Oscar Index Special Edition: Predicting the 84th Academy Award Nominations

We're a little more than half a day away from learning who and what will compete for the 84th annual Academy Awards -- an elite class through which Movieline's Institute for the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics had combed for four months in its fail-safe, fool-proof and bracingly handsome Oscar Index. This calls for one last sweep through each of the Academy's categories (with the exception of live-action, animated and documentary short, about which even our pointiest-headed Oscar wonk cannot speak yet with authority); check our team's work against your own, and drop back by Movieline tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT as we deliver nominations, reactions, analysis and more.

[Nominees listed alphabetically by film]

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
War Horse

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne The Descendants
David Fincher, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Martin Scorsese Hugo
Woody Allen Midnight in Paris

BEST ACTRESS
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

BEST ACTOR
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
George Clooney, The Descendants
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Nick Nolte, Warrior

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will Reiser, 50/50
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Tom McCarthy and Joe Tiboni, Win Win

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants
Steven Zaillian, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tate Taylor, The Help
John Logan, Hugo
Stan Chervin, Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball

BEST ART DIRECTION
Laurence Bennett, The Artist
Donald Graham Burt, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stuart Craig, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Dante Ferretti, Hugo
Maria Djurkovic, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Jeff Cronenweth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Mark Bridges, The Artist
Michael O'Connor, Jane Eyre
Sandy Powell, Hugo
Jill Taylor, My Week with Marilyn
Jacqueline Durran, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST FILM EDITING
Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion, The Artist
Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Christopher Tellefsen, Moneyball
Michael Kahn, War Horse

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Lay Your Head Down," Albert Nobbs
"Hello Hello" Gnomeo & Juliet
"The Living Proof," The Help
"Life's a Happy Song," The Muppets
"Man or Muppet," The Muppets

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Adventures of Tintin
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

BEST SOUND MIXING
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

BEST ANIMATED FILM FEATURE
Rango
Puss in Boots
The Adventures of Tintin
Kung Fu Panda 2
Rio

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bill Cunningham New York
Buck
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Project Nim

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FEATURE
Bullhead, Belgium
Footnote, Israel
In Darkness, Poland
Monsieur Lazhar, Canada
A Separation, Iran

[Top photo via Shutterstock]

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