Gold Derby
Tom O'Neil has the inside track on Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and all the award shows.
One year ago: What Oscar pundits prophesized
Let this be a lesson to all of us smug Oscar seers who insist that they know how the current derby will play out. Most of us now say that it's "The Social Network" versus "The King's Speech" for best picture, Colin Firth ("The King's Speech") versus James Franco ("127 Hours") for lead actor and Natalie Portman ("Black Swan") versus Annette Bening ("The Kids Are All Right") for lead actress. But true? One year ago today, we weren't even talking about the eventual winners of lead actor and actress: Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart") and Sandra Bullock ("The Blind Side"). BEST PICTURE: Last year in mid-October we had a decent grasp of the best picture race...
127 Hours Academy Awards Annette Bening Black Swan Carey Mulligan Colin Firth Daniel Day-Lewis James Franco Jeff Bridges Natalie Portman Oscars The Kids are All Right The King's Speech The Social Network
10/21/2010 12:29
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Gold Derby nuggets: Fest faves James Franco & Carey Mulligan | Tom Bosley dead at 83 | Sasha Stone on best picture race
• "127 Hours" leading man James Franco will receive the outstanding performance prize from the Santa Barbara filmfest on Jan. 29. In making the announcement, fest exec Roger Durling described him thus: "A truly exceptional actor who embraces the character and lives the story to tell it, James Franco eases onto the screen, seducing the audience no matter if he is the hero, the villain or the victim." Among the roster of talent that has taken home this prize in the past: Colin Firth (2010), Penelope Cruz (2009), Angelina Jolie (2008), Helen Mirren (2007), Heath Ledger (2006), Kate Winslet (2005) and Charlize Theron (2004). SBIFF • Carey Mulligan will be feted by the Palm Springs...
127 Hours Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Annette Bening Carey Mulligan Carol Burnett Glee Gotham Awards Gwyneth Paltrow James Franco Oscar nominations Oscars Tom Bosley Tony Awards Tonys True Grit Winter's Bone
10/19/2010 13:41
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Toronto Film Festival lineup loaded with Oscar hopefuls
The 35th annual edition of the Toronto Film Festival is scheduled to include the world and North American premieres of a slew of awards contenders. This year's festival is to kick off on Sept. 9 and run for 11 days. Among the 50 titles announced Tuesday are the following films that could well figure in the contests for kudos this year: "Another Year" -- The latest domestic drama by Mike Leigh ("Happy Go Lucky") is centered on a middle-aged couple (Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen) and their assorted friends and family, including a saucy alcoholic (Lesley Manville). "Biutiful" -- Oscar champ Javier Bardem won best actor at Cannes for his portrayal of a dying father looking...
Academy Awards Cannes Film Festival Carey Mulligan Helen Mirren Hilary Swank Javier Bardem Nicole Kidman Oscar nominations Oscars Toronto Film Festival Toronto International Film Festival Woody Allen
07/27/2010 10:45
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Gold Derby nuggets: 'True Blood' goes graphic | 'Precious' talent updates | Carol Burnett reminisces
• "True Blood" is gearing up for a third season on HBO beginning June 13. And in July, fans of the vampire drama starring Oscar champ Anna Paquin ("The Piano") will be able to buy the first installment of a graphic arts version of "True Blood." IDW is crafting a six-part miniseries in conjunction with the show's creator -- Oscar-winning scribe Alan Ball ("American Beauty") -- with artist David Messina handling interiors and covers and J. Scott Campbell doing variants. IGN • Valerie Harper garnered rave reviews for her performance as theatrical diva Talullah Bankhead in the new play "Looped." However, the New York critics were less kind to this new work by Matthew Lombardo...
Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Anna Paquin Carey Mulligan Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys entertainment news Gabourey Sidibe Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Tony Awards Tonys True Blood
04/06/2010 15:23
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Gold Derby nuggets: 'The Hurt Locker' expands screens | 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' in primetime |'Mad Men' gets Barbie makeover
• The post-Oscars box office bounce for "The Hurt Locker" will be limited by its availability on DVD. However, as Melena Ryzik reports, "The film, which has actually never left theaters since it opened in a very few in June 2009, will open in an additional 35 on Friday, in major markets like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Washington D.C., Seattle, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis and San Diego, as well as in 30 more in Canada. That will take its total in North America to 348 theaters; for comparison’s sake, 'Avatar' is playing in 2,163 theaters (although 'Alice in Wonderland' has scooped up most its 3-D screens), and 'Crazy Heart' in 1,274."...
Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Avatar Carey Mulligan Emmy Awards Emmy winners Emmys Gabourey Sidibe Mad Men Oscars The Hurt Locker
03/10/2010 15:46
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'The Hurt Locker' wins six Oscars, including history maker for director Kathryn Bigelow
The 82nd Academy Awards followed the script set down by pundits, as the front-runners for all of the major Oscars won Sunday night. "The Hurt Locker" led with six Oscars, including best picture and best director for Kathryn Bigelow, who became the first woman to win this award. The Iraq war drama also picked up prizes for original screenplay (Mark Boal), editing, sound mixing and sound editing. "Avatar" went into the night tied with "The Hurt Locker" with a leading nine nominations but had to settle for three Oscars for art direction, cinematography and visual effects (and a $2.4-billion and counting box-office take). See a complete list of all Oscar winners here. Lead actor went...
Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Avatar best actor best actress best director best picture best score best screenplay Carey Mulligan Crazy Heart Directors Guild of America entertainment news Helen Mirren Inglourious Basterds James Cameron Jeff Bridges Kathryn Bigelow Meryl Streep movie news Oscar nominations Oscars Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Producers Guild of America Sandra Bullock The Blind Side The Hurt Locker Up Up in the Air
03/07/2010 21:38
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Poll: Who will win lead actress at the Oscars?
While most of the winners are seemingly foregone conclusions at this year's Oscars, the lead actress race remains too close to call. Most pundits put Sandra Bullock ("The Blind Side") ahead. She won with both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild and seems to have the most buzz going into Sunday. But when you talk with actual Oscar voters, you hear many of them say that the film and Bullock's performance are too lightweight. You hear lots of votes for all-time nominations champ Meryl Streep ("Julie & Julia") as well as first-time nominees Carey Mulligan ("An Education") and Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious"). As for Helen Mirren ("The Last Station"), she will have to be...
Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Carey Mulligan Gabourey Sidibe Helen Mirren Meryl Streep Oscar nominations Oscars Sandra Bullock
03/06/2010 17:28
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Gold Derby nuggets: Oscars odd couple | 'Lost' actors find new work
• Anthony Breznican interviews rookie Oscars producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman and discovers "the division of labor is simple: Mechanic puts together the show; Shankman puts ON the show." He notes that "they liked last year's innovation of having five past Oscar winners coming out to introduce the individual acting contenders. But Shankman and Mechanic want the presenters to have some past connection to the person they're introducing. 'For things where you can't have a connection, for example documentary short, we'll put a comedian,' Shankman adds. 'We'll put an entertainment value there.' As for other entertainment, 'there will be two big dance numbers. Though Shankman doesn't want to reveal too much, smart money is...
Academy Awards BAFTA BAFTAS Carey Mulligan Colin Firth Lost Oscar nominations Oscars Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
02/25/2010 17:05
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Gold Derby nuggets: Dave Karger predix Oscars | So does Sasha Stone | Oscars marketing gambits
• Before revealing that he is sticking with "The Hurt Locker" for the best picture Oscar, Dave Karger recaps the derby parallels between that film and "Brokeback Mountain" four years ago: "'Brokeback' managed the rare feat of winning Best Picture and Best Director at both the New York and Los Angeles film critics awards; so did 'Hurt Locker.' 'Brokeback' also picked up those two big prizes at the Broadcast Film Critics Awards; so did 'Hurt Locker.' 'Brokeback' won the trifecta of PGA, DGA, and WGA trophies; so did 'Hurt Locker. 'Brokeback' won 4 BAFTAs, including Best Film, Director, and Screenplay; 'Hurt Locker' picked up 6 awards, including Best Film, Director, and Screenplay. And of course,...
Academy Awards Avatar BAFTA BAFTAS Carey Mulligan Emmy Awards Emmy nominations Emmy nominees Emmy winners Emmys entertainment news Gabourey Sidibe George Clooney Golden Globe nominations Golden Globes Inglourious Basterds James Cameron Jeff Bridges Kathryn Bigelow Meryl Streep Mo'Nique Oscar nominations Oscars Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Quentin Tarantino Sandra Bullock The Blind Side The Hurt Locker
02/23/2010 16:12
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Poll: Can Carey Mulligan pull off an upset at the Oscars?
The Oscars and BAFTA Awards reputedly share about 500 voters, so maybe that explains why BAFTA has correctly predicted the Oscars' lead actress race for the last four years. If they're really in sync, what are we to make of Carey Mulligan's lead-actress victory for "An Education"? Does this mean we're underestimating her voter pull at the Oscars? Or maybe the Brits just decided that they wanted to take a break from Hollywood groupthink this year and embrace a local British gal? What makes parallels difficult is the fact that Oscar front-runner Sandra Bullock wasn't nominated at BAFTA because she wasn't eligible. "The Blind Side" didn't open in Britain in 2009. Maybe the fact that...
Academy Awards BAFTA Carey Mulligan Gabourey Sidibe Julie & Julia Meryl Streep Oscars Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Sandra Bullock The Blind Side
02/23/2010 10:07
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Mo'Nique to be among no-shows at Oscars nominees luncheon
Oscars nominees will gather together for the annual academy luncheon Monday and 14 of the 20 acting nominees will be among the more than 120 attendees. Just how important is this breaking of bread while the Oscars ballots are still being cast? Meryl Streep ("Julie & Julia") has arranged her travel schedule to be at the festivities at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The New York-based actress skipped the luncheon last year when she was a nominee for "Doubt" and three years ago when she contended for "The Devil Wears Prada" -- she lost both those races. Indeed, all of the best actress contenders but Helen Mirren ("The Last Station") -- who won this award three...
Academy Awards Avatar best actor best actress best director best picture Carey Mulligan George Clooney Helen Mirren Inglourious Basterds Jeff Bridges Matt Damon Meryl Streep Mo'Nique Oscar nominations Oscars Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Sandra Bullock The Blind Side The Hurt Locker
02/12/2010 13:27
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Gold Derby nuggets: Santa Barbara filmfest report | Mark Harris on 'Oscar campaign' | Emmys could be live nationwide
• Steve Pond is aces at summing up the goings on so far at the 25th edition of the Santa Barbara filmfest. "Two dozen nominees, with 30 nominations between them, have either already shown up or will participating in the 10-day festival, which began last Thursday and runs through Feb. 10. So far, the festival has feted Best Actress nominees Sandra Bullock and Carey Mulligan; weathered scheduling snafus caused by California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger; unveiled the little-seen animated Irish film 'The Secret of Kells,' a surprise nominee for Best Animated Feature; celebrated the career of James Cameron; and then crowned Cameron’s Best Picture and Best Director competitor Kathryn Bigelow 'king and queen of the world'...
30 Rock Academy Awards Alec Baldwin Avatar BAFTA BAFTAS Carey Mulligan Emmy Awards Emmys entertainment news Inglourious Basterds James Cameron Kathryn Bigelow movie news Oscars Quentin Tarantino Sandra Bullock The Blind Side The Hurt Locker Writers Guild of America
02/08/2010 15:58
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