October
27 Blockbuster movies vie for Oscar credibility

Will this be the year major studios make a triumphant return to Oscar glory? Among the campaigns now being mounted are those for Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight," Walt Disney/Pixar's "Wall-E" and Paramount Pictures' "Iron Man" -- bona fide blockbusters all. Notes Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes, the timing is excellent since the Academy is aching to give the show "a more commercially popular flavor. In part the academy’s producers will do that by including glimpses of the year’s box office favorites, whether or not they are nominated for prizes." Last year’s show was the least watched on record, with about 32 million viewers in the United States. The highest rating was 55.3 million in 1998, when the highest grossing movie of all time, "Titanic," swept the awards. [NYT]

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