and the nominees are...

ahhhh, pre-oscar talk.

i will make this short (or, at least, shorter than my usual post):

Babel (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu ;
The Departed (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese ;
Letters from Iwo Jima (Warner Bros.) Clint Eastwood ;
The Queen (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Stephen Frears ;
United 93 (Universal and StudioCanal) Paul Greengrass ;

really, the only concerns here are Babel and Letters from Iwo Jima. there is concern not because the directors are better, but concern because the academy would consider them legitimate excuses not to give scorsese the oscar. now, since the academy appears to have some kind of weird hatred for scorsese, i would feel better if the alternative winner was Babel. it better not be that damn clint eastwood, i'll tell you that much.

look for the results of this one right here after feb 25...the only way there will be any real outrage from me is if Letters from Iwo Jima or The Queen win this category. there's no way that United 93 will win, and if Babel wins, i will register my severe disappointment, but i don't think there will be any actual outrage.