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REEL REVIEWS:  Annel predicts winners of the 2000 Oscars

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By Jamie Annel

As usual, the Oscar nominations are a mix of the surprising and predictable. Below are my picks for who will win on March 31st:

Best Picture: American Beauty seems the sure bet in this category, but then again, Saving Private Ryan was supposedly a lock last year before Shakespeare in Love took home the gold. Nonetheless, I believe that American Beauty will beat out the competition, although The Cider House Rules is close competition.

Best Actress: This race is really between Hilary Swank (for Boys Don’t Cry), and Annette Bening (for American Beauty). Bening is an acclaimed actress who’s never won an Oscar before, but Swank took home most of the critics’ awards and the Golden Globe. So bet on Swank.

Best Actor: Denzel Washington won the Golden Globe, but his chances may be hurt by the controversy surrounding The Hurricane. His main competition comes in the form of Kevin Spacey, who gave the central (and most acclaimed) performance in American Beauty. My money is on Washington, but don’t be surprised if there is an upset and Richard Farnsworth wins for The Straight Story.

Best Supporting Actor: As with the other categories, this comes down to two nominees: Tom Cruise (for Magnolia) and Haley Joel Osment (for The Sixth Sense). Cruise is incredibly well liked in Hollywood, won the Golden Globe last month, and has two previous Oscar nominations (for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, both as Best Actor). On the other hand, the Academy loves to give awards to children in the supporting categories (like 10-year-old Tatum O’Neal in 1974 and 11-year-old Anna Paquin in 1994). But I think this is Cruise’s year.

Best Supporting Actress: This is the most difficult category to predict, as all the performances were critically acclaimed and there are no standout stars in the bunch (unlike Tom Cruise in Best Supporting Actor). My guess is that the award will actually go to Angelina Jolie, who in Girl, Interrupted had the kind of showy role the Academy loves to reward.

For a complete list of nominees, check out http://www3.oscars.org/academyawards/nominees.html