada
Should Win: Toni Collette – Little Miss Sunshine
Should have been nominated: Abigail Breslin – Little Miss Sunshine

Meryl Streep is fantastic, as always, so I would be happy to see her walk away with it. But I'm in love with Toni Collette in Little Miss Sunshine...more in love with Breslin, though, absolutely robbed in this category. Fingers crossed for an Oscar.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Will Win: Sacha Cohen – Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan
Should Win: Sacha Cohen – Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Should have been nominated: Greg Kinnear – Little Miss Sunshine

It's Cohen for sure! I look forward to his acceptance speech.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Will Win: Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls
Should Win: Cate Blanchett – Notes On A Scandal
Should have been nominated: Shareeka Epps – Half Nelson

The trouble here is whether or not you give the award to the best supporting actress of the year or the best supporting singer of the year. I know that's not entirely fair...because Hudson is compelling even when not belting one out, but Blanchett is amazing as a teacher involved in the most bizzare love triangle in Notes on a Scandal. I have a feeling the Globes...known for picking the young upstart (see Keri Russell, Jennifer Garner) over the seasoned vet...will go with Hudson. If they were really looking for the upstart, they would have nominated Shareeka Epps who is brilliant in Half Nelson.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Will Win: Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls
Should Win: Mark Wahlberg – The Departed
Should have been nominated: James McAvoy – The Last King of Scotland

Tough calls here. I think they will opt for Eddie, but Wahlberg is a foil. He shines in The Departed stealing nearly every scene he is in. I think, with some recent critic awards, he may have a shot at a win. McAvoy deserves a nod, fingers crossed for an Oscar, he carries the emotional weight of The Last King of Scotland.

Best Animated Feature Film
Will Win: Happy Feet
Should Win: Happy Feet
Should have been nominated: A Scanner Darkly

Cars perhaps. I've honestly not seen it, but I love to watch Pixar squirm. Hello, A Scanner Darkly, way more compelling than any of these kid flicks.

Best Foreign Languge Film
Will Win: Letters From Iwo Jima
Should Win: Pan’s Labyrinth
Should have been nominated: Curse of the Golden Flower

My plan is to see Iwo Jima next weekend, when it is released on a larger scale, but I feel like it will take it without a problem. Pan's Labyrinth is one of my favorites of 2006 and deserves the win if for nothing else than Del Toro's masterful direction and writing and the pain and stress put into making the film possible.

Best Director - Motion Picture
Will Win: Martin Scorsese – The Departed
Should Win: Martin Scorsese – The Departed
Should have been nominated: Pedro Almodovar – Volver

It's too obvious.

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Will Win: The Queen – Peter Morgan
Should Win: Little Children – Todd Field, Tom Perrotta
Should have been nominated: Brick – Rian Johnson

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Will Win: Babel – Gustavo Santaolalla
Should Win: Babel – Gustavo Santaolalla
Should have been nominated: Notes On A Scandal – Philip Glass

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Will Win: “Listen” – Dreamgirls
Should Win: “Listen” – Dreamgirls
Should have been nominated: “Neighbor” – Shut Up and Sing

Best Television Series - Drama
Will Win: Grey’s Anatomy
Should Win: 24
Should have been nominated: Prison Break

Ugh. If Grey's wins I'll be so pissed. It was 24's best season yet COME ON! I know Prison Break secured a nod last year and deserved one this year for maintaining the thrill and fun of the first season.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama
Will Win: Edie Falco – The Sopranos
Should Win: Edie Falco – The Sopranos
Should have been nominated: Kristen Bell – Veronica Mars

It's Edie's year here, dealing with the nearly fatal gunshot wounds to Tony, and she will take it without a challenge. When will the awards recognize the brilliance of Bell in Veronica Mars? Not soon enough considering this is likely the show's last season.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
Will Win: Michael C. Hall – Dexter
Should Win: Michael C. Hall – Dexter
Should have been nominated: Matthew Perry – Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Hall blew me away as Dexter and I would like to see the young show awarded. Another young show, at risk of cancellation is Studio 60, which is one of the best shows on network television. All the performances deserve nods, but Perry especially as the stressed out lead writer of a late night sketch comedy show.

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Will Win: The Office
Should Win: Entourage
Should have been nominated: Scrubs

Please let Entourage take it...please!

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Will Win: America Ferrera – Ugly Betty
Should Win: Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds
Should have been nominated: Tina Fey – 30 Rock

America will take it (again see Hudson or Keri Russell or Jennifer Garner) but Parker making a repeat upstaging would be fantastic. Where is the love for Tina Fey, without her Alec Baldwin would be nothing.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Will Win: Steve Carell – The Office
Should Win: Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Should have been nominated: John Krasinski – The Office

Come on Baldwin! Will Krasinski ever get recognized? He's the best part of the Office right now.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Will Win: Katherine Heigl – Grey’s Anatomy
Should Win: Sarah Paulson – Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Should have been nominated: Melinda Clarke – The O.C.


Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Will Win: Masi Oka – Heroes
Should Win: Jeremy Piven – Entourage
Should have been nominated: Robert Knepper – Prison Break