[IMG:L]First the Pics, then the Actors. Now, it’s the ladies’ turn. Here are our predictions for Oscar’s nominees …
The Frontrunner
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Why she deserves it: There is NO doubt Streep is looking at her record-breaking 15th Oscar nom as Sister Aloysius, a mean old nun, who — in the early 1960s — refuses to see how the world is changing around her. With this and her big summer hit Mamma Mia!, Streep is not only our generation’s top actress, she’s adding box-office queen to her resume as well.
KEEP READING: The Runner Up …
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The Runner Up
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Why she deserves it: Never heard of her? Well, British thesp Hawkins (Cassandra’s Dream) is picking up many of the critics’ associations awards for her too-little-seen performance as Poppy, the ever-optimistic London schoolteacher whose positive attitude and cheeriness rubs off on the people she meets. Might be hard to beat the titan Streep, but think last year’s Best Actress winner La Vie en Rose’s Marion Cotillard.
KEEP READING: The New Indie “It” Girl …
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The New Indie “It” Girl
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Why she deserves it: The Academy loves it when an actress stretches herself, downplays her looks, is somehow depressed or depraved in some way. And Hathaway breaks away from her commerciality as an emotionally fragile women who attends her sister’s wedding and brings a crapload of family dysfunction with her.
KEEP READING: The Trouper …
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The Trouper
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Why she deserves it: Similar to The Visitor’s Richard Jenkins, who is on the Best Actor short list this year, Leo is an indie character actress who has worked just about every day of her life (some of her best: 21 Grams, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada). Now she’s finally getting some me-time with her portrayal of a single mom who earns money by smuggling illegals from Canada into the U.S., across — you guessed it — the frozen St. Lawrence river.
KEEP READING: The Constant …
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The Constant
Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Why she deserves it: The Oscar list just wouldn’t be complete if Blanchett’s name weren’t on it. This year, she’ll probably get a nod for her turn as the life-long object of Brad Pitt’s affections. Putting all the special-effects make-up aside, her delicate performance of Southern woman aging while her true love grows younger and younger is a study in grace.
KEEP READING: The Determined …
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The Determined
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
Why she deserves it: We give Winslet the Will Smith award for sheer determination. After five nominations and no wins, she’s due — and this may be her year. She may even pull off a Cate Blanchett, getting two nods in one year: a supporting nom for her searing turn as a woman whose past catches up with her in The Reader AND Best Actress for her portrayal of a ‘50s suburban housewife desperately waiting for her chance to escape in Revolutionary Road.
KEEP READING: The Anguished Mother …
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The Anguished Mother
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Why she deserves it: With the accolades pouring in, as well as a Golden Globe nomination, Jolie looks like she’ll join the upper Oscar echelon with her performance as a real-life 1920s mother who bucked the system and exposed police corruption as she tries to find her missing son. Wouldn’t it be cute if she and her Significant Other won their own His & Hers golden statuettes?
KEEP READING: The Ex-Patriot …
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The Ex-Patriot
Kristin Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long
Why she deserves it: Brit Thomas, best known as Hugh Grant’s BFF in Four Weddings and a Funeral, moved to France, started making films there — and blossomed. Here she turns in an Oscar-worthy performance as a broken woman who returns home after being in jail for 15 years and tries to reconnect with her estranged family.
KEEP READING: The Underrated …
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The Underrated
Kate Beckinsale, Nothing But the Truth
Why she deserves it: Sure, Kate may have sold out a few times (Underworld anyone?), but she’s also shown throughout her career she has the necessary skills (Laurel Canyon, Snow Angels). Now, she may just get her chance with her turn as a reporter who sticks by her principals, even if it means sacrificing her freedom, in Nothing But the Truth.
KEEP READING: The Wild Card …
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The Wild Card
Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey
Why she deserves it: Oh, when doesn’t Thompson deserve an Oscar nomination? She’s great in just about anything she does, even if its playing a sensitive, fortysomething London census taker, who realizes after connecting with a brash American (Dustin Hoffman) that it may just be her last chance at love. Honestly, if Thompson can make Hoffman look like a decent romantic lead, then she more than deserves it.
Supporting Actress Possibilities: Marisa Tomei’s turn as a stripper with a heart of gold in The Wrestler; Viola Davis, as another anguished mother, and/or Amy Adams, as a kindly nun, in Doubt; Rosemarie DeWitt, as the mean-spirited sister Rachel, in Rachel Getting Married; and Penelope Cruz, as the wacky ex-wife, in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
