The actual nominations were announced on January 31, 2006, and the awards show is on March 5, 2006. The predictions were last updated on January 28, 2006. Besides the sources mentioned below, I also used AwardSpeculation.com for inspiration and ideas.
Any comments on this page should be addressed to Mike Weston at mike@misosoup.com. Remember that these are my predictions, and not necessarily the films or performances that I would pick if I had a vote. Besides, I have not seen many of these yet.
Comments: This is the same as the Producers Guild of America list. Other possibilities include A History of Violence and Munich.
Comments: This is the same as the Directors Guild of America list but with Bennett Miller (Capote) removed and David Cronenberg added. Other possibilities include Woody Allen for Match Point.
Comments: I started from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nominations, and I replaced Ziyi Zhang (Memoirs of a Geisha) with Joan Allen. Other possibilities include Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice.
Comments: Again I started from the SAG nominations, and this time I replaced Russell Crowe (Cinderella Man) with Terence Howard. Other possibilities include Jeff Daniels for The Squid and the Whale.
Comment: Starting from the SAG nominations, I replaced Don Cheadle (Crash) with William Hurt.
Comments: Starting from the SAG nominees one more time, I replaced Frances McDormand (North Country) with Mario Bello. Other possibilities include Scarlett Johansson for Match Point and Laura Linney for The Squid and the Whale.
Comments: Starting from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) nominations, I replaced The 40 Year Old Virgin with Match Point. Other possibilities include Hustle & Flow.
Comments: As in the original screenplay category, I started with the WGA nominees. I replaced Syriana with Munich. Other possibilities include Pride & Prejudice.
Comments: The number of animated films released this year is such that only 3 films will be in the running for the Oscar. Other possibilities include Corpse Bride.
Out of 43 predicted nominees, I missed 6. Of course I ended up making the same predications as AwardSpeculation.com in all categories except three:
Biggest surprises: There really weren't any. The only nominee that I didn't predict or even mention as a possibility was Syriana in the Best Original Screenplay category. The interesting thing there is that the Writers Guild put this film in the adapted category. And I guess it was also a surprise that the Best Picture and Best Director categories are a complete match this year, since there's usually one film different.
Biggest disappointments: That Frances McDormand got the nomination over Mario Bello. McDormand was fine, but she has an Oscar already and Bello's performance was better.
Best pleasant surprise: I guess that would be William Hurt's nomination for a very short, but very memorable performance.
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.
Copyright © 2001-2006 by Michael S. Weston. All rights reserved.