After the release of a study which indicates that most Oscar voters are wealthy white men, how smart a play does it seem to feature the host of the Academy Awards, Billy Crystal (a wealthy white man), in a sketch in which he appears in blackface?  Well, it’s a play that the Oscars ran with on Sunday night, and it’s catching a bit of criticism (beneath the cacophony about who wore which designer brands, of course).

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The process of Oscar predictions has changed completely over the last twenty years. Where there may have been favorites and hopes before that came with no sense of what could actually happen on Oscar night, blogging has turned the award ceremony into a stats game, where there are way fewer surprises than ever before. But, if you pay attention to the guilds, you have a great guide as to who is likely to win or lose. That doesn’t keep us from guessing, and our picks for Sunday’s Oscar ceremony are here. Hint: expect big wins for The Artist. Check it out…

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Last night Midnight in Paris and The Descendents won the WGA awards for best original and adapted screenplay. Though I’m sure the winners were happy, for the Oscar horse-race enthusiasts, the question is: does this predict the Oscars? Many of the guild award winners go on to take home their respective prizes at the Oscars, but in this case, the results aren’t quite as telling.

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For those who like playing Oscar pools, DGA nominations tend to be a good harbinger for the actual Oscar nominations. So it’s worth noting what made the cut: Michel Hazanavicius‘s The Artist, Woody Allen‘s Midnight in Paris, Martin Scorsese‘s Hugo, Alexander Payne‘s The Descendants, and David Fincher‘s The Girl With Dragon Tattoo all got nominated today.

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2011 was the year of the indie. The majority of adaptations and blockbusters all fell completely flat, and numerous big studio dramas were missing that something special. Normally I’m one to say that every year is a great year, but this is no There Will be Blood Vs. No Country for Old Men, or even Moon Vs. Inglourious Bastards. That being said, the end of this year has been packed with award-worthy films and Sundance seemed to produce a number of films that made it big throughout 2011.

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The 69th annual Golden Globes nominees have been announced, and this year they’re big on definite articles. The Help, The Artist and The Descendents lead the pack of nominees. Which is interesting because – if the Globes have a weakness – it’s that they chase the famous names, and these noms aren’t that celeb-heavy. Then again, George Clooney has received three nominations directly (for actor, writing and directing) between The Ides of March and Descendents, and surely a fourth for producing March. Check out the full list…

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Woody Allen‘s highly mysterious (and rightfully so) film Midnight in Paris has made its way back from Cannes and will be appearing in theaters in America this weekend. For me, this is one of my favorite Woody Allen films in a long time. It’s not necessarily what you would expect from Allen, though it does follow certain patterns we’ve come to know from him and one can definitely see references to his earlier work. There’s something both nostalgic and yet fresh about the film that makes it fun to watch. It’s finely made, finely acted and overall a fine picture to find yourself at this weekend…

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Today legendary director Woody Allen finally decided to reveal the full cast for his upcoming mystery project, Midnight in Paris. In the past we’ve picked up on one or two actors like Marion Cotillard and Owen Wilson and now we’ve learned that Oscar winner Adrien Brody has joined the film. Here’s the complete cast list along with a brief synopsis…

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