For the first time since 1943, there are ten nominees in the Best Picture category for the 82nd Academy Awards. The contenders are Avatar, District 9, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire, A Serious Man, The Blind Side, The Hurt Locker, Up and Up in the Air. HSX traders predicted 9 out of the 10 nominations, opting for Invictus instead of The Blind Side.
James Cameron for Avatar will be facing off with his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker in the Best Directing category. The other nominations are Lee Daniels for Precious, Jason Reitman for Up in the Air and Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds. HSX traders were a perfect 5 for 5 on Directors.
The nominees for Best Performance by a Lead Actor are Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, George Clooney in Up in the Air, Colin Firth in A Single Man, Morgan Freeman in Invictus and Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker. HSX traders scored another 5 for 5.
The nominees for Best Peformance by a Lead Actress are Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side, Helen Mirren in The Last Station, Carey Mulligan in An Education, Gabourey Sidibe in Precious, and Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia. HSX traders once again batted 5 for 5
Contenders for Best Supporting Actor are Matt Damon for Invictus, Woody Harrelson for The Messenger, Christopher Plummer for The Last Station, Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones, and Chritoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds. HSX traders once again successfully predicted all five.
Nominations for Best Supporting Actress went to Penelope Cruz for Nine, Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air, Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart, Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air, Mo'Nique for Precious. HSX traders scored 4 for 4 in this category as Gyllenhaal had been pushed for Best Actress.
Best Adapted Screenplay will be contested between District 9, An Education, In the Loop, Precious and Up in the Air. HSX Traders correctly predicted 3 out of 5 in this category, choosing The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Julie & Julia over An Education and In the Loop.
The Best Original Screenplay contenders are The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, The Messenger, A Serious Man, and Up. HSX traders were also 3 for 5, picking Avatar and (500) Days of Summer instead of The Messenger and A Serious Man.
Overall, HSX traders successfully predicted 39 out of the 44 nominations for a winning percentage of 89%. Congrats!