Inside track on the Oscars' best picture and best director races
Two days ago the first installment of The Envelope's print edition was inserted into the L.A. Times. In each issue, the Gold Derby column breaks down the top races into lists for easy handicapping. Click here to see a gallery of the short "spotlight" articles that accompany the lists.
Below is how I size up the races for best picture and director. Bullets note the 10 flicks that I think will be nominated for best picture.
BEST PICTURE
FRONT-RUNNERS
• "Avatar"
"An Education"
• "The Hurt Locker"
• "Inglourious Basterds"
• "Invictus"
"Julie & Julia"
• "The Lovely Bones"
• "Nine"
• "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
• "The Road"
• "A Serious Man"
"Star Trek"
"Up"
• "Up in the Air"
POSSIBLE
"Bright Star"
"Brothers"
"District 9"
"The Hangover"
"It's Complicated"
"The Last Station"
"Sherlock Holmes"
"A Single Man"
"The Young Victoria"
BEST DIRECTOR
FRONT-RUNNERS
J.J. Abrams, "Star Trek"
Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
James Cameron, "Avatar"
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "A Serious Man"
Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, "Up"
Clint Eastwood, "Invictus"
John Hillcoat, "The Road"
Peter Jackson, "The Lovely Bones"
Rob Marshall, "Nine"
Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"
Lone Scherfig, "An Education"
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"
POSSIBLE
Neill Blomkamp, "District 9"
Jane Campion, "Bright Star"
Nora Ephron, "Julie & Julia"
Tom Ford, "A Single Man"
Michael Hoffman, "The Last Station"
Nancy Meyers, "It’s Complicated"
Guy Ritchie, "Sherlock Holmes"
Jim Sheridan, "Brothers"
Jean-Marc Vallee, "The Young Victoria"
Photo credits: "Nine" (Weinstein Co.), "Up in the Air" (Paramount)
OTHER POSTS
Quiz: What movie nabbed the most Oscars without winning best picture?
Hmmm ... Can 'Inglourious Basterds' pull off an upset at the Oscars?
20 animated films join a crowded Oscars derby (welcome, Alvin!)
Ooops — strike '2012' off your Oscars best-picture list
Oscars to arrive late at the 'Precious' party?
'Precious' star Gabby Sidibe sneaked in and was watching us!
Oscars rewind: 'Slumdog Millionaire' tied for most European Film Awards nominations
Oscars predix for best pix from 16 experts
Oscars quiz: Which movies won for writing, directing and acting, but failed to win best picture?
Quiz: What roles were nominated for both a Razzie and an Oscar?
Oscars predix for best pix: Now the real experts pipe in – our forum moderators
Oscars predix: Who's ahead in the best actress derby?
Oscars predix: Who's ahead in the best actor derby?
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