Sordid glory. Would you call that the defining trait of writer Joe Eszterhas’ distinctive body of work? After all, this is the man who cooked up Basic Instinct, Sliver and Showgirls in his steamy, body-filled kitchen. Most screenwriters dawdle in obscurity, even if their creative juice results in a colossal hit, but Eszterhas gained notoriety…

At the very first heartbeat of this outrageously original and beautiful movie, I was hypnotized and hooked.

Time once again for my extremely reliable, one hundred percent accurate Oscar predictions! If you want the short version, scroll right down to the end, where I recap all my predictions in a tidy column. If you want to read about the whys and wherefores and let me hedge my bets a bit, as well…