Predictions for the Academy Awards

Editor’s Note: The Academy Awards take place Sunday night at 8 p.m. Here are the predicted… Editor’s Note: The Academy Awards take place Sunday night at 8 p.m. Here are the predicted winners according to the film writers of the A’E staff.

It’s that time of year already — the Academy Awards will take place this Sunday. Here are my predictions for the people and films that will leave with some of those prestigious statues.

Best actor: Jamie Foxx, “Ray.” This may be the easiest prediction of all the 2005 nominees. Foxx truly gave himself to the part, wearing a prosthetic over his eyes and effectively blinding himself for the film’s entire production period. He actually played the piano for most of the musical sequences in “Ray,” and it’s uncanny how much he really resembles Ray Charles. This one seemed to have been decided months ago. Still, nothing is ever a sure thing with the Academy voters.

Best supporting actor: Morgan Freeman, “Million Dollar Baby.” Would you believe that Morgan Freeman has never won an acting Oscar? This is his fourth nomination, and one of his career highlights. Interestingly enough, he appears in “Million Dollar Baby” as both the narrator and as a character emotionally secondary to another man, like he did as Red in “The Shawshank Redemption” (his last nomination). In this film, he plays Scrap, and his performance is superb. He makes you laugh, he makes you cheer, and most of all, he makes you feel compassion and raw emotion.

Best actress: Hilary Swank, “Million Dollar Baby.” After her wins at the Golden Globe and SAG Awards, it’s tough to pick against Hilary Swank. She won in 2000 for “Boys Don’t Cry,” and her performance in “Million Dollar Baby” is even more deserving. She plays the role of Maggie intensely and with incredible resolve. It is simply the perfect role for her, and the year’s most powerful acting performance.

Best Supporting Actress: Virginia Madsen, “Sideways.” Between Madsen, Church, and Paul Giamatti, one of the cast members from “Sideways” almost certainly has to win an acting award this year. Since Giamatti was a notable snub in the Best Actor category, and given my previous prediction for Supporting Actor, Virginia Madsen will take home the Oscar. Like Thomas Haden Church, Madsen is also a bit of a comeback story. She is well known and well liked, but had yet to receive a role that was perfect for her until this film. She stands out as Maya in the year’s best performance by a supporting actress.

Best Animated Feature Film: “The Incredibles.” With this film, Pixar strengthened its legacy and silenced many of the critics who were skeptical of a film that was born in the shadow of “Finding Nemo.” It’s marked by the characteristic originality and brilliance of Pixar’s other animated features.

Best Director: Clint Eastwood, “Million Dollar Baby.” In my opinion, this is the toughest race to call in this year’s awards. It may also produce some of the closest votes for Best Director in years. However, Eastwood won the Directors Guild of America Award for best director, and the correlation between the DGA Award and the Oscar is incredibly high. Sentiment aside, he is also the most deserving for directorial honors this year.

Best documentary feature: “Super Size Me.” Morgan Spurlock’s enlightening documentary about the fast food industry has garnered universal praise from all who have seen it. It won the documentary Director’s Award at Sundance, and has the highest box office gross of any of the nominees in this category.

Best foreign language film: “Mar Adentro” (“The Sea Inside”). Director Alejandro Amen