Oscar Ballots are due today, and in the print edition I size up the evening’s main bout, the Best Actor face off between wacky Mickey Rourke and wild man Sean Penn. I’ve never met either one, but I nearly interviewed Mickey at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, when he was there with Barbet Schroder’s “Barfly.” Arriving at the appointed time at the Martinez Hotel, I found a line of other journalists waiting in the corridor — while the publicist was talking through the door of Rourke’s room, fruitlessly begging him to go through with the interviews he had agreed to. A quirky guy, even 22 years ago. On the jump, my predictions in all categories. Yes, I think Meryl Streep can beat Kate Winslet, just like Adrien Brody stopped the supposedly unstoppable Daniel Day-Lewis for “Gangs of New York” five years ago. And surely Viola Davis will not go home empty-handed for acting Streep off the screen in her one-scene role. PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire
DIRECTOR
Slumdog Millionaire
ACTOR
Sean Penn, Milk
ACTRESS
Meryl Streep, Doubt
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis, Doubt
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Milk
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Slumdog Millionaire
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEAURE
Waltz With Bashir
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Man on Wire
ANIMATED FEATURE
Wall-E
ART DIRECTION
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Slumdog Millionaire
COSTUMES
The Duchess
FILM EDITING
The Curiouse Case of Benjamin Button
MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
SCORE
Slumdog Millionaire
SONG
O Saya, Slumdog Millionaire
SOUND EDITING
Wall-E
SOUND MIXING
Wall-E
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Witness
ANIMATED SHORT
This Way Up
LIVE-ACTION SHORT
Spielzeugland
