By Adam Spunberg

Several of our writers have come out with their nomination predictions, and I already offered my take on the Best Picture category. If there is one thing we can truly prognosticate, it’s that the question of tomorrow will be: “Who got snubbed?” And many, who were grossly off in their original picks, will take furiously to the keyboard like those valet guys in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; ultimately, there are some who will never be satisfied with any outcome, so long as they have a sounding board for expressing their displeasure.

Snubs can be broken down into two categories: movies that were on a lot of people in-the-know’s lists, and movies that never stood a chance to begin with. If a movie gets a, “Wow, I can’t believe that got snubbed,” reaction, it’s in Group 1. Group 2 is more likely to elicit a, “The Academy is way too stuck up to consider a movie like that” response, or in some extreme cases, “That’s why I don’t watch the ***** Oscars!” (be rest assured…those people usually still do watch).
There will be plenty of time to discuss the travesties of Group 1, so I will cater here to a few candidates not on the Academy’s radar:

Best Actor:
1. Viggo Mortensen, The Road: Nobody seems to be mentioning him at all, which leads me to believe – as Phil Wallace astutely pointed out – that few people have actually seen The Road. Our favorite Aragorn-portrayer should have at least gotten some consideration for muddying around in the filth for a whole shoot. An understated film that genuinely illustrates the listlessness of Cormac McCarthy’s apocalyptic world, Viggo shines as the morally-conflicted father without answers. Mortensen deserves a shoeshine and a footprint on the red carpet.

2. Jesse Eisenberg, Adventureland: Eisenberg really seems to like movies with “land” in them (Adventureland and Zombieland in 2009), but that affinity won’t land him any Oscar love. I may be in the minority, but I thoroughly appreciated Adventureland for its good-natured spirit, compelling story, and perhaps most of all, the likeability of its main character. Eisenberg played his role perfectly, and for that he deserves to be on higher turf.

Best Actress:
1. Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer: While I was thrilled to see my former classmate (we even lived in the same dorm), Joseph Gordon-Levitt, get some attention at the Golden Globes, where was Zooey Deschanel? After all, the movie WAS about Summer, first and foremost, and Deschanel played the spellbindingly-unreachable temptress with almost as much nuance as Vivaldi in his Four Seasons.

2. Abbie Cornish, Bright Star: Cornish was entrancing in her portrayal of Miss Fanny Brawne, the open-to-the-world fashionista who fell hard for poet John Keats in the underappreciated Bright Star (see my earlier thoughts). I really can’t find fault with any aspect of her performance. This is one of those cases where her obscurity as an actress hurt her severely, whereas everyone knows Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep. Let’s hope Carey Mulligan wins it on behalf of the unknown Brits.

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Jim Broadbent, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: This is a clear case of discrimination by genre. Broadbent absolutely steals the show in the latest installment of the Potter series, playing the flawed-but-jolly Professor Slughorn with a hilarious air. Throughout the film, Broadbent speaks the mind of his character with comic contortions of his face, and when he speaks, it always seems humorous. J. K. Rowling and her rabid constituents were all thrilled with his performance.

2. Paul Giamatti, Duplicity: Duplicity may have been a mediocre film, forgettable as another not-so-serious man-woman spy movie (although I still enjoyed it). Lost within the averageness was a gem of a performance by Giamatti, as the over-the-top CEO desperate to use any kind of espionage imaginable to show up his nemesis. In one scene, Giamatti is especially brilliant as he holds a stockholder’s meeting where he believes he has his triumph. In a more notable movie, Giamatti would get more recognition.

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds: I don’t know how Diane Kruger can be considered for a nomination and not the mesmerizing Laurent. Laurent’s extraordinary performance as the victim-turned-femme-fatale, ever more intoxicating through each new eye-movement and cryptic smile, should not only garner a nomination, but an Oscar win (see Mallory Pickard’s piece on Inglourious Basterds). If all predictions turn out true, the Academy is really missing the boat here.

2. Olivia Williams, An Education: An Education featured a number of prominent actors in minor roles, such as Emma Thompson as the school headmistress and Rosamund Pike as the friend of Jenny’s (Carey Mulligan) suitor. None compared to that of Williams, whose stony countenance conveyed such disappointment and earnest hope in the slightest gestures. Williams will not be recognized at the Oscars, but those who value solid acting will not soon forget her fine contribution.

Best Director:
1. David Yates, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: In a franchise that has zipped through several directors and been subject to inescapable hype, it’s truly remarkable that Yates will be retained from No. 5 through the two installments of No. 7. What makes Yates’ directing so exceptional is how he delicately approaches each scene. At times, I thought the Half-Blood Prince was as much an art film as a fantasy adventure, with such attention to detail and Yates’ determination to reveal the beauty of Rowling’s magical world.

2. Sam Raimi, Drag Me to Hell: An unconventional choice, certainly, but one that deserves some serious mention. Considering the difficulty of the genre, especially among critics, how to explain the 92% Rotten Tomatoes that Raimi has staggeringly achieved? As someone who normally shuns horror films, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Raimi’s devilishly-good directing. More than just a scary movie, Raimi poked fun of the traditional components of the horror movie, all while providing a ghastly tale of his own. I laughed and gasped and laughed and gasped, and I imagine Hollywood would too if they looked at it under an unprejudiced lense.

I will be extremely surprised if even one of these 10 films snags an unexpected nomination, but I encourage you – the viewers – to rise where the Academy could not, and contemplate the valor of these efforts while others receive the call.