The movie geek in me loves the idea of posting my Oscar predictions every year here at Idol Chatter, so that I have the opportunity to feel either smug or chagrined over my prognosticating prowess. However, this year I feel like it is pretty pointless to give virtual ink to predictions when I can sum up the Oscars for you in one sentence: Everyone who won at the SAG Awards a few weeks ago is going to pick up the Oscar as well. (I have now just saved you four hours of your life that you can now use to do something else.)
That’s right. While there is a slight possibility that “There Will Be Blood” has gained enough momentum to pull an upset over “No Country For Old Men,” I doubt it. I predict there will be no surprises, and due to the truncated schedule to prepare for the Oscars because of the Writers’ Strike, I am guessing there will be very few humorous bits between awards as well.
Still, making my annual predictions still gives me an opportunity to rant–as well as rave–about my picks, so here they are.

Best Actor
George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”; Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”; Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”; Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”; Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”
Who will win: Daniel Day Lewis is a lock for winning his second Oscar.
Who should win: Considering the list Oscar put forward, it should be Lewis, but there are some amazing performances left off the list, like Brad Pitt in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” and Josh Brolin for “No Country For Old Men.”
Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”; Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”; Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”; Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”
Who will win: In the second slam dunk of the evening, it will be Javier Bardem, because for some reason Oscar loves to award those who act “crazy” well.
Who should win: Casey Affleck, and I think is absolutely a crime he’s going to go home empty handed. He gave not one, but two, amazing performances this year (the other was in “Gone Baby Gone”) that had far more complexity than Bardem’s work.
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”; Julie Christie, “Away from Her”; Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”; Laura Linney, “The Savages”; Ellen Page, “Juno”
Who will win: Julie Christie
Who should win:: Laura Linney, just because Julie Christie was not the strongest part of “Away From Her” and Linney is way over due to win something..
Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”; Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”; Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”; Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”; Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”
Who will win: This is the only category that could possibly be an upset, with Amy Ryan or Tilda Swinton taking home the statue. But this will probably go to Ruby Dee for her life’s work.
Who should win: Amy Ryan for her sympathetic yet gritty portrayal of a poor, single mother of a kidnapped child.
Best Picture:
“Atonement”, “Juno”, “Michael Clayton”, “No Country for Old Men”, “There Will Be Blood”
Who will win: “No Country for Old Men” will win by a nose over “There Will Be Blood”.
Who Should Win: “No Country for Old Men” is the best crafted film of the bunch, even though I loved “Juno” and wouldn’t mind the upset.