BLUBOX OSCAR PICKS

As long as Paris Hilton has enjoyed a charge account at Barneys, Blubox has been making Oscar Predictions. But now, after decades of insight unrewarded, it looks like we could actually get paid for our divine Oscar-winner picking powers.

That's right. We made a wager with the folks at lockhartsteele.com that Mystic River would be nominated for Best Picture while Lost In Translation would be shut out. LS bet the opposite would happen. Now we shall see who will be out five dollars.

My ace reputation as an Oscar prognosticator derives not from my deftness judging the quality of each film. In fact, I've heard mixed reviews about Mystic River. In fact, I've never even seen Mystic River.

That's the beauty of predicting The Oscars: seeing the movies isn't necessary. When we were young we would root for which film we thought was the best, but the annual agony of watching obviously better films get shafted led us to a sense of emotional deattachment that made us the skilled predictor we are today.

When you can start making assumptions based on prior voting tendencies, you know you need help. On that note, here are my Oscar Picks for 2003.

Best Picture

Mystic River
Cold Mountain
Lord Of The Rings
Seabiscuit
Master and Commander

Winner: Lord Of The Rings

Best Director: Peter Jackson

Best Actor: Sean Penn

Best Actress: Nicole Kidman

Best Original Screenplay: Lost In Translation

Best Adapted Screenplay: Cold Mountain