"Lincoln."

Credit: DreamWorks Studios

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In these final days of voting, the last thing you want is headlines like "The Oscar for Best Fabrication," yet the already ailing "Lincoln" got saddled with that in a Maureen Dowd op-ed that was the weekend's most talked-about Oscar piece. Seems this story of a Connecticut congressman taking issue with some artistic license taken by Tony Kushner, essentially switching the 13th Amendment vote of the state's House members, won't go away. Kushner, who had the error pointed out to him at an early stage by one of the film's historical advisors, continues to defend his position, saying, "History doesn’t always organize itself according to the rules of drama." Congressman Joe Courtney continues to push for the error to be amended in the film before it is integrated into school syllabi across the country. What do you think? [New York Times]

Daniel Miller on the story that's been surprisingly underplayed this season: the extraordinary global box office of "Life of Pi," which dwarfs that of all its Oscar rivals. [LA Times]

Alice Rawsthorn wishes, as I've always done, for a Best Title Sequence Oscar -- and thinks "Argo" would be the worthy winner. [New York Times] 

In the wake of "Argo"'s WGA win, Jon Weisman wonders what film, if any, is best positioned to upset. [The Vote]

Oscar-nominated songwriter J. Ralph explains why Scarlett Johansson was the first person he thought of to sing his "Chasing Ice" theme, "Before My Time." [Gold Derby] 

"Argo" isn't up for the Best Costume Design Oscar, though it arguably should be -- and it'll contender for the Guild award tomorrow. Chris Laverty goes in-depth with designer Jacqueline West. [Clothes on Film]

Vanessa Thorpe proiles the British film school graduates taking on Disney in the animated short race with their film "Head Over Heels." (You can watch the film, too.) [The Guardian]

Scott Feinberg sits down with Tim Burton to talk about "Frankenweenie" and his storied relationship with Disney. Could this underdog come to life on Oscar night? [The Race]

Nathaniel Rakich looks over the categories ripest for an upset on Oscar night. [Baseballot] 

Peter Knegt reports on the excellent box office perormance of Chilean Oscar nominee "No." It won't get the Oscar on Sunday, but distributor Sony Classics wins either way. [IndieWire]

Guy Lodge
Critic

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Guy Lodge is a South African-born critic and sometime screenwriter. In addition to his work at In Contention, he is a freelance contributor to Variety, Time Out, Empire and The Guardian. He lives well beyond his means in London.