Aren’t we all sick of polls?

You’re likely to pick up a poll any given day that says Americans are finding it harder to pay their bills. Another poll is likely to tell us that Americans have lost faith in their elected officials, while still another might announce business leaders see a dim economic outlook.

Can’t we come up with a poll that brings some good news with it?

Yes, we can.

It’s our annual Readers Pick the Oscars Poll. We ask readers to pick the winners in six major Oscar categories: Picture, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress and director.

So in answering these poll questions, you’re not thinking about joblessness or taxes or war. You’re thinking, “Boy, Owen Wilson was pretty funny in ‘Midnight in Paris,’ even if did sound like a Midwestern Woody Allen.”

And instead of listening to debates between candidates, you can debate the merits of the best picture nominees. Does the baseball flick “Moneyball” have broad enough appeal to defeat the inventive silent film “The Artist”?

This poll also gives you the chance to think about Mainers who have done pretty well for themselves in the world of entertainment. In the best picture category, we should all root for “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” because Freeport native Alexander Libby had a huge hand in making it as assistant to director Stephen Daldry. In fact, Daldry said Libby was more like a co-producer, because he did everything from research to teaching star Tom Hanks how to work shadow puppets.

In the best actress category, Maine has Scarborough resident Glenn Close to pull for. Close, who has a house on Prouts Neck, was nominated for her role as a woman passing as a man in 19th-century Ireland in the film “Albert Nobbs.”

But beyond those two categories, picking the Oscar winners requires some serious thought and a little luck. In the best supporting actor category, for instance, it’s a choice between old and new. The relatively young Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”) is up against a roster of film veterans with probably 150 years of movie experience between them: Kenneth Branagh, Nick Nolte, Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow.

The incentive to vote in this poll is the chance to show off your movie knowledge and, of course, to gain some bragging rights. You will also be eligible for a prize. Of those who pick the most winners, we’ll randomly select some to win a prize, to be determined later. (It’s a movie contest, so we needed some suspense.)

To cast your votes in our poll, see the ballot above. Or see it online at pressherald.com. Either way, for your ballot to count, it must be received at our offices in One City Center, Portland, by 5 p.m. Feb. 24. One ballot per person, please.

The Oscars will be handed out Feb. 26, live on ABC, beginning at 7 p.m.

A story about how well Mainers did in picking the Oscars — and who did best — will run in the Maine Sunday Telegram on March 4.

Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:

rrouthier@pressherald.com