Oscar Preview 2009

Sunday marks the 81st annual Academy Awards. As usual this year's list of nominees provides a handful of obvious choices along with some surprises. Slumdog Millionaire, the British underdog darling seems poised to have a big night, but nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the Oscars. Just ask Steven Speilberg, who is probably still wondering how Shakespeare in Love took home the big prize over Saving Private Ryan exactly one decade ago. This being said, Imprint Magazine attempts to sort through this year's short list of movies about wrestlers, nuns, robots, gay politicians, corrupt politicians and everything in between to come up with a prediction of who should/will take home the gold in the 8 major categories this year. Also included in Imprint's 2009 Oscar Preview is a full review of each of this years best picture nominees.

Read about all of the nominees for Best Picture.

Best Picture:

Slumdog Millionaire

Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ceàn Chaffin – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Eric Fellner – Frost/Nixon

Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen – Milk

Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti, Redmond Morris – The Reader

Christian Colson – Slumdog Millionaire

Should and Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire - The movie about an underdog has been the underdog movie of this Oscar season. With big-budget films with even bigger-name casts, such as Revolutionary Road and Benjamin Button were stirring up buzz months ago, Slumdog snuck in and took Hollywood by storm. By just looking at how many awards its racked up so far (BAFTAs, Golden Globes, Critics Choice), the heart-wrenching story of Jamal is destined to win an Oscar and by all means deserves it.

Best Director:

Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire

David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon

Stephen Daldry - The Reader

Gus Van Sant - Milk

Should and Will Win: Danny Boyle - Fincher deserves recognition for putting together the epically stunning Button and Van Sant manages to make local politics interesting while painting a fitting portrait of a true hero. The night however belongs to Boyle who uses every trick up his leave to create the beautiful chaos of Mumbai and tell this magnificent story.

Best Actor:

Mickey Rourke

Sean Penn - Milk

Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Frank Langella - Frost Nixon

Richard Jenkins - The Visitor

Should Win: Mickey Rourke - Darren Arnofsky's wonderfully tragic piece marks a magnificent comeback Rourke, who brings a certain pathos to the role of aging pro wrestler Randy "the Ram" Robinson. Supposedly Nicholas Cage was in negotiations to play the role initially, however Aronosky wanted Rourke, and it's evident he made the right choice

Will Win: Sean Penn - Rourke definitely has a shot at this, after taking home the Golden Globe and the BAFTA prize in this category, but the Academy likes the very deserving Penn. More than likely voters will see this as an opportunity to award the moving Milk which would probably be a front-runner for best picture if not for the hurricane that is Slumdog Millionaire.

Best Actress:

Anne Hathaway

Meryl Streep - Doubt

Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married

Kate Winslet - The Reader

Angelina Jolie - Changeling

Melissa Leo - Frozen River

Should Win: Anne Hathaway - Hathaway managed to make Kym- a selfish, overdramatic, addict coming home for her sister's wedding- not necessarily likeable, but gave her depth with a passionate portrayal. Hathaway never tries to give Kym an excuse, but that's the point- she's not meant to be pitied, just examined for this brief glimpse into a weekend of her life.

Will Win: Kate Winslet - Although Hathaway portrayed a complicated character, so did Winslet who portrayed an emotionally distant woman with various secrets and unclear motives. Winslet is coming into the race with awards under her belt and after being snubbed 5 times, this will be her year to take home a statue (Plus while Hathaway plays anattractive 20-something, Winslet takes on a haggard looking woman for a great portion of the plot and everybody knows the Academy has a soft spot beautiful women playing ugly).

Best Supporting Actress:

Viola Davis

Viola Davis - Doubt

Amy Adams - Doubt

Penelope Cruz - Vicky Christina Barcelona

Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

Should Win: Viola Davis - Despite spending less than 10 minutes on screen, Davis is an emotional powerhouse as a mother who cares for nothing else than the welfare of her child.

Will Win: Penelope Cruz - Davis and Adams will probably split the votes of those looking to reward the fine acting in Doubt. Cruz did a very rewardable job as a vitriolic artist in Vicky Christina. Not to mention, she seems to have the best buzz about her.

Best Supporting Actor:

Heath Ledger

Josh Brolin - Josh Brolin

Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt

Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

Should and Will Win: Heath Ledger - While you can argue for days that it was a crime The Dark Knight was overlooked for Best Picture and Director, you have to admit that the Academy did right by giving Ledger this much-deserved nomination for his portrayal of the sociopath Joker with a thrilling edge-of-your-seat performance. He's already swept up major awards and there's no reason why the Oscars will be any different.

Best Original Screenplay:

Andrew Stanton

Courtney Hunt - Frozen River

Mike Leigh - Happy-Go-Lucky

Martin McDonagh - In Bruges

Dustin Lance Black - Milk

Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon - Wall-E

Should Win: Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon - Perhaps not since Beauty and the Beast has an animated feature stunned audiences as much as Wall-E. While visually appealing, Stanton and Reardon were able to take a story about robots and a garbage-infested planet and turn it into a tear-jerker love story that made audiences truly think about the world.

Will Win: Dustin Lance Black - Besides Wall-E, this was the most publicized movie in this category. By effectively and emotionally capturing this piece of American history, Black's riveting screenplay was able to give Penn the platform for a stellar performance.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Simon Beufoy - Slumdog Millionaire

Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon

John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

Eric Roth -The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

David Hare - The Reader

Should and Will Win: Simon Beaufoy - This group includes the adaptations of two Tony-Award winning plays, a classic F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, and an acclaimed holocaust novel. Nevertheless, as will be the case most of the evening, this one is Slumdog's to lose. Beaufoy's gripping adaptation of the award-winning novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup is sure to take home the golden boy.