Progressive Values' 2011 Oscar Winner Predictions

Sunday is a huge day for motion pictures with the 83rd Academy Awards, and Progressive Values has made a few predictions on the big winners. See if you agree, and watch for the actual results on Sunday.

Best Picture: There's some pretty strong nominees this year, which include BLACK SWAN, THE FIGHTER, INCEPTION, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, THE KING'S SPEECH, 127 HOURS, TOY STORY 3, TRUE GRIT AND WINTER'S BONE. SOCIAL NETWORK has done really well in other awards events held in recent weeks, however it seems more than likely that THE KING'S SPEECH wins on Sunday. BLACK SWAN is a little dreadful to watch, despite the strong performance of Natalie Portman. And TOY STORY 3 is one of the greatest animated films ever. TRUE GRIT is my personal favorite among these entries. It is one of the best Westerns ever made. INCEPTION is visually stunning. However, all of this being said, THE KING'S SPEECH just seems like a film tailor made to win the Oscar here, and a real shoo-in.

Prediction: THE KING'S SPEECH

Best Director: David Fincher-THE SOCIAL NETWORK, Tom Hooper-THE KING'S SPEECH, Darren Aronofsky-BLACK SWAN, David O. Russell-THE FIGHTER and Joel and Ethan Coen-TRUE GRIT. While earning Best Picture will likely evade SOCIAL NETWORK here, look for director David Fincher to get some respect from Oscar voters who will give him the metal man statue for his efforts.

Prediction: David Fincher-THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Best Actor: Javier Bardem-BIUTIFUL, Jeff Bridges-TRUE GRIT, Jesse Eisenberg-THE SOCIAL NETWORK, Colin Firth-THE KING'S SPEECH and James Franco-127 HOURS. There's some great performances here. And I personally loved Jeff Bridges in TRUE GRIT. He really nailed down that role as a great Western novel character. It was a true classic. However, Westerns aren't as popular as they used to be these days, including with the younger Oscar voters. This a shame, because Jeff Bridges could have won this award in a previous era. He turned in a performance probably better than John Wayne's 1969 Oscar winning performance. So you can look for Colin Firth to win the day here for THE KING'S SPEECH.

Prediction: Colin Firth-THE KING'S SPEECH

Best Supporting Actor: Jeremy Renner-THE TOWN, Mark Ruffalo-THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, John Hawkes-WINTER"S BONE, Christian Bale-THE FIGHTER and Geoffrey Rush-THE KING'S SPEECH. Once again, we have a difficult decision here. THE TOWN was a great film, and Jeremy Renner had a strong hand in it. Geoffrey Rush is always a top notch actor. However, look for Christian Bale to win for THE FIGHTER here. It would be especially fun to see Christian Bale win here because he's so prone to outbursts. That alone might make this a memorable event and great TV!

Prediction: Christian Bale-The Fighter

Best Actress: Natalie Portman-BLACK SWAN, Annette Bening-THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, Nicole Kidman-RABBIT HOLE, Jennifer Lawrence-WINTER'S BONE and Michelle Williams-BLUE VALENTINE. Here's a group of very fine performances. WINTER'S BONE and BLUE VALENTINE were very good films, with strong acting. On the other side, BLACK SWAN is a little bit dreadful to watch in some ways. Yet, my hunch here is that Natalie Portman is rewarded with winning the Oscar.

Prediction: Natalie Portman-BLACK SWAN

Best Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver-ANIMAL KINGDOM, Hailee Steinfeld, Melissa Leo-THE FIGHTER, Amy Adams-THE FIGHTER and Helena Bonham Carter-THE KING'S SPEECH. My overwhelming personal choice here is young Hailee Steinfield. She turned in such a wonderful and strong performance in TRUE GRIT. It was a great role. What a fine young performer. Helena Bonham Carter remains a favorite of many Oscar voters though. She's an awesome actress who turns in classic performance after performance. I could be dead wrong here, but my personal hunch is Hailee Steinfeld just might get the credit she is due here for her wonderful performance from the Oscar voters. But, Helena Bonham Carter and possibly Melissa Leo might just make things interesting here. This could be a very close three way race here, with only a few votes separating a winner from the losers.

Prediction: Hailee Steinfeld-TRUE GRIT

Let's hear your thoughts here. Am I all wet, or right on the money here. What do you think? At any rate, I may be vindicated tomorrow, or else have to enter the witness protection program due to extreme embarrassment. We'll see how much egg I'll be wearing on my face. Hey, here I am with the cast of RESTLESS, that new Gus Van Sant movie that I predicted would land Mia Wiasikowska an Oscar nomination this year, and the film has yet to be released by Sony for some odd reason. So I've been as wrong as they come before.