Oscar Predictions: My First Stab, All Top Eight Categories

So far this week I have added The Wrestler, Frost/Nixon and Australia to my lists of films seen and tomorrow I will see Defiance capping off a week in which I will see eight films in the span of four days. Yet, just know as you read my first official list of predictions for the 2009 Oscars there are still a few films I have yet to see. They include the following:

• Doubt
• Che
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Defiance
• Gran Torino
• Last Chance Harvey
• Nothing but the Truth
• The Reader
• Revolutionary Road
• Seven Pounds

It’s not a long list, but considering half of those films will be found on one or more categories on my list and the other half could potentially replace some of the titles I have listed, it is best to know this is not a list set in stone. I plan on updating it at least once a week and will have a new article posted each time as well as a link in the RopeofSilicon “The Contenders” section where you can keep track of all my Oscar coverage.

So, without any further delay, here’s my first official list of the new awards season. Each is ranked from 1-5 and in most cases the fourth and fifth slots are obviously the most volatile. As the season wears on I will begin tracking the ups and downs of each film and I will begin including the contenders on the bubble and below the #5 cut-off line. I hope you will play along in the comments below as we head toward Oscar night on February 22, 2009.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Milk
3. Revolutionary Road
4. Slumdog Millionaire
5. The Dark Knight

1. Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
2. Sean Penn (Milk)
3. Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
4. Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
5. Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)

1. Meryl Streep (Doubt)
2. Kristin Scott Thomas (I’ve Loved You So Long)
3. Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
4. Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
5. Angelina Jolie (Changeling)

1. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
2. Josh Brolin (Milk)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
4. Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
5. Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)

1. Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
2. Viola Davis (Doubt)
3. Elsa Zylberstein (I’ve Love You So Long)
4. Rosemarie Dewitt (Rachel Getting Married)
5. Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

1. David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
2. Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
3. Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married)
4. Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road)
5. Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)

1. Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
2. Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
3. Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road)
4. John Patrick Shanley (Doubt)
5. Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon)

1. Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
2. Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
3. Robert Siegel (The Wrestler)
4. Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
5. Thomas McCarthy (The Visitor)

Remember, you can keep track of all my Oscar coverage on my “The Contenders” section right here.