At this stage MCN’s Gurus of Gold charts are supposed to be predicting likely nominees for the Best Picture Oscar, even though we all know that Guru charts are not only a conversation point but a conversation driver. You know, I know and they know that Guru charts have a way of pushing the notion of this or that Best Picture favorite into people’s heads. And yet The Gurus always pretend they’re sitting in the bleachers and watching the rodeo and predicting which cowboys will be thrown off their horses and which will score the most points when in fact they are the rodeo as much as anything or anyone else. They’re right down there in the dust, riding those broncos and those steers and scraping their shins and knuckles.