Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Actor in a TV Movie/Miniseries

Peter Ustinov “A Storm in Summer”

George C. Scott “The Price”

William Holden “The Blue Knight”

Hal Holbrook “Sandberg’s Lincoln”

Louis Gossett Jr. “Roots”

Michael Moriarty “Holocaust”
Anthony Hopkins “The Bunker”

Mickey Rooney “Bill”
Tommy Lee Jones “The Executioner’s Song”

Laurence Olivier “King Lear”
Dustin Hoffman “Death of a Salesman”

Albert Finney “The Gathering Storm”

Al Pacino “Angels in America”
Geoffrey Rush “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers”

Paul Giamatti “John Adams”

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Actress in a TV Movie/Miniseries

Mary Martin “Peter Pan”

Cicely Tyson “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman”

Katharine Hepburn “Love Among the Ruins”

Sally Field “Sybil”

Bette Davis “Strangers: The Story of Mother and Daughter”

Vanessa Redgrave “Playing for Time”

Ingrid Bergman “A Woman Called Golda”

Barbara Stanwyck “The Thorn Birds”

Jane Fonda “The Dollmaker”

Joanne Woodward “Do You Remember Love”

Halle Berry “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge”

Meryl Streep “Angels in America”

Helen Mirren “Prime Suspect: Final Act”

Kate Winslet “Mildred Pierce”

Julianne Moore “Game Change”

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Stuart Margolin “The Rockford Files”

Michael Conrad “Hill Street Blues”

James Coco “St. Elsewhere”

Bruce Weitz “Hill Street Blues”

John Karlen “Cagney & Lacey”
Jimmy Smits “L.A. Law”

Timothy Busfield “thirtysomething”

Hector Elizondo “Chicago Hope”
Gordon Clapp “NYPD Blue”

Richard Schiff “The West Wing”

Bradley Whitford “The West Wing”

John Spencer “The West Wing”

Joe Pantoliano “The Sopranos”

Michael Emerson “Lost”

Aaron Paul “Breaking Bad”

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Ellen Corby “The Waltons”

Nancy Marchand “Lou Grant”

Alfre Woodard “Hill Street Blues”

Bonnie Bartlett “St. Elsewhere”

Melanie Mayron “thirtysomething”

Marg Helgenberger “China Beach”

Kim Delaney “NYPD Blue”
Camryn Manheim “The Practice”

Holland Taylor “The Practice”

Stockard Channing “The West Wing”

Drea de Matteo “The Sopranos”

Archie Panjabi “The Good Wife”
Margo Martindale “Justified”

The Oscar Narrative: First 2014 Predictions - Best Picture

First 2014 Predictions
August: Osage County
The Counselor
Fruitvale
Gravity
Inside Llewelyn Davis
Labor Day
The Monuments Men
Nebraska

The Wolf of Wall Street

Untitled David O. Russell/Abscam Project

Other Contenders - Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips, The Butler, Malavita, Before Midnight, Monsters University, Foxcatcher, Her, Oldboy, A Most Wanted Man, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom, Diana, Grace of Monaco, 12 Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club, Lowlife, The Disappearence of Eleanor Rigby: His/Hers, Blue Jasmine, Frozen, Much Ado About Nothing, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Pacific Rim, Black Nativity, Stories We Tell, Prisoners, The Great Gatsby, Rush, The Fifth Estate, Trance, Elysium, After Earth, 33 Dias, The Zero Theorem

Commentary - If these projects end up being half as good as they look on paper then 2013 will shape up to be a decent year in American film (although I have very little hope that it will top last year). Martin Scorsese returns just two years after his success with Hugo in the high-profile drama The Wolf of Wall Street. Even when Scorsese is not at his best, he is still pretty damn good. Recent winners the Coen Bros. also return with the mysterious, yet intriguing Inside Llewelyn Davis. Remember, even A Serious Man was nominated for Best Picture. There are also a lot of buzzed projects from recent nominees looking to push themselves, and more importantly their films into the winner's circle. Alexander Payne follows up his success with The Descendants with a film close to home called Nebraska. George Clooney, riding high off of his producing win for Argo, looks to score two in a row with the buzzed Nazi-stolen-art flick The Monuments Men. David O. Russell's project doesn't have a title yet, but it does have a kick-ass cast, and a buzzy plotline, so he will be pushing for a second nomination in two years in Best Picture (a third in four years if you go back to The Fighter in 2010. Jason Reitman also returns with Labor Day, based on the popular novel and featuring the always-great Kate Winslet. He is hoping this time around his film is more Juno or Up in the Air in terms of Oscar contention, and not Young Adult (a highly underrated gem if you ask me). Finally, Ridley Scott really returns to this with his Cormac McCarthy penned drug trafficking film The Counselor. If the film ends up being a winner, it will be some poetic justice and ironic, as Scott's best chance of winning for Gladiator, ended up going to the director of a film about...what else: drug trafficking. There are some bold/indie projects hoping to make the cut. August: Osage County looks great on paper, but then again, so did Carnage. If the film can translate well from stage to screen, expect Oscar nods to follow. Gravity is a bold sci-fi film from Alfonso Cuaron, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. It may not be right up the Academy's alley, but if it is executed well, the respect factor may help its Oscar chances. Finally, of the two films coming out of Sundance with a real shot, I am favoring Fruitvale over Before Midnight at the moment. It is the heavier of the material, features recent winner Octavia Spencer, and has Weinstein behind it. It is hard to beat that.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Art Carney “The Honeymooners”

Carl Reiner “Caesar’s Hour”

Don Knotts “The Andy Griffith Show”

Ed Asner “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”

Robert Guillaume “Soap”

Harry Morgan “M*A*S*H”
Danny DeVito “Taxi”

John Larroquette “Night Court”

Woody Harrelson “Cheers”

Michael Richards “Seinfeld”

David Hyde Pierce “Frasier”

Sean Hayes “Will & Grace”

Brad Garrett “Everybody Loves Raymond”
Ty Burrell “Modern Family”

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Vivian Lance “I Love Lucy”

Ann B. Davis “The Bob Cummings Show”

Valerie Harper “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”

Sally Struthers “All in the Family”

Loretta Swit “M*A*S*H”

Rhea Perlman “Cheers”
Estelle Getty “The Golden Girls”

Laurie Metcalfe “Roseanne”

Christine Baranski “Cybill”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus “Seinfeld”

Lisa Kudrow “Friends”

Megan Mullally “Will & Grace”

Doris Roberts “Everybody Loves Raymond”
Julie Bowen “Modern Family”

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Supporting Actor in a TV Movie/Miniseries

Eli Wallach “The Poppy is Also a Flower”

Michael Moriarty “The Glass Menagerie”

Ed Asner “Roots”

Marlon Brando “Roots: The Next Generation”

Laurence Olivier “Brideshead Revisited”

Richard Kiley “The Thorn Birds”

John Malkovich “Death of a Salesman”
James Earl Jones “Heat Wave”

George C. Scott “12 Angry Men”

Peter O’Toole “Joan of Arc”

Brian Cox “Nuremberg”

Jeffrey Wright “Angels in America”
Paul Newman “Empire Falls”
Tom Wilkinson “John Adams”

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie/Miniseries

Rosemary Murphy “Eleanor and Franklin”

Olivia Cole “Roots”

Blanche Baker “Holocaust”

Jean Simmons “The Thorn Birds”

Piper Laurie “Promise”

Ruby Dee “Decoration Day”

Mare Winningham “George Wallace”

Anne Bancroft “Deep in My Heart”

Gena Rowlands “Hysterical Blindness”

Mary-Louise Parker “Angels in America”

Jane Alexander “Warm Springs”

Eileen Atkins “Cranford”

Maggie Smith “Downton Abbey”

Jessica Lange “American Horror Story”

The 72nd Annual Peabody Award Winners

Under Fire: Journalists in Combat (documentary channel hd) - JUF PICTURES, INC, documentary channel, Canada

Why Poverty? (PBS) - Steps International

MLK: The Assassination Tapes (Smithsonian Channel) - 1895 FILMS for Smithsonian Channel

Reel Time: Salat (Bone Dry) (GMA News TV) - GMA Network, Inc. (GMA News TV)

Sheikh Jarrah, My Neighborhood (Al Jazeera) - Al Jazeera, Just Vision

The Loving Story (HBO) - Augusta Films and HBO Documentary Films with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities

Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present (HBO) - Show of Force, Mudpuppy Films and HBO Documentary Films

Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished (Channel 4, UK) - ITN PRODUCTIONS for CHANNEL 4 TELEVISON, UK)

Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile (ITV1) - ITV Studios and Exposure: Banaz: An Honour Killing (ITV) - Hardcash Productions/Fuuse Films

Putin, Russia & The West (BBC2 UK) - Brook Lapping Productions, National Geographic Channel US

Independent Lens: Summer Pasture (PBS) - True-Walker Productions, Independent Television Service

Ford Escape: Exposing a Deadly Defect (KNXV-TV, Phoenix) - KNXV-TV/ABC 15 News, E.W. Scripps Company

Deception at Duke (CBS) - CBS News, 60 Minutes

Superstorm Sandy (ABC) - ABC News

Investigating the IRS (WTHR-TV) - WTHR-TV, Indianapolis

Joy in the Congo (CBS) - CBS News, 60 Minutes

Investigating the Fire (KMGH-TV) - KMGH-TV, Denver

Rapido y Furioso (Fast &Furious) (Univision) - Univision Network

Breaking News: Tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School (WVIT-TV) - WVIT-TV, West Hartford, CT

CNN’s Coverage Inside Syria & Homs 2012 (CNN) - CNN

Southland (TNT) - John Wells Production in association with Warner Bros Television

Switched at Birth (ABC Family) - Prodco, Inc. in association with ABC Family

D.L. Hughley: The Endangered List (Comedy Central) - Comedy Central, Five Timz Productions

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO) - HBO

Game Change (HBO) - Playtone Productions and Everyman Pictures in association with HBO Films

Louie (FX) - Pig Newton, Inc., FX Productions

Girls (HBO) - Aptow Prod and I am Jenni Konner Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

Syria 2012 (NPR) - NPR

Teen Contender (NPR’s All Things Considered) - Radio Diaries

This American Life: What Happened at Dos Erres (WBEZ Radio) - WBEZ’s This American Life, Pro Publica, Fundacion MEPI

Inside the National Recording Registry (WNYC/Public Radio International) - Media Mechanics, The Library of Congress

The Leonard Lopate Show (WNYC FM & AM) - WNYC Radio

SCOTUSblog (SCOTUSblog.com) - SCOTUSblog

Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek (www.nytimes.com) - The New York Times

Design Ah! (NHK Educational Channel) - NHK Educational Corporation for NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation)

Lorne Michaels

Doctor Who (BBC America) - The BBC Cymru Wales

Michael Apted’s ‘Up’ Series (ITV 1) - ITV Studios

Robin’s Journey (ABC) - ABC News

The Oscar Narrative: First 2014 Predictions - Best Director

Best Director
John Wells "August: Osage County"
George Clooney "The Monuments Men"
Alexander Payne "Nebraska"
David O. Russell "Untitled David O. Russell Abscam Project"
Martin Scorsese "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Other Contenders - Jason Reitman "Labor Day", Joel and Ethan Coen "Inside Llewelyn Davis", Ryan Coogler "Fruitvale", Ridley Scott "The Counselor", Alfonso Cuaron "Gravity", Lee Daniels "The Butler", Steve McQueen "Twelve Years a Slave", Paul Greengrass "Captain Phillips", John Lee Hancock "Saving Mr. Banks", Baz Luhrmann "The Great Gatsby", Woody Allen "Blue Jasmine", Bennett Miller "Foxcatcher", Joss Wheon "Much Ado About Nothing", Anton Corbijn "A Most Wanted Man", Luc Besson "Malavita", Richard Linklater "Before Midnight", Spike Jonze "Her", Jean-Marc Vallee "Dallas Buyers Club", Ned Benson "The Disappearence of Eleanor Rigby: His/Hers", Spike Lee "Oldboy", Ron Howard "Rush", Jeff Nichols "Mud", Bill Condon "The Fifth Estate", Justin Chadwick "Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom", Oliver Hirschbiegel "Diana", Olivier Dahan "Grace of Monaco", Niell Blompkamp "Elysium", Guillermo del Toro "Pacific Rim", J.J. Abrams "Star Trek: Into Darkness", James Mangold "The Wolverine"

Commentary - A lot of previous nominees and winners return to this race, as well as some newcomers hoping to shake things up. One of those could be John Wells. He is no newcomer in Hollywood, as he is a talented television producer winning Emmys for shows like The West Wing and ER. But his first film The Company Men (actually a really underrated gem) produced little Oscar buzz. This time around, he is directing the hugely buzzed August: Osage County, and could get his big movie break. The other four at the moment are all either previous winners or nominees. Martin Scorsese seems to be nominated routinely these days, and The Wolf of Wall Street certaintly seems to have the prestige that the Academy requires. The other three have yet to win a Best Director Oscar, but all are popular and well-recognized names. Alexander Payne has made an art out of dramedies with humor, compassion, and a human touch. This year's Nebraska could be a project that sends them back into the Oscar race. After winning his second Oscar for producing Argo, Clooney returns to the director's chair with The Monuments Men, a historical Nazi-era film that will certaintly be considered by the older Academy who eats this stuff up. Finally, I know it is bad luck to predict a nomination for a movie that doesn't yet have a title. But David O. Russell has been on a role lately, and with the cast and subject matter, his Abscam project could continue his winning streak.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Directing in a Drama Series

The Defenders – The Madman

Lou Grant – Cop

Hill Street Blues – Hill Street Station

Cagney & Lacey – Parting Shots

L.A. Law – Pilot

St. Elsewhere – Weigh In, Way Out

thirtysomething – The Go-Between

Chicago Hope – Leave of Absence

NYPD Blue – Where’s Swaldo?

The West Wing – In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Parts I and II

Lost – Pilot

The Sopranos – Kennedy and Heidi

ER – And in the End…

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Directing in a Comedy Series

The Mary Tyler Moore Show – It’s Whether You Win or Lose

M*A*S*H – Carry On, Hawkeye

All in the Family – Ediths 50^th Birthday

Cheers – Showdown Part II

The Cosby Show – The Younger Woman

The Wonder Years – Good-bye

Cheers – Woody Interruptus

Murphy Brown – Birth 101

Frasier – The Matchmaker

Sex and the City – The Real Me

Curb Your Enthusiasm – Krazee-Eyez Killas

Arrested Development – Pilot

Glee – Pilot

Modern Family – Halloween

2014 and 2015 Oscar Dates

With the Winter Olympics coming this year, and the Sundays in Februrary quickly evaporated, many wondered if the Academy would use this opportunity to act on an idea that had been bounced around a lot: moving the Oscars up to January, so that they are not so inevitable. I always thought that was a horrible idea, because it meant that films really would need to be released by November really, in order to make any dent. Late releases and classic Christmas releases would simply be screwed. Well, at least for two years, we will not have to deal with that, as the Academy has announced that next year's ceremony will be on Sunday, March 2nd. In 2015, they have already tenatively moved back to the last Sunday in February, the 22nd. For this year's ceremony this is the timeline:

Saturday, November 16, 2013: The Governors Awards
Monday, December 2, 2013: Official Screen Credits due
Friday, December 27, 2013: Nominations voting begins
Wednesday, January 8, 2014: Nominations voting ends 5 p.m. PT
Thursday, January 16, 2014: Oscar nominations announced
Monday, February 10, 2014: Nominees Luncheon
Friday, February 14, 2014: Final voting begins
Saturday, February 15, 2014: Scientific and Technical Awards
Tuesday, February 25, 2014: Final voting ends 5 p.m. PT
Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014: 86th Academy Awards
Oscar Sunday, February 22, 2015: 87th Academy Awards

The question will now be, how will the PGA and DGA fall in line? My guess is that this year, with more time, they will fall back into their similar pattern and there will not be a Ben Affleck-esque snub. As always, we'll have to wait and see.

The Oscar Narrative: First 2014 Predictions - Best Original Screenplay

First 2014 Predictions
Cormac McCarthy "The Counselor"
Ryan Coogler "Fruitvale"
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen "Inside Llewelyn Davis"
Bob Nelson "Nebraska"
Eric Singer "Untitled David O. Russell/Abscam Project"

Other Contenders - Wes Anderson "The Grant Budapest Hotel", Woody Allen "Blue Jasmine", Billy Ray "Captain Philips", Alfonso Cuaron and Jonas Cuaron "Gravity", Craig Morton and Melisa Wallack "Dallas Buyers Club", Jeff Nichols "Mud", Sue Smith and Kelly Marcel "Saving Mr. Banks", Peter Morgan "Rush", Arash Amel "Grace of Monaco", Stephen Jeffreys "Diana", James Gray and Ric Menello "Lowlife", Asghar Farhadi "The Past", Sofia Coppola "The Bling Ring", Ned Benson "The Disappearence of Eleanor Rigby: Hers", Aaron Guzikowski "Prisoners", Nat Faxon and Jim Rash "The Way, Way Back", Tony Biggs and Keith Thompson "The Sapphires", Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig "Frances Ha", Terrence Malick "Knight of Cups", Nicholas Winding Refn "Only God Forgives", Sarah Polley "Stories We Tell"

Commentary - There are some real contenders that are not in the top five including recent nominees and winners. The two biggest are Woody Allen, who is inconsistent. Blue Jasmine could be Midnight in Paris or it could be To Rome With Love. The other is Wes Anderson, whose Moonrise Kingdom managed a screenplay nod last year. But if he slips back into quirkier territory, the Academy may not respond with the same enthusiasm. That being said, the top five looks to be relatively competitive this year. Joel and Ethan Coen tend to be nominated and the first trailer for Inside Llewelyn Davis looks pretty good to me. Alexander Payne films tend to do well (Sideways and The Descendants won Adapted Screenplay), but this is a bit of an anomaly, as he is not one of the screenwriters, and it is an original script, not something from a popular novel. Cormac McCarthy is an acclaimed novelist, but this is his first screenplay for a feature film. It will be interesting to see if his talents transport to the screen, my guess is the answer is yes. Coming out of Sundance, I have a good feeling about Fruitvale this year. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and it has Weinstein backing it up, as well as a baity awards date. If it remains a critical and festival favorite, it could end up in multiple categories, including this one. The last slot is going to the relatively unknown project (heck it doesn't even have a name at this point), from David O. Russell about Abscam. The project is baity, the cast is wonderful, and Russell is off of a huge year with SLP. But Singer's only film project to date was 2009's The International, which left a lot to be desired.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Directing of a TV Movie/Miniseries

Death of a Salesman

Roots – Part 1

Holocaust

Eleanor and Franklin

Eleanor and Franklin – The White House Years

Friendly Fire

Promise

Lonesome Dove

Wit

Band of Brothers

Angels in America

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
Downton Abbey

Game Change

The Oscar Narrative: First 2014 Predictions - Best Adapted Screenplay

First 2014 Predictions
Tracy Letts "August: Osage County"
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke "Before Midnight"
Jason Reitman "Labor Day"
Grant Heslov and George Clooney "The Monuments Men"
Terence Winter "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Other Contenders - Christopher Kyle "Serena", Lee Daniels and Danny Strong "The Butler", Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye "Foxcatcher", Luc Besson "Malavita", Spike Jonze "Her", Mark Protosevich "Oldboy", William Nicholson "Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom", Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce "The Great Gatsby", Josh Singer "The Fifth Estate", John Ridley and Steve McQueen "Twelve Years a Slave", Jennifer Lee and Shane Morris "Frozen", Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter "Monsters University", Joss Whedon "Much Ado About Nothing", Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens, and Guillermo Del Toro "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug", Akiva Goldsman "Winter's Tale", Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber "The Spectacular Now", Andrew Bovell "A Most Wanted Man", Julian Fellowes "Romeo & Juliet", Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtsman, Damon Lindelof "Star Trek: Into Darkness", Jack Throne "A Long Way Down", Jason Dean Hall and Barry Levy "Paranoia"

Commentary - A lot of big name projects this year, and like last year, the entire category could be stacked with top-tier Best Picture contenders. The only one that has a track record at this point is Richard Linklater's latest Before Midnight. The previous effort received a Screenplay nomination, and this current one was a Sundance hit. There is a lot of competition, and it will have to hang on to fight its way to the top. The next one that most people are probably writing off after Young Adult did not do so well (A WGA nod though), is Jason Reitman's latest Labor Day. With a great cast, and excellent source material, I have a feeling this could be another Up in the Air for Reitman and his team. The next three are probably three of the most buzzed contenders for this year's awards. George Clooney and Grant Heslov have done extremely well in this category, and this baity project revolving around stolen art in Nazi Germany looks like it will be another home run. August: Osage County was a huge Broadway hit, and if Tracy Letts can transplant it to the screen with ease, then he is sure to be in the conversation. Finally, Martin Scorsese's latest Wolf of Wall Street looks great, and if The Departed can win Screenplay with the old and conservative Academy, then Terence Winter could get his first nod (although his previous crime-related and gritty works were not fantastic so he'll have to really knock it out of the park).

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Writing in a Drama Series

The Defenders – The Madman

The Waltons – The Scholar

Lou Grant – Dying

Hill Street Blues – Hill Street Station

St. Elsewhere – Time Heals

thirtysomething – First Day/Last Day

L.A. Law - Blood, Sweat, and Fears

NYPD Blue – Steroid Roy

ER – Love’s Labor Lost

The West Wing – In Excelsis Deo 

The Sopranos – Long Term Parking

Mad Men – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Friday Night Lights – Always

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Writing in a TV Movie/Miniseries

Roots: Part II

Holocaust

Special Bulletin

Something About Amelia

House of Cards

The Gathering Storm

Angels in America

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

John Adams – Independence

Downton Abbey

Game Change

2013 Kids' Choice Award Winners

TELEVISION:
Favorite TV Show: Victorious
Favorite Reality Show: Wipeout
Favorite Cartoon: SpongeBob SquarePants
Favorite TV Actor: Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally)
Favorite TV Actress: Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place)

FILM:
Favorite Movie: The Hunger Games
Favorite Movie Actor: Johnny Depp (Dark Shadows)
Favorite Movie Actress: Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2)
Favorite Animated Movie: Wreck-It Ralph
Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie: Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania)
Favorite Male Buttkicker: Dwayne Johnson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island)
Favorite Female Buttkicker: Kristen Stewart (Snow White and the Huntsman)

MUSIC:
Favorite Music Group: One Direction
Favorite Male Singer: Justin Bieber
Favorite Female Singer: Katy Perry
Favorite Song: “What Makes You Beautiful” (One Direction)

SPORTS:
Favorite Female Athlete: Danica Patrick
Favorite Male Athlete: LeBron James

OTHER CATEGORIES:
Favorite Villain: Simon Cowell (The X Factor)
Favorite Book: The Hunger Games series
Favorite Videogame: Just Dance 4
Favorite App: Temple Run

The Oscar Narrative: First 2014 Predictions - Best Animated Feature

First 2014 Predictions
Epic
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
Monsters University
Turbo

Other Contenders - Planes, The Wind Rises, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, Despicable Me 2, Turkeys, The Croods, The Nut Job, Escape from Planet Earth, The Trick or Treaters, The Smurfs 2, Santaprentice, Leo the Lion, Postman Pat: The Movie - You Know You're the One, Aunt Hilda.

Commentary - I hope this is another great year for animation, like last year, where four fantastic films: Brave, Frankenweenie, Wreck-It Ralph, and ParaNorman all vied for the top spot in a race that really went down the wire. Not included in this top five for the moment are some big projects including some from The Weinstein Company including: The Trick or Treaters, Leo the Lion, and Santapprentice. We'll have to see if Weinstein magic works for them,. For the moment, all of these projects are quiet so I hesitate to put them too far up the list. Also on the outside looking in are films like The Nut Job and Turkeys, which have lots of big names involved but seem too light to go the distance. There is also a new film fro Hayao Miyazaki, as well has sequels to successful films that despite decent reception failed to make the Animated Feature race such as Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Despicable Me 2. Now I am sure you are wondering: who exactly is in the top five at the moment? First, coming off a successful upset, despite huge problems with production, Pixar must be feeling good right now, and their newest, Monsters University looks to be another top contender for the studio. Disney has two big films this year. One, called Planes, looks like another Cars, which doesn't spell good news. But Frozen, on the other hand, could be the one that gets the glory, at least from early word on the project. Dreamworks also has their hands full, and although The Croods was a slight critical disappointment, they are still looking to buzzed project, Turbo. Fox also looks to be busy with their new film Epic, which looks beautifully animated, and if it captures the heart of the children's book it is based off of, then it could be a stealth contender. Finally, almost every year and outside the box choice or foreign choice (think Pirates!, The Illusionist, The Secret of Kells, The Triplets of Bellville, etc.). This year's Cesar winner, which premeired at last year's Cannes Film Festival, could be the sweet and different film animators within the Academy like to throw into the mix. It's only major problem at this point is its lack of US distributor.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Writing in a Comedy Series

The Dick Van Dyke Show – Coast to Coast Big Mouth

All in the Family – Edith’s Problem

The Mary Tyler Moore Show – Chuckles Bites the Dust

Cheers – Give Me a Ring Sometime

The Cosby Show – Pilot

The Golden Girls – A Little Romance

Murphy Brown – Pilot

The Wonder Years – Good-bye

Seinfeld – The Contest

Ellen – The Puppy Episode

Frasier – Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz

Arrested Development – Pilot

30 Rock – Cooter

Modern Family – Pilot

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series

Patrick McGoohan “Columbo”

Barnard Hughes “Lou Grant”

Laurence Fishburne “Tribeca”

Paul Winfield “Picket Fences”

Peter Boyle “The X-Files”

John Larroquette “The Practice”

Edward Herrmann “The Practice”

Charles S. Dutton “The Practice”

Ray Liotta “ER”

John Goodman “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”

John Lithgow “Dexter”

66th Cannes Film Festival Official Poster

This stunning new poster for this year's Cannes Film Festival features long time couple Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, two of my favorite actors. Last year's featured Marilyn Monroe, so they have a great streak going. Check out the poster below:

 

The press release from the organizers of this years festivals explains their choice:

"To grace the poster for its 66th edition, the Festival de Cannes has chosen a couple who embody the spirit of cinema like no other: Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, photographed during the shooting of the aptly named A New Kind of Love, by Melville Shavelson (1963).

For the Festival it is a chance both to pay tribute to the memory of Paul Newman, who passed away in 2008, and to mark its undying admiration for Joanne Woodward, his wife and most favoured co-star.

They were honoured at the Festival de Cannes in 1958 – the year of their marriage – with the selection In Competition of Martin Ritt’s The Long Hot Summer, the first film in which they appeared together. The links between their story and that of the Festival continued with a series of films directed by Newman, who cast Woodward in unforgettable roles in The Effect of the Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds(Competition – 1973) and The Glass Menagerie (Competition – 1987)."

For more information visit: http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en.html#debut

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Rita Moreno “The Rockford Files”

Alfre Woodard “L.A. Law”

Elaine Stritch “Law & Order”

Faye Dunaway “Columbo”

Shirley Knight “NYPD Blue”

Sally Field “ER”

Patricia Clarkson “Six Feet Under”

Amanda Plummer “Law & Order: SVU”

Cynthia Nixon “Law & Order: SVU”

Loretta Devine “Grey’s Anatomy”

The Oscar Narrative: First 2014 Predictions - Best Actor

First 2014 Predictions
George Clooney "The Monuments Men"
Leonardo DiCaprio "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Idris Elba "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
Tom Hanks "Saving Mr. Banks"
Matthew McConaughey "Dallas Buyers Club"

Other Contenders - Tom Hanks "Captain Phillips",  Christian Bale "Untitled David O. Russell/Abscam Project", Forest Whitaker "The Butler", Chiwetel Ejiofor "Twelve Years a Slave", Bruce Dern "Nebraska", Steve Carell "Foxcatcher", Josh Brolin "Labor Day", Josh Brolin "Oldboy", Michael B. Jordan "Fruitvale", Michael Fassbender "The Counselor", Miles Teller "The Spectacular Now", Hugh Jackman "Prisoners", Joaquin Phoenix "Her", Oscar Isaac "Inside Llewelyn Davis", Ethan Hawke "Before Midnight", Dennis Quaid "At Any Price", Casey Affleck "Ain't Them Bodies Saints", Colin Firth "The Railway Man", Ryan Gosling "Only God Forgives", Philip Seymour Hoffman "A Most Wanted Man", Leonardo DiCaprio "The Great Gatsby", Ben Affleck "Runner, Runner", Michael Shannon "The Iceman", Forest Whitaker "Black Nativity", Bradley Cooper "Serena", Bradley Cooper "Untitled David O. Russell/Abscam Project", Antonio Bandaras "33 Dias", James McAvoy "The Disappearence of Eleanor Rigby: Hers", Jeremy Renner "Lowlife", Benedict Cumberbatch "The Fifth Estate"

Commentary - A lot of big contenders this year, and as always, some of these could end up in supporting or vice versa. Probably the biggest name is Leonardo DiCaprio, after years of essentially being ignored by Academy voters (I mean three nominations is great, but when you consider his body of work, it is slim pickins') he has two high profile films this year. Gatsby will probably bomb (just a hunch), but his fall film with Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street, looks intriguing, and could finally be his ticket to an Oscar, or at least a fourth nomination. Two previous Oscar winners are looking to return. The first is the ever popular George Clooney, whose Monuments Men (along with Gravity), could net him a nice new haul of Oscar nominations, including a Best Actor one. Tom Hanks looks to return to the race after a long absense, but voters will have to sort out which role they prefer more. The role of Captain Phillips dealing with Somai pirates looks to be the most challenging, but if he nails Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks, that may end up being the Academy's favorite. Finally, two veteran actors look to crack the Oscar landscape with two baity projects. Last year, Matthew McConaughey surely got some votes for Magic Mike. This year, with Mud, and this film, as well as his role in Wolf of Wall Street, he is going to have a great year with lots of solid projects and buzz. My guess is that that translates into his first Oscar nomination. The last one could go either way, not because of the actor, but because biopics can be tricky. Idris Elba is a great actor who could have found the role to boost him into his first Oscar race. Playing Nelson Mandela is baity enough, but with Harvey Weinstein behind him, this role could be a tough one to beat.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Roscoe Lee Browne “The Cosby Show”

John Cleese “Cheers”

Cleavon Little “Dear John”

Martin Sheen “Murphy Brown”

Carl Reiner “Mad About You”

Tim Conway “Coach”

Mel Brooks “Mad About You”

Bruce Willis “Friends”

Gene Wilder “Will & Grace”

Leslie Jordan “Will & Grace”

Stanley Tucci “Monk”

Justin Timberlake “Saturday Night Live”

Neil Patrick Harris “Glee”

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Cloris Leachman “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”

Colleen Dewhurst “Murphy Brown”

Swoosie Kurtz “Carol & Company”

Betty White “The John Larroquette Show”

Carol Burnett “Mad About You”

Emma Thompson “Ellen”

Jean Smart “Frasier”

Christina Applegate “Friends”

Kathryn Joosten “Desperate Housewives”
Elaine Stritch “30 Rock”

Tina Fey “Saturday Night Live”

The Oscar Narrative: First 2014 Predictions - Best Actress

First 2014 Predictions
Sandra Bullock "Gravity"
Nicole Kidman "Grace of Monaco"
Meryl Streep "August: Osage County"
Naomi Watts "Diana"
Kate Winslet "Labor Day"

Other Contenders - Michelle Pfeiffer "Malavita", Emma Thompson "Saving Mr. Banks", Julie Delpy "Before Midnight", Jennifer Lawrence "Serena", Jennifer Lawrence "Untitled David O. Russell/Abscam Project", Rooney Mara "Ain't Them Bodies Saints", Emma Watson "The Bling Ring", Carey Mulligan "The Great Gatsby", Julianne Moore "The English Teacher", Jessica Chastain "The Disappearence of Eleanor Rigby: Hers", Gwyneth Paltrow "33 Dias", Kiera Knightley "Can A Song Save Your Life?", Toni Collette "A Long Way Down", Shailene Woodley "The Spectacular Now", Kristen Wiig "Girl Most Likely", Paula Patton "Baggage Claim", Cate Blanchett "Blue Jasmine", Elisabeth Olsen "Oldboy", Helen Hunt "Decoding Annie Parker", Reese Witherspoon "Devil's Knot", Marion Cotillard "Lowlife", Laura Linney "The Fifth Estate", Angela Bassett "Black Nativity", Robin Wright "A Most Wanted Man", Berenice Bejo "The Past", Saoirse Ronan "How I Live Now", Tilda Swinton "Only Lovers Left Alive", Hailee Steinfeld "Romeo and Juliet", Chloe Grace Moretz "Carrie"

Commentary - A lot of former winners and nominees populate this race, including last year's winner with two possibilties. At the moment I'll leave Jennifer Lawrence on the outside looking in, just in case of vote splitting. But she is not the only one returning to this race. Last year's nominee Naomi Watts could build on her previous nominations, and have a shot at the Oscar stage as she portrays the beloved Princess Diana in this year's upcoming biopic. Like most films of this category, it just depends on how the film is received in terms of its historical accuracy, and how well she nails the real-life character. That also goes for Nicole Kidman, who is playing Grace Kelly in Grace of Monaco. The Academy loves actors who portray famous figures. So if both of these very talented actresses nail their roles, Oscar nominations are distinct possibilities. Beyond those two, we have three recent Best Actress winners in baity roles all vying for another shot of Oscar glory. Kate Winslet teams up with Jason Reitman in Labor Day. Reitman's last film Young Adult did not earn Charlize Theron an Oscar nod (a crime if you ask me), but this one, based on the popular novel, looks more promising. Sandra Bullock has a risky project with Gravity, but she and Clooney are the only two actors really in the film, and if she commands the screen, she would have the most screen time of any of her competitors. And finally, in the last slot, the juggernaut that is Meryl Streep will most likely be returning to the category with her role in August: Osage County. Can she tie Katharine Hepburn's record a year after Daniel Day-Lewis broke the Best Actor record? Hell yeah. She is Meryl Streep. And when she is on her game, she really is unstoppable.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Voiceover Performance

Nancy Cartwright “The Simpsons”

Dan Castellaneta “The Simpsons”

Julie Kavner “The Simpsons”
Jackie Mason “The Simpsons”
Yeardley Smith “The Simpsons”
Marcia Wallace “The Simpsons”

Christopher Plummer “Madeline”

Hank Azaria “The Simpsons”
Seth MacFarlane “Family Guy”

Pamela Segall “King of the Hill”

Kelsey Grammer “The Simpsons”
Maurice LaMarche “Futurama”

19th Annual Chlotrudis Award Winners

The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film encourages healthy film discussion, particularly among independent films. So it is no surprise that among its winners this year are the best American independent cinema had to offer including Moonrise Kingdom, The Master, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, and Beasts of the Southern Wild.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CAST
Moonrise Kingdom

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Alex DiGerlando for Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mihai Malaimare Jr. for The Master

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Stephen Chbosky for Perks of Being a Wallflower

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (TIE!)
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola for Moonrise Kingdom and Sarah Polley for Take This Waltz


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ezra Miller for The Perks of Being a Wallflower

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams for The Master

BEST ACTOR
John Hawkes for The Sessions

BEST ACTRESS
Olivia Colman for Tyrannosaur

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson for Moonrise Kingdom

BEST DOCUMENTARY
How To Survive a Plague

BEST MOVIE
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

BURIED TREASURE
A Simple Life

The 40th Daytime Emmy Awards - Pre-Nomination Lists

These were released the week after the Oscars, and I completely missed them. So, despite being a couple weeks late, here are the pre-nomination lists, or long lists if you will, for this year's acting Daytime Emmy categories. The nominees will be announced on May 1st, which as of a few minutes ago, I realized is day after the Tony Awards are announced. That is going to be a busy week. Check out the contenders below, and start to post who you think will be nominated!

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

SHARON CASE, as Sharon Newman
The Young and the Restless, CBS
JEANNE COOPER, as Katherine Chancellor
The Young and the Restless, CBS
SUSAN FLANNERY, as Stephanie Forrester
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
FINOLA HUGHES, as Anna Devane
General Hospital, ABC
PEGGY McCAY, as Caroline Brady
Days of our Lives, NBC
KELLY MONACO, as Sam Morgan
General Hospital, ABC
MELODY THOMAS SCOTT, as Nikki Newman
The Young and the Restless, CBS
MICHELLE STAFFORD, as Phyllis Summers Newman
The Young and the Restless, CBS
KELLY SULLIVAN , as Kate Howard
General Hospital, ABC
HEATHER TOM, as Katie Logan Spencer
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
LAURA WRIGHT, as Carly Corinthos Jax
General Hospital, ABC

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
MAURICE BENARD, as Michael "Sonny" Corinthos, Jr.
General Hospital, ABC
PETER BERGMAN, as Jack Abbott
The Young and the Restless, CBS
DOUG DAVIDSON, as Paul Williams
The Young and the Restless, CBS
DON DIAMONT, as Bill Spencer, Jr.,
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
ROGER HOWARTH, as Todd Manning
General Hospital, ABC
CHRISTIAN LeBLANC, as Michael Baldwin
The Young and the Restless, CBS
JOHN MCCOOK, as Eric Forrester
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
MICHAEL MUHNEY, as Adam Newman
The Young and the Restless, CBS
STEPHEN NICHOLS, as Tucker McCall
The Young and the Restless, CBS
JASON THOMPSON , as Patrick Drake
General Hospital, ABC

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
JULIE MARIE BERMAN, as Lulu Spencer
General Hospital, ABC
JESSICA COLLINS, as Avery Bailey Clark
The Young and the Restless, CBS
MELISSA CLAIRE EGAN, as Chelsea Newman
The Young and the Restless, CBS
NANCY LEE GRAHN, as Alexis Davis
General Hospital, ABC
ELIZABETH HENDRICKSON, as Chloe Mitchell
The Young and the Restless, CBS
REBECCA HERBST, as Elizabeth Webber
General Hospital, ABC
KATHERINE KELLY LANG, as Brooke Logan
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
LISA LoCICERO, as Olivia Falconeri
General Hospital, ABC
ROBIN MATTSON, as Heather Webber
General Hospital, ABC
ARIANNE ZUCKER, as Nicole Walker
Days of our Lives, NBC

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
BRADFORD ANDERSON, as Damien Spinelli
General Hospital, ABC
JEFF BRANSON, as Ronan Malloy
The Young and the Restless, CBS
SCOTT CLIFTON, as Liam Cooper aka William Spencer III
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
SHAWN CHRISTIAN, as Daniel Jonas
Days of our Lives, NBC
BRYAN DaTTILO, as Lucas Horton
Days of our Lives, NBC
BILLY MILLER, as Billy Abbott
The Young and the Restless, CBS
PETER PORTE, as Ricky Williams
The Young and the Restless, CBS
JAMES REYNOLDS, as Abe Carver
Days of our Lives, NBC
GREG RIKAART, as Kevin Fisher
The Young and the Restless, CBS
GREG VAUGHAN, as Eric Brady
Days of our Lives, NBC

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
KRISTEN ALDERSON, as Starr Manning
General Hospital, ABC
CAMILA BANUS, as Gabi Hernandez
Days of our Lives, NBC
LINSEY GODFREY, as Caroline Spencer
Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
HUNTER KING, as Summer Newman
The Young and the Restless, CBS
KATE MANSI, as Abigail Deveraux
Days of our Lives, NBC
KIM MATULA, as Hope Logan
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
LINDSEY MORGAN, as Kristina Corinthos Davis
General Hospital, ABC
HALEY PULLOS, as Molly Lansing Davis
General Hospital, ABC
JACQUELINE MACINNES WOOD, as Steffy Forrester
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

CASEY DEIDRICK, as Chad DiMera
Days of our Lives, NBC
CHAD DUELL, as Michael Corinthos
General Hospital, ABC
MAX EHRICH, as Fenmore Baldwin
The Young and the Restless, CBS
ADAM GREGORY, as Thomas Forrester
The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS
BRYTON JAMES, as Devon Hamilton Winters
The Young and the Restless, CBS
CHANDLER MASSEY, as Will Horton
Days of our Lives, NBC
DANIEL POLO, as Jamie Vernon
The Young and the Restless, CBS
TEQUAN RICHMOND, as TJ Ashford
General Hospital, ABC
FREDDIE SMITH , as Sonny Kiriakis
Days of our Lives, NBC

The 67th Annual Tony Awards - Ceremony Information

Finally, the American Theatre Wing has announced its important dates for this years Tony Awards. The nominees will be announced on April 30th. They have not announced who will be reading this year's nominees. Last year it was Tony Winner Kristin Chenoweth and Jim Parsons (who could be eligible this year for Harvey). The actual ceremony will be aired live on CBS June 9th, starting at 8:00 pm EST. Now that the dates have been announced, we can start looking at who will be the big contenders, and the eventual nominees for this year's ceremony.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Animated Program

Life is a Circus, Charlie Brown

Cathy

The Simpsons

Batman: The Animated Series

Pinky and the Brain

King of the Hill

Futurama

Samurai Jack

Star Wars: Clone Wars

Before the Dinosaurs

South Park

Robot Chicken: “Full Assed Christmas Special”

Best of the Emmy Awards: Nominees - Best Individual Performance in a Variety Program

This phase will have 10-15 names listed, and are the official nominees. The next step will be the winners!!

Vicki Lawrence “The Carol Burnett Show”

Tim Conway “The Carol Burnett Show”

Whitney Houston “The 28^th Annual Grammy Awards”

Robin Williams “Carol and Carl and Whoopi and Robin”

Tracey Ullman “The Tracey Ullman Show”

Bette Midler “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”

Dana Carvey “Saturday Night Live”

Billy Crystal “The 70^th Annual Academy Awards”

Eddie Izzard “Dress to Kill”

Elaine Stritch “Elaine Stritch at Liberty”

Don Rickles “Mr. Warmth – The Don Rickles Project”

Best of the Emmy Awards: Contenders - Best Drama Series

Pulitzer Prize Playhouse

Studio One

Robert Montgomery Presents

U.S. Steel Hour

Producers’ Showcase

Gunsmoke

Playhouse 90

Alcoa-Goodyear Theater

The Defenders

The Fugitive

Mission: Impossible

NET Playhouse

Marcus Welby, M.D.

The Bold Ones: Senator

Elizabeth R

The Waltons

Upstairs, Downstairs

Police Story

The Rockford Files

Lou Grant

Hill Street Blues

Cagney & Lacey

L.A. Law

thirtysomething

Northern Exposure

Picket Fences

NYPD Blue

ER

Law & Order

The Practice

The West Wing

The Sopranos

Lost

24

Mad Men

Homeland

The Oscar Narrative: First 2014 Predictions - Best Supporting Actor

First 2014 Predictions
George Clooney "Gravity"
Matt Damon "The Monuments Men"
John Goodman "Inside Llewelyn Davis"
Philip Seymour Hoffman "A Most Wanted Man"
Tommy Lee Jones "Malavita"

Other Contenders - Josh Brolin "Labor Day", Daniel Craig "The Monuments Men", Michael Fassbender "The Counselor", Michael Fassbender "Twelve Years a Slave", Jean Dujardin "The Monuments Men", Matthew McConaughey "The Wolf of Wall Street", Woody Harrelson "Out of the Furnace", Ewan McGregor "August: Osage County", William Defoe "A Most Wanted Man", Dane DeHaan "Kill Your Darlings", Terrence Howard "The Butler", John Cusack "The Butler", Mark Ruffalo "Foxcatcher", Tobey Maguire "The Great Gatsby", Chris O'Dowd "The Sapphires", Ed Harris "Look of Love", Alec Baldwin "Blue Jasmin", Colin Farrell "Saving Mr. Banks", Sam Rockwell "The Way, Way Back", Tim Roth "Grace of Monaco", Justin Timberlake "Inside Llewelyn Davis", Douglas Hodge "Grace of Monaco", Will Forte "Nebraska", Bob Odenkirk "Nebraska", Vincent Cassel "Trance", Johnny Depp "The Lone Ranger", Toby Jones "Serena", Paul Giamatti "Almost Christmas", Jake Gyllenhaal "Prisoners", Casey Affleck "Aint Them Bodies Saints", Daniel Bruhl "The Fifth Estate"

Commentary - Last year I got zero predictions right from first predictions to final ones. Of course that is not necessarily unusual, although I did get three out of five Best Supporting Actress nominees. So this year, I am plenty prepared to be totally off. As with most early predictions, you have to play it safe, and go based on the level of bait of each product and the history of each contender. So first, I will say that George Clooney could have a repeat of 2005, where he is nominated across the board for two different movies. Gravity, which also stars Oscar winner Sandra Bullock, is a buzzed project, but may have to work hard to overcome its sci-fi trappings, and the fact that it is a two-actor show. Also while most pundits are placing Clooney in Supporting, he will probably be pushed into lead, depending on what happens with Monuments Men. Speaking of, there are lots of names including Jean Dujardin, John Goodman, and Daniel Craig that could garner votes from the film. But right now, I am guessing that the criminally underrewarded Matt Damon (Only two acting nods in his career), is the more likely of the group Last year was a great year for John Goodman, but he wasn't able to push through to his first Oscar nomination. This year, he once again faces the challenge of having two big projects, both of which could cancel each other out. But I think that he will find more luck with the Coen Bros' latest Inside Llewelyn Davis, where there is not as much internal competition. In the final slots, I am bringing back two contenders from last year. We see a lot where Oscar buzz from a previous season can lead to a quick follow up nomination. Hoffman in a political thriller and Jones as a part of a mafia family both sound like great roles that fit each of their acting styles.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Contenders - Best Comedy Series

I Love Lucy

Make Room for Daddy

The Phil Silvers Show

The Jack Benny Show

The Art Carney Special

The Bob Newhart Show

The Dick Van Dyke Show

The Monkees

Get Smart

My World and Welcome to It

All in the Family

M*A*S*H

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Taxi

Barney Miller

Cheers

The Cosby Show

The Golden Girls

The Wonder Years

Murphy Brown

Seinfeld

Frasier

Ally McBeal

Will & Grace

Sex and the City

Friends

Everybody Loves Raymond

Arrested Development

The Office

30 Rock

Modern Family

The Oscar Narrative: First 2014 Predictions - Best Supporting Actress

First Oscar Predictions
Amy Adams "Untiltled David O. Russell/Abscam Project"
Cate Blanchett "The Monuments Men"
Catherine Keener "Captain Phillips"
Margo Martindale "August: Osage County"
Octavia Spencer "Fruitvale"

Other Contenders - Julia Roberts "August: Osage County", Juliette Lewis "August: Osage County", Jane Fonda "The Butler", Oprah Winfrey "The Butler", Sally Hawkins "Blue Jasmine", Cate Blanchett "Blue Jasmine", Jacki Weaver "Labor Day", Cameron Diaz "The Counselor", Penelope Cruz "The Counselor", Kristen Scott Thomas "Only God Forgives", Julie Andrews "The Wolf of Wall Street", Scarlett Johannsen "Don Jon's Addiction", Carey Mulligan "The Great Gatsby", Michelle Pfeiffer "Malavita", Zoe Saldana "Out of the Furnace", Amy Adams "Her", Samantha Morton "Her", Rachel McAdams "A Most Wanted Man", Naomie Harris "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom", Sienna Miller "Foxcatcher", Toni Collette "The Way, Way Back", Jennifer Hudson "Black Nativity", Quvenzhane Wallis "Twelve Years a Slave", Taraji P. Henson "Baggage Claim", Marcia Gay Harden "Parkland", Shirley MacLaine "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", Mario Bello "Prisoners", Viola Davis "Prisoners", Julianne Moore "Carrie", Laura Linney "The Fifth Estate", Isla Fisher "The Great Gatsby", Jodie Foster "Elysium", Elisabeth Olsen "Oldboy", Eva Mendes "The Place Beyond the Pines", Annette Bening "Girl Most Wanted", Rosario Dawson "Trance"

Commentary - And so it begins! The Awards Psychic is officially kicking off the 2013-2014 Oscar season with my first predictions in the major categories. As always, these first predictions, along with the subsequent July predictions, are rudimentary at best, and are really just shots in the dark. So far the only contender that has emerged in the Best Supporting Actress category is Octavia Spencer in the Sundance hit Fruitvale. The reception was pretty good out of the festival, and with Weinsten picking it up (along with a release date that suggests Toronto/Telluride/Venice as a possibility), it is sure to be in the conversation all the way through the season. It doesn't hurt that Spencer is now an Oscar winner, and is still riding high from her success with The Help. Beyond her, the rest are unseen contenders. August: Osage County could be a huge hit or it could be this year's Carnage. But if it is successful, both Julia Roberts and Margo Martindale will be contenders. Roberts is the more obvious choice, but I think that Martindale's is the juicier of the two roles, and it was the role that won Rondi Reed a Tony. Plus, after her Emmy win for Justified, her profile has risen. The next three are simply high profile previous nominees/winners in buzzed projects. After the success of Argo, Clooney's next endeavor The Monuments Men has a lot of pressure, but I think the film will be successful, and Blanchett has a shot ot return to the race after a five year Oscar hiatus. I know it is bad luck to pick a contender when the film doesn't even have a title, but the last time Amy Adams and David O. Russell paired up it lead to her third Oscar nomination. Plus, with Russell right on the heels of his SLP success, this film will have plenty of buzz down the stretch. Finally, I am going for the always reliable Catherine Keener. She is in a baity film about the Somali pirates, and she is one of those solid actresses, whose work is always looked at. Plus, playing opposite Tom Hanks doesn't hurt.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Contenders - Best Miniseries

Tom Brown’s Schooldays

Columbo: Double Exposure

Benjamin Franklin

Upstairs, Downstairs

Roots

Holocaust

Roots: The Next Generations

Edward & Mrs. Simpson

Shogun

Marco Polo

Nicholas Nickleby

Concealed Enemies

The Jewel in the Crown

Peter the Great

A Year in the Life

The Murder of Mary Phagan

War and Remembrance

Drug Wars: The Camarena Story

Separate But Equal

A Woman Named Jackie

Prime Suspect 2

Prime Suspect 3

Joseph

Gulliver’s Travels

Prime Suspect 5: Errors in Judgment

From Earth to the Moon

Hornblower: The Even Chance

The Corner

Anne Frank: The Whole Story

Band of Brothers

Taken

Angels in America

The Lost Prince

Elizabeth I

Broken Trail

John Adams

Little Dorrit

The Pacific

Downton Abbey

Best of the Emmy Awards: Contenders - Best Made for Television Movie

Hallmark Hall of Fame: Macbeth

Friendly Fire

The Miracle Worker

Playing for Time

A Woman Called Golda

Special Bulletin

Something About Amelia

Do You Remember Love

Love is Never Silent

Promise

Inherit the Wind

Day One

Roe vs. Wade

Caroline?

The Incident

Miss Rose White

Barbarians at the Gate

Stalin

And the Band Played On

Indictment: The McMartin Trial

Truman

Miss Evers’ Boys

Don King: Only in America

A Lesson Before Dying

Tuesdays With Morrie

Wit

The Gathering Storm

Door to Door

Something the Lord Made

Warm Springs

 The Girl in the Café

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Recount

Grey Gardens

Temple Grandin

Game Change

Best of the Emmy Awards: Contenders - Best Variety Series

The Alan Young Show

Your Show of Shows

Omnibus

Disneyland

Toast of the Town

The Tonight Show

An Evening with Fred Astaire

The Garry Moore Show

Astaire Time

The Andy Williams Show

The Danny Kaye Show

Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In

The David Frost Show

The Carol Burnett Show

The Julie Andrews Hour

Saturday Night Live

Van Dyke and Company

The Muppets

The Tracey Ullman Show

In Living Color

The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson

Late Show with David Letterman

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Dennis Miller Live

Tracey Takes On…

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Best of the Emmy Awards: Contenders - Best Reality Series

This includes both Reality and Reality-Competition, since only two shows have won the Competition category in its nine-year history.

American High

The Osbournes

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List

Intervention

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

Deadliest Catch

Undercover Boss

The Amazing Race

Top Chef

Best of the Emmy Awards: Contenders - Best Actor in a Drama Series

Robert Young “Father Knows Best”

Raymond Burr “Perry Mason”

Robert Stack “The Untouchables”

E.G. Marshall “The Defenders”

Bill Cosby “I Spy”

Carl Betz “Judd, for Defense”

Robert Young “Marcus Welby, M.D.”

Hal Holbrook “The Bold Ones: The Senator”

Peter Falk “Columbo”

Richard Thomas “The Waltons”

Terry Savalas “Kojak”

Robert Blake “Baretta”

James Garner “The Rockford Files”

Ed Asner “Lou Grant”

Ron Leibman “Kaz”

Daniel J. Travanti “Hill Street Blues”

Ed Flanders “St. Elsewhere”

Tom Selleck “Magnum, P.I.”

William Daniels “St. Elsewhere”

Bruce Willis “Moonlighting”

Richard Kiley “A Year in the Life”

Carroll O’Connor “In the Heat of the Night”

James Earl Jones “Gabriel’s Fire”

Christopher Lloyd “Road to Avonlea”

Tom Skerritt “Picket Fences”

Dennis Franz “NYPD Blue”

Mandy Patinkin “Chicago Hope”

Andre Braugher “Homicide: Life on the Street”

James Gandolfini “The Sopranos”

Michael Chiklis “The Shield”

James Spader “The Practice”

James Spader “Boston Legal”

Kiefer Sutherland “24”

Bryan Cranston “Breaking Bad”

Kyle Chandler “Friday Night Lights”

Damian Lewis “Homeland”

The Great Gatsby Will Open Cannes 2013

A few days after its US premeire, Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, which was originally scheduled for this past Christmas, will open up the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. I'm sure we will be getting a full list of all films relatively soon, but for now, we can ponder the Oscar implications of such a move. Could Luhrmann ride opening night success to Oscar nominations like he did with Moulin Rouge!, or films like Moonrise Kingdom, Midnight in Paris, and Up which all did the same thing? Or will it end up more like Robin Hood? Because the film releases before Cannes, we will get a feel for what critics are thinking, but my guess is that whether it is beloved or reviled, at least some token techincal nods are heading its direction.

Best of the Emmy Awards: Contenders - Best Actress in a Drama Series

Loretta Young “The Loretta Young Show”

Barbara Stanwyck “The Barbara Stanwyck Show”
Barbara Bain “Mission: Impossible”

Susan Hampshire “The Forsyte Saga”

Susan Hampshire “The First Churchills”

Glenda Jackson “Elizabeth R”

Michael Learned “The Waltons”
Jean Marsh “Upstairs, Downstairs”
Lindsey Wagner “The Bionic Woman”

Sada Thompson “Family”

Mariette Hartley “The Incredible Hulk”

Barbara Bel Geddes “Dallas”

Barbara Babcock “Hill Street Blues”

Michael Learned “Nurse”

Tyne Daly “Cagney & Lacey”

Sharon Gless “Cagney & Lacey”

Dana Delaney “China Beach”

Patricia Wettig “thirtysomething”

Kathy Baker “Picket Fences”
Sela Ward “Sisters”

Gillian Anderson “The X-Files”

Edie Falco “The Sopranos”

Sela Ward “Once and Again”

Allison Janney “The West Wing”

Patricia Arquette “Medium”

Mariska Hargitay “Law & Order: SVU”

Sally Field “Brothers and Sisters”

Glenn Close “Damages”

Kyra Sedgwick “The Closer”

Julianna Margulies “The Good Wife”

Claire Danes “Homeland”