TOP 10: My Oscar Bucket List

One of the big stories at the Oscars this year is the first nomination (and likely win) for Christian Bale in The Fighter. There are dozens of lists out there of the best actors, directors, etc. who haven't been nominated for Oscars, and cinema history is littered with important and influential men and women who never took home the top prize (Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick are the two biggest that come to mind).

For today's top 10, I'm going to look at contemporary cinema and give you the names of ten people I desperately hope win Oscars in my lifetime. I'm calling it my "Oscar Bucket List." Enjoy!

10.) James Franco and Anne Hathaway - OK, maybe a bit of a cheat putting two people in this slot, but I found it quite ironic that the two individuals I was wrestling with for the last slot on this list are hosting the Oscars together this year. And how could I not include them both for the amazing transformations they've undergone over the last few years. Hathaway went from Disney princess to honest-to-goodness great actress (see Rachel Getting Married or Brokeback Mountain for evidence of that). Franco went from superhero heartthrob to Hollywood Renaissance Man—great actor (127 Hours), director, soap star, intellectual, and now, host extraordinaire. Their career paths fascinate me and really make me excited for what they might do in the future.

9.) Pixar (for Best Picture) - The beloved animation studio has picked up plenty of Oscar gold in the past, but never the top prize. If Up or Toy Story 3 can't do it, I wonder if it's even possible, but this is a glass ceiling that needs to be shattered one day. Just because a film is animated doesn't mean it can't be the best film of its year, and if anyone is going to prove that, it will most likely be our friends at Pixar.

8.) Christopher Nolan - I had a hunch he would be left out of the Best Director category once again for Inception, but that didn't make me any less disappointed. Here's a visionary man who has crafted some of the most original and exciting action thrillers of our time. I know he'll get there one day. I just hope it's not because he plays the Academy's game. Give the man his due for being himself.

7.) Meryl Streep - She already has some gold, but it's been far too long, and she's been far too good to end her career total at two. It seems like every performance she gives as of late is at least worthy of consideration, and that won't likely stop any time soon—her performance as Margaret Thatcher later this year has a great chance of landing Streep her 17th nomination. Wow.

6.) Michelle Williams - Probably the most exciting and reliable young actress working today, she's already earned two nominations (for Brokeback Mountain and this year's Blue Valentine). Ironically, the best work of her career (in Wendy and Lucy) went unnoticed by the Academy. That being said, I'll be shocked if she goes much longer without a little gold statue. Actresses with this kind of talent don't come along too often.

5.) Julianne Moore - For years and years, Julianne Moore has been one of the most respected women in Hollywood, and for just as long, her admirers (myself included) have cast aspersions on the Academy for ignoring her exceptional work. This year, her terrific work (in The Kids Are All Right) was again passed up, but I really think her time is coming soon. I just has to, right?

4.) Mike Leigh - Few, if any, other writers/directors are as insightful as this beloved Brit. Naked, Secrets and Lies, Happy-Go-Lucky—all brilliant. Yet it seems Leigh is always a bridesmaid, never a bride. He gets the token "across-the-pond" nod, but that hasn't been enough. Seven nominations, no trophies.

3.) Patricia Clarkson - I'm not sure there's any actress out there who makes it seem as effortless as Patricia Clarkson. She's the epitome of a great supporting player—in 2010 alone, she made her mark playing small roles in Shutter Island and Easy A. But she's more than capable of a terrific leading performance—see Cairo Time. She's a true class act that can seemingly do it all, and she deserves her do.

2.) Leonardo DiCaprio - Who would have thought the heartthrob from Titanic would turn out to be one of his generation's most intriguing and reliable actors? The Departed, Shutter Island, The Aviator, Inception...the list goes on. Maybe the seemingly baity J. Edgar Hoover biopic with Clint Eastwood will be his ticket to Oscar glory.

1.) Quentin Tarantino - I know he's already won once for writing Pulp Fiction, but I'd like nothing more than to see Tarantino's direction formally recognized by the Academy. Each of his films is something unique and special, and if nothing else, they are great showcases for Tarantino's immense talent. He's one of my favorite filmmakers working today, and my #1 Oscar pipe dream.