Pundits Predict Winners in Oscar Race
Feb. 25, 2007 — -- With the Oscars only hours away, the question on everyone's mind is who will win big at this year's Academy Awards.
Comedian Nicole Sullivan and Los Angeles Times' theenvelope.com columnist Tom O'Neil shared their picks with "Good Morning America Weekend Edition."
Best Supporting Actress
Nominees
Adriana Barraza in "Babel"
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal"
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls"
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel"
Who Should Win
Cate Blanchett. Her performance was beautiful and subtle.
Who Will Win
Jennifer Hudson will win because that's the "ingenue award," historically. She's starring in the kind of diva-belting role that other women have won for in big musicals like Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Chicago" and Rita Moreno in "West Side Story."
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children"
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond"
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls"
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed"
Who Should Win
Mark Wahlberg surprised audiences with his talent.
Who Will Win
Alan Arkin will pull off an upset over Eddie Murphy for several reasons. Murphy is not well-liked in Hollywood. Also the award, with past winners such as James Coburn and Jack Palance, tends to be the veteran's achievement award. Although Murphy is a veteran himself, he's still seen by Hollywooders as a kid.
Best Actress
Nominees
Penelope Cruz in "Volver"
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal"
Helen Mirren in "The Queen"
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada"
Kate Winslet in "Little Children"
Who Should Win
Meryl Streep. She transforms everything she does to a higher level. This part, played by anyone else, would have been normal and cute, but Streep turned in a wonderous performance.
Who Will Win
Helen Mirren will win. Only once in the past 15 years has a woman over age 50 won an Oscar -- Judi Dench for best supporting actress in "Shakespeare in Love." Younger, sexy women, like past winners Hilary Swank, Charlize Theron, Halle Berry and Julia Roberts, are more often the winners of the best actress statue.
Best Actor
Nominees
Leonardo Dicaprio in "Blood Diamond"
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson"
Peter O'Toole in "Venus"
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness"
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland"
Who Should Win
Forest Whitaker. He transformed himself for this role.
Who Will Win
Peter O'Toole will win because he's Oscar's biggest loser and voters are a sentimental lot who want to fix that. Forest Whitaker may have won every other award, but he portrays a villain in a supporting role parading as a lead. Only once before has that added up to a win: Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of the Lambs," which was also a best picture winner.
Best Pictures
Nominees
Babel
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Who Should Win
"Little Miss Sunshine." This is a movie with good acting -- no accents, no camera tricks and no stunt doubles. Just a great script with great people to execute it.
Who Will Win
"The Departed." The overdue director syndrome is a powerful Oscar force, so Martin Scorcese will win for director and his film, "The Departed" will go along for the award show ride.