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"The 2012 84th Annual Academy Awards takes place on Sunday (February 26), with black-and-white silent film The Artist packing some serious awards season momentum having already won Golden Globe and BAFTAs galore. The likes of Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, George Clooney and Jean Dujardin are all hoping to take home acting gongs, but who are we tipping for Oscar glory? Digital Spy makes its Academy Awards predictions below: Best Picture Nominated: War Horse, The Artist, Moneyball, The Descendants, The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, The Help, Hugo, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close And the Oscar goes to... It can only be The Artist. Michel Hazanavicius&amp;#039;s ode to silent cinema first charmed critics when it bowed at Cannes last year and audiences have been equally enthusiastic. The Tree of Life might be the the most narratively ambitious movie of the nine nominees, but we reckon Uggie has Oscar voters completely smitten.  Director Nominated: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Alexander Payne (The Descendants), Martin Scorsese (Hugo), Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris), Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life) And the Oscar goes to... The BAFTAs and Golden Globes gave their backing to Michel Hazanavicius, and we predict that the Oscars will follow suit by giving the Frenchman the award. Watch out for Martin Scorsese, whose Hugo is loved by many and could well be a dark horse.  Actor Nominated: Demian Bichir (A Better Life), George Clooney (The Descendants), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Brad Pitt (Moneyball) And the Oscar goes to... For a long while we&amp;#039;ve thought that George Clooney had this in the bag. His role as a grieving land baron in The Descendants takes him through the gamut of human emotion, but the film itself fades from memory fairly quickly, never quite living up to Clooney&amp;#039;s performance. Let&amp;#039;s go with an upset, and a victory for Jean Dujardin.  Actress Nominated: Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Viola Davis (The Help), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) And the Oscar goes to... This feels very much like a two-way battle between the classy pair of Glenn Close and Meryl Streep. The latter has lost out on a remarkable 14 occasions. For her turn as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, though, this could be her year.  Supporting Actor Nominated: Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn), Jonah Hill (Moneyball), Nick Nolte (Warrior), Christopher Plummer (Beginners), Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) And the Oscar goes to... Two esteemed 82-year-olds, Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow, look to be the frontrunners for the &amp;#039;Best Supporting Actor&amp;#039; gong. Both turned in deeply heartfelt performances in the last 12 months and, while we very much admire the man who played Ming the Merciless, we can&amp;#039;t see anything other than a Christopher Plummer win.  Supporting Actress Nominated: Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Jessica Chastain (The Help), Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs), Octavia Spencer (The Help) And the Oscar goes to... Octavia Spencer&amp;#039;s turn as put-upon maid Minny Jackson is the performance to beat this year. This is a very strong category, but Minny serving up her special pie is one of the most memorable movie moments from the past year and we suspect that will be lodged in the minds of Oscar voters.  &amp;gt; Oscars: 5 reasons why &amp;#039;Moneyball&amp;#039; deserves to win &amp;#039;Best Picture&amp;#039; &amp;gt; Oscars: Top 10 most outrageous Academy Awards moments &amp;gt; Digital Spy Alternative Oscars 2012: Nominees and winners &amp;gt; Oscars: Six of Billy Crystal&amp;#039;s best Academy Awards moments - video  Do you agree with our predictions or will other nominees go on to Oscar glory? Leave your comments below!  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/oscars/news/a366403/oscars-2012-our-academy-awards-winner-predictions/>