The Academy Award nominations will be announced tomorrow morning by Anne Hathaway, and the following aren't so much predictions as preferences. I tried to stay in those categories where I didn't feel too out of my element. Feel free to post your own picks, or protests, in the comments field below. Oh, and the pictures don't necessarily indicate preferences, either. Some are simply dark horses. Some are horses so dark no one can see them.

Best Picture (assuming a U.S. production)

• "Avatar"
• "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
• "The Hurt Locker"
• "The Informant!"
• "Inglourious Basterds"
• "A Serious Man"
• "The Soloist"
• "Up"
• "Up in the Air"
• "Where the Wild Things Are"

Best Director (assuming not)

• Olivier Assayas, "L'Heure d'ete"
• James Cameron, "Avatar"
• Joel and Ethan Coen, "A Serious Man"
• Spike Jonze, "Where the Wild Things Are"
• Steven Soderbergh, "The Informant!"

Best Actor (assuming Bridges; I haven't seen "Crazy Heart" yet)

• Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
• Matt Damon, "The Informant!"
• Robert Downey, Jr., "The Soloist"
• Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
• Max Records, "Where the Wild Things Are"

Best Actress (assuming nothing)

• Abbie Cornish, "Bright Star"
• Penelope Cruz, "Broken Embraces"
• Yolonde Moreau, "Seraphine"
• Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
• Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"

Best Supporting Actor (caveat: I never saw "The Messenger")

• Tom Hollander, "In the Loop"
• Christian McKay, "Me and Orson Welles"
• Alfred Molina, "An Education"
• Benoit Poelvoorde, "Coco Before Chanel"
• Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Supporting Actress

• Marion Cotillard, "Public Enemies"
• Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
• Catherine Keener, "The Soloist," "Where the Wild Things Are"
• Mo'Nique, "Precious"
• Julianne Moore, "A Single Man"

Best Original Screenplay

• Judd Apatow, "Funny People"
• Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker"
• Joel and Ethan Coen, "A Serious Man"
• Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and Thomas McCarthy, "Up"
• Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Adapated Screenplay

• Wes Anderson and Noah Bambaugh, "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
• Scott Z. Burns, "The Informant!"
• Susannah Grant, "The Soloist"
• Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers, "Where the Wild Things Are"
• Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, "Up in the Air"

Best Cinematography (Caveat: I only know so much)

• Barry Ackroyd, "The Hurt Locker"
• Lance Acord, "Where the Wild Things Are"
• Roger Deakins, "A Serious Man"
• Robert Richardson, "Inglourious Basterds"
• Dante Spinotti, "Public Enemies"

Best Documentary (Cavet: I only saw so many)

• "Anvil! The Story of Anvil"
• "The Cove"
• "The Horse Boy"
• "More than a Game"
• "Tyson"

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