Here's Oscar!

The Woodsman, starring Kevin Bacon as a convicted paedophile returning home after a 12 year sentence, has been pencilled in for a Christmas eve release stateside... B-list actors appearing in challenging and controversial roles around New Year? It can mean only one thing: Oscar season again. Well, the script has already won awards, and the subject matter is ripe for a sensitive film treatment. On the plus side, my gut tells me Bacon could just pull it off, and it is from the same production team that helped Charlize Theron win with Monster last year. On the downside, co-writer Nicole Cassell (left) is a first time director, and the academy may find their nerve stretched in backing this one; serial killers are familiar film regulars, fictional or not, but child molesters are quite another thing. Let's hope the film is good enough to make everyone rethink come red carpet time. For a choice as brave as this, Kev deserves it. Kx