In an hour, Katie and I are headed to the movie theater to take part in the our yearly epic Oscar Movie Showcase.  It’ll be the third (consecutive) year that we’ve decided to do it, subjecting ourselves to the glory of watching five movies in one theatre on one day.  I think that Frost/Nixon closes out the evening for us around 11:50 PM.

That’s pretty much it for today, but I thought I’d answer some frequently asked questions that you have.

Are you crazy?  That’s so many movies to sit through!
I know!  Isn’t it great?  It’s a little crazy but not crazy enough.  The theatre’s usually pretty full and anyone can leave anytime they want.  It’s a great experience, though, and it’s a great way to get pumped for the Oscars tomorrow.

Does your butt get numb?
A bit, but movie theater seats are pretty comfy and you get short breaks in between each movie, as well as a longer dinner break between movies 3 and 4.  Besides, I practice by sitting for 8 hours each day at work.

So if you’ve seen some of them, you just rewatch them?
Yes, except I got lucky this year.  I haven’t seen any of them yet!  Katie’s seen Benjamin Button, but that’s it.  In fact, since we started going to the showcase, we’ve started to avoid watching potential Oscar Best Picture nominees through the year.  Between both of us, we’ve only ever watched one of the five films all three years.  For reference, it was Little Miss Sunshine and Juno the two previous years.  And I could watch Juno as many times as you play it front of me.

How do I win my Oscar pool?
Don’t be swayed by your emotional attachment to the films.  Don’t predict too many upsets, especially this year.  Don’t get last minute jitters and change all of your votes.  And, in most places, vote for Slumdog to take home the statuette.

Do you believe that the best film of the year always wins the Oscar?
No way.  There are so many independent films that get released yearly and there is so much campaigning and politicking around the Oscars themselves that it’d be impossible to say that they always award the actual “Best Picture.”  Heck, sometimes the “real” Best Picture may not even be nominated.  The academy does an admirable job, however, of highlighting some pretty good movies usually, even if their tastes from year to year seem to stay similar.

Oh, do you get any perks at this showcase thing?
Heck yeah!  Free popcorn, all day.  And a collectible lanyard thing!  There’s also trivia in the theater in between movies where you can win posters and stuff, but it’s pretty random and haphazard who gets called on to answer.

All right, I’m off for 13+ hours of quality cinema and will attempt to not let me personal feelings cloud my Oscar pool picks, which are already pretty well solidified.