Oscars 2013: And The Award Goes To…

Oscars 2013 winners will be announced Sunday, February 24, but The Inquisitr has the jump on who is most likely to walk away with Hollywood’s most prestigious award in the eight major categories.

While some of you may be focused on how funny Seth McFarlane will be in his first Academy Awards hosting appearance at the 85th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, we’ll be watching for the competition.

Of the nine nominees for Best Picture, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark Thirty have the best chances at Oscars glory.

Argo won Best Drama and Les Miserables took top prize for Best Musical or Comedy at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards, but Silver Linings Playbook is our pick for an upset at the Oscars 2013 ceremony.

The film follows a man with bipolar disorder as he struggles to find his place in the world to sometimes hilarious, sometimes explosive results.

In a recent interview, Russell told Vanity Fair that he “wanted to tell a story that would make” his son, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, feel “a part of the world.”

Russell’s film is his most personal to date, and he should nab the award for Best Director as a result. Other nominees include Michael Haneke (Amour), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild).

For the Best Actor Award, don’t expect Denzel Washington to win for Flight. Though nominated, Washington will fall short against Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook).

Flight has struggled with mixed reviews from critics, earning an average of 78 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The score translates to a C+, which is hardly Oscars material.

Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), and Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) will join Washington outside the Winners Circle.

Unlike her Silver Linings Playbook co-star, Best Actress nominee Jennifer Lawrence will not take home a statue. That honor will instead go to Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty).

Roger Ebert called Chastain’s performance “versatile” while comparing her to three-time Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep.

Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Naomi Watts (The Impossible), and Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) are also nominated.

In the supporting categories, expect Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master) and Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) to win for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

Finally, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola will take Best Original Screenplay for Moonrise Kingdom, and Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin will win for Best Adapted Screenplay for Beasts of the Southern Wild, based on Alibar’s play Juicy and Delicious.

Who are your picks for the Oscars 2013 ceremony?

[Image via Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com]