Any last guesses for what the surprises of the night will be?

Will there be a big upset in Best Picture (Precious or Up perhaps?), Best Actor (Jeremy Renner?), or any other category?
-Now's your chance to let loose with them before the show!

Last chance to joing our Awards Circuit Oscar Pool...

...so go here and make sure you get in on the fun!

The Gurus give their thoughts on the Oscar race...

...in all the categories here, but that above is how they see Best Picture. Thoughts?

Entertainment Weekly's Dave Karger puts out his Oscar Predictions!

Behold:

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique
Best Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker
Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air

-That's how I see the race as well...thoughts?

BAFTA Announces Tomorrow

BAFTA will name the nominees tomorrow. Will this influence voters? Maybe those stragglers that still have not sent in their ballots and word from the grapevine is that some are having trouble coming up with ten.

Expected to make a strong showing, Lone Scherfig's An Education and probably Tom Ford's A Single Man. Neill Blomkamp's District 9 is also a very good bet at a strong showing which may lock up his tenth spot.

What are some of your predictions? Here are some of mine.

Best Picture: District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air
Best Director: Jane Campion (Bright Star), Neill Blomkamp (District 9), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (A Serious Man), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Damned United, Fantastic Mr. Fox, In the Loop, Let the Right One In, Up in the Air
Best Original Screenplay: Bright Star, Broken Embraces, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, It's Complicated
Lead Actor: Ben Whishaw (Bright Star), Colin Firth (A Single Man), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Peter Capaldi (In the Loop), Michael Sheen (The Damned United)
Lead Actress: Audrey Tautou (Coco avant Chanel), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria), Marion Cotillard (Nine), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
Supporting Actor: Alfred Molina (An Education), Christian McKay (Me & Orson Welles), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci (Julie & Julia)
Supporting Actress: Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy), Julianne Moore (A Single Man), Mo'Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire), Rosamund Pike (An Education)

Updated Best Picture predictions and a new interview on the Main Page of The Awards Circuit!

Indeed, the season is winding down and we have a new set of predictions for Best Picture for you to check out. They can be found here, so look them over and let us know what you think!
We also have a new interview in our continuing series of them, this one with producer. screenwriter, and WGA member Larry Gross. The interview can be found here, so definitely read that and give us some feedback.
-Thoughts on the new predictions and interview?

Before the Globes get underway, check out The Awards Circuit's final Golden Globes Predictions!

They can be found here, and are a perfect tool for getting an idea of how tonight's show might very well shape up. Be sure to let us know what you think of the predictions!
-Thoughts on how the show will go down tonight?

Behold the official WGA Prediction Article!

It can be found here, and is a great read. Definitely check it out so you can be prepared to know what to make of the chaos that the Writers Guild created during the past week. A lot is up in the air (no pun intended), so be sure to read this article (which continues our article coverage of the big precursors) and let us know what you think!
-Thoughts on the WGA prediction article?

Gold Derby tries to predict the Golden Globe winners...

...and if you're curious what the group they assembled went with, you can find their picks here. I think that they spread themselves out well, and agree with them for the most part, but I think things could end up very interesting, especially if there's an upset or two.
-Thoughts?

EW's Dave Karger brings out his Oscar predictions...

...and he's usually pretty close in his picks, though this year all bets are off, especially in Best Picture. The full article with his explanations is here, but here's what he's predicting:

Best Picture
Avatar
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
The Messenger
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Samantha Morton, The Messenger

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Pete Docter & Bob Peterson, Up
Scott Neustatder & Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Adapted Screenplay
Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

-Thoughts on his predictions?

BFCA Predictions and Announcement

In a few hours, the Broadcast Film Critics Association will announce their nominees with some new categories added. The organization has been doing ten Best Picture nominees for years now, so it will crucial as ever to see what films they choose. Their top ten rated films of this year are:
100 – Me and Orson Welles
100 – Up
97 – Up in the Air
95 – An Education
93 – The Hurt Locker
93 – Star Trek
92 – (500) Days of Summer
91 – Inglourious Basterds
91 – Fantastic Mr Fox
tied>
89 – Avatar
89 – Precious

Are these ten the Best Picture nominees? I think not. The locks seem to be Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker. It's hard to determine where certain critics' loyalty lies. It'll be interesting to see what's changed their minds. Me & Orson Welles at 100 speaks more for Christian McKay then it does for the film itself. There are more possibilities and this is all a guessing game. Here they are...

Predictions are:
BEST PICTURE
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
Avatar
Nine
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
An Education
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek

Alternate: Invictus

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow-The Hurt Locker
James Cameron-Avatar
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen-A Serious Man
Clint Eastwood-Invictus
Quentin Tarantino-Inglourious Basterds

Alternate: Lee Daniels-Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges-Crazy Heart
George Clooney-Up in the Air
Colin Firth-A Single Man
Morgan Freeman-Invictus
Jeremy Renner-The Hurt Locker

Alternate: Michael Stuhlbarg-A Serious Man

BEST ACTRESS
Abbie Cornish-Bright Star
Helen Mirren-The Last Station
Carey Mulligan-An Education
Gabourey Sidibe-Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Meryl Streep-Julie & Julia

Alternate: Sandra Bullock-The Blind Side

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz-Inglourious Basterds
Christian McKay-Me & Orson Welles
Alfred Molina-An Education
Christopher Plummer-The Last Station
Anthony Mackie-The Hurt Locker

Alternate: Stanley Tucci-The Lovely Bones

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique-Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Julianne Moore-A Single Man
Anne Kendrick-Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga-Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz-Nine

Alternate: Marion Cotillard-Public Enemies

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
A Serious Man
The Hurt Locker
Up
Inglourious Basterds
(500) Days of Summer

Alternate: The Messenger

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Up in the Air
An Education
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
In the Loop
Invictus

Alternate: The Last Station

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Max Records-Where the Wild Things Are
Saoirse Ronan-The Lovely Bones
Jae Head-The Blind Side
Abigail Breslin-My Sister's Keeper
Dakota Fanning-Coraline

Alternate: Martha West-Creation

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
Nine
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
An Education

Alternate: Inglourious Basterds

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nine
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Bright Star
Avatar

Alternate: The Lovely Bones

BEST ART DIRECTION
Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
The Last Station
A Serious Man
Where the Wild Things Are

Alternate: Avatar

BEST FILM EDITING
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Star Trek

Alternate: Up in the Air

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Nine
Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
The Young Victoria
The Last Station

Alternate: Public Enemies

BEST MAKEUP
Star Trek
The Imagainarium of Dr. Parnassus
District 9

Alternate: Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar
Star Trek
District 9

Alternate: The Lovely Bones

BEST SOUND
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Nine
Star Trek

Alternate: District 9

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Up
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The Princess & the Frog

Alternate: Ponyo

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Avatar
Star Trek
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Alternate: Terminator: Salvation

BEST COMEDY
The Hangover
Up in the Air
It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
(500) Days of Summer

Alternate: In the Loop

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The White Ribbon
A Prophet
Broken Embraces
Coco avant Chanel
Mother

Alternate: Samson & Delilah

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Cove
Food Inc.
Under our Skin
Capitalism: A Love Story
Valentino: The Last Emperor

Alternate: Tyson

BEST SONG
"The Weary Kind" - Crazy Heart
"Cinema Italiano" - Nine
"Take It All" - Nine
"All is Love" - Where the Wild Things Are
"(I Want to) Come Home" - Everybody's Fine

Alternate: "I Can See in Color" - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

BEST SCORE
Avatar
Up
The Lovely Bones
Crazy Heart
Where the Wild Things Are

Alternate: The Last Station

Take a look at our latest Golden Globe predictions at The Awards Circuit!

Go here to see Clayton's picks for the Golden Globes. It's still early, but with most sites focusing solely on the Oscars, it's good to take an early look at the Globes before the rush begins.
-What do you think of the predictions?

A couple of new Articles for you to read on the Main Page, plus a chart update and Podcast #6!

Indeed, there's something for everyone on the Main Page. First off, If you haven't had a chance to read our script review of 'Up in the Air', you can still see that here. On the new front, we have an article on the potential contenders in the Animated Feature category, and that can be read here. You can also take a trip down memory lane with our look back to the 80's, which can be peeped here.
We also have updates to our staff's Chart Predictions, so if you're curious who everyone at The Awards Circuit thinks are going to take home the Oscars this year (so far), look no further than this page here.
Last, but certainly not least, we have Podcast #6 for everyone to listen to here, which is on screenplays this time.
-As always, leave comments and be sure to enjoy!

The Gurus of Gold are back!

Indeed, and they take a look at the Pre-Toronto field here. It's an interesting look at a segment of the Oscar blogger/film critic community and what their current picks are in the race for Best Picture, mainly.
-Thoughts?

Updates to our Best Picture and Best Director Predictions, as well as a Tracker update highlight some new updates on the MAIN PAGE!

Yes, we've returned from our short vacation hiatus and have some new updates. Our fearless leader Clayton has updated his predictions in the Best Picture and Best Director fields.
There are also some additions (as well as subtractions) to the Tracker page, so check that out too.
-What do you think of the new predictions? (Be on the lookout for new reviews and predictions as well, they should be hitting soon, so sit tight!)

Updates to the Main Page and a contest for you!

Yes, we have plenty of new things on the MAIN PAGE for you to check out. There are now reviews by the entire staff for Public Enemies and Clayton's take on Bruno. There are new predictions to be found in all categories, so start off with Best Picture and work your way down. There is also an update to our Tracker page, and and article that I wrote on the highlights and lowlights of the first half of the year.
-Last but not least, there is a contest that we are holding here at The Awards Circuit. Basically, we're asking you to predict the 2005 ACCA's and win a DVD. Go here for details and to enter. Good luck!
-What do you think of the updates we have today on the site?

Updates on the Main Page!

Yes, we have some updates over at the Main Page for you to surf on over to and click around on. We've debuted with some Chart Predictions for this year's Oscars. We have new reviews for you to look at as well, including my take on The Hurt Locker to go with the previous raves by Clay and Keith (mine is a rave too, found at the bottom of the article...the film is brilliant, trust me), Keith's review of Public Enemies (with mine to come soon), Myles and myself tackling Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Myles is nicer to it than I am), and my reviews of Year One and Whatever Works.

-Check them out and let us know what you think!

Behold some updates to the Main Page!

Indeed, our fearless leader Clayton has brought forth some new predictions, highlighting his new thoughts on the Best Picture and Best Director races, as well as getting well ahead of the game with a first look at predictions for the Golden Globes! Check them out on the Main Page and be sure to let us know what you think!

Updates

Best Actress Predictions up on the Site. Check them out.

Also, American Idol Results Recap.

And make sure to keep voting in the ACCA's for 2007. Voting ends soon. VOTE HERE

This Time Tomorrow...

We will finally know the nominees. Take this opportunity to have one final open discussion about who should get nominated, who shouldn't, what out of nowhere nomination might we see, what film will get the most nods, predictions in each category, etc. There's no limit, so go wild! At 5:30 in the morning Hollywood time (so 8:30 for those of us who, like me, live in New York or on the east coast) the suspense will be all over. Have at it!