We all have our picks for best picture, best actor and actress, best screenplay, and best documentary. But there should be no argument about best real life story at the Oscars this weekend.
That goes to a young couple that had to decide between their dream apartment and their Hollywood dream. Fortunately for them and for us, they chose the latter.
The characters in this love story are Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey, who were married three years ago and debated over whether to use their savings for a place in the big city or something else.
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New York City beckoned, but Causey wasn't sold.
"I kind of said, 'This isn't going to work,'" she told CBS. "'If we buy an apartment, this is what we're doing for the rest of our lives, for the next decade,' and so I said, 'Why don't we make a movie instead?'
"So we did."
That movie is "Time Freak," about a time machine that causes unintended havoc for its off-beat inventor. The couple spent $25,000 -- pretty much all they had -- to make it.
And it didn't get good reviews.
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Bowler and Causey got rejections aplenty from several festivals, and suddenly the film about the time machine took on an ironic meaning: Would the pair spend the "rest of their lives" trying to go back and undo a mistake?
But just like in any good Hollywood script, a big surprise was coming.
Causey submitted "Time Freak" to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nothing more to lose, right?
The couple recorded their response on Oscar nomination morning. If "Time Freak" is as riveting and rewarding as their reaction, it should definitely win an Oscar.
And even if not, Bowler and Causey already have their Hollywood ending.
Eric Adelson edits ThePostGame.com for Yahoo! Sports. He hails from Michigan and cried at "Beaches." Follow him on Twitter @eric_adelson.
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