I have to say, kudos to Greg Ellwood and Sheigh Crabtree for doing such a great job in rounding up a wide array of voices for this year's Buzzmeter at The Envelope.  I think the collective has been more accurate than other such experiments this season, and now, the final tally has been revealed.

There aren't many surprises to be had on the whole, but you'll be interested to find some singular shockers.  Like Tom O'Neil's prediction that George Clooney will trump Daniel Day-Lewis in the Best Actor rave, for instance.  Creative Screenwriting's Jeff Goldsmith went a little crazy in the animated feature race, picking "Persepolis" over "Ratatouille," while local journo Sam Rubin goes REALLY wild, taking Jason Reitman for a stunner in Best Director.

Check it all out here.

•  Jeffrey Wells spotlights a hair-raising quote from "No End in Sight" helmer Charles Ferguson in that New York Times doc piece. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Richard Corliss digs into the Academy membership in a slightly different piece on the Oscars. [Time]

•  Sasha Stone previews all the guild commotion this weekend. [Awards Daily]

•  Tom O'Neil wonders whether Entertainment Weekly Oscar voter collective can be trusted. [Gold Derby]

•  David Carr reviews "There Will Be Blood," bubble-wrap style. [The Carpetbagger]

•  Stu VanAirsdale comments on Jane Fonda's C-bomb from last week, worships its usage in "Atonement." [Little Gold Men]

•  Anita Gates writes up Oscar's memories throughout the boob-tube years. [New York Times]

•  Randee Dawn, via slideshow, takes a look at the making of an Oscar -- no, an ACTUAL Oscar, at the R.S. Owens & Company plant in Chicago. [Gold Rush]

•  Todd Leopold asks whether anyone cares about the Oscars. [CNN]

•  In his first post in nearly a month, Ramin Setoodeh responds to the piece. [The Gold Digger]

•  The media, who wanted so desperately to have a story like Diablo Cody to cover, continue to tear the poor woman down because they're bored with their own Frakenstein. [Cinematical]

•  Donna Freydkin sits down with "La Vie en Rose" star Marion Cotillard. [USA Today]

•  According to the local paper, surfers love Best Animated Feature Film nominee "Surf's Up." [Los Angeles Times]

Stealing this from Anne's blog.  It isn't the freshest comparison in the world, but hey, it's Oscar related:

Animated Feature Film  Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Animated Feature Film Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

Animated Feature Film  Brad Bird
Music (Score)  Michael Giacchino
Sound Editing  Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
Sound Mixing  Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
Writing (Original Screenplay)  Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird

•  The final guild out of the gate, the Motion Picture Sound Editors, annouce nominees for the Golden Reel Awards. [Variety]

•  Sasha Stone cooks up one of her infmaous Oscar comparison charts.  This time: SAG vs. Oscar. [Awards Daily]

•  Jeff Anderson finds plenty of room to complain about this or that, re: the nominations.  He also reveals a profound ignorance for certain crafts categories. [Cinematical]

•  Tom O'Neil has a new theory in the books.  Somethign about multile nominated contenders yielding one win, I think.  I got lost in the data.  You give it a shot. [Gold Derby]

•  Daniel Day-Lewis hits the daily talk show circuit with the owner of the world. [Oprah.com]

•  Gerard Kennedy begins reacting to Oscar's tech nominations, some surprising, most expected. [In Contention]

•  The Gurus o' Gold chime in post-noms.  "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" take the #1 and #2 spots.  Scott Rudin does back-flips. [Movie City News]

•  Mike Russell sits down with "Persepolis" creator Marjane Satrapi in 2-D black and white. [Culture Pulp]

•  T.L. Stanley thinks there is no backlash in the cards for the most backlash-prone of the Best Picture contenders. [Gold Rush]

•  In a long interview never lacking the color of its subject, Mick Brown sits down with the Oscar-nominated Julian Schnabel to talk art, Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and Schnabel.  Good times. [The Daily Telegraph]

•  After years of disavowing Oscar bloggers, Stu VanAirdale finds his new role as...Oscar blogger. [Little Gold Men]

•  He also agonizes over the glut of Oscar prognosticators.  I'm sure he still cashes the checks, though. [Little Gold Men]

Took a few days off as I dealt with family, holiday nightmares and shopping fiasco, but I thought I'd pop in tody to see what's happening on the Oscarweb -- call it the Christmas edition.  I hope you and yours are enjoying a splendid holiday season.

•  Jeffrey Wells thinks Janusz Kaminski is an overrated lenser to say the least.  Yeah, I thought he was out of his skull when he posted that, too. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  But he at least has the guts to call the "Titanic" bashers of the world reactive to its pop culture phenomenon rather than the actual content: a sweeping epic that works quite well, especially in the finale. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  The top 10 lists keep on a'collectin' at MCN. [Movie City News]

•  A Merry Christmas from Tom O'Neil's family never hurt anyone! [Gold Derby]

•  The "Great Debaters" campaign kicks into high gear (try though they might) as Robert Welkos talks to actress Jurnee Smollett. [The Envelope]

•  Gerard Kennedy has a lot on his mind following the crush of Fall finals. [In Contention]
•  Nathaniel Rogers offers some thoughts on "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" and tim burton's long-awaited screen adaptation of a Sondheim classic. [The Film Experience]
•  Claudia Puig loves, loves, loves her some "Persepolis"... [USA Today]

•  ...hates, hates, hates "The Bucket List"... [USA Today]..and is somewhere in the middle on "The Great Debaters." [USA Today]
•  The local paper also reviews all three this holiday week. [Los Angeles Times]

•  Rainn Wilson will be stepping in for Sarah Silverman as host of the IFP Awards. [Variety]

•  Following in the footsteps of Nathaniel Rogers, David Carr offers up a list of contingency plans for a non-telecast Oscar ceremony. [The Carpetbagger]

•  Tom O'Neil becomes Oscar blogger #603 to quote A.O. Scott's "Sweeney Todd" review for all it's worth. [Gold Derby]

•  Slow news week much?  The LA Times offers up a gallery of Oscar winners turned blockbuster performers... [The Envelope]

•  ...and one covering the goings-on of Hollywood couples this year, of all things. [The Envelope]

•  Jeffrey Wells gives year's worst honors to "Are We Done Yet?" [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Ryan Pearson profiles "The Bucket List" star Jack Nicholson. [Associated Press]

•  Sasha Stone surveys the Best Picture field one...more...time, and keeps the ball rolling on Jamie Lynn Spears/"Juno."  Personally, I think that whole idea is a media creation. [Awards Daily]

•  David Poland offers one more Oscar column for 2007, somehow thinks the SAG-ignored "Sweeney Todd" is ahead of the SAG-embraced "Into the Wild." [Movie City News]

•  But at least he has his head in the right place regarding the fact that the Oscar ceremony simply won't shut down due to the strike. [The Hot Blog]

•  After this week's Vulture commentary on male nudity in films this year, Ramin Setoodeh offers up his list of 2007's top 10 nude scenes. [The Gold Digger]

•  Geoff Boucher cataches up with the brilliant Marjane Satrapi. [Los Angeles Times]

•  And Paul Brownfield catches up with the eccentric Julian Schnabel. [Los Angeles Times]

Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" led the BFCA nominations tally today with seven tips of the hat, including nods for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and, of course, a spot in the group's top ten list.

Jason Reitman's "Juno" wasn't far behind with six nods, while "Atonement," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men" and "Sweeney Todd" each managed five.

The morning's announcement was a huge boost -- nay, a shot in the arm for "Wild," one of a trio of Paramount Vantage hopefuls in this year's race.  Combined with a number of key mentions in yesterday's Chicago Film Critics nominations and the fact that, as far as I can tell, no film has ever solely led the BFCA field and missed out on a Best Picture nomination with the Academy, I'd say the Sean Penn effort is looking better than ever for a slot in the big five come January.

"Juno"'s tally of six was also exactly what Fox Searchlight's comedy hopeful needed to silence nay-sayers regarding its Academy potential.  It's clearly a formiddable contender.

Surprises included Best Actor mentions for Ryan Gosling ("Lars and the Real Girl") and Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises"), as well as supporting actress berths for Catherine Keener in "Into the Wild" (a quiet contender this season) and Vanessa Redgrave in "Atonement" (for all of five minutes of screentime).

Casey Affleck, meanwhile, grabbed some more steam for his supporting portrayal in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," perhaps on his way to securing the same nod with the Academy.  And Amy Adams finally makes a significant appearance this awards season for her performance in "Enchanted."

A definite nod of note is Cate Blanchett's citation for Best Actress in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."  It might perhaps be read as Oscar tea leaf reading on the BFCA's part more than anything, given how critically reviled the film was, yet how undeniably Academy friendly the performance might still be perceived.

Finally, six composers were allowed room to wiggle in that category, including the first notices of the season for Marco Beltrami ("3:10 to Yuma"), Clint Eastwood ("Grace is Gone") and Alan Menken ("Enchanted").

The BFCA tends to be the best precursor for predicting the eventual Oscar turn-out, mostly due to a list of ten Best Picture contenders and a willingness to nominate across a wide spectrum of categories.  This year they seem to have spread the wealth evenly enough to have a decent prediction percentage yet again.

The BFCA's ten Best Picture nominees (with vote totals):

"American Gangster" (2)
"Atonement" (5)
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (4)
"Into the Wild" (7)
"Juno" (6)
"The Kite Runner" (2)
"Michael Clayton" (5)
"No Country for Old Men" (5)
"Sweeney Todd" (5)
"There Will Be Blood" (3)

The full list of nominees can be found on the BFCA website.  The awards will be broadcast live on VH1 on Monday, January 7, 2008, LIVE at 9:00 p/m. (e.s.t.).

Erik Childress' "Oscar Eye" column has the full list of Chicago Film Critics nominations mixed in with his tally of who's won what.  You have to kind of pick things out, but the full list is there.

"No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" continue to show up, but the group went out of its way to personally champion "Once" in more than a few areas, including Best Picture.

Casey Affleck popped up again for his supporting turn in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," while Viggo Mortensen found some Best Actor love for his work in David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises."  Frank Langella also made another appearance in the lead field for "Starting Out in the Evening."

Another key contender showing up in the nominations is "Zodiac," which managed citations for Best Director (david Fincher) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

"Michael Clayton" led the way with seven nominations.  "Blood" wasn't far behind with six.  Nothing for "The Kite Runner" or "Sweeney Todd."

Best Picture
"Into the Wild"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Once"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
David Fincher, "Zodiac"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"

Best Actor
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Ryan Gosling, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Frank Langella, "Starting Out in the Evening"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

Best Actress
Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Angelina Jolie, "A Mighty Heart"
Laura Linney, "The Savages"
Ellen Page, "Juno"

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchet, "I'm Not There"
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Margot at the Wedding"
Leslie Mann, "Knocked Up"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"Atonement"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Zodiac"

Best Original Screenplay
"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"Ratatouille"
"The Savages"

Best Cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Score
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"Lust, Caution"
"Once"
"There Will Be Blood"

Best Animated Feature
"Beowulf"
"Meet the Robinsons"
"Persepolis"
"Ratatouille"
"The Simpsons Movie"

Best Foreign Film
"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Lust, Caution"
"The Orphanage"

Best Documentary
"Darfur Now"
"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"
"Lake of Fire"
"No End in Sight"
"Sicko"

Promising Director
Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"
John Carney, "Once"
Craig Gillespie, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"

Promising Performer
Nikki Blonsky, "Hairspray"
Michael Cera, "Juno"/"Superbad"
Glen Hansard, "Once"
Carice van Houten, "Black Book"
Tang Wei, "Lust, Caution"

The New York Film Critics Circle had absolutely no surprises in store today, handing "No Country for Old Men" four awards, including one for Best Pic.

Daniel Day-Lewis and Robert Elswit represented Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood," which swept the LA critics' awards yesterday, while Julie Christie positioned herself again as the competition for Marion Cotillard in the Best Actress race (where's Ellen Page been this whole time?).  Amy Ryan also continues to scorch the earth as THE supporting actress frontrunner of the year.

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" was surprisingly snubbed throughout.  Nothing, also, for Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," a Gotham film if there ever was one.  The director did, however, pick up a lifetime achievement award.

This weekend's activity and today's awards have put "No Country' and "Blood" at the top of everyone's rontrunner lists for Oscar, two brutal, cold films that are not the Academy pedigree at all.  But perhaps the critics will muscle them into the dance if this continues to be the case, each of them constantly duking it out.  Tomorrow, the Broadcast Film Critics Association announces its list of nominees, always a pretty good indication of where the Academy will ultimately go.

The full list of NYFCC winners:

Best Picture: "No Country for Old Men"
Best Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Best Actress: Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Screenplay: "No Country for Old Men"
Best Cinematographer: Robert Elswit, "There Will Be Blood"
Best Documentary: "No End in Sight"
Best First Film: Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"
Best Animated Film: "Persepolis"
Best Foreign Film: "The Lives of Others"
Lifetime Achievement Award: Sidney Lumet
Special Critics' Award: Charles Burnett, "Killer of Sheep"

The New York-based National Board of Review has announced its list of award winners for the year, kick-starting the precursor circuit on the march through the 2007 film awards season.

The Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" took the Best Picture prize, leading a top ten list that included somewhat surprising mentions for "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "The Bucket List."

George Clooney won the Best Actor award for his performance in Tony Gilroy's "Michael Clayton," while Julie Christie took down Best Actress for her portrayal in Sarah Polley's "Away from Her."

Casey Affleck ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford") and Amy Ryan ("Gone Baby Gone") won in the supporting categories, while Tim Burton was named Best Director for "Sweeney Todd."

The last NBR Best Picture winner to miss a nomination from the Academy was "Quills" in 2000, and "Gods and Monsters" before that in 1998.  With "Charlie Wilson's War" coming up short (though some would argue this point), the film looks better for placement with AMPAS now than it did when it only had critics championing the cause.  Oh the give and take of Oscar season.

Winners from the press release:

Best Film: "No Country for Old Men"
Best Director: Tim Burton, "Sweeney Todd"
Best Actor: George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Best Actress: Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Foreign Film: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Best Documentary: "Body of War"
Best Animated Feature: "Ratatouille"
Best Ensemble Cast: "No Country for Old Men"
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Emile Hirsch, "Into the Wild"
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Ellen Page, "Juno"
Best Directorial Debut: Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best Original Screenplay (tie): Diablo Cody, "Juno" and Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"

The top ten (in alphabetical order):
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"The Bucket List"
"Into the Wild"
"Juno"
"The Kite Runner"
"Lars and the Real Girl"
"Michael Clayton"
"Sweeney Todd"

Top five foreign films (in alphabetical order):
"4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days"
"The Band's Visit"
"The Counterfeiters"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Lust, Caution"

Top five documentary films (in alphabetical order):
"Darfur Now"
"In the Shadow of the Moon"
"Nanking"
"Taxi to the Darkside"
"Toots"

Top independent films (in alphabetical order):
"Away from Her"
"Great World of Sound"
"Honeydripper"
"In the Valley of Elah"
"A Mighty Heart"
"The Namesake"
"Once"
"The Savages"
"Starting Out in the Evening"
"Waitress"

Career Achievement: Michael Douglas
William K. Everson Film History Award: Robert Osbourne
Career Achievement in Cinematography: Roger Deakins
The BVLGARI Award for NPR Freedom of Expression: "The Great Debaters" and "Persepolis"

The Annie nominations landed today.  Variety has the story.

"Ratatouille," of course, leads the pack with 13 nominations.  Can anything stop it from winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film?

The nominees for Best Animated Film were "Bee Movie," "Persepolis," Ratatouille," "The Simpsons Movie" and "Surf's Up."  Take away "Bee Movie" and "Surf's Up," and I think you're looking at Oscar's final three.

"Beowulf," which a number of people were hoping would land a berth with the Academy, landed a single nomination with the Annies: Best Production Design.  I guess they weren't too keen on "performance capture" as a brand of animation.

Personally, I was stoked to see, further down the list, that "Ren & Stimpy" creator John Kricfaulski was singled out as a Winsor McCay Award winner for career contribution.  Joy!

•  Michael Cieply on the "ghettoized" Animated Feature category and the Best Picture hopes of "Ratatouille." [New York Times]

•  David Carr responds, then gets into Manohla Dargis' review of "The Savages." [The Carpetbagger]

•  Tom O'Neil calls New York's Gotham Awards a "fiasco." [Gold Derby]

•  Jeffrey Wells is a fan of the new trailer for "There Will Be Blood," which left another audience in stunned silence last night at the DGA. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Brian Kinsley thinks Amy Adams may have won Best Actress when "Enchanted" opened to stellar business and reviews over the holiday weekend. [In Contention]

•  Yours truly isn't as convinced as Martin Grove on Frank Langella and Christopher Plummer. [In Contention]

•  Ramin Satoodeh recaps the Gotham Awards. [The Gold Digger]

•  After nearly a month's absence from his New York Magazine blog, David Edelstein finally makes a post -- this one's about polarized reviews of "I'm Not There." [The Projectionist]

•  In the wake of "Charlie Wilson's War" coming up short of expectations, more people come out of the woodwork to proclaim they "saw this coming." [indieWIRE]

•  Ryan C. Adams digs into the first UK reviews of "The Golden Compass." [Awards Daily]

•  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]

•  Anne Thompson chimes in with some things she learned froma  second look at "There Will Be Blood" Monday night. [Thompson on Hollywood] 

•  Sasha Stone senses a John Cusack surge on the horizon. [Awards Daily]

•  Lisa Rosen spotlights baddies at the Oscars, though it's becoming apparent that The Envelope is churning out TOO MUCH awards content.  Slow down! [The Envelope]

•  Susan King talks to Phil Bosco. [The Envelope]

•  David Poland was ALSO at the "Sweeney Tease" in NYC. [The Hot Blog]

•  Jeffrey Wells comments on Tom O'Neil's reaction to the 17 minutes of footage. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Lou Lumenick agrees with the select few who think "Beowulf" won't land in the animated final three. [New York Post]

•  Peter Knegt takes a stab at predicting the top nine categories. [indieWIRE]

•  Sasha Stone kicks things into high gear in her State of the Race column. [Awards Daily]

•  Susan King ponders awards telecasts without writers. [The Envelope]

•  Tom O'Neil thinks "The Simpsons Movie" might bump "Beowulf."  Smart thinkin'. [Gold Derby]

•  Jeffrey Wells, still on the "Zodiac" train, is encouraged by Paramount spending this awards season. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Lou Lumenick thinks Javier Bardem is his own competition -- well, not true, since he's going supporting in "No Country." [New York Post]

With the announcement today of the Academy's Oscar-qualifying animated films (list below), Variety is on the beat with a number of stories in yesterday's "Eye on the Oscars: Animated Preview" Special Issue.

Some of the stories:

•  David Cohen on "action-cartoon hybrids" forcing the Academy to "define animation." [Variety]

•  Ellen Wolff ponders the valid question of whether animated films are stuck in an "Oscar ghetto." [Variety]

•  And Iain Blair talks to insiders about casting voice talent for popular animated endeavors. [Variety]

•  Oh, and for those who dig pictures over words, we have a photo gallery! [Variety]

Here's the list of Oscar-qualifying films in the category:

"Alvin and the Chipmunks," "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters," "Bee Movie," "Beowulf," "Meet the Robinsons," "Persepolis," "Ratatouille," "Shrek the Third," "The Simpsons Movie," "Surf's Up," "Tekkonkinkreet" and "TMNT."

I think we can expect the nominees to be "Persepolis," "Ratatouille" and "The Simpsons Movie" to be the final three.  The crowd is over "Shrek," though the branch qualified it, I don't think "Beowulf" will make it through just as "The Polar Expressed" missed in 2004.  And this is a great way for a true animation hero, Matt Groening, to get his due.

"Persepolis" deserves the win in spades, however.  We'll see if the Academy agrees.

•  Anne Thompson has "Beowulf" reactions.  [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  Jeffrey Wells finall unleashes his "There Will Be Blood" review, smartly acknowledges that it takes a few moments of gathering oneself before fully appreciating the value of the film.  Calls it "diseased greatness." [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Elizabeth Snead talks to Paul LeBlanc about Bardem's do in "No Country." [The Envelope]

•  The Buzzmeter gets a fresh update. [The Envelope]

•  As do the Gurus, this time taking a stab at the screenplay races.  Good showing for Tony Gilroy. [Movie City News]

•  Noah Forrest makes an awards case for subtle performers. [Movie City News]

•  Scott Feinberg talks to Tabu from "The Namesake," getting an agressive push from Fox Searchlight. [And the Winner Is...]

•  Yet ANOTHER award...this time, Tommy Lee Jones is tapped to win the Santa Barbara Fest's American Riviera Award. [Variety]

•  In a fantastic column, Nathaniel Rogers contemplates a 1999-like middle-brow Oscar response to a high-brow year, expresses doubts for the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" (finally someone joining me in being even-handed about that film's Oscar potential) and Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood." [The Film Experience]

•  Anne Thompson comments on a record-breaking weekend for "American Gangster." [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  Jeffrey Wells talks "No Country" with Josh Brolin. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Also passes on some second-hand information about Amy Adams' supposedly awards-quality performance drowning in the "timidity" of "Enchanted." [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Michael Ordoña talks to Best Supporting Actor contender Paul Dano about taking risks, passion and "There Will Be Blood." [Los Angeles Times]

•  Rachel Abramowitz spit-balls "Persepolis" with the brilliant Marjane Satrapi. [Los Angeles Times]

•  Chris Lee spotlights Will Smith and "I Am Legend."  (Here's a crazy idea: supposing Francis Lawrence and Akiva Goldsman didn't rape and pillage Richard Matheson's brilliant work, could Smith be a surprise lead actor contender?  Seriously.  It's a fantastic role.  Well -- yeah - I guess it IS Francis Lawrence and Akiva Goldsman.) [Los Angeles Times]

•  Rounding up the holiday movie love fest, Gina Piccalo talks "The Golden Compass" with director Chris Weitz. [Los Angeles Times]

•  Caryn James gets into the subject of violence in the season's cinema.  I just finished a piece for this trade on the VERY SAME SUBJECT.  At least we're all on the same page...it'll be a Bloody Christmas indeed. [New York Times]

•  Sylviane Gold talks to Stephen Sondheim, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp about "Sweeney Todd." [New York Times]

There is a lot of talk lately about the eligibility of Robert Zemeckis' upcoming "Beowulf" in the Best Animated Feature category.  There is also a concerted effort to refrain from pitching the film as an animated endeavor for awards attention.  Additionally, the director himself has even said that "to call performance capture animation is a disservice to the great animators."

The fact is that it's very likely the animation branch will not nominate Zemeckis' motion-capture film, just as they snubbed "The Polar Express" in 2004.  The sound departments will certainly be on board (Gerard Kennedy fleshed out some interesting talking points with sound mixer Randy Thom at In Contention yesterday), and perhaps the music branch will follow suit -- again, just as in 2004.  But whether the film is good enough to muster a Best Picture nomination is still to be seen

Regardless of all of this, I think it's worth taking note of Zemeckis' obvious desire to push the industry forward by leaps and bounds.  Maybe he deserves some kind of recognition outside of the Oscar ceremony's typical order of proceedings.

In 1988, Zemeckis' "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" garnered a Special Achievement award for animation director Richard Williams, and it was obviously very deserving considering how innovative the effort was at the time.  It's been a while since the Academy has gone out of its way to offer such a designation, and given that Zemeckis is leading the charge on what very well could be the next major phase in cinema technology, perhaps it's time to dust that award off and toss it his way once again.

After "Beowulf," Zemeckis will be diving right back into the motion-capture fray with the Jim Carrey-starrer "A Christmas Carol," in which Carrey will portray Ebenezer Scrooge and all four of the ghosts from the tale.