In the days leading up to the 85th Academy Awards, FilmBuffOnline will be offering profiles on all the nominees in the major categories. Some may be well known, others might be new to you, but if you need a refresher on these talented nominees, here it is.

Amy Adams

Nominated for: Playing the wife of the leader of a philosophical movement in The Master.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, 2013 BAFTA Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards.

3rd Place, Best Supporting Actress, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Won, Supporting Actress of the Year, Hollywood Film Festival

Nominated, Supporting Actress of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, National Society of Film Critics Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.

Where you might know her from:

Adams has appeared in a diverse array of films ranging from Enchanted to The Muppets to the forthcoming Man of Steel.

History with Oscar:

Amy Adams has three previous nominations.

2006: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Junebug (Lost to Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener).

2009: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Doubt (Lost to Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona).

2011: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, The Fighter (Lost to Melissa Leo, The Fighter).

Sally Field

Nominated for: Playing Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, 2013 BAFTA Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Supporting Actress of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

2nd Place, Best Supporting Actress, National Society of Film Critics Awards.

Won, Supporting Actress of the Year, New York Film Critics Circle Film Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award.

2nd Place, Best Supporting Actress, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.

Where you might know him from:

After getting her start on television as Gidget and The Flying Nun, Field has carved out a much honored film career. Notable roles include the Smokey and the Bandit franchise, Absence of Malice, Steel Magnolias, Mrs. Doubtfire, Forrest Gump and The Amazing Spider-Man.

History with Oscar:

The Academy likes Sally Field. They really like Sally Field. Two nominations, two wins.

1980: Best Actress in a Leading Role, Norma Rae (Won)

1985: Best Actress in a Leading Role, Places in the Heart (Won)

Anne Hathaway

Nominated for: Playing the doomed Fantine in Les Miserables.

Other honors for this role:

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Austin Film Critics Association.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, 2013 BAFTA Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards.

2nd Place, Best Supporting Actress, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Florida Film Critics Circle Awards.

Won, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Supporting Actress of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

3rd Place, Best Supporting Actress, National Society of Film Critics Awards.

2nd Place, Supporting Actress of the Year, New York Film Critics Circle Film Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

Won, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.

Where you might know her from:

Getting her start on television and teenage fare such as The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted, Hathaway has grown into an actress that is as comfortable in popcorn fare such as Get Smart and The Dark Knight Rises as she is in serious films such as Brokeback Mountain and Love and Other Drugs.

History with Oscar:

Anne Hathaway has one prior Oscar nominations.

2009: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Rachel Getting Married (Lost to Kate Winslet, The Reader).

Helen Hunt

Nominated for: Playing a professional sex therapist in The Sessions.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, 2013 BAFTA Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

2nd Place, Best Supporting Actress, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Female, Independent Spirit Awards.

Nominated, Supporting Actress of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actress, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actress, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.

Where you might know her from:

Even with a sterling acting career to her credit, Helen Hunt is probably best remembered for the TV series, Mad About You.

History with Oscar:

Helen Hunt is one for one when it comes to Oscar.

1998: Best Actress in a Leading Role,  As Good As It Gets (Won).

Jacki Weaver

Nominated for: Playing a stressed out wife and mother in Silver Linings Playbook.

Other honors for this role:

Outside of inclusion on ensemble cast honors, this is Weaver’s only major individual nomination for this role.

Where you might know her from:

Weaver is known primarily for her work on Australian television. Her limited American film work includes The Five-Year Engagement

History with Oscar:

This is Weaver’s second Oscar nomination.

2011: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Animal Kingdom (Lost to Melissa Leo, The Fighter).

In the days leading up to the 85th Academy Awards, FilmBuffOnline will be offering profiles on all the nominees in the major categories. Some may be well known, others might be new to you, but if you need a refresher on these talented nominees, here it is.

Alan Arkin

Nominated for: Playing a Hollywood producer working with the CIA in Argo.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, 2013 BAFTA Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Supporting Actor of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.

Where you might know him from:

Arkin has a storied, fifty plus year career. Notable films are The In-Laws, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, and The Rocketeer.

History with Oscar:

Alan Arkin has three previous nominations and one win.

1967: Best Actor, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (Lost to Paul Scofield, A Man For All Seasons).

1969: Best Actor, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (Lost to Cliff Robertson, Charly).

2007: Best Performance in a Supporting Role, Little Miss Sunshine (Won).

Robert DeNiro

Nominated for: Playing an obsessive compulsive father in  Silver Linings Playbook.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Supporting Actor of the Year, Hollywood Film Festival

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Where you might know him from:

DeNiro is one of the most honored actors of his generation. A sampling of his films include Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Godfather, Part II, Meet the Parents, and many, many more.

History with Oscar:

Robert DeNiro has won two Oscars and been nominated seven times in total.

1975: Best Actor in a Supporting Role, The Godfather, Part II (Won)

1977: Best Actor in a Leading Role, Taxi Driver (Lost to Peter Finch, Network)

1979: Best Actor in a Leading Role, The Deer Hunter (Lost to Jon Voight, Coming Home)

1981: Best Actor in a Leading Role, Raging Bull (Won)

1991: Best Actor in a Leading Role, Awakenings (Lost to Jeremy Irons, Reversal of Fortune)

1992: Best Actor in a Leading Role, Cape Fear (Lost to Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs)

Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Nominated for: Playing the charismatic leader of the Scientology-like The Cause in The Master.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, 2013 BAFTA Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards.

2nd Place, Best Supporting Actor, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Florida Film Critics Circle Awards.

Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards.

Nominated, Supporting Actor of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

3rd Place, Best Supporting Actor, National Society of Film Critics Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards.

Won, Volpi Cup, Best Actor, Venice Film Festival

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.

Where you might know him from:

Hoffman is known mostly for his supporting roles in films as varied as Twister and Patch Adams to The Big Lebowski. He has also made five films with director Paul Thomas Anderson, including The Master.

History with Oscar:

Phillip Seymour Hoffman has four Oscar nominations and one win.

2006: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Capote (Won).

2008: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Charlie Wilson’s War (Lost to Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men).

2009: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Doubt (Lost to Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight).

Tommy Lee Jones

Nominated for: Playing abolitionist Senator Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, 2013 BAFTA Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Supporting Actor of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

2nd Place, Best Supporting Actor, National Society of Film Critics Awards.

Nominated, Supporting Actor of the Year, New York Film Critics Circle Film Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

Won, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award.

2nd Place, Best Supporting Actor, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.

Where you might know him from:

Starting with debut in 1970s Love Story, Tommy Lee Jones has had a long and varied acting career. He is most known for his work in the Men In Black franchise in film and the Lonesome Dove series on television.

History with Oscar:

Tommy Lee Jones has three previous nominations and one win.

1992: Best Actor in a Supporting Role,  JFK (Lost to Jack Palance, City Slickers)

1994: Best Actor in a Supporting Role,  The Fugitive (Won)

2008: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role , In the Valley of Elah (Lost to Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood).

Christoph Waltz

Nominated for: Playing a German bounty hunter in pre-Civil War America in  Django Unchained.

Other honors for this role:

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Austin Film Critics Association.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, 2013 BAFTA Awards.

2nd Place, Best Supporting Actor, Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

Won, Best Supporting Actor, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.

3rd Place, Best Supporting Actor, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Supporting Actor of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.

2nd Place, Best Supporting Actor, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.

2nd Place, Supporting Actor of the Year, New York Film Critics Circle Film Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Online Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.

Won, Best Supporting Actor, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

Nominated, Best Supporting Actor, Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards.

Where you might know him from:

While he has an extensive career in Germany, Waltz is just starting to make his name in the States with his work with Quentin Tarantino, and roles in The Green Hornet, Carnage and Like Water for Elephants.

History with Oscar:

Christoph Waltz is batting a thousand when it comes to the Oscar’s.

2010: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Inglourious Basterds (Won).

Ben Affleck added another trophy to his shelf last night as his film Argo secured him the Best Director award at last night’s Directors Guild Awards, beating out Steven Spielberg, Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper and Ang Lee.

Affleck and the film have already won top honors at the Producers Guild Awards, the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards.

This of course further cements Argo into the lead position in the race for Academy Award gold at the end of the month. Historically, the winner of the DGA has had a better than average chance of winning the Academy Award for Best Director. In fact, over tha DGA’s 65 year history only six winners have not gone on to win the Oscar as well. Unfortunately, Affleck will be the seventh, as he did not receive a Best Director nom.

The hitch here comes down to a recent change in the Academy’s rules governing that nominations for Best Picture which allow anywhere between five and ten films to make the list while the Best Director category remains locked at five names. So while Argo was one of the nine named for Best Picture consideration, Affleck was not one of the five named to Best Director.

This leaves the Best Director category a bit of a wild card now, with no established predictors for it in play. Of the other DGA nominees, Spielberg and Lee are both in the OScar’s Best Director category so I would suppose that the smart money would be on them.

Last night, Ben Affleck’s Iranian hostage thriller Argo won top honors at the Producer’s Guild Awards, continuing its awards season sweep started with the Critics’ Choice Awards and continued through the Golden Globes.

The win positions the film as a major contender for the Academy Award’s Best Picture prize, squaring off against such heavyweights as Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty.

The Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture have often gone hand-in-hand historically, with only a small number of directors who have won an Oscar not seeing their film similarly rewarded. However, due to the recent Best Picture category rules change that allows anywhere between five and ten nominees while the Best Director category is still locked in at five nominees, Affleck found himself squeezed out of the director’s competition while his film was not. As such, Argo was not considered having as much of a chance at Best Picture as those films whose directors did manage to get a nomination.

But the Producers Guild Awards has emerged as a strong indicator as to who will win the Best Picture Oscar. In the last five years, it has accurately presaged what film was going to go home with the golden statuette. In the past ten years it has predicted seven out of ten winners and has a 16 out of 23 accuracy overall.

So what’s next? This coming Saturday will be the Directors Guild Awards, which Oscar prognosticators have often used as an indicator for who will win Best Director at the Academy Awards. If Affleck continues his winning streak, it would certainly cement Argo‘s lead for Best Picture. And if Argo were to win an Oscar, it would become only the third film in Academy Awards history to have ever won a Best Picture Oscar without even having even a nomination in the Best Director category.

Of course, the problems with percentages is that unless they are 100 per cent, there’s still room for the possibility that things will go another way. We’ll find out which way things fall on February 24th when the Academy Awards are awarded.

Although it was the highest-grossing and one of the most popular films of last year, Marvel Studios’ The Avengers only managed to snag one Academy Award nomination and, unsurprisingly, that was in the visual effects category.

Take a look, then, at the campaign reel that Industrial Light and Magic has put out for voters in the Visual Effects category to review highlighting just some of their work for the film. It’s an interesting behind-the-scenes glimpse at how a number of effects sequences were put together, especially the tour-de-force single tracking shot of all the Avengers fighting as a unit during the Battle of New York at the movie’s climax.

On Tuesday, we handicapped the 2013 Oscar race by telling you who we thought was going to be nominated. Now, it’s time to face the music, and see how well we did. There have been a lot of surprises in the nominees,  and the surprises were puzzling. Let’s see how we fared against our predictions, then we’ll comment on surprises in other categories that we didn’t talk about on Tuesday. Let’s start with Best Actor:

Performance by an actor in a leading role-

• Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln
• Denzel Washington, Flight
• Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
• Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
• Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Number of Nominations We “Called”:  4.5 out of 5

We Say: I’m taking .5 off because while I did say Cooper’s nomination was a possibility, I though John Hawkes or Richard Gere would get in instead of him. But, inexplicably, the voters seem to really love Silver Linings Playbook, therefore Cooper is one of many nominations that got in because of that lovefest.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role-

Number of Nominations We “Called”: 5 out of 5.

We say: See, we told you Alan Arkin was a lock for a nomination! But, then again, the category was relatively easy to predict. As Stone and MacFarlane snarkily pointed out while reading the nominations, every nominee already has at least one Oscar.

Performance by an actress in a leading role-

• Naomi Watts, The Impossible
• Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
• Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
• Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
• Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Number of Nominations We “Called”:  5 out of 5

We say: Another very predictable category, with all the most deserving performances getting a nomination. A bit of Oscar history as we have our oldest nominee ever (Riva) and youngest nominee ever (Wallis) facing off against each other.

• Sally Field, Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
• Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
• Helen Hunt, The Sessions
• Amy Adams, The Master

Number of Nominations We “Called”:  4 out of 5

We Say: We have to stop underestimating the Academy’s love for Jacki Weaver. Also, their appreciation of the underwhelming Silver Linings Playbook, which seems to have willed itself into being an Oscar powerhouse through savvy promotion alone (it was a good movie, but not a great movie). Maybe they made a deal with the Academy that they would buy 500 ads on Good Morning America during the Oscar Nomination announcements in exchange for getting a lot of nods. And Hunt getting a nomination while Hawkes gets snubbed just seems wrong on many levels.

Achievement in directing-

• David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
• Ang Lee, Life of Pi
• Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
• Michael Haneke, Amour
• Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Number of Nominations We “Called”:  3 out of 5

Best motion picture of the year-

• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Lincoln
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Amour
• Django Unchained
• Argo

Number of Nominations We “Called”:  It’s hard to calculate, but we mentioned 9 out of the 9.

We say: I find it ironic that in the two years since the Academy changed the rules for the number of nominees from ten to anywhere between five and ten because  there were not enough strong nominees, there have been 9 nominees each year. And this year, it could have very well been ten. I think Brave and Moonrise Kingdom had as much call to be nominated as some of the films that did get nominated.

Other surprises:

• I have to say, and this might get me in trouble with my boss here at FBOL, but I could have done with out the snark from Seth MacFarlane during the nominations. I just didn’t find it all that funny. And Emma Stone looked like she was hoping that a SWAT team would bust into the room and rescue her.
• That being said, it looked like MacFarlane’s reaction to being nominated for Best Original Song was sincere. That certainly will put an interesting spin on the proceedings.
• Considering how screwed up the nomination process for Best Documentary is each year, Searching for Sugar Man even getting on the short list was a great accomplishment. It making its way to an actual nomination is something close to a miracle. Not because it doesn’t deserve to be there, but because it does. So does Bully, but that didn’t get a nomination. At least it made it to the short list.
• The Avengers is up for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. So I have at least one category where I have a rooting interest in.

Stay tuned to FilmBuffOnline, because, as we get closer to the ceremony, the staff will bring you more news about this year’s ceremony.

The Directors Guild of America announced their nominees for their annual awards today and the five names on the list should come as no surprise given that their films have all received strong critical notices over the last few months. While these are all strong and not unexpected choices, there are a couple of omissions from the guild’s nominees that do stand out – Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained), David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) and Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master).

What’s notable about these nomination snubs is how it may affect the outcome of the Academy Awards. The winner of the DGA award has a high statistical probability of going on to win the Best Director Oscar. And the film that was directed by the winner of the Best Director Oscar usually cops the Best Picture honor that same night. With the announcement of the Academy Award nominations just two days away, it is looking like a long shot for Tarantino, Anderson or Russell to be hearing their name being called out.

Here are the nominees along with their directorial team -

Ben Affleck, Argo
Unit Production Manager: Amy Herman
First Assistant Director: David Webb
Second Assistant Director: Ian Calip
Second Second Assistant Directors: Clark Credle, Gavin Kleintop
First Assistant Director (Turkey Unit): Belkis Turan

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Unit Production Manager: Colin Wilson
First Assistant Director: David A. Ticotin
Second Assistant Directors: Ben Lanning, Sarah Hood
First Assistant Director (Jordan Unit): Scott Robertson
Second Assistant Directors (Jordan Unit): Jonas Spaccarotelli, Yanal Kassay
Second Second Assistant Director (Jordan Unit): Tarek Afifi
Unit Production Manager (India Unit): Rajeev Mehra

Tom Hooper, Les Misérables
Unit Production Manager: Patrick Schweitzer
First Assistant Director: Ben Howarth
Second Assistant Director: Harriet Worth
Second Second Assistant Director: Dan Channing Williams

Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Unit Production Manager: Michael J. Malone
Unit Production Manager (Taiwan): Leo Chen
First Assistant Directors: William M. Connor, Cliff Lanning
Second Assistant Directors: Robert Burgess, Ben Lanning
Unit Production Manager (India Unit): Sanjay Kumar
First Assistant Director (India Unit): Nitya Mehra
Second Assistant Director (India Unit): Ananya Rane
Second Second Assistant Directors (India Unit): Namra Parikh, Freya Parekh
Second Assistant Directors (Montreal Unit): Derek Wimble, Renato De Cotiis

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Unit Production Manager: Susan McNamara
First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
Second Assistant Director: Ian Stone
Second Second Assistant Directors: Eric Lasko, Trevor Tavares

It’s that time of year again. Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the nominees for the 85th Annual Academy Awards.

Every year there are snubs and surprises, thrills and controversies. There is no way of knowing who will be nominated, especially in a year when the Best Picture nominees could be 5 films, or ten films, or any number in between.  We here at FilmBuffOnLine, who believe the day nominations are announced should be a National holiday, are going to try and handicap the process for you.

We will try to tell you, in the most non-committal way possible, who we think are Almost Certain to get a nomination, who Definite May Be nominated, and whose nomination is a Outside Shot in the major categories (the four acting categories, Best Director, and Best Picture). We are trying to cover all bases, but don’t come to us if you lose money on your Oscar Nomination pool.

Best Actor:

Almost Certain:

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln; Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Definite Maybe:

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master; Denzel Washington, Flight

Outside Shot:

John Hawkes, The Sessions; Richard Gere, Arbitrage; Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook; Bill Murray, Hyde Park on the Hudson; Ben Affleck, Argo; Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen or The Impossible; Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained

This might be sacrilege, but I don’t like Daniel Day-Lewis as an actor. I prefer actors who you say how good a job they did after the film is over, than ones that force you to say that while the film is going on. With Day-Lewis, you get the feeling its more about the process with him that creating characters. I, of course, am in the minority, and he should get a nomination, if not win it all. Personally, I’m rooting for Hugh Jackman, who should definitely get a nomination, if only so the ads for The Wolverine can say “Starring Academy Award-Winner Hugh Jackman.”

Phoenix and Washington both did a great job in what could be considered underwhelming films. Both should be nominated, by that fact could throw them out of the mix. Phoenix is especially in danger is older Hollywood still hold his “wacky performance artist” phase of of a couple years ago against him.

The other spot ( or two, if Phoenix and/or Washington falter) should go to either Hawkes (who has the ”playing a man overcoming adversity” card for his role as a polio victim seeking to lose his virginity or Gere (who has the “older actor with a lot of quality work behind him yet never was nominated for the Oscar” card). The rest of the pack are long shots at best.

Best Actress

Almost Certain:

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty;   Emmanuelle Riva, Amour; Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Definite Maybe:

Jennifer Lawrence , Silver Linings Playbook; Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Outside Shot:

Maggie Smith, Quartet; Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea; Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone; Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Some might say Riva and Wallis are long shots to get nominated. I say they have not only a great chance of being nominated, but also one of them could very well take home the award (although I think Chastain is the favorite)

On the other hand, a lot of people think that Lawrence will win it all, and it think there is a slight, very slight chance she will not even get nominated. I think Watts’ harrowing role is almost certain to get nominated, although it might be too grim for some voters tastes.

That being said, I think the five ladies above will all be nominated. If there a shocking omission among those candidates, I believe Maggie Smith is the long shot with the best shot.

Best Supporting Actor:

Almost Certain:

Alan Arkin, Argo; Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master; Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Definite Maybe:

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Outside Shot:

John Goodman, Flight or Argo; Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained; Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook; Javier Bardem, Skyfall; Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained; Mark Ruffalo; The Avengers

I can’t begin to tell you how much I wanted to add a middle name to Alan Arkin, just so he fits in better. A lot of people think him to be a long shot  but I think he’ll definitely be nominated. May not win it, but should be nominated. Hoffman and Jones should be in line to win the statute, so will be nominated.

After that, the only quasi-sure thing is Waltz getting a nomination. I am rooting for John Goodman to get a nod because, damn it, he deserves it. But likely it will be DeNiro getting the nomination. I threw Ruffalo in there as a wishful thinking choice, but I think that he did a great job and, in a perfect world, he would be nominated.

Best Supporting Actress

Almost Certain:

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables or The Dark Knight Rises

Definite Maybe:

Sally Field, Lincoln; Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Outside Shot:

Judi Dench, Skyfall; Amy Adams, The Master; Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy; Samantha Barks, Les Miserables, Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; Ann Dowd, Compliance

Hathaway is probably going to win her first Oscar two years after hosting the ceremony. I don’t think that has ever happened.

Of course, it’s not a lead pipe cinch, because Sally Field will be nominated, and, well, the Academy likes her. They really like her. Helen Hunt should add to her list of nominations this year with another one here.

After that, pick ‘em. Watch out for Samantha Barks. She’s the real wild card here. I kinda hope that Dench and Smith get nominated both here and for Best Actress. That would make for a fun night.

Best Director:

Almost Certain:

Ben Affleck, Argo; Ang Lee, Life of Pi; Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Definite Maybe:

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln;  Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Outside Shot:

Tom Hooper, Les Miserables; Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises; Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom; David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook; Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master; Joss Whedon, The Avengers

I can’t imagine any way that Affleck, Lee and Bigelow will not be nominated. They helmed three of the most talked about films of the year.

After that, it’s likely that Spielberg and Tarantino will fill out the ballot, but I don’t have them as being a lock. As a matter of fact, I think one of them will have to make way for Tom Hooper, because I cannot see him being shut out of this process by these voters.

And I added Whedon as a purely selfish choice. I think he’s deserving. The Academy, snobs that they are, probably don’t. A screenplay nod might be too much to ask for but more likely.

Best Picture:

Almost Certain:

Argo, Life of Pi, Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty

Definite Maybe:

Lincoln; Django Unchained

Outside Chance:

Silver Linings Playbook; Amour; Moonrise Kingdom; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; The Dark Knight Rises; The Avengers; Brave; The Sessions;Beasts of the Southern Wild; The Master; Skyfall  or just about any other film out there that has a minuscule amount of buzz.

One thing I am almost sure of is that this year, we will definitely have more than five nominees. I think we have a good chance of having ten. There are a lot of Oscar caliber films in 2012, and this is the type of year the expanded nominee list was made for.

So, what do you think? Am I on to something, or totally wrong? I guess we’ll find out Thursday.

Seth MacFarlane, who will be hosting the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony next month, will be pulling double duty and announcing the award nominees this Thursday as well. Joining him for the early morning announcement will be actress Emma Stone.

Apparently, MacFarlane tweeted the news last night and the Academy rushed out a press release this morning.

I’ll be announcing the Oscar nominees on Jan. 10 at 5 a.m. with Emma Stone.We’ll also be revealing the name of Kanye & Kim’s baby (Zeus).

— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) January 7, 2013

Traditionally, the announcement is made by the president of the Academy accompanied by an Oscar recipient from the previous year. The last time a ceremony’s host also participated in the announcement press conference was in 1973 when Clint Eastwood, one of the four co-hosts for the awards ceremony, also helped announce the nominees.

Here’s the Academy’s press release –

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards® will be announced by the show’s host, Seth MacFarlane, and actress Emma Stone on Thursday, January 10. This will be the first time since 1972 that an Oscar show host has participated in the nominations announcement.
MacFarlane and Stone will unveil the nominations at a 5:30 a.m. PT news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered.

Since the first nominations announcement in 1964, the Academy president has been joined by one or more co-announcers at the event. This year the Academy will break with tradition when MacFarlane, who was named Oscar show host in October, joins Stone on Oscar nominations morning. Charlton Heston (1972) was the only other show host to participate in the nominations announcement.

Stone starred in the 2011 Best Picture nominee “The Help” and the summer release “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Her other film credits include “Superbad,” “Zombieland,” “Easy A” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” Stone will be seen in “Gangster Squad” later this month and in “The Croods,” due out in March.

Nominations information for all categories will be distributed to news media in attendance and via the Internet on the official Academy Awards website, www.oscar.com.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

The Writers Guild has announced the nominees for their annual awards. You’ll probably note that there are a number of titles missing from the nominees here that you have been hearing this awards season, specifically – Amour, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Django Unchained and Les Miserables. The reason for this is due to all of these films were excluded from the nomination ballots for not being produced under guild jurisdiction or under a collective bargaining agreement in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand or the UK. It should be noted that the Academy Awards have no such restriction in their rules.

The Writers Guild Awards will be presented February 17.

The full list of the nominees are as follows –

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Flight, Written by John Gatins
Looper, Written by Rian Johnson
The Master, Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom, Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman
Life Of Pi, Screenplay by David Magee; Based on the novel by Yann Martel
Lincoln, Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based in part on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; Based on his book
Silver Linings Playbook, Screenplay by David O. Russell; Based on the novel by Matthew Quick

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
The Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns
The Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendejelloul
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger
West of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin