With just under a week to go until the Academy announces its choices for the 2009 Oscar nominations, there’s plenty of discussion going on about what’s going to be nominated, who’s going to be left out, and what’s likely to win.

So, this year, we’re going to go one step further, and instead of giving you a list of eight to ten contenders in each category, our neck is promptly going on the chopping block, and we’re going to make our full predictions for what the main nominations will be.

And here’s the challenge to you. We want you to head to the comments, and let us know what you think the five nominations for Best Picture are going to be. Anybody who gets it bang on will win themselves a Den Of Geek prize.

So, deep breath, here goes our take on the big five categories…

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire
The Wrestler
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Wall-E
Revolutionary Road

Thoughts: Might Wall-E become only the second animated movie to be nominated for best film? And we’ve put in The Dark Knight ahead of Gran Torino, but the whisper is that Clint’s film has been gathering momentum, so that might edge out one of the contenders. Our gut suggests that Milk or the overrated Frost/Nixon might eat up one of the slots, and we wouldn’t entirely rule out The Dark Knight or Man On Wire. But Slumdog Millionaire is going to win this.

BEST ACTOR
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Colin Farrell (In Bruges)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)

Thoughts: Okay, we suspect too that Di Caprio will get the nod ahead of Colin Farrell, but if we had our way, he’d be damn near to winning the gong, never mind getting nominated. Mickey Rourke will be winning this one.


BEST ACTRESS
Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
Sally Hawkins (Happy Go Lucky)
Angelina Jolie (The Changeling)
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)

Thoughts: It’s the year of the Winslet. She’s got her tear ducts primed and ready, and only Sally Hawkins is likely to realistically get in her way. But she won’t.

BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)
Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road)
Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Andrew Stanton (Wall-E)

Thoughts: Danny Boyle is our tip to win (although Fincher has a good shout here), as we suspect the Oscars will follow the Golden Globes and reward Slumdog Millionaire above all others. Don’t rule out Clint Eastwood getting a nomination (although it’s his score for The Changeling that’s his best chance of a gong this year), Mike Leigh for Happy Go Lucky, Gus van Sant for Milk, or even Woody Allen for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Robert Downey Jr (Tropic Thunder)
Josh Brolin (Milk)
Eddie Marsan (Happy Go Lucky)
Ralph Fiennes (The Reader)

Thoughts: There’s surely not much doubt about which performance is going to win the award this year. If Heath Ledger’s turn as The Joker doesn’t win an Oscar, we’ll turn the name of this site into Den Of Custard. Tom Cruise may knock Josh Brolin out of this category when the nominations are announced.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Amy Adams (Doubt)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)

Thoughts: We don’t see Kate Winslet taking home two Oscars, but could foresee Penelope Cruz taking home a not-unfamiliar Best Support Actress prize for a Woody Allen film (Dianne Wiest and Mira Sorvino already have one of those).

Okay, now it’s your turn. Good luck, and we’ll be back with the nominations on 22nd January.

15 January 2009