Broadway took back the Tonys and staged a real winner

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

After Catherine Zeta-Jones, Denzel Washington and Scarlett Johansson swept the Tony Awards last year, there was a widespread belief that Hollywood had hijacked New York's great theater awards. This year, Broadway wanted them back and Tony voters sent a powerful -– and painful –- message by bypassing a nomination for Daniel Radcliffe ("How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying") in the race for best musical actor.

Instead, on Sunday night, that award went to longtime Tonys fave Norbert Leo Butz ("Catch Me If You Can"), who previously won for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (2005). Best musical actress went to another Broadway insider, Sutton Foster ("Anything Goes"), who previously won for "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (2002). Two Hollywood stars managed to win, but one (Frances McDormand, "Good People") is a veteran stage actress who lives in New York and the other, John Larroquette, won for two reasons: his celeb status and "How to Succeed" needed a consolation prize.

Still, no superstars shone, so the spotlight fell on what everybody's talking about Monday -– those dazzling opening and closing numbers performed by Neil Patrick Harris, who won an Emmy last year for hosting the Tonys in 2009.

New York theater writer Wayman Wong of the New York Daily News sent us this message via email, "I thought that was the best Tonycast in years, and think Harris could pick up another Emmy (as host) … and now producer! I also think the opening song could nab an Emmy nomination; the lyrics are by multiple Emmy winner David Javerbaurm (of 'The Daily Show'); music, Adam Schlesinger."

The opener had such memorable lyrics as "Attention every breeder/ you're invited to the theater/ it's not just for gays any more." See the full lyrics at AfterElton.

Harris' closing wrap rant was impressive since it incorporated references to unscripted events that occurred earlier that night with such lyrics, "Everybody cried for gorgeous Nikki James, the bumblebee ….  Mark Rylance runs at fences." Read the full lyrics at Awards Tracker.

[For the record, 11:32 June 15: An earlier version of this post said "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" ran on Broadway in 2002. It was 2005.)

-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: Neil Patrick Harris performs the opening number. Credit: Gary Hershorn / Reuters

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Poll: Who'll win best kiss at the MTV Movie Awards?

Normally, when trying to predict who'll win the battle over best kiss at the MTV Movie Awards, it's safe to bet on "Twilight Saga" stars. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have won the category the last two years for the original "Twilight" and its "New Moon" sequel.

However, this year there are two nominee pairings from "Twilight Saga: Eclipse" -- Kristen Stewart's latest pucker with Pattinson, plus her sneaky smooch with Taylor Lautner. If they split the "Twilight" vote, then that means that all three could get, well, a big kiss-off at the MTV Movie Awards.

Daniel Radcliffe's awkward kiss with Emma Watson in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1" could prevail, but beware: Radcliffe's earlier lip lock with Katie Leung in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" lost to Briana Evigan and Robert Hoffman's smooch in "Step Up 2: The Streets" (2008).

A more likely usurper will be the girl-on-girl action between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in "Black Swan." This category has a history of same-sex kisses winning like Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen ("Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," 2007) and Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal ("Brokeback Mountain," 2006).

-- Tom O'Neil

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Photo: Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in "Black Swan." Credit: Fox Searchlight

Daniel Radcliffe, Whoopi Goldberg among Tony Awards presenters

Even though Daniel Radcliffe wasn't nominated for a Tony Award, the star of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" is proving to be a good sport by agreeing to present awards to others.

His name was on the first list of presenters and performers announced for the ceremony to be telecast by CBS on June 12. Others include Whoopi Goldberg, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Samuel L. Jackson, Kelsey Grammer, Viola Davis, Vanessa Redgrave, James Earl Jones, Harry Connick Jr., Christie Brinkley, David Hyde Pierce, Marg Helgenberger, Matthew Broderick, Angela Lansbury, Jim Parsons, Joel Grey, Patrick Wilson and Robert Morse.

Neil Patrick Harris will host the Tonys ceremony, to be held at the Beacon Theater in New York City.

-- Tom O'Neil

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Photo: Daniel Radcliffe in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Credit: Al Hirschfeld Theatre

Really, Daniel Radcliffe is cool with the Tonys snub

Considering many top Tony Award pundits believe that Daniel Radcliffe ("How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying") could have won best actor in a musical if he'd been nominated, it would seem an outrage that he got snubbed.

But the young actor isn't devastated: "The thing that shocked me was everybody else's reaction to me, and how they started treating me -- because it was like I lost a relative," Radcliffe told an audience at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. "In my opinion, it was sweet, but over the top. People would ask me, 'Are you OK?' And I'd go, 'I'm really OK!'

"I think I speak for 99% of actors when I say that the reason we do this job, while it's lovely to get recognized by your peers, it's not the reason why we do it," he added. "The people that do this job for awards and recognition are kind of worshiping at the wrong altar, and I'm not really quite sure if I want to know those people."

-- Tom O'Neil

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If nominated, Daniel Radcliffe would've won the Tony Award

Photo: Daniel Radcliffe in "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying." Credit: Al Hirschfeld Theatre

If nominated, Daniel Radcliffe could have won the Tony Award

Many leading Broadway pundits believe Daniel Radcliffe could have won the Tony Award for best musical actor if he'd been nominated for "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

Sound crazy? Not when you examine how Tony voting works. The group of people who choose winners is not the same as the one that picks nominees. Nominations are selected by 30 members of a committee who had an agenda that may not have been shared by the 700 voters who pick winners.

Melissa Bernardo of Entertainment Weekly describes that agenda as "the 'Give the Tonys back to Broadway' backlash that ensued after Denzel Washington, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Scarlett Johansson took home trophies in 2010."

If the committee hadn't blocked Radcliffe just because he's another Hollywood superstar, Bernardo believes "Radcliffe was poised to win the leading actor in a musical Tony — just as previous J. Pierrepont Finches Matthew Broderick and Robert Morse had."

Michael Musto of the Village Voice agrees: "If he'd gotten the nomination, he probably would have been the Catherine Zeta-Jones of this year and copped the prize, with Tony Sheldon ('Priscilla, Queen of the Desert') a runner up."

Broadway shockers: Complete list of Tony Award snubs

Below is a full list of every contender eligible in the top Tony Awards races that did not get a nomination. Compare to a list of Tony nominees  and a rundown of predictions by experts.

Not nominated for best play
"Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo"
"Brief Encounter"
"Colin Quinn Long Story Short"
"Elling"
"A Free Man of Color"
"Ghetto Klown"
"High"
"Lombardi"
"The Pee-wee Herman Show"
"The Pitmen Painters"
 
Not nominated for best musical
"Baby It's You!"
"Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson"
"Elf"
"The People in the Picture"
"Priscilla Queen of the Desert"
"Rain"
"Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"
"Wonderland"

Not nominated for best play revival
"Born Yesterday"
"Driving Miss Daisy"
"The House of Blue Leaves"
"La Bête"
"A Life in the Theatre"
"Mrs. Warren's Profession"
"That Championship Season"

Not nominated for best actor in a play
Jim Belushi, "Born Yesterday"
Brian Cox, "That Championship Season"
Santino Fontana, "The Importance of Being Earnest"
Brendan Fraser, "Elling"
David Furr, "The Importance of Being Earnest"
James Earl Jones, "Driving Miss Daisy"
Dan Lauria, "Lombardi"
John Leguizamo, "Ghetto Klown"
Seth Numrich, "War Horse"
Denis O'Hare, "Elling"
David Hyde Pierce, "La Bête"
Colin Quinn, "Colin Quinn Long Story Short
Paul Reubens, "The Pee-wee Herman Show"
Mark Rylance, "La Bête"
Patrick Stewart, "A Life in the Theatre"
Ben Stiller, "The House of Blue Leaves"
Tristan Sturrock, "Brief Encounter"
Robin Williams, "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo"
Jeffrey Wright, "A Free Man of Color"

'Harry Potter,' 'Inception' and 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' earn multiple nominations for MTV Movie Awards

The nominations for the 2011 MTV Movie Awards were announced Tuesday morning, with "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" snagging the most with eight, followed by "Inception" with seven, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1" with six and "The Social Network" garnering five.

The unconventional award show will air June 5 from the Gibson Amphitheatre with "Saturday Night Live" regular Jason Sudeikis as host.

Among the nominations announced Tuesday morning are:

Best movie

"Black Swan," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1," "Inception," "The Social Network" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Best female performance

Emma Stone, "Easy A"; Emma Watson, "Harry Potter";  Jennifer Aniston, "Just Go With It";  Kristen Stewart, "Eclipse"; and Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

Best male performance

Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter"; Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"; Robert Pattinson, "Eclipse"; Taylor Lautner, "Eclipse"; and Zac Efron, "Charlie St. Cloud"

Best breakout star

Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network"; Chloe Grace Moretz, "Kick-Ass"; Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"; Jay Chou, "The Green Hornet"; Olivia Wilde, "Tron: Legacy"; and Xavier Samuel, "Eclipse"

Best comedic performance

Adam Sandler, "Just Go With It"; Ashton Kutcher, "No Strings Attached"; Emma Stona, "Easy A"; Russell Brand, "Get HIm to the Greek"; and Zach Galifianakis, "Due Date"

Best villain

Christoph Waltz, "The Green Hornet"; Leighton Meester, "The Roommate"; Mickey Rourke, "Iron Man 2"; Ned Beatty, "Toy Story 3"; and Tom Felton, "Harry Potter"

Best kiss

Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Inception"; Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter"; Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, "Eclipse"; and Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, "Black Swan"

Voting in these and other categories begins today at http://www.MovieAwards.MTV.com and closes on June 4. However, voting for the best picture winner will continue throughout the ceremony.

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— Susan King

Photos, from top: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in "The Twlight Saga: Eclipse"; Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1." Credits: Kimberly French / Summit Entertainment; Warner Bros. Pictures

Revealed: Why the Tony Awards slapped Daniel Radcliffe

Just one year after the Tony Awards enthusiastically embraced Hollywood stars in an unprecedented fashion, they coldly snubbed a galaxy of Tinseltown celebs when nominations were announced Tuesday. Why?

Best guess: It's a take-back of Broadway's top prize by New Yorkers fed up with last year's invasion of West Coasters.

It's outrageous that Daniel Radcliffe wasn't nominated for best actor in a musical. Hollywood's boy wizard had received rapturous reviews from Entertainment Weekly and USA Today, though the New York Times found him at best to be a "game, engaged" performer, for "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying," which was nominated for best musical revival. And the role had serious Tonys pedigree: Robert Morse (1962) and Matthew Broderick (1995) won for performing the part in the past.

Also missing from the list of Tony nominees were the following Hollywood film celebs: James Earl Jones ("Driving Miss Daisy"), Kathleen Turner ("High"), Ben Stiller ("House of Blue Leaves") and Robin Williams ("Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo").

Granted, some famous names made the cut, like Al Pacino ("The Merchant of Venice") and Vanessa Redgrave ("Driving Miss Daisy"), but they were unavoidable. The high-profile omissions mean something and the message, if being read correctly, is fascinating.

Usually, it's tough for film stars to be taken seriously by Tony voters, but Scarlett Johansson ("A View from the Bridge"), Catherine Zeta-Jones ("A Little Night Music"), Denzel Washington ("Fences") all won last year, shocking onlookers. The reason: The Tonys had just changed their voting system, booting out most theater critics from the electorate. In the past, the critics had added a high-brow element to the selection process. Without them, Tony voters got crazily star-struck when picking winners.

But Tony nominees aren't chosen by the whole voting body. They're picked by a select committee of Broadway insiders (see list) who obviously decided to remove the celebrity temptations from this year's nominee list before handing over the final ballot to 700 voters.

If true, that means Radcliffe was denied a shot at this year's Tony simply because too many other film stars won last year.

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-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: Rose Hemingway and Daniel Radcliffe in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Credit: Ari Mintz