Musical 'Les Miz' Vs. Osama Bin Laden Movie 'Zero Dark Thirty' As Best Picture In Next Year'S Oscar Derby

THE BIG SCREEN version of “Les Miserables”, one of our favorite stage musicals, is getting positive reviews. It stars Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert and Anne Hathaway as Fantine. But looks like it has a slim chance of winning best picture in the Oscars. They have a better chance in the Golden Globes which has a best picture, musical or comedy, category.

This early, turning out to be the favorite of most award-giving bodies is “Zero Dark Thirty”, a docu-drama showing how Osama Bin Laden was apprehended and killed, with Jessica Chastain (nominated for last year’s “The Help”) a shoo in for the best actress awards (dashing the hopes of Anne Hathaway as Fantine) for her role as Maya, the operative through whose eyes the whole mission in capturing Bin Laden is seen. This is similar to Claire Danes’ role as the CIA agent in “Homeland” that won her the Emmy best actress award a few months ago.

“Zero Dark Thirty” is from the same team that made the Oscar best pic winner “The Hurt Locker”, Director Kathryn Bigelow (ex-wife of James Cameron) and screenwriter Mark Boal. “Hurt Locker” bested Cameron’s “Avatar” that year.