Recent Columns
September 2, 2008
Pete Hammond is film critic for Maxim Magazine and Maximonline.com. He contributes to "Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide" and hosts Q&A screenings with top Oscar contenders for KCET Cinema Series and Variety. He appears frequently on TV as a pop-culture pundit and has been a producer for "Entertainment Tonight," "Extra," "Access Hollywood" and AMC - American Movie Classics network. Pete's "Note on a Season" column appears weekly on Thursdays exclusively on TheEnvelope.com.
Notes on a Season
Indecision reigns on Oscar circuit
The ongoing writers strike, confusion about screening policies and a lack of consensus characterize the race.
By Pete Hammond
January 3, 2008
Uncertainty is in the air as the race of all races heats up to the boiling point.
Candidates are not leaving anything to chance, some still running frantically from one public forum to another, trying to reach voters with that personal touch, even as the first big contests of the season are about to take place.
After months of endless campaigning it's do-or-die time. No front-runner has completely broken through. Several private polls indicate the race is the most fluid in years.
Even Oprah has jumped into the race to tout her own pony.
Strategists for the hopefuls are busy putting their spin on events as districts originally thought to be slam-dunks for a couple of key candidates turned into nail-biters that could produce a few unexpected winners.
With ballots in hand, a few voters are now going to determine one of the most important decisions of our time.
No, not the 2008 presidential primaries.
Who the *#*** is gonna win the 80th annual Academy Awards?!
It's hard to remember a season that brought so many unanswered questions, and though that "other" contest may be making big headlines this week, it seems Hollywood is preoccupied by whether or not it should get that designer evening wear ready for the Golden Globes.
Well, Travolta is, at least.
With the looming uncertainty about even which award shows will go on, and in what form, the seemingly endless race that has confounded most so-called experts is still looking for a clue to its ultimate outcome at the Kodak Theatre less than eight weeks from now.
By Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, even the two major party presidential nominees will likely be known, but in this topsy-turvy awards season we'll STILL be wondering which nominee has the nerve to get up on the Kodak stage.
Hopefully, the Critic's Choice awards being handed out Monday night, and the Globes telecast, which NBC promises will go ahead on Jan. 13, will narrow the field and make it easier for prognosticators.
Also, in the next 10 days or so we will have the nominees in from the directors, writers and producers guilds. The industry groups are always good but not perfect Oscar soothsayers.
The awards season certainly isn't always this way.
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