Awards Databases

This page is still under construction. More contenders will be added later

Major Contenders in Bold

Best Picture

Already released

Title	Studio	Pros	Cons
The Aviator	Mmx/Warner	Scorsese, name cast, great technicals, lots of studio power	Big expectations that may not be met
Bad Education	SPC	SPC's main horse, Lots of love for Almodovar, Bernal	Foreign Language, small, NC-17
Closer	Sony	Nichols, name cast, adult subject matter	May be dark, slow, too dry. Reviews less than enthusiastic
ESTOSM	Focus	Excellent reviews, name cast, Kaufman, very original, has done well on DVD	Early release date, unknown director, a little small
F. Neverland	Mmx	Great cast, strong lead, charming story	May be a little too light, Miramax may not fully back it
Kinsey	Searchlight	Top-line cast and director, salient subject matter, good reviews, smart studio	controversial, may be a little too small
Maria FoG	Fine Line	Great reviews, smart studio, strong lead	very small, foreign language, unknown cast
Million Dollar Baby	Warner	Name cast, Eastwood track record, great reviews	Very late addition to Warner's already-full slate. Bad release date
Motorcycle D.	Focus	very well-reviewed, good marks for lead	small, foreign language
Ray	Universal	Lead is a shoe-in for a nom, good box office, strong studio	reviews for the whole film are low
Sideways	Searchlight	Best-reviewed film of the year, arthouse cast	Very light on techs. Pure critical darlings often don't get in.
Spider-Man 2	Sony	Big film, great reviews	Genre trouble, no standout performances
Vera Drake	Fine Line	good reviews, smart studio, great lead	very small, controversial. Most likely just for a lead nom
A V. L. Engagement	WIP	Lots of good festival attention	Very small studio, Foreign Language, middling reviews and box office.

To be released

Title	Studio	Pros	Cons
Phantom o/t Opera	Warner	lovely technicals, good musical candidate, likely to be popular with audiences	Warner split support, unknown cast, re-tread material, iffy director
Hotel Rwanda	UA	Strong critical support, particularly for the lead	Very small, inept studio. Might only get an actor nom

Best Director

Already Released

Name/Film	Studio	Pros	Cons
Gondry/ESOTSM	Focus	Very creative and original work. May get in if the whole film ends up being popular.	No track record, very unknown
Condon/Kinsey	Searchlight	Great track record, great film	Film might not be quite up to snuff.
Payne/Sideways	Searchlight	Good track record, amazing reviews	Film is very small. Payne might have to content himself with a Screenplay nom
Raimi/S-M 2	Sony	Raimi is a skilled director whose work has been overlooked because of its genre. The geek vote may go for him.	He still has a lot of work to do to get really appreciated beyond his genre.
Linklater/B. Sunset	WIP	A breakout achievement from a maverick director	WIP has its hands full, and Linklater might not be considered mature enough yet.
Almodovar/Bad Education	SPC	The Directors love him	He won recently, and there's some very stiff competition against a small film.
Nichols/Closer	Sony	Great track record, lots of respect	The film itself may not connect

To be released

Title	Studio	Pros	Cons
Scorsese/The Aviator	Mmx/Warner	Scorsese is very overdue, and the film looks fairly decent	Will the film measure up to itself, or is this another GONY?
Eastwood/Million Dollar Baby	Warner	It's Eastwood and Warner. Powerful combination	No one has any idea why this film got suddenly released, and Eastwood was just nommed last year.
Schumacher/Phantom o/t Opera	Warner	This is Warner's big horse. They'll be backing him.	C'mon, it's Schumacher
Anderson/The Life Aquatic	Touchstone	Similar to Linklater, he's a hip director doing a bigger film than usual.	He might still be thought of as a wildcard punk who needs to prove himself a little more, and it remains to be seen how the film is recieved.

Best Actor

Already Released

Name/Film	Studio	Pros	Cons
Foxx/Ray	Universal	He's been considered a front runner since before the film was in the can. He really carries the film.	A lock for a nom at this point, but can he make the win?
Giamatti/Sideways	Searchlight	Just missed a nom last year. This may be what he needs to get in.	At this point, few cons for a nom, but he probably won't win.
Depp/FN	Miramax	Waited on the sidelines last year while Penn got his due. This year it may be someone else's turn to wait for Johnny.	He will surely get a nom, but can he make the win?
DiCaprio/Aviator	Miramax	If he pulls off the role, it could be the final thing necessary to get him his first nom.	Can he pull it off, or will he seem too young in the role?
Cheadle/Hotel Rwanda	UA	Lots of huge buzz	Is the film going to be seen by enough people?
Neeson/Kinsey	Searchlight	Powerhouse role for a critical darling	If the film itself doesn't make a big enough splash, he probably won't go far.
Bardem/Sea Inside	Fine Line	Another powerhouse role carrying buzz just under the surface
Carrey/ESOTSM	Focus	Bill Murray got a nom last year for being a comedian breaking out of type. Carrey's dramatic work has always gotten good word. This may be what he needs to finally spill over.	There's an awful lot of competition, and Carrey's reputation in Hollywood isn't all that great.
Eastwood/MDB	Warner
Cruise/Collateral	Dreamworks	A lot of people argue he's overdue. He's also playing against type for once.	The film's genre isn't terribly award-friendly and he's not being buzzed at all.
Bernal/TMD	Focus	Very well-recieved work	He's awfully young yet, and competing against himself (Bad Education)
Hawke/BS	WIP	The film and its two leads recieved a lot of good critical attention	This is Hawke's first successful role in years. The competition is very dense, and WIP is very inexperienced.
Braff/Garden State		His film got great notices and he's fairly well-liked.	Far more likely to get a screenplay nom
Law/Closer	Sony	The film is riddled with stars and a very sophisticated tone that matches Law's style well.	Just got nominated last year, and the rest of his films this year have flopped.

Best Actress

Already Released

Name/Film	Studio	Pros	Cons
Imelda Staunton/VD	Fine Line	Raves from everywhere. The film is entirely hers.	She's very unknown, and AMPAS tends to only award older actresses if they have a long track record.
Annette Bening/BJ	SPC	Word on the street is that she's the one to beat, because she's way overdue.	The film itself is rather weak, and it's not certain enough people will have seen her work to be able to judge it.
Hillary Swank/MDB	Warner	Former winner now in another showcase role	She's won before. Is she really due?
Kate Winslet/ESOTSM	Focus	Incredibly overdue, and a breakout contemporary piece with her getting out of the corsets and into an American role. She's very well-liked.	Will she have been forgotten by the time nominations roll around? Is the film too avant-garde?
Catalina Moreno/MFoG	Fine Line	Dramatic performance from a young girl in a topical film.	Very young, very unknown, very small film. Although that didn't stop Keisha Castle-Hughes.
Julie Delpy/BS	WIP	One of the two main leads that carry one of the most highly-rated films of the year.	Not much of a track record for her otherwise.
Uma Thurman/KB2	Mmx	The field is thin enough that Uma might get caught up just as a placeholder	The film isn't exactly academy-friendly, and it's been a long time since it was released.
Audrey Tautou/AVLE	WIP	She's a charming thing, and seems completely inoffensive.	Foreign language film, might not be a strong enough contender against some of the other barely-knowns.
Julia Roberts/Closer	Sony	She's Julia Roberts, she's always a contender	She's Julia Roberts, she's always a contender
Kyra Sedgwick/Woodsman	NewMkt	If the film gets enough attention for Bacon, she might be picked up with him.	Very small film, and not a great track record for her past work.
Emmy Rossum/POTO	Warner	Warner will be pushing the daylights out of her. Her lovely singing might help, too.	Emmy who? Pretty and a lovely singer, but can she do anything besides be a gamine crooner?

Best Supporting Actor

Name/Film	Studio	Pros	Cons
Thomas Haden Church/Sideways	Searchlight	He's winning everything so far	Track record? What track record?
Morgan Freeman/MDB	Warner	Powerful role in a powerful film, he's wayyyy overdue	Some have said the role is a bit stereotypical
Peter Saarsgaard/Kinsey	Searchlight
Freddie Highmore/FN	Miramax
Liev Schrieber/TMC	Paramount	Streep's almost certain nom could carry Schrieber along with her. He's been watched for a while and is fairly well-liked.	The film itself underperformed and his role might therefore be forgotten.
James Garner/The Notebook	New Line

Best Supporting Actress

Name/Film	Studio	Pros	Cons
Virginia Madsen/Sideways	Searchlight	She's been winning almost everything.	She has a very spotty track record, and the film is still smallish
Cate Blanchett/Aviator	Miramax	Way overdue; her impression of Kate Hepburn is supposedly practically flawless
Natalie Portman/Closer	Sony	She's done consistently good work in most of her roles	She's still very young
Meryl Streep/TMC	Paramount	She's Meryl Streep. And she really did kick ass in the role.	Is AMPAS tired of her yet?
Kate Winslet/FN	Miramax
Sharon Warren/Ray	Uni
Regina King/Ray	Uni
Cloris Leachman/Spanglish	Sony
Minnie Driver/POTO	Warner

Best Original Screenplay

Name/Film	Studio	Pros	Cons
Kaufman/ESOTSM	Focus
John Logan/The Aviator	Miramax
Bad Education
Hotel Rwanda
Incredibles
Kinsey
Ray
The Sea Inside
Spanglish
Vera Drake
Garden State

Best Adapted Screenplay

Name/Film	Studio	Pros	Cons
Payne/Sideways	Searchlight
MDB	Warner
Before Sunset
Closer
The Door in the Floor
Finding Neverland
TMD
The Notebook
AVLE
Mean Girls
Shrek 2