jawnbc | Mucus means Oscar

Saturday I had sniffles. Yesterday I had a cold. Today I’m a bag o’ dirt. So time to make my Oscar predictions:

BEST PICTURE
“Aviator”
“Finding Neverland”
“The Incredibles”
“Million Dollar Baby”
“Sideways”

Really the best of the bunch is The Incredibles: great script, great story, and the film only could have worked as animation.

BEST ACTOR
Don Cheadle, “Hotel Rwanda”
Johnny Depp , “Finding Neverland”
Leonardo DiCaprio , “Aviator”
Jamie Foxx, “Ray”
Paul Giamatti, “Sideways”

It’s Foxx’s year, barring his saying/doing something so controversial that there’s a backlash

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, “Being Julia”
Catalina Sandeno Moreno, “Maria Full of Grace”
Imelda Staunton, “Vera Drake”
Hilary Swank, “Million Dollar Baby”
Kate Winslet, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

Royalty will trump performance (Staunton) and while Swank is great, she’s already got one and this time Bening will win

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Thomas Haden Church, “Sideways”
Jamie Foxx , “Collateral”
Morgan Freeman, “Million Dollar Baby”
James Garner, “The Notebook”
Clive Owen, “Closer”

Tough call--I’ll go out on a limb with Freeman. Though I’d much rather lick Owen’s (unshaven) chin

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “The Aviator”
Virginia Madsen, “Sideways”
Sophie Okonedo, “Hotel Rwanda”
Natalie Portman, “Closer”
Meryl Streep, “The Manchurian Candidate”

Even tougher: ingénue (Portman)? Resurfacing (Madsen)? the new Kate Hepburn playing Kate Hepburn (Blanchett)? I’ll go with Madsen, but not confidently

Best Foreign Language film
China, “House of Flying Daggers,” Zhang Yimou
Spain, “The Sea Inside,” Alejandro Amenabar;
India, “Shwaas,” Sandeep Sawant;
Denmark, “The Five Obstructions,” Jørgen Leth & Lars von Triers
Brazil, “Olga,” Jayme Monjardim;

Only 1 film per country, so The Motorcycle Diaries and A Very Long Engagement weren’t eligible. It should be China in a walk.

[waits for moroccomole to pipe up]