MT. OSCAR

PEAKING

‘CHILDREN OF MEN’ vs. ‘DREAMGIRLS’: The two big unseen contenders (with Clive Owen and Beyonce Knowles, respectively) have their first screenings on the same night, next Wednesday.

CLIMBING

ED NORTON

vs. ED NORTON: No longer limited to playing different roles in the same film, Norton may compete against himself in “The Illusionist” and “The Painted Veil.”

STRONG WORDS: After years stuck behind the adapted-screenplay category’s glut of great material, the original-screenplay race is bursting with efforts such as “Volver,” “Babel” and “Little Miss Sunshine.”

AT BASE CAMP

‘BABEL’

RABBLE: Will a struggle over producer credits for Brad Pitt’s film (there are 7) cause a “Crash” clash?

GILT BY ASSOCIATION: How to market your 1940s-style film? Find an Oscar-winning great of that era, add a copycat poster and top it with a double feature Sunday at the Aero.

SCREENER MADNESS: Two years after a crackdown, early screeners are everywhere.

LOOKING FOR A SHERPA

TICKET THICKET: Will proliferation of special screenings hurt turnout at academy showings? A 2% drop, but nothing to worry about, academy says.

FLAGGING: With “Flags of Our Fathers” slumping at box office, star Ryan Phillippe’s breakup gets more hype

than his movie.

SHHHHH: Pre-screening speaker at “The Queen” hilariously coaches audience on how to unwrap cough lozenges. (Rip it, like a Band-Aid.) Now if only he could stamp out texting during the movie.