I know you don't agree, but Best Adapted Screenplay will go to Sarah Polley and I'm not just saying that because I have a crush on her: the Academy has a crush on young actors-turned-writers (see Matt Damon and Ben Affleck). True Away from Her doesn't have any of the fanfare that accompanied Good Will Hunting and it is competing against the two best films of the year in No Country for Old Men and There Will be Blood - wait, maybe I should rethink this. No, I'm sticking to my proclamation. Beautifully adapted from an Alice Munro short story, it's a stunningly nuanced and mature work from a first-time writer/director and the Academy often rewards the deserving when it comes to writing categories. Someone tell Ms. Polley I've got her back, but don't make it sound creepy.

As for Original Screenplay, former stripper-turned-Hollywood-darling, Diablo Cody (her real name, no doubt), will win for Juno. Hollywood usually throws the hit indie du jour a golden bone (Little Miss Sunshine won this last time); it's a way of honouring a much-liked film without squandering any marquee hardware. Sadly, it means that ex-Six Feet Under scribe, Nancy Oliver's Lars and the Real Girl will again go unnoticed and so will the always-deserving Tamara Jenkins for the Savages.

Other winners:
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová will win Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly" from the best musical of all time: Once (yeah, that's right). The little Irish independent has culled a fervid following and it's largely due to that song. Also, the Frames' frontman and his real-life girlfriend, who both starred in the film, have a far better back-story than Alen Menken and Steven Schwartz. Persepolis will win Best Animated Feature for a strange reason: it's the best animated feature. Finally, Madame Tutli-Putli has got Best Animated Short locked up. For everything else, you're on your own (good luck with Short Subject Documentary). -S.T.