Today, we begin a series of articles that will carry us through to the Oscars on Sunday, February 27, 2011. Each weekday, we will take a look at one or two categories for this year’s awards. Each contributor has been asked to provide a brief bit of commentary on each race along with updated. Predictions. Here, you’ll find our analyses on each.

KEY:

ORIGINAL SCORE

• How to Train Your Dragon – John Powell
• Inception – Hans Zimmer
• The King’s Speech (New)(Ja) (O) – Alexandre Desplat
• 127 Hours – A.R. Rahman
• The Social Network (O) (H) – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Runners-Up

• The King’s Speech (H) (H)
• The Social Network (New)(Ja) (H)

Wesley Lovell: The Academy has sometimes been a stick in the mud when it comes to the Original Score category. Unlike Original Song where two rap acts have won prizes in the last decade, the Original Score category usually goes to the most traditional work or to the composer it likes the most. This year, they have a fairly easy choice. Best Picture contender The King’s Speech is composed by one of the most important film composers of this generation. Alexandre Desplat has a reputation in the industry and is bolstered by classical music in a Best Picture frontrunner. Those two factors combined with its more traditional structure and the thought of Nine Inch Nails being Oscar winners, Desplat has the lead.

However, if the Academy can give Eminem and Three Six Mafia Oscars, then giving Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross awards shouldn’t be too outlandish. This will be one of the earliest awards that tells us if Social Network can re-emerge as a Best Picture contender. A win by King’s Speech will likely cement a mini-sweep for the Weinstein effort. If I had a vote, it would be for Hans Zimmer’s surprisingly original work for Inception.

Peter J. Patrick: Just as the Best Picture race now seems to be between The Social Network and The King’s Speech, this award seems to be between teh scores of the two films.

Trent Razor and Atticus Ross’ score for The Social Network is an integral part of the film. It helps move it along. Alexandre Desplat’s score for The King’s Speech is a more traditional score that supports the action on screen rather than move it along. This Desplat’s fourth Oscar nomination which may give voters the impression that he’s due whereas they may want to see what else the 9th Inch Nails duo can do. On the other hand, innovation seems to count more at the Oscars than anything else so I have a hunch it will win.

Tripp Burton: A pretty good case can be made for most any winner here, except probably for How to Train Your Dragon. 127 Hours would be a formidable contender had A.R. Rahman not just won 2 awards two years ago, and while Inception would be a strong competitor most any other year, it has two strong challengers in its way. Trent Reznor has the celebrity behind him, and The Social Network is one of the year’s most talked about scores, but the music branch doesn’t always welcome in non-film composers to its winners circle, and with three strong scores this year, Alexandre Desplat should finally get his long-awaited Oscar.

ORIGINAL SONG

• “Coming Home” – Country Strong
• “I See the Light” – Tangled
• “If I Rise” – 127 Hours (O) (O)
• “We Belong Together” – Toy Story 3 (O) (O)

Runners-Up

• “Coming Home” – Country Strong (H) (H)
• “I See the Light” – Tangled (H) (H)

Wesley Lovell: It’s very hard to pick a winner from a bunch of mediocre songs. I don’t think there has been a more lackluster list of songs nominated for the Oscars in quite some time…and it’s rather surprising that the most lackluster of songwriters, Diane Warren, couldn’t even crack this list. As for who will win? I would have said this race would come down to the two Best Picture nominees, but Randy Newman has an Oscar and if he couldn’t win with either of the two songs from The Princess and the Frog last year, I don’t see him carrying through a victory this year, especially since the Academy ignored him for quite some time. “If I Rise” plays right to the Academy’s sweet spot. It’s the most enjoyable of the songs and plays a dramatic part in the film. But, be on the look out for the other Academy penchant.

The reason Eminem and Three Six Mafia are Oscar winners is that their films were ostensibly about the creation of music. Both films were about making it big in the music industry and both songs were part of the creative process. That may well explain why “Coming Home” from Country Strong made the final cut when few expected it to. So, if there’s a song that could triumph over the 127 Hours ditty, I would bet Country Strong has the slight edge over Tangled’s “I See the Light”

Peter J. Patrick: None of the nominees have exactly set the world on fire, but the Academy loves hopeful, inspirational songs which would seem to give the edge to “If I Rise”, the theme song from 127 Hours. I think it will win, with “I See the Light” from Tangled the closest runner-up.

Tripp Burton: Over the past decade, this has proven to be one of Oscar’s most unpredictable category, and all of these nominees could make strong cases to win or lose. I suspect that Randy Newman will pick up his second Oscar this year, but a third Oscar for A.R. Rahman or a ninth Oscar for Alan Menken wouldn’t be out of the question. Still, Toy Story 3 is the most popular movie here, and Newman is beloved by the Academy.