Trumpets, please, for "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio."

That film has always been Julianne Moore's best shot at winning a prize in the Globe and Oscar derbies, not "Freedomland," which just quit the Oscar race. Originally scheduled to be released Dec. 23, "Freedomland" has been pushed off to a Feb. 17 launch.

When sizing up the two Moore ponies, film snobs and Revolution, distributor behind both movies, initially favored "Freedomland" because it's so much more "serious." "Prize Winner" was considered too sweet because it's about an unflaggingly plucky mother of 10 who transcends poverty in the 1950s by winning jingle contests.

Granted, Moore will probably be much more gritty in "Freedomland" as a crazed woman who sparks a racial furor by accusing an African-American man of kidnapping her son. But with "Prize Winner," Moore has something she didn't have in "Far from Heaven": big emotional scenes, including one doozy described by Variety as "shattering."

Looks like Steven Spielberg is in a race of his own to finish "Munich," his new film about the 1972 Olympic Games, in time for awards consideration.

The potentially controversial drama about the hunt for Palestinian militants who killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics finished filming in late September, and not a single note of composer John Williams' musical score has yet been recorded. But Spielberg insists he'll have "Munich" ready for viewing in early December when journalists decide the top film-critics' awards and Golden Globe nominations.

"It's a very intense post-production period," admits Spielberg spokesman Marvin Levy. "There aren't many movies like this, which start shooting around July 1 and plan to be in theaters on Dec. 23. But it will get done!"

Levy rejected a recent rumor that production has fallen behind schedule by two crucial weeks, insisting, "'Munich''s production is moving forward exactly as it should."

Watch out for a possible collision of broken hearts on the red carpet at the Golden Globes. When nominations are unveiled Dec. 13, we could see bids for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith"), Jennifer Aniston ("Rumor Has It" or "Derailed") and — crashing their fun — Vince Vaughn ("Wedding Crashers").

If all four make the lineup, Globe organizers will have an even tougher time planning the comings and goings of stars than they did two years ago when they had to make sure "Cold Mountain" nominee Nicole Kidman didn't run into "Last Samurai" contender Tom Cruise.

Obviously, Brad Pitt is looking forward to attending the Globes. He's been actively wooing voters at the same time he's been cooing over Angelina. Pitt was a key speaker at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's indoctrination-of-officers lunch in July. That's usually a crucial — and successful — campaign stop for potential Globe nominees lucky enough to nab a star role.

Ever wonder how many DVD or VHS screeners are sent out by studios as part of a typical awards derby? Try 14,025. At least that's the tally of one of this year's leading campaigners (which wishes to remain anonymous, but shares its secret info with GoldDerby readers).

Here's the breakdown on this particular studio's screener mailing list, with total copies per organization:

Everybody's favorite anti-awards show, the Razzies, could be shaping up as a vicious catfight between pop culture's leading gum-snapping divas. Expect Jessica Simpson and Paris Hilton to be, um, duking it out to "win" Worst Actress of 2005.  Jessica's in line for "The Dukes of Hazzard," and Paris for "Pledge This!" Other possible contenders: Lindsay Lohan ("Herbie: Fully Loaded") and Hilary Duff ("The Perfect Man").

Huffy hotel heiress Hilton could also be nommed for "House of Wax" in the supporting race, where she could clash with Katie Holmes ("Batman Returns"), former "Simple Life" pal Nicole Richie ("Kids in America") and Ashlee Simpson ("Undiscovered"). It's unlikely the "winner" of that smackdown will receive a congrats note from last year's recipient, who has recently quit club-hopping to raise a wee boy named Sean Preston Federline.

Disney should forget about winning Oscars this year.

That's the opinion of ABC News radio entertainment reporter Bill Diehl, who got in a wrestling match with his Cinea box at his office last week while trying to show it to me. The box won.

As a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, Bill is one of the few showbizzers who gets screeners, which means he got shipped The Notorious Cinea Box so he can watch the Oscar ponies of Disney, the first studio to agree to use it.

"Look at this thing! It's huge!" Bill gasped while showing off the still-sealed box that contained a video recorder about the size of a VCR, circa 1995. As he struggled to pull the box toward him and show how bulky it is, it flipped backward due to its counterweight and flopped to the ground. "Does Disney think academy members will lug this thing around to their country homes in Palm Springs? Or take it on the road with them when they're making a movie? People forget that academy members are mobile. Can you imagine an academy member saying to his or her spouse, 'Oh, dear, we must go back to L.A. tonight so I can watch a movie!''

Even if academy members stay at home, Bill said he believes that many still won't see that movie because they're Luddites.