We take a look at the nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards and make some predictions for this year's winners with a little help from a canine visionary.

What a tumultuous year it's been for the Academy Awards planning committee; for the first time in a long time they appointed a host we were actually excited to see, and then by the stroke of a witless Twitter comment everything changed and we were stuck with an MC dragged from the cyrogenic vault.

The choice of host is always a hit and miss affair; they’ve tried different combinations of comedians and actors, suffered the failed experiment of Franco and Hathaway as hosts in an attempt to draw a younger audience, and still haven’t been able to hit upon a winning formula.

So when we heard that Eddie Murphy was taking over hosting duties this year it seemed an intriguing and potentially thrilling proposition.  We hardly ever get to see Eddie Murphy as himself these days as he’s usually too busy dressing up in fat costumes or making insipid comedies, but some of us can remember when he was hilarious, so the idea of him hosting as himself and not a latex-padded porker made us excited for the awards for the first time in forever.

Murphy was set to host with director Brett Ratner as producer, however Ratner withdrew after suffering a case of digital diarrhea on Twitter and Murphy quickly followed. 

Faced with a hostless awards ceremony, the Academy turned to old faithful Billy Crystal, who has hosted a mammoth eight times, mostly during the '90s, and now the old plow horse has been pulled out of retirement again.  This dying institution desperately needs a transfusion of fresh ideas, stat!  

They’ve even wheeled out '90s mainstay Mike Myers to play Sir Cecil Worthington, a crusty amalgam of several of his characters in this clip where he instructs Kevin Kline on Oscar etiquette.  

In 1974, the Awards created a stir when streaker Robert Opel, the subject of a new documentary, took to the stage, prompting David Niven to famously quip, “But isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?” 

It’s rumoured that the stunt was actually pre-planned by producers to add some spice to the occasion. If that's true, perhaps this year's party planning committee could take a fig leaf from the pages of the '70s and do something to really surprise us.  We'll find out on Monday whether it's business as usual for the Academy Awards ceremony, and who will win the most coveted prizes in movies.  

Best Picture

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight In Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of life
War Horse

This category is currently a three-way tie between Golden Globe winner The Descendants, Bafta winner The Artist and SAG Award winner The Help.  As the Oscars usually favour sentimental crowd pleasers (see Titanic and Gladiator) we’re going to predict The Help as the winner of the glabrous golden statuette.

Actor In A Leading Role

Demián Bichir
A Better Life

George Clooney
The Descendants

Jean Dujardin
The Artist

Gary Oldman
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Brad Pitt
Moneyball

Jean Dujardin has charmed Hollywood on and off screen as the star of The Artist and we predict his charismatic appeal has converted into ticks against his name on the ballot forms of Academy voters.  

Actor In A Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh
My Week With Marilyn

Jonah Hill
Moneyball

Nick Nolte
Warrior

Christopher Plummer
Beginners

Max von Sydow
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

After winning Best Supporting Actor in almost every awards ceremony of the year, Christopher Plummer will surely have to clear a space on his mantle for the Academy Award for his role in Beginners.

Actress In A Leading Role

Glenn Close
Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis
The Help

Rooney Mara
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep
The Iron Lady

Michelle Williams
My Week With Marilyn

Meryl Streep was the hot favourite in the lead-up to awards season, but Viola Davis’ win at the SAGs has knocked Streep’s odds of a third Oscar off-kilter. Davis's role as a maid oppressed by segregation against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement will probably resonate more with American voters than the biopic of a conservative English politician in pearls, so we're picking Viola for the win.

Actress In A Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo
The Artist

Jessica Chastain
The Help

Melissa McCarthy
Bridesmaids

Janet McTeer
Albert Nobbs

Octavia Spencer
The Help

Like her category compatriot Christopher Plummer, Octavia Spencer has swept up armfuls of best supporting actor awards for The Help, and the Academy Awards should compete her clean sweep of the trophies.  

Directing

The Artist
Michel Hazanavicius

The Descendants
Alexander Payne

Hugo
Martin Scorsese

Midnight In Paris
Woody Allen

The Tree of life
Terrence Malick

Scorsese got the Globe for Hugo, and Hazanavicius picked up the Bafta Phantom Of The Opera mask for The Artist.  We’re picking the French favourite to pick up this award, clearing the way for Academy voters to pick an American movie for Best Film.

Documentary Feature

Hell And Back Again
If A Tree Falls: A Story of The Earth Liberation Front 
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pin
Undefeated

We don’t have a prediction here, but of particular interest to New Zealand viewers might be Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, the third installment of the story of the conviction and campaign to free the West Memphis Three.  Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh made headlines recently when their involvement in the campaign to clear their names came to light when they brought Damien Echols, one of the men falsely accused, to visit New Zealand.

The documentary premieres on New Zealand TV this Friday 24 February on SoHo at 8.30pm

Music (Original Score)

The Adventures of TinTin
John Williams

The Artist
Ludovic Bource

Hugo
Howard Shore

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Alberto iglesias

War Horse
John Williams

The musical score in a movie can almost become a character in itself, and in a silent movie with no dialogue like The Artist, it’s never more important.   

Music (Original Song)

Man or Muppet
The Muppets Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie

Real in Rio
Rio Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Our Bret’s got a 50/50 chance of going home with the Oscar and we’re predicting that Sergio will be crying into the splendid plumage of animated squawker Rio before the night is over.  

But let’s leave the last word to our own modern day Nostradamus - the psychic animal.  Since Paul the Octopus is dead, his successor Paul II has an untested track record, Sonny Wool only does rugby games and Heidi the cross-eyed opossum had to be euthanised, we've found a possible new pet detective.  Using the same methodology as Heidi, (but with a kibble incentive) we tested the prognosticating abilities of my dog, who stayed true to his animal instincts, picking War Horse for Best Film. 



2012 Academy Awards
Sky Movies
Monday 27 February, 2.30pm