Film's most prestigious night is almost here, and the competition is as tough as ever. This year is no different; even with all the pre-Oscar award shows such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Producers Guild Awards and the Directors Guild Awards, the Oscars are always unpredictable and filled with many surprises and snubs (why wasn't Ben Affleck nominated for "Argo"?). There is no doubt that each nomination is well-deserved, but it is ultimately up to the 6,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and an extensive voting process to determine who wins. The Academy Awards are held every year to award filmmakers for their cinematic achievements, and those who take home a gold Academy Award statuette are solidifed with movie-royalty status.

Leading the nominations with 12 nods is "Lincoln," which is up for Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Director. Other highly-nominated films are "Life of Pi" with 11 nominations, "Les Misérables" with nine and "Argo" with seven.

Here are the nominees for the night's most-anticipated categories. For the film buffs out there, click on each drop-down box to predict who will win, and to see what other NT readers think:

Best Picture 

• Amour
• Argo
• Beasts of a Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best Picture

AmourArgoBeasts of a Southern WildDjango UnchainedLes MiserablesLife of PiLincolnSilver Linings PlaybookZero Dark Thirty

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Actor in a Leading Role 

• Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
• Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables)
• Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
• Denzel Washington (Flight)

Actor in a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)Denzel Washington (Flight)

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Actress in a Leading Role 

• Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
• Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)
• Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of a Southern Wild)
• Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)Quvenzhan Wallis (Beasts of a Southern Wild)Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

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Actor in a Supporting Role 

• Alan Arkin (Argo)
• Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)
• Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
• Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin (Argo)Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

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Actress in a Supporting Role 

• Amy Adams (The Master)
• Sally Field (Lincoln)
• Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)
• Helen Hunt (The Sessions)
• Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

 

Best Director 

Best Director

Michael Haneke (Amour) Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of a Southern Wild) Ang Lee (Life of Pi) Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

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