Vote early, vote often

As much as I love the folks at Movie City News, I have to say this Oscar fetish they have been nurturing is totally out of control. IndieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez blogged this morning about his invitation to join MCN's Gurus o' Gold, a fairly self-explanatory group of film critics and journalists that quantifies the prize potential of this winter's hyped-to-death films:

Again, these are predictions based on best guesses of what seems to be happening. ... The prognosticating is particulary tough with a number of key films still unavailable to writers and editors.

Yes, Eug, that would make it kind of difficult, although I guess that if James Israel and I can recommend torching negatives of films we would never even consider seeing, I guess the ethos at hand should not necessarily trouble me. Still--Gurus o' Gold? Dave Poland's weekly Oscar countdown? Kristopher Tapley's "It's Oscartown, Jake" column? The Awards Blog? The best part has to be Munich's second-place ranking in the Gurus' Best Picture race, with a caveat below the chart that none of the "voters" have actually seen Munich. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a virtual lock for Best Actor (I cannot believe I am writing this), with Heath Ledger a distant second.

Of course, do not forget about Cinderella Man, which is charging hard from behind to become the first Best Picture to come with a money-back guarantee. And Anthony Rapp's selfless dance-fever-seizure in Rent's publicity stills makes him a dark horse for Best... Best... oh, fuck if I know. When are the Oscars again? March? I still do not even know where I am eating Thanksgiving dinner, and David Ansen has the unfinished King Kong on his Oscar short list. I need a drink.