[UPDATE: We fared pretty well in our predictions, as you can see below.]

Sunday is the biggest night in show biz– the night of the 85th annual Academy Awards ceremony. There are so many great contenders but, of course, there can be only one winner in each category. Check out our picks for winners and front-runners below.

Best Picture: Argo
The10 movies that are up for the night’s highest award are all pretty fantastic, making this year’s competition extremely close. Lincoln gets the North Star seal of approval for being a fascinating historiography (aside from at least one minor historical inaccuracy about the process by which the states voted to ratify the 13th Amendment) and for the excellent portrayal of characters (see Best Actor below) by some of Tinsel Town’s larger names. We also liked that it dealt with important and interesting historical content.
Les Miserables is the winner according to the northstarnews.org poll. While it was a great film, it got mixed reviews and hasn’t generated a lot of buzz since its Christmas Day release. Despite the initial excitement, we don’t think Les Mis has the strength it needs to make it to the stage for that final award.
Though we thoroughly enjoyed both of these films, we’re going with Argo, directed by Ben Affleck. Affleck was in the news since he was snubbed by not being nominated for best director, and that’s helped the movie make a comeback in terms of buzz. Argo was praised by critics when released way back in October (Chicago’s own Roger Ebert gave it four out of four stars) and users of the movie rating website Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 96% freshness rating. Argo was also wildly successful in the box office, pulling in a worldwide total of over $200 million. Though Affleck got robbed of his Best Director nod,  he will be avenged by a big win for the film as a whole.

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Hugh Jackman’s performance in Les Mis was undoubtedly enjoyable but there’s really no contest in this category this awards season. Daniel Day-Lewis didn’t just play Abraham Lincoln, he embodied Abraham Lincoln.  For us, Day-Lewis’ spot-on Lincoln was a huge part of what made the film so enjoyable. We felt as if we were getting to know the more personal side of the nation’s 16th president.

Best Actress: Undecided
We tried our best to pick a winner for this category but it’s just too close to call.
Jennifer Lawrence has had a big year, stepping into the spotlight for both The Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook. She’s already taken the Best Actress award at the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) Awards and the Golden Globes, which doesn’t guarantee a win but are definitely positive signs.
Jessica Chastain has gotten major attention for her role in Zero Dark Thirty. Completely opposite of her fun, bubbly character Celia Foote in 2011’s The Help, Chastain played Maya, a seemingly emotionless, determined, intelligent CIA agent who is responsible for the killing of Osama bin Laden. Her performance was outstanding, keeping the audience captivated for the full 160 minutes.
Emanuelle Riva may not be as well known as Lawrence or Chastain but the 85 year-old French actress (who will celebrate her 86th birthday on the red carpet this coming Sunday) was praised for her devastating portrayal of Anne, an elderly, retired music teacher who suffers a stroke and is paralyzed on one side of her body. Riva has never been to Los Angeles before and is the Academy Awards’ oldest Best Actress nominee in history. With her birthday being on the same night as the awards show, would Oscar voters be able to resist her intriguing backstory and serendipity?

Best Director: Ang Lee
This category is also quite difficult to decide this year. The award is especially elusive this year since Affleck and past winner Kathryn Bigelow aren’t even nominated and since the five men in the running have all had quite successful careers.
We think the safer bet is to go with Spielberg since Lincoln could have gone wrong in so many ways since it was about such a difficult topic but Spielberg excellently recreated the time period and kept the film true.
Ang Lee triumphed in his direction of Life of Pi. Audiences were dazzled by the visuals and praised his recreation of Yann Martel’s bestselling book. Spielberg is definitely tough competition but we believe Lee is able to clinch the win.

Tune in to ABC at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday for the 85th annual Academy Awards.

Our picks were chosen by a committee comprised of the North Star staff.