Ben Zauzmer, an Upper Dublin High graduate who currently works for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been using his math skills to predict Oscar winners for years, writes Gary Thompson for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Zauzmer, who works for the Dodgers’ analytics group, picked up the habit of analyzing the Academy Awards at Harvard and parlayed it into a second career.

For example, he can gauge whether the 210-minute running time will help or hurt The Irishman in its pursuit of the best picture award.

His model shows that while longer running time has traditionally indicated a better chance of winning, in the last ten years that trend has reversed itself.

This and many other facts are available in his book, Oscarmetrics: The Math Behind the Biggest Night in Hollywood.

In addition to explaining his methods and conclusions, the book also includes amusing notes on the quirks of Academy Awards nominations and selections.

“I don’t really want it to be just a collection of data and numbers,” said Zauzmer. “So there’s a lot of stuff in there to make it fun for people to read.”

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