Are there Oscar parties this year?  Are there Oscar pools?  Will anyone be watching?  Certainly, we will.  And our guess is – so will most of you.

Nevertheless, the 93rd annual Academy Awards is already the strangest in the history of the Oscars.  And that is because the vast majority of moviegoers and Academy voters have watched the vast majority of the 2020 nominees on – TELEVISION!

Perhaps big ass TV screens but the truth is they are TV screens nevertheless.  This begs the question of those who didn’t go that far and waited until awards season to watch these movies on their laptops.  Or worse yet, decided their choice of screen would be the one on their phones.

Do not let anyone tell you cinema is dead.  It’s simply, well, migrated.

And still, the Oscars will persevere at a train station – L.A.’s historic Union Station, to be exact.  This is because you can’t kill Hollywood, the movies, or a good (or bad) old-fashioned American competition.  We want winners and, pandemic be damned, we WILLhave them this year.

What we won’t have are losers because in 2020 and 2021, more than any other years, it was truly an honor just to be….well, just to be.

If you twisted my arm I’d say Nomadland and its director Chloe Zhao have the inside track at best picture.  On the other hand, I have several friends CONVINCED that Promising Young Woman will sneak in as best picture winner and Carey Mulligan will receive the best actress Oscar.

I doubt it but, then again, I’m still predicting (Note:  Well, more rooting for) Andra Day’s brilliant performance in The United States vs. Billie Holiday to pull an upset win in the best actress category and The Trial of the Chicago 7 to demonstrate what I already know – that it was the best new movie of the year seen on a phone, laptop or TV screen worldwide.

This and A LOT, LOT more will be discussed on a special upcoming episode of our new podcast POD FROM A CHAIR where we will unpack the winners, the (ahem) runner- ups, the show in general AND just how thankless a task it can be to predict or even root for anything these days except…..

On second thought, it never hurts to dream.

Judy Garland – “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”