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.