USA: With no apparent front-runner, the field is wide open among the nominees for the most coveted category of Best Picture for Oscars 2007.

With no apparent front-runner, the field is wide open among the nominees for the most coveted category of Best Picture for Oscars 2007. This year critics say there is no obvious front-runner for the Best Picture category in the Oscars race. The five nominated films are "Babel," "The Departed," "Letters from Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," and "The Queen." The focus of each of these movies represents a diversity of topics. There is the global storyline of clashing cultures for "Babel," the mob thriller anchored by Jack Nicholson told with "The Departed," the Japanese war epic "Letters from Iwo Jima," the dysfunctional family comedy "Little Miss Sunshine," and the dramatic episode of Princess Diana's death as experienced by the matriarch of Britain's royal family portrayed in "The Queen." One Hollywood film critic says that although it remains unclear which of these top theatrical releases will take home the top prize, he has his own theories about which films appear to have a better chance of winning than others. "Usually you have a movie like 'Lord of the Rings,' you know, which everyone knew was going to win best picture," opines Access Hollywood's Scott Mantz. "But, you know this year you've really had a category where, it's down to a couple of films, but it's still pretty much wide open. So just by process of elimination, you can count out 'The Queen.' 'The Queen' really is all about Helen Mirren's fantastic performance -- she's gonna win. You can bet the house on that." The most international of the contenders is "Babel," which was shot in four countries and features actors speaking five languages. It was written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Although he thinks it was an admirable effort, Mantz says he has his doubts that "Babel," with seven nominations overall, will win Best Picture. "Even though 'Babel' won the Golden Globe for Best Picture Drama, I think it's a movie that people admire more than they actually like it," says Mantz. "I think the reason is it has a very interesting structure, it's non linear, it takes place all over the world, literally -- Japan, Morocco, Mexico, and it's very interesting the way everything sort of ties together, and it's an expertly directed film, but it's really depressing, and I think some people feel it's a little self-indulgent because the director sort of used the approach with his other movies." Mantz also doubts "Letters from Iwo Jima," a low-budget offering about the pivotal World War II battle for the strategically-located Pacific Island, is likely not to get the nod in this category, simply because director Clint Eastwood has already been awarded two Oscars for previous films. "Eastwood already has two Best Picture winners -- one of them was very recently for 2004's 'Million Dollar Baby,' and the other was for 'Unforgiven' in 1992, so it seems highly unlikely that the Academy is going to award him again that fast, he just doesn't need it." Mantz predicts Martin Scorsese-directed film, "The Departed," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, will also be passed over for Best Picture. The Boston-based gangster film was a remake of the Hong Kong movie "Infernal Affairs," and has turned out to be the biggest box-office hit of Scorsese's career. It received a total of five Oscar nominations. "It's got this sort of pulp violence feel to it, the dialogue is very snappy, but it's not really the kind of movie that I think about when I think Best Picture." Mantz believes another strong contender for Best Picture is "Little Miss Sunshine." The quirky crowd-pleaser garnered four Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture. "It deserves to win, and here's why: It's maintained its momentum for a full year. That never happens. Not only did it start a year ago with its record buy at Sundance for ten and a half million, but when it opened in July it got great reviews, and it played all through the fall, it grossed about sixty million dollars, and then it came out on DVD, everybody's buying it now, and watching it, and loving it." The Oscar for Best Picture at the 2007 Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday, February 25th at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

ITN Source | February 23, 2007

Tags:. .unlikely. .gonna. .filmmaker. .elimination. .literally