My Personal Oscar Picks for 2011 ... Just Because

Which actors, directors and movies do you like best for the 83^rd Academy Awards?

Here are my personal picks for this year's Oscars, without explanation or equivocation. Quite likely, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will choose otherwise. Still, the arts have always been regarded as a matter of personal taste.

Do you agree or disagree with my Oscar picks?

These are my own Oscar opinions for the most popular Academy Award categories. If you beg to differ, feel free to comment (below).

Best Picture

Personally, I loved "The King's Speech." I hope to see this film (produced by Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin) triumph over its fellow Academy Award nominees: "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "127 Hours," "The Social Network," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit" and "Winter's Bone."

If "Winter's Bone" wins the Oscar for Best Picture, I won't even clap. This film has had enough hands already.

Actor in a Leading Role

C-c-colin Firth was gloriously regal and self-effacing at the same time in "The King's Speech." I'd bow and scrape to hand him the Oscar for Best Leading Actor, if I could.

So s-s-s-sorry, Javier Bardem ("Biutiful"), Jeff Bridges ("True Grit"), Jesse Eisenberg ("The Social Network") and James Franco ("127 Hours").

Actress in a Leading Role

Although Oscar will likely favor Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right" or perhaps Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone," I'd give the Academy Award to Natalie Portman for her spin as a psycho-ballerina in "Black Swan." Natalie Portman has come a long way from her day as a pregnant teen, birthing in WalMart in "Where the Heart Is" (2000).

In my book, Natalie Portman topped the other Oscar nominees in the Best Leading Actress category: Annette Bening ("The Kids Are All Right), Nicole Kidman ("Rabbit Hole"), Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone") and Michelle Williams ("Blue Valentine").

Actor in a Supporting Role

Although John Hawkes was curiously creepy in "Winter's Bone," I'd present this long-overdue Oscar to the amazing Geoffrey Rush for "The King's Speech."

I think Geoffrey Rush's understated, yet powerful tutorial turn in "The King's Speech" far outdid the performances of Christian Bale in "The Fighter," John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone," Jeremy Renner in "The Town" and Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right."

Actress in a Supporting Role

I absolutely loved Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit," who far exceeded the 1969 performance by Kim Darby in the same role, so I'd love to see her receive the Oscar statuette this year.

Additional Academy Award nominees for Best Supporting Oscar include Amy Adams in "The Fighter,"Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech," Melissa Leo in "The Fighter" and Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom."

Hailee Steinfeld would not be the youngest actress to win an Oscar, as Tatum O'Neal took home Best Supporting Actress honors for "Paper Moon" in 1974 (at age 10). Shirley Temple won an honorary acting Oscar in 1934 at age five.

Animated Feature Film

Call me sappy, if you must, but I loved "Toy Story 3" enough to want to see it win the Animated Feature Film prize at this year's Oscars.

Still, as an animated film fan, I salute the other Academy Award nominees: "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Illusionist."

Art Direction

Creepy and cool, "Alice in Wonderland" is my Oscar pick for Best Art Direction, topping

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," "Inception," "The King's Speech" and "True Grit."

Cinematography

This one is purely subjective, even more than my other Oscar picks. As a horse lover, I have to say I loved the panoramic pictography of "True Grit" (Roger Deakins).

My hat is tipped, however to the other Academy Award nominees for Best Cinematography: "Black Swan" (Matthew Libatique), "Inception" (Wally Pfister), "The King's Speech" (Danny Cohen) and "The Social Network" (Jeff Cronenweth).

Costume Design

Weird and wonderful wardrobing buttons up "Alice in Wonderland" (Colleen Atwood) ahead of "I Am Love"(Antonella Cannarozzi), "The King's Speech" (Jenny Beavan), "The Tempest" (Sandy Powell) and "True Grit" (Mary Zophres) for Oscar's Best Costume Design category for me.

Directing

I'm not a fan of boxing and fighting films (although I did ante up for the entire "Rocky" series), but I was hooked by David O. Russell's primo directing in "The Fighter." I'd say Russell knocked out other contenders in the Academy Award category for Best Directing: "Black Swan" (Darren Aronofsky), "The King's Speech" (Tom Hooper), "The Social Network" (David Fincher) and "True Grit" (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen).

Music (Original Score)

Hans Zimmer tuned in to audiences with his score for "Inception," leaving Oscar's other Best Music (Original Score) nominees flat: "How to Train Your Dragon" (John Powell), "The King's Speech" (Alexandre Desplat), "127 Hours" (A.R. Rahman) and "The Social Network" (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross).

Music (Original Song)

I hope the 83^rd Academy Awards don't sell Randy Newman short for his fun tune, "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3."

Additional Oscar picks for Best Original Song include "Coming Home" from "Country Strong" (Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey), "I See the Light" from "Tangled" (Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater and "If I Rise" from "127 Hours" (Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong).

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of "The Social Network" (familiarly known as "The Facebook Movie") intrigued movie audiences, internet users and me.

I'd be surprised, if Aaron Sorkin didn't receive the Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) Oscar over fellow nominees: "127 Hours" (Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy), "Toy Story 3" (Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich), "True Grit" (Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen) and "Winter's Bone" (Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini).

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is likely to present the Best Writing (Original Screenplay) Oscar to Christopher Nolan for his intricate, though somewhat convoluted "Inception," I would love to contest this.

Personally, I loved the intimate and down-to-earth, though still regal, look at British royalty that David Seidler offered in "The King's Speech."

Best Writing (Original Screenplay) Oscar competition included "Another Year" (Written by Mike Leigh), "The Fighter" ( Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson) and "The Kids Are All Right" (written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg).

What are your personal picks for this year's Oscars?

The Academy Awards ceremony, celebrating its 83^rd year, will occur on Sunday evening, February 27, 2011, broadcast live on ABC TV from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.