It is written.

A few days ago, I thought Benjamin Button and godammit, The Dark Knight, had a chance to take home the Best Picture prize. They may have had a chance to pull off the upset a week ago. The latter was, of course, snubbed last Thursday and the former is slowly losing Best Picture hopes.

So, last night, when Slumdog's name was called for Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards, everything slowly fell into place. It was absolutely official. Maybe it has been for a month now, yet I always had a feeling other movies had a chance at taking the Best Picture win. Yet, now, it is definite, for me. Hell, maybe you can never be definite, yet Slumdog Millionaire seems like it surely will be the Best Picture of 2008.

(Isn't that awesome?)

I, dumbly, thought Doubt would take the Best Ensemble award last night. The film defines ensemble. The acting, for one, was stellar. The characters all had distinct motives and actions that defined the film. It was a character piece. An actor's film. There's no debating that.

The fact is, Slumdog Millionaire is not. It had no acting nominations which is a No. 1 Factor, telling you it isn't a movie about its actors. It's more about the overall theme and story. The star of Doubt is Meryl Streep. The star of Slumdog Millionaire is Danny Boyle.

So, for the Screen Actors' Guild to recognize the film as Best Ensemble goes to show how every awards branch loves everything about Slumdog Millionaire. How could the Academy possibly turn the film down, now?