Arts: Let's Talk Oscars

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The Oscars Let's Talk Oscars A wild upset prediction for best picture. By Dan Kois Posted Thursday, Feb 23, 2012, at 11:56 PM ET Yes, it's been a glum Oscar season, partially because—as we diagnosed way back in the Movie Club—it's just been an enervating year for movies, with few films getting people very enthusiastic or enraged. (The one nominee that has legions of acolytes, The Tree of Life, is seemingly one of the least likely to stage an upset.) Add to that big shrug of a movie year the sense of inevitability looming over the major awards, and you've got a recipe for a real snoozefest of a ceremony, even before the War Horse Take the Reins Beefeater® Gin Cocktails start flowing. But I'm here to shake things up! What every Oscar party needs is a guy who's loudly predicting an upset in a major category that most viewers feel is in the bank. He puts all his money on that upset in the five-dollar Oscar pool and is inevitably crushed when The King's Speech wins after all. Now you, Slate reader, can be that guy! Here's my upset that almost certainly won't happen but you can almost talk yourself into believing it will: The Help for best picture. What? Impossible, you say? The Artist has it locked up, you claim? For the love of Pete, you add, no movie's won best picture without being nominated for best director in 22 years? But let's take a closer look at that movie that won best picture in 1990: Driving Miss Daisy. I ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate "Romney Just Seems Tired": Voters on Why They've Switched to Santorum Yglesias: The Folly of Blaming Obama for Higher Gas Prices How Home-Brewing Has Made America Into the Most Innovative Beer Country in the World	Advertisement
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