BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
(Front-runners)
"Despicable Me"
"How to Train Your Dragon"
"The Illusionist"
"Tangled"
"Toy Story 3"
Spotlight: Because only 15 animated films qualifed for this race, there will just be three nominees. Most pundits predict "Toy Story 3" and "How to Train Your Dragon" will make the list, but — hmmm — what will the third one be?
(Possible)
"Alpha and Omega"
"Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore"
"The Dreams of Jinsha"
"Idiots and Angels"
"Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole"
"Megamind"
"My Dog Tulip"
"Shrek Forever After"
"Summer Wars"
"Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue"
ART DIRECTION
(Front-runners)
"Alice in Wonderland," Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara
"Black Swan," Thérèse DePrez, Tora Peterson
"Get Low," Geoffrey Kirkland, Frank Galline
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I," Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan
"Inception," Guy Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
"The King's Speech," Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
"Shutter Island," Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Tron Legacy," Darren Gilford, Lin MacDonald
"True Grit," Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
Spotlight: Contemporary films typically get snubbed unless they have fantastic elements like "Black Swan" and "Inception." Otherwise, expect to see period films rich in elegant detail such as "The King's Speech" or lavish fantasies like "Alice in Wonderland" to rule.
(Possible)
"The Fighter," Judy Becker, Gene Serdena
"Robin Hood," Arthur Max
"The Social Network," Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
"The Town," Sharon Seymour, Maggie Martin
COSTUME DESIGN
(Front-runners)
"Alice in Wonderland," Colleen Atwood
"Black Swan," Amy Westcott
"Get Low," Julie Weiss
"The King's Speech," Jenny Beaven
"Made in Dagenham," Louise Stjernsward
"Robin Hood," Janty Yates
"True Grit," Mary Zophres
Spotlight: Looks like "The King's Speech" outfitter Jenny Beaven is the front-runner considering the academy's fondness for period garb, especially when draping royals. Beaven is an academy blue blood herself, with eight past nominations, including a win for "A Room With a View" (1985).
(Possible)
"Burlesque," Michael Kaplan
"The Fighter," Mark Bridges
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I," Jany Temime
"Rabbit Hole," Ann Roth
"The Social Network," Jacqueline West
"Shutter Island," Sandy Powell
"The Tempest," Sandy Powell
FILM EDITING
(Front-runners)
"127 Hours," Jon Harris
"Black Swan," Andrew Weisblum
"Inception," Lee Smith
"The Fighter," Pamela Martin
"The King's Speech," Tariq Anwar
"The Social Network," Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
"Toy Story 3," Ken Schretzmann, Lee Unkrich
"The Town," Dylan Tichenor
"Tron Legacy," James Haygood
"True Grit," Roderick Jaynes
Spotlight: Many Oscarologists believe there's a mysterious link between this category and best picture. Indeed, six of the last 10 champs here also won the top Oscar, but animated films are traditionally ignored. If "Toy Story 3" really has a shot at winning best picture, it can prove itself in this category, where it'll have lots of support within the academy branch. Director Lee Unkrich began his career as an editor and now is back here as a potential nominee. Irresistible?
(Possible)
"Alice in Wonderland," Chris Lebenzon
"Biutiful," Stephen Mirrione
"Blue Valentine," Jim Helton, Ron Patane
"Hereafter," Joel Cox, Gary Roach
"How Do You Know," Richard Marks
"How to Train Your Dragon," Darren Holmes, Maryann Brandon
"Rabbit Hole," Joe Klotz
"Shutter Island," Thelma Schoonmaker
"The Way Back," Lee Smith
MAKEUP
(Front-runners)
"Alice in Wonderland," Valli O'Reilly, Paul Gooch, Patty York, Joel Harlow
"Get Low," Ken Diaz, Colleen Callaghan
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part I," Amanda Knight
"True Grit," Thomas Nellen, Kay Georgiou
Spotlight: Of course, "Alice" will be nominated. Johnny Depp has even more white powder on his mug than Heath Ledger in the 2008 nominee " The Dark Knight." Voters are suckers for heavy-handed cosmetics, including exaggerated facial hair like Robert Duvall's Rip van Winkle beard in "Get Low" and Benicio del Toro's whiskers gone berserk in "Wolfman."
(Possible)
"127 Hours," Gina Homan, Stephanie Scott, Jenna Kilgrow
"Black Swan," Judy Chin, Margie Durand, Mike Marino, Paul LeBlanc, Geordie Sheffer
"The Fighter," Donald Mowat, Johnny Villanueva
"The King's Speech," Frances Hannon
"Robin Hood," Paul Engelen
