Every year, Oscar pools are a big part of celebrating the Academy Awards. To help you with your picks, here are some odds on who we think will take home a statue this year:
Best Supporting Actor, Josh Brolin, 10-1: There’s an outside chance that voters have mistakenly identified Brolin as the dead one
Best Animated Feature, Bolt, 7-19: Everyone still feeling sorry for John Travolta
Best Sound Mixing, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, 3-2: The boom mic work is fucking flawless
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, 5-8: Setting the story during Hurricane Katrina is exactly the sort of daringly obvious manipulation the Academy loves to reward
Best Short Film (Live Action), New Boy, 4-5: Historically, the third film on the ballot in this category receives the most votes, as most Academy members haven’t watched any of the nominees, and voting for the first or second one on the list looks too obvious
Best Directing, The Reader, 85-1: For an entire tense scene at the film’s climax, a gaffer is clearly visible eating a plate of messy buffalo wings in the background
Best Documentary Feature, Man On Wire, 1-3: It’s a documentary, and you’ve heard of it
Best Leading Actor, Mickey Rourke, 8-11: Rourke’s performance as a contrite actor just looking to do the best work of his career has wowed Academy voters
