ScottFeinberg.com

By Joey Magidson
Film Contributor

***

Believe it or not, no actor or actress has ever won an Academy Award for a performance in a film directed by Steven Spielberg. It’s an incredible dry spell, but this Oscar drought should end this weekend. Lincoln is poised to at least score Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, if not Tommy Lee Jones for Supporting Actor and Sally Field for Supporting Actress as well. Day-Lewis is a lock, while Jones is a 50-50 proposition at this point and Field is almost assuredly losing. This won’t suddenly mean that Spielberg is King Midas for actors, but the tide is definitely turning at last.

This change got me thinking about the best performances induced from actors by Spielberg that resulted in nods but no wins. It’s an odd statistic since the Academy often goes out of its way to nominate his movies. Sometimes it’s merely for the technical prowess of the work, but on a number of occasions, the Academy has cited his actors and actresses.

To date, there have been nine instances of actors and actresses in Spielberg’s flicks getting nominated for their work, not counting the Lincoln thespians. Here they are by strength of performance:

Read the rest of this entry »

By Carson Blackwelder
Television Contributor

***

Everyone has his or her favorite actor on TV, but what about the more obscure entertainers out there?

Amid the slew of popular TV performers that dominate the headlines lies an undercurrent of cult favorites, made iconic by uber-fans and bloggers — we’re talking the people that inspire beautiful, beautiful fan fiction and subreddits.

These actors may not earn millions or attend award shows, but they garner a small fan base that makes up for its size in devotion. No matter where this entertainer goes, for better or for worse, fans are sure to follow.

Here are the top 10 cult actors and actresses of all time:

Read the rest of this entry »

By Joey Magidson
Film Contributor

***

From the moment the first trailer for Les Miserables hit the web, Anne Hathaway was pegged as the frontrunner and odds-on favorite for Best Supporting Actress. The initial press screenings did nothing to dissuade that line of thinking, and things only solidified for Hathaway when the film opened. Going into the precursors, she seemed to be sitting pretty.

Here’s where it gets funny, though. Hathaway has swept the precursors, but unlike Daniel Day-Lewis, her candidacy has only gotten shakier, not sturdier. She’s won everything, but support has slowly withered.

Why is this happening to only her? It’s hard to say, but the awards season always seems to have people turning on their own, and I think this is one of those cases. It may ultimately not matter, but Hathaway’s star has dimmed at least a little bit as the season comes to a conclusion.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Carson Blackwelder
Television Contributor

***

In 2009, ABC launched a quirky, revolutionary sitcom called Modern Family.

Since then, the ensemble of stellar actors and writers has created four seasons of a show that initially broke boundaries but has slowly become mundane, as its once revolutionary plots and characters have faded into vogue.

This season, NBC launched a show from creators Ali Adler and Ryan Murphy titled The New Normal. The series follows a single mother (Georgia King) as she becomes a surrogate for a homosexual couple (Justin Bartha and Andrew Rannells).

Sure, The New Normal‘s premise is an extension of Modern Family‘s gay couple, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) — especially since both couples want children.

But despite their topicality, ratings for both series have been declining.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Scott Feinberg
The Hollywood Reporter

***

With final ballots for the 85th Annual Academy Awards due back toPricewaterhouseCoopers via snail mail, hand delivery or e-vote by 5 p.m. Tuesday, and the Oscars ceremony itself set to take place in Hollywood on Sunday, the holiday weekend offered anxious studios their last opportunity to get their nominees in front of straggling voters and/or to tear down their competitors. Like so many of the weekends leading up to it, it was jam-packed with awards shows and screenings, each of which attracted some of Hollywood’s biggest names to appear in front of hundreds of its smallest — some of whom also get to vote for the Oscars — each using the other for their own purposes. Such is the awards season. (Of course, we’ll never know whether any of this actually impacted the results.)

Read the rest of this entry…

By Rachel Bennett
Television Editor & Columnist

***

As many of you know, I often write about NBC’s Parks and Recreation, partly because it’s one of the best series on TV, and partly because it’s consistently overlooked by viewers.

Although the comedy most likely would’ve appeared in this feature sooner or later, this week marks a significant milestone for the show: Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Ben’s (Adam Scott) wedding.

If you’ve followed their relationship since season two/three, then you’ve probably anticipated this long-awaited day as much as I have. TV weddings can be tricky to pull off, as they’re joyous events that also mark the end of epic “Will They?/Won’t They?” romances, but such momentous occasions are guaranteed to produce the best of what a series has to offer.

Considering Parks and Recreation is already such a fantastic comedy, the one-hour wedding episode is sure to delight new and seasoned viewers alike. But if you still need reasons to tune in (seriously, what’s wrong with you?), here’s why you should keep any eye on Parks and Recreation this week:

Read the rest of this entry »

By Joey Magidson
Film Contributor

***

Ladies and gentlemen, the Best Picture race is just about a done deal. It looks almost certain that Argo is going to win the biggest Oscar of them all. For a season that had the award leaning in the direction of Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty at different points (not to mention way back when The Great Gatsby was supposedly a safe bet), seeing the race end up between Argo and Silver Linings Playbook (with the former out in front of the latter by a solid margin) rubs some the wrong way.

There are two schools of thought surrounding how Argo got where it is today. Both have some validity to them, but both have holes. They both also have to do with a certain category snub for the film and its filmmaker.

As is the case every year with figuring out how Academy voters came to the decision they did (though I concede that they still haven’t officially made up their minds and have until Tuesday to turn in their ballots), the truth probably lies somewhere in between the two theories. But that one snub is where it all begins.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Rachel Bennett
Television Editor & Columnist

***

Whether we like it or we don’t (we don’t), tonight marks the third season finale of Masterpiece Theatre’s Downton Abbey.

As with every season, this year has been an emotional rollercoaster revolving around the estate’s upstairs and downstairs tenants, and it will be hard to say goodbye.

By now, many of you have most likely seen tonight’s closer, which aired as the 2012 Christmas Special in the U.K. If not, then you’ve probably at least heard rumblings about the episode.

But fear not, blissfully ignorant viewers. Although I will allude to a twist taking place tonight, I won’t blatantly spell it out. However, beware of any pieces you may put together as well as the comments section.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Rachel Bennett
Television Editor & Columnist

Every Friday, Rachel recaps the week’s major TV-related news, announcements and gossip!

* * *

TOP STORIES

• Notable film actor Peter Sarsgaard is making his way to TV. He’s joining the third season of AMC’s The Killing as “a lifelong convict born into poverty and crime who has been in and out of the system for violent crimes since he was 10. Never wanting to appear weak, every interaction for Tom is a challenge and one he must dominate.”

• ABC is moving its struggling comedy Happy Endings to Friday nights beginning March 29, where two episodes will air back-to-back until the season ends. This is not a promising sign, but at least it’s not canceled … ?

• Finally, NBC is giving its new drama Hannibal a premiere date. The series, which is being helmed by Bryan Fuller (ABC’s Pushing Daisies), will bow Thursday, April 4 at 10 p.m.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Scott Feinberg
The Hollywood Reporter

***

The Hollywood Reporter has released the eighth installment of its weekly web series The Hollywood Reporters. In each episode, THR awards analyst Scott Feinberg, the series’ host, chats with colleagues from THR‘s newsroom about different aspects of the awards race. This week, Feinberg was joined by music editor Shirley Halperin for a discussion about this year’s nominees for the best original song Oscar.

Read the rest of this entry/view video…