There really haven't been that many REALLY great films this past year and most of the listed films haven't made it to Latvia yet. The BEST PICTURE I've seen this year is definitely SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE from So. Korea. VOLVER was a knockout too! BEST ACTRESS has to be Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada or Sigourney Weaver for Snow Cake or Penelope Cruz for Volver. BEST ACTOR should be Ian McKellan in The Da Vinci Code.

c'mon folks. the most powerful movie of the year, so far, is UNITED 93. don't discount it because of the silly media-talk claiming it to be "too soon" or "oh, i just can't handle it." paul greengrass deserves the director's trophy. if it slides past awards, it will be remembered for many years beyond any of those that take home trophies this year.

i think u're forgeting supporting roles categorie, and u haven mentioned one of the front-runners for best performance by an actress in a leading role
salma hayek in lovely hearts.

Well I think Beyonce will not get nominated for Best Actress, but the Academy would probably love to honor her if the movie ends up being as good as everyone thinks, me too. But i think she will be nominated for Best Original Song, for the ballad "Listen" i was told she was a writer on the track, and if Dreamgirls posts a sweep, then she may get a golden guy herself. I look for Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy to be top runners for the supporting roles. This looks awfully farmiliar to 1961, the year West Side Story won 10 Oscars. No Natalie Wood (Beyonce) but wins for Rita Moreno and George Chakiris (Jennifer Hudson & Eddie Murphy).
By The way I wish that Meryl Streep would put herself in the supporting role, despite Hudson she still has a better shot of winning.

I think Beyonce may be nominated at the Globes. No way for an Oscar. I mean come on, there is no way she'll receive an Oscar nod. I see Flags of Our Fathers doing well.

What about "The Illusionist"? Viewed by many critics as one of the best films of the year so far. It has Oscar nominated actors (Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti), Oscar winning producers, it's a beautiful period piece, has a lovely score from Philip Glass, gorgeous cinematography and art direction. Plus it's done great box office for an independent film. Why isn't anybody talking about it?

(NOTE: Again, to Mr. 0'Neil The link that you had supplied awhile ago-(cuple of weeks)
Apparently does not work?
Please, please, do drop me a line-(used to be able to easily contact the guy of whom has finest AMPAS website?)

& on this topic What happened to "All the King's Men?"

I have not reviewed it as yet, but saw it's trailer-(3 different ones) & this re-make just screams Oscar bait?

& as far as leading actress is concerned-(remember fellow pundits you heard it here first!)
I can literally see H. Mirren "Walking Down- the- Aisle' already for "The Queen"-(Mramax & as most on here likely know, they have had at least 1 BP contender every yr since 1992-(SANS last year only to date) It's ultra-early, but it's the type to also be a BP contender as well
Though not of course my final annual predix

Again though, what about *Penn, Winslet & company in "Al the King's Men???"

Thank You

My predictions, for these three categories, at this early point in the race:

BEST PICTURE

Bobby
The Departed
Flags of Our Fathers
The History Boys
Little Children

BEST ACTOR

Christian Bale, Rescue Dawn
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Richard Griffiths, The History Boys
Brad Pitt, Babel
Patrick Wilson, Little Children

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Keisha Castle-Hughes, The Nativity Story
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Kate Winslet, Little Children

I'd have added Annette Bening and Forest Whitaker, but I have faith that they'll make the switch to supporting as the race moves ahead...sort of like George Clooney did last year.

I think it is time to consider Fernanda Montenegro in House of Sand. The Academy has the moral obligation to nom e award her because of the shameful Gwyneth Paltrow's triumph in 1999. Do you remember that disgusting crying scene? Is Paltrow a good actress? Do you consider her even an actress? Please Academy members try to award a woman of substance. Do you know what is this? Talent, competence, sensibility and a lot of reflexion.

Adrien Brody is amazing in Hollywoodland. A great, very leading man-tour de force performance.

Other small films with big name performances are out there-- dark horse contenders include

Best Actress -
Julie Christie - "Away from Her"

Supporting Actress
Catherine O'Hara - "For Your Consideration",
Chloe Sevigny - "3 Needles"
Stockard Channing - "3 Needles"

Helen Mirren for 'The Queen' is a slam-dunk. Watch & see...

The History Boys is this season's snob hit on Broadway. Highly overrated. It is all surface and no substance. Furthermore, that none of the boys is bothered by the molestation is very hard to believe. And to practice such behavior on a motorcycle is ridiculous.

Hope this logs ok? Had trouble last time?

I am a bit surprised that Mr. 0'Neil seems to be a bit-(possibly a lot) underrating: "United: 93" as a BP contender?

Even Stephen King in "EW"-(also, a bit of an "Oscar-oddsmaker) said months ago, he was dead positive it would be a BP contender. & went on to even rate-it-(on dvd/video shelf) with: *"Godfather, I & 11" & "Kane" As all-time greats!
(though I split on last pt of his viewpoint I really see this as quite possibly thee film to beat-(P.S. By no-means my final 2006 Oscar nominee predix though & only very early speculation)
Although, it likely will not earn most overall nods Like say: "Dreamgirls" or even "Flags..." & "The Queen"

Once the now too-many annual critic's awards start-(which this may well dominate?)
& as we all are aware, they can bring attention to a certain film, or not

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE ALL THE WAY. Anyone who has not seen this is missing one of the greatest movies ever made! Funny, heartfelt, well written, great cast.

Also, ryan gosling for half nelson and Annette Bening for Best actress.

Why is Beyonce up there for Dreamgirls?

She's a pop star playing a pop star. What an insult to real actors!

Look for a strong possibility by Chazz Palminteri in the Supporting Actor category for his incredible performance in 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints'.

I adore The History Boys, so more power to it! It was a completely brilliant play, and I'm sure it will be a wonderful movie.

All right, let me just say that I think this list is silly because it's basically a list of everything that can be seen this fall that is decent or better. There are no "front-runners" listed, no selections of "solid" chances. And, this list has some really quirky, out-there, not-a-chance suggestions ranging from Greg Kinnear to Gretchen Mol to The Holiday being a Best Pic nom (!!?) to Zach Braff to Kirsten Dunst. The list doesn't include Alan Rickman or Sigourney Weaver for SNOW CAKE which definitely deserves attention as far as I've heard. Anybody on IMDB.com who's seen this film think Rickman should get an Oscar nom for it. He's overdue. And any predictor website has him listed at least. Also, Clive Owen and Children of Men are in a much better chance for a nomination than this list gives credit to. I think this list is rather shabby and doesn't shine a light on anything we don't already know.

I find it very strange that you would list Beyonce and Jamie Foxx for their buzz-less performances in Dreamgirls, but fail to list Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy, whom many pundits consider to be shoo-ins for nominations.

But surely, wouldn't Maria Bello get a nod for her excellent potrayal of Cage's wife in WTC? I feel your picks are very good. As regards to this is who's working...rather this is a very small slice of the pie. These actors are surely the only ones who are capable of producing an Oscar winning performance. Many others out there are just used for B movies and summer blockbusters.

You're basically listing every actor working today. Not much of a selection.

I will put my life on the fact that the following people will not be Oscar nominated... Depp for Pirates 2, Ferrell for Stranger, Braff for Last Kiss, Jackman for The Prestige. I can't even be bothered to look at the actresses. You're suggesting they're possibles but they're simply not. Why bother listing them?

Surely Cate Blanchett would go lead in 'notes on a scandal' and supporting in 'The Good German'