• As Michael Bodey reports, "Crime drama 'Animal Kingdom' has swamped the Australian Film Institute nominations, grabbing a nod in every category for which it was eligible. The film about a Melbourne crime family overseen by a charismatic matriarch (played by Jacki Weaver) earned 18 nominations, with war drama 'Beneath Hill 60' next in numbers with a surprising 12 nominations. Jane Campion's British-Australian co-production 'Bright Star' earned 11 nominations, the teen novel adaptation 'Tomorrow When The War Began' earned eight and indigenous musical 'Bran Nue Dae' and the French-Australian co-production 'The Tree' grabbed seven nominations each. All six films will vie for the best film prize." THE AUSTRALIAN

• Mike Fleming has the scoop: "Attorneys representing the Gotham-based real estate clan The Durst Organization are threatening to sue over the December release of 'All Good Things.'" The pic stars Ryan Gosling as a character allegedly modeled on Robert Durst, who was accused of murdering his wife and friend. DEADLINE

• Kyle Buchanan considers whether or not Sandra Bullock will be able to avoid the curse that has befallen other best actress champs as of late. As he notes: "If all goes according to plan, Bullock's next three films will be 'Gravity,' an ambitious space drama directed by Alfonso Cuarón ('Children of Men'), an adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's acclaimed novel 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' by Stephen Daldry ('The Hours'), and an untitled comedy that would find Bullock co-starring opposite A-listers like Meryl Streep and Oprah Winfrey." VULTURE

• Richard Verrier has all the details on the decision to keep production of the prequels to Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" in New Zealand: "The nation's prime minister, John Key, announced Wednesday that his government had reached an agreement with the producers of the two 'Hobbit' movies to keep the $500-million production in his country. 'I am delighted we have achieved this result,' Key said in a statement. 'Making the two 'Hobbit' movies here will not only safeguard work for thousands of New Zealanders, but it will also follow the success of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy in once again promoting New Zealand on the world stage.' The agreement comes after Key held talks with New Line Cinema President Toby Emmerich and other executives, who wanted assurances that the production would not be disrupted by labor unrest. They also were seeking additional financial sweeteners, which they received." COMPANY TOWN

• Jeff Wells examines the awards prospects for "I Am Love" leading lady Tilda Swinton. HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE

• Guy Lodge sings the praises of Emma Stone for her sparkling performance in the teen comedy "Easy A," and bemoans the lack of love from the academy for funny turns by pretty young things. IN CONTENTION

• The 2008 Tony best musical champ, "In the Heights," is closing Jan. 9. Creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda, who won a Tony for his score, will be returning to the show for the final two weeks. PLAYBILL

• As Patrick Healey notes: "If the highly anticipated Colin Firth film 'The King's Speech' performs well this awards season, chances are a stage version will come about relatively quickly on Broadway, in London's West End, or both. Michael Alden, a producer on the Broadway musical 'Grey Gardens' and the Sarah Jones solo show 'Bridge & Tunnel,' said in an interview on Tuesday that he was developing a stage production of 'The King’s Speech' after acquiring the rights to the work, about the real-life relationship between King George VI of Britain (the World War II monarch and current queen’s father) and a speech therapist named Lionel Logue, who helped him overcome a stammer." ARTS BEAT

• Reports Joyce Eng: "Justin Bieber, Ke$ha and Katy Perry will make their American Music Awards debuts next month as performers, producers announced Wednesday. All three are multiple nominees and will duke it out in the artist of the year race alongside Lady Gaga and Eminem. Bieber is up for four awards, while Ke$ha and Perry each have three nominations. Eminem and Lady Antebellum lead with five bids." TV GUIDE

Upper photo: "Animal Kingdom" poster. Credit: Sony Pictures Classics

Middle photo: "The Hobbit" book cover. Credit: Houghton Mifflin

Lower photo: Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech." Credit: The Weinstein Co.

Get Gold Derby on Twitter. Join the Gold Derby Group at Facebook. Become friends with Tom O'Neil on Facebook. Get Gold Derby RSS feed via Facebook. RSS Feedburner. RSS Atom.

Our resident Grammy seers Darrin "DoubleD" Dortch and David "Guru" Schnelwar agree on three of the five nominees for best new artist: Justin Bieber, Drake and Florence and the Machine. Dortch opts for Janelle Monae and Mumford & Sons for the fourth and fifth slots; Schnelwar prefers Jason Derulo and Ke$ha.

Personally, I think Ke$ha is a good pick. I even believe Adam Lambert has a shot even though both pundits knock him down to long-shot status. I know, I know, "American Idol" stars don't do well here. Only Carrie Underwood has managed to break through for a nomination (she won in 2007), but Lambert has street cred. Too bad Susan Boyle doesn't. She certainly deserves a spot more than Vampire Weekend.

You can see how Dortch and Schnelwar handicap the race for best record of the year here.

BEST NEW ARTIST: SCHNELWAR'S PREDIX
(Front-runners)
Justin Bieber
Jason Derulo
Drake
Florence and the Machine
Ke$ha

(Possible)
B.O.B.
Susan Boyle
Janelle Monae
Mumford & Sons
The Script

• As Nikki Finke reports, "This is truly the end of an era. I've just learned that Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences executive director Bruce Davis announced at this evening's Board Of Governors meeting that he intends to retire on June 30th, 2011, after 30 years working for the world's preeminent film group." Nikki also has a copy of Bruce's e-mail to the academy staff, which reads, in part, "When I leave I will have spent thirty years at the Academy, and more than twenty as its executive director. That seems like enough. Organizations and individuals both benefit from periodic shifts in perspective." DEADLINE

• Roger Deakins will be feted with the lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Cinematographers. The eight-time Oscar nominee will receive the honor at the 25th edition of the ASC kudos on Feb. 13. In a statement, ASC president Michael Goi said: "The Lifetime Achievement Award is a reflection of the impact that a cinematographer has made on the art of filmmaking rather than the capping of a career. It is our way of acknowledging a true artist in his prime. Roger Deakins raises the artistic profile of our profession with every movie and he will continue to do so for many years." ASC

• Dave Karger unveils his first top 10 list of best picture contenders. Leading the list is "The King's Speech," with "True Grit" in second and "The Social Network" in third place. As always, Dave provides expert analysis of each film's ranking. For example, he says this about "The King's Speech": "As soon as I saw this British drama in early September I knew it had the potential to go all the way in at least one major category. Right now its star, Colin Firth, is the man to beat for Best Actor, and it’s an absolute lock for a Best Picture nomination as well." ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

• Using "Fair Game" as an example, Sasha Stone writes insightfully about the role of bloggers in the Oscar race. Says Sasha, "There is a filter between seeing films in screenings and how they eventually 'do.' The critics are really the ones who mostly shape perception. The bloggers can praise a film until they’re blue in the fingertips, but ultimately — it’s about the critics, the industry, the public and the Academy. Sorry, bloggers, but it just is. That is why seeing a film in a screening can sometimes be a misleading experience. If the critics don’t agree with the early blogger praise, a film will have a hard time passing the first test. That is why it’s always dangerous to get our strong opinion out there — others are likely to throw it back in our face should the movie fail. This happened to me with 'The Kite Runner.' I am always surprised when I like a movie that ends up doing really well in the race. It is a win-win for me." AWARDS DAILY

• With his usual savvy style, Steve Pond weighs the odds of four possible Oscar contenders making the cut: "True Grit" for best picture, "The Social Network" for adapted screenplay, Mel Gibson ("The Beaver") for lead actor and "The Town" for best picture. THE ODDS

• Kris Tapley is aces at keeping track of the contenders for the animated feature award, and he reports that "it's looking more and more like the magic number of 16 won’t be reached in this year’s animated feature film race. By my count, we have 12 titles." IN CONTENTION

• Eminem and Lady Antebellum lead the list of nominees for this year's 38th annual edition of the American Music Awards with five bids each. Eminem and four-time nominee Justin Bieber vie for artist of the year against Katy Perry, Ke$ha and Lady Gaga. The kudos will be handed out Nov. 21 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and will air on ABC. THE ENVELOPE

• The field of documentary short-subject Oscar contenders has been winnowed from 30 to eight, with three to five of them making it to the nomination stage. Those still in the running are "Born Sweet," "Killing in the Name," "Living for 32," "One Thousand Pictures: RFK’s Last Journey," "Poster Girl," "Strangers No More," "Sun Come Up" and "The Warriors of Qiugang." AMPAS

•The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced Oscar winner Sidney Poitier will be honored with the 38th annual Chaplin award at a May 2 gala. The Film Society's annual gala began in 1972 and honored Charles Chaplin, who returned to the U.S. from exile to accept the commendation. Since then, the award has been renamed for Chaplin and has honored many of the film industry's most notable talents, including Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Laurence Olivier, Federico Fellini, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and, most recently, Michael Douglas. FILM SOCIETY

• Nathaniel Rogers notes that if Jesse Eisenberg is Oscar nominated for "The Social Network," he'll knock Matt Damon ("Good Will Hunting") out of the top 10 youngest lead actor contenders. THE FILM EXPERIENCE

• Michael J. Fox will reunite with his "Back to the Future" castmates at the Scream 2010 Awards. To celebrate the silver anniversary of this movie classic, they will also be featured on the cover of an issue of Entertainment Weekly.

Photo: "The King's Speech." Photo credit: Weinstein Co.

Get Gold Derby on Twitter. Join the Gold Derby Group at Facebook. Become friends with Tom O'Neil on Facebook. Get Gold Derby RSS feed via Facebook. RSS Feedburner. RSS Atom.

Yahoo has issued fascinating data that may foretell who'll win the MTV Video Music Awards to be doled out on Sunday night.

Below is a list of nominees ranked according to how often they were searched by Yahoo web browsers during this year's nomination period. That may be significant since MTV VMA winners are chosen based upon their popularity with web voters. With Justin Bieber fever sweeping America, it's logical to assume this list is correct and he's a shoo-in to win best new artist. Lady Gaga is probably a safe bet to win best video of the year for "Bad Romance," but I'm not sure I believe she'll be trounced by Ke$ha for best female and pop videos, as these lists suggest. Tell us what you think by voting in our polls.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance"
B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams, "Airplanes"
Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé, "Telephone"
Eminem, "Not Afraid"
30 Seconds to Mars, "Kings and Queens"
Florence + the Machine, "Dog Days Are Over"
 
BEST NEW ARTIST
Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris, "Baby"
Ke$ha, "Tik Tok"
Jason Derulo, "In My Head"
Nicki Minaj featuring Sean Garrett, "Massive Attack"
Broken Bells, "The Ghost Inside"
 
BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Ke$ha, "Tik Tok"
Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance"
Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, "California Gurls"
Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, "Video Phone (Extended Remix)"
Taylor Swift, "Fifteen"

How sad. Taylor Swift's "Fearless" reaped a golden gramophone as best album of 2009 at the Grammys, but no one has yet pledged $75 to buy a signed CD at the awards ceremony's EBay auction. One buyer has met the minimum bid of $125 to acquire a baseball cap and Grammy poster signed by three-time Grammy champ Keith Urban, but no one's topped that.

Most curious: Considering all of the superstars who've signed a Breedlove acoustic guitar, you'd expect to see more than one bidder ($800). Among the signees: Adam Sandler, Ke$ha, Norah Jones, Robert Downey Jr., Jennifer Lopez, Quentin Tarantino, Mos Def, Justin Bieber, Jeff Bridges, Lionel Richie, Marc Anthony, Miley Cyrus, Wyclef Jean and Russell Brand.

So far, the highest bid for any item at the auction is $2,500. That's the sum people have offered to pay to be a seat filler at the Grammy ceremony. Ditto to be a VIP guest in the Grammy show's mosh pit.

Hey, music fans: This means there are big bargains to be found at the auction that continues until July 30. Sales benefit MusiCares and the Grammy Foundation.

RELATED POST:

For sale at Emmys EBay auction: Signed scripts, set visits, bleacher seats

Photos: National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences

Get Gold Derby on Twitter. Join the Gold Derby Group at Facebook. Become friends with Tom O'Neil on Facebook. Get Gold Derby RSS feed via Facebook. RSS Feedburner. RSS Atom.

• Hometown favorite Justin Bieber was a big winner at Sunday's Much Music Awards in Toronto. These kudos are the Canadian equivalent of the MTV VMAs. Bieber won for best video by a Canadian ("One More Time"), favorite video ("Baby"), and favorite new artist. "It's my first award, and to have it in Canada is just amazing," Bieber told the crowd. "I want to say thank you to all my fans who got me in this position." Teen queen Miley Cyrus, who also performed and presented, won best international video for "Party in the U.S.A" which she dedicated it to her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus. NY DAILY NEWS

•  Alan Sepinwall has been busy as of late compiling his wish list for the upcoming Emmy Awards nominations. While he was able to winnow the supporting races to a half dozen would-be contenders, he admits, "lead drama actor, on the other hand, was a real bear, so much so that I'm actually going to write a few words about some of the people I just couldn't find room for on the list, and why. You may not agree with those rationalizations, and there may be times when I don't, either, but I had to find some way to cut this puppy down to six names, and these were the reasons that made sense to me as I did it." Among those actors he dropped: "Lost" leading man Matthew Fox and Kyle Chandler of "Friday Night Lights." HIT FIX

• Popeater began a Facebook campaign to boost the profile of "Friday Night Lights" star quarterback Zach Gifford and land him a supporting actor nomination at the Emmy Awards. Mike Hess, who writes for this offshoot of AOL, was impressed by Gifford's performance in a recent episode where his character comes to terms with the death of his father. For Hess, "Gifford ran the gamut of emotions in a way that few actors as young as he is (or older, even) ever could. Brutal sadness, confusion, tension-cutting laughter: They were all there, and all executed in perfect real-life harmony." Monday marks the end of the nomination phase with the results announced July 8. POPEATER

• One week before its limited run on Broadway ends, the producers of the Tony-winning best play "Red" announced it had recouped its $2.25 million investment. This two-hander about abstract artist Mark Rothko and his assistant is by John Logan, who was Oscar-nominated for scripting best picture champ "Gladiator" and best pic nominee "The Aviator." The West End transfer of "Red" won five of its other six Tony bids -- featured actor (Eddie Redmayne), director (Michael Grandage), lighting design (Neil Austin), scenic design (Christopher Oram) and sound design (Adam Cork). PLAYBILL

• Greg Ellwood recaps the 30 bold-faced names who impressed the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce enough to receive stars on the Walk of Fame. "This year's group will feature the first 'family' induction with Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd and Laura Dern all laying down their stars at the same time. Other intriguing nominees include Oprah Winfrey, 'American Idol' creator Simon Fuller, Tina Fey, Penelope Cruz and The Muppets. In general, all the nominees have five years to set an induction date or the honor will, um, 'expire.' All honorees are selected in one of five categories: Motion Pictures, Television, Recording, Radio and Live Performance/Theatre. No radio inductees made the cut this year." HIT FIX

• Nominees Wayne Brady (“Let’s Make a Deal”) and Alex Trebek (“Jeopardy”) along with 2003 supporting actress champ Vanessa Marcil (“General Hospital”) have been added to the list of presenters at Sunday's Daytime Emmy Awards. The 37th annual edition of this kudocast airs live on CBS from Las Vegas and will be hosted by Regis Philbin. TV BY THE NUMBERS

• Kraig Becker reports that the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" is "stirring up controversy in Japan, where several theaters, including one on an U.S. Army base, have removed it from their screens, while others decide if they should risk showing it all. Last week, three theaters pulled the film, which depicts the annual dolphin slaughter in a Japanese village, after they received a number of protests and angry phone calls from nationalist political groups. That caused 23 other theaters to reconsider showing the movie as well." GADLING

• "Mad Men" returns to AMC on July 25 for a fourth season. The two-time Emmy winner for best drama series is likely to contend again this year for its third season. Andrea Reiher analyzes the first promotional poster for the upcoming episodes. "Rather than last year's image of Don Draper calmly smoking a cigarette amidst rising water, this one shows a solo Don Draper staring contemplatively out the window of his empty office. At the end of Season 3, Don left Sterling Cooper, the ad agency he has worked for since the show's inception, to strike out on his own. He also agreed to give his unhappy housewife Betty a divorce." ZAP2IT

• "True Blood" has barely begun its third season on HBO, but the paycaster has already renewed it for a fourth year. This news is not so surprising when you consider that Sunday's premiere drew 5.1 million viewers. That was up 38% from last season, which is the one in the running for this year's Emmy Awards. The first season of the show was snubbed last year despite Anna Paquin winning a Golden Globe and the show contending there as well.

Top photo: Justin Bieber at the 2009 Much Music Awards. Credit: Much Music.

Middle photo: "Red" playbill. Credit: Golden Theater.

Bottom photo: "Mad Men" poster. Credit: AMC.

Get Gold Derby on Twitter. Join the Gold Derby Group at Facebook. Become friends with Tom O'Neil on Facebook. Get Gold Derby RSS feed via Facebook. RSS Feedburner. RSS Atom.

At this weekend's Juno Awards -- the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys -- singer-songwriter Michael Bublé dominated, winning four of his six nominations, including single of the year for "Haven't Met You Yet" and the coveted June for album of the year for "Crazy Love." Among those Buble bested for that top honor was teen singing sensation Justin Bieber, who contended for his debut disc, "My World." Bublé also beat Bieber for the pop-album prize, and the veteran crooner was the fan choice for the second time in two years, having won that title in 2008 on his third try.

Although Bieber was not contending for that Juno, he was expected to win the new artist award. However, Drake, a TV star turned rapper with whom he had dueted earlier in the evening on his hit "Baby," edged out Bieber for that Juno. Drake also won best rap recording for "So Far Gone." Another rapper, K'Naan, took home artist of the year and songwriter.

The non-telecast portion of the Junos on Saturday night saw the wealth spread around as each of the 32 awards handed out went to a different winner. As with the Grammys, the emphasis on the two-hour CTV telecast Sunday was performances rather than plaudits. Only seven of the key awards were handed out during the kudocast.

The Junos returned to St. John's, the capital of Canada's youngest province, Newfoundland, for the first time since 2002. In the intervening years, this celebration of English-language Canadian music has been held in six of the other nine provinces. The awards are slated to return to their traditional home of Toronto next year.