Only two days left until the grand announcement of the 82nd nominations for the Academy Awards. They’ll air live on Tuesday morning, February 2, 2010. In our penultimate day of coverage, we explore the Best Actor and Best Actress categories and the Best Editing and Best Cinematography categories. Which leaves the most important category for tomorrow: Best Picture.

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart (Unanimous)
George Clooney – Up in the Air (Unanimous)
Colin Firth – A Single Man (Unanimous)
Morgan Freeman – Invictus (Unanimous)
Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker (Unanimous)

Note: Fourth of only four categories we are in complete agreement on.

Comments

Wesley Lovell: They’ve pretty much been the most cited names of the year and when the one most likely to be left off the list is Morgan Freeman, you have a pretty confident list. I could see Freeman getting dropped, but none of the others and other than Matt Damon in The Informant!, I can only think of one other name that might appear here: Michael Stuhlbarg, whose breakout role in A Serious Man made the Golden Globe list and might just surprise us and sneak in, but most likely only if A Serious Man is a serious contender for other awards. Alternate Prediction: Michael Stuhlbarg – A Serious Man
Peter J. Patrick: Pretty much set, but I’d love to see an upset with Viggo Moretenson (The Road) or Sharlto Copley (District 9) nominated instead of Morgan Freeman who is good as usual, but doesn’t offer anything new. Alternate Prediction: Viggo Mortensen – The Road
Tripp Burton: This fivesome has been so dominant and central lately that I had a hard time even coming up with a sixth nominee. Damon’s comedic tour-de-force could upset someone (probably Renner or Freeman), but these five guys should get one more chance to all meet up again in March. Alternate Prediction: Matt Damon – The Informant!
Wes Huizar: Alternate Prediction: Tobey Maguire – Brothers

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side (Unanimous)
Melanie Laurent – Inglourious Basterds (Wes)
Helen Mirren – The Last Station (Wesley, Tripp)
Carey Mulligan – An Education (Unanimous)
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious (Unanimous)
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia (Unanimous)
Tilda Swinton – Julia (Peter)

Comments

Wesley Lovell: With Sandra Bullock, Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep virtually assured slots and frequently mentioned Gabourey Sidibe a fairly strong best for this category, the last person out is Helen Mirren who has not had nearly the traction she should have had during the precursors and even got left out a few times. So, who to replace? Melanie Laurent would be a good choice if not for frequent category confusion. For me, I think we could see a truly left-field choice from this group if enough people have seen Julia, Tilda Swinton’s oft-lauded performance. Alternate Prediction: Tilda Swinton – Julia
Peter J. Patrick: Tilda Swinton may be wishful thinking at this point but she’s far and away the year’s best actress in my opinion. Alternate Prediction: Abbie Cornish – Bright Star
Tripp Burton: Like Best Actor, this is a fivesome that seems pretty locked in, and are getting sick of facing each other at awards show after awards show. Streep and Bullock are in a public battle for the award, and previous winner Mirren should surely join them at the Oscars. Newcomers Carey Mulligan and Gabriele Sibide are making a better showing than I thought they would a few months ago, and still wouldn’t be surprised to see Emily Blunt or Marion Cotillard usurp one of them at the last minute. Alternate Prediction: Emily Blunt – The Young Victoria
Wes Huizar: Alternate Prediction: Helen Mirren – The Last Station

Best Editing

Avatar (Unanimous)
District 9 (Unanimous)
(500) Days of Summer (Wesley)
The Hurt Locker (Unanimous)
Inglourious Basterds (Peter, Tripp, Wes)
Up in the Air (Unanimous)

Comments

Wesley Lovell: With 10 Best Pictures, this category should feature at least five of them, though a spoiler can often pop in. This category is more distinctly tied to Best Picture than any category other than Best Director. Not even the acting trophies are as good a predictor. If a film doesn’t get a nomination here, it’s chances for a Best Picture win are virtually nil. Remember, Brokeback Mountain? No Editing nomination, the first real sign we should have seen of the film not winning (not the actual reason it didn’t win, but a fair precursor). So, Avatar and The Hurt Locker are both locks to appear here. Up in the Air is also a strong contender. The remaining two slots are fairly undecided at this point, but we seem to agree that District 9 will have one of those slots. The last slot is a toss up between (500) Days of Summer and Inglourious Basterds. One of the key problems most critics had was the abysmal pacing of Basterds and the editing of (500) Days of Summer is what makes that movie so good. So, I’m picking a one-out nomination for (500) Days of Summer as the token non-Best Picture nominee. Alternate Prediction: Inglourious Basterds
Tripp Burton: Best Picture winners need Best Editing nominations, so Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds and Up in the Air should rack up nominations here. I see the fifth slot going to District 9, but Star Trek could sneak in too, as could surprise nominee (500) Days of Summer, surely one of the most creatively edited films of the year. Alternate Prediction: (500) Days of Summer
Wes Huizar: Alternate Prediction: Star Trek

Best Cinematography

Avatar (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Bright Star (Wes)
District 9 (Peter)
The Hurt Locker (Unanimous)
Inglourious Basterds (Unanimous)
Nine (Wesley, Wes)
A Serious Man (Tripp)
The White Ribbon (Unanimous)

Comments

Wesley Lovell: In the years since the American Society of Cinematographers started giving out awards, there have only been five foreign language features nominated at the ASC. Of those five, four have also picked up Oscar nominations. The fifth? This year’s The White Ribbon. A 100% ratio is hard to argue with, so it should be a guarantee. The Hurt Locker is also pretty much guaranteed a slot and Inglourious Basterds is pretty enough to look at that it should make its way in. That leaves three spots. Although much of Avatar is a credit to visual effects work, there’s little doubt the cinematographers won’t go for the film, simply because it does use significant new technology that still requires their effort, and it does take a bit of creative effort to light actors on a green-screen stage. The fifth slot is a bit tough. I want to say District 9’s unique opening segment and pale palette will appeal to this group, but I don’t know if the Academy will go for it. However, Nine is shot by one of this group’s favorite cinematographers, Dion Beebe, who, despite the collapse of Memoirs of a Geisha still managed to earn a nomination and win for it. Nine has suffered a near-similar fate, but still holds on in tech categories and I can see this group giving it to him just because they like his work. Alternate Prediction: District 9
Tripp Burton: Four of the five ASC nominations should carry over here fairly easily. Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds are all great-looking Best Picture nominees that can carry over easily, while The White Ribbon is the most awarded cinematography of the year. Nine was their fifth nominee, but I think it will be replaced here by perennial Oscar loser Roger Deakins for A Serious Man. Alternate Prediction: Nine
Wes Huizar: Alternate Prediction: Avatar