•  An attempt at making sense of it all, post-guilds and with a week to go. [In Contention]

•  Is "I drink your milshake" an anachronism in "There Will Be Blood?"  Apparently not. Thanks haeavens we have Jeffrey Wells on the case of stuff like this.  What would we do otherwise? [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Texas State University gets in ona ll that Cormac McCarthy love. [Assciated Press via Hollywood Reporter]

•  Pete Hammond reports that an unusual amount of Academy members waited until the last minute to submit ballots this year...and that Joe Wright gets naked when he wins an award. [The Envelope]

•  Tom O'Neil gets into the campaign shift for "Juno" star Ellen Page, away from the cheeky and toward the serious. [Gold Derby]

•  Nathaniel Rogers responds to yesterday's PGA announcement. [The Film Experience]

•  T.L. Stanley does the same. [Gold Rush]

•  David Carr writes up a requiem for the Golden Globes ceremony at the Gray Lady. [New York Times]

•  Earlier, he partners up with Michael Cieply for a full rundown of the tragedy. [New York Times]

•  You can find the Oscar season anywhere, folks.  Anywhere.  Well, if you're obssessed and/or look hard enough. [Vulture]

•  There's hope for relapsing fashionistas yet! [USA Today]

Tamara Jenkins' "The Savages" opened to raves across the board today, judging from the solid 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating and a 92% Cream of the Crop collective assessment.  This shower of praise keeps the question on the table: Will the film's familial themes appeal to the Academy enough to generate legitimate Best Picture potential?

"The Savages" has been visible for nearly a year since its bow in Sundance back in January.  The film arguably would have been better served as a surprise rather than Fox Searchlight unveiling it so early (they went into the fest with the film in hand, it wasn't a purchased commodity).  Then again, Sundance was the perfect environment for this little ditty and what's done is done.  Moot point.

The studio now finds itself in a situation similar to Paramount Vantage: Which film to highlight?  The Buzzmeter has finally caught up to the potential of "Juno" in the big race, and when that film opens next month, the critical community will likely go as ga-ga as they have for "Savages."  Searchlight has sent screeners of each of their titles to the memberships of various entities.  And while it's foolish to think studios think in the "one film, one campaign" frame of mind, it's also naive to think a decision doesn't need to be made.

Whatever the case, "The Savages" rules the day for now.

•  Michael Fleming, Tim Gray get into the specifics of the strike's effect on Awards shows. [Variety]

•  Gerard Kennedy talks to the muti-nominated, yet winless, cinematographer Roger Deakins about his trio of projects this season. [In Contention]

•  Elizabeth Snead talks the fashion of Cate Blanchett. [The Envelope]

•  Speaking of fashion, the Gray Lady spotlights "Control" star Sam Riley in the Style section. [New York Times]

•  Randy Kennedy sits down with Best Director hopeful Julian Schnabel. [New York Times]

•  Dave Kehr digs into the technology behind "Beowulf." [New York Times]

•  Jeffrey Wells talks with Keri Russell about "Waitress," landing on DVD later this month and still an awards push for Fox Searchlight. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Nathaniel Rogers expresses more interest in Russell Crowe's Richie Roberts than Denzel Washington's Frank Lucas. [The Film Experience]

•  Martin Grove makes a case for Frank Langella and "Starting Out in the Evening." [The Hollywood Reporter]

According to Fox Searchlight publicity, Jason Reitman's awards hopeful "Juno" will get a Dec. 5 limited release in Los Angeles and New York, up one week from the previous Dec. 14 platform release.  A little more room for the film to get some traction with the guilds, and perhaps in response to Tom O'Neil's item regarding the issue earlier this week?