With the Baftas now over, our resident statisticians have finally completed the painstaking task of preparing our patent-pending Oscars predictor for its final edition. So who does the predictor predict? Somewhat predictably, it's those chaps in chaps who look a dead cert to slope off into the Californian sunset, shiny statuettes glinting in their saddlebags, writes Guy Dammann.
Our predictor gives the celebrated cowboy romance a solid six-and-a-half points, leaving mountains to climb for its nearest rival, Crash, which has a modest two points. Of course there's always room for the provisory "don't count your chickens", but the most appropriate thing to count now would seem to be sheep, so smooth and, well, featureless looks the film's gongland path, with all evidence suggesting that the voting herd have been put under the film world's equivalent of a three-line whip.
With bookies' odds now ranging between 1:4 and 1:8 odds-on, you'd be hard pushed to get more than a new polyester tie in return for putting your shirt on Brokeback Mountain. For anyone willing to take a risky bet on the other contenders, of course, that's good news, especially considering last year's Million Dollar upset: in our hitherto infallible predictor, Clint's boxing drama scored a solitary single point against The Aviator's soaring six. Mr Eastwood will only be presenting and not receiving an Oscar on March 5, but if you feel lucky, punt, and it might just make your day.
