2009: Thoughts on Acting.

The Men

Major Contenders [[Leading]]::
Colin Firth in A Single Man.
George Clooney in Up in the Air.
Morgan Freeman in Invictus.
Hal Holbrook in That Evening Sun.
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker.
Matt Damon in The Informant!.
Daniel Day-Lewis in Nine.

Major Contenders [[Supporting]]::
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones.
Alfred Molina in An Education.
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds.
Matt Damon in Invictus.

Longshots [[Leading]]::
Christopher Plummer in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
Ben Whishaw in Bright Star.
Michael Stuhlberg in A Serious Man.
Willem Dafoe in Antichrist.
Viggo Mortensen in The Road.

Longshots [[Supporting]]::
Richard Kind and the men of A Serious Man.
Anthony Mackie in The Hurt Locker.
Paul Scheider in Bright Star.
Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Road.
Tobey Maguire in Brothers.
Matthew Goode in A Single Man.
The men of The Men Who Stare at Goats.
The men of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
The men of Amelia.

The Dark Horses to watch for::
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in (500) Days of Summer.
Christian McKay in Me and Orson Welles.

Category Placement?::
James McAvoy and Christopher Plummer in The Last Station.
Mark Wahlberg in The Lovely Bones.
Peter Sarsgaard in An Education.


The Women

Major Contenders [[Leading]]::
Carey Mulligan in An Education.
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia.
Hilary Swank in Amelia.
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious.

Major Contenders [[Supporting]]::
Mo'Nique in Precious.
Julianne Moore in A Single Man.
Penelope Cruz in Nine.

Longshots [[Leading]]::
Abbie Cornish in Bright Star.
Saoirse Ronan in The Lovely Bones.
Penelope Cruz in Broken Embraces.
Audrey Tautou in Coco Before Chanel.
Zooey Deschanel in (500) Days of Summer.
Michelle Pfeiffer in Cheri.
Amy Adams in Julie & Julia.

Longshots [[Supporting]]::
Rosamund Pike & Emma Thompson in An Education.
Susan Sarandon & Rachel Weisz in The Lovely Bones.
Nicole Kidman & Judi Dench in Nine.
Paula Patton & Mariah Carey in Precious.
Charlize Theron in The Road.
Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger in Inglourious Basterds.

The Dark Horses to watch for::
Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria.
Carolyn Dando in The Lovely Bones.

Category Placement?::
Marion Cotillard in Nine.
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air.

Yay.