HSX Nominoptions

HSX floated Nominoptions last week. Nominoptions are options for betting on who will be nominated for an Oscar. There are options in eight categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the Acting categories. There are 12 Nominoptions in each category, for a total of 96. The hottest one so far is for Heath Ledger to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor for playing The Joker in Dark Knight. I'm sure he'll be nominated; apart from the sympathy vote, he simply played one of the best villians in the history of cinema.

Trading will be halted at 9 pm EST on January 21, in anticipation of the nominations being announced on January 22. That's two days after the Inaugural! That's going to be an exciting week.

I love Nominoptions because, first of all, it's a fun word to say, and second, because they represent Hollywood gossip in its purest, most raw, unadulterated form. Gossipy gossip at its gossipiest. Rumor, innuendo, hearsay, dreams and delusions of grandeur. Ridiculous ad campaigns for nobodies with a chance, or even famous stars with even less of a chance. Inflated egos, fingers crossed, thousands of people obsessively reading the tea leaves of obscure critics' awards, hoping for a sign of great things to come.

Then there are the denials, the dismissals, the absurd protestations of "Oh, I just don't care," "I'm excited just to be in a great movie with so many wonderful people," "It's all about the work," "I would be thrilled, of course, but there are so many wonderful writers/directors/actors/actresses/movies out there right now, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda . . . "

Some of which protestations might actually be true. Some of them actually mean it when they say they were excited to be in a great movie with lots of wonderful people. Others might be cynical enough not to care about winning an award. Others mights actually be secure enough not to worry about whether or not they are going to win an award. And still others know that they really aren't that great, they just look really good on screen, but they're thrilled to be making a lot of money playing around at being other people, and they have come to terms with that a long time ago, so they really do know that they don't stand a chance in hell at winning an award against people with real talent, and they're fine with that because they're married with great kids and they drive a nice car and live in a nice house and don't have any debt because they're actually decent, responsible people.

This last is a rare breed, but they do exist.

And then there are the people who actually deserve it. And some of them will be nominated. And some of them will deserve the award that they will win. And some people will think that all of the hype and nonsense and wailing and gnashing of teeth and bruised and battered egos and superficiality and obsession with fashion and who wore what will be worth it, because at the end of the day there are a few movies - just a very few - that come out every year that make you go "wow."

And one of those people who think it's all worth it will be me.