George Clooney, say the bookmakers at Ladbrokes, is the favourite to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards this year. They give 5/6 odds on him picking up the wee man for his turn in The Descendents.

But before you go rooting around for loose change to start laying down some Queens on the Clooney, in search of that small but apparently likely return, check out the other three contenders that Ladbrokes have at the front of the pack:
  • Jean Dujardin for The Artist - 2/1
  • Leonardo Di Caprio for J. Edgar - 3/1
  • Brad Pitt for Moneyball - 8/1
My hunch is that Dujardin will take it. I'm expecting a lot of play for The Artist at the Oscars, in fact. But that's based on precisely nothing but guesswork.

We're still to get the nominations, and there's typically some surprises in there. And I never really allow myself to be certain, not until the envelope opens.

There's a lot of people out there guessing how the Oscars are going to go. The difference with Ladbrokes is that you could stand to make a lot of money if they guess wrong.

I'd love to hear if any of you actually place a bet. My strategy has been to bet something on the people I really don't want to see win. That way, if they do, I get a consolation prize. This year I'll be betting one everybody who isn't Bret McKenzie or one of his Muppet collaborators in the original song category. My horse in this race is made of felt and has a hand up its rear end, in case you hadn't noticed.

The Academy Award nominations are announced on January 24th with the ceremony set for February 26th.