Oh, yeah, those *other* Awards...

Academy Award Nominations were announced this morning. You can find the full ballot here.

As is my practice, I'll post my predictions of who will win, and who I think should win. I may add a snarky comment or two. Who knows.

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Best Actor: A predictable list. Some are surprised that Paul Giamatti wasn't nominated. I, for one, am disappointed that Jim Carrey is still getting no respect from the Academy, despite a fantastic performance in "Eternal Sunshine..."

Should Win: Johnny Depp (sentimental choice) or Don Cheadle

Will Win: Jamie Foxx

Best Supporting Actor: A few more surprises here. Some were predicting Peter Sarsgaard would get some love for "Kinsey"--and while I didn't see him in that film, I liked his work in "Garden State" (a movie unfortunately ignored by the Academy this year). And I would have personally nominated David Carradine for being kickass as Bill in "Kill Bill v.2"

Should Win: Hard to say. I like Morgan Freeman. He deserves to win an Oscar sometime.

Will Win: Thomas Hayden "Lowell" Church. He's come far.

Best Actor (Female): Apparently, despite NO ONE having seen it, Annette Bening's performance in "Being Julia" is getting her attention. I knew it was a pipe dream, but some part of me hoped that Uma Thurman would get a nod for the physically demanding role of The Bride in "Kill Bill v.2."

Should Win: Kate Winslet, for creating such a complex and fascinating character.

Will Win: Annette Bening, because hubby Warren paid off the voters.

Best Supporting Actor (Female): Themes of performances nominated--emotional extremes and sexual freedom. A trend in women's roles in the year 2004?

Should Win: Cate Blanchett's spot-on performance of Kate Hepburn.

Will Win: Virginia Madsen, whose movie should be called Horizontal, instead of Sideways, since that's how most of the characters spent the movie.

Best Animated Film: Kind of a shallow field, but that didn't stop a few good ones from sneaking in. Shark Tale was awful, though. That got my vote for worst animated movie. A soulless enterprise.

Should and Will Win: The Incredibles. A genius movie.

Art Direction: Some good entries. I have two favorites, though.

Should and Will Win: Phantom of the Opera. (But Lemony Snicket is a close second.)

Cinematography: Some think Aviator.

Should Win: I say Phantom.

Will Win: They'll pick Aviator.

Costume Design: Surprised Phantom didn't get the nod. The film was all about spectacle and surface appeal, and the costumes were incredible.

Should Win: Lemony Snicket...

Will Win: The Aviator (probably).

Make-up: Short field.

Should and Will Win: The Passion of the Christ. Love it or hate it, they made it look as real as it possibly could have.

Best Score: Several good choices here. I recently watched The Village, and was impressed with how his use of color and music really really carried the mood. That said, it doesn't have a prayer.

Should and Will Win: The Academy loves John Williams, and without a "Lord of the Rings" to contend with, "Harry Potter" should easily get this award.

Best Song: Didn't some song by Mick Jagger get the Golden Globe? Where did he go? How did the Polar Express track get on this list? I'm so confused.

Should Win: I'm partial to "Accidentally in Love" but I think the public is sick of the song by now.

Will Win: Not a clue. My pick would be something from the Garden State Soundtrack, but that's not "original." There should be an award for best soundtrack compilation though. It think that idea is long overdue. Then Zach can get some kind of love.

Foreign Language Film: Not a clue about this category. I'm going on what I've heard.

Will Win: The Sea Inside. (Some actually thought Javier Bardem should have gotten an acting nod also.)

Short Film (Live Action and Animated): Don't care.

Sound Mixing/Sound Editing: "Spiderman 2." Enough said.

Visual Effects: "I, Robot" was impressive, but the fight on top of the train was wicked cool. Spidey gets this one too.

Documentary: "Supersize Me" is the only one with a shot. (There is a noticable gap in the ballot, since a certain filmmaker was so concerned with political outcomes that he broke the 'documentary' award rules and showed his film on television before a certain date, pulling himself out of contention for this award. Bet he wishes he could have that one back.)

Documentary (Short Subject): Don't care. The one with the Russian kids will likely get it. Russian kids are a safe bet for these types of awards.

Best Editing: Nothing to say.

Should Win: Finding Neverland blended fantasy and reality almost seamlessly. So cool.

Will Win: Ray. It hasn't won enough yet.

Best Original Screenplay: So many good ones this year. Too bad they missed an obvious choice (ahem, Garden State).

Should Win: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was absolutely brilliant. An incredible story.

Will Win: The Aviator, though Hotel Rwanda deserves it more.

Best Adapted Screenplay: I don't have a clue how "Before Sunset" got on this ballot, when it was an original screenplay. Maybe it was adapted from an idea Linklater wrote on a napkin or something ten years ago. Glad it got the nom, but still, it doesn't stand a chance.

Should Win: Before Sunset or Finding Neverland

Will Win: Sideways.

Best Director: No big shocks here. I still think Michele Gondry should have been nominated, but what do I know.

Should Win: Hollywood loves 'em some Clint Eastwood. But it won't be enough...

Will Win: Scorcese will make them an offer they can't refuse.

Best Picture: None of these were in my top five. Eternal Sunshine should have been nominated for sure. Garden State just wouldn't have gotten the love. Before Sunset was too small-market. Kill Bill was too urbane. No, the Academy are, at the heart, a bunch of film snobs, so this is to be expected.

Should Win: Of this lot? I'd prefer Finding Neverland.

Will Win: Ray may pull out the upset victory here, but the safe bet is on The Aviator.