The unofficial play-at-home Oscar buzzmeter ballot

* “Atonement”

* “Juno”

* “Michael Clayton”

BEST PICTURE

* “No Country for Old Men”

* “There Will Be Blood”

SPOTLIGHT: Seems like no contest. “No Country” won most early awards but beware: So did “Brokeback Mountain.” This stalker-killer flick should look over its Oscar shoulder at “Blood” (tied for the most nominations), “Juno” (a little giant killer at the box office) and “Michael Clayton” (a consensus compromise).

DIRECTOR

* Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”

* Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”

* Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”

* Jason Reitman, “Juno”

* Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”

SPOTLIGHT: The winner of best picture is supposed to be the best-directed film too, and usually triumphs, so that’s good news for the Coens. The bad news: four exceptions in the last decade, which brightens the upset hopes of Anderson and Schnabel.

ACTOR

* George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”

* Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”

* Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”

* Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”

* Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”

SPOTLIGHT: Again, Daniel Day-Lewis is considered to be the front-runner for a demonic role in a best picture nominee (“Gangs of New York” in 2003). This time there’s no Adrien Brody in the mix, just that sly George Clooney, whose popularity lifted “Michael Clayton” to the best-pic race. Still, with Day-Lewis out for “Blood” this time, there will be victory.

ACTRESS

* Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”

* Julie Christie, “Away From Her”

* Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”

* Laura Linney, “The Savages”

* Ellen Page, “Juno”

SPOTLIGHT: Julie Christie has two pluses: Her role has a physical handicap (Alzheimer’s) and she’s swept the early awards, but she defies other trends in this category. Over the last decade, most winners were first-time nominees and young lovelies portraying real-life roles. However, at age 67, the 1965 winner for “Darling” is still a beauteous and talented exception to most rules.

SUPPORTING ACTOR

* Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse

James by the Coward Robert Ford”

* Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”

* Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”

* Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”

* Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”

SPOTLIGHT: If betting on “No Country” in the top race, it’s smart to pick Bardem here since most best picture champs take an acting trophy. But victories by villainous roles are rare and often this prize is considered to be the Veterans Achievement Award (Alan Arkin, James Coburn), so Holbrook is a true “Wild” card.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

* Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”

* Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”

* Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”

* Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”

* Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”

SPOTLIGHT: Expect Ruby Dee to deliver a slap as fierce as she does in “Gangster.” When veterans win this race that’s usually reserved for ingenues, it’s often for brief roles full of defiance (Judi Dench in “Shakespeare in Love,” Beatrice Straight in “Network”).

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

* “Juno,” Diablo Cody

* “Lars and the Real Girl,” Nancy Oliver

* “Michael Clayton,” Tony Gilroy

* “Ratatouille,” Brad Bird; story by

Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird

* “The Savages,” Tamara Jenkins

SPOTLIGHT: As “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Lost in Translation” discovered, this category is often a consolation prize for best picture also-rans if the winner is nominated here. Between “Juno” and “Clayton,” expect voters to be seduced by the former thanks to the G-string-to-riches back story of its author.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

* “Atonement,” Christopher Hampton

* “Away From Her,” Sarah Polley

* “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,”

Ronald Harwood

* “No Country for Old Men,”

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

* “There Will Be Blood,”

Paul Thomas Anderson

SPOTLIGHT: Oscar loves the Coens’ writing so much that they won a screenplay award in 1996 even though “Fargo” lost best picture to “The English Patient.” This time they’ll be winners in both slots -- plus others.

ANIMATED FILM

* “Persepolis”

* “Ratatouille”

* “Surf’s Up”

SPOTLIGHT: “Ratatouille” has a delicious recipe for success: box-office megabucks ($206 million), universal critical acclaim and a dash of European respectability. Plus, every other Pixar ‘toon with a screenplay nomination has won in the past (“The Incredibles,” “Finding Nemo”).

ART DIRECTION

* “American Gangster,” Arthur Max, art direction; Beth A. Rubino, set decoration

* “Atonement,” Sarah Greenwood, art direction; Katie Spencer, set decoration

* “The Golden Compass,” Dennis Gassner, art direction; Anna Pinnock, set decoration

* “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Dante Ferretti, art direction; Francesca Lo Schiavo, set decoration

* “There Will Be Blood,” Jack Fisk, art direction; Jim Erickson, set decoration

CINEMATOGRAPHY

* “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” Roger Deakins

* “Atonement,” Seamus McGarvey

* “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Janusz Kaminski

* “No Country for Old Men,” Roger Deakins

* “There Will Be Blood,” Robert Elswit

COSTUME DESIGN

* “Across the Universe,” Albert Wolsky

* “Atonement,” Jacqueline Durran

* “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” Alexandra Byrne

* “La Vie en Rose,” Marit Allen

* “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Colleen Atwood

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

* “No End in Sight,” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

* “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” Richard E. Robbins

* “Sicko,” Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara

* “Taxi to the Dark Side,” Alex Gibney and Eva Orner

* “War/Dance,” Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

* “Freeheld,” Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth

* “La Corona (The Crown),” Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega

* “Salim Baba,” Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello

* “Sari’s Mother,” James Longley

FILM EDITING

* “The Bourne Ultimatum,” Christopher Rouse

* “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Juliette Welfling

* “Into the Wild,” Jay Cassidy

* “No Country for Old Men,” Roderick Jaynes

* “There Will Be Blood,” Dylan Tichenor

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

* “Beaufort” (Israel)

* “The Counterfeiters” (Austria)

* “Katyn” (Poland)

* “Mongol” (Kazakhstan)

* “12” (Russia)

MAKEUP

* “La Vie en Rose,” Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald

* “Norbit,” Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji

* “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

ORIGINAL SCORE

* “Atonement,” Dario Marianelli

* “The Kite Runner,” Alberto Iglesias

* “Michael Clayton,” James Newton Howard

* “Ratatouille,” Michael Giacchino

* “3:10 to Yuma,” Marco Beltrami

ORIGINAL SONG

* “Falling Slowly” from “Once,” music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

* “Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted,” music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

* “Raise It Up” from “August Rush,”

* “So Close” from “Enchanted,” music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

* “That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted,” music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

ANIMATED SHORT

* “I Met the Walrus,” Josh Raskin

* “Madame Tutli-Putli,” Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

* “Meme les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven),” Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse

* “My Love (Moya Lyubov),” Alexander Petrov

* “Peter & the Wolf,” Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

LIVE-ACTION SHORT

* “At Night,” Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth

* “Il Supplente (The Substitute),” Andrea Jublin

* “Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets),” Philippe Pollet-Villard

* “Tanghi Argentini,” Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans

* “The Tonto Woman,” Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

SOUND EDITING

* “The Bourne Ultimatum,” Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg

* “No Country for Old Men,” Skip Lievsay

* “Ratatouille,” Randy Thom and Michael Silvers

* “There Will Be Blood,” Matthew Wood

* “Transformers,” Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

SOUND MIXING

* “The Bourne Ultimatum,” Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis

* “No Country for Old Men,” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland

* “Ratatouille,” Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane

* “3:10 to Yuma,” Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe

* “Transformers,” Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

VISUAL EFFECTS

* “The Golden Compass,” Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood

* “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier

* “Transformers,” Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier