My Oscar predictions, 2012 (Update: 19/24)

Jean Dujardin stars in "The Artist"

And so goes another Oscar ceremony. I thought this year's awards were a classy, subtle show. There weren't gimmicks or desperate grabs for a younger audience. Billy Crystal was casual and charming. As far as surprises go, there were only two for me... "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" winning Best Film Editing and Meryl Streep taking home her third Oscar. Well, I'm sad for perceived frontrunner Viola Davis, but she'll have her Oscar soon. Streep went 12 nominations in a row without winning, so I'll let her have it. Maybe now there won't be a seemingly annual threat of Streep taking a statuette from another deserving actress. (Although, if she deserves it, she deserves it.)

My predictions were pretty good this year. I got 19 out of 24 correct and four of the winners in my missed categories were my alternate picks (Film Editing being the only complete flub).

Best Picture

"The Artist" WINNER (alt. "Hugo")

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist" WINNER (alt. Martin Scorsese, "Hugo")

Best Actor
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist" WINNER (alt. George Clooney, "The Descendants")

Best Actress
Viola Davis, "The Help" (alt. Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady" WINNER)

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer, "Beginners" WINNER (alt. Max von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close")

Best Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer, "The Help" WINNER (alt. Jessica Chastain, "The Help")

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"The Descendants" WINNER (alt. "Moneyball")

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Midnight in Paris" WINNER (alt. "The Artist")

Best Art Direction
"Hugo" WINNER (alt. "The Artist")

Best Cinematography
"The Tree of Life" (alt. "Hugo" WINNER)

Best Costume Design

"The Artist" WINNER (alt. "Hugo")

Best Film Editing
"The Artist" (alt. "Hugo") WINNER: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

Best Makeup

"The Iron Lady" WINNER (alt. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2")

Best Music (Original Score)
"The Artist" WINNER (alt. "Hugo")

Best Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" WINNER (alt. "Real in Rio" from "Rio")

Best Sound Editing
"Hugo" WINNER (alt. "War Horse")

Best Sound Mixing
"Hugo" WINNER (alt. "War Horse")

Best Visual Effects
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (alt. "Hugo" WINNER)

Best Foreign Language Film

"A Separation" - Iran WINNER (alt. "In Darkness" - Poland)

Best Animated Feature Film
"Rango" WINNER (alt. "Puss in Boots")

Best Short Film (Animated)

"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" WINNER (alt. "La Luna")

Best Short Film (Live Action)

"Tuba Atlantic" (alt. "The Shore" WINNER)

Best Documentary Feature

"Undefeated" WINNER (alt. "Pina")

Best Documentary Short
"Saving Face" WINNER (alt. "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom")