No sooner had the Grammys wrapped up last Sunday, and then we get the nominations for the Oscars.

Is it just me, or do these once-respected Awards Shows all want to become the People’s Choice Awards Show? In reviewing the Grammy Winners from earlier this week, it appeared that the winners just happened to be the highest selling artists of the year. So, in essence, it is the People’s Choice Award. And, really, if the people give you most of their entertainment dollar, isn’t that better than some award?

The reason is obvious: ratings for the awards show. The thinking goes that the more popular musicians bring more viewers to the broadcast, which increases the ratings. And you can’t blame them for thinking that: because this year’s telecast was the highest for a Grammy broadcast since 2004.

You may be aware that the Motion Picture Academy changed the rules this year to have 10 nominations in the best picture category, instead of the usual 5 nominations. The reasoning for this, according to industry insiders, is to allow more “art house pictures” to gain recognition. And by “art house pictures”, they mean any film that cost less to make than “Avatar”.

And speaking of “Avatar”, director James Cameron just picked up his own version of the People’s Choice Award, by making more money in history than any other film, including his own “Titanic”. Because of that, perhaps “Avatar” is the film to beat this year for Best Picture Oscar.