Colin Firth portrays King George VI with Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen Mother in "The King's Speech." Photo courtesy of MCT

It’s that time of year again when a bunch of film buffs try our hands at predicting who is going to walk away with the coveted little golden man.

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale (“The Fighter”), John Hawkes (“Winter’s Bone”), Jeremy Renner (“The Town”), Mark Ruffalo (“The Kids Are All Right”), Geoffrey Rush (“The King’s Speech”)

And the Oscar will go to: Christian Bale  (“The Fighter”)

He’s the candidate most likely to win since he snagged both honors, Golden Globe and the SAG in this category.  It’s possible that Geoffrey Rush will upset the whole thing, which is preferable, since Rush hasn’t been know to be a complete a** to crew members on movie sets.  Yet Bale uglied himself up for the role and the Academy does like it when good-looking people do that for a character.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams (“The Fighter”), Helena Bonham Carter (“The King’s Speech”), Melissa Leo (“The Fighter”), Hailee Steinfeld (“True Grit”), Jacki Weaver (“Animal Kingdom”)

And the Oscar will go to: Melissa Leo (“The Fighter”)

Her role as the heartless mother in “The Fighter” makes this actress a good choice. She also received the SAG and Golden Globe in her category, but it wouldn’t be a total upset if 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld took home the Oscar instead.  The Academy has been known to give  the award to talented young actresses in their film debuts, which would be fitting since Steinfeld should have been in the Best Actress category and not as a Supporting Actress (where she would have lost, but she deserved the proper nod).

Best Actor:

Javier Bardem (“Biutiful”), Jeff Bridges (“True Grit”), Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”), Colin Firth (“The King’s Speech”), James Franco (“127 Hours”)

And the Oscar will go to: Colin Firth (“The King’s Speech”)

Not only did he win both the Golden Globe and the SAG awards, but he also lost out in this category to Jeff Bridges last year.  While the other men in this category were all phenomenal, it would be a shock if anyone other than Firth won. The only Best Actor nominee to win and be a host the same year was David Niven in 1959 for his role in “Separate Tables,” which doesn’t bode well for James Franco.  Only five actors/actresses in Academy history have won back-to-back Oscars, so it is unlikely that Bridges would win after having won last year for “Crazy Heart.”  Plus it would be quite odd for the Academy to give the Oscar to him since John Wayne won his only Oscar for the same role in the 1969 version of “True Grit”.

Best Actress

Annette Bening (“The Kids Are All Right”), Nicole Kidman (“Rabbit Hole”), Jennifer Lawrence (“Winter’s Bone”), Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”), Michelle Williams (“Blue Valentine”)

And the Oscar will go to: Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”)

Portman will most likely win because she busted her butt to become a real ballerina for this role, but it would be nice to see Annette Bening walk away with this one.  Bening has yet to win an Oscar even though she’s been nominated three times and, lets face it, she’s over 50. Great roles for older actresses are few and far between.

Best Picture:

“Black Swan,” “The Fighter,” “Inception,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “The King’s Speech,” “127 Hours,” “The Social Network,” “Toy Story 3,” “True Grit,” “Winter’s Bone,”

And the Oscar will go to: “The King’s Speech”

While it was originally thought that “The Social Network” would have a likely chance of winning, “The King’s Speech” is going to give it a run for its money.  “The Social Network” may have won the Golden Globe but “The King’s Speech” won the SAG award and director Tom Hooper won the Director’s Guild Award (DGA).  In the past decade, only twice has a director won the DGA and the film they directed not win the Best Picture Academy Award. While many people may have “liked” “The Social Network,” it would be quite an upset if “The King’s Speech” didn’t get crowned.