We Predict

Best Actor

  • The Contenders
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
  • Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
  • Peter O'Toole, Venus
  • Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
  • Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Ben Lyons Says...
Forest Whitaker:  He gives one of the great performances, and not just of last year—his portrayal of Idi Amin is the stuff of legend. What makes it special is how Whitaker humanizes and fully realizes the dictator. After spending time in Uganda, with Ugandans who were deeply affected by Amin, Forest truly became the character. No disrespect to the other nominees, but there's no way anybody else even has a shot at this.

Kristin Veitch Says...
Okay, here's the situation. His parents went away on a week's vacation, and...I'm sorry, I've had a soft spot in my heart for Will Smith ever since he sang those very words in his ditty about parents not understanding. His performance in Pursuit is yet another reason to wuv him. Still, I think this one is a true race between DiCaprio and Whitaker, with the latter most likely taking home the little gold man. He owns the screen in The Last King of Scotland, and didn't he already win, like, 18 awards for it, anyway? How can you not win an Oscar after that?

Best Actress

  • The Contenders
  • Penélope Cruz, Volver
  • Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
  • Helen Mirren, The Queen
  • Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
  • Kate Winslet, Little Children

Ben Lyons Says...
Helen Mirren:  Am I a broken record? Like in the Best Actor category, it's a lock for the ladies with Dame Helen Mirren. Having already won more 20 awards for her performance in The Queen, she is like Whitaker, a given on Oscar night. From her physical transformation to her mannerisms, Mirren nailed the current queen of England and shed light on a period in British history Americans know little about. Like Whitaker, she has an amazing body of work, culminating with this performance.

Ted Casablanca Says...
Everyone's sayin' Mirren is a shoo-in, but that Queen shouldn't have her crumpet and eat it, too! She has already racked up a ton o' accolades, but alas, methinks her royal highness Helen still has this category in the designer bag. Best Actress should (but prolly won't) go to the still sex-ay Streep, for her super-underplayed portrayal of an über-bitchy mag editor in The Devil Wears Prada, my most fave flick of 2006. And Winslet was simply divine as a horny, misdirected housewife in Little Children. Oh, and Dench and Cruz stand about as much chance of winning as I do of being the next beau Penélope dates.

Best Supporting Actor

  • The Contenders
  • Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
  • Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
  • Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
  • Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
  • Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

Ben Lyons Says...
Eddie Murphy:  With Dreamgirls leading the pack with nine nominations, it has to win something, right? Plus, when it comes to the Academy Awards, people love a great story behind the scenes, and what better tale to spin than Eddie "resurrecting" his career? It's funny, because people are saying it's Eddie's big comeback. What was his last film—Shrek 2? He's coming back from the bank! (I stole that line from him.) And playing against type is, of course, a surefire trip to Oscar. So, his turn as a drug-abusing singer—in a musical and period piece, at that—is a huge stretch from family fare and raunchy comedy. He nailed it, and he deserves the win.

Hollywood Party Girl Says...
Everyone knows about my soft spot for Marky Mark. But after meeting Murphy at Sundance, I realize he ain't so bad himself. Given how Golden Globes went, I bet the laughing legend is about to add a little man to his golden shelf.

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