Oscar Nominees: Best Original Screenplay

My predictions: 4/5, missing “The Messenger”
My ballot: 2/5
The nominees: The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, The Messenger, A Serious Man, Up

So it turns out that those Globe-nominated comedies and box-office successes like “500 Days of Summer” and ‘The Hangover” couldn’t make it into this category, and instead they’re edged out by a tiny, tiny indie instead of what will become, by the end of the week, the highest-grossing film ever in the United States. Don’t worry about the Best Picture chances for “Avatar” being diminished, however, since “Titanic” won the big prize without a nomination in this category. Critics of the story in the big-budget sci-fi epic will likely be happy that it’s not here. In any case, this is one fantastic lineup of nominees representing some fascinating original stories.

My current bet to win: Inglourious Basterds