BEST PICTURE
Projected Nominees
[1] “The Hurt Locker” (Summit, 6/26, trailer) ▲
[2] “Avatar” (20th Century Fox, 12/18, trailer)
[3] “Up in the Air” (Paramount, 12/4, trailer)
[4] “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company, 8/21, trailer)
[5] “Precious” (Lions Gate, 11/6, trailer)
[6] “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/9, trailer)
[7] “Up” (Disney, 5/29, trailer)
[8] “Invictus” (Warner Brothers, 12/11, trailer)
[9] “The Blind Side” (Warner Brothers, 11/20, trailer) ▲
[10] “District 9” (TriStar, 8/14, trailer)
Major Threats
[11] “Star Trek” (Paramount, 5/8, trailer)
[12] “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope, 11/13, trailer)
[13] “A Serious Man” (Focus Features, 10/2, trailer)
[14] “The Hangover” (Warner Brothers, 6/5, trailer)
[15] “Julie & Julia” (Columbia, 8/7, trailer)
[16] “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight, 12/16, trailer) ▲
[17] “Nine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/18, trailer)
On the Outside
[18] “Brothers” (Lions Gate, 12/4, trailer)
[19] “A Single Man” (The Weinstein Company, 12/11, trailer)
[20] “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/23, trailer)
[21] “500 Days of Summer” (Fox Searchlight, 7/17, trailer)
[22] “It’s Complicated” (Universal, 12/25, trailer)
[23] “This Is It” (Columbia, 10/28, trailer)

BEST DIRECTOR
Projected Nominees
[1] Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) ▲
[2] James Cameron (“Avatar”)
[3] Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air”)
[4] Quentin Tarantino (“Inglourious Basterds”)
[5] Lee Daniels (“Precious”)
Major Threats
[6] Clint Eastwood (“Invictus”)
[7] Ethan Coen, Joel Coen (“A Serious Man”)
[8] Neill Blomkamp (“District 9”)
[9] Lone Scherfig (“An Education”)
On the Outside
[10] Nora Ephron (“Julie & Julia”)
[11] Jim Sheridan (“Brothers”)
[12] Michael Haneke (“The White Ribbon”)

BEST ACTOR
Projected Nominees
[1] Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart”)
[2] George Clooney (“Up in the Air”)
[3] Colin Firth (“A Single Man”)
[4] Morgan Freeman (“Invictus”)
[5] Jeremy Renner (“The Hurt Locker”)
Major Threats
[6] Daniel Day-Lewis (“Nine”)
[7] Tobey Maguire (“Brothers”)
[8] Michael Stuhlbarg (“A Serious Man”)
On the Outside
[9] Ben Foster (“The Messenger”)
[10] Matt Damon (“The Informant!”)

BEST ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
[1] Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) ▲
[2] Meryl Streep (“Julie & Julia”)
[3] Carey Mulligan (“An Education”)
[4] Gabby Sidibe (“Precious”)
[5] Helen Mirren (“The Last Station”)
Major Threats
[6] Emily Blunt (“The Young Victoria”)
[7] Melanie Laurent (“Inglourious Basterds”)
On the Outside
[8] Abbie Cornish (“Bright Star”)
[9] Marion Cotillard (“Nine”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Projected Nominees
[1] Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds”) ▲
[2] Woody Harrelson (“The Messenger”)
[3] Christopher Plummer (“The Last Station”)
[4] Matt Damon (“Invictus”)
[5] Anthony Mackie (“The Hurt Locker”)
Major Threats
[6] Stanley Tucci (“The Lovely Bones”)
[7] Alfred Molina (“An Education”)
On the Outside
[8] Alec Baldwin (“It’s Complicated”)
[9] Christian McKay (“Me and Orson Welles”)
[10] Peter Sarsgaard (“An Education”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Projected Nominees
[1] Mo’Nique (“Precious”) ▲
[2] Anna Kendrick (“Up in the Air”)
[3] Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air”)
[4] Julianne Moore (“A Single Man”)
[5] Penelope Cruz (“Nine”) ▼
Major Threats
[6] Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Crazy Heart”)
[7] Samantha Morton (“The Messenger”)
[8] Marion Cotillard (“Nine”)
[9] Diane Kruger (“Inglourious Basterds”)
[10] Judi Dench (“Nine”)
On the Outside
[11] Mariah Carey (“Precious”)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
[1] Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner (“Up in the Air”)
[2] Geoffrey Fletcher (“Precious”)
[3] Nick Hornby (“An Education”)
[4] Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell (“District 9”)
[5] Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart”) ▲
Major Threats
[6] Nora Ephron (“Julie & Julia”)
[7] Tom Ford (“A Single Man”)
[8] Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach (“The Fantastic Mr. Fox”)
[9] Michael Hoffman (“The Last Station”)
[10] Jane Campion (“Bright Star”)
On the Outside
[11] Anthony Minghella, Michael Tolkin (“Nine”)
[12] Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman (“Star Trek”)
[13] Anthony Peckham (“Invictus”)
[14] David Benioff (“Brothers”)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Projected Nominees
[1] Mark Boal (“The Hurt Locker”) ▲
[2] Quentin Tarantino (“Inglourious Basterds”)
[3] Pete Docter, Bob Peterson (“Up”)
[4] Ethan Coen, Joel Coen (“A Serious Man”)
[5] Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber (“500 Days of Summer”)
Major Threats
[6] James Cameron (“Avatar”)
[7] Jon Lucas, Scott Moore (“The Hangover”)
On the Outside
[8] Nancy Meyers (“It’s Complicated”)
[9] Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman (“The Messenger”)
[10] Pedro Almodovar (“Broken Embraces”)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Projected Nominees
[1] “Food, Inc.” (Magnolia, 6/12, trailer)
[2] “The Cove” (Roadside Attractions, 7/31, trailer)
[3] “The Beaches of Agnes” (Cinema Guild, 7/1, trailer)
[4] “Garbage Dreams” (Iskander, 7/31, trailer)
[5] “Mugabe and the White African” (Arturi, 8/7, trailer)
Major Threats
[6] “Valentino: The Last Emperor” (Acolyte, 3/18, trailer)
[7] “Burma VJ” (Oscilloscope, 5/20, trailer)
[8] “Sergio” (Passion, 1/1, trailer)
[9] “Every Little Step” (Sony Pictures Classics, 4/17, trailer)
[10] “Soundtrack for a Revolution” (Freedom Song, 8/7, trailer)
[11] “Under Our Skin” (Shadow, 6/19, trailer)
On the Outside
[12] “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” (Kovno, 6/1, trailer)
[13] “Which Way Home” (HBO, 1/31, trailer)
[14] “Facing Ali” (Lions Gate, 6/16, trailer)
[15] “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders” (Red Floor, 8/14, trailer)

Photo: Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side.” Credit: Warner Brothers.