going for the gold

As some of you may be aware, this Tuesday is the announcement of the nominees for the Academy Awards. As you must know by now, Oscar Night is the night of the year that I anticipate more eagerly than any other. Last year, S. and I competed to guess who would win Oscars in every category -- and we tied.

This year, to raise the stakes, we've decided to bet on the nominations in the major categories as well. The following are my predictions for who will get nominated on Tues. Jan. 23. Let the games begin!

BEST PICTURE
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

BEST ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earl Haley, Little Children
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson, The Departed

BEST DIRECTOR
Bill Condon, Dreamgirls
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
The Queen
United 93

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Children of Men
The Departed
The Devil Wears Prada
Little Children
Borat

OK, if you want to see how accurate I was, click here.