BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Down to Earth" from Wall-E – Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman (music), Peter Gabriel (lyrics)
"Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire – A. R. Rahman (music), Gulzar (lyrics)
"O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire – A. R. Rahman and M.I.A.
Paul Clark Predicts: "Jai Ho"
Some might be predicting vote-splitting among the two Slumdog nominees, but I’d say the dance number clinches it for the song, giving it a level of goodwill with audiences it doesn’t necessarily deserve.
Andrew Osborne Predicts: "Down to Earth"
What the hell is going on with this category? What do they actually base this nomination on? Why does the Academy consider the unmemorable “Down To Earth” better than that unmemorable Bruce Springsteen song from The Wrestler? MSNBC.com has some theories...but as for my prediction, I’m assuming the two Slumdog songs cancel each other out, leaving Wall-E with the prize.
Nick Schager Predicts: "Jai Ho"
Scott Von Doviak Predicts: "Down to Earth"
SCREENGRAB CONSENSUS: NO CONSENSUS!
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
And the nominees are...
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Alexandre Desplat
Defiance – James Newton Howard
Milk – Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire – A.R. Rahman
Wall-E – Thomas Newman
Paul Clark Predicts: Thomas Newman
Newman’s been nominated ten times so far without winning (take that, Kate Winslet!), and his Wall-E score is one of his finest yet. Of its strongest competitors, Slumdog will have to settle for a win for Best Song, and Button’s Alexandre Desplat will have plenty of other chances to win.
Andrew Osborne Predicts: Alexandre Desplat
There are categories people have strong opinions about. This is not one of those categories. As such, I’m just marking down Benjamin Button, in the same way I suspect many Academy voters (or their assistants) will. Plus, the funny name rule applies again, because the nominated composer is Alexandre Desplat and I just like saying “Desplat.”
Nick Schager and Sarah Clyne Sundberg Predict: A.R. Rahman
Scott Von Doviak Predicts: Danny Elfman
I don't know why The Dark Knight isn't nominated in this category. That's a tremendously exciting score. I could clean my apartment in about twelve minutes with that music playing.
SCREENGRAB CONSENSUS: A.R. RAHMAN, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
And the nominees are...
Revanche (Austria) in German - Götz Spielmann
The Class (France) in French - Laurent Cantet
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany) in German
Departures (Japan) in Japanese
Waltz with Bashir (Israel) in Hebrew - Ari Folman
Paul Clark Predicts: Waltz With Bashir
With no dramedies about cranky geriatrics or Holocaust epics in the mix, the voters will have to get creative. This is the highest-profile of the bunch, and the one that seems most like the health food they generally go for in this category.
Andrew Osborne Predicts: The Class
I’m not up on my foreign films this year, though I’ve heard a lot of swoony buzz on The Class. But riddle me this: if Waltz With Bashir is good enough for a nomination here, out of all the world’s films, how come it wasn’t good enough to compete with Bolt and Kung Fu Panda in the Animated Feature category?
Leonard Pierce Predicts: Waltz With Bashir
The Baader Meinhof Complex is far too controversial to take an Oscar back to Germany. It’s likely to come down to a battle between The Class, which has crowd-pleasing, voter-appealing qualities, and the overrated Waltz with Bashir, which is gimmicky and thin but has a sort of immediacy that voters are prone to like. I’m guessing the voters will make the wrong choice in this case.
Should Win: The Class
Will Win: Waltz with Bashir
Nick Shager Predicts: Waltz With Bashir
Sarah Clyne Sundberg Predicts: Waltz With Bashir
Because it's done for documentary film what Maus and Persepolis the book did for memoirs. Also it could hardly have come at a better (or worse, depending on how you look at it) time in terms of current events in Israel.
Scott Von Doviak Predicts: Waltz With Bashir
SCREENGRAB CONSENSUS: WALTZ WITH BASHIR
Stay tuned for a bunch of editors, make-up artists and writers nobody cares about while all the cool kids go out for a cigarette break as the Screengrab 2009 Oscar Special continues!
Contributors: Paul Clark, Andrew Osborne, Leonard Pierce, Nick Schager, Sarah Clyne Sundberg, Scott Von Doviak