I love the Oscars. I think I always have. I don’t remember the first ceremony I ever saw, but there are definitely moments that have stayed with me from years past. I try to predict who will win. I’m usually on the money. It’s not always necessarily who I want to win, you understand. Sometimes, I’ll want one person to win, but I’ll know that someone else is going to go home with the statuette.

I cheer for certain actors and films, and even directors, but the categories I tend to have the biggest opinions about are costume and makeup. This year, we’ve got some pretty tense competition.

For costume:
Catherin Martin – for Australia. Previously nominated for (and won) Best Costume and Best Art Direction for Moulin Rouge! (2002) Was also nominated for Production Design on William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet.
Jacqueline West – for Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Previously nominated for Quills (2000) – lost to Gladiator. She did the costume design for The New World and The Extraordinary League of Gentlemen (while I hate the film, I have to say that the costume design for that one is great)
Michael O’Connor – for The Duchess. This is his first solo nomination. He was the assistant costume designer for Quills. He did the designs for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and the little-known Kazakhstan film Nomad.
Danny Glicker – first time nominee for Milk. Previous work includes We Are Marshall, The Hills Have Eyes, Transamerica and some episodes of the HBO show True Blood.
Albert Wolsky – nominated for Revolutionary Road. The most recognized designer nominated this year. Amongst his long list of films are Charlie Wilson’s War, Road to Perdition, Galaxy Quest, and Grease. Previously nominated for Across the Universe (2007 – lost to Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Also up against Atonement and Sweeney Todd); Toys (’93 – lost to Dracula); Bugsy (’91 – won – up against Addams Family and Hook); Journey of Natty Gann (’85 – lost to Ran); Sophie’s Choice (’82 – lost to Gandhi); All That Jazz (’79 – won)

For make-up:
Greg Cannom – for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. His work includes Watchmen, Passion of the Christ, Master and Commander, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (which I think he should have been nominated for), Blade, Titanic, Thinner, Man without a Face, Cocoon, and The Howling. He has been nominated for: A Beautiful Mind (2002 – lost to LOTR:Fellowship); Bicentennial Man (2000 – lost to Topsy-Turvy); Titanic (’98 – lost to Rick Baker’s Men in Black – personally, I thought Titanic should have won); Roomates (’95 – lost to Braveheart); Mrs. Doubtfire (’94 – won); Dracula (’93 – won – up against himself for Hoffa); Hook (’92 – lost to Stan Winston’s T2: Judgement Day)
John Caglione, Jr. – for The Dark Knight. Has done Frequency, The Insider, The Hurricane, Amistad, Chaplin, For the Boys. Nominated and won for Dick Tracy (1991).
Conor O’Sullivan – for The Dark Knight. Has done The Last Samurai, The Hours, Quills, Braveheart. Nominated for Saving Private Ryan (1999) – lost to Elizabeth.
Mike Elizalde – for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Previously worked on Lady in the Water (make-up and creature effects), The Frighteners, Stargate, X-Men 3, Hellboy.
Thom Floutz – for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Previously worked on X-Men 3, Underworld:Evolution, Underworld. (I don’t know why these two weren’t nominated for the first Hellboy film)

So, looking at everyone’s current work, and their past credentials, who do you pick for the award to go to? Personally, I think I’m going to be cheering for Mike and Thom for their work on Hellboy. Guillermo del Toro dislikes CG (although he knows how to incorporate it), so you know their work has to be tremendous for them to be picked to work on the film. While the Joker’s makeup in this year’s Batman is phenomenal, I think the challenge of creating and implementing so MANY looks for Hellboy is going to edge out the competition.

For costume design, it’s a little more difficult. I’m always faced with the dilemma…do I go for the huge costume drama (The Duchess), or do I choose one of the designs that seems a little more contemporary in some ways? I love Wolsky’s work – which is always made even more impressive when you consider that he is partially color blind – and how do you not recognize how perfect Kate Winslet’s costumes are? Danny Glicker recreates the 70s fantastically (go back and watch We Are Marshall – it’s great). Jacqueline West probably had the hardest job, simply because she had to present such a wide span of time throughout the film. How do you figure who did the best job, when most of the designers worked in one general period, and one designer had to present 18th Century England? Choices, choices.

I really can’t make my decision at this point. I think I’m going to have to pour over pictures of all the films before I can point to one clear winner.