Oscar Index: Help is on the Way
It's a little difficult for the specialists at Movieline's Institute for the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics to come into work these days, what with the pall of predictability settling in over the awards landscape and the painstaking studies into backlash physics yielding less and less of practical substance. What's a frustrated kudologist to do? Besides drink for the next four weeks straight, I mean. Let's look for ideas and encouragement for all in this week's Oscar Index.

The Final 9:
1. The Artist
2. The Help
3. Hugo
4. The Descendants
5. Midnight in Paris
6. Moneyball
7. The Tree of Life
8. The Daldry
9. War Horse
The Artist followed up its ostensible Oscar-clinching Producers Guild win with triumphs at last weekend's Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild awards -- sort of. Michel Hazanavicius did somewhat soundly establish his front-running creds over sentimental favorite Martin Scorsese, supplementing along the way his film's chances in Best Picture. And Jean Dujardin nabbed SAG's Best Actor prize over presumed favorite George Clooney, further reinforcing The Artist's standing among actors.
But then, also at SAG, came The Help -- first with Viola Davis taking a commanding lead over Meryl Streep (and thus Harvey Weinstein, the season's resident awards Merlin who distributed The Iron Lady and, of course, The Artist) in Best Actress and, more surprisingly, The Help swiping Best Picture to close out the night. Factor in Octavia Spencer expected Supporting Actress sweep, and you'll spot all the signs of a surge stirring where it matters the most: in the Academy's Actors Branch, the most populous voting bloc in an organization whose final Oscar ballots just went out today. Nice timing, there.
Still: Does it matter? Maybe so,…
Source: http://www.celebrities.com/celebrities-gossip/oscar-index-help-is-on-the-way/
Emma Heming Emma Stone Emma Watson Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Vaugier Emmy Rossum Erica Leerhsen Erika Christensen