Oscar Predictions: Best Visual Effects

Last year’s nominees: Avatar, District 9, Star Trek

This year’s locks: Inception, Iron Man 2

Very likely: Tron: Legacy

Possible: Alice in Wonderland, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

Unlikely: Hereafter

Ineligible finalists: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Clash of the Titans, The Last Airbender, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Shutter Island, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Unstoppable

The rundown: As of January 6th, the race is officially down to seven contenders. The Academy’s press release said that five films will be selected rather than three, despite the fact that the category has almost always only had three nominees. If the number is three, the choices are pretty obvious. With five, however, there becomes a possibility of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Unfortunately, the Visual Effects Society nominated “Hereafter” in the Best Supporting Visual Effects category, honoring the other five in the Best Visual Effects race, leaving Scott Pilgrim out in the cold. Here’s hoping that some innovative thinking can honor one of the most entertaining films of the year in the only race where it actually has anything close to a shot. For the record, the Harry Potter series has only ever received one nomination – for the third film in 2004. The sixth film did make the initial bakeoff last year but didn’t survive the cut from seven to three.