Oscar picks: Critic calls long shot in top feature race

BY GENE TRIPLETT

Fact is giving fiction a run for its money in this year’s Oscar race, with four of the 10 Best Picture nominees based on true stories and real people.
Biopics of a pair of boxing brothers and a canyoneering survivor were good box office bets on critics’ tip sheets in 2010, but true tales of an Internet innovator and a stammering king are the odds-on favorites in this year’s run for Academy gold.
Here’s how this Oklahoma critic is calling the winners during Sunday night’s moments of truth at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre.

In this film publicity image released by The Weinstein Company, Colin Firth portrays King George VI in "The King's Speech." (AP Photo/The Weinstein Company, Laurie Sparham) ORG XMIT: NYET301

Best picture

Gene says: A few weeks ago, one didn’t need a computer to figure the odds favored “The Social Network,” the superbly crafted movie screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher made out of Ben Mezrich’s bestselling book, “The Accidental Billionaires,” about the creation of the most powerful electronic narcotic to sweep the world since the advent of the Internet itself. Just like everyone else, most Academy voters are probably Facebook junkies by now, and the story of the gifted geek who invented it is too timely–and the film too well-acted, well-written and utterly intriguing–to be ignored.
You would think.

In this publicity image released by Columbia Pictures, Jesse Eisenberg, left, and Joseph Mazzello are shown in a scene from "The Social Network." The film was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best picture, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. The Golden Globe awards will air live Jan. 16 on NBC. (AP Photo/Columbia Pictures, Merrick Morton) ORG XMIT: NYET802

Best actor