So now it's said, and nothing can make me flinch from it. I am here to provide you with an arthouse look at Fantasy Moguls, but I will not hesitate to raise my voice and tell the world (and particularly the Fantaverse) a few very personal truths. Yes, James Cameron is overrated. Yes, Alien: Resurrection needs more geek love. Yes, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is hardly watchable. Yes, Zodiac should get tons of Oscars (though it unfortunately won't). I may have difficulties convincing anyone of those, again, very personal statements. But where would the fun be if we all agreed on every film?

Oh, shut up, Jones, and stick to what you are read for, the independent films! So, what do you guys think of the arthouse releases of March 7? That will be a big weekend, with three major films with lots of arthouse potential, lots of artistic credibility, and therefore lots of money asked in return (at least in Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues). On your marks ...

I am going to start with a film I've never mentioned in any earlier column, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. I must admit this one's been flying a bit under my radar. Probably because I am not familiar with its director, or maybe because the film itself didn't make any festival stops and won't have had any foreign dates before its U.S. launch on March 7. It's strange, because Miss Pettigrew really looks like the type of film that would benefit from an early buzz.

Adapted from a classic 1930s British novel of the same name, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is directed by Indian/British filmmaker Bharat Nalluri, who has had one of the oddest careers around. The man began in the 90s, making British thrillers, then went to Hollywood in 2000 to make the third Crow movie (the one with Kirsten Dunst). Then, after finding great material on British TV by directing episodes of such series as "Spooks," "Hustle" and "Life on Mars," Nalluri worked as ... a second unit director on Resident Evil and Alien vs. Predator?! The strange mix does not stop here, as the man then went on to direct much-awarded TV movie Tsunami: The Aftermath, before finally getting back to directing a feature film ... of a comic 1930s British novel.

If I were to judge a movie solely by the resume of its director, then this one would have a serious handicap, but there are other factors to take into account. In the case of Miss Pettigrew, those factors are helpful. First of all is the story, a comedy set in 1939 London in which a middle-aged woman becomes the personal secretary of a glamourous, not-too-smart American actress who's torn between a trio of suiters and her successful career. This pitch does have a whiff of Golden Age Hollywood, as though the movie were a sort of lighthearted All About Eve. And if it that's not enough to appeal to cinephiles, the cast is top-notch, with executive producer Frances McDormand, aka Mrs. Joel Coen, as Miss Pettigrew, and the trendiest young actress in Hollywood, Enchanted star Amy Adams, as Yankee starlet Delysia Lafosse. There are also several excellent male thespians, from Pushing Daisies star Lee Pace to  Ciaran Hinds (There Will Be Blood) and the excellent character actor Mark Strong (Septimus in Stardust).

What will it all come to? I'd say that, despite the lack of a strong name behind the camera, and of any early buzz from the festival circuit, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day could be a winner ... if Focus Features made the choice of an intelligent release strategy. Nothing is certain right now, but it looks like the specialty division of Universal Studios is prepping a not-so-ideal launch in 500 theaters. I love what the film looks like, but as we often witness, such a release pattern is more than often deadly to a film's Moguls prospects.

A semi-wide to wide release would surely help Miss Pettigrew grab the $7 million Fantasy Moguls is predicting, and this is the kind of film that should easily be awarded a User Rating of 7 or better on IMDb. But if Focus indeed opens the film in 500 theaters, it seems very doubtful that Miss Pettigrew will ever collect 6 PTA points. Maybe one or two with A LOT of luck, but when $16 is asked in Ultimate leagues, luck is not your best friend. So, amazingly, this could be a better catch in Box Office Moguls leagues, where it's available for $3.

In the same (Ultimate) price range, I would honestly feel more confident with Snow Angels. Okay, maybe it's because I can't bring myself to thinking that having a David Gordon Green film on your slate could ever not look good. Maybe I'm just too big a fan of the man to take a serious look at the risks of putting your faith in such a film. Snow Angels is Green's fourth feature film. The Arkansas-born, 32-year-old director was one of the first indie revelations of the decade, thanks to George Washington, released in the fall of 2000. A poet of Southern small-town America, Green quickly proved he was a spiritual heir of Terrence Malick, thanks to the tender romance All the Real Girls and the wild adventure film Undertow.

Snow Angels seems as though it will comfort Green's position in this cinematic lineage. It tells the multiple stories of a teenager experiencing love for the first time, a 30-something woman having an affair with a colleague's husband, and her own ex-husband's attempts to win her and their daughter back. For the first time, DGG has left the South for a snowy northern region (the film was shot in Nova Scotia,  in Canada; I know a regular player who knows the neighbourhood very well). Judging from the critical response to Snow Angels at Sundance in 2007, it would seem that cold weather hasn't cooled off the filmmaker's talent.

After Jamie Bell in Undertow, Green is once again working with a British-born actor, this time the occasional werewolf slayer Kate Beckinsale. She will probably attract fans, being the closest thing to an A-list star Green has ever directed. The thespic scenery around her looks great, with the always funky Sam Rockwell, the promising Michael Angarano, and a few names like Griffin Dunne, Nicky Katt, Olivia Thirlby and Amy Sedaris. So in two words: looks great. It is my duty, however, to point out a few things you should be aware of. First, and most importantly, DGG has not once, in the past, found success with audiences. And I don't mean, "He didn't draw millions, but he still packed the few theaters that showed his films." Not only has he never drawn millions, but he has also never displayed strong PTA numbers.

Second, Warner Independent has taken time to release the film. Shot in 2006 and presented at Sundance in January 2007, Snow Angels has waited patiently for more than a year to have its day in America's theaters (well, at least New York's and Los Angeles's theaters). That's a long time. Finally, I must say that, for the moment, with more than 300 votes, the User Rating of the film is slightly disappointing, an honorable but not fantastic 6.9. When you put $17 on the table in Ultimate leagues, for a film that has very limited box-office potential (the $11 million FM predicts is pure fantasy; dare to dream, rather, of half that amount), you expect it at least to bring some oomph to your User Ratings. It will probably go a bit higher, but don't expect much more than 7. The good news is, it should be able to grab a few PTA points. Enough to justify laying out $17? It's a wild card.

Do you want to place a safer bet on the weekend of March 7? Try Gus Van Sant and Paranoid Park. As much as I'm a fan of David Gordon Green as a cinephile, I am far more confident, when it comes to Fantasy Moguls, in the Man from Portland. Van Sant has a strong following, thanks to a fascinating career originating in the '80s as an earlier observer of Generation X (Mala Noche, My Own Private Idaho, Drugstore Cowboy), continuing in a more mainstream (but still appealing) vein in the '90s with Psycho, To Die For, Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester, and returning in the last decade to his indie roots and more experimental obsessions (Gerry, Elephant, Last Days). I would personally rate Gerry and Elephant as two of the best American films of the 2000s (and Last Days as one of the decade's biggest disappointments), the second being one of those films that really, really deserved the Golden Palm it won at the Cannes Film Festival.

Paranoid Park intelligently extends from Van Sant's recent trio of films, staying around American youth depicted by realistic youngsters and balancing the film between the strength of an intrigue (a teen skateboarder accidentally kills someone and anxiously expects to be arrested by the police) and the poetry of narrative experimentations. If the film is no Gerry or Elephant, then it sure is better than the messy Last Days ... although probably still a bit too experimental at times. The important thing to underline here, though, is that Paranoid Park scored an award at last May's Cannes Film Festival, already has a solid User Rating, and will open in what appears to be only a couple of locations in NYC.

The Cannes recognition (a special jury prize for the 60th edition of the festival) gives the film a lot of credibility in the eyes of film buffs (along with Gus Van Sant's solid reputation). The already established 7.5 User Rating (more than 1,300 votes) gives a surefire assurance in that category. As for the minimal launch in theaters, it gives the film a good shot at coming out on top in the PTA race on opening weekend (the fact the running time is under 90 minutes should also help).

The cherry on the top of the cake is of course that Paranoid Park is much cheaper than Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Snow Angels, with a very reasonable $10 price tag in Ultimate leagues ($2 in Box Office). Will the fact Gus Van Sant is already working (and filming) on his hot new project, Milk, starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and Emile Hirsch, help the film even more? Anything is possible.

There will be other films to watch for, though, before Milk is poured into theaters a few months from now. Starting next week, with the eagerly anticipated Funny Games, and fellow Sundance drama Sleepwalking. That will be all for today's watch on arthouse releases, fellow moguls. It made me want to take another look at Gerry ... or maybe All the Real Girls. No, not Alien vs. Predator.

Indie Jones called Michael Angarno "promising" before he saw the trailer for The Forbidden Kingdom. For his next great debate on the message boards, he'll be moderating a discussion of who should be more embarrassed, Jackie Chan or Jet Li. Send James Cameron-related rants to danceswiththearthouse@gmail.com.