Oscar Time

It's that time of year once again. While the Oscars are nowhere near as fun as the Tony awards, they are an important night, and this year, for the first time in a very long time, there is actually a degree of suspense. While some races are locked, some are still wide open (and not just the Best Picture race). Some of the so-called sure things are shakier than you'd think on closer inspection. So, with a cautionary mind of my 1997 predictions (in which, as editor of the entertainment section of my college paper I publically predicted a huge Titanic backlash and only correctly predicted one award - Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting, with failed predictions for Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Judi Dench, Peter Fonda, Curtis Hanson as director, As Good As It Gets as Best Picture, The Sweet Hereafter as Adapted Screenplay, and Kundun taking most of the technical awards. At least I co-wrote the predictions with my second-in-command and she agreed with me on all but Burt Reynolds), I offer my takes on the major categories.