AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... ZZZZZ

Here it is Oscar Sunday and there is absolutely no buzz about tonight's Academy Awards. The only true curiosity lies in whether or not Martin Scorsese finally wins a Best Director statuette. Count me among his many fans. I think, like me, many people would like to see him win, but it's hard to root passionately for his good-not-great epic The Aviator. Besides the Aviator/Million Dollar Baby divide for Best Picture and the Scorsese/Eastwood question in Best Director, it feels like the winners are already penciled in. I suppose we could be thrown a curveball or two tonight, but I anticipate the awards will hold true to form. That's why there's very little excitement surrounding this evening's self-congratulatory kudofest. It's also why I'm not even going to bother to post my picks. Don't care. I'm just hoping Chris Rock is funny and offends a few people to keep it interesting.

Checking my Oscar prediction picks from the day before nominations were announced, I'd say my performance was so-so. My picks were solid, but it felt like whenever I zigged, the Academy zagged. In predicting the nominees for the Big Eight categories, I was only perfect in one -- Best Actress -- and had no fewer than three in each category. Overall, I went 29 out of 40. Not bad, not great.

Last week, I turned in my ballot for Producers Game 2005, attempting once again to forecast the upcoming year in movies. Looks to be a really strong year for studio movies. I'll be posting my ballot along with my 2004 wrap-up sometime this week. I know you all can't wait.

Have a glitzy and glamorous evening.