It's Oscars season, can you name a 'Best Picture' contender?

Posted Monday, November 23, 2009 at 3:51 PM Central
Last updated Monday, November 23, 2009 at 7:34 PM Central

by John Couture

Here's a scary thought, next week is December, the official start of Oscars season, and I can't name one serious contender for "Best Picture," can you?

While it's true that most awards season fare is held back until the end of the year to make sure that they are fresh in the voters' minds when nominations are handed out, there's usually a couple of dark horses from earlier in the year that get some sort of notoriety. But usually, it's the late bloomers that get the Oscar love.

Case in point, you'd have to go all the way back to 2001 and Moulin Rouge to find the last movie nominated for "Best Picture" that was released theatrically in the fist half of the year.

But this year, the rules are different and if I dare say so myself, the end of the year contenders aren't that strong. This is the first year in which the Academy has expanded the nominations for "Best Picture" from five to a whopping 10. That's double the amount of films to be considered for the top prize and that number is sure to lead to a few surprises when the nominations are announced next year.

So much so that the studios are already pulling out all the stops for this new setup. There are rumblings that Disney/Pixar aren't going to be satisfied with just a "Best Animated Picture" nomination for Up and today, FirstShowing.net came across a most unusual consideration ad on Variety.com.

Yes, that's right. Warner Bros. is seriously pitching the comedy The Hangover for "Best Picture" consideration. To be fair, the ad does appear to be Golden Globe specific as in small print, it adds "Comedy or Musical." But, the message is clear.

Studios are going to aggressively sell their movies over the next couple of months hoping for a little Oscar bump that comes with a prestigious "Best Picture" nomination. And looking at next month's releases, it seems apparent that the race is wide open. I would say that there are only two locks for "Best Picture" nomination coming out next month, Invictus and Nine.

Can you name any others? Would the Academy lose a bit of credibility if movies such as The Hangover and Avatar (long shots for nominations in the best of times) end up snagging a coveted nomination?

Which movies released earlier in the year deserve consideration for Oscars' top prize?