Should the bookmakers shut down the market for Best Picture at the Oscars? At the turn of the year, Steven Spielberg’s historical-epic Lincoln was the odds-on favorite to win the prestigious prize – its lead star Daniel Day-Lewis has always been the frontrunner to win Best Actor. Those odds strengthened when Ben Affleck was snubbed entirely by the Academy for the award of Best Director. Then a strange thing started happening. Ben Affleck began winning every directorial award. Argo began winning every Best Picture award. Golden Globes and SAG’s began to pile up and Affleck won the top film honour for the Director’s Guild of America on Saturday (February 2, 2013). Pretty much every DGA recipient has gone on to claim the major prize at Hollywood’s biggest night. Still think Lincoln is going to win Best Picture? Then please, go ahead and help yourself to generous odds of 5/1 with the bookmakers, who are offering pathetically short prices on Ben Affleck getting up on-stage on February 24, 2013. It seems Affleck’s Oscar snub has not hurt his Iranian-hostage movie and may have won it several votes as the plucky underdog. “I don’t think that this makes me a real director, but I think it means I’m on my way,” said Affleck following his win at the weekend.
