There are lots and lots of Oscar fanatics, myself included, who are counting on Avatar to be a Best Picture nominee despite the fact that no one has seen it. And even before the Oscar nomination process really gets going, there are smaller awards bodies that are taking the Avatar hype to the bank. Director James Cameron will be receiving three awards for Avatar over the next month, according to Variety: the New York Women in Film and Television Muse Award, the Santa Barbara Film Festival's modern master award, and the Visual Effects Society's lifetime achievement award.

Is it ridiculous to be handing out prizes timed to movie that may or may not be any good? Sure. But awards bodies can do what they like with their prizes, and clearly all three of these groups have decided to hitch their wagon to the latest hype machine rather than strike out and reward a more tested property. It's hard to argue that Cameron isn't deserving of the VES nod, given his pioneering work in CGI, but also impossible to ignore the award's timing. You could get all upset about the meaninglessness of awards, I suppose, but that means the entire Oscar house of cards falls down. Better to just let Cameron collect his trophies and move on with it.