Battle of the exes

Some interesting nuggets from the WSJ on the relationship between James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, the top contenders for best director and best picture Oscars. The marriage lasted just three years, from 1989 to 1991. That's her only marriage; Cameron has tied the knot five times and been divorced four times. Breakup seems very amicable; Cameron showed Bigelow an early cut of "Avatar," and Bigelow did the same with "The Hurt Locker." In fact, written into their divorce settlement was Cameron agreeing to produce three of Bigelow's films.

Mr. Cameron both wrote and produced Ms. Bigelow's "Strange Days," a 1995 sci-fi thriller about snuff films. It performed poorly at the box office, however. Mr. Cameron executive produced "Point Break," a movie about bank robber surfers that she directed back in 1991. That movie quickly turned into a cult hit and box-office success, becoming one of Ms. Bigelow's most commercial films. After the divorce, she went on to make "The Weight of Water," in 2000, about a newspaper photographer who investigates the fatal story of two women in suffocating relationships and in 2002, " K-19 : The Widowmaker," starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, about men aboard a Soviet nuclear submarine. Both disappointed at the box office.

It's a David vs. Goliath setup, with Cameron's "Avatar," the monster blockbuster, against Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker," the much-acclaimed but little-seen war thriller. The people who follow Oscar voting seem to think that "Avatar" has it in the bag, despite Bigelow being a crowd favorite.