SOPHIE TAYLOR
Best Picture: Lincoln – I think the ashen battlefields and Congress rooms of Lincoln win it for me.
Best Director: Ang Lee – He’s the most versatile director out there, and he’s done it again! I have my fingers crossed that Life of Pi will scoop it for Lee.
Best Actor: Hugh Jackman – Though Daniel Day-Lewis is favourite for this category, he did far too much staring into the middle distance for my liking…
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain – I think her performance in Zero Dark Thirty might be just the thing that knocks J-Law off the top spot.
NICK BURKE
Best Picture: Zero Dark Thirty – Zero Dark Thirty looks favourite having already won 25 awards.
Best Director: Spielberg – Golden Globe winner Ben Affleck was not even nominated.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis – Played a gripping anecdotal role as the lead in Lincoln.
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain – Her superb performance in Zero Dark Thirty was highly acclaimed.
KATHERINE HIBBERD
Best Picture: Lincoln – Spielberg’s latest creation depicting Lincoln’s struggle to abolish slavery has picked up 12 Oscar nominations.
Best Director: Ang Lee – He succeeded in producing one of the most visually spectacular films to date.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis – What could have been a stodgy biography is held up by his performance which embodies all aspects of Lincoln’s character.
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain – Her performance as a spy with relentless determination to capture Bin Laden has secured her a much earned second oscar nomination.
JAMIE MACDONALD
Best Picture: Argo – An incredibly taut thriller that sits among giants of the genre.
Best Director: Spielberg – He has at least one more in him.
Best Actor: Hugh Jackman – He did a stupendous job carrying hit musical Les Miserables.
Best Actress: Naomi Watts – Utterly affecting in The Impossible.