Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin host the (something annual) Academy Awards at 5 p.m. Sunday on ABC. It should be a big test for the industry’s most celebrated award show. While some see the 10-nominee Best Picture race as detrimental to the Academy’s reputation as the authority on quality filmmaking, others believe the stuffed category will boost ratings for the fledgling ceremony telecast.

Those are discussions for other days. For now, let’s focus on the big night: Who will win, and perhaps more importantly, who should win. On with the predictions!

Best Picture
The most heated battle of the night comes down to mega-blockbuster “Avatar” and the low-budget war drama “The Hurt Locker.” The two films couldn’t be any more different. One is good, and the other is an overblown rip-off of “Pocahontas” with cool special effects.

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The Mayans may peg the end of the world for 2012, but the pop culture apocalypse  seems to be here today.

I don’t know about you, but I’m perplexed by the recent events in the world of entertainment. NBC doesn’t know what to do about Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. "Spider-man" is getting a "gritty" reboot. Simon Cowell is leaving "American Idol." And Sarah Palin is joining Fox News.

Actually, that last one makes perfect sense.

Let’s digest this one by one, shall we?

I don’t know what to make of the whole Leno-O’Brien thing, especially since new developments seem to come in every hour. Conan is the more talented performer, and I respect how he rejected the proposed "Tonight Show" move to 12:05 a.m. (might as well call it the "Early Today Show").

I say cut Leno loose, and give Conan a real chance in the 11:35 timeslot. Seems sort of obvious to me, but I’m no network executive. By the time this article runs, those guys will probably switch the timeslots three more times.

Perhaps stranger than the Late Night TV debacle, Sony Pictures announced the cancellation of "Spider-man 4," with director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire leaving the franchise for good.

While it’s not a big surprise for the millions of people unhappy with "Spider-man 3," the fourth installment was previously set to start shooting as early as next month. Script conflicts prompted the cancellation, and now Sony is planning a "modern, gritty" reboot to the franchise pegged for 2012.

I call blasphemy!

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