The Oscars are going to happen on February 24. The Oscars are going to happen on February 24. Keep repeating this to yourself, despite the disturbing flutters that the Oscars will not be happening this year, February 24 or not. After all, if the show managed to go on through WWII, Vietnam and Kevin Costner’s Best Picture win for Dancing With Wolves, no way will the Academy let the writers’ strike deny them of glitz, Hollywood politics and borrowed jewels.

If nothing else, the nominations for this year are a testament to the industry’s many strengths — writing definitely among them. Nominees in the major categories prove what a muscular bunch of original, diverse films came out in 2007. Miramax has the most reason to be happy: No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood rocked the Academy with a staggering eight nominations apiece, while the much-touted and frankly old-ladyish Atonement was basically snubbed. These are good signs.

So check out these unofficial, completely biased predictions for who will take home the awards in the big six categories, and make yourself some cash in an Oscar pool on February 24. Which, if you haven’t heard, is the date on which the Oscars most assuredly will happen.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

The nominees: George Clooney (“Michael Clayton”), Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”), Johnny Depp (“Sweeny Todd”), Tommy Lee Jones (“In the Valley of Elah”), Viggo Mortensen (“Eastern Promises”)

The standout: Smart money is always on Daniel Day-Lewis. He has only filmed four movies in the past decade, a testament to perfectionism and careful script picking in these days of grab and go celebrity. (“The Shaggy Dog,” Robert Downey, Jr? No one needs drug money that badly.) And his performance in “Blood” is pure powerhouse: he owns the screen with a convincing, breathtaking performance. George Clooney turned out an intelligent performance in “Clayton,” but no one wants to risk him giving another bloated acceptance speech; Johnny Depp has turned out several incredible performances over the years and is due to be recognized by the Academy. But not this year. It’s all about Daniel Day-Lewis.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

The nominees: Cate Blanchett (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Julie Christie (“Away From Her”), Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), Ellen Page (“Juno”), Laura Linney (“The Savages”)

The standout: Bring me an old actress and a young actress... Despite stellar performances all around in this category, the front-runners are Julie Christie and Ellen Page. Christie has already taken the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for her subtle performance of a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s; plus, she’s a venerable Hollywood legend who in all likelihood is never going to turn out such an excellent performance again. Then again, the Academy has a penchant for doling out nominations and occasionally wins for both very young women and acting roles in comedies — in a year of somewhat eccentric nominations (no Keira Knightley!) Page might benefit from the pro-comedy furor sparked by “Little Miss Sunshine” last year. Still, I’m going to tip the odds to Christie: when you get down to it, the Academy are a bunch of sentimental old fools, and that’s what we love them for.

Best Adapted Screenplay

The nominees: “Atonement,” “Away From Her,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood”

The standout: After years of Oscar films adapted from television shows and other films, we finally achieve a quasi-literary renaissance in the category. Atonement, based on the Ian McEwan Booker shortlisted novel, was adapted very closely from the original work; while this made for lots of pithy, well wrought dialogue, the movie still preserves a few of the books structural issues. “Away From Her” is based on an Alice Munro short story and “There Will Be Blood” is rather loosely structured on an Upton Sinclair novel. But I predict the winner will be the Coen Brothers highly deserving “No Country For Old Men,” based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. McCarthy is hot shit right now (thanks to the Oprah Book Club and, less influentially, his Pulitzer) and the Coens are known for their brilliant, incisive dialogue.

Best Original Screenplay

The nominees: “Juno,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” “Michael Clayton,” “Ratatouille,” “The Savages”

The standout: The screenplay categories are where the Academy historically likes to reward independent comedies (“Little Miss Sunshine,” “Sideways”), and there has been no more buzzed-about screenplay this year than Diablo Cody’s “Juno.” It captures the bizarre-fantastic play of the indie teenage acid tongue; it made the doddering old fools in the Academy chuckle all the way to a Best Picture nod; everyone I know has been quoting it for weeks now. “Michael Clayton” and “The Savages” both had solid scripts, but I’ll eat my hamburger phone if Juno doesn’t waddle home with the gold.

Best Director

The nominees: Julian Schnabel (“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”), Jason Reitman (“Juno”), Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”), the Coen Brothers (“No Country for Old Men”), PT Anderson (“There Will Be Blood”)

The standout: Did anyone think PT Anderson could ever recover from “Punch Drunk Love,” let alone with a movie of the caliber of “There Will Be Blood.” He is the Coen Brothers’ big competition right now, but I suspect the movie was too single-performance-based to garner the laurels in this important category. “Clayton” in a weaker year would be a hotter contender; Schnabel and Reitman should be happy to be nominated. But the award will more than likely go to the Coen Brothers who, both in this film and over the years, have proven that they have a strange wonderful dream and know how to get every last drop out of their actors.

Best Picture

The nominees: “Atonement,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Juno”

The standout: Not quite sure how “Atonement” crept in here: no film since “Return of the King” has won Best Picture without a single acting nomination, and, god willing, it won’t happen again. “Michael Clayton” was good but not quite strong enough this year. I predict a victory by “There Will Be Blood” in this category — the competition this year is fierce, making it a prime situation for a Director/Picture split. And when you get right down to it, “There Will Be Blood” is exactly the kind of sprawling, meaty film that our grandchildren will still be watching long after the days of DVD. Talent like that can’t go unrewarded. Still, if “Juno” somehow sneaks past the anti-comedy odds and takes the big award, then Oscar pools be damned, champagne’s on me.