Oscar Index: So an Artist and a Horse Walk into a Bar...

Good news and bad news this week from Movieline’s Institute For the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics — the good news being that a handful of critics organizations and awards bodies have helped to draw the year’s noteworthiest (i.e. Oscar-baitiest) titles and talent of the season into their sharpest relief yet. The bad news: Sharp relief remains a total mess, with the fields in most major categories wide open heading into December. Which is the way we like it, right? Right? Ugh. To the Index… [Click the graphs for full-size images.] The Leading 10: 1. The Artist 2. War Horse 3. The Descendants 4. The Help 5. Midnight in Paris 6. Hugo 7. Moneyball 8. The Tree of Life 9. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 10. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Outsiders: Margin Call; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2; The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn; My Week With Marilyn; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Shame First things first: Anyone who tells you the Gotham Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, NY Film Critics Circle Awards and tomorrow’s National Board of Review Awards have no impact whatsoever on the Oscar race is either misinformed or deeply in denial. I know: I used to be one of them myself, hewing to the austerity and imperviousness of the Academy Awards, especially by such starfucking hat-passers as IFP and Film Independent. But when FIND executive director Dawn Hudson wound up hopping to the Academy’s CEO gig earlier this year, it was roughly my 843rd sign in the last five years of the institutional insularity that binds such awards-culture monoliths. People can inveigh about the NYFCC’s own austerity and rectitude, but let’s face it: If I knew I could A) jolt a film like Moneyball to awards life after two months in hibernation and B) get Brad Pitt to come to my party, I’d give the movie my Best Actor and Best Screenplay awards, too. These guys didn’t even see one of the movies long regarded as the season’s biggest wild card (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) just so they could vote first in the derby, and what for? So they could perpetuate the awards narrative that Harvey Weinstein initiated back in May? It’s all connected — profiles, visibility, timing. Check out Oscar oracle Mark Harris’s painstaking analysis this week for his view, or Mike Ryan’s narrower breakdown of if/how the NYFCC has recently tended to move the Oscar needle. Look at this week’s select honorees at the Gothams (not to mention Scott Feinberg’s helpful follow-up). I mean, Charlize Theron? Gary Oldman? I love both — especially in their new films (hint hint) — but we are ultimately talking about deploying any and every means available to cling to the neurons of an aging, overstimulated voting elite of 6,000-plus for the next two months. Can your organization do it better than my organization? Give it your best shot. And so on… and so on… Anyway! As noted, the awards bustle paid off most nicely for The Artist and Moneyball, the latter of which also had Pitt and fellow nomination-hunter Jonah Hill conveniently, simultaneously out and about on the campaign trail. (The Tree of Life, for which Pitt split his NYFCC Best actor nod, also benefited from tying Beginners at the Gothams. (I repeat: The Tree of Life tied Beginners — a distinction that one may think might invalidate the Gothams entirely were it not for the fact that the awards cognoscenti have spent the last 48 hours writing about them.) The Artist, meanwhile, will take its critical approbation and Indie Spirit nods (which are supposed to be for American films, but whatever), but it’ll really take its $52,500 opening-weekend per-screen average. Alas, the disturbing news arrives via Nathaniel Rogers: Everyone predicting a win for The Artist before the nominations are even announced should consider the following list and sobering fact: No movie about movies has ever won Best Picture. […] You’d think that Hollywood’s High Holy Night, which is one big self-congratulatory spectacle, would embrace movies about movies and they do to a point. But perhaps even Hollywood’s notoriously fulsome egos feel sheepish about taking it all the way. Do they fear it would be overkill, the back-patting night of nights morphing into something far more orgiastic, a daisy chain of self regard? Excellent questions! In a semi-related development, movie-love nostalgia showcase Hugo came out strong as well in limited-wide release, portending, in the words of one wag, “early rustlings of a longer-running sleeper success, the kind of success that happens infrequently in Hollywood and even more rarely in the family film realm.” Combined with staggeringly strong reviews, that success would almost certainly secure Hugo’s spot in the Best Picture coterie. It’s a tandem War Horse doesn’t need nearly as desperately, but kudos to Steven Spielberg for not taking any chances on a holiday weekend when his most formidable competition was raking in the accolades and cash. The filmmaker and Disney unveiled his latest for press and industry insiders at a handful of screenings in NYC and L.A., plus a public sneak preview (and a Web Q&A) attended by Spielberg himself. The feedback among the Oscar orthodoxy was incredibly strong, with influencers like Steve Pond, Sasha Stone, David Poland, Kristopher Tapley, Anne Thompson and numerous tweeting others (“Wept through last half of WAR HORSE. Beautiful story of hope and love in the worst of times,” wrote Devin Faraci) going to bat for it as the formidable Best Picture contender we always knew it would be. For the prosecution, meanwhile, Jeffrey Wells dismissed Tapley’s analysis in particular (which downplayed critics awards, incidentally) as “one of the basest insults to the Academy membership I’ve ever read.” Now that’s when you know you have a real contender. One last thing: How about Patrick Goldstein’s idea of a luxury tax for studios lavishly pushing the likes of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2? By publicly identifying the biggest spenders, a luxury tax could serve as a disincentive for crass studio excess. It might also help level the Oscar playing field. The vast majority of recent Oscar best picture nominees have been films that were either financed by a major studio or one of its specialty film divisions, which, if necessary, can draw on the resources of the parent conglomerate. (The 2007 best picture nominee Babel from Paramount Vantage is a good example.) Given the new formula for picking best picture nominees, if Warners’ ad spree earns Hallows 5% of the first-place votes for best picture, it could knock a smaller movie out of the running. Even though indie movies can still earn a best picture win, as Summit’s The Hurt Locker did in 2009, most Oscar insiders say that when it comes to vaulting your film into the awards season conversation, money talks. Love it! Except this whole thing about penalties going to causes like the eventual Academy museum or film scholarships for underprivileged kids is a clear misappropriation of funds that should be going to the Consider Uggie campaign. Thoughts? The Leading 5: 1. Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 2. Steven Spielberg, War Horse 3. Alexander Payne, The Descendants 4. Martin Scorsese, Hugo 5. David Fincher, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Outsiders: Stephen Daldry, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris; Bennett Miller, Moneyball; Tate Taylor, The Help; George Clooney, The Ides of March; Tomas Alfredson, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy As usual, their films’ rising tides generally lifted the filmmakers’ boats — or the inverse, as evidenced by The Descendants and Alexander Payne. According to NY Post critic and NYFCC member Lou Lumenick, Payne’s film never received more than 17 points in any round of Best Picture voting, and the director himself never broke through a top-three cluster of Hazanavicius, Scorsese and, uh, Lars von Trier. Thanks for playing, Lars! Mr. Spielberg will take it from here.

Kate Gosselin Talks Facelift Gossips & If Shed Ever Do More TV With Jon Again

First Released: November 29, 2011 12:55 PM EST Credit: Access Hollywood Caption Kate Gosselin on Access Hollywood Survive November 29, 2011LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Kate Gosselin is constantly on the brush off gossips of sinking the knife lately and also the former reality TV mother stated she cant comprehend the public passion for her appearance. I've no clue. Slow news day? she chuckled, when requested by Billy Rose bush and Package Hoover why she remains tabloid fodder on Tuesdays Access Hollywood Live. Honestly, I seem like it will disappear and also the gossips just keep getting increasingly more absurd. Im busy raising my children and dealing and that i honestly chuckled in the facelift factor because I have no idea any 36 year olds who may have had a facelifts or need one. For why some are recommending her appearance has transformed, Kate stated it may be because of her new fitness regimen. Im managing a marathon on Sunday Im running lots of miles. Clearly the body will change and also you lose lots of weight. Im speculating thats what individuals are realizing, Kate stated. My hair was separated in a different way? Different makeup artist on that day? I am talking about, honestly Im 36! No, I haven't were built with a facelift, she ongoing. Individuals have an excessive amount of time available. POLL: Do You Consider Kate Had More Work Done? Click the link to election! If this involves her time while watching cameras together with her family, Kate whose new gig is really as a blogger for CouponCabin.com stated she does miss certain aspects (and perks) from her reality TV tenure. All of us miss the adventures and also the outings and also the benefits. Theres certainly something missing within our lives and that we miss the folks which were behind the cameras, she stated of herself and her kids. From the mother aspect, I miss having the ability to show my children the planet and do all individuals adventures and i believe which i miss probably the most convenient job within the whole wide world to obtain compensated when somebody's arriving recording your house videos continues to be an aspiration become a reality also it labored this way. But would Kate who accepted she would like to help my career in TV ever step in front from the cameras for any large pay day whether it meant her ex-husband, Jon, would take part in the offer too? You can offer me every last dollar in the world. I dont work with money. Jon lives their own existence now and I've got a large amount of peace during my existence for me personally and also the kids so Id need to refuse, I am unable to compromise my morals and standards to obtain compensated a absurd amount of cash, Kate described. I dont seem like its healthy or advantageous for my children to look at so there is no point. Ill not film another frame of TV with Jon again, she came to the conclusion. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Keck's Exclusives: NBC to Fete Betty White's 90th Birthday

Betty White Invitations are going out for NBC's 90th birthday celebration for beloved TV icon Betty White. The dinner-style event is expected to be filmed in Los Angeles before year's end and will air as a special sometime close to Betty's milestone on January 17, 2012. Among the famous faces likely to offer on-camera tributes: stars from Betty's series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Hot in Cleveland, as well as funny ladies from the NBC comedy lineup. Additionally, TV Land's Cleveland is planning an episode centered around the birthday of Betty's character, Elka Ostrovsky. The special is being executive produced by Brad Lachman,Steve Ridgeway and Jon Macks, whose credits include The Tonight Show, the Emmys and the Academy Awards. NBC also has a reality series hosted by Betty, titled Off Their Rockers, which is awaiting an airdate. The series features senior citizens playing pranks on unsuspecting youngsters. Retirement clearly is not a word in this active lady's vocabulary. Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Ronni Chasen Appreciated: Twelve Months Later

Twelve months ago Wednesday, November. 16, Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen was killed in Beverly Hillsides as she drove home in the afterparty for that premiere of Burlesque.our editor recommendsGhent Film Festival Salutes Ronni Chasen Ronni Chasen Murder Situation Tipster Sues Over RewardRonni Chasen Murder Analysis Formally ClosedClients of Slain Publicist Ronni Chasen Score Large in Globes Nominations Her longtime client, songwriterDiane Warren tweeted in remembrance, writing "Twelve months ago tomm my pal and publicist Ronni Chasen was killed. We'll nvr know why and we'll nvr forget U.#LOVEURONNI". She also authored again on November. 14, saying, "Considering U today Ronni. F--k these laws and regulations that put guns at the disposal of murderers. ... RIP" PHOTOS: Hollywood's Notable Deaths Chasen was shot four occasions while driving her Mercedes-Benz soon after night time near Sunset Boulevard and Whittier Drive. Citizens discovered her declined in the automobile which crashed right into a light pole on Whittier. She was moved to Cedars-Sinai hospital and pronounced dead 1:12 a.m. In The month of january 2011, Beverly Hillsides Police stated that Harold Martin Cruz, discovered a duffel bag felon who wiped out themself 12 ,. 1 before police could question him with regards to the murder, was the lone gunman who shot Chasen. The ballistics report confirmed the same gun Cruz utilized in his suicide was adopted to get rid of the publicist. Police stated they thought Cruz rode a motorcycle back and forth from the scene from the crime and shot Chasen within an attempted robbery. In This summer, the situation was formally pronounced closed after Beverly Hillsides Police sifted through a lot more than 150,000 bits of evidence, investing almost six several weeks tips below to make sure there is no bigger plot to murder Chasen as some in the market and media suspected. The analysis from the Chasen killing came attention from new shops around the world and received strong interest from local shops as gossips swirled within the days following the shooting. TRIBUTE: Hollywood Gamers Remember Ronni Chasen After her dying, many memorials and tributes were carried out in her own memory, both at Michael's restaurant in NY and also at the 4 Seasons L.A. Chasen, who had been hidden at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary in L.A. November. 21, 2010, was honored having a private gathering funded by all six major film galleries following a funeral. This season, she was alsohonored throughout the Jewish High Holy Days celebration in Sept. andsaluted by theGhent Film Festivalin March.. Law & Order: La even shot a chapter loosely in line with the Chasen situation in March. "Ronni would be a dear friend and valued person in our community," saidAmy Pascal,co-chairman of The new sony Pictures, at that time. "She was at our premiere last evening and thus filled with her trademark energy and passion for existence. We're heartbroken, shocked and completely devastated." Composer Hendes Zimmer introduced in March. of the year he would sit from the approaching Oscar race partially because Chasen wasn't around to advertise his work. "I'd rather not create a large factor from it, however i just thought 'no Ronni - I'll take a rest,'" he stated. As well as for her part,Warren, makes praising Chasen's dying something of the personal focus. She devoted her Golden Globe win for the best original song for Burlesque's "You Haven't Seen all of the Me," in The month of january, as well as compensated tribute towards the publicist in the Palm Springs Film Festival that same month. "The saddest factor relating to this is the fact that she's not here to celebrate this beside me,Inch stated Warren in her own Golden Globes acceptance speech. "I devoted this to Ronni. Anything I recieve, I'll commit to Ronni." Related Subjects Hendes Zimmer Ronni Chasen Diane Warren Burlesque Amy Pascal

Box Office Report: Clint Eastwood's 'J. Edgar' Grosses $53,000 From 7 Cities

Clint Eastwood's biopic J. Edgar, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the infamous head of the F.B.I., opened to $53,000 from seven theaters in key cities on Wednesday.our editor recommends'J. Edgar' Premiere Red Carpet ArrivalsClint Eastwood On Set The mid-week limited bow is designed to build word of mouth, and trigger reviews, as the Warner Bros. movie prepares to open nationwide on Friday. Warner Bros. often debuts Eastwood's films in select cities a week or several days before they go wide. PHOTOS: 'J. Edgar' Premiere Red Carpet Arrivals J. Edgar, also starring Armie Hammer, played in markets including Los Angeles, NY and Washington, D.C. FILM REVIEW: J. Edgar The film's performance held its own in terms of theater average -- $7,571 - with the Wednesday bow of Eastwood's 2003 Mystic River, which debuted in 13 theaters to $98,766 for an average $7,597. And J. Edgar did almost as well as the limited bow of Eastwood's Hereafter, which grossed $60,701 from six theaters and had the advantage of launching on a Friday, versus midweek. Related Topics Clint Eastwood Leonardo DiCaprio Box Office Warner Bros. J. Edgar

Spooky 'Emergo' sells to major areas

Gregoire Melin's Kinology has folded out major territory sales on "Emergo," the most recent genre pic from Rodrigo Cortes and Adrian Guerra, they behind "Hidden" and "Red-colored Lights." Closing with topnotch marketers, "Emergo" has offered to Alliance for U.K. and Canada, Universum in Germany and Australia's Hopscotch Films off an initial screening in the American Film Market. A U.S. purchase has become within the works.Compiled by Cortes, and also the feature directorial debut of award-winning Catalan shorts helmer Carles Torrens, the British-language "Emergo" activates a team of high-tech parapsychologists who investigate mysterious phenomena within an old, eerie house. Toplining Kai Lennox and Michael O'Keefe, "Emergo" is to establish at Guerra's new Barcelona-based production label Nostromo Pictures.Its makers acknowledge a debt to "The Blair Witch Project" and "Rec." However they break new ground, they are saying, in multiple cameras usage, varying from HD lensing to 8mm, 16mm and 35mm accustomed to capture the scientists' condition-from the-art technology -- infra-red-colored filming, psychophonic tracks, movement sensors and magnetic area alteration meters -- as well as the chilling phenomena they identify. "Emergo" has compiled presales including Mexico (Cine Video y TV), Taiwan (Studio Solutions Group), Middle East (Gulf Film), Singapore (Cathay Keris Films), Indonesia (P.T. Rapi Films), Philippines (Pioneer Films), Argentina and Venezuela (Eastwood Holdings Intl.).Kinology is closing major territory presales on David Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis" off a promo tested in the AFM, Melin stated. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Derek Hough States There's No Drama With Maksim Chmerkovskiy

First Launched: November 4, 2011 6:02 PM EDT Credit: WireImage Caption Derek Hough, Maksim ChmerkovskiyLOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Derek Hough states there's no damaging blood stream between themselves and fellow Dwts professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Our relationship is rather similar to what it is usually been, Derek told Access Hollywood while he practiced with Ricki Lake on Friday in La. Weve known each other for a number of, a very long time. This is often a tv series which i recognize that individuals need to visit drama where there's not. Derek mentioned the two pros even remained together on Thursday. I had been out last evening with each other combined with a lot of fun. Hate to dissatisfy, Derek mentioned, mentioning to his squashing in the gossips. The reviews that Derek and Maks werent getting along made an appearance right after Maks was seen on Monday nights DWTS exiting a business testing after growing frustrated with trying to coach his partner, Hope Solo. The footage on DWTS then cut to Derek walking straight into help Hope uncover the routine. Im merely a Start it type of person, Derek mentioned of aiding the soccer star, when Maks clearly needed one minute. I dont like taking breaks. DWTS returns on Monday at 8/7 C on ABC. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Jennifer Lawrence on Katniss Everdeen: 'Her Face Can't Be Badass'

The possibilities certainly in Jennifer Lawrence's favor right now. Not just did she grab an Oscar nomination this year on her breakout performance in 'Winter's Bone,' but Lawrence gained the coveted role of Katniss Everdeen within the long awaited adaptation of Suzanne Collins's best-selling YA book 'The Hunger Games.' A primary reason she outperform her Katniss rivals? Possibly the truth that she knows the smoothness very well- a minimum of knowing from her new interview with Vanity Fair. "Katniss is definitely an incredible character: she's a hunter although not a killer, a 16-year-old who's having in to the arena," Lawrence told Vanity Fair. "These children are killing each other only if they do not they'll die. It's pointless, pointless, unjustified violence. It's heartbreaking. After I auditioned, I told [director] Gary [Ross], 'I understand if you do not hire me, but please keep in mind that after Katniss shoots a bow and kills someone, her face can't be badass.' So there is nothing awesome about her. It isn't like she looks round the arena and goes, Yeah, I acquired this. I believe she looks around helplessly, and thinks, I designed a promise to my sister which i would survive now I must kill to be able to achieve this.Inch Seems like the Katniss 'Hunger Games' visitors know and love. Can anybody really believe there is some question about Lawrence's casting initially due to her hair color? [via Vanity Fair] [Photo: Getty] 'The Hunger Games' Character Posters See All Moviefone Art galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

Dancing With the Stars' David Arquette Gets Candid About Courteney Cox

David Arquette Has David Arquette danced his way back into the heart of his estranged wife, Courteney Cox? "No," says Arquette, the latest dancer to be shown the door on Dancing With the Stars. Sitting in the audience and watching Arquette dance his heart out week after week, there were two things you couldn't miss: First was the joy on the face of his 7-year-old daughter, Coco, and second were the tears in the eyes of Cox, 47, who sat ringside. "I like that people hope for us," says Arquette, 40. "But it really is time to move on." The two married in 1999; they formally separated in October 2010. "It's been more than a year," says Arquette. "And I think to a certain extent when a woman gets to a place [where she doesn't want to be married], it's really hard to ever get back." "We love each other deeply," he continues. "We're really connected as friends, we're connected for life. But it's not like that [romantic love] any longer. She feels for me, she cares about me. And I care about her. When she was directing her episode of Cougar Town, I was really nervous for her, and we met and talked about it. We're very supportive of each other. But when romance dies, it changes the dynamic of a relationship." Arquette quickly got a reputation off the dance floor for his sweetness, goofiness and candor, especially about his recent struggle with alcoholism and depression. He checked himself into rehab on January 1 and says dancing has been a boon to his 10 months of sobriety, getting him into shape and keeping him focused. "What I had to overcome was my general clumsiness, because I'm not the most graceful of people," he says. "But I'm learning grace through this process. I'm learning control and I'm learning balance. Those are all themes within my life." What is the best thing he took away from the experience? On Monday night, after doing his cha cha, "I was called a dancer," he says proudly, referring to the comments by head judge Len Goodman. "So at least I can go home with my head held high."