Here’s what it all comes down to. Here’s where all the hard work, press tours and hour after hour of standing around on set while the lighting guys get exactly the right shadows to fall across the wall in background. This is the stage that everyone in the industry wants to walk across holding a tiny statue that never fails to surprise the new owner by how heavy it really is. To those people out there who say “Pish Posh” or “The Oscars are all politics and mainstream hype, I don’t need one.”, well, you’re lying. This year there are some categories which feel somewhat locked, a true front-runner eclipsing the poor remaining nominees in the glorious shadow of critical acclaim, but there are many still up in the air and the ceremony still promises to cause many baited breaths, sweaty fists and screams of joy and pain (and that’s just for the people in my Oscar pool). So before the sun sets on that fateful night, I will offer a few choice thoughts on the nominations this year: (I will mark the ones I have not seen with “*”) Continue reading →