Amid Holiday Season, Hollywood Hypes Top Films

Dec. 15, 2006 — -- For most of us mere mortals, the Academy Awards are a night to celebrate the best actors, actresses and films of the year. For the gods of the entertainment industry, however, the Oscars are a season.

This year's nominations are more than a month away, and Oscar night isn't until February, but already the Hollywood machine is generating buzz and gearing up for its annual hunt for Oscar.

"Dreamgirls," "The Departed" and "Little Miss Sunshine" are some of the films in a long list of likely contenders to reach the finish line this year, but, at this point, all bets are off.

So what is it about the Oscars that whips people into a frenzy?

New York Times media columnist and Oscar aficionado David Carr offers his insights, tricks of the trade, and the glamorous and not-so-glamorous truth behind the Academy Awards.

"I'm a newcomer to the red carpet," Carr said. "I've covered city politics in some rugged cities. But there is nothing more ferocious than that red carpet. Like those little fashion reporters, they don't mind dropping a heel right into your soft shoe or a sharp elbow into your beer gut. … You better come to play."

Carr is a relative newbie to the Oscar scene; this is only his second year writing his Carpetbagger blog. He describes himself as a film fanatic, but not one who is governed by anything more than his own personal preference.

"I like great big popcorn movies like 'The Departed,' where you just sit down with the jumbo bucket of corn and dig in. I like complicated, intricate movies like 'Traffic' or this year's 'The Fountain,'" he said. "I don't go to movies to learn, I go to be entertained. … I want something that is a completely immersing experience, where I am transported to another place. What movies have always done, which is to take you away, drop you down in unfamiliar territory and fill you with awe."