Best Director

The Artist: Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants: Alexander Payne
Hugo: Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen
The Tree of Life: Terrence Malick

Last year, I was sure voters would split Best Picture and Director, and in this race choose the American auteur over the European unknown, but they still went with Tom Hooper instead of David Fincher in their King’s Speech love-fest. I think such a scenario will play out again, with Scorsese narrowly losing out to the Best Picture heavyweight.

Prediction: The Artist. Personal Pick: Marty, Marty, Marty!