Entertainment Weekly offers up 20 movies of the fall they can't wait to see. By expanding the definition of the season to include Christmas, the mag gets to include Oscar contenders "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Dec. 25) and "Revolutionary Road" (Dec. 26). Among the other possible awards players showcased are "Burn After Reading" (Sept. 12), "Body of Lies" (Oct. 10), "W. " (Oct. 17), "Changeling" (Oct. 31), "The Road" and "Australia" (both Nov. 14), "The Soloist," (Nov. 21), and "Defiance" (Dec. 12).

Speaking of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button": Over at In Contention, Kris Tapley offers up a moving tribute to author F. Scott Fitzgerald, who penned the short story. Acknowledging that he's not a Fitzgerald follower, Kris admits, "The strange sort of insight into the stages of one’s life and how Fitzgerald flipped that notions on its ear is incredibly effective.  By the last page, I had that knotted feeling in my stomach, the kind you get after you know you just experienced something that is much more than yourself. The truth apparent in the final moments, the skewed vision of a life at its end, it was almost too much." As for the film, Kris says, "it might be my most anticipated film of the upcoming Oscar season. It seems the easy choice, the obvious one. No one can argue with the apparent artistry on display from what we’ve seen so far and I find myself watering at the mouth the more I consider its potential."

As per Playbill, the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning production of "August: Osage County" will play London's National Theatre for eight weeks beginning Nov. 21. While casting has not been announced, expectations are that Deanna Dunagan will reprise her Tony Award-winning performance as the mother from hell reigning over the disintegration of her family. Expect this production, which won five Tonys, to figure in next spring's West End theater awards.

While the feature film version of the acclaimed 1975 documentary "Grey Gardens" about the eccentric aunt and niece of Jackie Kennedy starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore does not have a release date, Playbill reports that "Grey Gardens: From East Hampton to Broadway" will air on PBS  Dec. 23. The doc traces the path from cult documentary to award-winning stage musical and features interviews with Tony winning stars Mary Louise Wilson and Christine Ebersole.

Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe laments Emmy oversights of yore, kvetching (rightfully) about lack of kudos love for the actors of "Oz" ("the performances were some of TV's bravest ever"), "Rescue Me" never being nommed for best drama series and "Rosanne" never being up for best comedy. But here's my fave part: "Go ahead, laugh at me. I probably deserve it. But shazam, people: Gomer Pyle, who started out on 'The Andy Griffith Show' and then headed up 'Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.' from 1964-69, was a man-child for the ages . . . . Without Jim Nabors, I suspect "30 Rock" would be without Jack McBrayer's Kenneth the intern. Kenneth is nothing if not a Gomer baby." READ MORE

Don't get too optimistic about "Shrek" being among the nominees for best musical at next year's Tonys. (See poster below.) Recent animated-pix-turned-Broadway-musicals like "Little Mermaid" and "Tarzan" didn't make it. It's been a decade since "The Lion King" won best musical (1998) and longer than that since another was nommed ("Beauty and the Beast," 1994). "Shrek" isn't due at the Broadway Theatre until Nov. 8, but New York Post theater reporter Michael Riedel is calling the big, clumsy giant "a real laggard" at the box office, noting that the "$20 million production has yet to break $5 million in advance ticket sales." Soon it'll begin previews at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre starring past Tony nominee Brian d'Arcy James as the dear green ogre and Tony winner Sutton Foster as his princess. The Seattle Times just published a "review" of the show, but one that doesn't reveal whether it's good or bad. READ MORE

Joblo.com has this nifty new poster for "Burn After Reading." GetTheBigPicture.com picked it up and added four new video clips — see here.

(Photos: Scribner's, Focus Features, Broadway Theatre)