Oscars Too Close to Call Between Avatar, Hurt Locker

James Cameron may be dreaming of another king of the world speech at the Academy Awards this Sunday in Hollywood, but the Avatar director faces being usurped from the throne – by his ex-wife.

Sports Interaction, the first online sportsbook licensed and registered in North America, opened its Oscar betting with Avatar as an odds-on favorite. There was no way it couldn’t win, according to Sports Interaction betting analyst, Frank Doyle.

“Avatar is a revolutionary movie – an evolutionary jump in the technology, and naturally the Academy would like to acknowledge that evolutionary jump when it happens,” says Doyle. “Also, the fact it’s grossed over two billion dollars and counting worldwide hardly went un-noticed either.”

But Sports Interaction has seen a lot of money come in on Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, which has sensationally overtaken Avatar as favorite for Best Picture. The race is now too close to call as far as Doyle is concerned.

“It’s neck and neck and will go down to the wire. It might even split, with one getting Picture and the other getting Director. And now we have this latest controversy about the source material for Locker adding to the excitement, all making for some very exiting betting.”

Best Picture is just one of sixteen categories on which Sports Interaction has posted Oscar odds. “Looking at the rest of the markets, Avatar versus Locker for Best Picture is the closest race, as every other category has very hot favorites – Jeff Bridges for Best Actor, Mo’Nique for Best Supporting Actress, and so on,” says Doyle. “It’s a fun thing we like to do every year. We even post odds on the Razzies, for the worst pictures of the year. Hey, we quote NFL odds on the Lions, don’t we?”