Oscars predix: Finally, 'Wall-E' rolls into the best-picture derby
"Wall-E" makes a dramatic breakthrough into The Envelope's Buzzmeter as Jeff Wells (Hollywood-Elsewhere.com) is our first prognosticator to predict that it'll be among the five best-picture nominees. In Gold Derby's recent poll of our readers, by the way, respondents split almost exactly 50-50 about its chances. See poll results here and read more about the pros and cons of its high hopes, according to the views of top Oscar experts who piped in with their opinions, including Wells.
Wells pegs "Slumdog Millionaire" to be the eventual winner, just like four other gurus in this sampling of seven pundits: Thelma Adams (Us Weekly), Scott Feinberg (Feinberg Files, The Envelope), Mark Harris (Entertainment Weekly) and Kevin Lewin (World Entertainment News Network). "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" gets backing from two seers: T.L. Stanley (Gold Rush, Hollywood Reporter) and Susan Wloszczyna (USA Today).
Sean Penn ("Milk") continues to dominate the actors' battle, reaping support from five of these seven pundits. Kate Winslet ("Revolutionary Road") has a slight edge over Meryl Streep ("Doubt") in the leading ladies' clawfest. Note that poor Cate Blanchett ("Curious Case of Benjamin Button") fell off this chart due to no votes. She does get some at our Buzzmeter, which includes the input of many more pundits. To see the predix of each guru, click on the link "See Panelists," then select the name of each prophet to see their forecasts. Underneath each category, it's important to click on the link marked "expand to see all picks" in order to behold our rankings in each race.
| BEST PICTURE | Adams | Feinberg | Harris | Lewin | Stanley | Wells | Wloszczyna |
| 'Australia' |
5 |
||||||
| 'Benjamin Button' |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
| 'Dark Knight' |
|
5 |
|
5 |
|
5 |
|
|
'Doubt' |
3 |
5 |
|
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
| 'Frost/Nixon' |
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
|
4 |
| 'Milk' |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
2 |
3 |
| 'Revolutionary Road' |
5 |
|
4 |
|
|||
| 'Slumdog Millionaire' |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
| 'WALL-E' |
5 |
| BEST ACTOR | Adams | Feinberg | Harris | Lewin | Stanley | Wells | Wloszczyna |
| Leo DiCaprio, 'Revolutionary Road |
4 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
| Clint Eastwood, 'Gran Torino' |
2 |
5 |
5 |
|
|
1 |
5 |
| Benicio del Toro, 'Che' |
4 |
||||||
|
Richard Jenkins, 'The Visitor' |
5 |
4 |
|
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
| Frank Langella, 'Frost/Nixon' |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
| Sean Penn, 'Milk' |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
| Brad Pitt, 'Benjamin Button' |
|
4 |
|
|
4 |
||
| Mickey Rourke, 'The Wrestler' |
|
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
| BEST ACTRESS | Adams | Feinberg | Harris | Lewin | Stanley | Wells | Wloszczyna |
| Anne Hathaway, 'Rachel Getting Married' |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
| Penelope Cruz, 'Elegy' |
5 |
||||||
|
Sally Hawkins, 'Happy-Go-Lucky' |
|
4 |
|
4 |
|
||
| Angelina Jolie, 'Changeling' |
|
4 |
|
3 |
|
|
|
| Melissa Leo, 'Frozen River' |
4 |
5 |
5 |
|
|
4 |
5 |
| Meryl Streep, 'Doubt' |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Kristin Scott Thomas, 'I've Loved You So Long' |
5 |
|
|
5 |
3 |
4 |
|
| Kate Winslet, 'Revolutionary Road' |
1 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Photo: Disney
