•  Anne Thompson reports on last night's Miramax shindig before offering up her last minute guesses for tonight's awards. [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  David Carr was there, too, adding his unique spin on things. [The Carpetbagger]

•  Jeffrey Wells isn't too keen on "Juno" winning big at last night's IndieSpirits, but he sure did get low and close for a nice Ellen Page shot. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Sasha Stone writes up her final "State of the Race" column, with predictions to boot. [Awards Daily]

•  Regarding predictions, by the way, yours truly is on the record. [In Contention]

•  Mary McNamara writes a "Dear JON" letter to Oscar host Jon Stewart. [The Envelope]

•  Tom O'Neil speculates about what this "special award" might be that Nicole Kidman is set to present this evening. [Gold Derby]

•  David Poland iphones it in fromthe Indie Spirits. [The Hot Blog]

•  Last minute snarkiness from The Reeler.  But at least it's a shade of different. [Little Gold Men]

•  Nathaniel Rogers writes up the Best Actress race one last time. [The Film Experience]

•  A.O. Scott finalizes the year by poo-pooing the Oscars, admits he wishies the strike had shut down the show.  No rhyme or reason, just Gray Lady distaste and snobbery. [New York Times]

In his annual pre-Oscar column, LA Times film critic Kenneth Turan has called a vote for "Michael Clayton" a vote for Hollywood itself, and "Thoughtful, adult studio films."  He says a vote for "No Country for Old Me," on the other hand, is a vote for the Hollywood art film, and in writing as much, he has me wondering if there might be an upset in the works after all.

Take a look:

A victory for this smart and suspenseful legal thriller would be more than a vote for the only one of the five to be distributed by an actual studio. It would be a vote for a beautifully remodeled classic studio picture, an impressively updated version of the kind of movie "they just don't make anymore."

All the elements of vintage Hollywood filmmaking are present and accounted for in "Michael Clayton," starting with writer-director Tony Gilroy's heightened and dramatic dialogue. Add to that the ability of a peerless cast, including George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton, to animate characters who are at once familiar archetypes and completely individual. Finally, there's Gilroy's instinct for the emotional jugular, a storytelling panache that is almost a lost art all by itself.

Is Turan predicting "Clayton" here?  I'm not sure.  However, I must say, I still don't understand this mentality that Tony Gilroy's film, though expert in its genre, is anything more than passable as a work of "great" cinema.  Perhaps I'm alone, and regardless, the industry has proven itself head over heels for the effort, so maybe...just maybe...Warner Bros. can catch the world off guard tomorrow night and steal one away from Miramax, the Coen brothers, Cynthia Swartz and Scott Rudin.

We'll see.

The truth is, this has been the race since day one following the nominations announcement.  All other comers are mere pretenders in the face of a battle between big studio and modest specialty division.  This is the race.  These are the players.

Check out the rest of Turan's column.

The Hollywood publicity machine is well-oiled at the start of this week, to be sure.  I count at least four studios with events lined up this evening, and who knows what shin-digs I haven't been invited to today.  We all make our blacklists.

First, there's Picturehouse's celebration of Marion Cotillard, Oscar nominated for "La Vie en Rose," if you're into a poolside gathering at the Chateau Marmont.

If a nuts and bolts dialogue is more your speed, Paramount Vantage has set up the "There Will Be Blood" crew for a screening and Q&A over at the Harmony gold Theater on Sunset.  Film editor Dylan Tichenor, cinematographer Robert Elswit, sound designer Chris Scarabosio, supervising sound editor Matthew Wood, and set decorator Jim Erickson -- nominees all of them -- are expected to attend.

Down the street at Book Soup, screenwriter Christopher Hampton is participating in a book signing of his Oscar-nominated adaptation, "Atonement," while Ariana Huffington will be hosting a screening of Charles Ferguson's "No End In Sight" at the Paley Center for Media out in Beverly Hills, for those really jonsing for a political experience, what with Super Tuesday right around the corner.  Huffington just hosted a similar "No End" event over the weekend at the Hotel Plaza Athenee in New York.

Oh, and Tamara Jenkins was just at Book Soup yesterday reading from her "Savages" screenplay.

All of these events come on the heels of last weekend's spotlight of the below the line nominees from "No Country for Old Men" -- coverage of which I've yet to stumble across, by the way.  Come on.  Somebody was there, right?

Anyway, lots of media exposure for lots of deserving contenders this season.  Some might think no more than usual, but the agression on the part of campaigners and strategists seems to have slid up a notch to me this year.  Lucky us, eh?

(To put a face to the season beyond the coverage, I thought I'd introduce this little series.  Nothing special, just the trailers from each of the nominated films.  A couple a day.  We'll start things out with the "frontrunner.")



Directing  Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Actor in a Supporting Role  Javier Bardem
Cinematography  Roger Deakins
Film Editing  Roderick Jaynes
Best Picture  Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
Sound Editing  Skip Lievsay
Sound Mixing  Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)  Written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Miramax is stepping up the campaign for "No Country for Old Men" a notch, as hardcover editions of Cormac McCarthy's novel are arriving critics' doorsteps this week.  I've been searching out a copy of this thing in vain all month long.

•  Sasha Stone jumos on board the "Juno" express. [Awards Daily]

•  Tom O'Neil responds to the National Board of Review announcement. [Gold Derby]

•  David Poland does the same, as only he can. [The Hot Blog]

•  Ditto Jeffrey Wells. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  And, of course, David Carr has his thoughts. [The Carpetbagger]

•  The Gurus o' Gold chime in on the screenplay races. [Movie City News]

•  T.L. Stanley says the NBR tosses around a lot of weight and that "it matters what they think."  Hm. [Gold Rush]

•  Scott Feinberg talks to one of the unsung heroes of the awards season thus far, Jennifer Garner, as his "Juno" love-fest keeps a-chuggin'. [And the Winner Is...]

•  John Horn ponders the implications of moving "Charlie Wilson's War" to a December 21 release date. [Los Angeles Times]

•  Carr talks awards at the new Miramax under honcho Daniel Battsek. [New York Times]

It's always helpful to an Oscar campaign if high-profile supporters are willing to be ambassadors for the cause.  Just ask controversial director Roman Polanski, who experienced a marshalling of troops in 2002 that led to three unexpected Oscar wins for his Cannes sensation "The Pianist," including Best Director.

Perhaps in the way of giving back a little, Polanski himself hosted a screening last week of Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" at the Pathé Films headquarters in Paris - and he invited a slew of friends, sources tell me.  Guests in attendence included Oscar-nominated actress Anouk Aimée and filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud.  Also attending, of course, was Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner, who plays the pivotal role of Céline in Schnabel's film.

It's always difficult for a foreign film to push into Best Picture contention.  It's only happened four times in the past, after all (five if you count last year's "Letters from Iwo Jima").  But it's also worth keeping in mind the cronyism involved when you have someone like Roman Polanski campaigning for your film, not to mention the producing combo of Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Kilik, six Best Picture nominations between them.  "Diving Bell" could have a healthy amount of support heading into the race that we may not have suspected before.

Miramax is actually enjoying a lot of good will from the industry this year, it seems.  In this week's issue of Newsweek, western author Larry McMurtry writes an essay about Cormac McCarthy and the Coen brothers' adaptation of "No Country for Old Men."  According to Miramax honcho Daniel Battsek, McMurtry approached the studio about writing something for the film, they didn't seek out his sponsorship.  And what a sponsor to have.