2008 Oscar Predictions for the 80th Annual Academy Awards

It's January and the Oscar buzz is underway. The anticipation is building! This Tuesday, January 22, we will finally get to see the nominations for the 80^th Academy Awards. This may be the toughest year for Oscar predictions in a quite some time. There is a long list of hopefuls for the coveted Best Picture nominations but only a handful will make the cut. As tough as it is to narrow down just five to be nominated, I did and they are: American Gangster, Atonement, Charlie Wilson's War, No Country For Old Men, and There Will Be Blood. I pick Atonement as the Best Picture of 2007. Atonement is a unique film and story that is portrayed beautifully through the lead actors, James McAvoy and Keira Knightley. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this feature.

Atonement's star, Keira Knightley will be nominated for Best Actress but will not bring home the gold. I have to give props to Ms. Knightley, as she has shown us a new realm to her acting ability and I look forward to seeing what is next for her. Along with Keira Knightley, Kate Blanchett ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age"), Helena Bonham Carter ("Sweeney Todd"), Julie Christie ("Away From Her"), and Angelina Jolie ("A Mighty Heart") will be nominated. I have three favorites here, Keira Knightley, Julie Christie and Angelina Jolie. It may seem that Julie Christie is the front-runner here because she won a Golden Globe for her role in Away From Her and has proven in the past that she is Oscar quality. However, I think this year we will see the Oscar going to another Oscar veteran, Angelina Jolie, for her remarkable performance as the Mariane Pearl, the wife of the late Wall Street Journal reporter, Danny Pearl.

In the Best Animated Film category there were a lot of great animation in 2007 but only one stands above the rest, Ratatouille. This was such an awesome flick in all aspects of film making that I strongly feel that if there was no animation category that it would be nominated for Best Picture and quite possibly take home the Oscar. There is not doubt that Ratatouille will receive the Oscar for Best Animated Film. Other great animated movies that will get a nominee will be: Bee Movie, Meet the Robinsons, Shrek the Third, and The Simpsons.

In a few days we will see who the academy chooses and then the anticipation builds even more as we await the 2008 Academy Award presentation show when it is televised live on ABC Television Network on Sunday, February 24, 2008.