'The Artist' has the pole position in race for the Oscar

Silent crowd-pleaser received the most number of Golden Globe nominations - hardly a foolproof indicator, but not one to ignore in this grab bag year. Richard Rushfield handicaps in the Daily Beast:

Many have complained that this silent film tribute to the silent film era is too slight, too two-dimensional to be a serious best pic contender--that it may be a crowd pleaser, but in the end the film is a formalist game, treading upon well-covered ground. All that may be the case, but the French silent film is also one other thing right now: the Oscar front runner. After taking the highest number of Globe nominations (six), including Best Picture (comedy/musical) and acting and directing nods, and a flurry of top prizes and Best picture listings from various critics associations (Las Vegas, Indiana, San Diego, Broadcast Critics, Detroit, NY Online, Boston, Houston), the film stands--based on the information available today--as the likeliest candidate to sweep the Oscar field.

I see that Intrade, the online trading exchange, gives it a 36.5 percent chance of winning best picture, more than double what it was just three weeks ago. Again, hardly foolproof, but notable.


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Mark Lacter
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.
 
Mark Lacter, business writer and editor was 59
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