Gold Derby nuggets: 3 or 5 animated feature Oscar nominees? | "SNL" = Oscar good luck charm?

• Pete Hammond has the scoop on the possibility of the animated feature Oscar race expanding this year. As he reports, "the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences sent out a reminder confirming the 5 PM PT November 1st deadline for 2010 Best Animated feature entries. At this point there do not appear to be enough entries to trigger five nominations rather than the more common three but there is still time, brother. What wasn’t mentioned in the release is the number that have been received so far at the Academy. A really good clue though is a letter I have learned that was sent late last week updating members and potential members of...

127 Hours Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Alice in Wonderland James Franco Jesse Eisenberg Love and Other Drugs Morning Glory Oscars Saturday Night Live SNL The King's Speech The Social Network True Grit
10/29/2010 16:11
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Oscar poll: Who'll win best supporting actress?

At this time last year, Mo'Nique was already out front in the Oscar race for best supporting actress based upon the early buzz generated by "Precious" at the Sundance Film Festival. And there was no stopping her thereafter, of course. This year, there is no leader. Some pundits say Helena Bonham Carter is ahead thanks to "The King's Speech's" status as a best picture front-runner, but, truth be told, her role as the beloved "queen mum" Elizabeth isn't very expressive. Other seers say Dianne Wiest is ahead for portraying Nicole Kidman's doting mom in "Rabbit Hole," but that's just because she's an automatic Oscar grabber with past victories for "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Bullets...

Academy Awards Mo'Nique Nicole Kidman Oscars Penelope Cruz The King's Speech True Grit
10/27/2010 19:31
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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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Gold Derby nuggets: Oscar exec Bruce Davis retiring | 'The King's Speech' tops Dave Karger's Oscar predix | Eminem and Lady Antebellum lead AMA nominations

• As Nikki Finke reports, "This is truly the end of an era. I've just learned that Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences executive director Bruce Davis announced at this evening's Board Of Governors meeting that he intends to retire on June 30th, 2011, after 30 years working for the world's preeminent film group." Nikki also has a copy of Bruce's e-mail to the academy staff, which reads, in part, "When I leave I will have spent thirty years at the Academy, and more than twenty as its executive director. That seems like enough. Organizations and individuals both benefit from periodic shifts in perspective." DEADLINE • Roger Deakins will be feted with the lifetime...

Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences AMAs American Music Awards Colin Firth Eminem Jesse Eisenberg Justin Bieber Lady Gaga Oscar nominations Oscars Social Network The King's Speech The Social Network True Grit
10/13/2010 12:13
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Quiz: Which two actors won Oscars for playing the same role?

If Jeff Bridges wins an Academy Award for portraying Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit" 41 years after John Wayne, they will not be the first actors to triumph for the same role. Who did so earlier? Hint, they prevailed in 1972 and 1974 for portraying the same thug at different times of life. To see the answer, click on the "Continue Reading" link below. ANSWER: For 1972, Marlon Brando won best lead actor as Vito Corleone in "The Godfather." For 1974, Robert De Niro won in the supporting slot as Corleone in "The Godfather, Part II." Laurence Olivier was nominated for "Henry V" in 1946; ditto Kenneth Branagh in 1989. Both lost. Peter O'Toole had...

Academy Awards Jeff Bridges Oscars True Grit
09/28/2010 18:21
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'True Grit' updated: More laughs, more blood

Here's our first peek at what Joel and Ethan Coen have done to "True Grit," an update of the 1969 Henry Hathaway flick that earned John Wayne an undeserved Academy Award. (After he won, Wayne admitted to a journalist, "It's ironic that I got the Oscar for a role that was the easiest of my career. I just hippity-hopped through it.") The Coens promised to make their "True Grit" truer to the 1968 book by Charles Portis. "It's a very odd book," Ethan Coen told IGN. "It's much funnier than the movie." But the 1969 film seems much more overtly comic than the Coens' version when you compare trailers of the two adaptations. "The book...

Academy Awards Jeff Bridges Joel Coen Oscars True Grit
09/28/2010 17:26
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