A Very, Very, Early, Early Oscar Forecast

Here's a question....how early is too early to start talking about the Oscars? We're guessing, um, now! But after seeing the trailer for Gus Van Sant's Milk and practically hearing the acceptance speeches being written, we were inspired!

So now, with absolutely no evidence or facts or, you know, actually seeing any of these movies, we present our insanely early prediction of which movies will land in the top five for Best Picture next February:

Milk: Gus Van Sant directs Sean Penn—who weirdly somehow got his face to look quite a lot like Harvey Milk, the subject of this film. Plus, look at the star power: Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, Victor Garber, Denis O'Hare. We're torn over who looks most awesome in 70s style: Hirsch, with the big glasses; Franco with the 'stache; or Diego with the...well, he's just Diego. He always looks good.

Revolutionary Road: Whoo hoo. finally! It's the 10-year-in-the-making re-pairing of Titanic lovers Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, in a Sam Mendes-directed adaptation of the (wonderfully depressing) Richard Yates novel Revolutionary Road. No trailers for this one yet...but just the stills look awesome. Especially with everyone going nuts for '50s Mad Men lady clothes.

The Wrestler: Could it be that Mickey Rourke is back? The people of Venice and Toronto sure think so. After winning the Golden Lion, this film screened at the Toronto Film Festival and inspired a bidding war. Fox Searchlight won. Expect a major comeback tour for the newly faced Mr. Rourke.

Frost/Nixon: Screenwriter Peter Morgan tends to usher in Kodak Auditorium-ready pictures (The Queen, Last King of Scotland). And he blew Broadway away with his theatrical production of this look at a series of interviews Richard Nixon granted to David Frost in 1977. Coming to the big screen, it stars many of the same players: Frank Langella as Nixon and Morgan favorite Martin Sheen as David Frost. Ron Howard directs.

Changeling: What's an Oscar season without Clint Eastwood these days? Angelina Jolie stars as a mother who suspects that the son returned to her after a kidnapping is not really hers. This film is the centerpiece of the New York Film Festival, so Lincoln Center types will be buzzing over it sooner, rather than later.

Honrable Mention: Don't forget about David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Have you seen the trailer for this thing? Spoiler! Brad Pitt ages backwards! We don't get it yet either. But with Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett co-starring, we can't wait.