On Tuesday The Envelope posters chatted live with past Oscar champ ("The Piano") and current Emmy contender ("True Blood," "Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler") Anna Paquin. Click below to catch up on the fun.

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Inside track: Emmy race for lead actor in a drama

Inside track: Emmy race for best drama series

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I think it's hilarious reading all the blog rants against the Oscars' decision to expand the best-picture list to 10, written by the same film critics who issue their own Top 10 lists every year.

I cheer Oscar's decision. As the telecast confronts declining Nielsen numbers, this is a great antidote since it will draw in more viewers rooting for their flicks to win. Oscar's Top 10 list will probably include lots of popcorn pix snubbed in the past like "The Dark Knight" and comedies like "Borat." Also, animated gems like "Toy Story" that were so neglected previously that the academy had to create a separate race for them eight years ago. Will that category be eliminated ahead? Maybe, in a few years, if "Up" and other worthy entries get in. As things stood up till recently, if socko comedies like "Tropic Thunder" and musicals like "Dreamgirls" and "Sweeney Todd" continued to get skunked, the Oscars might have been forced to launch a separate new best-pic race for comedies/musicals like the Golden Globes.

Actually, the Oscars are not only just now catching up with list-making film critics and the Golden Globes but other film groups like the National Board of Review, the Critics' Choice Awards and even the American Film Institute, which hail 10 film finalists every year. And with Oscar himself, since the motion-picture academy frequently had far more than five nominees in the 1930s and 1940s.

Since then, once the Oscars' restricted the best-picture race to five, all of the following classics failed to be nominated for the top prize: "The African Queen," "East of Eden," "North By Northwest," "Now, Voyager," "Psycho," "Singing in the Rain" (No. 10 on the AFI list of greatest movies ever made), "A Star Is Born" and "2001: A Space Odyssey." AFI lists "Some Like It Hot" as the 14th-greatest film and the best comedy ever made, but it failed to make Oscars' high five.

Decades ago, the Oscars frequently nominated popcorn pix like "Airport," "Jaws" and "The Towering Inferno," but pretentious Hollywooders have gotten awfully highfalutin lately, so this expansion of the race should fix that.

Bottom line: Oscar snobs like you and me won't be fooled by the expanded category. While it will include 10 films, there will still only be five up for best director and, as every Oscarologist knows, the best-picture winner usually needs to have a corresponding bid for helming. Thus, predicting the winner will pretty much be the same game as before. Yes, there have been three exceptions – "Wings," "Grand Hotel" and "Driving Miss Daisy" – but those first two were before 1933.

There's a lot of ridiculous buzzing in the blogosphere about the Oscar using this change as a chance to bump the awards for best shorts or sound editing off the prime-time telecast. Blasphemy! Aren't the Oscars the High Holy Event of the film realm? Isn't attending church supposed to be long and boring? It's good for the soul.

Jude Law is bringing his current West End triumph in the title role of "Hamlet" to Broadway in September. Previews begin Sept. 12, with opening night set for Oct. 6. Following the show's run at the Donmar Warehouse, which ends in mid-August, the company will perform for a week at Elsinore Castle in Denmark. That is the setting for this most famous of William Shakespeare's dramas.

Laurence Olivier starred in a production of "Hamlet" staged at this medieval castle in 1937. Olivier went on to direct himself to an Oscar-winning performance in the 1948 film version, which won the best picture award. 

The invaluable Internet Broadway Database lists 65 productions of "Hamlet" to play on Broadway, with the first being in 1761 and the most recent being another transfer from London in 1995. For that Almeida Theatre staging, Ralph Fiennes won the lead actor in a play Tony Award.

Of the other nine productions of "Hamlet" to play on Broadway since the founding of the Tony Awards, only the 1964 version with Richard Burton in the title role earned any nods. Burton lost the lead acting race to Alec Guiness ("Dylan"), while Hume Cronyn won the featured Tony for his work as Polonius.

Since the nominees for TV's top award are a lot like TV reruns, there's a good chance we'll see most of last year's nominees for outstanding lead actor in a drama series return when bids are unveiled on July 16.

Judging panels will not be used this year to whittle down final nominees after evaluating sample episodes submitted by the top 10 voter-getters determined by a popular vote of members of the TV academy's acting branch. This year, six nominees (instead of the traditional five) will be decided by an outright popular vote, so that makes predicting the outcome much easier.

Sure bets probably include last year's nominees Gabriel Byrne ("In Treatment"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), Jon Hamm ("Mad Men"), Hugh Laurie ("House M.D.) and 2008 winner Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"). That leaves room for just one more. Serial past winner James Spader ("Boston Legal"), who made last year's rundown? Previous champ Kiefer Sutherland ("24"), who had to sit out the last Emmy derby due to the writers strike? Hot new rookie Simon Baker ("The Mentalist")? Past champ Michael Chiklis ("The Shield")? Overdue past nominee Denis Leary ("Rescue Me")?

* = Top 10 semifinalist in 2008

** = Nominee in 2008

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
(Front-runners)
Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"
Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment" **
Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights" *
Michael Chiklis, "The Shield"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" ** (winner, 2008)
Laurence Fishburne, "CSI"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" **
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" **
Hugh Laurie, "House M.D." **
Denis Leary, "Rescue Me" *
Bill Paxton, "Big Love"
James Spader, "Boston Legal" **
Kiefer Sutherland, "24" 

Emmy-savvy HBO was smart to release the DVD set of the first season of "True Blood" just before voting commenced in June. In week five, it sold 107,115 units (1,099,995 total, nearly $38 million), according to The-Numbers.com.

"True Blood" came in second place among TV titles for the week, behind the debut of Season 7 of "Family Guy," which sold 273,627 units ($7.6 million). Why did Fox miss its big chance to grandstand with a DVD media blitz when Emmy nom voting commenced? To be consistent with how s-l-o-w its characters notoriously are? (Well, except for Stewie and that upright walking doggie.) This year, "Family Guy" ditched the Emmy race for best animated program in order to make the bold drive to be the second cartoon show ever nominated for outstanding comedy series after "The Flintstones" (1961 – it lost to "The Jack Benny Program"), so it could've used the extra push.

Drea De Matteo won an Emmy Award for her final season on "The Sopranos" and picked up Golden Globe and SAG nods as well for her work as the turncoat Adriana. After her character was whacked in 2004, De Matteo spent two seasons on the ill-fated spinoff "Joey" and did a five-episode arc on "Sons of Anarchy." Now she is set to return to prime-time in style, joining the cast of "Desperate Housewives."

As the ninth of the titular characters, Drea De Matteo is to play a woman with a landscape designer husband and a troubled son. There is no word as to whether De Matteo will be aboard for just one season or for the run of the series. Following the death of the vampy, trampy Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) this season, the show needs a strong-willed character to stir up life in the leafy suburb.

The most recent addition to the women of Wisteria Lane was two-time Emmy winner Dana Delaney ("China Beach"), who joined the show in Season 4. Her character, Katherine Mayfair, was central to the mystery of that season, and she has remained on "Desperate Housewives" since in a pivotal role. Five years ago, Delaney was on creator Marc Cherry's wish list of actresses to play Bree, a part that eventually went to Marcia Cross.

The second season casting of four-time Emmy winner Alfre Woodard as new housewife Betty Applewhite did not go nearly as well. The mystery surrounding her family fell flat, and Woodard's character never seemed to mesh with the other women. Ironically, one-season wonder Woodard was the only one of the series regulars to earn an Emmy nod that year. She lost the supporting actress in a comedy series race to Megan Mullally ("Will & Grace").

After being written off by many TV critics, "Desperate Housewives" took a big risk this season and shifted the story ahead five years. This fast forward offered a chance for a much-needed reboot. "Desperate Housewives" ended its fifth year on a high note as the season-long mystery was solved and all seemed as well as it ever can be for the women of Wisteria Lane. In the two-hour finale, there was a wedding, an affair, a pregnancy and an adoption.

Desperate Housewives" lost its only bid for the comedy series Emmy Award to the farewell season of "Everybody Loves Raymond" back in 2005. After that first-season nod, the hourlong show has been snubbed by Emmy in that top race ever since. While it made the top 10 runoff as determined by a popular vote in both Seasons 2 and 3, it failed to win over the judging panels and earn a spot in the final round last year.

This year, the Emmy Awards nominating process has been revised to eliminate the juried runoff. Now the contenders will be determined solely by popular ballot. "Desperate Housewives" ranks No. 9 for the season with an average audience of 14.5 million. The only other comedy in the top 20 is "Two and a Half Men," which sits in 11th place with 9.8 million viewers. This switch could also help the actresses who play the housewives get back in the Emmy race.

The posters in our message boards aren't content just to dish awards bestowed by others --  they insist upon doling out their own. Monday, they unveiled their nominees for the newest batch of Gold Derby TV Awards, and you are invited to join them to determine winners. Voting continues until July 31.

"30 Rock" received a record 17 nominations, including bids for lead stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. The top vote recipient among drama series was "Mad Men" with 10 nominations.

Winners in the comedy lineup in 2008 included "30 Rock" and lead stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, Kristin Chenoweth (best supporting actress, "Pushing Daisies") and Neil Patrick Harris (supporting actor, "How I Met Your Mother"). Drama honorees: "Lost," Glenn Close ("Damages"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), Chandra Wilson (supporting actress, "Grey's Anatomy") and Michael Emerson (supporting actor, "Lost").  All of last year's winners were nominated again in 2009, with the exception of Chandra Wilson.

Here's a partial list of nominees. See more in our forums where you can cast your vote.

BEST COMEDY SERIES
"Chuck"
"How I Met Your Mother"
"The Office"
"Pushing Daisies"
"30 Rock"

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell as Michael Scott, "The Office"
Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski, "Chuck"
Lee Pace as Ned, "Pushing Daisies"
Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, "The Big Bang Theory"

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Toni Collette as Tara Gregson, "United States of Tara"
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"
Eva Longoria Parker as Gabrielle Solis, "Desperate Housewives"
Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, "Weeds"
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, "Parks & Recreation"

Since the Emmys have ditched the judging panels to determine nominees, letting the lineups be chosen strictly by an outright popular balloting of the TV academy's acting branch, that means the outcome should be more predictable than usual.

Expect last year's champ Glenn Close ("Damages") and 2007 winner, 2008 nominee and double Oscar victor Sally Field ("Brothers & Sisters") to return. Ditto perennial nominees Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: SVU") and Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer").

Voters usually drive a stake through the Emmy hopes of the stars of vampire shows (poor "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star Sarah Michelle Gellar was never nommed despite shrieks of outrage from every TV critic), but Anna Paquin ("True Blood") has two pluses: being on HBO and owning an Oscar ("The Piano"). Past Oscar champ for the same film, Holly Hunter, was nominated last year for "Saving Grace," so she'll probably be back.

That leaves one more slot open, considering the Emmys have expanded the list of nominees to six contenders from the usual five. If an African American actress gets in and wins, it'll be the first time that a black star's ever claimed this category. Three are seriously in the running: Angela Bassett ("ER"), Regina King ("Southland") and Jill Scott ("The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency").

However, given the Emmy popularity of last year's winner of best drama series, "Mad Men," that bid may go to either January Jones or Elisabeth Moss.

* = Top 10 Semi-Finalist in 2008

** = Nominee in 2008

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
(Front-runners)
Patricia Arquette, "Medium" *
Angela Bassett, "ER"
Glenn Close, "Damages" ** (Winner in 2008)
Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters" **
Calista Flockhart, "Brothers & Sisters"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU" **
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace" **
January Jones, "Mad Men"
Evangeline Lilly, "Lost"
Mary McDonnell, "Battlestar Galactica" *
Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men" *
Anna Paquin, "True Blood"
Jill Scott, "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer" **
Jeanne Tripplehorn, "Big Love" *

"Two weeks before he died, Michael Jackson wrapped up work on an elaborate production dubbed the 'Dome Project' that could be the final finished video piece overseen by the King of Pop," reports the Associated Press. "Shooting for the project lasted from June 1-9, with Jackson on the set most days. Now in post-production, the project is expected to be completed July 15."

If this report is true, Michael Jackson might win yet another Grammy for best video after three previous victories: "Scream" (best short form video, 1995, shared with sister Janet Jackson), "Leave Me Alone" (best short form, 1989) and "Making Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'" (best video album, 1984).

The same year he won in the short-form race for "Leave Me Alone," he was nominated in the race for long forms for "Moonwalker," losing to sister Janet's "Rhythm Nation 1814." He was also nominated in the short-form category in 1996 for "Earth Song," losing to the Beatles' "Free As a Bird."

RELATED LINKS

Michael Jackson dies leaving legacy of award-winning music

Flashback: Michael Jackson at the 1988 Grammys

Flashback: Michael Jackson's historic Grammy triumph for 'Thriller'

Will Michael and Janet Jackson help the BET Awards to win an Emmy?

Photo: MJJ Productions

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