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The Oscars are A-Coming!

Well, I'll be in France when the Oscars come to town, so I'll give you my picks now to fill out your office pools. I have to warn you, I'm almost always wrong. So here's the big awards, plus 1:

Best Actor in a Leading Role

About Schmidt - Jack Nicholson
Adaptation. - Nicolas Cage
Gangs of New York - Daniel Day-Lewis
Pianist, The - Adrien Brody: He's playing an artsy Holocaust survivor, and he's the only one of the 5 without an Oscar already.
Quiet American, The - Michael Caine: He's got 2 Best Supporting Actor trophies, so he may have a chance.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Adaptation. - Chris Cooper: This is my slam-dunk lock.
Catch Me If You Can - Christopher Walken
Chicago - John C. Reilly: He was amazing in Chicago, but lacks the screen time to win.
Hours, The - Ed Harris
Road to Perdition - Paul Newman

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Chicago - Renée Zellweger
Far from Heaven - Julianne Moore
Frida - Salma Hayek
Hours, The - Nicole Kidman: You can pretty much flip a coin in this category...but this would be a fine slap in Tom Cruise's face.
Unfaithful - Diane Lane

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

About Schmidt - Kathy Bates
Adaptation. - Meryl Streep
Chicago - Queen Latifah: She would be a fun choice, and not entirely undeserving, but I just can't see it.
Chicago - Catherine Zeta-Jones
Hours, The - Julianne Moore: She's due, and will get the Best Actress sometime soon at the pace she's setting.

Best Director

Chicago - Rob Marshall
Gangs of New York - Martin Scorsese: Whatever you say about this film, he's due.
Hable con ella - Pedro Almodóvar
Hours, The - Stephen Daldry
Pianist, The - Roman Polanski

Best Picture

Chicago: I'd prefer TTT, but Chicago has to win something, right?
Gangs of New York
Hours, The
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The
Pianist, The

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Far from Heaven - Todd Haynes
Gangs of New York - Jay Cocks (screenplay/story); Steven Zaillian (screenplay); Kenneth Lonergan (screenplay)
Hable con ella - Pedro Almodóvar
My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Nia Vardalos: There are $250 Million reasons to give it to her.
Y tu mamá también - Carlos Cuarón; Alfonso Cuarón

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

About a Boy - Peter Hedges (II); Chris Weitz; Paul Weitz
Adaptation. - Charlie Kaufman; Donald Kaufman: How can you not award a writer that doesn't exist?
Chicago - Bill Condon
Hours, The - David Hare
Pianist, The - Ronald Harwood

Best Cinematography

Chicago - Dion Beebe
Far from Heaven - Edward Lachman
Gangs of New York - Michael Ballhaus: Where is Insomnia on this list???
Pianist, The - Pawel Edelman
Road to Perdition - Conrad L. Hall

Best Animated Feature

Ice Age - Chris Wedge
Lilo & Stitch - Chris Sanders (III): This is such a silly category, but I figured I'd chime in.
Spirited Away - Hayao Miyazaki
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - Jeffrey Katzenberg
Treasure Planet - Ron Clements

Ok, that's enough. Figure out the rest for yourselves.