Less than 30 minutes to go and here's my picks:

BEST PICTURE

Will/should win: No Country For Old Men

BEST ACTOR

Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Should win: Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Could win: George Clooney, Michael Clayton

BEST ACTRESS

Will win: Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Should win: Julie Christie, Away From Her
Could win: Ellen Page, Juno

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Will/should win: Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Could win: Hal Holbrook, Into The Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Will/should win: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Could win: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

BEST DIRECTOR

Will/should win: Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Could win: P.T. Anderson, There Will Be Blood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Will/should win: Juno
Could win: Michael Clayton

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Will/should win: No Country For Old Men

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Will/should win: Ratatouille
Could win: Persepolis

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Will/should win: The Counterfeiters, Austria

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Will win: Sicko
Should win: No End In Sight

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Will win: Atonement
Should win: Ratatouille

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Will/should win: "Falling Slowly", Once
Could win: "That's How You Know", Enchanted

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Will win: No Country For Old Men
Should win: There Will Be Blood
Could win: The Diving Bell & The Butterfly

BEST EDITING

Will win: There Will Be Blood
Should win: No Country For Old Men

BEST ART DIRECTION

Will/should win: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Could win: There Will Be Blood

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Will/should win: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Could win: Atonement

BEST MAKEUP

Will/should win: La Vie En Rose
Could win: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

BEST SOUND MIXING

Will/should win: Ratatouille
Could win: No Country For Old Men

BEST SOUND EDITING

Will win: Transformers
Should win: There Will Be Blood
Could win: Ratatouille

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Will win: Transformers
Should win: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

MY ANNUAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS & PREFERENCES

BEST PICTURE

My personal picks:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Juno

Others worth mentioning: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Into The Wild, Hairspray, The Kite Runner, and Michael Clayton

Eventual lineup:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Atonement
Juno

BEST ACTOR

My personal picks:

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sam Riley, Control
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild

Others worth mentioning: Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl), James McAvoy (Atonement), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead/The Savages), Gordon Pinsent (Away from Her), and Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men)

Eventual lineup:

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises


BEST ACTRESS

My personal picks:

Julie Christie, Away from Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page, Juno
Laura Linney, The Savages
Nikki Blonsky, Hairspray

Others worth mentioning: Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Amy Adams (Enchanted), Keri Russell (Waitress), and Molly Shannon (Year of the Dog)

Eventual lineup:

Julie Christie, Away from Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page, Juno
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

My personal picks:

Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood
Robert Downey, Jr., Zodiac
Paul Rudd, Knocked Up

Others worth mentioning: Tommy Lee Jones (No Country For Old Men), Max von Sydow (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s War), John Travolta (Hairspray), and Michael Cera (Juno)

Eventual lineup:

Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

My personal picks:

Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Jennifer Garner, Juno
Kelly Macdonald, No Country For Old Men
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Leslie Mann, Knocked Up

Others worth mentioning: Samantha Morton (Control), Emily Mortimer (Lars and the Real Girl), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Charlotte Gainsbourg (I’m Not There), Vanessa Redgrave (Atonement), Allison Janney (Juno), and Michelle Pfeiffer (Hairspray/Stardust)

Eventual lineup:

Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement

BEST DIRECTOR

My personal picks:

David Fincher, Zodiac
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Others worth mentioning: Todd Haynes (I’m Not There), Jason Reitman (Juno), Wes Anderson (The Darjeeling Limited), Marc Forster (The Kite Runner), Sean Penn (Into the Wild) and Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)

Eventual lineup:

Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
Joe Wright, Atonement


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

My personal picks:

Juno
Lars and the Real Girl
Ratatouille
The Darjeeling Limited
I’m Not There

Others worth mentioning: The Savages, Once, Knocked Up, Superbad, and Michael Clayton

Eventual lineup:

Juno
Eastern Promises
Lars and the Real Girl
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

My personal picks:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Atonement
Zodiac

Others worth mentioning: Into the Wild, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Control, Away from Her, The Kite Runner, and Charlie Wilson’s War

Eventual lineup:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Atonement
Into the Wild

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

My personal picks:

Ratatouille
Persepolis
The Simpsons Movie

Eventual lineup:

Ratatouille
Persepolis
The Simpsons Movie

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

My personal picks:

Sicko
No End in Sight
Nanking
Lake of Fire
War/Dance

Eventual lineup:

Autism: The Musical
Nanking
No End in Sight
Please Vote For Me
Sicko

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

My personal picks (from the original shortlist):

The Counterfeiters, Austria
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, Brazil
Persepolis, France
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, Romania
The Orphanage, Spain

Eventual lineup (from the 9 finalists):

The Counterfeiters, Austria
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, Brazil
Beaufort, Israel
The Unknown Woman, Italy
Katyn, Poland

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

My personal picks:

Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood (now ruled ineligible)
Michael Giacchino, Ratatouille
Dario Marianelli, Atonement
Alberto Iglesias, The Kite Runner
David Shire, Zodiac

Eventual lineup:

Michael Giacchino, Ratatouille
Dario Marianelli, Atonement
Alberto Iglesias, The Kite Runner
Alexandre Desplat, Lust, Caution
Clint Eastwood, Grace is Gone

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

My personal picks:

“That’s How You Know”, Enchanted
“Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)”, Hairspray
“Guaranteed”, Into the Wild
“Falling Slowly”, Once
“Walk Hard”, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Others worth mentioning: “Say” (The Bucket List), “Happy Working Song” (Enchanted), “Society” (Into the Wild), “If You Want Me” (Once), “Le Festin” (Ratatouille), “Beautiful Ride” (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), and “Let’s Duet” (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story)

Eventual lineup:

“That’s How You Know”, Enchanted
“Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)”, Hairspray
“Society”, Into the Wild
“Falling Slowly”, Once
“Le Festin”, Ratatouille

BEST ART DIRECTION

My personal picks:

Atonement
The Darjeeling Limited
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood
Hairspray

Others worth mentioning: Across the Universe, The Kite Runner, Zodiac, and No Country For Old Men

Eventual lineup:

Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood
The Golden Compass

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

My personal picks:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Hairspray
Atonement
Blades of Glory
La Vie En Rose

Eventual lineup:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Hairspray
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The Golden Compass

BEST MAKEUP

My personal picks:

La Vie En Rose
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
300

Eventual lineup:

La Vie En Rose
Norbit
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

My personal picks:

No Country For Old Men
Zodiac
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Others worth mentioning: American Gangster, Across the Universe, Into the Wild, I’m Not There, The Darjeeling Limited and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Eventual lineup:

There Will Be Blood
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country For Old Men

BEST EDITING

My personal picks:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
I’m Not There
Zodiac

Others worth mentioning: American Gangster, Michael Clayton, Juno, Into the Wild, and Atonement

Eventual lineup:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
Michael Clayton
The Bourne Ultimatum

BEST SOUND MIXING

My personal picks:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
No Country For Old Men
Ratatouille
Hairspray
There Will Be Blood

Others worth mentioning: American Gangster, Zodiac, I’m Not There, and 300

Eventual lineup:

No Country For Old Men
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Hairspray
Transformers
Ratatouille

BEST SOUND EDITING

My personal picks:

Spider-Man 3
Ratatouille
300

Eventual lineup:

Transformers
300
Ratatouille

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

My personal picks (from the original shortlist):

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Spider-Man 3
300

Eventual lineup (from the 7 finalists):

The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Transformers

I had an fun time taking part in an independent film shoot on campus today. As opposed to working as a crew member in the previous shoots that I had previously participated, I was now working as part of the cast. And for the first time, I was actually paid for working on a shoot ($50 in cash).

It's official, I now have more friends on MySpace than Friendster.

As of today:

MySpace - 193
Friendster - 191

I'll never understand why most Filipinos still prefer Friendster over the more superior MySpace. Then again, we have been patronizing Betamax and VCDs even though VHS and later DVDs were already the rage. Most of my classmates haven't even updated their MySpace pages since 2005!

It's gonna be a busy week ahead for me!

I have to start working on my final papers for my Sociology and Health classes.

I still have to finish working on my portfolio and application for CalArts before the November 30 deadline.

I also have to start coming up with an idea for an audio-visual presentation for my sister's December 29 wedding.

I hope I finish these things through by the end of the week as well as still have enough time to chill and relax in between.

Well, with the writers' strike now official, I might share this little video explaining what they're fighting for.

Funny video in relation to the writers' strike in Hollywood.