Broadcast Film Critics Predictions

Best Picture

1. No Country for Old Men
2. Atonement
3. Into the Wild

Of all the ten nominees, I'd say at least five can take it without any surprise following. The three listed above, There Will Be Blood and Sweeney Todd all have viable shots. The critical support of No Country for Old Men should seal the deal as this season's critical darling and frontrunner. Watch out for Atonement to get a leg up back in the race or Into the Wild. (it didn't have the most nominations for nothing!)

Best Actor

1. Daniel Day-Lewis-There Will Be Blood
2. Johnny Depp-Sweeney Todd
3. George Clooney-Michael Clayton

The three "locks" of the Best Actor race will be fighting for the win here. Day-Lewis has the support from and the critic wins but don't underestimate the fire star power of Mr. Depp, who could still walk up to the podium, especially if this might be one of our only chances to see a star on stage this season.

Best Young Actor

1. Michael Cera-Juno
2. Ed Sanders-Sweeney Todd
3. Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada-The Kite Runner

Michael Cera's great breakout year should be enough for him to have a leg up on his competitors but he is double nominated here which could split his own votes but his Juno performance is much more acclaimed. As long as Freddie Highmore doesn't win again, I'm satisfied.

Best Actress

1. Ellen Page-Juno
2. Julie Christie-Away from Her
3. Marion Cotillard-La Vie en Rose

Even though the Best Actress race seems to be between Christie and Cotillard, I expect Ellen Page to grab this based on the popularity of Juno. No expectations for Blanchett, Adams and Jolie but if any of them were to win (which would be an act of God) than expect hear the keyboards of bloggers across America, changing their predictions.

Best Young Actress

1. Saoirse Ronan-Atonement
2. Nikki Blonsky-Hairspray

If Saoirse Ronan does lose this award, which is obviously not the Best Supporting Actress race, this would show her once "locked" status has made room for another lady. (which I believe to be her castmate Vanessa Redgrave) If she does lose, than Hairspray's popularity will follow to Nikki Blonsky.

Best Supporting Actor

1. Javier Bardem-No Country for Old Men
2. Casey Affleck-The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

This race is quite unclear for who is the possible winner. No Country for Old Men's critical darling status holds well for Javier Bardem. Casey Affleck's LEAD turn in The Assassination of Jesse James gives him the screentime needed to win. Hal Holbrook as the veteran and very powerful performance to win also but BFCA tends to be hip and cool, so they'll likely choose Bardem who will likely mirror No Country's Best Picture win.

Best Supporting Actress

1. Cate Blanchett-I’m Not There
2. Amy Ryan-Gone Baby Gone

Even though I don't believe Cate Blanchett to be the frontrunner anymore in the Oscar race, (and not with Ryan to be the upset) this will probably be Blanchett's first and last critic win of the season. Amy Ryan can upset pretty easy but I would say watch out for Catherine Keener, not only for BFCA but for Oscar.

Best Director

1. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen-No Country for Old Men
2. Julian Schnabel-The Diving Bell & the Butterfly
3. Sean Penn-Into the Wild

Point blank, this is all about the Coen Bros. and their picture but watch out for Schnabel and Penn if Into the Wild makes a strong play.

Best Writer

1. Diablo Cody-Juno
2. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen-No Country for Old Men
3. Sean Penn-Into the Wild

With Juno being the frontrunner in the Original Screenplay race and No Country for Old Men in the Adapted, it's safe to assume that one of them will win. I'll go with Juno based on that rich dialogue that everyone loved and wouldn't it have been great to see hot and vivacious Diablo Cody on stage. (I'm in love in case you didn't know!)

Best Song

1. Into the Wild-”Guaranteed”
2. Once-”Falling Slowly”

Best Documentary

1. No End in Sight
2. Darfur Now

Best Foreign Language Film

1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2. The Orphanage

Best Acting Ensemble

1. Juno
2. Hairspray
3. No Country for Old Men

I'd say any of the Acting Ensemble nominees could win except for Sweeney Todd which is the Johnny Depp show. No Country for Old Men has won a slew of Ensemble prizes along with Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, which is the Best Cast of the Year. Even though Juno was ignored by SAG, this is award it rightfully deserves.

Best Comedy Movie

1. Knocked Up
2. Superbad

Best Composer

1. Dario Marianelli-Atonement
2. Jonny Greenwood-There Will Be Blood
3. Clint Eastwood-Grace is Gone

Best Family Film

1. Hairspray
2. Enchanted

Best Animated Feature

1. Ratatouille
2. Persepolis