Oscars: The First Post favourites to win

The 83rd annual Academy Awards take place in Hollywood, California on Sunday evening, co-hosted by James Franco (who’s also in contention for a best actor Oscar) and  Anne Hathaway. The results will be known in the small hours of Monday morning, UK time. Until then, these are my predictions:

Best actor: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)Despite early suggestions that Jeff Bridges, star of the Coen brothers' True Grit, was on course to win the Oscar for a second year in a row, 2011 looks to be the year of King Colin, for his poignant portrayal of George VI's battle to conquer his stammer. Firth looks unbeatable. But if there is a true 'dark horse' in this category it would be James Franco for his nail-shredding performance as a climber forced to amputate his own arm in 127 Hours. Also-rans: Javier Bardem (Biutiful), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network).
 
Best actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Annette Bening put in a flawless performance in The Kids Are All Right but it is Natalie Portman's dramatic turn in Black Swan that is likely to sway the Academy. Dark horses: newcomer Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone) and method actor Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine), both of whom are outstanding in their respective films.
Also-ran:  Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole).
 
Best supporting actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)
By all rights, it should go to Geoffrey Rush for the vital contribution he makes to The King's Speech but the Oscar looks set to go to Christian Bale. Also-rans: John Hawkes (Winter's Bone), Jeremy Renner (The Town) Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right).
 
Best supporting actress: Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)An exceptionally strong category this year, with The Fighter's Melissa Leo still a favourite despite her self-funded ad campaign which turned some Academy voters off. My money is on True Grit's 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld pipping Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech). Also-rans: Amy Adams (The Fighter), Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom).
 
Best director: David Fincher (The Social Network) History is on the side of Tom Hooper after getting the Outstanding Directorial Achievement award from the Directors Guild of America (DGA) for The King’s Speech: only six times since 1948 has the winner of the DGA award not gone on to win the equivalent Oscar. I predict that this will be the seventh. The Oscar will go either to Joel and Ethan Coen for True Grit or David Fincher for The Social Network. I’m going for the latter. Also-rans: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), David O Russell (The Fighter).
 
Best Picture: The Social NetworkEven the Hollywood pundits are now predicting that Bafta darling The King's Speech could dethrone The Social Network, the early favourite. But the quintessentially American 'Facebook film' will clinch it on the night. True Grit could be the dark horse winner, as Crash was in 2006. Also-rans: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, 127 Hours, Toy Story 3, Winter's Bone.

Best adapted screenplay: Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) True Grit - the Coen brothers' adaptation of the Charles Portis novel (rather than the John Wayne Western) - has a fighting chance. But it will go to Aaron Sorkin’s Facebook magnum opus.  Also-rans: 127 Hours, Toy Story 3, Winter's Bone.
 
Best original screenplay: Christopher Nolan (Inception)David Seidler for The King's Speech is the only contender to knock out Christopher Nolan for his highly original Inception - but I'm backing Nolan. Also-rans: Another Year, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right. ·