The 2011 awards season is ready to shift into high gear. On the 1st day of every month, until January 2012, I will be keeping you updated on who has the inside track on winning an Oscar.

This year, for the first time in many years, Best Actress looks like the tougher field of five rather than Best Actor.

We won’t know who gets an Oscar nomination until the end of January, but I am ready to put some predictions out there on who is a lock or who is still contending or who is on the outside looking in. As each month passes, I will eliminate some from the race.

Let the race commence!

BEST PICTURE (5 to 10 can be nominated)
The Locks:
J. Edgar
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
War Horse
The Ides Of March
Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy
Still Contending:
The Descendants
The Tree Of Life
A Dangerous Method
The Iron Lady
We Bought A Zoo
The Help
Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close
Moneyball
Drive
Carnage
On The Outside, Looking In:
Martha Marcy May Marlene
My Week With Marilyn
Hugo
The Artist
The Skin I Live In
Young Adult
50/50
Warrior
Midnight In Paris
Sarah’s Key
Jane Eyre
Albert Nobbs
The Rum Diary
Super 8
Contagion
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part II
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

BEST DIRECTOR (5 will be nominated)
The Locks:
David Fincher (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
Clint Eastwood (J. Edgar)
Steven Spielberg (War Horse)
Still Contending:
George Clooney (The Ides Of March)
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Terrence Malick (The Tree Of Life)
David Cronenberg (A Dangerous Method)
On The Outside, Looking In:
Tomas Alfred son (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Pedro Almodovar (The Skin I Live In)
Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
Roman Polanski (Carnage)
Woody Allen (Midnight In Paris)
Cameron Crowe (We Bought A Zoo)
Stephen Daldry (Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Bennett Miller (Moneyball)
Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)
Phyllida Lloyd (The Iron Lady)

BEST ACTOR (5 will be nominated)
The Locks:
Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar)
Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Still Contending:
Johnny Depp (The Rum Diary)
Antonio Banderas (The Skin I Live In)
Daniel Craig (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
Ryan Gosling (The Ides Of March) (Drive)
Brad Pitt (The Tree Of Life) (Moneyball)
George Clooney (The Descendants)
On The Outside, Looking In:
Matt Damon (We Bought A Zoo)
Jean DuJardin (The Artist)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50)
Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method) (Jane Eyre) 
Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus)
Sean Penn (This Must Be The Place)
Tom Hardy (Warrior)
Joel Edgerton (Warrior)
Christoph Waltz (Carnage)
John C. Reilly (Carnage)
Dominic Cooper (The Devil’s Double)

BEST ACTRESS (5 will be nominated)
The Locks:
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Still Contending:
Keira Knightly (A Dangerous Method)
Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin)
Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) (Meek’s Cutoff)
Charlize Theron (Young Adult)
On The Outside, Looking In:
Scarlett Johansson (We Bought A Zoo)
Jodie Foster (Carnage)
Kate Winslet (Carnage)
Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia)
Jessica Chastain (The Tree Of Life)
Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids)
Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre)
Kristen Scott Thomas (Sarah’s Key)
Carey Mulligan (Drive)
Rachel Weisz (The Whistleblower) (The Deep Blue Sea)
Vera Farmiga (Higher Ground)
Anne Hathaway (One Day)
Emma Stone (The Help)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (5 will be nominated)
The Locks:
Viggo Mortensen (A Dangerous Method)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners) (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
George Clooney (The Ides Of March)
Still Contending:
Armie Hammer (J. Edgar)
John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Moneyball) (The Ides Of March)
On The Outside, Looking In:
Nick Nolte (Warrior)
Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady)
Tom Hardy (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Paul Giamatti (The Ides Of March)
Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)
Tom Hanks (Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close)
Albert Brooks (Drive)
Oscar Issac (Drive)
Ben Kingsley (Hugo)
Jude Law (Hugo)
Andy Serkis (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes)
Hunter McCracken (The Tree Of Life)
Sean Penn (The Tree Of Life)
Seth Rogen (50/50)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (5 will be nominated)
The Locks:
Viola Davis (The Help)
Naomi Watts (J. Edgar)
Vanessa Redgrave (Coriolanus)
Still Contending:
Judi Dench (My Week With Marilyn) (J. Edgar)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Sandra Bullock (Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close)
Marisa Tomei (The Ides Of March)
On The Outside, Looking In:
Elle Fanning (We Bought A Zoo) (Super  
Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)
Sarah Paulson (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help) (50/50)
Anjelica Huston (50/50)
Marion Cotillard (Midnight In Paris)
Melusine Mayance (Sarah’s Key)