• The 10th annual Latin Grammys will be Nov. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Reuters

• As usual, Olympics coverage swept the Sports Emmys. Four of NBC's nine wins were for the peacock Web's coverage of the Beijing Games, including Bob Costas winning best sports host and Cris Collinsworth being named best sports analyst. National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

• Michael Douglas will reprise his Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gekko when teaming up again with director Oliver Stone in "Wall Street 2." The plot is "literally ripped from today's headlines," says 20th Century Fox spokesman Gregg Brilliant. "It's going to be very big and very cool." Associated Press

• As Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart accepted the Founders Award at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards on Wednesday night, the occasion caused L.A. Times scribe Ann Powers to wonder: Hey, why aren't they in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? L.A. Times

• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a centennial salute to writer, director and producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, featuring a special 50th anniversary screening of a recently restored print of “Suddenly, Last Summer,” on Thursday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Oscars.org

• Meryl Streep already holds the record for most Oscar nominations (15). Here's a glimpse at her potential 16th — as gourmet queen Julia Child in "Julie and Julia" — which will be released Aug, 7.

Photo: Wally Skalij / L.A. Times

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Martin Denton of NYTheater.com not only gave us his predix of who'll be nominated at the Tony Awards next Tuesday, but who'll win on June 7! Compare these to David Sheward 's (Back Stage) and our list of strongest contenders.

BEST PLAY
X - "God of Carnage"
"Dividing the Estate"
"33 Variations"
"reasons to be pretty"

BEST MUSICAL
X - "Billy Elliot"
"Next to Normal"
"9 to 5"
"Shrek"

BEST PLAY REVIVAL
X - "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"
"Exit the King"
"The Norman Conquests"
"Waiting for Godot"

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
X - "Hair"
"Guys and Dolls"
"Pal Joey"
"West Side Story"

BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
X - Geoffrey Rush, "Exit the King:
James Gandolfini, "God of Carnage"
Bill Irwin, "Waiting for Godot"
Daniel Radcliffe, "Equus"
Thomas Sadoski, "reasons to be pretty"

Tony Awards nominations will be unveiled next Tuesday. Do you have your predix ready yet? Below is our primer on contenders in the top races.

BEST PLAY
(Front-runners)
"Dividing the Estate"
"God of Carnage"
"reasons to be pretty"
"33 Variations"

(Possible)
"The American Plan"
"Impressionism"
"Irena's Vow"

BEST MUSICAL
(Front-runners)
"Billy Elliot"
"9 to 5"
"Next to Normal"
"Shrek the Musical"

(Possible)
"Rock of Ages"
"[title of show]"
"White Christmas"

(Long Shots)
"The Story of My Life"
"13"
"A Tale of Two Cities"

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
(Front-runners)
"Exit the King"
"Joe Turner's Come and Gone"
"The Norman Conquests"
"Mary Stuart"
"The Seagull"
"Speed-the-Plow"
"Waiting for Godot"

(Possible)
"Blithe Spirit"
"Desire Under the Elms"
"Equus"
"A Man for All Seasons"

Just moments after I e-mailed a dozen Broadway pundits, asking them to predict who'll be nominated for the Tony Awards on May 5, we got the detailed forecasts of David Sheward, executive editor of Back Stage. Hooray! That's the kind of bravado, guts and enthusiasm we want to see among Tony gurus!

And David's an ace prognosticator, by the way. Last year, he achieved the second-highest score among our Tony prophets — even beating me by two points (that rascal!). See the breakdown here.

BEST PLAY
"Dividing the Estate"
"God of Carnage"
"reasons to be pretty"
"33 Variations"
 
BEST MUSICAL
"Billy Elliot"
"Next to Normal"
"9 to 5"
"Shrek"
 
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
"Guys and Dolls"
"Hair"
"Pal Joey"
"West Side Story"
 
BEST PLAY REVIVAL
"Mary Stuart"
"The Norman Conquests"
"The Seagull"
"Waiting for Godot"
 
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
Bill Irwin, "Waiting for Godot"
Nathan Lane, "Waiting for Godot"
Daniel Radcliffe, "Equus"
Geoffery Rush, "Exit the King"
Thomas Sadoski, "reasons to be pretty"

Hugh Jackman rescued the Oscars in February, as his first time hosting the kudocast led to a 13% bounce in the ratings. Now the Aussie hunk is hoping to work the same magic on his movie career. He produced  and stars in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which opens Friday. This special-effects laden movie is already being touted as the first blockbuster of the summer.

Hugh Jackman played Wolverine in the hugely successful "X-Men" trilogy and — as the title suggests — this new film shows us the backstory of that character. Jackman faces off against Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth while Ryan Reynolds backs him up as Deadpool. With his leading man status shaken by the poor reception to "Australia," Jackman needs "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"  to be a hit.

Hugh Jackman was heavily involved in getting this project made. While there are lots of popcorn movie veterans working behind the scenes, the project was directed by Gavin Hood, who was an interesting choice for the job. The South African director helmed the Oscar-winning foreign film "Tsotsi" in 2005 and followed that up with the political drama "Rendition" in 2007. The script for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is by David Beniof, who picked up a 2007 BAFTA nod for his adaptation of "The Kite Runner," and Skip Woods, who worked with Jackman on "Swordfish."

Whether these serious-minded moviemakers can elevate this comic-book-come-to-life to the next level and satisfy the critics remains to be seen. However, a movie like this is review-proof for at least the first weekend or two. Expect Jackman and company to rule the box office — at least until "Star Trek" opens May 8.

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Photo: Twentieth-Century Fox

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The second rialto revival of Eugene O'Neill's scorching 1924 drama "Desire Under the Elms'" met with a decidedly divided response from the New York critics. After an acclaimed run at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, the show came to Broadway with high expectations. The play pits father (Brian Dennehy) against son (Pablo Schreiber) for the love of a woman (Carla Gugino). 

Dennehy and director Robert Falls had collaborated on well-received revivals of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" and O'Neill's "Long Days Journey into Night." The actor won Tonys for those performances while Falls won for "Salesman." This time round both men face stiff competition in their respective races.

And with 16 plays being revived on Broadway this season, the fight to reach the final four at the Tonys promises to be fierce. Among the frontrunners (in order of opening) are: "The Seagull," "Speed-the-Plow," "Blithe Spirit," "Exit the King," "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," "Mary Stuart," and "The Norman Conquests."

Like those plays, "Desire Under the Elms" attracted positive attention. Charles Isherwood of the New York Times thought, "With Ms. Gugino, Mr. Schreiber and Mr. Dennehy giving performances of unflagging commitment and exposed feeling, the production manages to transcend the play’s flaws to transmit the penetrating truth of O’Neill’s underlying vision, of the ineradicable human need to possess and be possessed."

And Michael Kuchwara of the AP said the show "is big and booming, almost operatic in its intensity and expansiveness. And it's stocked with oversized yet effective performances that hold their own against a gargantuan setting of rocks and a giant farmhouse that literally hangs in the air for much of the evening. That forbidding structure is the centerpiece of designer Walt Spangler's grandiose set design."

However there were also many naysayers, chief among them New York Daily News scribe Joe Dzianmianowicz, who wrote, "this production can't decide between opera-scale symbolism (a house actually hovers above the stage) or folksy music video (Bob Dylan's moody "Not Dark Yet" underscores a long silent scene). Either way, most performances are from the if-it's-loud-it's-important school and distance us instead of drawing the audience in."

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Photo: St. James Theatre

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Yesterday we wondered why BAFTA would be crediting two different actors as the winner of the lead actor award at Sunday night's kudofest saluting the best of British TV. Today we got the answer as to how the real champ Stephen Dillane ("The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall") was supplanted by nominee Ben Whishaw ("Criminal Justice") on a key page of the BAFTA website.

Anne-Marie Flynn, head of awards at BAFTA, responded via e-mail, "Unfortunately, due to an administrative error, the winner was entered incorrectly onto BAFTA’s online database." She thanked Gold Derby for pointing out the error -- first noticed by my L.A. TImes colleague Todd Martens on Sunday night as we prepared our report -- and said, "The error was corrected at 09:35 this morning."

This sort of mistake is the just the kind of headache dreaded most by awards producers. Flynn assured us that the integrity of the BAFTAs was never comprised. As she explains, "From the moment the result was made available on Sunday, it was correctly ‘presented’ throughout the site and main home page, in images, galleries, copy, press releases, the main list of nominations featuring the winners, winners page and in the online video. Stephen Dillane’s acceptance speech video went up at midday yesterday and is the first video in the player on the homepage so it is clear he won."

Stephen Dillane picked up an Emmy nod last year for his featured performance as Thomas Jefferson in the mega mini-series "John Adams." He lost to fellow Brit Tom Wilkinson who portrayed Benjamin Franklin. Dillane did win the Tony Award in 2000 as lead actor in a play  for the revival of "The Real Thing." Ben Whishaw was a 2007 BAFTA film nominee for rising star but lost to Eva Green ("Casino Royale"). Recently, he won the Royal Television Society award for "Criminal Justice."

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Although the Drama Desk Awards include many off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway shows on the list of nominees, those shows almost always lose to Broadway rivals. Last year, only 84 of the 158 nominations (53%) went to 18 Broadway productions, but 25 of the 26 eventual winners for plays and musicals (not cabaret shows) came from the Great White Way. The sole exception was the award for best featured actress in a play, which went to Linda Lavin for "The New Century," a show that was, technically, off-Broadway, but one that had all of the chi-chi appeal of a rialto production because it was staged at Lincoln Center.

This year, a staggering 102 of the 173 nominations (69%) went to 21 Broadway shows. That is the highest percentage since Barbara Siegel took over as chair of the nominating committee for the 2003-2004 season. Over her first five years at the helm, Broadway contenders represented between 47% and 62% of the nominees. They went on to win all but five of the awards.

Although only eight members of the group select the nominees after seeing upward of 100 shows per year, the full membership votes on winners. I know more than a dozen Drama Desk voters. All of them admit that most members don't see most of the shows nominated. Thus, they end up voting for what they've seen and liked. That means shows on Broadway. Isn't it cruel to invite nominees from non-Broadway shows to attend an awards ceremony where they have virtually no hope of winning?

Answer: Yes. How to fix this situation? It is time to split these kudos up into separate categories for Broadway and non-Broadway shows. The Outer Critics Circle — which shares many members with the Drama Desk — allocates separate awards for Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals. However, it too combines all the performance and creative contenders into single races. The Drama Desk Awards should be consistent — separate performance awards just like production prizes. If it did so, it could establish itself as a prestigious award for the rest of the New York theater scene.

"9 to 5" — the Broadway musical adaptation of the hit 1980 film — was largely snubbed by the Outer Critics Circle's nominations last week, but the tale of three secretaries' revenge against a tyrannical boss struck back at the Drama Desk Awards. "9 to 5" led with the most nominations (15) when contenders were unveiled today, followed by "Shrek the Musical" (12) and "Billy Elliot" and "Hair" (10 each).

"Ruined" — which just won the Pulitzer Prize — leads with the most Drama Desk Award bids among plays (six), but it won't be among the Tony Award nominees to be announced next Tuesday, May 5, because it's produced off-Broadway. Meantime, the Broadway show widely considered to be the front-runner to win best play at the Tonys — "God of Carnage"  — wasn't nominated by Drama Desk. In fact, only one Broadway play made the list of six shows up for best play: "reasons to be pretty." That virtually assures its victory.

"Next to Normal" and "[title of show]" are considered strong contenders in the Tonys' races for best musical and play, respectively, but they're excluded from the Drama Desk list because they premiered off-Broadway last season. Horton Foote's "Dividing the Estate" also wasn't eligible.

Another likely Tony nominee — the lead stars of "Billy Elliot" — aren't up for best actor in a musical because of a dispute. At the Tonys, all three boys who alternate in the lead role are being lumped together into one likely nomination. Members of the Drama Desk nominating committee refused to do the same because they weren't given press tickets to see more than one Billy performance each.

Surprising snubs from the Drama Desk list include August Wilson's "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," which is a major contender for acting honors and best revival at the Tonys thanks to ecstatic reviews from critics. "Rock of Ages" could rally at the Tony noms in the race for best musical and "Irena's Vow" and "33 Variations" in the battle over best play.

Among snubbed performances that could rebound at the Tonys: Harriet Walter ("Mary Stuart"), Dianne Wiest ("All My Sons"), Tovah Feldshuh ("Irena's Vow"), Kristin Scott Thomas ("The Seagull"), Robert Spencer ("Next to Normal"), James Barbour ("Tale of Two Cities").

Since the Drama Desk nominations were unveiled a few hours ago, there's been widespread criticism across the Internet over nominations for "Story of My Life" and "Fela!" as best musical and "Pal Joey" as best musical revival.

Below, the contenders. Winners will be announced on May 17 at LaGuardia High School in Manhattan during a ceremony hosted by "Harvey Fiersten," according to the Drama Desk website, but really it'll be Harvey Fierstein.

BEST PLAY
Annie Baker, "Body Awareness"
Gina Gionfriddo, "Becky Shaw"
Neil LaBute, "reasons to be pretty"
Lynn Nottage, "Ruined"
Michael Weller, "Fifty Words"
Craig Wright, "Lady"

BEST MUSICAL
"9 to 5"
"Billy Elliot The Musical"
"Fela!"
"Liza's at the Palace . . . "
"Shrek the Musical"
"The Story of My Life"

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
"Blithe Spirit"
"Exit the King"
"Mary Stuart"
"The Cripple of Inishmaan"
"The Norman Conquests"
"Waiting for Godot"

Last night. my L.A. Times colleague Todd Martens caught a jolly ole goof while we prepared The Envelope's report on the winners of BAFTA's TV Awards. The official website lists two different winners!

Go to the site's main TV page, click on the link at right marked "Television Award Winners" and you'll see that Stephen Dillane ("The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall") was named champ for portraying an attorney who fought to find the Israeli Defense Force sniper who killed his son while the lad was serving as a British humanitarian volunteer in Gaza in 2003.

But, wait! Go back to the main BAFTA TV page, click on the link marked "Winners' List" underneath the box with flashing images, then click on the link "Actor" and you'll see that Ben Whishaw ("Criminal Justice") won for playing a slacker accused of murdering his gal pal during a pill-popping, vodka-swilling romp.

Obviously, Dillane really won the prize. On the first awards page noted above, you can see a video of him accepting the prize. But how did this goof occur? And why is the mistake still -- as of 4:30 p.m. PST, at the BAFTA website? Gold Derby e-mailed the org's leaders and PR reps yesterday to ask these pressing questions, but no one has yet responded.

Photos: BAFTA.org, BBC One, C4

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