Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Film Editing

The competition: Black Swan, The Fighter, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network

Previous winners: The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Departed, Crash, The Aviator
My winner: Inception
Who should win: The Social Network
Who will win: Without “Inception” here, this category is relatively up for grabs. Had it maintained its awards season lead, “The Social Network” would be a lock here, but it’s important to watch out for “The King’s Speech.” When two films are vying for Best Picture, it’s possible for one to take the top prize and the other to end up here, as occurred in 2004, 2000, and 1998, most recently, especially since “The Social Network” is still primed to take home Best Director. The other three nominees don’t stand too much of a chance, even though the editing in “127 Hours” and “The Fighter” is rather superb and many loved the headache-inducing “Black Swan.” The only past nominees in this category, coincidentally enough, are those at the head of the competition: Tariq Anwar edited “American Beauty” before “The King’s Speech,” and editing team Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall were previously nominated for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” I’m calling this one in favor of “The Social Network.”