ED KOCH
The former mayor thinks the Academy got it wrong by passing over “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” – though Julian Schnabel did score a nomination for Best Director. “Even though I don’t like his politics,” Koch chooses Johnny Depp’s performance as aggrieved, homicidal barber Sweeney Todd for Best Actor. For Best Actress, Koch – who moonlights as a film critic – goes with Julie Christie, who “tore my heart apart” in her turn as an Alzheimer’s-afflicted woman who embarks on a new romance in “Away From Her.”
Best Picture: Doesn’t matter, since “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” isn’t nominated
Best Actor: Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”
Best Actress: Julie Christie, “Away From Her”
GEORGE WHIPPLE
NY1 society reporter and man-about-town Whipple picks “Juno” to win Best Picture and Johnny Depp for Best Actor. As well known for his prominent eyebrows as for his celebrity connections, he makes a slightly offbeat choice for Best Actress – picking Laura Linney’s under-the-radar turn as an emotionally isolated woman who cares for an elderly father in “The Savages.”
Best Picture: “Juno”
Best Actor: Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”
Best Actress: Laura Linney, “The Savages”
CARSON KRESSLEY
Host of Lifetime’s “How to Look Good Naked” Carson Kressley hedges his bets with picks from several of last year’s best-reviewed films. The TV style guru chooses front-running “There Will Be Blood” and its star Daniel Day-Lewis to win Best Picture and Best Actor, and Julie Christie for Best Actress. He makes another safe bet with Javier Bardem as Best Supporting Actor for playing a psychopathic assassin who terrorizes western Texas with a cattle stun gun in “No Country for Old Men.”
Best Picture: “There Will Be Blood”
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”
Best Actress: Julie Christie, “Away From Her”
ELVIS DURAN
As host of The Morning Zoo on Z100, Duran reaches a younger set of listeners, so it’s no surprise that he picks the teen pregnancy dramedy “Juno” to win Best Picture. He goes with leading contender Daniel Day-Lewis – who plays a ruthless turn-of-the-century oilman in “There Will Be Blood” – for Best Actor. For Best Actress, he picks 20-year-old Ellen Page’s breakthrough performance as the wisecracking but tender-hearted Juno MacGuff.
Best Picture: “Juno”
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”
Best Actress: Ellen Page, “Juno”
