Because popularity doesn't negate quality - Warner Bros goes the distance for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II Oscar love.

Warner Bros. is going full-force with their Oscar hopes for the final Harry Potter film, as evidenced by the above trailer, a 44-page booklet included with this week's Hollywood Reporter, and their official website, which features a list of 'for your consideration' categories and samples of Alexandre Desplat's moody score.  I'm actually torn on this one, as while I certainly believe that the series overall deserves some kind of Oscar acknowledgement for its accomplishments, the eighth film in the series is not anywhere near my favorite of the series.  Having said that, had the Academy kept the ten-nominee rule, the film would have been all-but guaranteed a Best Picture nomination.  And I'm convinced that the change to however its going to work this year was a specific change from elitist Academy members in order to prevent 'popular entertainments' such as this one, an overwhelming majority of positive reviews aside, from getting Oscar love.  So it does indeed look like we'll have another batch of Best Picture contenders that are merely 'appropriate' Oscar bait, regardless of how audiences and critics actually felt about them (The Reader and Revolutionary Road both have lower 'Tomato Meter' scores than Tower Heist and Snakes on a Plane).  If only for that absurd ideology ("Eeek!  People saw and liked it... it's not worthy!"), I kinda hope that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II sneaks into the final 5-10 anyway.

Scott Mendelson