Two Tickets For...: Our Analysis/Predictions for the 84th Academy Awards (Part III)!

Andrew: Good evening, readers! We brought you our review of "Wanderlust" earlier today and now we bring you the third and final installment of our Oscars analysis and predictions. Tonight we're going to tackle Best Original/Adapted Screenplay, Best Directing and Best Picture.

Sarah, let's go in that order and start with Best Original Screenplay. The nominees for that category are:

- Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

- Annie Mumolo and Kirsten Wiig, "Bridesmaids"

- J.C. Chandor, "Margin Call"

- Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"

- Asghar Fahadi, "A Separation"

Who ya got, and why?

Sarah: Well, I would have to go with Michel Hazanavicius. "The Artist" is just going to take the cake this year. While it's not technically an “original” thought to have a silent film, it is new to this generation.

A: The award isn't for "original thoughts" though, babe, it's for original stories. And I'd actually argue that making a silent film in the 21st Century certainly qualifies as an original thought anyways - you just don't see that anymore. Hence why it's been getting so much love. But I digress.

I agree with you that Hazanavicius will win Best Original Screenplay. I know a lot of people will support Woody Allen's most successful film in years with "Midnight in Paris" and everyone except you basically loved “Bridesmaids”, but "The Artist" is a beast, and again - it's a silent film. That's a totally different kind of script.

S: Well then, that's that. Ok so then next is Best Adapted Screenplay:

- Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, & Jim Rash for "The Descendants"

- John Logan for "Hugo"

- George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon for "The Ides of March"

- Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin; story by Stan Chervin for "Moneyball"

- Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan for " Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

A: Like most years, the screenplay categories are pretty competitive and I think Adapted Screenplay is way tougher to pick than Original Screenplay this year. I could go with any one of them for various reasons but I'll pick "Moneyball" because Zaillian and Sorkin were able to turn a book about baseball statistics and a professional baseball team not many people really care about into one of the best movies/stories of the year.

S: Hmmm well that is interesting. You and I disagree on this one. I think it will go to "The Descendants" for the amazing way it brings this heartbreaking and somehow redeeming story to the big screen. While I do think that "Moneyball" was a great film and after learning that it went though some rough times financially before they could get it off the ground, I give them even more credit.

A: If it’s not "Moneyball" that wins it, my second choice would have been "The Descendants" for sure. We'll see who ends up being right tomorrow night ;)

Ok! Now we move on to the two biggest awards of the night! First we'll start with Best Directing (and no, I didn't use the wrong word there - I've learned in my reading that the voters' ballots say "Best Directing" not "Director"):

- Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

- Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"

- Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

- Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"

- Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"

Tell me who ya got, and why?

S: Oh I got Michel Hazanavicius for this one. While I don't think "The Artist" will win ALL the awards it's up for, this one and Best Actor they got in the bag for sure. He took a risk with this movie and it was a homerunner.

What do you think?

A: It sounds boring but I have to agree with you. Silent film...yada yada yada and so forth...

I'm sure a fair number of voters voted for Woody Allen, and I'm sure Malick got a bunch of votes from the passionate fan base he has in the Academy, but it's the thousands of others who think "The Artist" is the greatest thing since sliced bread that will get him the win. Also, he wrote it, edited it, it's all his.

Alright, let's jump to the biggest award - Best Picture. Their are 9 nominees this year:

- "The Artist"

- "Midnight in Paris"

- "The Descendants"

- "Moneyball"

- "War Horse"

- "Hugo"

- "The Help"

- "The Tree of Life"

- "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Some candidates have a real shot, others are just happy to be here. Who do you have taking the big one?

S: Well it will come to no surprise to any of you that I will have to go with "The Artist!" If it wasn't for this film, I think that the others would have had a much better chance. "The Descendants" and "The Help" will be a close second and third, though. It was a tough year for the movies, some years they all have a fighting chance and other years one stands out amidst all the others.

A: I, too, think "The Artist" walks away as the Best Picture winner. It's rocked all the pre-Oscars award show awards in this area. There's no way it loses. (Though I will say I disagree with you that "The Help" comes in 3rd place in this category, I'd put "Hugo" there, but again I digress.) Do we think "The Artist" IS the best movie of the year? No. But that's for another post to come next week!

Ok, readers! There ya have it! We're going to look into trying to live-blog the Oscars tomorrow night, so if you have an internet connection and want to chat about the Oscars while they're going on, check us out at TwoTicketsFor...! For all of our respective Oscar picks, we've listed them below. Enjoy the show tomorrow, we definitely will!

SARAH’S OSCAR PICKS

Best Picture: THE ARTIST

Leading Actor: Jean Dujardin, THE ARTIST

Leading Actress: Viola Davis, THE HELP

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST

Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, BEGINNERS

Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, THE HELP

Best Original Screenplay: Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST

Best Adapted Screenplay: Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne and Jim Rash, THE DESCENDANTS

Best Art Direction: THE ARTIST

Best Cinematography: THE TREE OF LIFE

Best Foreign Film: A SEPARATION

Best Original Score: THE ARTIST

Best Animated Film: RANGO

Best Costume Design: HUGO

Best Visual Effects: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Best Original Song: "Man or Muppet," THE MUPPETS

Best Film Editing: THE ARTIST

Best Make Up: THE IRON LADY

Best Sound Editing: WAR HORSE

Best Sound Mixing: WAR HORSE

Best Documentary Feature: PARADISE LOST 3: PURGATORY

Best Documentary Short: "Saving Face"

Best Short Film Animated: "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore"

Best Short Film Live Action: "Raju"

ANDREW’S OSCAR PICKS