Neal Purvis

The Academy of Motion Picture Sciences will announce their nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards on Thursday, January 10, 2013.

Here are my 2012 Oscar nomination predictions (in order of probability) along with the actual nominations in blue:

Best Picture

Predicted Nominations:

• Argo
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Les Misérables

If Six Nominations:

• Life of Pi

If Seven Nominations:

• Django Unchained

If Eight Nominations:

• Moonrise Kingdom

If Nine Nominations:

• Beasts of the Southern Wild

If Ten Nominations:

• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Other Possible Contenders:

• The Master
• Amour
• The Dark Knight Rises
• Skyfall

Other Note-Worthy Films:

• The Sessions
• Flight
• The Impossible
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Hitchcock
• Promised Land
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
• The Hunger Games

Best Director

Predicted Nominations:

• Ben Affleck, Argo
• Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
• Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
• David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
• Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Other Possible Contenders:

• Tom Hooper, Les Misérables
• Michael Haneke, Amour
• Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
• Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
• Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom

Other Note-Worthy Directors:

• Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Ben Lewin, The Sessions
• Sam Mendes, Skyfall
• Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises
• Gus Vant Sant, Promised Land
• Robert Zemeckis, Flight 
• Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• John Madden, The Exotic Marigold Hotel
• Lasse Hallström, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
• Joe Wright, Anna Karenina
• Juan Antonio Bavona, The Impossible
• Sacha Gervasi, Hitchcock

Best Actor

Predicted Nominations:

• Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
• John Hawkes, The Sessions
• Denzel Washington, Flight
• Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook 
• Hugh Jackman,  Les Misérables

Other Possible Contenders:

• Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
• Richard Gere, Arbitrage 
• Denis Lavant, Holy Motors
• Anthony Hopkins, Hitchcock

Other Note-Worthy Performances:

• Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour 
• Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained
• Ben Affleck, Argo
• Daniel Craig, Skyfall
• Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe
• Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi
• Matt Damon, Promised Land
• Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
• Christian Bale, The Dark Knight Rises
• Jack Black, Bernie
• Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen & The Impossible
• Jake Gyllenhaal, End of Watch

Best Actress

Predicted Nominations:

• Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
• Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
• Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
• Naomi Watts, The Impossible
• Helen Mirren, Hitchcock

Other Possible Contenders:

• Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
• Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea 
• Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Other Note-Worthy Performances:

• Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina
• Laura Linney, Hyde Park on Hudson 
• Deanie Yip, A Simple Life
• Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• Maggie Smith, Quartet 
• Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed 
• Meryl Streep, Hope Springs 
• Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
• Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere

Best Supporting Actor

Predicted Nominations:

• Alan Arkin, Argo
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
• Javier Bardem, Skyfall
• Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook

Other Possible Contenders:

• Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
• Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
• William H. Macy, The Sessions
• Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike 

Other Note-Worthy Performances:

• Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained 
• Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty
• Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Eddie Redmayne, Les Misérables
• John Goodman, Flight or Argo
• Hal Holbrook, Promised Land
• Russell Crowe, Les Misérables

Best Supporting Actress

Predicted Nominations:

• Sally Field, Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
• Helen Hunt, The Sessions
• Amy Adams, The Master
• Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Other Possible Contenders:

• Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
• Ann Dowd, Compliance
• Samantha Barks, Les Misérables
• Judi Dench, Skyfall 

Other Note-Worthy Performances:

• Jennifer Ehle, Zero Dark Thirty
• Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Pauline Collins, Quartet
• Kelly Reilly, Flight
• Kerry Washington, Django Unchained
• Helena Bonham Carter, Les Misérables
• Frances McDormand, Promised Land
• Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Adapted Screenplay

Predicted Nominations:

• Chris Terrio, Argo
• Tony Kushner, Lincoln
• David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
• David Magee, Life of Pi
• Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Other Possible Contenders:

• Lucy Alibar & Ben Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Ben Lewin, The Sessions 
• Ol Parker, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• William Nicholson, Les Miserables

Other Note-Worthy Adapted Screenplays:

• Tom Stoppard, Anna Karenina
• Jose Rivera, On The Road
• Jacques Audiard & Thomas Bidegain, Rust and Bone
• Christopher & Jonathan Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises 
• Judd Apatow, This is 40
• John Logan, Patrick Marber, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Skyfall 
• John J. McLaughlin, Hitchcock
• Simon Beaufoy, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
• Ronald Harwood, Quartet

Best Original Screenplay

Predicted Nominations:

• Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
• Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
• Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
• Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
• Rian Johnson, Looper

Other Possible Contenders:

• Michael Haneke, Amour
• John Gatins, Flight 
• Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano, The Intouchables
• Ava DuVernay, Middle of Nowhere
• Reid Carolin, Magic Mike

Other Note-Worthy Original Screenplays:

• Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths 
• Matt Damon & John Krasinski, Promised Land 
• Sergio G. Sanchez, The Impossible 
• Dan Fogelman, The Guilt Trip
• Sarah Polley, Take This Waltz 
• Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods

Best Animated Feature

Predicted Nominations:

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• Wreck-It Ralph
• Rise of the Guardians

Other Possible Contenders:

• Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
• The Painting (Le Tableau)
• From Up on Poppy Hill
• The Rabbi’s Cat
• Hotel Transylvania
• A Liar’s Autobiography – The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman 

Other Note-Worthy Animated Films:

• Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Zarafa
• Ice Age: Continental Drift

Best Foreign Language Film

Predicted Nominations:

• Amour
• The Intouchables
• A Royal Affair
• Kon-Tiki
• No

Other Possible Contenders:

• War Witch
• Sister
• The Deep
• Beyond the Hills

Other Note-Worthy Foreign Films:

• Rust and Bone
• I Wish
• The Kid with a Bike
• Once Upon A Time in Anatolia
• Holy Motors
• Tabu
• The Loneliest Planet
• The Turin Horse
• Oslo, August 31st 
• Lore
• Our Children
• Barbara

Best Documentary Feature

Predicted Nominations:

• Searching for Sugar Man
• The Gatekeepers
• How to Survive a Plague
• The Invisible War
• This is Not a Film

Other Possible Contenders:

• The Imposter
• Detropia
• The Waiting Room
• Bully
• Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
• Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
• The House I Live In
• Chasing Ice
• Ethel
• 5 Broken Cameras

Other Note-Worthy Documentaries:

• The Queen of Versailles
• The Central Park Five
• Samsara
• West of Memphis

Best Original Song

Predicted Nominations:

• Skyfall, Skyfall
• Suddenly,  Les Misérables
• Learn Me Right, Brave
• From Here to the Moon and Back, Joyful Noise
• Abraham’s Daughter, The Hunger Games

Other Possible Contenders:

• Still Alive, Paul Williams Still Alive
• For You, Act of Valor
• Not Running Anymore, Stand Up Guys
• Touch the Sky, Brave
• Ancora Qui, Django Unchained

Other Note-Worthy Songs: 

• Safe & Sound, The Hunger Games
• Dull Tool, This is 40
• Breath of Life, Snow White and the Huntman
• Strange Love, Frankenweenie
• When Can I See You Again, Wreck-It Ralph
• Still Dream, Rise of the Guardians