(Tomorrow at 8:30 AM on the East Coast, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will announce its nominees for the 84th annual Academy Awards.  The annoucements will be made by the moderately attractive Jennifer Lawrence.  Sadly we did not have the opportunity to speak with Ms. Lawrence, so we asked our resident film expert Franklin Laviola to give us his predictions for the nominations.  Check back tomorrow morning to see how accurate he was.)

Note: In categories where predicted nominees are not listed in alphabetical order, they are listed in order of the likelihood of their nominations.

Picture: 

If five nominees …  

The Artist

The Descendants

Hugo

The Help

Midnight in Paris

If seven nominees … 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

If nine nominees … 

The Tree of Life

Drive

If ten nominees … 

Moneyball

Alternates: 

War Horse

Bridesmaids

Director: 

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Alternates:  

Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

David Fincher, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Actor: 

George Clooney, The Descendants

Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Michael Fassbender, Shame

Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Alternates: 

Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Leonardo Dicaprio, J. Edgar

Actress: 

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Viola Davis, The Help

Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Alternates: 

Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Charlize Theron, Young Adult

Supporting Actor: 

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn

Albert Brooks, Drive

Nick Nolte, Warrior

Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Alternates: 

Brad Pitt, The Tree of Life

Ben Kingsley, Hugo

Supporting Actress: 

Octavia Spencer, The Help

Jessica Chastain, The Help

Berenice Bejo, The Artist

Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Alternates: 

Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus

Original Screenplay: 

The Artist

Midnight in Paris

Bridesmaids

50/50

A Separation

Alternates: 

Young Adult

Margaret

Adapted Screenplay: 

The Descendants

Moneyball

Hugo

The Help

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Alternates: 

The Ides of March

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Film Editing: 

The Artist

Drive

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

War Horse

Alternates: 

Moneyball

The Tree of Life

Cinematography: 

The Artist

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The Tree of Life

Alternates: 

Drive

War Horse

Art Direction: 

The Artist

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Hugo

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

War Horse

Alternates: 

Jane Eyre

The Tree of Life

Costume Design:  

Anonymous

The Artist

Hugo

Jane Eyre

War Horse

Alternates: 

The Help

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Sound Mixing: 

The Adventures of Tintin

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Super 8

War Horse

Alternates: 

Drive

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Sound Editing: 

The Adventures of Tintin

Drive

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Super 8

Alternates:   

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

War Horse

Makeup Design: 

Anonymous

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

The Iron Lady

Alternates:  

Albert Nobbs

The Artist

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Hugo

[The 7 Finalists for Makeup]

Visual Effects: 

Captain America: The First Avenger

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Hugo

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The Tree of Life

Alternates: 

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Real Steel

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

X-Men: First Class

[The 10 Finalists for Visual Effects]

Original Score: 

The Adventures of Tintin

The Artist

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

War Horse

Alternates: 

The Help

Jane Eyre

Original Song: 

Captain America: The First Avenger

Hugo

The Muppets

The Muppets

Winnie the Pooh

Alternates: 

Albert Nobbs

The Help

Animated Feature: 

The Adventures of Tintin

Arthur Christmas

Chico & Rita

Puss in Boots

Rango

Alternates: 

Cars 2

Winnie the Pooh

Documentary Feature:  

Bill Cunningham New York

Buck

Pina

Project Nim

We Were Here

Alternates: 

Hell And Back Again

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Foreign Language Film: 

Bullhead (Belgium)

Footnote (Israel)

In Darkness (Poland)

Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)

A Separation (Iran)

Alternates:  

Omar Killed Me (Morocco)

Pina (Germany)

Superclasico (Denmark)

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Taiwan)

[The 9 Finalists for Foreign Language Film]

Films with the Most Nominations Overall …

Hugo = 11

The Artist = 10

The Descendants = 5

The Help = 5

War Horse = 5

Franklin P. Laviola is a filmmaker and freelance writer, based in the New York area. He wrote and directed the award-winning short film “Happy Face,” which has screened at over twenty film festivals. He recently wrote on the 10 Best Films from the 2011 New York Film Festival. Stay tuned for his list of the best and worst movies of 2011.