Oscar 2010: Final Nomination Predictions (Part 1: Technical Categories)

We're less than a week away from the announcement of the nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, so it's a good idea to go over our predictions for what will and won't be nominated. If you want to skip this explanation, you can just skip over to the Oscar Prediction page as we update it over the weekend, although I obviously recommend that you read our drawn out explanation. Today we'll be covering the technical categories. Tomorrow we'll be going through the acting nominations. Monday, we'll go over the top race of Best Picture, Director, Animated Feature, Documentary, Foreign Language Film, and the Screenplay races. So lets get started, shall we?

It's been a pretty slow week, and that's probably a good thing since I had a lot of settling in to do. It gave me some time to take a closer look at the technical categories, and as set in stone as they may seem, I feel like we're going to get some surprises. The obvious frontrunner in the technicals is Inception, which has some pretty solid locks in Score, Cinematography, Art Direction, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing. There's no qualms or quibbles about the film making its due. It was snubbed out of the Makeup category, which it had a minor chance at because of old Saito. I hoped for Costume Design to be surprise nomination for this one, but it's probably not going to happen.

Alice in Wonderland is a film nobody wants to honor, yet it somehow deserves those honors. It had a fantastic team on Makeup, Art Direction, and Costume Design, so it'll take some kind of miracle for it not to take home anything. The Wolfman will be securing a nomination in Makeup, but nothing else. Rounding out the makeup category is a rather difficult choice between The Way Back and Barney's Version, though I'm rooting for the latter. God forbid Jonah Hex walk away with an undeserved nomination. The only categories I can't really do any advising on are Sound Editing and Mixing. TRON Legacy is probably going to get some nods, but I've not a clue beyond that.

Only slightly more insightful am I at Costume Design, which I keep placing I Am Love in because I can't see why it should be nominated. The King's Speech is a lock, not to mention the frontrunner against Alice in Wonderland for the win. Burlesque could make it in for obvious reasons, but I don't really see why it should. Heading into the categories I'm more well associated with, Original Score is a bit of an obsession of mine. The ultimate battle will be between Inception and The Social Network, but as far as filling out the other nominees, it's a bit harder. John Powell will probably get a nod for How to Train Your Dragon, and as for the rest, I'm hoping that Alexandre Desplat doubles for two of his films. The King's Speech will obviously make it in, but I hold onto my belief that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 will make the cut.

Speaking of Deathly Hallows: Part 1, I still think that this will be a great year for the fantasy franchise. It'll definitely snag a Visual Effects nomination, but it's more of a struggle to get nods in Cinematography, Art Direction, and Original Score. It probably won't happen, but I hold out hope that it will. Black Swan is another one to watch for, properly becoming a presence in Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Cinematography. Perhaps the most extreme prediction I have is that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World will make the Visual Effects race over Alice in Wonderland. Probably won't happen, but I hope it will.

Rounding out the technical categories is Film Editing, which is the most straight forward in terms of predictions. The Social Network, Inception, Black Swan, and 127 Hours are all practical locks, but my guess to fill out that final slot is The Fighter. Of all the aspects of that film, the aggressive way it was edited was the thing I loved the most. That just about covers the technical achievements, albeit in a jumble and non-routine way. For the simple rundown of my guesses, check out our Oscar Predictions page as it is updated over the weekend. In the meantime, please comment on which films you think will or should be nominated come Tuesday morning!