Legends are locked for Oscar acting noms.

In last week’s Getting Buzzed, I ran down the top 10 contenders for Oscar Best Picture. With the LA Film Critics giving Best Picture to WALL•E, NY Film Critics giving it to MILK, and the Golden Globes ignoring both films for their Best Picture categories, the Oscar Best Picture picture is just cloudier. So this week, I’ll be taking a look at the top ten contenders for Best Actor and Best Actress.

10) Will Smith (Seven Pounds) & Michelle Williams (Wendy & Lucy)
Seven Pounds trailer
Wendy & Lucy trailer
Will Smith is the biggest movie star in the world for good reason and the Academy likes to nominate movie stars, so they’ll go see this late entry in the Oscar campaign for that reason. Working with his PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS director, he gives a better performance than in that previous film for which he received a nomination. It’s a long shot, but wouldn’t be surprising.

For Michelle Williams, you can never count out a previous nominee. Word is her performance in the indie WENDY & LUCY is sensational. But will Academy members have time to see it before the nomination deadline? With Heath Ledger a lock for supporting actor, it would be a sentimental nod as well.

9) Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) & Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Slumdog Millionaire review & trailer
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button trailer
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is hot. So it’s not uncommon for the actors to ride the wave of love into Oscar nominations. Patel’s heartfelt work could put him in the final five if Academy members want a SLUMDOG lovefest.

Cate Blanchett is the next Meryl Streep so while the buzz on BENJAMIN BUTTON is flickering, everyone loves Cate — she can earn a nomination for anything she does. Even though some later surging actresses, being helped by critics’ end of year lists, have made her three-year Oscar string bid seem unlikely, Queen Cate is never far out of Academy voters minds.

8) Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) & Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
The Visitor review & trailer
Frozen River review & trailer
This is the “they were robbed” slot. Richard Jenkins’ subtle work in THE VISITOR is easily some of the best acting of the year, but this spring indie is just not getting the traction that it needs to jump past mega-watt superstars. Along with his work in BURN AFTER READING, Jenkins is working at the top of his game these days.

Leo’s performance in FROZEN RIVER is one that makes you sit up and wonder where did this performer come from. She’s been in small roles in film and TV for decades, and she finally gets the top billing in one of the best films of 2008. As a poor working class mother, her performance is in her face, which leads us to the soul of the character.

7) Benicio Del Toro (Che) & Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
Che trailer
Changeling review & trailer
Del Toro won the top acting award at the Cannes Film Festival playing the iconic Communist revolutionary. But at 4+ hours most Academy members might not have the time to see the performance. Word is he’s transformative, and he’s a previous winner; so don’t count him out yet.

Jolie is the biggest female movie star working today. She’s an Oscar winner. She was in a film by Clint Eastwood. All the pieces seem too good for her to be counted out. However, the love for CHANGELING is dead, while other films/performances are getting critic circle love. The early lock of the season looks less likely now, but the Golden Globe nomination doesn’t hurt.

6) Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) & Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Gran Torino trailer
The Reader trailer
Speaking of Clint Eastwood, he’s never won an Oscar for acting. Vet actors often get nominations for lesser work in weaker years. Word on TORINO is mixed, but the Academy might not be able to give up one last shot at nominating a legend.

Winslet is competing against herself this year with THE READER and REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. The buzz on THE READER is growing, so it’s a bit of a toss up on which film she will be nominated for. You can count on one thing — she will be nominated. Maybe the Academy will go Golden Globes-style and nominated her for Best Actress and Supporting Actress, just like they did for Cate Blanchett last year.

5) Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) & Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button trailer
Happy-Go-Lucky review & trailer
While it’s not his best work, Brad Pitt’s performance in BENJAMIN BUTTON is the soul of the picture. He’s a movie star who hasn’t been nominated since 1996. The multiple Golden Globe nods for the film will only help Pitt’s chances at the Oscars.

Hawkins’ gives the most delightful performance of the year in HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. Recent awards from the LA and NY film critics’ circles have helped this long shot move up quickly into a safe bet. However, she easily could go on to win Best Actress - Comedy and/or Musical at the Golden Globes and be snubbed at the Oscars. Just ask Jim Carrey about that.

4) Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road) & Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
Revolutionary Road trailer
DiCaprio will win a golden bald guy one of these days. It’s said that REVOLUTIONARY ROAD is his picture, so the mega-star will more than likely be in the final five. The nom also gives the Academy a way to reward a downer of a picture without giving it the Best Picture nomination.

I’m giving Winslet’s performance in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD the edge over THE READER only because of symmetry. Word is that both performances are brilliant. Nominating both of the TITANIC leads for their reunion looks good in Oscar ads. When comparing one Winslet performance with another that’s just as legitimate a consideration as any. You could flip a coin and not be wrong.

3) Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) & Kristin Scott Thomas (I’ve Loved You So Long)
Frost/Nixon review & trailer
I’ve Loved You So Long trailer
Now we’re moving into lock territory. Vet Langella’s captivating performance in FROST/NIXON creates the essence of the notorious president without being an imitation. FROST/NIXON will be a safe bet for Best Picture, and Langella’s performance is its highlight.

Kristin Scott Thomas was nominated for Best Actress in 1997 for THE ENGLISH PATIENT. Since then she has moved from the Hollywood scene to the French cinema. Surprisingly, the British actress is just as convincing in a foreign tongue. Word is she is the reason to see I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG, and her Oscar buzz has not dimmed since the Toronto Film Festival at the beginning of the fall.

2) Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) & Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
The Wrestler trailer
Rachel Getting Married review & trailer
Academy members love a comeback. See John Travolta in PULP FICTION and Jackie Earle Haley in LITTLE CHILDREN. Since Toronto, everyone has said Rourke is back. THE WRESTLER was picked up at the fest and slotted for December just to get him in the Oscar race. It just seems like a role tailor made for him to shine in.

Anne Hathaway is a budding star and her turn in Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED has made her an actress. As a selfish drug addict she shows range and intelligence. Oscar loves to reward budding actresses; so don’t be surprised if she wins.

1) Sean Penn (Milk) & Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Milk review & trailer
Doubt trailer
While Rourke and Hathaway are as much locks as Penn and Streep, how can you not put the latter at the top? These previous winners are contenders in any year they have a film released. In MILK, Penn gives a subtler performance than his Oscar-winning turn in MYSTIC RIVER. Like his transformative performance in CARLITO’S WAY, he sheds all semblance of the “Penn” persona and becomes the character. He is a living legend and the frontrunner to take home the Oscar.

Streep has been nominated 14 times. She has won twice. While there is a love it, or hate it vibe surrounding her performance in DOUBT, I have no doubt that she will be within the final five. She is too a living legend.