It’s July 21 and we’re already speculating about Boyhood’s chances at 2015’s Oscars ceremony. But it’s not often a film takes 12 years to film, giving audiences a unique chance to see the same actors grow together on screen. And it’s often a hugely ambitious project like this actually comes together.

BoyhoodEllar Coltrane in 'Boyhood'

So despite the Academy’s annual blowout being over 6 months away, UK betting company Paddy Power have installed ‘Boyhood’ as an Oscar favorite: Mason’s journey from 6-year-old - with big sister and divorced parents problems – to 18-yea-old – with college and identity problems – is currently available at 9/4. 

More: Ellar Coltrane's Journey As Mason in Richard Linklater's Boyhood

But whether ‘Boyhood’ actually manages to prize the year’s most prestigious gong from the hands of Christopher Nolan (Interstellar), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel) or Bennet Miller (Foxcatcher) is doubtful. 

As soon as the odds are released, we’d be piling money on a Best Director award for Linklater himself. The two Director awards have been handed out to Ang Lee (Life of Pi) and Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity), suggesting innovation in film (both directors excelled in CGI techniques) is prominent in the voters’ minds. The fact that the Best Picture awards went to separate films (Argo and 12 Years a Slave respectively) is also noteworthy. And Linklater’s casting of a 6-year-old boy then shooting ‘Boyhood’ over 12 years is certainly an innovation in cinema.

Watch the trailer for Boyhood

Next page: How 'The Counselor' taught us not to predict the Oscars