Oscars Betting - Best Director and Best Picture

The Oscars used to be all about the stars. The acting categories were considered the most important because everybody wanted to know which celebrities would show up wearing what and which actors and actresses would take home the golden statues.

The actors and actresses are still stars but because Hollywood has continued to increase individual director’s popularities by concentrating on the directors when marketing films and because the notion remains that the director is the reason a film is good or not, the Best Director and Best Picture categories have gone to the forefront for online sportsbook Oscar betting fans.

Let’s take a look at both of these categories!

Best Director and Best Picture Betting Odds Analysis for the 81st Oscars

Best Director: The nominees are- -

Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire -350

David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button +400

Gus Van Sant – Milk +1200

Stephen Daldry – The Reader +1600

Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon +1000

There’s been some push back regarding Slumdog Millionaire, the obvious choice for Best Picture, for me to question Boyle’s chances. I still think he’s the favorite, but there’s been enough bad talk about the film for me to go with someone else in this category. Ron Howard really doesn’t have a shot because he’s won one of these and he’s a safe pick while Hollywood right now is itchy to be daring. Stephen Daldry is the biggest long shot on the board for a reason. Gus Van Sant turns some Academy voters’ stomachs. He has no shot. The choice is David Fincher who has made some brilliant films in the past and also brings in the bucks. He’s the bet at +400.

Pick: David Fincher at +400 for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Picture: The nominees are - -

Slumdog Millionaire -300

The Curios Case of Benjamin Button +325

Milk +550

Frost/Nixon +1000

The Reader +1200

Will the pushback against Slumdog Millionaire turn it from a sure thing into a loser on Oscar night? The pushback has to do with Boyle and the production crew not paying some of the kids they used in the film enough money to get them off of the streets of Mumbai, India. According to Boyle, that’s not the case. I don’t know. Hollywood hates when white directors exploit poor people. I’m beginning to think that as good as the film is it won’t be able to overcome the bad press. Even if Boyle is correct about how well the children were treated, the story is out there. So, I’m looking elsewhere. The Reader doesn’t have the stones to win this. Frost/Nixon is pretty much a play transferred to a movie set. That leaves the Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Milk. I liked Benjamin Button but it was sort of like watching a more odder Forrest Gump and it was way too long. Can the small film about one of California’s most important historical figures, Harvey Milk, take him the Oscar? I think it can. I’m betting on Milk to win.

Pick: Milk at +550 to win Best Picture

Good Luck!