Oscar poll: Can ‘The Social Network’ still win best picture?

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Now that most Oscarologists are piling on ‘The King’s Speech’ bandwagon, predicting it will win best picture easily on Feb. 27, should they be believed? Just two weeks ago, they were all agreed that ‘The Social Network’ was a shoo-in.

BEST ARGUMENT FOR ‘KING’S SPEECH’: It just won best ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which is the guild’s equivalent to a best picture prize. It also won the top award from the directors’ and producers’ guilds. They all share voters with the motion picture academy, so it’s logical to assume that they’ll vote the same way at the Oscars.

BEST ARGUMENT FOR ‘THE SOCIAL NETWORK’: It’s already won the most best picture awards bestowed by the film critics, National Board of Review and the Golden Globes. It’s cool and edgy, saying profound things about today’s Facebook era. Oscar voters have finally gotten hip in recent years, ditching their old preference for historical dramas for gritty contemporary films like ‘The Hurt Locker,’ ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘No Country for Old Men.’

-- Tom O’Neil