The 81st Annual Academy Awards air tonight at 8:00PM EST and we thought we'd try our hand at some Oscar picks. We'll check back in tomorrow to see how we do!

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionare
With all the buzz and the US economy in the tank, we think there's just no way this film won't win.

Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn
Not only was his performance amazing, but the picture's content is currently in the spotlight on the political stage.

Actor in a Supporting Role: Heath Ledger
100% chance he'll win the Oscar posthumously.

Actress in a Leading Role: Kate Winslet
She's had five previous nominations! Give her the award already!

Actress in a Supporting Role: Penelope Cruz
She served up a phenomenal performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and the competition among the other actresses is so tight that we think she'll come out on top.

Animated Feature Film: WALL-E
This film was so well-written and it has such a positive message.

Art Direction: Nathan Crowley (Art Direction); Peter Lando (Set Decoration) for The Dark Knight
Decorating Gotham is not an easy job.

Cinematography: Claudio Miranda for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Lighting Brad Pitt backwards through time is a feat, to say the least.

Costume Design: Catherine Martin for Australia
Epic movies and period pieces usually do quite well in this category.

Directing: Gus Van Sant for Milk
This is a shot in the dark but we think he's a front-runner for the director's award. If he doesn't bag the Oscar, we think it'll definitely go to Danny Boyle for Slumdog.

Documentary Feature: Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser for Encounters at the End of the World
We haven't actually seen any of the documentary features this year, so this is a shot in the dark. But this film is about the extreme environment of Antarctica, and with global warming in the public consciousness we think it has a good shot of winning.

Documentary Short: Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant for The Final Inch

Film Editing: Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Foreign Language Film: Ari Folman for Waltz With Bashir

Makeup: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Music (Score): Thomas Newman for WALL-E
Great score, great composer and a great movie.

Music (Song): Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman for Down to Earth (WALL-E)

Short Film (Animated): Doug Sweetland for Presto

Short Film (Live Action): Tivi Magnusson & Dorte Høgh for The Pig

Sound Editing: Ben Burtt & Matthew Wood for WALL-E

Sound Mixing: Tom Myers, Michael Semanick & Ben Burtt for WALL-E

Visual Effects: Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber & Paul Franklin for The Dark Knight

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): John Patrick Shanley for Doubt
The screenplay for Doubt was perfectly adapted from the Tony award winning play.

Writing (Original Screenplay): Dustin Lance Black for Milk

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