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Variety today launched its new, online-only "Pushy Question" feature, in which various industry types are invited to offer anonymous opinions that might otherwise be too honest for full attribution in a respectable trade paper without career repercussions. The inaugural query (our paraphrase): "So, Apocalypto is kind of good, but how fucked is Mel Gibson with the Jews who run the Academy Oscar voters?"

"You can never forget that the Academy is people. It's not even the Emmys, when you have an elite group. It's just people and considering that many of those people (are Jewish), he's screwed. I don't care if it's the most amazing movie since 'Gone with the Wind' and 'Citizen Kane,' put together. He's gotten the last ones and he should keep them in nice condition because there's no more coming." -publicist

"I think they'd honor the film with nominations. If it gets great reviews, I don't think they can — there's too much negative press if they snub it for their personal views." -agent

"I don't know. How Jewish is the Academy? I think they're going to run screaming." -studio executive

In fairness, a couple of the people polled believed that voters would be able to put aside personal feelings and reward the film on its artistic, Mayan-disembowelling merits (even if just for technical awards), so maybe there's hope for Gibson after all, and he won't wake up to an ad in the trades on the morning following the Oscar nomination announcements reading, "Enjoy the shutout, Mel! Love, The Ones Who Start All The Wars."