'Elegy' DVD was sent only to the Oscars' acting branch

Reports around the Web noting that "Elegy" just became the second DVD screener sent to Oscar voters fail to mention one important thing. It wasn't sent to the full academy membership — like "Frozen River," the first screener out this year.

"Elegy" was sent only to the actors' branch. And while its PR reps declare "Elegy" to be a rival in the races for best actor (Ben Kingsley), actress (Penelope Cruz) and screenplay, etc., it's especially ballyhooed for two supporting performances.

Entertainment Weekly (which gives "Elegy" an A grade) says Dennis Hopper is so convincing that he "makes you believe that he's a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet." USA Today declares Patricia Clarkson "excellent" as the "self-sufficient longtime lover" of Ben Kingsley, who portrays an aging college professor fond of seducing students (like Penelope Cruz).

Granted, USA Today and other media heap praise on Kingsley and Cruz, too, but the leads haven't been able to generate so much kudos buzz. Kingsley won best actor already (best picture champ "Gandhi," 1982) and Cruz will certainly be nominated in, and possibly win, this year's race for best supporting actress for Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." If "Elegy" was really being pushed for screenplay, the DVD screener would've been sent to the writers' branch. It wasn't.

Photos: Dennis Hopper, Patricia Clarkson. Credits: Samuel Goldwyn Co.