On June 14, Bonhams & Butterfield will auction off part of the estate of Estelle Getty, who died last July just three days before her 85th birthday. Items up for grabs include two awards she nabbed as the feisty, wise-cracking Sophia on "The Golden Girls" (1985-92). She was nominated seven times in the supporting race at the Emmys, winning in 1988 over Jackee Harry ("227"), Rhea Perlman ("Cheers"), Julia Duffy ("Newhart") Katherine Helmond ("Who's the Boss?").
At the Golden Globes in 1986, Getty was nominated in the lead acting race against three "Golden Girls" costars — Beatrice Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Betty White — plus Cybill Shepherd ("Moonlighting"). She tied for the win with Shepherd.
The auction will also sell the straw purse (sale estimate $1,000-$1,200) and eyeglasses ($400-$600) she wore while starring on the TV series.
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").
Prior to the release of "Duplicity," award watchers had to wonder if Julia Roberts suffered from the Oscar Curse. You know, win an Oscar, then disappear — at least from significance. (We're talking about you, Helen Hunt and Cuba Gooding Jr.) The Academy Award champ for "Erin Brockovich" hasn't made many movies of importance in recent years. "Charlie Wilson's War" and "The Closer" showed great early awards promise but fizzled at the Oscars, making us wonder if Julia Roberts was burning out as superstar.
"Duplicity" looks like a comeback of sorts for Julia Roberts. It's a box-office hit getting mixed to terrific reviews, making us wonder next: Is this just a throwaway thriller that won't matter much on the kudos scene (like the "Bourne" flicks, which "Duplicity" scribe Tony Gilroy penned) or one of the rare gems of that genre that succeed at the Oscars and Golden Globes (like "Michael Clayton," which Gilroy also wrote and directed)?
The answer seems to be somewhere in between, which probably means it may register with Golden Globe voters but probably not academy members. At least not in the top categories. It may have Oscar hope in the tech slots considering its cinematographer is Robert Elswit (Oscar champ, "There Will Be Blood") and music score by James Newton Howard (no wins but nine nominations, including "Michael Clayton").
Entertainment Weekly gives the movie a "B" grade but adds this lament: "'Duplicity' doesn't have depth."
The L.A. Times describes "Duplicity" as "sleek, dizzying entertainment," calling this screen tale of competing spies (Roberts and Clive Owen) toying with each other romantically "essentially 'Michael Clayton Lite.' "
The New York Times says, " 'Duplicity' is superior entertainment, the most elegantly pleasurable movie of its kind to come around in a very long time. ... It's a sharp, sexy comedy masquerading as a twisty tale of intrigue, and vice versa."
The Golden Globes do love Julia Roberts. Assuming "Duplicity" is entered in the comedy/musical categories, she has a good shot at a nomination, and the movie and Clive Owen may nab top bids too considering those award slots are usually less crowded than the drama categories.
Roberts has been nominated on six occasions at the Globes and won 50% of the time. Her three victories: "Erin Brockovich" (best drama actress, 2000), "Pretty Woman" (best comedy/musical actress, 1990) and "Steel Magnolias" (best supporting actress, 1989).
Maybe it's wacky to tackle this so early — nominations don't come out till July — but I just invited our gutsy forum posters to start forecasting the next Emmy lineups. So let's add some Gold Derby perspective too.
Nominees for this TV award are a lot like TV reruns. They come back again and again, year after year, but now there's a radical revamp in the voting process that may trigger somewhat different results. Among new series, "The Mentalist" has been a hit but is perhaps too fantastic and eerie for the safe taste of Emmy voters, who usually aren't too welcoming to crime procedurals anyway. Voters often do embrace new HBO series, whatever they are, but a stake may be driven through the Emmy hopes of "True Blood" (which was nominated for best drama at the Golden Globes), considering how that superhit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was once so cruelly shunned by the TV academy.
"Kings" gets praise from some TV critics and mixed reviews from others. The L.A. Times calls the modern update of the Old Testament tale of David and Goliath "an interesting muddle of a show," but it's pretentious, so that's a plus with those notorious Emmy snobs. Read this L.A. Times article about a few more dramas premiering in midseason.
In recent years, nominees were selected using a two-stage voting process. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, 10 series and actors in each category (15 in the acting races in 2006) were chosen by academy members using a popular ballot. Then the semifinalists were whittled down to the final nominees after sample TV episodes were screened by judging panels that convened at the TV academy and the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
This year the TV academy just made the terrible decision to kill off the judging panels in an effort to save money. That means we're right back where we started prior to 2006, with lower-rated underdog contenders getting screwed. In other words, Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") might be back this year because he gained stature after winning best drama actor last September, but don't expect other critically hailed work on little-seen, brilliant cable shows to get a fair shot.
However, this new system does make predicting the Emmys much simpler, since pundits need only to focus on the most popular faves. In an effort to help the small fries a bit, the academy has increased the number of nominees in each race to six (sometimes seven), up from the usual five.
Let's start off dishing the battles in the top drama categories for series, actors and actresses. See more noodling and predix in The Envelope's Gold Derby forums.
* = Nominee last year
BEST DRAMA SERIES (Favorites) "Boston Legal" * "Damages" * "Dexter" * "House" * "Lost" * "Mad Men" * (last year's winner) "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" "24"
Due to an accounting quirk, there were six nominees in this race last year and five of them will probably be back: "Damages," "Dexter," "House," "Lost" and "Mad Men." "Boston Legal" is vulnerable now that it's saying bye-bye. Past champ "24" (2006) wasn't eligible last year, so there's a good chance it'll nab a bid now that it's jumping back into the derby. "The Tudors" made the top 10 rundown last year and "Big Love" in 2006, so they could make the next top six or seven. "In Treatment" didn't make the 2008 semifinalist list, but it could be buoyed now by its two Emmy victories last September for best supporting actress (Dianne Wiest) and guest star (Glynn Turman). Maybe in an alternate universe the critically praised "Battlestar Galactica" might have a shot. What about "Dollhouse"?
A few of our forum posters think past champ "ER" has a shot since it's experiencing a comeback in its final season. Among new series, HBO's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" hasn't premiered yet, but reviews from U.K. where it aired last week are strong. "The Mentalist" is a relative ratings success, "True Blood" was nominated at the Golden Globes, and "Kings" reigns among some TV critics.
BEST DRAMA ACTOR Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment" * Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" * (winner) Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" * Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" * Hugh Laurie, "House" * James Spader, "Boston Legal" * Kiefer Sutherland, "24"
Past champ Kiefer Sutherland will be back because "24" has been much missed. Denis Leary ("Rescue Me"), Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights") and Patrick Dempsey ("Grey's Anatomy") made the top 10 runoff last year, so that tells us they have a strong base of popular support. Jonathan Rhys-Myers ("The Tudors") didn't make the runoff in 2008, but he may soon be forgiven for weighing 300 pounds less than the real King Henry VIII and being infinitely more pretty. Bill Paxton ("Big Love") made the run-offs a few years ago, but not since. This year's newbies who might break through include Ian McShane ("Kings"), who was nominated in this Emmy race for "Deadwood" in 2006, Patrick Swayze ("The Beast") and Simon Baker ("The Mentalist").
The reinvention of the Oscars by first-time producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark revived viewer interest in the Academy Awards with a corresponding 13% increase in the overnight Nielsens compared with last year's lowest-rated telecast ever. Ratings for the recent Grammy Awards and American Music Awards were also up this year.
Last month's Golden Globes had fewer viewers than usual (14.9 million), but that was still a big jump from the 6 million who tuned in to watch the scaled-back, starless news conference staged to unveil winners last year during the writers strike. Combined, all of these numbers suggest that the downward ratings trend for all top award shows in recent years may finally be reversed.
With A-lister Hugh Jackman hosting the Oscars for the first time and the promise of much more star power appearing as presenters and performers, producers hoped all this would compensate for the lack of a huge box-office draw like "The Dark Knight" in the top races. Last night's big winner with eight Oscars including best picture — "Slumdog Millionaire" — has yet to break through the $100-million mark at the domestic box office.
Variety reported: "One year after the Academy Awards telecast tumbled to its smallest audience on record (32 million), viewership surged by 13% to 36.3 million. Audience peaked during the 10 p.m. ET half-hour, which included Heath Ledger's posthumous victory.
"In total viewership, the Oscars telecast this season lags only the Super Bowl and football's AFC Championship on CBS (40.65 million). The most-watched seg of "American Idol," the season premiere, drew 30.42 million, while the most popular scripted telecast (the season preem of CBS' 'CSI') averaged 23.48 million.
"This year's Oscar audience also tops the 2003 show (33.0 million) but is nonetheless the third-smallest for the ceremony in the past 40 years. It stands as the most-watched entertainment telecast since the 2007 Academy Awards (40.17 million), outdrawing all episodes of Fox's 'American Idol' each of the previous two seasons."
The highest-rated Academy Awards telecast of the last 15 years was for 1997 when "Titanic" swept all the awards, winning a record-tying 11 Oscars. Over 57 million tuned in and the show earned a 35.2 rating. Even the longest telecast in Oscars history — the 2001 show which ran 4 hours and 23 minutes before "A Beautiful Mind" finally won best picture — drew 40 million viewers. That was the first Oscars from the Kodak Theatre and the last of the four hosted to date by Whoopi Goldberg.
The first Oscar telecast was of the 25th anniversary show on March 19, 1953, and aired on NBC hosted — no surprise — by Bob Hope. The big surprise that night was when "The Greatest Show on Earth" won best picture besting, among other, "High Noon." Ratings for the Oscars were socko for decades on end. The highest rated of the last 30 years was for 1982 ("Gandhi" won best picture but "E.T." was a nominee) which came in at 38.0 with a 59 share while the broadcast for 1977 ("Annie Hall" won best picture but "Star Wars" was a nominee) rated 36.3 but drew a 68 share.
"Oscar is still the king of kudos," notes Television Week about the latest Nielsens. "The show’s audience of 36.3 million viewers topped this year’s Golden Globes on NBC by 21.4 million viewers and CBS’ Grammy Awards by 17.3 million."
David Watkin: cinematography winner, "Out of Africa" (1985)
James Whitmore: supporting actor nominee, "Battleground" (1949); lead actor nominee, "Give 'em Hell Harry" (1975)
Richard Widmark: supporting actor nominee, "Kiss of Death" (1947)
Stan Winston: makeup and visual effects winner, "Terminator 2" (1991); visual effects winner, "Jurassic Park" (1993); makeup nominee, "Heartbeeps" (1982), "Edward Scissorhands" (1990), "Batman Returns" (1992); visual effects nominee, "Predator" (1987), "The Lost World" (1997), "A.I." (2001).
Photos: Buena Vista, MGM
David Watkin: cinematography winner, "Out of Africa" (1985)
James Whitmore: supporting actor nominee, "Battleground" (1949); lead actor nominee, "Give 'em Hell Harry" (1975)
Richard Widmark: supporting actor nominee, "Kiss of Death" (1947)
Stan Winston: makeup and visual effects winner, "Terminator 2" (1991); visual effects winner, "Jurassic Park" (1993); makeup nominee, "Heartbeeps" (1982), "Edward Scissorhands" (1990), "Batman Returns" (1992); visual effects nominee, "Predator" (1987), "The Lost World" (1997), "A.I." (2001).
• As per TV Week, "ABC is slashing the price of an ad in the Academy Awards to $1.4 million and for the first time the Oscars will accept ads for movies." Explains the report, "The academy had a change of heart in October when it came to movie ads, opening up the pool of potential advertisers, albeit with a hodgepodge of restrictions. Studios would not be allowed run more than one spot; advertise an entire slate of films; advertise sequels to any of the previous year’s best-picture, best-animated-feature or best-documentary Oscar nominees; include any text or spoken reference to the Academy Awards; or advertise any film opening earlier than the last Friday in April." However, "Now that the economic trade winds have shifted into an outright squall, however, one of those guidelines is being jettisoned. Insiders say the academy has dropped its insistence that an advertised film must open after the telecast ... Insiders say Paramount is mulling a buy for its drama 'The Soloist,' and Warner Bros. is also looking to buy an Oscar ad for one of its films. But despite the price drop, so far only one studio film, Disney/Pixar’s "Up," is known to be advertising during the telecast." TV WEEK
• Dave Karger of Entertainment Weekly wonders whether acceptance speeches can make or break an Oscar campaign. "Should award contenders' speeches at pre-Oscar ceremonies affect how many votes they get from the Academy? Or should it be simply about their performances and nothing else? Regardless of what you think, apparently at least a few Oscar voters are now less likely to vote for Hathaway and Winslet. Maybe Streep did herself a big favor by skipping the Critics Choice ceremony." ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
• Over at In Contention, Guy Lodge considers this issue as well. "I can’t see the Academy voters being particularly bothered by the matter. If anything, it probably helps them: voters clearly like visible emotion onstage, and there’s a long line of weepy, sniveling Best Actress winners, from Sally Field to Gwyneth Paltrow to Halle Berry, to prove the fact. All gave messy, faintly embarrassing speeches, but crucially, they appeared genuinely grateful for the award and gratitude goes a long way with the Academy." Lodge then looks back at last year's best actress race to make his point: "While initial front-runner Julie Christie was classy, cool and entirely unfussed in her acceptance speeches on the precursor circuit, Marion Cotillard’s emotional near-breakdown at the BAFTAs made her the name on everybody’s lips. While other factors were surely in play, the French thesp gave the appearance of wanting it more and duly bagged the Oscar. Say what you like about Hathaway and Winslet’s respective speeches, but their gratitude was plain to see. And I suspect that made a lot of Academy members smile even as they were cringing." IN CONTENTION
In this harshly candid interview with Gold Derby, recent Golden Globes champ Mickey Rourke reveals what "The Wrestler" means to him personally and his big career comeback.
He acknowledges the parallels between himself and the lead character in "The Wrestler": "They put him on the bench because of his age and I could identify with the state of living in shame and living in disgrace. When you were somebody and then you're nobody anymore, it's like — they don't want you to come back. Very few can come back after 15 years. The only thing I was going on was hope and gas fumes."
Also, check out our video chats with other best-actor contenders Sean Penn ("Milk") HERE and Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon") HERE.
Our media companies may be 3,000 miles apart, but when New York Times and L.A. Times Oscar bloggers hooked up after the Golden Globes, it was a close call. David Carr went for my throat!
It's finally happened. The Envelope has upstaged an awards show we cover. Our apology to Tina Fey at the Golden Globes was the top story on "E.T." tonight.
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