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Why My Oscar Picks Missed the Mark...

March 08, 2010 By Wendell Collins

Mea Culpa on several of my Oscar picks, especially predicting Avatar would prevail.

I still believe Four Quadrant Movies are the Holy Grail of moviemaking when it comes to drawing big audiences and paychecks, but they don't always win the most awards. Case in point - last night's embarassing show of Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker.

I would not have been surprised if K Bigelow beat her ex on just the Best Director front, but to win Best Picture and several other "effects" awards is a surprise. (Albeit a pleasant one for those who like to see obnoxious cocky director types humbled by their former spouse) Hell hath no fury like a Hollywood sick of preening.

I was quite pleased to see my pick Jeff Bridges win, and should have predicted T Bone would win best song, given the buzz around the movie in general. I was also happy to see Sandra Bullock (who could also win for great dress and look, btw) pull it out for the first time, and should have done my homework on the Precious front to predict what most of Hollywood was expecting - MoNique's well earned victory. And I also missed the mark on best supporting actor - while Woody was great, Christian was apparently more memorable.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin had fun and some funny scenes together, a modern day Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin, but their writers could have been a little stronger.

James Taylor's "In My Life" was a great touch, and the John Hughes tribute was a fun walk down memory lane but sort of sad to see Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy all washed up.

That's All Folks... until next year's Red Carpet!