Keep your eye on the little races

If, like most of us, you’ve never won the office Oscar pool, pay attention over the next several weeks. Hollywood’s unfamiliar guilds and unions have started presenting their awards, underpublicized prizes that are often perfect predictors of who will win at the Academy Awards on March 23.

On Saturday, the 1,000 members of the Art Directors Guild hand out trophies for best production design. Because the ADG gives out awards in period and fantasy films, there are twice as many nominees as there are for the Oscars. Last year, the guild picked “Amelie” as best contemporary film and “Moulin Rouge” for best period film, and the latter repeated at the Oscars. Every Academy Award nominee except “Frida” is eligible for the ADG honor this year, so odds don’t favor your selecting the Salma Hayek movie for art direction on your Oscar ballot.

The following night, the 450 members of the American Cinema Editors will present their awards, called the Eddies. Like the art directors, the ACE has two movie categories, drama and comedy or musical. A year ago, the musical award went to “Moulin Rouge’s” Jill Billcock, while the drama prize was awarded to Pietro Scalia for “Black Hawk Down,” who repeated at the Oscars. Among this year’s Academy Awards nominees, only “The Pianist” is not on the ACE shortlist, so chances are it won’t win at the Oscars.

The editors will present lifetime achievement awards to John Burnett (“The Way We Were”) and Tom Rolf (“The Right Stuff”). Kathleen Kennedy (“E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial”) will receive ACE’s filmmaker of the year award. A special award is also being given to author Michael Ondaatje (“The English Patient”) for “journalistic illumination of the art of editing”; Ondaatje wrote a book about legendary editor Walter Murch. The art directors have selected Albert Brenner (“Beaches”) for its lifetime achievement recognition.

-- John Horn