With only 18 days left until the big announcement, the fever is rising.
Over at my Tribeca Film Oscar column I'm sounding off on True Grit's hit status, the uncertain Supporting Actress race (it's the only race without a clear "winner" frontrunner), and which melodies are rising above the awards din. Read the article.
One thing I didn't cover in that article is these last minute endorsements of sorts we've been hearing about. Kathryn Bigelow and Martin Scorsese are pro Winter's Bone (and don't think they lack for pull in Tinseltown). Bigelow just hosted a screening. You've already heard that Javier Bardem's celebrity friends (including recent Eat Pray Love Vote co-star Julia Roberts) have been rallying for his Cannes-winning performance in Biutiful.
Meanwhile, Oscar winner Robert Duvall (Get Low) just put his hands in cement in front of Grauman's. You know what that means. Any reminder that you're still very much in it means that you're still working to win it. Not that Duvall isn't already a winner on every Oscar level. They've only ever loved 13 men enough to hand them six or more nominations and Duvall is one of that esteemed baker's dozen. If he gets this nod, he moves us to top ten Oscar beloved actor status (tied with Dustin Hoffman and Richard Burton in terms of nominations).
I've made some adjustments to the Best Actor chart to reflect the 7 man race nail-biter.