The 2013 Academy Award nominees were announced today, and I’m getting my picks in early. As I’ve seen only 1 of these movies (Les Mis)… please take this list for what it is… pure guesswork. Don’t blame me for any bad bets. =)

BEST MOVIE:

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Miserables – would like to win, cause musicals ROCK!

Life of Pi

Lincoln – WINNER

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ACTOR:

Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln – WINNER –kinda wondering why they bothered nominating anyone else at all

Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables

Joaquin Phoenix – The Master

Denzel Washington – Flight

BEST ACTRESS:

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva – Amour

Quvenzshane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild – as the youngest Oscar nominee ever, perhaps they’ll favor this youngen to win

Naomi Watts – The Impossible

SUPPORTING ACTOR: all nominees have already won an Oscar, Robert De Niro has 2. Anyone could win, but since Lincoln is expected to be a big winner… I’ll predict Tommy Lee Jones to take it.

Alan Arkin – Argo

Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master

Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln

Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Amy Adams – The Master

Sally Field – Lincoln

Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables – WINNER… and she should. Best performance she’s ever given!

Helen Hunt – The Sessions

Jackie Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook

ANIMATED FEATURE:

Brave

Frankenweenie – WINNER – maybe… you’d think Tim Burton would have an Oscar by now, he doesn’t, so just give it to him.

ParaNorman

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

DIRECTING:

Amour – Michael Haneke

Beasts of the Southern Wild – Benh Zeitlin

Life of Pi – Ang Lee

Lincoln – Steven Spielberg – WINNER, solely based on the Lincoln bandwagon.

Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell

For the complete list of nominees and all things Oscars – here’s the official website http://oscar.go.com/

If you want to be a part of the Academy Awards without leaving Houston – you can attend the only Academy Awards sanctioned event – Oscar Experience Houston, which benefits the American Cancer Society. For info or to buy tickets, go to www.OEHouston.org