The Very Last Awards Post. Ever.

kidding, obviously. Here's three pieces of awardage that I'm actually involved with.

FILM BITCH AWARDS Now in their 7th year. My own baby comes at you piecemeal. I know it seems like slowgoing but I do have a life ("of sorts," he said with a sigh) --more very soon.

CINEMARATI The Web Alliance For Film Commentary will begin their always fascinating Top 20 countdown this weekend. Each movie comes with a pro and a dissent --a ready made conversation/argument starter. I promise it's worth a look.

SOAP This is a newly formed organization (that's short for "Society for Online Awards Prognostication") spearheaded by Scott Feinberg of And The Winner Is... SOAP includes myself and 10 other Oscar analysts, some of whom you undoubtedly already read if you're an awards junkie. These nominees are based on personal ballots of the members i.e. our collective choices rather than predictions. The winners will be announced on February 21st. Here are the five nominees for the major categories (there are six if there were any ties):

Best Picture: Children of Men, The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, Pan's Labyrinth, The Queen, United 93

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth), Stephen Frears (The Queen), Paul Greengrass (United 93), Martin Scorsese (The Departed)

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed), Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking), Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson), Peter O'Toole (Venus), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)

Best Actress: Penelope Cruz (Volver), Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada), Kate Winslet (Little Children)

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children), Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls), Jack Nicholson (The Departed), Michael Sheen (The Queen)

Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal), Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls), Rinko Kikuchi (Babel), Meryl Streep (A Prairie Home Companion)

Regarding the technical and special prizes, I'm horrified to see that my colleagues are enamored of Apocalypto (which received a too many tech nods) but otherwise there's some cool honors and I like that Children of Men did well. Check the full list out if you're interested.