I need to clarify something for those who don’t read the comment threads, or didn’t read them yesterday. I was criticized last night for failing to accurately read the significance of The King’s Speech getting 12 nominations vs. The Social Network getting 8. I’m aware that The Social Network couldn’t hope to compete in certain below-the-line realms (including Best Supporting Actress, production design, etc.) that The King’s Speech, being a British period piece about the royals with a strong supporting female, would probably be recognized for.

So yeah, I got that. Take away those smaller categories and the nomination tallies for the two films are roughly even.

What I also know is that the mice scurried and the world tumbled yesterday morning when people considered the difference between 12 nominations for TKS and 8 nominations for TSN. Nobody thought it through — they just fled like fools over to TKS. The TSN-favoring Gurus of Gold roster, made up of pros who are supposed to have a veneer of sophistication about this game, took one look and folded for TKS, to a man. Not one of them held their ground. And that’s what I was responding to yesterday, why I felt so effin’ gloomy. One minute I was savoring a clear blue sky and a morning cappucino with my hot Czech girlfriend in an outdoor cafe in Wenceslas Square, and the next minute….Soviet tanks!

The winds will shift again when TSN director David Fincher wins (as expected) his DGA award on 1.29, and when TSN screenwriter Aaron Sorkin picks up his adapted screenplay WGA award on 2.5. And if the Sorkin or Fincher wins don’t happen, then the game will be pretty much over.