Wow. OK. 10 nominations for Best Picture? From my vantage point on a small island off the Maine coast: is such excess necessary?!OK, here is this year's ballot, and here is the glory of running a theater that presents both live shows AND first-run movies: of the excessive number of 10 nominees, we will have shown more than half--that's right, at least SIX, more than the number of nominees there used to be--of the Best Picture nominees. So when you hit that ballot, even in rural Maine, you will have had a good shot of seeing the following nominees for Best Picture--and probably more:
The Blind Side (December 2009)
Inglourious Basterds (November 2009)
Precious (January 2010)
Up (June 2009)
Up in the Air (Feb 12-14, 2010)
Avatar (mid-to-late February, stay tuned for dates)
Is this a luxury of riches or . . . just a whole lot of films being produced?! I'll leave the judging to you. Complete a ballot and email it or mail it to us; the top FIVE (we're going to stick with the old scale!) most accurate ballots will win free movie passes to the Opera House. Happy Oscar-ing!
