Well, it’s that time of year again, folks! The Academy Award nominations have been released, and the ceremony is right around the corner, coming up on Sunday, February 27 on ABC, hosted by Anne Hathaway and Oscar nominee James Franco! Who will win on Hollywood’s big night? It’s time to find out!
Here are the nominations for Best Actor…
- Javier Bardem – Biutiful
- Jeff Bridges – True Grit
- Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
- Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
- James Franco – 127 Hours
If there’s any Oscar category that needs no prediction this year, it’s Best Actor. Let’s face it, everyone—Colin Firth has this one in the bag. Whereas Natalie Portman has a little bit of competition from Annette Bening in the Best Actress category, Firth is up against four other actors here who have basically zero chance to win the big award. Anything is possible, of course, but it’s going to be Firth. Let’s take a more in-depth look at the nominees.
Javier Bardem – Biutiful
Ladies and gentlemen, here was the biggest shocker of the Oscar morning announcements. Nobody—not even Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger—could have predicted that Oscar winner Javier Bardem was going to sneak into the Best Actor race for his lead role in the Spanish-language film Biutiful. Ignored by almost every major critics’ group and awards show ceremony, Bardem surprisingly showed up on the Best Actor list at the Baftas a few days ago. Julia Roberts even went out of her way earlier this month to hold an Academy screening of Biutiful to gain buzz for Bardem’s performance. It worked!
Jeff Bridges – True Grit
Will Bridges pull a Tom Hanks this year by winning an Oscar a second year in a row? Unless the Academy goes completely crazy for True Grit, it seems highly unlikely. Remember when Russell Crowe was nominated for Best Actor three years in a row, and then he won for freaking Gladiator instead of A Beautiful Mind? Except for extraordinary circumstances, the Academy likes to spread the wealth, and not award the same actor an Oscar two years in a row. Sorry Jeff, but enjoy the show!
Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
If there’s any justice in the world, Eisenberg’s name would be called out on February 27. He has been terrific and a true original in movie after movie, the good ones and the bad, and he’s by far the most interesting actor of his generation. Perfectly cast as Mark Zuckerburg in The Social Network, Eisenberg commands every scene he’s in with his intensity, humor, confidence, and self-loathing. He’s brilliant in this film, and here’s hoping, even though he has no shot of winning an Oscar this year, more directors will give this great actor more opportunities in the coming years that will bring Eisenberg Oscar gold.
Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
He’s this year’s Philip Seymour Hoffman, Forest Whitaker, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Jeff Bridges, the actor who annoyingly picks up every… single… award at every… single… ceremony. It was fun in 2009 when Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn won different awards throughout the season, and it was actually a question mark who might win the Oscar. But come on, it’s a foregone conclusion by now—Firth will win the Academy Award for The King’s Speech. And deservedly so!
James Franco – 127 Hours
Franco probably has a long list on a white-board somewhere with all the 127 things he wants to accomplish in his life, and he puts a check mark next to each act that he’s accomplished. This year he decided he wanted to be both an Oscar nominee and an Oscar host, so two more of those acts have been checked off! There doesn’t seem to be a lot of momentum for this film to win any awards on February 27, but Franco is hosting the awards—maybe he’ll make such a good impression that they’ll let him tie with Firth and take home an Academy Award? Jeez, then he’d be able to make another check mark on his white board. And he’ll only have sixty-five more things to accomplish before he dies.
WILL WIN: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
SHOULD WIN: Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
DARK HORSE: James Franco – 127 Hours
