CHECKLIST: My full and official predictions of the 2012 Academy Awards

After a series of nine articles breaking down and researching the nominees, trends, snubs, surprises, and favorites from every award category, here is my finalized checklist of my 2012 Oscar predictions for the 84th Academy Awards.  The final winners will be named and trophies will be given out on February 26th on ABC with Billy Crystal returning as host.  Remember, these are my predictions of who and what I think is going to win, not who or what I actually want to win.  My personal votes would very different.  However, I'm here to show my smarts.  As your go-to "movie guy," I'm just trying to live up to my reputation.  I'm here to beat the other experts and help you win your Oscar poll at work.  So, after compiling my picks from the editorials, here are my final Oscar predictions in every category:

  • BEST PICTUREThe Artist
  • BEST DIRECTOR:  Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
  • BEST ACTOR:  Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
  • BEST ACTRESS:  Viola Davis (The Help)
  • BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:  Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
  • BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  Octavia Spencer (The Help)
  • BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:  Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
  • BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:  Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, and Jim Rash (The Descendants)
  • BEST ANIMATED FEATURERango
  • BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMA Separation
  • BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:  Ludovic Bource (The Artist)
  • BEST ORIGINAL SONG:  "Man or Muppet" (The Muppets)
  • BEST ART DIRECTIONHugo
  • BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYThe Tree of Life
  • BEST COSTUME DESIGNThe Artist
  • BEST FILM EDITINGHugo
  • BEST MAKEUPThe Iron Lady
  • BEST SOUND EDITINGHugo
  • BEST SOUND MIXINGHugo
  • BEST VISUAL EFFECTSRise of the Planet of the Apes
  • BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATUREParadise Lost 3: Purgatory
  • BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECTThe Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
  • BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:  The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
  • BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILMTuba Atlantic

There you go!  If you want to try my picks in your Oscar pool, be my guest.  Once again, if you need a little reason and analysis, please read the previous "2012 Oscar Prediction" articles for the individual categories.  If you need a little data to back them up, check out my ongoing "2011 Awards Tracker" page.  Thanks for reading and I'll see you on February 26th when I update how well I did.  In terms of predictions, I hope I'm right.  In terms of wins in some categories, I hope I'm wrong and my many personal favorites beat some of these predictions.  Enjoy Oscar night, everyone!