Preview the Oscars with the Pros

By Steven Pate in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 18, 2011 7:07PM

There were very few surprises Sunday night at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The list of winners seemed heavily skewed to the favorites. At least there was Ricky Gervais' acid tongue to keep things interesting. As a tool for handicapping the Academy Awards nominations coming out next week, the Golden Globes were particularly useless this year. So how are we going to get a leg up in filling out the ballot?

One idea would be previewing this year's Academy Awards at the Chicago Theater downstairs with some of the funnier film critics in a town that is full of them. $15 gets you admission to "Gold Bald Men and the Actors Who Love Them" hosted by the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips, on Thursday, Febuary 3. Phillips will be joined by a panel balanced by two representatives from the Onion AV Club, Nathan Rabin and Tasha Robinson, and the indefatigable Filmspotting duo of Adam Kempenaar and Matty Robinson.

This event is three weeks before the awards show airs, meaning you'll be able to easily incorporate anything you learn into your Awards night pool or to impress anyone with your handle on the minutiae of the Oscars universe in conversation.

"Gold Bald Men and the Actors Who Love Them" will take place at the Chicago Theatre Downstairs, 175 N. State Street, on Thursday, February 3 at 8pm. Tickets can be purchased by calling (312) 222-3348 or purchased online.