• Five-time Oscar nominee Marc Shaiman is returning to the Oscarcast as musical director six years after conducting the orchestra for Billy Crystal's swan song as host. Shaiman earned three of his four Emmy nods for his work on the Oscars, sharing in the 1992 writing win for penning Crystal's opening medley to the 64th edition of the kudos. Shaiman has lost Oscar bids for both scores --  "The American President" (1995); "The First Wives Club" (1996) and "Patch Adams" (1998) -- and songs --  "A Wink and a Smile" from "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) and "Blame Canada" from "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" (1999). For that last losing nod, Shaiman played escort to co-writers Trey Parker and Matt Stone dressed a la Jennifer Lopez and Gywneth Paltrow. The talented musical maestro will be reuniting with Oscarcast producer Adam Shankman who helmed the 2007 film version of Shaiman's Tony-winning 2003 musical "Hairspray." AMPAS

• Todd Martens judged the AMA performances and gave his top marks of A- to Rihanna -- "Ne-Yo told us that the R' in her 'Rated R' stands for either 'remarkable' or 'really, really sexy.' Not quite sure if it completely hit both of those notes, but it was definitely over too soon" -- and Whitney Houston -- "If her instrument isn't what it once was, it can still silence a room. Compared to Blige a few songs ago, Houston was perhaps a bit over the top, but she belted until she was nearly out of breath. It was a powerful moment." POP & HISS

• Rick Porter reports that Sunday night's AMA Awards got the biggest audience for the Alphabet net's annual musicfest in seven years. However, even this was not enough to beat the Peacock's NFL game: "NBC averaged 12.94 million viewers and an 8.0 rating/13 share in households on Sunday, edging CBS (12.69 million, 7.8/12) and ABC (12.14 million, 7.3/12) for the lead." ZAP2IT

• Pete Hammond continues to tout the Oscar potential of Sandra Bullock, star of "The Blind Side." Admits Pete, "I remain the only one of the 20 pundits predicting that Sandra Bullock will be one of the five Best Actress Oscar nominees. I stand by this more than ever now that the movie has opened with an over-performing $34.6 million (Bullock's best ever) and a very rare A + Cinemascore rating." Pete thinks, "It's a big star turn in the kind of real-life role that gets Oscars attention a la Julia Roberts in 'Erin Brockovich.'" However, as he notes, "Universal conducted a large-scale campaign for 'Brockovich' and also landed it a Best Picture nomination, something 'Blind Side' won't likely be able to do. There's also the fact that Bullock has always been a popular star actress as opposed to the kind of critical darling that usually wins the bigger film awards. This, however, is arguably the best performance of her career." NOTES ON A SEASON

• Ryan Adams was wowed by Sunday's "60 Minutes" segment  on Oscar-winning helmer James Cameron ("Titanic") and his upcoming "Avatar." Said Ryan, "there’s an entirely different segment of the Academy elders who recognize the respect and prestige a '60 Minutes' profile can bestow. Having Morley Safer, the veteran CBS Yoda of culture and sophisticated taste give a movie his stamp of enthusiastic anticipation is a showcase more esteemed than money can buy. After some recent worries that 'Avatar' marketing was skewing for maximum youth appeal, many of us have been needing to see it validated as sincere grown-up sci-fi, hoping for a re-certification of maturity. Tonight on '60 Minutes' I think we got it."  AWARDS DAILY

• Following in the footsteps of James Cameron as this year's recipient of the Vanguard award from the Producers Guild of America is Joss Whedon. The award salutes achievements in new media and technology and the roster of previous recipients also includes George Lucas and John Lasseter. Whedon -- equally successful as a TV producer ("Buffy the Vamprie Slayer") and webcast wiz ("Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog") -- was cited by kudos co-chairs David Friendly and Laurence Mark for having, "mastered the art of melding the newest technology with inspired storytelling, truly exemplifying the spirit of the Vanguard Award." PGA

• The Santa Barbara filmfest also has a Vanguard award and this year is spreading the wealth around naming a quartet of talent -- Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Stanley Tucci and Christoph Waltz -- as winners. The kudo "was created in recognition of an actor who has forged his/her own path, taking artistic risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film. In previous years, this award was first bestowed on Ryan Gosling and last year to Kristin Scott Thomas." For fest director Roger Durling, “This group of supporting actors encompasses the best of the best; their roles have made us love them as well as hate them, sometimes all at the same time. I am so pleased to have all of them together, in one place to celebrate them and thank them for the cinematic treasures they have created." SBIFF

• For Sasha Stone, "There is more white noise than ever before the start of the actual season, but worse, there seems to be a gaping hole where movies should be." Says Sasha, "'Up in the Air' is the juggernaut everyone should fear. I suspect that it will have one or two challengers but for now, it seems to have a clear shot to victory. They aren’t upsetting the apple cart with too much buzz, noise or ads and they still have the film’s release to look forward to. We can only hope that these films, these Oscar movies, can somehow cross over into the public consciousness. Can Oscar and the public reach synergy? If anyone can do it, George Clooney and Jason Reitman can. Maybe Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman can. Maybe Rob Marshall can. Maybe Jim Cameron can. Maybe Nancy Myers, Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin can." Wonders Sasha, "Are there any surprises left to be played out?" AWARDS DAILY

• Lane Brown sees the Oscar hopes of "Nine" as on the rise: "For a movie this well pedigreed not to get a nomination, something would have to have gone terribly wrong. A big response at a SAG screening seemingly indicates that that hasn't happened." And among actors, Lane says, "Just three weeks after entering the race, "Crazy Heart" star Jeff Bridges is already the prohibitive favorite. And a great-looking new trailer subtly reminds us that the four-time Academy Award nominee has never won." NEW YORK

• Jeff Wells remains down on the best picture prospects of "Up." Says Jeff, "I sure didn't see 'Up' as a metaphor for anything in my life, I can tell you. It's just a high-strung animated story with a lot of gee-gosh stuff going on and some recognizable heart-and-spirit issues propelling the two main characters." HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE

• And Anne Thompson was less than impressed with the American remake of "Brothers." As Anne writes, "David Benioff is a gifted writer ('The 25th Hour'). Jim Sheridan is a gifted director ('In America'). Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman are gifted actors. So what went wrong on the road to Relativity and Lionsgate’s American adaptation of Danish writer-director Susanne Bier’s extraordinary 2004 movie 'Brothers'?" THOMPSON ON HOLLYWOOD

Photos from top: Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Marc Shaiman at the 1999 Academy Awards ceremony (Los Angeles Times); "The Blind Side" poster (Warner Bros.); "Up in the Air" poster (Paramount)

After piping in with their Oscars predix for best pix on Tuesday, our forums' moderators now stick out their thin, tender, trembling necks to forecast the best-actress race. Chris "Boomer" Beachum, Matthew "Boidiva02" Cormier, Darrin "DoubleD" Dortch, Robert "Rob L" Licuria, Andrew "andrew" Pickett and Paul Sheehan.

Only two actresses get the bets of all of these pundits: Carey Mulligan ("An Education") and Helen Mirren ("The Last Station"). Yeah, I'm sure they're right about that duo. Those not putting their derby dollars down on Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire") and Saoirse Ronan ("The Lovely Bones") will regret it later. Personally, my fifth pick is Marion Cotillard ("Nine"). Check out our forums to see who other Derbyites are betting on in general; read reax to these specific predix here. Early fave to win is Sidibe, I think. Here are the views of 16 film journos we polled on the best-pic race.

Photos: From left, Carey Mulligan in "An Education." Credit: Sony Pictures Classics. Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious." Credit: Lionsgate

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If Johnny Depp is the actor most overdue to win an Oscar, is Michelle Pfeiffer his female equivalent? Twenty-one years ago, she earned the first of her three Oscar nods for playing the innocent in "Dangerous Liaisons." Michelle Pfeiffer lost the supporting actress race to Geena Davis at her quirkiest in "The Accidental Tourist." Since then she has contended twice for lead actress, losing her 1989 bid for "The Fabulous Baker Boys" to "Driving Miss Daisy" star Jessica Tandy and her 1992 nod for "Love Field" to Emma Thompson for "Howards End."

Following a fallow period in her career, Michelle Pfeiffer returned to the screen two years ago as the campy villainess in "Hairspray," which earned a SAG ensemble nod. (It lost to eventual Oscar champ "No Country for Old Men".) In that frothy musical, Pfeiffer put the moves on Christopher Walken in a sizzling song and dance number. In "Cheri," due out June 19, she stars as a seductress who woos the young son (Rupert Friend) of her courtesan friend (Oscar winner Kathy Bates, "Misery").

The film reunites Michelle Pfeiffer with "Dangerous Liaisons" director Stephen Frears ("The Queen") and screenwriter Christopher Hampton, who won an Oscar back then for adapting his play. Now he has worked his magic on the landmark 1920 novel by Colette ("Gigi"). In and out of gorgeous costumes, Michelle Pfeiffer certainly does not look her 50 years. If any veteran actress can keep pace with the younger fillies in the awards derby it is this stunner.

Certainly, Michelle Pfeiffer is likely to be a Golden Globe nominee, especially if the film is categorized as a comedy where there is always a need to fill the ranks. She earned six consecutive Golden Globe nominations beginning in 1988. She lost her first comedy Globe nod for "Married to the Mob" in 1988 to "Working Girl" Melanie Griffith and her second in 1991 for "Frankie and Johnny" to Bette Midler in "For the Boys." Michelle Pfeiffer did win the drama Globe for "Baker Boys" and contended three other times for that award. She lost all three of those races to the eventual Oscar winner — in 1990 for "The Russia House" to Kathy Bates ("Misery"), in 1992 to Emma Thompson, and in 1993 for "The Age of Innocence" to Holly Hunter ("The Piano").

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Lead actor winner Sean Penn ("Milk") has completed production on "The Tree of Life." This new film from Oscar-nominated writer/director Terrence Malick ("The Thin Red Line") tells the tale of a boy growing up in the Midwest of the 1950s. As a framework to that, Penn plays the grown-up version of the character coming to grips with his past. Rival lead actor nominee Brad Pitt ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") also stars in this drama that has no definite release date as of yet.

Today Variety is reporting that the politically minded Penn may play another real-life character — Ambassador Joseph Wilson, whose wife Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) had her CIA cover blown by the Bush administration — in "Fair Game" from helmer Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith").

After back-to-back filming of grueling roles in both "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road," lead actress winner Kate Winslet is taking a well-earned rest. However, there is no stopping supporting actress winner Penelope Cruz ("Vicky Christina Barcelona") who just wrapped production on the highly anticipated "Nine," which is due out at Thanksgiving.

This movie version of the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical (which was inspired by Federico Fellini's 1963 Oscar-winning "8 1/2") is loaded with Oscar winners: Daniel Day-Lewis as a wayward film director, Marion Cotillard as his faithful wife, Cruz as his mistress, Nicole Kidman as his protege, Judi Dench as his mentor and Sophia Loren as his mother. All are under the direction of Oscar nominee Rob Marshall ("Chicago").

And Cruz recently reunited with her good friend and mentor Pedro Almodovar to make "Los Abrazos Rotos" ("Loose Embraces"). Almodovar directed Cruz to a 2006 lead actress nomination for "Volver." For their fourth film together, they have made a modern-day film noir about a love square that will be released stateside in the fall.

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Photo: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press

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OSCAR PREDICTIONS

• Gold Derby's gutsy, 100% accurate Oscars predictions

• Gold Derby odds on the top Oscars races

• Experts predict who'll win the Oscars

• Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke in a real heavyweight bout

• Can Meryl Streep beat Kate Winslet at the Oscars?

• Rookie pundit needs a new Oscars crystal ball

OSCARS TELECAST

• Will Rob Pattinson sing with Mary Poppins at the Oscars?

• Will Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, Zac Efron and Rob Pattinson wow Oscars' viewers?

• 'Twilight' star Robert Pattinson will be an Oscars presenter

• Some Oscars TV ads still for sale — only $1.4 million a pop!

• Oscars are the Emmys' biggest winner

OSCARS HOST: HUGH JACKMAN

• Sneak Peek: See Hugh Jackman warming up his Oscar act

• Can Hugh Jackman continue the Oscars' love affair with Emmys?

OSCAR NOMINEES

• Heath Ledger's ultimate joke on the Oscars?

• Heath Ledger's family plans to take his Oscar, which should go to Matilda if he wins!

• Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie could be latest couple cursed at the Oscars

• Will Brad Pitt lose best actor due to Oscars' Slap the Stud Syndrome?

• Will the Babe Factor help Kate Winslet in a close Oscars contest with Meryl Streep?

• Watch out, Mickey Rourke: Indie Spirit is Oscar's consolation prize

• Penelope Cruz: 'Whatever happens, I will probably have a few beers and I don't drink!'

• No 'Doubt' Viola Davis could win at Oscars for portraying a long-suffering wife

OSCAR RACES

• 'Slumdog Millionaire' isn't doomed at the Oscars just because its actors got snubbed

• The Oscars' best picture usually = big picture

• Could 'Curious Case of Benjamin Button' suffer the worst shut-out in Oscars history?

• No, there is no bias against foreigners at the Oscars

• Here's why there will be an Oscars upset for best foreign film

OSCAR FLASHBACK

• Did 'Ben-Hur' deserve to win best picture at the Oscars?

OSCAR QUIZZES

• Quiz: Which actor had the most Oscar bids in a row?

• Quiz: Which Bette Davis flick suffered the worst Oscars' shut-out?

• Quiz: Who turned down Jodie Foster's Oscar-winning role in 'Lambs'?

• Quiz: Who won an Oscar on her birthday?

• Quiz: Which Oscar-winning role was not gay?

• Quiz: How much does an Oscar cost to make?

• Quiz: Which movies won for writing, directing and acting, but failed to win best picture?

Illustration by Ty Wilson

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For both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the only speech they really need to rehearse for Sunday's Oscars is what to say when they run into his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston. After all, both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are ranked by Gold Derby fourth in their respective lead races for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Changeling."

And the track record of couples both nominated for Oscars in the same year is not great. Of the 11 couples profiled below, only one — Frances McDormand and Joel Coen — both won on the same night. In four other derby years, the woman won while, in one instance, it was the man. And for the five others — including the most recent pairing of Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams in 2005's "Brokeback Mountain" — both of them lost.

In 2005 Ledger and Williams met while making "Brokeback Mountain." He lost the lead actor race to Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote") while she lost the supporting actress Oscar to Rachel Weisz ("The Constant Gardener").

In 1996, Joel Coen directed his wife Frances McDormand for the fifth time in "Fargo." She won her only lead actress bid (she has lost three supporting races) and he earned his first directing nod. While he lost that race to Anthony Minghella who helmed best picture champ "The English Patient" he shared the original screenplay Oscar with his brother Ethan Coen.

In 1995 Tim Robbins directed his partner Susan Sarandon to the lead actress Oscar in "Dead Man Walking." While Sarandon won on her fifth and, to date, final bid, Robbins lost his only helming nod to another actor turned director Mel Gibson who won for making best picture champ "Braveheart." Robbins would go on to win the supporting actor Oscar in 2003 for "Mystic River" which was directed by the ultimate crossover Clint Eastwood.

In 1968 Paul Newman directed his first film "Rachel, Rachel" with wife Joanne Woodward in the title role. Woodward lost the second of her four lead actress bids — she won with her first in 1957 for "The Three Faces of Eve" — to both Katharine Hepburn ("The Lion in Winter") and Barbra Streisand ("Funny Girl"). Newman was nominated for producing this best picture contender which lost to "Oliver!" He would go on to win on the seventh of his eight lead actor nods in 1986 for "The Color of Money" and earned a single supporting nod as well. Newman also received an honorary Oscar in 1985 and the Hersholt humanitarian Oscar in 1993.

In 1967 Katharine Hepburn won the the second of her record four lead actress awards for "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" which was her final film with off-screen love Spencer Tracy. She always thought of this award as a tribute to Tracy, who died just days after filming finished on their ninth on-screen collaboration. Tracy lost his ninth and final lead actor race. He had won back-to-back Oscars in 1937 and 1938 for "Captains Courageous" and "Boys Town" respectively. "Dinner" was the only film they made together in which they were both nominated but Hepburn picked up the third of her 12 lead actress nods for their first collaboration "Woman of the Year" in 1942.

In 1966 husband and wife Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor contended in the lead races for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Taylor won the second of her two lead actress Oscars — the first was in 1960 for "Butterfield 8" — on her fifth and final nod. Burton lost the fifth of his seven nods to Paul Scofield ("A Man for All Seasons"). Burton shared the title of Oscar's biggest loser with his drinking buddy Peter O'Toole until O'Toole worsted him with his loss for "Venus" two years ago.

In 1963, Rex Harrison lost the first of his two lead actor bids for "Cleopatra" to Sidney Poitier ("Lilies of the Field") while wife Rachel Roberts lost her only best actress nod to Patricia Neal ("Hud"). Harrison would win the following year for reprising his stage role of Henry Higgins in best picture champ "My Fair Lady."

In 1957 husband and wife Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester were nominated for "Witness for the Prosecution." Laughton — already a lead actor champ for 1933's "The Private Life of Henry VIII" — lost the third of his three lead actor bids to Alec Guinness ("The Bridge on the River Kwai"). Lanchester lost the second of her two supporting actress noms to Miyoshi Umeki ("Sayonara").

In 1953 Ava Gardner successfully petitioned Columbia studio head Harry Cohn to cast her husband Frank Sinatra in "From Here to Eternity." While he won the supporting actor award she lost her only lead actress bid for "Mogambo" to Audrey Hepburn ("Roman Holiday"). Sinatra went on to earn one lead nod and was awarded the Hersholt humanitarian Oscar in 1970.

At this year's Oscars there are only three foreign-born folk among the 20 acting nominees: lead actress contender Kate Winslet ("The Reader") and supporting players Heath Ledger ("The Dark Knight") and Penelope Cruz ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona"). However, that does not mean the Oscars are guilty of any home-grown bias. After all, those three are the front-runners in their races. And last year all four acting winners came from foreign shores.

While Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood") and Tilda Swinton ("Michael Clayton") were just the latest two of the 36 English actors to win Oscars, Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose") made Oscars history by giving the first French-language performance to be so honored while Javier Bardem ("No Country for Old Men") was the first Spanish performer to win an Oscar.

That marked the second time in Oscars history that all four acting champs hailed from outside the United States. The first was back in 1964 when the winners were three Brits — Rex Harrison ("My Fair Lady"), Julie Andrews ("Mary Poppins"), and Peter Ustinov ("Topkapi") — and Russian born Lila Kedrova ("Zorba the Greek").

The Oscars rolled out the the welcome mat at the very first ceremony in 1929 when Swiss-born Emil Jannings won lead actor for his performances in "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh." And three of the first four lead actresses came from Canada — Mary Pickford ("Coquette"), Norma Shearer ("The Divorcee"), and Marie Dressler ("Min and Bill").

One of our most prolific forum posters, the aptly named Academy Awards Guru, has compiled a list of the nationalities of all 265 Oscar winners for acting. During the course of 80 ceremonies, they have won 306 Oscars (there has been one tie in each of lead actor and lead actress). Of these, 77 winners came from outside the USA to take home 87 Oscars. While 22 other countries have produced Oscar winners, it is not surprising that England leads with 36 of her citizens winning 42 Oscars.

Over the last 80 years at the Oscars, lead actor has gone to a non-American 24 times and lead actress 25 times while in the 72-year history of the supporting awards, non-Americans won supporting actor 20 times and supporting actress 18 times.

In the following list, the Oscar-winning actors are listed under the country with which they are most associated with their birthplace given when it differs. In addition, those actors who were born elsewhere but raised primarily in the USA are not included, such as Elizabeth Taylor born in England, Claudette Colbert in France, sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia DeHavilland in Japan, Anthony Quinn in Mexico, and Paul Muni in the Ukraine.

I invited The Envelope's forum moderators to give us their early Oscars predictions: Chris "Boomer" Beachum, Matthew "Boidiva2" Cormier, Darrin "DoubleD" Dortch and Rob Licuria.

To predict who'll be nominated on July 17 for best lead drama actress, we must first review how Emmy voting works. Accountants combine how contenders performed during a popular vote of the academy's actors (which determined the Top 10 lists) with the scores that judges gave to their sample episode submissions.

Based upon their A-list rank and the strength of the performances they gave in their sample episodes, Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace"), Glenn Close ("Damages") and Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer") will be nominated. However, Hunter and Close may have trouble winning because their characters can be unsympathetic.

It's easy to predict that Elisabeth Moss ("Mad Men") will not make the Emmy cut. Being an unknown in a new TV series portraying a role that probably belongs in the supporting category, not lead, suggests that she probably landed in the bottom half of the popular vote. That means she needs a strong episode entry to compensate and she didn't submit it.

But the fates of the other six gals in this category is befuddling. Jeanne Tripplehorn ("Big Love") and Mary McDonnell ("Battlestar Galactica") probably scored low in the popular vote, but their episode entries are fantastic. Will their latter scores be sufficient to pull them up into one of those two remaining open slots, assuming that Hunter, Close and Sedgwick get in?

Just as they handicapped the race for lead actors in a drama series, our forum moderators and special Emmy seers now track the fillies: Chris "Boomer" Beachum and Robert "Rob L" Licuria (AwardsHeaven.net — read Hollywood Reporter's profile of Rob HERE).

Rob and Boomer mirror the actual voting process to rank these women. First, they calculate the order of the top 10 semifinalists as determined by the popular vote by the TV academy's actors' branch. Then they predict how the panel judges scored the sample episode entries. They combine these two results on a 50-50 basis, just like the accountants do, to determine the final ranking of the nominees.

For example, both Boomer and Rob thought Glenn came in first with both the popular vote and the judges so her total score is two. Remember, just like in golf, the lower the score the better the result.

How Rob ranks the popular vote outcome — 1.) Glenn Close 2.) Kyra Sedgwick 3.) Sally Field 4.) Holly Hunter 5.) Minnie Driver 6.) Mariska Hargitay 7.) Patricia Arquette 8.) Jeanne Tripplehorn 9.) Elisabeth Moss 10.) Mary McDonnell

Here's how Boomer thinks the pop vote went down — 1.) Glenn Close 2.) Kyra Sedgwick 3.) Sally Field 4.) Holly Hunter 5.) Mariska Hargitay 6.) Minnie Driver 7.) Patricia Arquette 8.) Elisabeth Moss 9.) Jeanne Tripplehorn 10.) Mary McDonnell

My opinion: I think Rob and Boomer rank Kyra Sedgwick too high.

How Rob thinks the judges ranked episode entries — 1.) Glenn Close 2.) Jeanne Tripplehorn 3.) Mary McDonnell 4.) Kyra Sedgwick 5.) Holly Hunter 6.) Sally Field 7.) Minnie Driver 8.) Mariska Hargitay 9.) Patricia Arquette 10.) Elisabeth Moss

Here's how Boomer ranks the judges' views of the episodes — 1.) Glenn Close 2.) Kyra Sedgwick 3.) Mary McDonnell 4.) Sally Field 5.) Mariska Hargitay 6.) Jeanne Tripplehorn 7.) Elisabeth Moss 8.) Holly Hunter 9.) Patricia Arquette 10.) Minnie Driver

My opinion: Both of our gurus rank Sally Field's episode way too high. Compared to last year, Field hands in a rather lightweight turn now. Certainly, Hargitay's perf is superior and maybe Driver's too. Boomer's wrong and Rob's right about Tripplehorn's eppy — it gets a high rank.

For specific info and excellent analysis of the sample TV episodes, I recommend that you CLICK HERE to read what our post RyanB wrote in our forums. (Well done, Ryan!)

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS: ROB'S PREDIX
(Top five = nominees)
1.) Glenn Close, "Damages" ("Pilot") — 2 points
2.) Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer" ("Manhunt") — 6 points
3.) Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters" ("History Repeating") — 9 points
3.) Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace" ("Tacos, Tulips, Duck & Spices") — 9 points
5.) Jeanne Tripplehorn, "Big Love" ("Take Me As I Am") — 10 points
6. Minnie Driver, "The Riches" ("Dead Calm") — 12 points
7.) Mary McDonnell, "Battlestar Galactica" ("Faith") — 13 points
8.) Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU" ("Undercover") — 14 points
9.) Patricia Arquette, "Medium" ("Aftertaste") — 16 points
9.) Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men" ("The Hobo Code") — 16 points

KEEP READING - CLICK HERE!

Goodbye, silver screen. Hello, boob tube. The fact that lots of film stars suddenly think it's smart to develop a TV career is dramatically evidenced in the Emmy race for best drama actress. Half of the top 10 vote-getters Emmy are past Oscar nominees, if not winners.

Leading the pack is five-time Academy Award also-ran Glenn Close, who is devilishly good as a barracuda of a barrister on the new series "Damages." Three years ago, Close was a nominee in this category for her one-season stint on "The Shield." Although she lost that race to Patricia Arquette, Close has one Emmy to show for her six nods as lead actress in a miniseries or movie (for 1995's "Serving in Silence"). And now Close, who picked up a Golden Globe in January, is apparently far ahead of Arquette, whose show is flagging even with the addition of Oscar winner Angelica Huston.

While Glenn Close lost all five of her Oscar races, Sally Field won both of her best actress bids ("Norma Rae," 1979, and "Places in the Heart," 1984). Following her start in silly 1960s sitcoms ("Gidget," "The Flying Nun"), Field gained the respect of her TV brethren with an Emmy-winning performance in "Sybil" in 1976. When her movie career stalled in the mid-1990s, Field came back to television, starring in, and exec-producing, the miniseries "A Woman of Independent Means" in 1995.

Although Glenn Close beat her for the Emmy that year, Field would win her second one in 2001 for her guest turn as the bipolar mother of Maura Tierney on "ER." When her first drama series, "The Court," was canceled after only three episodes in 2002, Field felt done with TV and turned her attention to the stage. That is, until the summer of 2006 when the producers of "Brothers & Sisters" came calling, asking her to replace Tony Award winner Betty Buckley as the matriarch of this dysfunctional family. As Nora Walker, Field ruled the roost and feathered her nest with her third Emmy last year, delivering yet another (ahem) memorable acceptance speech, which got bleeped from the U.S. telecast, of course.

Both of those 61-year-old gals clash with 50-year-old Oscar champ Holly Hunter ("The Piano"), who was so kudos-hot in 1993 that she scored an additional bid for supporting actress ("The Firm"). In 2003, she was back in the supporting racetrack for "Thirteen." None of those was her best career performance, though — that was in "Broadcast News" (best actress nomination, 1987), which earned her best-actress laurels from the New York and L.A. film critics in addition to the National Board of Review, all of which rewarded her role in "The Piano" as well. Hunter has scored six Golden Globe noms, including in the TV race last January for "Saving Grace." She won two Emmys in TV movie category: "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom" (1993) and "Roe vs. Wade" (1989).

KEEP READING - CLICK HERE!