2011 Cinematic Courier Awards

In lieu of the official Oscar nominations being announced tomorrow morning, it is time to unveil the Cinematic Courier awards for 2011.

BEST PICTURE- The rules for the Oscars have changed slightly this year in the Best Picture category in that a film must secure at least 5% of the first place votes on the ballots to be eligible for a nomination. So instead of previous years where there were either 5 or 10 spots, this year there will be somewhere between 5-10 nominees based on how many films qualify. In keeping with the rule change the Cinematic Courier's list for Best Picture is relegated to films that were given either an A or A- which happened to come out to 9 for the year.

The Nominees:

-The Artist

-Drive

-Hugo

-J. Edgar

-Midnight in Paris

-Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

-50/50

-War Horse

-My Week With Marilyn

Winner- The Artist

Predicted Oscar Nominees:

-The Artist

-Drive

-Hugo

-Midnight in Paris

-War Horse

-The Descendants

-The Help

-The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo**

-Tree of Life**

-Moneyball**

**- Depending on how many qualify

BEST DIRECTOR:

-Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

-Martin Scorsese for Hugo

-Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris

-Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive

-Steven Spielberg for War Horse

Winner- Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

Predicted Oscar Nominees:

-Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

-Martin Scorsese for Hugo

-Steven Spielberg for War Horse

-Alexander Payne for The Descendants

-David Fincher for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

BEST ACTOR:

-Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover in J. Edgar

-Jean Dujardin as George Valentine in The Artist

-Ryan Gosling as The Driver in Drive

-Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam in 50/50

-Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in Moneyball

Winner- Ryan Gosling as The Driver in Drive

Predicted Oscar Nominees:

-Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in Moneyball

-Jean Dujardin as George Valentine in The Artist

-George Clooney as Matt King in The Descendants

-Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers in Ides of March

-Michael Fassbender as Brandon Sullivan in Shame

BEST ACTRESS:

-Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark in The Help

-Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn

-Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

-Felicity Jones as Anna in Like Crazy

-Elizabeth Olsen as Martha in Martha Marcy May Marlene

Winner- Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn

Predicted Oscar Nominees:

-Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark in The Help

-Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn

-Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

-Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in Iron Lady

-Glenn Close as Albert Nobbs in Albert Nobbs

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

-Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose in Drive

-Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier in My Week With Marilyn

-Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson in J. Edgar

-Brad Pitt as Mr. O'Brien in Tree of Life

-Max Von Sydow as The Renter in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The Winner- Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose in Drive

Predicted Oscar Nominees:

-Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose in Drive

-Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier in My Week With Marilyn

-Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson in J. Edgar

-Christopher Plummer as Hal Fields in Beginners

-Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud in A Dangerous Method

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

-Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote in The Help

-Jessica Chastain as Mrs. O'Brien in Tree of Life (Technically against Oscar rules that you can't be nominated twice in the same category... don't care)

-Carey Mulligan as Irene in Drive

-Carey Mulligan as Sissy Sullivan in Shame (See above)

-Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller in The Artist

The Winner- Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote in The Help

Predicted Oscar Nominees:

-Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote in The Help

-Carey Mulligan as Sissy Sullivan in Shame

-Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller in The Artist

-Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson in The Help

-Shailene Woodley as Alexandra King in The Descendants

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

-Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillan, Stan Chervin for Moneyball

-John Logan for Hugo

-Hossein Amini for Drive

-Eric Roth for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

-Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, Alexander Payne for The Descendants

The Winner- Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillan and Stan Chervin for Moneyball

Predicted Oscar Nominees:

-Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillan, Stan Chervin for Moneyball

-John Logan for Hugo

-Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, Alexander Payne for The Descendants

-Tate Taylor for The Help

-Steven Zaillan for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

-Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris

-Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

-Will Reiser for 50/50

-Terence Malick for Tree of Life

-Dustin Lance Black for J. Edgar

Winner- Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris

Predicted Oscar Nominees:

-Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris

-Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

-Will Reiser for 50/50

-Mike Mills for Beginners

-Diablo Cody for Young Adult

-There you have the official 2011 Cinematic Courier Awards. I am going to forego the awards for the technical categories so that I can talk some more about them once the real nominees are announced. I am also going to wait for the Animated/Foreign/Documentary categories simply because I have not seen enough of the potential nominees to have an informed opinion.