Oscar week is going strong here at Movieline HQ, and in addition to last minute party preparations -- Julie is furiously working on her world famous potato salad -- we've asked celebrities from all walks of life to give us their fool-proof predictions. ESPN host/GoodFellas enthusiast Tony Reali was kind enough to take time away from his day job of keeping sportswriters in check on Around the Horn to participate in our little parlor game. Which Oscar hopefuls does he think should have speeches prepared for Sunday? Leave your mute buttons behind and click ahead to find out.
BEST PICTURE: "Should win? The Fighter. It had the heart, soul and comb-over of a champion. You can make a case that the other nine nominees had two of those, but none had all three. And it's the soul that puts it over the top for me. Sweaty, dirty, crack pipe burns-and-all. Could Win? The King's Speech. If there's something the Academy loves it's regal costume-y. And it's legitimately timeless and great. But it's soooo safe. Will Win? The Social Network. People want this to happen because it's the movie of a generation. Whatevs. I am that generation. If The Social Network had been the Best Movie of the Year, it would have been the Best Movie of the Year. Put me down for The Fighter."
BEST DIRECTOR: "This is David Fincher's to lose. Let's be honest: True Grit had a Coen-y feel, and Black Swan was certainly Aronofsky. Been there, done that. Anyone with an accent and a foggy fish lens could probably direct a passable King's Speech. But I can't imagine anyone else making The Social Network. Bonus points for rebooting the Benjamin Button trick on the Winklevoss Twins. The whole movie I was wondering how they could find two 6 foot, 5 inch boat-rowing, calendar models who could act. They had different hair parts! One of many impressive achievements in the film."
BEST ACTOR: "I saw 127 hours and walked out of the theater saying I didn't want to live in a world where James Franco wasn't Best Actor. He chewed scenery as scenery, literally, chewed him. Then I saw The King's Speech and Colin Firth blew me away. Left me speechless, as every critic in America is forced to write. So I'm fine with Firth winning the award everybody's already given him. Just know this: in the time it took King George VI to say, 'Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen,' Aron Ralston had already hacked through two bones with a pocketknife."
BEST ACTRESS: "For me, this comes down to Annette Bening vs. Natalie Portman. Neither is the wrong choice. And while kissing Julianne Moore might -- might -- equal kissing Mila Kunis, 'no make up' doesn't match 'back muscles.' If Nicole Kidman can win an Oscar for wearing a fake shnoz in The Hours, Natalie Portman is certainly worthy for getting jacked-up in the upper dorsimus area."
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: "Christian Bale. This was over 10 minutes into the movie. And then, for a victory lap, David O. Russell rolls that footage of the real Dicky Eklund into the credits. Any time a director does that it's because they know you're going to freak when you see it. I'm such a sucker for that; the noise I made started out as a Joey Lawrence whoah, and finished up a Keanu Reeves whoah. No contest."
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: "I love this category. It ranges from the Queen Mum to the dumpster. Melissa Leo nails Lowell, Mass with Lee Press-On; she was feral. If she wins she should tithe to Jordache and Virginia Slim. My vote goes to Hailee Steinfeld. She stood boot to boot with Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, and gets extra points because -- unlike those other three -- I was able to understand the words that were coming out of her mouth."
REGRETS: "I only I wish I could find an Oscar somewhere for Inception. I loved it. It's the kind of movie you put on at 3 a.m. with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. Or not. But still, beautifully complex. And it had that great music cue -- the Edith Piaf song -- in a movie with the actress who played Piaf, playing a person that was dead, or not dead; or real or not real; or whatever. That was a great watch."
[Top Photo: Randi Sager/ ESPN]