Sneak Peak: 1st Oscar predix of the season

This week, I’m joining Tom O’Neil in his relaunch of Goldderby.com under the auspices of the LA Times on November 4th. I was there at the beginning when Tom first approached me during an Oscar panel to come aboard the newborn Goldderby.com and I returned an emphatic “yes!” And I’m happy to be part of his current crew — even if he is a bit of a diva!

Here, then, are my early predictions in the top five categories. I’ve seen a majority of the movies in contention, but not all (The Fighter, Rabbit Hole, True Grit still to come). Please come back when I link to Tom’s site later in the week, and you can see how my predix align with my esteemed colleagues.

BEST PICTURE

1. “Black Swan”
2. “The King’s Speech”
3. “The Social Network”
4. “Inception”
5. “Made in Dagenham”
6. “The Kids Are All Right”
7. “127 Hours “
8. “Toy Story 3”
9. “True Grit”
10. “Winter’s Bone”

BEST LEAD ACTOR

1. Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”
2. Michael Douglas, “Solitary Man”
3. James Franco, “127 Hours”
4. Ryan Gosling, “Blue Valentine”
5. Leonardo DiCaprio, “Inception”

BEST LEAD ACTRESS

1. Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
2. Annette Bening, “The Kids Are All Right”
3. Sally Hawkins, “Made in Dagenham”
4. Nicole Kidman, “Rabbit Hole”
5. Jennifer Lawrence, “Winter’s Bone

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Christian Bale, “The Fighter”
2. Geoffrey Rush, “The King’s Speech”
3. Matt Damon, “True Grit”
4. Mark Ruffalo, “The Kids Are All Right”
5. Sam Rockwell, “Conviction”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”
2. Miranda Richardson, “Made in Dagenham”
3. Helena Bonham Carter, “The King’s Speech”
4. Dianne Wiest “Rabbit Hole”
5. Hailee Steinfeld, “True Grit”