George Clooney vs. Brad Pitt: Who has more awards heat?

Fans of George Clooney and Brad Pitt tend to feel strongly about their respective A-listers; for every "Good Night, and Good Luck" a Clooney-ite will lob, a member of the Pitt Crew will come back with a "Curious Case of Benjamin Button." And so it goes.

Its rare enough when an awards season brings one movie from each superstar; its even less common to get a pair of films from each of them. But 2011 yielded just that, with Pitt starring in and producing The Tree of Life and Moneyball, and Clooney starring in The Descendants and starring in, producing, directing and co-writing The Ides of March.

Which of the two has more awards season heat? We turned to The Times Heat Meter system, which tallies points for nominations and awards from specific organizations in any category that a person has received throughout the season. Turns out the contest has been as dramatic as the pennant race in Moneyball.

Pitt jumped off to a big lead thanks to accolades from the New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. Clooney made up some ground once the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations came out, then leapfrogged Pitt after winning the lead actor in a drama prize at the Golden Globes.

The Oscar nominations, though, have made the race close again, with Pitt picking up best picture points as a producer on "Moneyball." Now its anyones game as we head into the Oscars: Pitt trails Clooney by just nine points in our Heat Meter rankings.

For a complete look at the heat index by various films and personalities, visit The Times' landing page for all things Heat Meter.

--Steven Zeitchik

twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT

Heat Meter: Who's hot and who's not?

Oscars: Geoge Clooney, Brad Pitt might be their own worst enemies

Heat Meter: 'The Help' gets a SAG boost, but is it enough?

Photo: Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in "Moneyball." Credit: Sony Pictures