Bob D'Amico, ABCWho's more likely to win for Best Actor, Colin Firth or James Franco? It'd be cool for James, him being a host and all.
—Galactic Interactive, via Twitter
Bookmakers are going with The King's Speech star Firth on this one. Per Bookmaker.com, the odds go like this: Firth at 91 percent, Franco 19, Jesse Eisenberg 18, Jeff Bridges 16, and Javier Bardem at 19 percent.
I've been fielding a ton of questions after the Academy Award nominations today. Here are the best ones:
Why were there no black nominees for major acting awards this year?
—Fed Up, via the inbox
Halle Berry apparently did a bang-up job in Frankie and Alice, playing a go-go dancer with—how's this for Oscar bait?—multiple personality disorder. So you may have a point.
Then again, you should know that Hailee Steinfeld, who has gotten a best supporting actress nomination for her role in True Grit, has a mother of Filipino and African-American descent.
Why does the Academy hate Christopher Nolan?
—Ande, via Facebook
They nominated Inception eight times, including for Best Picture, and you think that equals hate?
Sure, the Academy could have thrown Nolan a nomination for directing, but given how little sense the screenplay made, the fact that Nolan also got a nod for writing seems like the opposite of hate to me.
Why was Mila Kunis snubbed?! She deserved a nomination!
—Pucca Pirate, via Twitter
Judging from past patterns, the Academy prefers to limit its breakout-slash-newcomer nominee acting slots to one—if any.
There were no such honorees in '09, for example, when Taraji P. Henson and Amy Adams went up against, and lost to, Penélope Cruz. But in '08, there was only one breakout nominee in the supporting actress category—Saoirse Ronan from Atonement. This year, that one slot appears to have been filled by Steinfeld.
Why was Lesley Manville snubbed for Another Year?!
—Sebastien P., via Facebook
Apparently Sony was pushing Manville as a best actress contender?! But plenty of other big shots, for whatever reason, saw her as supporting actress material?! The resulting confusion may have cost Manville a nomination of any sort.
Why was Mila Kunis snubbed?! She deserved a nomination!
—Pucca Pirate, via Twitter
Judging from past patterns, the Academy prefers to limit its breakout-slash-newcomer nominee acting slots to one -- if any. There were no such honorees in '09, for example, when Taraji P. Henson and Amy Adams went up against, and lost to, Penelope Cruz. But in '08, there was only one breakout nominee in the supporting actress category -- Saoirse Ronan. This year, that one slot appears to have been filled by Hailee Steinfeld.
Why was Lesley Manville snubbed for Another Year?!
—Sebastien P., via Facebook
Apparently Sony was pushing Manville as a best actress contender?! But plenty of other big shots, for whatever reason, saw her as supporting actress material?! The resulting confusion may have cost Manville a nomination of any sort.
(Originally published Jan. 25, 2011, at 7 p.m. PT)