By Baz Bamigboye
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The Oscars reach fever pitch today as members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences go right down to the wire as voting ends at 5pm in Los Angeles.
It’s one of the most competitive Academy Awards in years.
A few days ago it seemed that Argo, Ben Affleck’s Iranian hostage drama, had the best picture Oscar locked up. But three of Argo’s rival contenders in the best film of the year list have been campaigning in the Academy’s heartlands of Los Angeles, New York and London at an incredible rate.
The studio behind Silver Linings Playbook, in particular, has battled hard to try to snatch the best film prize from Argo while Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty have also pitched for the hearts, minds and votes of the Academy.
So, what are these movies and who are these stars? More importantly, who and what’s going to win?
Who's going to win on the night? All the nominees for the 85th Oscars pose together ahead of the big night on Sunday
Best Film:
Amour.
Our man: The Mail's Baz Bamigboye is currently in Los Angeles ahead of the Oscars
Jean-Louis Trintignant is the husband who cares for his retired piano teacher wife, played by Emmanuelle Riva, in their Paris apartment after she suffers a series of strokes. As directed by film-maker Michael Haneke, Amour is heart-breaking but it is, strange to say, life-affirming. The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival last May. It’s a rare example of a movie being nominated in both the best motion picture and best foreign language film categories.
Argo.
Ben Affleck’s film is as much a love letter to Hollywood as last year’s Oscar winner The Artist was. When Iranian revolutionary students occupied the American Embassy in Tehran 1980 six US diplomats managed to escape to the residence of the Canadian ambassador. A veteran CIA officer engaged a Hollywood producer and a make-up designer to come up with a ruse about a fake science-fiction film being shot. Affleck’s movie has captured several of the precursor awards which normally point towards a win on Oscar night except he wasn’t nominated in the best director slot. George Clooney is one of the film’s three producers. It’s the front-runner with the best odds to win. But Harvey Weinstein (Silver Linings Playbook) and Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) have formidable teams working 24/7 right up till that 5pm deadline today.
Beasts Of The Southern Wild.
The movie set in the Louisiana bayou took the 2012 Sundance Film Festival by storm. The film’s a visual poem about a six-year-old girl who tries to keep herself and her daddy afloat as all hell breaks loose with the elements. Director Benh Zeitlin’s masterstroke was to cast Quvenzhane Wallis as Hushpuppy, the film’s leading lady. She was six when she was cast. She’s now nine.
Django Unchained.
Quentin Tarantino’s slavery revenge western set in the American south courted controversy. Tarantino’s signature brand of cinematic violence was high octane operatic movie escapism though for some it was bloody and over the top. Some fans can already quote large chunks of Tarantino’s original screenplay. Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio  and Jamie Foxx did some of their best work.
In the running: Les Miserables, the only British film to be nominated, could be named best film on Sunday
Les Miserables.
The long-awaited big screen version of the long running musical based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel is powerful and heart-breaking and broke the musical movie mould with live singing. As with many of this year’s best film nominees, Les Mis has been a huge hit at the box-office and a triumph for director Tom Hooper (who won for The King’s Speech) and British producers Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh. And, yes, it’s the only British film nominated this year. It won the best comedy or musical Golden Globe but it has divided Oscar voters. Though they are united on Anne Hathaway’s indescribably wonderful performance as Fantine.
Life Of Pi.
Ang Li’s adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel about a teenage boy surviving a shipwreck in a life boat with a tiger for company is a work of cinematic wonder. The director hooks you by making this a compelling drama of survival against all odds. This film has collected more at the box office than any other best film contender and if it had been a year without the likes of Argo, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook it could have won. Some maintain that it’s the dark horse that could slip in and win while the others slug it out.
Could it be? The magical world of Life Of Pi is also among the nominated movies this year
Lincoln.
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, in my view his masterpiece, has been taken to the woodshed and given a thrashing by historians and one or two US political columnists. Maureen Dowd in last Sunday’s New York Times gave the film a good slapping. In what would have once been a shoo-in for best picture, Lincoln has faced an uphill battle this awards season. Spielberg was dissed, unfairly, by Bafta, and wasn’t nominated as best director. But, it has made money and Daniel Day Lewis’s performance as honest Abe has won every trophy going. I found Spielberg’s exploration of how Lincoln manoeuvred to pass the 13th Amendment, which freed slaves for all time, riveting but then I am a fan of the art of political process.
Ready to triumph? Daniel Day Lewis is Baz's favourite to take home the Oscar for Best Actor in the 2013 ceremony
Silver Linings Playbook.
This movie is about two dysfunctional people played by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence falling deeply in love as they deal with mental health issues. It’s a film you can love. The film has allowed an open discussion on the topic of mental illness but in such a way that it doesn’t preach or hit you over the head. Cooper and Lawrence give each other heat and Robert De Niro gives his best performance in years. If any picture is going to be the February surprise over Argo on October 24 â€" Oscar night â€" then this is it.
Zero Dark Thirty.
Kathryn Bigelow’s take on the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden seems to have been under as much heavy arms fire as the terrorist chief was. The film has been bitch-slapped all over Washington by politicians and spooks who insist that the use of torture did not provide the leads that led to Osama. They also charged Bigelow with condoning the torture. That’s not at all the case. Her inclusion of such enhancement techniques doesn’t mean she’s into water-boarding. All the brawling has turned Zero Dark Thirty into a must-see picture but the price has been that Oscar voters don’t see it carrying away the best picture honour.
Best Actor:
Baz's hot tip: Daniel Day Lewis got a BAFTA last week for Lincoln - and it looks like he could do it again at the Oscars
Bradley Cooper.
Cooper has been a box-office champ thanks to the Hangover movies but Silver Linings Playbook has made serious film-makers look at him in a different light. I’ve seen him on stage and he’s always had good acting talent.This nomination validates that so that further down the line he will get his chance at strong dramatic roles.
Daniel Day Lewis.
The London lad is up for this third Oscar statue for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. It doesn’t look as if anyone can beat him .
Hugh Jackman.
Jackman was stirring as Jean Valjean, the hero of Tom Hooper’s epic movie musical. It’s a glorious performance and if DDL wasn’t also a contender then, perhaps, Jackman could have gone home with a song in his heart and an Oscar.
Joaquin Phoenix.
Phoenix gives such an extraordinary performance in The Master, a much misunderstood film. I saw it as a story about a WW2 veteran who found that coming home was just as hellish as being on the battlefront. Too much was made of The Master being about Scientology. It wasn’t. That was the backdrop. It was about the war still being fought in Pheonix’s head.
Denzel Washington.
The two-time Oscar winner was stirring as a pilot in the midst of a substance abuse crisis. Incredible acting. But the last 15 syrupy minutes of Flight betrayed Washington’s amazing performance.
Best Actress:
Three-way race: Baz has named Jessica Chastain as one of the stars in the running for Best Actress
Jessica Chastain.
So much going on behind the eyes, it’s a peach of a performance as a CIA analyst involved in a decade long hunt for Osama Bin Laden. One of the hardest things to do in movies is to hold the screen on your own and she achieves it beautifully. But the film’s been given such a political battering that her chances of winning have been damaged. That said it’s a three-way race between Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence and Emmanuelle Rive, though more on that below.Â
Jennifer Lawrence.
She’s the champ. I remember seeing the movie at the Toronto Film Festival and when Lawrence busts into the home of Bradley Cooper’s parents and delivers a monologue direct to Robert De Niro. I spontaneously burst into applause and whispered to my neighbour, ’That’s going to win her the best actress Oscar’. Lawrence is such an astute actress and she displays such a winning confidence and as I noted before she has ‘heat’. She has a star quality, and as an actress friend of mine noted, she has immense acting skills and her choices are so smart for one so young (she’s 22). By all intents and purposes Lawrence will be the victor on Oscar night, but …
Emmanuelle Riva.
It’s Ms Riva’s 86th birthday on Oscar night and what a present she could get! Her performance as a woman who suffers a series of strokes and is being cared for by a devoted husband is tender and luminous. She performs without sentimentality which, of course, makes it all the more sublime. I grew up watching Ms Riva. When I was a movie mad teenager I saw a screening of her 1959 classic Hiroshima Mon Amour at the National Film Theatre (not in 1959, thanks very much!) She’s the oldest nominee ever and will be the oldest recipient of Oscar if she prevails on the night. We’ll see.
Quvenzhane Wallis.
At nine she’s the youngest best actress nominee in Oscar history. Quvenzhane has charmed voters at various pre-Oscar award ceremonies and I recall being charmed by her when I met her at Sundance over a year ago.  As I observe elsewhere she’s amazing in the film and holds the picture together, that’s why she was nominated. However, the rest of the competition in this category is too intense.
Giving it her best: Jessica will battle it out for the coveted trophy thanks to her performance in Zero Dark Thirty
Naomi Watts.
Naomi is the only Brit in this category (yes, she was born in the UK and went to Oz as a teenager) . Her performance in The Impossible was extraordinary. As a mother battling against all odds in the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami, Ms Watts was a study in true grit. I think though that both her performance and the film hasn’t been given the right level of promotional backing. However, with Lawrence, Riva and Chastain squaring up against each other, Watts could creep through and win the darn thing. And, I tell you, wait till you see her Princess Diana. That’s going to be one to beat next year.
Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams in The Master. Adams is on fire here but it’s Anne Hathaway’s year.
Sally Field in Lincoln. If Hathaway wasn't singing her heart out Field would walk away with this powerful portrait of an unconventional First Lady.
Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables. No one else has a chance after this bravura turn as a prostitute who risks everything for her child.
Helen Hunt in The Sessions. A master-class of understatement as a sexual surrogate.
Jacki Weaver in Silver Linings Playbook. She’s the mighty oak that holds a bonkers family together.
Front runner: Christoph Waltz appears to be the favourite to pick up Best Supporting Actor for his turn in Django Unchained
Supporting Actor.
Alan Arkin in Argo. A producer who helped save hostages.
Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook. Hasn’t won in two decades and everyone agrees that his performance as an obsessive sports fan was from the heart and wasn’t phoned in. Strong possibility of a win.
In the bag? Christoph Waltz looks set to scoop the Best Supporting Actor prize for his turn in Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master. Very good as a religious sect leader but not enough voters saw the film.
Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln. His turn as a crusty senator with a secret is a plum role and he’s certainly a favourite.
Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained. Mouth-watering turn as a bounty hunter. He’s the front-runner to collect the prize.
Any surprises? Elsewhere Adele is hotly tipped to pick up Best Song for Skyfall
Elsewhere, Adele is hot to take best song for Skyfall. Roger Deakins from Skyfall is looking good for best cinematography though don’t rule out Claudio Miranda’s work in Life of Pi or Seamus McGarvey’s visual feast in Anna Karenina.
David O. Russell from Silver Linings Playbook, Steven Spielberg for Lincoln and Ang Lee for Life of Pi are in a three-way race for best director. It’s such an odd category without Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Quentin Tarantino.
Stay up and watch the Oscar broadcast on Sky if you’re in the UK and then you can tell me how wrong I got it, or catch the show on ABC if you’re in the US.
William Hill Oscars odds:
Best Original Song: 1/9 Skyfall, 5/1 Les Miserables, 33/1 Chasing Ice, 33/1 Life of Pi, 40/1 Ted
Best Picture: 1/6 Argo, 4/1 Lincoln, 40/1 Silver Lining Playbook, 40/1 Life of Pi, 50/1 Les Miserables, 66/1 Django Unchained, 80/1 Zero Dark Thirty, 100/1 Amour, 100/1 Beasts of the Southern Wild
Best Director: 1/5 Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), 4/1 Ang Lee (Life Of Pi), 12/1 Michael Haneke (Amour), 20/1 David O Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), 50/1 Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of The Southern Wild)
Best Actor: 1/50 Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), 16/1 Hugh Jack man (Les Miserables) 33/1 Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), 40/1 Denzel Washington (Fight), 50/1 Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
Best Actress: 4/7 Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), 3/1 Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), 3/1 Emannuelle Riva (Amour), 33/1 Naomi Watts (The Impossible), 50/1 Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts Of The Southern Wild)
Best Supporting Actor: 11/10 Tommy Lee Jones, 6/4 Christoph Waltz, 6/1 Phillip Seymour Hoffman, 7/1 Robert De Niro, 33/1 Alan Arkin
Best Supporting Actress: 1/50 Anne Hathaway, 16/1 Sally Field, 25/1 Amy Adams, 25/1 Helen Hunt, 66/1 Jacki Weaver
Will Angelina Jolie’s Oscar Dress Show Her Left or Right leg or both?: 4/7 Left Leg, 2/1 Right Leg, 11/2 Both
Naomi Watts Dress Colour: 4/6 Black, 5/1 Cream, 8/1 Blue, 10/1 Green, 12/1 White, 12/1 Red, 20/1 Yellow, 33/1 Brown, 33/1 Purple
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