Since today is officially the first day if Autumn, I’ve updated the side column called “The Contenders” with various thoughts of who might get nominated come Oscar. This is just a preliminary list, mostly sight-unseen, based on the pedigrees of the projects. As we get further into “awards season,” I’ll continue to update. For now, I’ll post the list after the cut as well.

Best Picture:

• Anna Karenina
• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• The Hobbit
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• The Master
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Promised Land
• Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director:

• Joe Wright – Anna Karenina
• Ben Affleck – Argo
• Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained
• Peter Jackson – The Hobbit
• Tom Hooper – Les Miserables
• Ang Lee – Life of Pi
• Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
• P. T. Anderson – The Master
• Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
• Gus Van Sant – Promised Land
• David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actor:

• Jamie Foxx – Django Unchained
• Anthony Hopkins – Hitchcock
• Bill Murray – Hyde Park on Hudson
• Michael Shannon – The Iceman
• Matthew McCanaughey – Killer Joe
• Brad Pitt – Killing Them Softly
• Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
• Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
• Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
• Matt Damon – Promised Land
• Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
• Sean Penn – This Must Be The Place

Best Actress:

• Keira Knightley – Anna Karenina
• Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern WIld
• Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables
• Nicole Kidman – The Paperboy
• Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone

Best Supporting Actor:

• Jude Law – Anna Karenina 
• Dwight Henry – Beasts of the Southern Wild 
• Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained 
• Leonardo DiCaprio – Django Unchained 
• Russell Crowe – Les Miserables 
• Matthew McCanaughey – Magic Mike 
• John Krasinski – Promised Land 
• Woody Harrelson – Seven Pyschopaths 

Best Supporting Actress

• Laura Linney – Hyde Park on Hudson 
• Winona Rider – The Iceman 
• Amy Adams – The Master
• Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

Best Animated Feature

• Brave 
• Frankenweenie 
• ParaNorman 
• Pirates! Band of Misfits 
• The Secret World of Arrietty 

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Beasts of the Southern Wild – Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin 
• The Hobbit – Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro 
• Killer Joe – Tracy Letts 
• Killing Them Softly – Andrew Dominik 
• Lincoln – Doris Kearns Goodwin, Tony Kushner, John Logan, Paul Webb 
• Life of Pi – David Magee 
• Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell 

Best Original Screenplay:

• Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino 
• Looper – Rian Johnson 
• The Master – P. T. Anderson 
• Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola 
• Promised Land – Matt Damon, John Krasinski 
• Seven Psychopaths – Martin McDonagh 

Best Foreign Film

• The Intouchables 

Best Art Direction

• Anna Karenina 
• Beasts of the Southern Wild 
• Cloud Atlas 
• Django Unchained 
• Les Miserables 
• Lincoln 
• Life of Pi 
• The Master 
• Moonrise Kingdom

Best Cinematography

• Anna Karenina – Seamus McGarvey 
• Beasts of the Southern Wild – Ben Richardson 
• Cloud Atlas – Frank Griebe, John Toll 
• Django Unchained – Robert Richardson 
• Les Miserables – Danny Cohen 
• Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda 
• Lincoln – Janusz Kamiński 
• The Master – Mihai Malaimare Jr.

Best Costume Design

• Anna Karenina 
• Cloud Atlas 
• Django Unchained 
• Les Miserables 
• Lincoln 
• The Master 
• Moonrise Kingdom 

Best Film Editing

• Django Unchained 
• Looper 
• Magic Mike 

Best Makeup

Best Score

• Beasts of the Southern Wild – Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin 
• The Master – Jonny Greenwood

Best Original Song
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Visual Effects

• Cloud Atlas 
• Life of Pi

Best Documentary Feature