“To be a consistently strong Oscar prognosticator — someone like Fandango’s Dave Karger, Deadline’s Pete Hammond, The Wrap’s Steve Pond, InContention’s Kris Tapley or me — you have to watch everything (dozens if not hundreds of contending films), know your history (familiarizing yourself with lots of older movies and the dynamics of past Oscar races), show up everywhere (there are rubber-chicken dinners and awards ceremonies almost every week), build relationships (with talent, awards strategists, publicists, voters) and know what and who is and isn’t worth factoring into your projections. It’s a full-time job, though it doesn’t look as if ESPN’s Nate Silver, with his expanding empire, intends to treat it as such.” — Hollywood Reporter Oscar-season columnist Scott Feinberg in 7.22 piece.