It began with In Contention‘s Kristopher Tapley triggering a major flabbergast by saying, “Speaking for myself, I think War Horse wins the lion’s share. Including pic/dir.” Awards Daily‘s Sasha Stone: “You think it’s going to WIN Best Picture???” Tapley: “I do, yes.” Wells insert: “Double whoa.”

And then MSN’s Glenn Kenny joined in: “I haven’t even seen War Horse (and may not!) but will bet real money right now it will not win Best Picture.” Tapley: “Why’s that?” Kenny: “Unlike Saving Private Ryan, its antiwar fervor doesn’t tap into a resonant zeitgeist theme (in Ryan’s case, ‘greatest generation’).” Tapley: “Hmmm, that’s debatable.” Kenny: “Making Academy members cry won’t suffice. It needs to be a massive pop cult phenom as well. I say it won’t.

And then Mr. Beaks (i.e., Jeremy Smith) chimed in: “Hi! I’ve not seen War Horse yet! Care to shut up about it?” Wells to Beaks: “Tough titty. Nobody shuts up about anything on Twitter…nobody.”