Eli Roth has claimed that Inglorious Basterds has a “strong shot” at winning a best picture Oscar. The director/actor has said that Quentin Tarantino’s WWII film is likely to win the evening’s biggest award because it was “so critically acclaimed and so well-received by fans”.

Speaking to Paste, the 37-year-old said:

“People are saying that we have a very strong shot. You can’t judge it by the Golden Globes and all this other stuff. These are the voters – the 700 voters, or however many there are, and a lot of them love the movie. Look, I think there are a lot of great pictures: Avatar, Hurt Locker, Precious. It’s incredible company to be in. And what’s really cool is to watch how Quentin is so happy to be there at the party. And he loves these other directors, so it’s really fun.”

Roth continued:

“After the SAG Awards, [Precious director] Lee Daniels came out with us and hung out. We’re always at the table next to Precious and Avatar and everyone’s friendly with each other and very excited for each other. I’m just so happy for Quentin and for Christoph Waltz and everybody.” He added: “It would be amazing if it won best picture, but the truth is, this is more than any of us ever hoped for, the fact that it’s Quentin’s highest-grossing movie, that it was so critically acclaimed and so well-received by fans, that we won the SAG Awards and Critics’ Choice. It’s beyond our wildest imaginations.”

Inglorious Basterds is nominated for eight Academy Awards, including best director and best original screenplay. The 2010 Oscars will be broadcast live on Sunday, March 7. (Source)