Woo hoo, it's Oscar weekend! The Razzies happened this morning-- ah, Lindsay Lohan, we're so proud-- and the Independent Spirit Awards are happening this very moment. All across L.A. there are actresses refusing to eat anything while getting God-knows-what done to their hair and faces. From a tiny apartment in New York, wearing my gym clothes, I salute you! The two categories under discussion today have been victims of the pundits' desire to stir the pot in the last week. Neither winner has been terribly in doubt, but all week there have been troublemakers trying to start rumors of this or that upset. Here at Cinema Blend, we say no way. You can call it going with the status quo, or you can just call it smart.

The Nominees: Best Actor
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones, In The Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

He drank our milkshakes, he dug our oil, he made fun of our religion, and we love him for it. Daniel Day-Lewis has been the frontrunner in this category from the moment he signed on to Paul Thomas Anderson's oil epic, and he's shown no sign of stopping all awards season. The only possible threat comes from George Clooney, a beloved Hollywood figure who gave a classy, but not showy, performance in the low-key legal drama. Some pundits are picking Clooney for the upset, but they're fooling themselves: Day-Lewis is deservedly slurping that milkshake to the top.

Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Dark horse: George Clooney

The Nominees: Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

There's been a lot of flip-flopping in this here category, even though Julie Christie has been the strongest contender for a while now. Some were calling it a three-way race between Christie, Cotillard and Page, but now it's seemed to settle as a Christie-Cotillard matchup. Christie, who won an Oscar over 40 years ago, is a Hollywood staple who, like Day-Lewis, only does work once in a while, and when she does it's always worthwhile. Cotillard, on the other hand, is a fresh face who underwent major transformation to play French singing legend Edith Piaf; remember how Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Hilary Swank and Halle Berry all took home Best Actress statues for uglifying themselves, and you see the logic in picking Cotillard here. Still, I have a hard time seeing the Frenchie overtake veteran Christie. Page will have her chance for an Oscar, Blanchett's already got one, and Linney, sadly, continues to wait for her day in the sun.

Will win: Julie Christie
Dark horse: Marion Cotillard

Tomorrow we talk Best Picture and Best Director before heading downtown for the Oscar viewing party. Sadly, the whole save-the-best-for-last strategy isn't going to work so well in terms of suspense. If you don't know what's coming up tomorrow for predictions, well, maybe putting money on the Oscar results isn't such a good plan, friendo.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Oscar-Prediction-Mania-08-Best-Actor-And-Actress-Predictions-7935.html