And the Oscar Goes to the Omega-Level!

Have you ever watched the Oscars and said to yourself, “Gee, if only I had a chance to win my own trophy like those happy Oscar winners. That would really spice up my life—or at least make watching this protracted awards show a little bit more interesting.” Honestly, I don’t even know why I asked: I know you’ve thought this because I have thought the same thing and we Omega-Levellers think alike. It’s just how we roll; it’s what makes us us. Up until now, we have had no outlet to realize this dream, no real chance to shine in the spotlight. But then The Dude, always the innovator in our midst, came up with a brilliant idea to rectify this sorry state of affairs, one so simple and perfect and right for us: We should have our own Omega-Level Oscar award! And now that the Oscars air this Sunday, it’s time to unveil the competition for the inaugural (yes, I’m just going to assume there will be many, many more after this) Best Oscar-Picker award! Hit the jump if you want a piece of some OL Oscar glory.

All you have to do is select your winners of the 24 Oscar categories and post the list in the comment section below before the Oscar telecast begins. The person who actually gets the most correct will have a Best Oscar-Picker trophy sent to his or her domicile with the appropriate name/pseudonym/whatever the hell a winner wants to be called on it—all expenses taken care of by the Brothers Omega!

But there is a catch: You will have to think differently on this one. I know our thoughts on movies often jibe,  but we can’t all get the same amount right/wrong.  Someone has to stand alone. And in order to go the distance on this one, the winner of the Best Oscar-Picker trophy will have to take it the absolute limits of the Omega-Level. It might be hard, it might even be a bit scary, but it’s the only way to win.

Here are the categories and nominees to choose from:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Christian Bale for American Hustle
Bruce Dern for Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Amy Adams for American Hustle
Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock for Gravity
Judi Dench for Philomena
Meryl Streep for August: Osage County

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Barkhad Abdi for Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper for American Hustle
Jonah Hill for The Wolf of Wall Street
Michael Fassbender for 12 Years a Slave
Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Sally Hawkins for Blue Jasmine
Julia Roberts for August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave
Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle
June Squibb for Nebraska

Best Achievement in Directing
Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity
Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell for American Hustle
Martin Scorsese for The Wolf of Wall Street
Alexander Payne for Nebraska

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
American Hustle: Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine: Woody Allen
Her: Spike Jonze
Nebraska: Bob Nelson
Dallas Buyers Club: Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Before Midnight: Richard Linklater
Captain Phillips: Billy Ray
12 Years a Slave: John Ridley
The Wolf of Wall Street: Terence Winter
Philomena: Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
The Broken Circle Breakdown: Felix Van Groeningen(Belgium)
The Missing Picture: Rithy Panh(Cambodia)
The Hunt: Thomas Vinterberg(Denmark)
The Great Beauty: Paolo Sorrentino(Italy)
Omar: Hany Abu-Assad(Palestine)

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Gravity: Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis: Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska: Phedon Papamichael
Prisoners: Roger Deakins
The Grandmaster: Philippe Le Sourd

Best Achievement in Editing
12 Years a Slave: Joe Walker
American Hustle: Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
Gravity: Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
Captain Phillips: Christopher Rouse
Dallas Buyers Club: Martin Pensa, John Mac McMurphy

Best Achievement in Production Design
12 Years a Slave: Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
American Hustle: Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
Gravity: Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woollard
The Great Gatsby: Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn
Her: K.K. Barrett, Gene Serdena

Best Achievement in Costume Design
American Hustle: Michael Wilkinson
The Great Gatsby: Catherine Martin
12 Years a Slave: Patricia Norris
The Grandmaster: William Chang
The Invisible Woman: Michael O’Connor

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club: Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa: Steve Prouty
The Lone Ranger: Joel Harlow, Gloria Pasqua Casny

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
The Book Thief: John Williams
Gravity: Steven Price
Her: William Butler, Andy Koyama
Saving Mr. Banks: Thomas Newman
Philomena: Alexandre Desplat

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Despicable Me 2: Pharrell Williams( “Happy”)
Frozen: Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez(“Let It Go”)
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom: Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr., Brian Burton(“Ordinary Love”)
Her: Karen O(“The Moon Song”)

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Gravity: Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Tony Johnson
Captain Phillips: Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro
Inside Llewyn Davis: Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland
Lone Survivor: Andy Koyama, Beau Borders, David Brownlow

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
All Is Lost: Steve Boeddeker, Richard Hymns
Captain Phillips: Oliver Tarney
Gravity: Glenn Freemantle
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Brent Burge
Lone Survivor: Wylie Stateman

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Gravity: Timothy Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3: Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, Daniel Sudick
The Lone Ranger: Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, John Frazier
Star Trek Into Darkness: Roger Guyett, Pat Tubach, Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton

Best Documentary, Feature
The Act of Killing: Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
Cutie and the Boxer: Zachary Heinzerling, Lydia Dean Pilcher
Dirty Wars: Rick Rowley, Jeremy Scahill
The Square: Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer
20 Feet from Stardom: Morgan Neville

Best Documentary, Short Subject
Cavedigger: Jeffrey Karoff
Facing Fear: Jason Cohen
Karama Has No Walls: Sara Ishaq
The Lady In Number 6: Malcolm Clarke, Carl Freed
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall: Edgar Barens

Best Short Film, Animated
Feral: Daniel Sousa, Dan Golden
Get a Horse!: Lauren MacMullan, Dorothy McKim
Mr Hublot: Laurent Witz, Alexandre Espigares
Possessions: Shuhei Morita
Room on the Broom: Max Lang, Jan Lachauer

Best Short Film, Live Action
That Wasn’t Me: Esteban Crespo
Just Before Losing Everything: Xavier Legrand
Helium: Anders Walter
Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?: Selma Vilhunen
The Voorman Problem: Mark Gill

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The best of luck to everyone who participates in this fine affair! Remember: You are picking what you think will win, not what you hope will win, but I’m sure there will be plenty of room in the comments section to debate that as well as many other Oscar-related topics.

Finally, since the Best Oscar-Picker trophy was his brainchild, here are The Dude’s Picks to get this party started off right.

Picture: Dallas Buyers Club
Actor in a Leading Role: Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave
Actress in a Leading Role: Amy Adams for American Hustle
Actor in a Supporting Role: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club
Actress in a Supporting Role: Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave
Directing: Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave
Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: Dallas Buyers Club: Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack
Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: 12 Years a Slave: John Ridley
Animated Feature: The Wind Rises
Foreign Film: The Missing Picture: Rithy Panh(Cambodia)
Cinematography: Gravity: Emmanuel Lubezki
Editing: American Hustle: Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
Production Design: Gravity: Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woollard
Costume Design: 12 Years a Slave: Patricia Norris
Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club: Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews
Original Score: Her: William Butler, Andy Koyama
Original Song: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom: Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr., Brian Burton(“Ordinary Love”)
Sound Mixing: Gravity: Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro
Sound Editing: All Is Lost: Steve Boeddeker, Richard Hymns
Visual Effects: Gravity: Timothy Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould
Documentary, Feature: The Act of Killing: Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
Documentary, Short Subject: The Lady In Number 6: Malcolm Clarke, Carl Freed
Short Film, Animated: Possessions: Shuhei Morita
Short Film, Live Action: Helium: Anders Walter

Oscar-like glory awaits someone here! And that someone could be you!