Gold Derby nuggets: 'Precious' metal could be gold | 'From Here to Eternity' lives on | AFI Fest honors new filmmakers

November 6, 2009 | 4:21 pm

• Dave Karger thinks "Precious" has a shot at landing at least five Oscar nods -- best picture, director, actress, supporting actress and screenplay. And he thinks, "Once people get past the strange concept of [Mariah] Carey as an Oscar contender, they won’t be able to deny the power of her few scenes as a social worker. If you ask me, she more than deserves to be in this [supporting actress] race." ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

• However, in the latest edition of the weekly series "Oscar Futures" Lane Brown wonders, "Are these the first sounds of the long-anticipated backlash? New York's David Edelstein didn't love it and Armond White's over-the-top pan got more attention than the raves (and some even agree with him, a little)." As for the other races, Lane likes the looks of "Precious" star Gabourey Sidibe and late entry Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart") while wondering which, if any, of the women from "Nine" will make it into the race. VULTURE

• The Latin Grammys earned boffo ratings for Univision, drawing 12.8 million viewers. This 10th edition of the kudocast was up across all demographics compared to last year. Indeed, "the broadcast made Univision the #2 network for the night among Adults 18-34, attracting 2.0 million viewers and beating CBS, NBC, FOX and CW in the process. In addition, the awards show attracted an average of 6.0 million Total Viewers 2+ and took the #3 spot among Adults 18-49 with 3.5 million average viewers, beating NBC, FOX and CW for the entire night in that demo. In key local markets such as Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, and Phoenix, Univision stations were #1 for the night, regardless of language, among Total Viewers 2+." TV BY THE NUMBERS

• The academy is screening a new print of 1953 best picture winner "From Here to Eternity" on Nov. 18. This blockbuster adaptation of James Jones' bestseller won eight Oscars, including trophies for supporting players Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed. Among the 13 nominations for the picture were unsuccessful bids by leads Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. "From Here to Eternity" is one of only two best picture winners to boast nominations across all four acting categories, the other being 1942 champ "Mrs. Miniver." Also in the "Eternity" cast was Ernest Borgnine in his first significant film role. Now 92, Borgnine will join in a discussion after the academy screening. Two years after "Eternity," Borgnine won the best actor Oscar for "Marty," the 1955 best pic winner which was co-produced by Lancaster. AMPAS

• Peter Knegt offers his take on the Oscar race, noting that, "At this point, I think we can say with 99.9% certainty that three films are in: Kathryn Bigelow’s 'The Hurt Locker,' Jason Reitman’s 'Up In The Air,' and Lee Daniels' 'Precious.'" Beyond that Peter thinks, "there are roughly 17 films with something of a chance at the remaining 7 slots, some of them much better off than others ('An Education' and 'Up,' for example, are looking pretty good right now)." INDIE WIRE

• Paul Gaita reports that the winners of the inaugural AFI Fest New Lights Competition are Andrea Arnold's "Fish Tank" and Javier Rebollo's "Woman Without Piano," with a special jury mention given to Scandar Copti's and Yaron Shani's "Ajami." The competition was created to honor groundbreaking features by first- and second-time directors from around the world. The awards were presented by jury chair Angela Bassett. Other jurors included actress/director Julie Delpy, journalist Bill Krohn and filmmaker Yonfan. THE CIRCUIT

• "The Cove" -- Louie Psihoyos' controversial film about the Japanese dolphin hunt -- leads with seven nominations at the third annual Cinema Eye Honors. "Burma VJ" and "October Country" each earned five nods while "Food, Inc." has four and "Loot" landed three bids. These kudos feting the best in non-fiction filmmaking will be handed out Jan. 10 in Gotham. Nominees were determined by documentary programmers from various filmfests. CINEMA EYE HONORS

• Todd Martens reports that the Nov. 22 kudocast of the American Music Awards just added Rihanna to the lineup of performers. Other acts announced Friday for the ABC programming staple are Green Day, Shakira, Mary J. Blige and Keith Urban. Previously announced performers include Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, the Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry and Adam Lambert. POP & HISS