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2011 Oscars — Predictions And Odds And Upsets

The 2011 Oscars are upon us. The 83rd incarnation of the Academy Awards ceremony, the biggest night of the year for the celebrated actors, film-makers, and those within the movie industry that hope to attain a measure of acknowledgement for work well done in the previous year.

With the awards comes the attention of the media with countless articles on who will win, can win, doesn’t stand a chance to win, doesn’t deserve to win (or be nominated), and countless other angles (like worst movie nominated for Best Picture and lists of actors that should have won). The prediction lists this year seem to be centered on “The King’s Speech” for Best Picture Oscar. In fact, the predictions (and the betting odds) have come to favor primarily the same names throughout the categories.

It is difficult to find anyone, critic or blogger, that does not think that “The King’s Speech” will win for best movie of the year at the 2011 Oscar ceremony. There are those who think that “The Social Network” deserves it more, like Matt Holmes at Obsessed With Film, but will not win it. The same goes for the other big categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress.

Even the oddsmakers are predicting wins for “The King’s Speech” as Best Picture. Bodog.com lists all the favorites, with those that many pick as “locks” for wins, like Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.

However, there are a couple of awards that might prove an upset.

One of them could be the Best Director award. Bodog puts David Fincher, director of “The Social Network,” as the most likely winner. This might be the members of the Academy’s way of throwing “The Social Network” a consolation prize. However, David Karger at “Inside Movies” points out that “The King’s Speech” has won the trifecta of guild awards thus far: Directors Guild, Producers Guild, and Screen Actors Guild. He also adds that other movies that have done so in the past have gone on to win Best Picture five out of the six times it has occurred.

The second could be the Best Actress award. Portman has swept all the major awards for this category. She also won Best Female Lead (the same as Best Actress) at the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards. As Paul Sheehan points out at “Gold Derby,” it might just mean a loss for Portman at the Oscars. Why? Because of the 48 Independent Spirit Awards’ acting winners over the years who were also nominated for Oscars for the same role, only 10 have won both. Portman, James Franco (Best Male Lead), John Hawkes (Best Supporting Male) won 2011 Spirit Awards and are nominated for Oscars, but only Portman is expected to win, so a win by the other two (and going against the odds) would really be shockers. Add to that Hollywood favorite Annette Bening (who hasn’t won an Oscar) as a strong contender in Portman’s category for “The Kids Are All Right.”

So are there any real reasons to watch what has in recent years become a long and laborious consumption of over three hours of our time to see the winners turn out to be the 2011 Oscar winners that were predicted? Sure there are. The Oscars are always full of fashion and pageantry, gaffes, crazy and/or funny acceptance speeches, amusing moments, endearing moments, and upsets that keep us interested to the end — which, despite a parade of oddsmakers and critics, both amateur and professional, telling us who the winners will be, could very well include Best Picture.

“Winter’s Bone” or “Toy Story 3” just might win for Best Picture. Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”) could win for Best Actor. Michelle Williams (“Blue Valentine”) could take home the Best Actress trophy. Mark Ruffalo (“The Kids Are All Right”) could win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Seven Reasons Why Twitter is a Great Social Media Tool for Writers

If you haven’t become Twitter-crazy just yet, you may soon find yourself building up a list of tweets to share your thoughts with the world.

Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that makes it easy to capture a few wise words of the day and transmit them to the blogosphere. Since you’re limited to writing only 140 characters on Twitter, you’re left with thinking on very succinct terms – haiku style – and can publish your idea, quip or insights via the web or a text messaging device. If you’re a writer, Twitter is an immensely valuable tool for practicing your craft and building an online reputation. Here are just seven reasons why Twitter is a great application for writers.

  1. Connect with other writers. Perhaps the most obvious reason to use Twitter is to connect with other like-minded folk; even if you’re already on Face book, promoting your work on Stumble Upon or have your own blog, Twitter can be added to your social media list and help you connect with your fans in a fresh new way. Try it. You’ll like it.

  1. Tweets make your thoughts short and sweet. A goal for many writers is paring down their work to a few lines or paragraphs. Thinking in ‘Tweet mode’ means you’re forced to cut down the extra words and deliver your point in 140 characters or less. Sure there are programs out there that can manipulate Twitter and lengthen the limit, or you could just write a series of Tweets and post them in succession. But that just takes the fun out of Twitter, and may even be a violation of Twitter Etiquette. Follow the rules and you’ll sharpen your writing skills in the process.
  2. Every tweet helps you practice the ‘art of articulation’. Articulating a fresh new idea every day is a great habit for writers. Jumpstart your brain into creative mode with just one clever idea, comment or quip, and you’ll set the foundation for a creative day. Make Twitter your daily habit, and you’ll be cranking out words for your articles, blogs or any other creative writing project in no time.
  3. Fresh and simple platform to promote your own work. And recommend others. Twitter gives you a chance to add a URL to each post, so if you have published work to share with your followers, use this as another opportunity to promote, promote and promote. Turn your URL into a ‘tinyURL’ to meet the character limit.
  4. Makes blogs and writers’ websites easily accessible for brainstorming and linking. Love the work of another writer? Find them on Twitter and follow their posts to catch their latest thoughts, URL links and ideas. This is a handy research strategy for content on your own blog, and other writers and bloggers can trackback to your blog if you decide to tweet about it.

  1. Catch random creative ideas and channel them into a tweet. When your creative cup runneth over, Twitter is a great way to channel those ideas and publish them in real-time. Give your brain a break when those creative ideas run well beyond your daily limit, and tweet about them. Sometimes thoughts just need to get out of your system. (Use this one wisely)
  2. Instant gratification of publishing your thoughts to the world. If you’re already blogging, you’ve probably experienced the joy of publishing your ideas and thoughts instantly. Now Twitter lets you do this on a smaller scale, giving you yet another reason to think, write, think, write and write some more, which may helpful to you regarding your concern on how to get instagram followers?

Whether you’re a veteran writer or just starting out with online publishing, Twitter is a great application to practice your skills and get involved with a growing community. It’s free to join, and you can find fellow writers and friends using the handy ‘Find and Follow’ feature.