Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Art Direction

The competition: Avatar, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Nine, Sherlock Holmes, The Young Victoria

Previous winners: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Sweeney Todd, Pan’s Labyrinth, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Aviator
My winner: A Single Man
Who should win: Avatar
Who will win: This category pits films with mostly technical nominations and a grand total of ten mentions between them against Oscar’s biggest juggernaut this year, which has nine nominations all by itself. That doesn’t mean the rest of them can’t win; it simply puts Rick Carter, Kim Sinclair, and Robert Stronbergh ahead of the pack. Plus, “The Hurt Locker” isn’t in the running here, so is one of the places where the “Avatar” camp can securely pitch a tent. It could be “Nine,” but I think it has to be Avatar.