Round-up: 'Twas the night before Oscar noms

I'm the only one of Gold Derby's 31 pundits predicting a nod for Brad Pitt in "The Tree of Life."

Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures

You want Oscar predictions? You got 'em. I posted mine last night, and Kris and Gerard's will arrive today, but if that's still not enough for you, Tom O'Neil has gathered the guesswork of 31 pundits (yours truly included) across 14 categories -- more than enough to make you second-guess yourself many times over. With this vast chart of predictions, it's most interesting to seek out the wild-card picks: I'm somewhat alarmed to see I'm the only one stumping for Brad Pitt in Supporting Actor, while you might be surprised to see a few mentions of Charlize Theron in the Best Actress rundown. As for Best Picture, I'm not alone in my "Tinker, Tailor" hunch, while others are plumping for "Bridesmaids" -- and there's no consensus whatsoever on how many nominees there even will be. Browse away. [Gold Derby]

Sasha Stone plays her annual "No Guts, No Glory" game -- inviting off-the-wall predictions from her readers, and suggesting the possibility of a "War Horse" comeback. [Awards Daily]

Nathaniel Rogers offers his final predictions, and shares my Michael Shannon hunch. [The Film Experience]

Steve Pond senses time running out for any film to establish itself as a Best Picture challenger to "The Artist." It all comes down to the DGA, he says. [The Odds]

In considering this year's makeup Oscar finalists, Deborah Vankin wonders where to draw the line between digital work and good old-fashioned cosmetics. [Los Angeles Times] 

With his new film, "Red Hook Summer," currently the talk of Sundance, Spike Lee uses the spotlight to protest that studios "known nothing" about black audiences. [24 Frames]

David Cox argues that the "overpoweringly pacifist sermon" of "War Horse" represents an about-face from Spielberg's previous war films. (Wait, "Schindler's List" portrayed war as "epic and just?") [The Guardian]

Nicolas Winding Refn discusses the craft elements of "Drive" -- could they land at least one Oscar nod tomorrow? Please? [Below the Line]

Tom Brueggemann evaluates the box office performance of several awards players in the weekend leading up to the Oscar nominations, with "The Artist" still not breaking out. [Thompson on Hollywood]

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Guy Lodge
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Guy Lodge is a South African-born critic and sometime screenwriter. In addition to his work at In Contention, he is a freelance contributor to Variety, Time Out, Empire and The Guardian. He lives well beyond his means in London.