Close competition for best picture Oscar
Posted February 21, 2013 6:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
With only days to go until the 85th Academy Awards, competition remains too close to call for the coveted prize of best picture.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday, that moviegoers thought either Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, or Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables were most most likely to take home the statue — 1,443 people questioned in the United States between Feb. 15 and 19
But in an informal poll of movie fans on the streets of Hollywood, Reuters found strong advocates for all of the nominees.
Ben Affleck’s Argo appeared to be a solid contender, especially since the film has picked up a slew of awards in recent weeks, including best picture at the Golden Globes.
“Ben Affleck has won everything thus far, all the secondary awards if you will from the Golden Globes to the Screen Actors Guild, it has all been Argo. So if I were a betting man, and I am not, I would put my coin on Argo,” said Keith Brownsey, a moviegoer outside the TCL Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
Other movie fans, like Ernie Brownstein, supported their pick for best picture for moral reasons. He said that the message of Silver Linings Playbook needed to be heard.
“We need to be open-minded and deal with some of the mental problems that our society has, that we keep putting off year after year,” Brownstein said.
But while many moviegoers had strong opinions on which movie they wanted to win, many were unsure as to which film would actually walk away with the award. According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll on Wednesday, 41 per cent of people said they didn’t know which movie would win on Sunday.
And only 17 per cent of those polled thought top-contenders Lincoln and Les Miserables would win the Oscar, with Argo coming in third place with eight per cent.
Django Unchained and Life of Pi tied with four per cent.
