I’ve made a chart of all the precursors that have announced winners, various critics, the national board of review, etc.

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By compiling all this info into one handy chart a few things have become very clear

Frontrunners:

• Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker for Best Director 
• Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds for Best Supporting Actor
• Mo’Nique – Precious for Best Supporting Actress
• Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds for Best Original Screenplay
• Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner – Up In The Air for Best Adapted Screenplay
• Barry Ackroyd – The Hurt Locker for Best Cinematography

Tight Races:

• Best Picture: Up In The Air vs. The Hurt Locker vs. Inglourious Basterds

• Best Actor: George Clooney – Up In The Air vs. Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart vs. Colin Firth – A Single Man

• Best Actress:  Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia vs. Carey Mulligan – An Education

• Animated Feature: Up vs. Fantastic Mr. Fox

• Best Documentary Feature: Anvil! The Story of Anvil vs. The Cove
• Best Foreign Film: Sin Nombre vs. The White Ribbon vs. Summer Hours

However, all of those mentioned above are almost guaranteed nominations.