The big pre-Oscars awards are behind us now, and Academy voters have one more week to get their ballots in. It's time for a buzz check. Unfortunately, Monday came and went with no weekly update to the Buzzmeter over at the Envelope (guess they're still hung over from the Grammys over there at the L.A. Times). Entertainment Weekly's buzz survey won't get an update till Thursday. Thursday?!?
So we'll have to settle for a report from that entertainment bellwether Reuters. They've got The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine as the definite front-runners for best picture, with Babel, which seems to have faded since its Golden Globes triumph, in don't-count-'em-out-yet status.
Another reason to keep an eye on Babel: The Big Man of Film Criticism himself, Roger Ebert, arose from his sickbed last weekend to lend his official endorsement to Babel -- as both "will win" and "should win." You may recall that last year Ebert picked Crash when everyone thought Brokeback Mountain would win -- and, well, just ask Ang Lee what happened there.
For best director, last week's Directors Guild award pretty much sealed the deal for Martin Scorsese. Does that mean The Departed will ride to best picture on Marty's coattails? Maybe, but don't bet on it; four years out of the past eight the Academy has split the best picture and best director awards.
Still not much suspense in the actress awards: A loss by either Helen Mirren or Jennifer Hudson would be a huge upset. But the actor awards could get interesting: Alan Arkin is gaining momentum against supporting actor favorite Eddie Murphy, and Peter O'Toole, Reuters says, has been "making the Oscar party rounds" in hopes of unseating Forest Whitaker. Hmmmm. Stay tuned ...
[UPDATE 6:45 PM: The Buzzmeter is now updated; they also have the best picture race as a toss-up between The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine.]
In other news: Best actress nominee Judi Dench won't be at the Oscars. Officially, the reason is knee surgery. Or maybe the Brits are just peeved Hudson blew off the BAFTAs to go to the Grammys.
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