They love us in Sweden

The Hoff has the Germans, but we've got the Swedes!

Trying to make sense of this chaotic awards season, a freelancer from a Swedish newspaper known for its arts and entertainment coverage contacted Gold Rush today for our assessment. We polished off the old "nobody knows anything" cliche, but that didn't seem to suffice. Maybe what we should've said is, "No, we really don't know anything."

But she persisted. Bless your optimistic reportorial heart, Karin Svensson.

There was a method to her madness.

The awards are a point of interest in the land of Abba, Ikea, Vikings and Volvos because all the Oscar-bait films that are released in a flurry here in fourth quarter are just hitting the cineplexes in Sweden, she said. They'll roll out all spring, coinciding with our awards-doling ceremonies.

Since American films are so dominant there, the awards they garner carry a considerable amount of weight to moviegoers. Maybe even more so, we figure, than in the States. (Some recent top boxoffice draws there include "Enchanted," "American Gangster" and "Ratatouille," according to BoxOfficeMojo, all of which far outgross the locally grown product).

It's a reminder that the world is watching the strike-plagued state of our wide-open horse race, with fans far and wide wondering if they'll be deprived of their sure-thing pub bets and time-delayed TV awards snooze-a-thons.

Anyway, if you haven't renewed your subscription to Svenska Dagbladet, now would be the time. We'll let you know if any of our "words of wisdom" make it into print there.