text: This Sunday, the movie industry's biggest annual awarding ceremony is going to take place. Movies like Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, The Hurt Locker, and Precious are expected to win several of the coveted golden bald statues.
  But is the Academy a good guideline for cultural relevance? In 1968, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey lost Best Picture and Best Director to Oliver! the neverending orphan musical. While I have nothing against Oliver!, musicals, or orphans, I just can't remember any scene in that movie that is anwhere near as striking as an opening introduction of apes beating each other with a stick while "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" thunders in the background.
  Who votes in these awards anyway? Well, the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, that's who. These are the people who gave Titanic 11 wins. That's another example why it's hard to take the Oscars seriously. Videomatica knows this, and this is why they are hosting the Alternative Oscars Contest.
  There are eleven categories in their Alternative Oscars, ranging from Best Picture to Worst Picture to the coveted Best Non-Human Actor. You can clearly see why this is much more fun that the actual Oscars, so vote now before polls close at March 7. Besides, just for voting, you are eligible to win some great entertainment-related prizes, like a $100 gift certificate to Bistrot Bistro.
  PS If you win that prize, please consider writing a review for us, specifically on the topic of how $100 worth of beef bourguignon tastes like.