With the most talked about entertainment event of the year rapidly approaching, we decided to share with the Colgate community our predictions for the Academy Awards this Sunday. Fortunately Lord of the Rings is not in the running this year, however, The Aviator is a strong Hollywood competitor with 11 nominations in a variety of categories. Other films with multiple nominations are Million Dollar Baby and Finding Neverland with seven each, Ray with six and Sideways with five. Some surprise nominations include the box office bomb Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events with four nominations. A surprise omission for cinematography was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, although it was nominated in other categories. The rest of the films nominated by the academy are pretty evenly spread out and seem reflective of box office sales and critical acclaim.

Although The Incredibles has only two other competitors, we feel it will not only win best Animated Feature Film, but is deserving of the title as well. Shrek 2 unfortunately fell victim to the sequel syndrome, and if you read our review of Shark Tale, you should know that the film does not live up to its hype. Yet if Tale does win, we feel that it will not be reflective of the quality of the picture itself, but a tribute to the superstar voices backing the characters. The Incredibles is a creative, humorous cartoon that appeals to all age groups, without relying on sexual innuendoes for laughs. For the category of Costume Design, Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator is a likely Academy choice. The category consists of two other period pieces (Ray and Neverland), an epic (Troy) and a children’s fantasy (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events). Due to the scale and large budget of The Aviator, we feel this film is the likely winner for costumes. We were surprised to see that Phantom of the Opera was not nominated in this category. The detail and attention paid to the costumes was extraordinary and should have been recognized. For Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Morgan Freeman from Million Dollar Baby is a likely pick. This is Freeman’s fourth nomination, making it high time he is actually rewarded for his work, and we believe the Academy is finally going to recognize him. John C. O’Reilly of The Aviator was not nominated for this category, however, we feel his performance was outstanding and should have been included on this list.In the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category, Cate Blanchett for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator will unundeservedly win. Considering she has been adored by the press for this role, and that Katherine Hepburn died this past year, Cate Blanchett will likely take home the Oscar. Nominated for not only Best Actor in a Supporting Role, but also for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Jamie Foxx is having a great year. For his excellent performance in Ray, coupled with the recent death of the biopic’s subject, Ray Charles, Foxx is the clear winner. However unlike Blanchett who we feel does not deserve to win, Foxx really does deserve praise for his portrayal of the great pianist. Johnny Depp’s performance in Neverland should also be noted, but he will most likely be shafted for the second year in a row due to the popularity of Ray and Foxx’s performance.In the competitive category of Best Actress in a Lead Role, we feel Hillary Swank will be the Academy’s pick. However this is a category loaded with strong, talented opponents, who will lose due to Swank’s 1999 win, and the lack of big Hollywood names or films backing their roles. Million Dollar Baby provides Swank with a great opportunity to take home the golden man as it is an obvious favorite with Academy nominators. For the highly anticipated category of best director, we feel it boils down to a race between Martin Scorsese for The Aviator and Clint Eastwood for Baby. Due to Eastwood’s popularity, and the critical acclaim that has surrounded his film, we feel he will win. However his work does not deserve this high honor, as he relied too heavily on de-saturation and shadow play.In the most important category of the night, Best Picture, The Aviator, the Academy darling, is likely to succeed. We feel the other four films in this category cannot stand up to this quintessential Hollywood film.Although we do not feel The Aviator will win all 11 categories it’s nominated for, we believe it will still dominate the awards show. These Oscar winning predictions are not necessarily what we think deserves to win, but what we believe the Academy will choose on Sunday night. There are many factors that go into who or what wins these awards such as popularity, previous win history and other issues that have nothing to do with performance. Do not take these awards too seriously therefore, as they are not always reflective of quality. Whether you want to see if our predictions are correct, gawk at expensive attire, or laugh along with host Chris Rock, tune in Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. on ABC.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLEDon Cheadle – HOTEL RWANDAJohnny Depp – FINDING NEVERLANDLeonardo DiCaprio – THE AVIATORClint Eastwood – MILLION DOLLAR BABYJamie Foxx – RAY

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLEAlan Alda – THE AVIATORThomas Haden Church – SIDEWAYSJamie Foxx – COLLATERALMorgan Freeman – MILLION DOLLAR BABYClive Owen – CLOSER

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLEAnnette Bening – BEING JULIACatalina Sandino Moreno – MARIA FULL OF GRACEImelda Staunton – VERA DRAKEHilary Swank – MILLION DOLLAR BABYKate Winslet – ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLECate Blanchett – THE AVIATORLaura Linney – KINSEYVirginia Madsen – SIDEWAYSSophie Okonedo – HOTEL RWANDANatalie Portman – CLOSER

ANIMATED FEATURE FILMTHE INCREDIBLESSHARK TALESHREK 2

COSTUME DESIGNTHE AVIATORFINDING NEVERLANDLEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTSRAYTROY

DIRECTINGTHE AVIATORMILLION DOLLAR BABYRAYSIDEWAYSVERA DRAKE

BEST PICTURETHE AVIATORFINDING NEVERLANDMILLION DOLLAR BABYRAYSIDEWAYS