For Your Consideration: If The Indiewire Poll Picked The Oscars

Anna Paquin in "Margaret." Fox Searchlight.

Imagine an Oscars where nearly half the best picture nominees were foreign-language films? Where a long-delayed film that grossed less than $50,000 and was hardly made available for critics wins best actress and best supporting actress? Where Gary Oldman is actually nominated?

That's what it would look like if the Indiewire year-end poll picked the Oscars, clearly a far cry from any sort of reality. For the past few weeks, Indiewire has wholly devoted its awards coverage to the endless parade of Oscar precursors that have more or less paved the way for Michel Hazanavicius's "The Artist" to dominate come Oscar night. But in honor of the announcement of today's year-end poll of critics and bloggers here at Indiewire, we figured we'd mix things up a bit.

In this non-reality, Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" would win best picture and director (as well as best cinematography, which is a real possibility at the Oscars as well); actresses Anna Paquin and Jeannie Berlin would win actress and supporting actress trophies for Kenneth Lonergan's little-seen "Margaret;" Michael Fassbender ("Shame") and Michael Shannon ("Take Shelter") would tie for best actor; and in an event also very likely to occur come Oscar night, Christopher Plummer would finally win a trophy.

Note that the following list is a fantasy in more ways than one. It entirely ignores most Academy rules, for example. The foreign-language film and documentary feature categories in particular are largely comprised of films that couldn't receive an Oscar nomination based on whether they were submitted or sh! ortliste d.

There's also 10 films listed in the best picture category. While it was surely possible to go through the 162 ballots in this poll and decipher how many nominees qualified based on Oscar's complex system of ranked ballots that allows anywhere from 5 to 10, but full disclosure: That made our brains hurt.

With that in mind, here's what it would look like if the Indiewire poll picked the Oscars:

Best Picture:Certified CopyDriveHugoMargaretMeek's CutoffMelancholiaMysteries of LisbonA SeparationThe Tree of LifeUncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Best Director:Terrence Malick, The Tree of LifeRaul Ruiz, Mysteries of LisbonMartin Scorsese, HugoLars von Trier, MelancholiaNicolas Winding Refn, Drive

Best Actor:George Clooney, The DescendantsJean Dujardin, The ArtistMichael Fassbender, Shame (tie)Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyMichael Shannon, Take Shelter (tie)

Best Actress:Juliette Binoche, Certified CopyKirsten Dunst, MelancholiaYun Jung-hee, PoetryElizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May MarleneAnna Paquin, Margaret

Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"

Best Supporting Actor:Albert Brooks, DriveJohn Hawkes, Martha Marcy May MarleneViggo Mortensen, A Dangerous MethodPatton Oswalt, Young AdultChristopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress:Jeannie Berlin, MargaretJessica Chastain, Take ShelterMelissa McCarthy, B! ridesmai dsCarey Mulligan, ShameShailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay:Abbas Kiarostami, Certified CopyKenneth Lonergan, MargaretAsghar Farhadi, A SeparationAndrew Haigh, WeekendDiablo Cody, Young Adult

Best Adapted Screenplay:Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne and Jim Rash, The DescendantsChristopher Hampton, A Dangerous MethodAaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, MoneyballCarlos Saboga, Mysteries of LisbonRory Kinnear and Lynne Ramsay, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Cinematography:DriveHugoMelancholiaTinker Tailor Soldier SpyThe Tree of Life

Best Documentary Feature:The ArborThe Autobiography of Nicolae CeausecscuThe InterruptersNostalgia For The LightProject Nim

Best Foreign Language Film:Certified CopyFilm SocialismeMysteries of LisbonA SeparationUncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Best Animated Feature:The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the UnicornRangoWinnie The Pooh