As His Recovery Continues, Ebert Predicts Oscar Winners

By: E&P Staff Famed film critic Roger Ebert remains on leave as he rehabs after cancer surgeries, but he did write a piece giving his predictions and preferences for this Sunday's Oscar nominees.

The Chicago Sun-Times/Universal Press Syndicate columnist predicted Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland") will win for best actor, but expressed a preference for Peter O'Toole ("Venus").

Ebert wrote that Helen Mirren ("The Queen") will be named best actress, Jennifer Hudson ("Dreamgirls") best supporting actress, and Eddie Murphy ("Dreamgirls") best supporting actor. He also said he hopes all three of those nominees win.

For best picture, Ebert predicts and prefers "Babel." For best director, he believes Martin Scorsese will win for "The Departed," but added: "For reasons of tact, I prefer not to reveal my preference." Ebert explained that "America's greatest director ... has made better films than 'The Departed,'" but said Scorsese is long overdue for an Oscar.

Ebert concluded his predictions with high praise for "An Inconvenient Truth" in the documentary category: "I have only once in my almost 40 years as a film critic written these words: 'You owe it to yourself to see this film.' That was the power of Al Gore's movie about global warming. ... My review was divorced from politics or political leanings. It reflected the truth as I understood it, that global warming is real, and is partly caused by human activity. That view has just been ratified in a recent meeting of scientists. But aside from the content, the movie is well done cinematically."