Plus, there's that whole men lovin' men thing, which despite conservative yahoos' misconceptions, probably doesn't sit too well with the old Hollywood establishment guys who make up the majority of the motion picture academy's members.
But how slim are these alternative pickins to what is, let's face it, the most emotionally intelligent film of the year?
A month ago, there was some hope King Kong could be a best picture contender. But when the great, undiscerning mass moviegoing audience decided they preferred Talking Jesus Lion to Big Monkey Love, that was the end of that.
Those who waste so much of their lives handicapping the Oscar race from sometime around June each year had annointed Munich the sight-unseen one to beat for months. Then people saw it, and it was even more controversial than Brokeback. Plus, it had a sex scene that was 100 times ickier than anything two men could ever do together onscreen.
So much for the (now empty) big guns. Smart indie contenders, then.
Capote? Uh, makes them cowboys look awfully manly.
Constant Gardener? A key character turns out to be gay when you least expect it.
Good Night, And Good Luck? Not actually gay (unless you're counting McCarthy's staff), but how come we only ever see those CBS guys all hanging out with each other? Plus, it's in black and white.
A History of Violence? David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen kissed each other at the Golden Globes. It's dead.
So, that leaves us with . . . Oh, here's one. Crash. Moving up in the guild nominations. Writer-director Paul Haggis got overlooked last year for his Million Dollar Baby script, so he's owed. Plus, he had a heart attack while filming this labor of love project (inside industry sentimentality points). And it's about that hard-hitting subject, prejudice, in good ol' hometown L.A. - but there's not a single gay character in it!
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a contender.