Oscar Predictions: Best Original Score

Last year’s nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Defiance, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, Wall-E

The contenders: Avatar, Up, The Informant, Star Trek, Sherlock Holmes, District 9, A Single Man, The Lovely Bones, Up in the Air, Coco Before Chanel, Fantastic Mr. Fox

The rundown: This category is always a bit tricky to predict, and usually boasts one big surprise inclusion, like “Defiance,” “Michael Clayton,” “The Good German,” or “The Village.” I’m not sure they’ll be one of those this year, but we’ll have to see. I imagine that three of the contenders from the Golden Globes will repeat (my top three predictions), and while I’d love to see “A Single Man” earn a nomination, I feel like it won’t, which is a real shame. “Where the Wild Things Are,” the fifth Globe nominee, is ineligible at the Oscars.

Forecasted winner: Up