Giddyup to Gold Derby, goodbye to these great Times

Six years ago, L.A. Times editors asked me to join them in a bold adventure –- to help this giant among American newspapers transition to new electronic media. I was told that I would be among the first writers hired by The Times to contribute original content specifically for the Web. Previously, staff writers had penned some new text for the Los Angeles Times website here and there, but very little, truth be told. Almost everything that appeared online had first appeared in print.

The Times aimed to launch an awards site. I owned Hollywood's original one, Gold Derby –- the first site devoted to news and predictions spanning all major kudos. We struck a license deal. Gold Derby was shut down. It became a blog at TheEnvelope.com and its message boards were moved over. During the last six years, we greatly expanded The Times' awards coverage and worked together wonderfully to make The Envelope a premier new Hollywood brand. Traffic all across the Los Angeles Times website is booming today, and these Internet pages are full of original content penned by a large team of savvy journos who write exclusively for the Web. Now Latimes.com is the second-most-visited newspaper site after Nytimes.com, and it was a thrill and honor for me to have played a small role in all of that.

But human nature being what it is, I always privately yearned to resurrect my dear old Gold Derby, of course, and I had ambitious plans for it. I wanted to make it more interactive –- to empower users to make their own predictions and compete against the experts. Last year, when I told my Times bosses that I planned to do just that, they were surprisingly supportive and offered to help. They took on the job of ad sales and did a terrific job while I remained at Latimes.com writing about Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and more.

Now, one year later, Gold Derby has gone through extensive development, it's trotting ahead and I need to focus full time on its growth and success so I don't have time to blog so vigorously here. That means it is time to leave. It's hard to go. Working here has been not only a privilege but lots of fun –- especially teaming up with such ace folks as Elena Howe, Lisa Fung, Sallie Hofmeister, John O'Loughlin, Francie Berns, Stacey Farish, Todd Martens, Lora Victorio, Jevon Phillips, Emily Christianson, Nancy Sullivan and others. Take it from this awards' expert -– they're real winners.

But the awards coverage on Latimes.com and TheEnvelope.com continues.  Look for insights from Patrick Goldstein and the rest of The Times' movie team on our sister blog, 24 Frames, as movie awards season gets underway.

-- Tom O'Neil

Photo credit: GoldDerby.com

 

Some Oscar pundits say 'The Artist' will win best picture

"No one is talking about the possibility, the serious possibility, that 'The Artist' could not only be nominated for Best Picture but could WIN," writes Sasha Stone at Awards Daily. "The strange thing about 'The Artist' is that it has everything a stealthy Best Picture winner needs — it’s the movie everybody loves and the movie nobody thinks can win.  Sounds a lot like 'Slumdog Millionaire.'"

Stone is right. A lot of top pundits not only believe it will be nominated for best picture but that it will take the big prize: Dave Karger (Entertainment Weekly) and Guy Lodge (In Contention). Over at Gold Derby, most Oscarologists rank it very high up even if they don't predict it will win.

Stone's comparison to "Slumdog Millionaire" is apt. Both films feature lovebirds battling poverty and catastrophic hardship and both have extremely clever, upbeat finales that send moviegoers soaring out of the theater. "The Artist" may have extra appeal to film-industry voters because it's about Hollywood -- that is, the town's transition in the 1920s from silent movies to talkies.

"The Artist" is a black-and-white silent film -- normally two detriments. However, in this case, those factors make the film so different nowadays that it's cool. In olden days, back when talkies were first appearing to muzzle silent flicks forever, a silent film actually won best picture at the Oscars, at the very first ceremony: "Wings." Could it turn out that it may not be the last?

-- Tom O'Neil

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Photo: Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist." Credit: The Weinstein Co.

Oscars quiz: Who won best supporting actress twice?

Two past Oscar winners for supporting actress are back in contention: Vanessa Redgrave ("Coriolanus") and Judi Dench ("J. Edgar"). They've been nominated for other roles as well, but how often have they won? Only two stars have claimed the category twice. One was Dianne Wiest ("Hannah and Her Sisters," 1986; "Bullets Over Broadway," 1994). Can you name the other? To see the answer, click on the "Continue reading" link underneath the photos below.

Will Brad Paisley or Blake Shelton win CMA Award? [poll]

Up until recently, it looked like Brad Paisley was unbeatable in the Country Music Assn. Award contest for best male vocalist. He won it three years in a row (2007-2009) and he's such a darling of the organization that he's become the annual cohost of the kudo fest. This year he MCs with Carrie Underwood on Nov. 9 (8 p.m. PT/ET on ABC).

However, last year Paisely got upset by Blake Shelton. Now they return for a rematch, pitted against Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban. Two of the contenders are up for best single of the year: Aldean ("Don't You Wanna Stay" with Kelly Clarkson) and Shelton ("Honey Bee"). Three are up for best album: Aldean ("My Kinda Party"), Shelton ("All About Tonight") and Paisley ("This Is Country Music"). To win best male vocalist, it usually helps to have corresponding nominations in those other top races. Who'll win?

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— Tom O'Neil

Left photo: Brad Paisley. Credit: Sony Nashville.

Photo: Blake Shelton. Credit: Warner Bros.

Oscar hopes brighten for 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'

Now, with the release of the trailer, we get our first look at "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" and early Oscar buzz is confirmed: It's a serious player. It touches all of the academy buttons. It's a heart-tugger (like "The King's Speech" last year) with a serious message based upon real events (Sept. 11). It's packed with past Oscar victors (double champ Tom Hanks, who is a member of the academy's Board of Governors, and Sandra Bullock) and it's helmed by Stephen Daldry, who was nominated for best director for all three of his feature films: "The Reader" (2008), "The Hours" (2002) and "Billy Elliot" (2000). Screenplay is by Eric Roth, who won for "Forrest Gump" (1994) and was nominated for "Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008), "Munich (2005) and "The Insider" (1999). Looks like Max Van Sydow has a stand-out supporting role –- he's overdue to win.

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-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: Tom Hanks and Thomas Horn in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." Credit: Paramount

Oscar experts predict Meryl Streep will win for 'Iron Lady'

The release of a new poster for Meryl Streep's upcoming film and her inevitable next Oscar nomination –- as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" -– brings up the nagging question: Can she actually win?

Streep is almost a perennial nominee. When a derby occurs without her contending, like last year, it seems odd, like something familiar and precious is missing. She's been nominated 16 times, but the last 12 of those bids have been defeats. She hasn't won since for 1982's "Sophie's Choice". Her only other victory was as supporting actress for 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer."

But now, if Gold Derby's Oscarologists are correct, she's set to triumph again. Eight top experts polled by the site predict Streep will win next February: Pete Hammond (Deadline Hollywood), Dave Karger (Entertainment Weekly), Michael Musto (Village Voice), Steve Pond (the Wrap), Paul Sheehan (Gold Derby), Sasha Stone (AwardsDaily), S.T. VanAirsdale (Movieline), Jeff Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere) and Susan Wloszczyna (USA Today).

Gold Derby's Inside Track gives Streep the best racetrack odds (8 to 11), followed by Glenn Close (11 to 2 for "Albert Nobbs") and Viola Davis (6 to 1 for "The Help"). Personally, I'm betting on Viola Davis, but on rare occasions, ahem, I've been wrong.

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— Tom O'Neil

Photo: "The Iron Lady." Credit: Weinstein Co.

Michelle Williams to receive Hollywood Actress Award

Michelle Williams begins her latest dash for an Oscar with a head start – she'll receive the Hollywood Actress Award at the Hollywood Film Festival on Oct. 24.

The festival is considered to be the launch of Oscar season when film industry leaders gather at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to salute leading awards candidates. Williams competes this year for her role as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn," which chronicles the experiences of a young employee of Laurence Olivier's while "The Prince and the Showgirl" was being filmed in 1957.

Williams has been nominated for an Oscar twice – as lead actress of "Blue Valentine" (2010) and supporting star of "Brokeback Mountain" (2005).

The Hollywood Film Festival will also honor Christopher Plummer with the Hollywood Supporting Actor Award for "Beginners," Joseph Gordon-Levitt with the Hollywood Breakthrough Actor Award for "50/50," Jessica Chastain with the Hollywood Breakthrough Actress Award for "The Tree of Life," "Coriolanus," "The Debt," "The Help" and "Take Shelter," and Felicity Jones with the New Hollywood Award for "Crazy Love."

Other honorees  will include the cast of "The Help" (Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O'Reilly, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Cicely Tyson and Mike Vogel), cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, editor Stephen Mirrione, production designer James Murakami, and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar at their annual awards gala. In addition, Gore Verbinski's "Rango" will be honored at the Hollywood Film Awards gala ceremony.

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-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn." Credit: Weinstein Co.

CMA Awards: Who'll win entertainer of the year? [Poll]

Last year, Brad Paisley finally won a top prize that had been long denied him at the Country Music Assn. Awards: entertainer of the year. Paisley had won best album ("Time Well Wasted," 2006) and best male vocalist three times (2007-2009), but the entertainer trophy had been elusive. Now, can he repeat?

Sometimes winners take the prize for consecutive years like Kenny Chesney (2006-08) and Alan Jackson (2002-2003), but Paisley faces stiff competition from Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban. Paisley may have an edge. He's now such a CMA darling that he's back as cohost of the kudofest with Carrie Underwood Nov. 9 (8 p.m. CBS).

But beware of Swift, who has a strong advantage of her own: She's the only woman in the category. That could help. Plus, she pulled off a shocking upset to win this category in 2009 and she's also a CMA darling, having won best female vocalist (2009) and best album ("Fearless," 2009).

-- Tom O'Neil

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Flashback: 'The Lion King' at the Oscars and Tonys

With "The Lion King" back in theaters -- this time in 3-D -- it felt right to look back at the 1994 Oscars, when a category had not yet been created for animated feature, so "The Lion King" was marginalized to the tech races. It ended up nabbing four bids, all in the music slots. Three of its tunes competed for best song -- "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata" -- and, of course, "Love" triumphed with Elton John and Tim Rice claiming the gold. "The Lion King" also won best score for Hans Zimmer.

Soon afterward the hit film was transferred to the Broadway stage, where it finally reaped its lion's share of kudos. In 1998, it won six Tony Awards including best musical, beating "Rag Time," "Side Show" and "The Scarlett Pimpernel." Since it opened in November 1997, it has run continuously for more than 3,000 performances, becoming Broadway's seventh-longest-running musical.

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-- Tom O'Neil

'60 Minutes' sweeps News and Documentary Emmys

"60 Minutes" was the big winner at the News and Documentary Emmys on Monday night in New York, winning seven awards, including that for coverage of a breaking news story and for reporting in a news magazine for "The Blowout," regarding the "Deepwater Horizon" oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. See video below.

Other big champs: PBS' program "P.O.V." won four trophies, including informational programming (long form) and documentary for "Food Inc.," an expose of the food industry that was nominated for doc at the 2009 Oscars.

Watch the full episode. See more POV.

Check out a full list of News and Documentary Emmy winners here.

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-- Tom O'Neil