> Until its final 45 minutes, the one thing that could be said about this year’s Oscar telecast was that it was at least brisk.  Merely 2 hours and 15 minutes into the show, there were amazingly only 3 awards and the In Memorium segment still to go.  But for ABC, running under the appointed […]

With the announcement of the Oscar nominations today, Lincoln only became more of a favorite by London oddsmakers (moving from a payout of about $1.80 on a $1 bet last week to about $1.40 today).   The odds got a bit longer for Les Miserables and Argo, but Zero Dark Thirty had the biggest swing (from a payout of about $5.50 last […]

  The following are my final predictions for the 2014 Academy Awards (you can find a much more detailed analysis for all the major categories in our Why and Why Not? posts).  Keep in mind:  (a) I’m often wrong, (b) these are predictions and not my personal choices (Go, Team Her!), (c) the Academy loves […]

  The Directors Guild of America tonight gave its prize for best film direction to Alfonso Cuaron and GRAVITY. This was not an unexpected result, but it solidifies the sense that this year we have what is (at least) a three-horse race for the Best Picture Oscar:  Gravity, 12 YEARS A SLAVE (which split the Producers Guild […]

> After what seemed as long as a presidential primary season, the Oscar nominations are finally here. What do they tell us? THE ARTIST Is Still The Film To Beat. There were plenty of surprises sprinkled throughout today’s nominations, but none that seriously challenged the conventional wisdom. If Martin Scorsese were still looking for his […]

  Although there were some new faces due to release patterns and category differences, in the big picture, the BAFTAs–Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars–turned out to be very much like the Golden Globes.  The full list of winners is here, but the headline is that 12 YEARS A SLAVE managed once again to win Best […]

>Courtesy of the London oddsmakers (averaging a variety of books at easyodds.com), there appears to be little suspense ahead for the Best Picture and Best Director races at this year’s Academy Awards and almost no races at all for Best Supporting Actor and Actress.  Currently, The Artist is heavily favored to win Best Picture, with […]

  OK, so you’ve got your Best Picture nomination.  You’re one of the chosen 9 films with a chance to reap the glory (and success) that follows an Academy Award win.  You’ve got 46 days until the awards are given out, and 41 days until the polls close.  What do you do now?  Here, title […]