Oscar 2007 Picks: Yet another list...

Here's my list of Oscar picks and dark horse contenders. Let's hope Ellen can keep the show rolling and on time so I can have something for you on monday (knock on wood).

Performance by an actor in a leading role

My pick: Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)
Dark Horse: Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

My pick: Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Dark Horse: Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

My Pick: Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Dark Horse: Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

My Pick: Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Dark Horse: Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)

Best animated feature film of the year

My Pick: “Cars” (Buena Vista) John Lasseter
Dark Horse: “Monster House” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Gil Kenan

Achievement in art direction

My Pick:“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Dark Horse: “The Prestige” (Buena Vista)

Achievement in cinematography

My Pick: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Guillermo Navarro
Dark Horse: “The Black Dahlia” (Universal) Vilmos Zsigmond

Achievement in costume design

My Pick: “Curse of the Golden Flower” (Sony Pictures Classics) Yee Chung Man
Dark Horse: “Marie Antoinette” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Milena Canonero

Achievement in directing

My Pick:“The Departed” (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese
Dark Horse: “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu

Best documentary feature

My Pick: “An Inconvenient Truth” (Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
Dark Horse:“Jesus Camp” (Magnolia Pictures)

Best documentary short subject

My Pick: “Recycled Life”
Dark Horse: “The Blood of Yingzhou District”


Achievement in film editing

My Pick: “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Dark Horse: “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)

Best foreign language film of the year

My Pick:“Pan’s Labyrinth” Mexico
Dark Horse: "The Lives of Others” Germany

Achievement in makeup

My Pick: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) David Martí and Montse Ribé
Dark Horse: “Apocalypto” (Buena Vista) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

My Pick:“The Good German” (Warner Bros.) Thomas Newman
Dark Horse: “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight) Philip Glass

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

My Pick:“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”
Dark Horse:“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”

Best motion picture of the year

My Pick: “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Dark Horse: “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)

Best animated short film

My Pick:“The Danish Poet” (National Film Board of Canada)
Dark Horse: “Lifted” (Buena Vista)

Best live action short film

My Pick: “The Saviour” (Australian Film Television and Radio School)
Dark Horse: “West Bank Story”

Achievement in sound editing

My Pick: “Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Dark Horse: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)

Achievement in sound mixing

My Pick: “Apocalypto” (Buena Vista)
Dark Horse: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)

Achievement in visual effects

My Pick: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Buena Vista)
Dark Horse: “Superman Returns” (Warner Bros.)

Adapted screenplay

My Pick: “The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
Dark Horse: “Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (20th Century Fox)

Original screenplay

My Pick: “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Dark Horse: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)