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Best Picture

Is there anything else that really needs to be said at this point? The Artist won the Golden Globe for Best Picture - Musical/Comedy, it won the BFCA, the BAFTA, and the DGA. The only major precursor it didn't win was the SAG ensemble. Is there enough support for any film to beat The Artist? Hugo, maybe, but it's an extreme long shot. Nothing else is really in the picture anymore. The Artist has had a remarkable run, opening to raves at Cannes, where Dujardin won Best Actor, and its unexpected path from silent black-and-white passion project to Best Picture winner is a testament to both how deeply Hollywood has fallen in love with the film, with of course a little shot in the butt from Harvey Weinstein's arrow.

So that wraps it up. I've thoroughly diagnosed almost every category, and have imparted upon you, dear reader, what little wisdom I pretend to have. There are a few categories I didn't examine as thoroughly, either because the winner is obvious or because I have no idea what is going to win. My prediction for Best Documentary is little more than a guess, and I wouldn't argue with anyone picking a different nominee.

As for the short films? I would recommend looking at my predictions and then picking something else. Over the last three years I am an astonishing one for nine in those three categories, and could never in good conscience tell anyone else what to pick there. So I hope you keep my thoughts in mind while making your picks, but also take everything I say with a grain of salt. Other than that, I wish all of you the best of luck, unless any of your predictions differ from mine in any way. I don't have enough luck to share with people whose success will come at the expense of my own.

Final Predictions
Best Picture: The Artist
Best Director: Michel Hazanivicius - The Artist
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Best Actress: Viola Davis - The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer - The Help
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris
Best Art Direction: Hugo
Best Cinematography: Hugo
Best Costumes: Hugo
Best Film Editing: The Artist
Best Makeup: The Iron Lady
Best Sound Mixing: Hugo
Best Sound Editing: War Horse
Best Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Best Original Score: The Artist
Best Original Song: Man or Muppet - The Muppets
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Documentary Feature: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Animated Short: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Best Documentary Short: Incident in New Baghdad
Best Live Action Short: The Shore

Note: To read the other columns in the Oscar 2012 series, please click the "View other Oscars columns" link below.

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