Best Supporting Actress Oscar 2013 Predictions: It's Anne Hathaway's to Lose

Culture

The Best Supporting Actress category is always contentious. It either goes to a newcomer or someone nearing the end of the road. This year is no exception. Hathaway appears to be the favorite.

Who will win best supporting actress?

The nominees are:

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

The Best Supporting Actress Oscar race is notoriously unpredictable. There have been several heart stoppers and none more out of left field than Marisa Tomei's 1992 win for My Cousin Vinny.  That win set the Academy itself back several years. And in 1996, Lauren Bacall was all but assured a win for The Mirror Has Two Faces, but was denied a win by Juliette Binoche. The nerve of some unknown winning against a legend was an outrage.

This year, the winner appears clear cut. If Anne Hathaway doesn't win this category, it will be a major shock. Sally Field is the main contender who could pull off an upset, since Helen Hunt could have been a Best Actress nominee, and the others have little to do that screams "Oscar winner" in their prospective roles.

At this point, the only thing standing in Ms. Hathaway's way is herself.  As the audience braces themselves for her upcoming acceptance speech, one can only hope that she keeps the speech short and to the point. Hopefully, she won't start singing in the middle of it. The Best Supporting Actress category is always one where a surprise is definitely a possibility. Come Oscar night, everyone could be wrong about their prediction.