Readers see Oscar gold in Cameron’s future

By Diana Nollen

Gazette readers have crowned James Cameron king of the world.

Those who cast Oscar prediction ballots online and in print predict Cameron's big-budget blockbuster “Avatar” will sink the competition, besting former wife Kathryn Bigelow for directing honors and blasting out “The Hurt Locker” for best picture.

Predictions in the other categories line up with popular consensus: Jeff Bridges as best actor for “Crazy Heart,” Sandra Bullock as best actress for “The Blind Side,” Christoph Waltz as best supporting actor for “Inglourious Basterds” and Mo'Nique as best supporting actress for “Precious.”

Seventy-two people cast ballots from The Gazette and 61 people voted at hooplanow.com Here are their combined totals in each category. Keep in mind that some people left some categories blank, so they won't all add up to 133.

Best Picture: “Avatar,” 88; “The Hurt Locker,” 18; “The Blind Side,” 13; “Precious,” 4; “Up in the Air,” 4; “Inglourious Basterds,” 3; “Up,” 1.

Best Director: James Cameron, “Avatar,” 82; Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker,” 33; Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds,” 9; Lee Daniels, “Precious,” 7; Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air,” 2.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart,” 91; Morgan Freeman, “Invictus,” 18; George Clooney, “Up in the Air,” 16; Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker,” 5; Colin Firth, “A Single Man,” 3.

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side,” 84; Meryl Streep, “Julie and Julia,” 20; Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious,” 16; Helen Mirren, “The Last Station,” Carey Mulligan, “An Education,” 3.

Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds,” 58; Matt Damon, “Invictus,” 37; Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones,” 19; Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station,” 10; Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger,” 9.

Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, “Precious,” 74; Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart,” 26; Penelope Cruz, “Nine,” 25; Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air,” 3 each.

FAST TAKEOn the Net: www.oscars.org or www.oscar.go.com

On the tube: Watch the 82nd annual Academy Awards ceremony at 7 p.m. Sunday on ABC, shown locally at KCRG-TV9

Liveblog: Join in my liveblog of the Oscars ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at www.gazetteonline.com