ScottFeinberg.com

By Joey Magidson
Film Contributor

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I often wonder what it must be like to be an actor or an actress caught up in the Oscar race for the very first time. The blur of events and people is dizzying just for someone covering them, so to be at the center of it all is an incredible thought to process.

Each year, a whole mess of contenders get introduced to the hustle for the first time. A few of them even manage to score nominations for their work, though many have to learn the agony of defeat before the thrill of victory. Those in the latter column sometimes wind up coming back to the race with a whole new perspective down the line and better chances at the nod.

This year, there’s a large number of previously honored men and women looking for further acting accolades, but there are no shortage of thespians who’d be receiving a nomination for the very first time. Many won’t even come close, but there’s a group of ladies and gentlemen who are going to be campaigning hard for the right to be called an Academy Award nominee.

In addition to the 10 I’ve listed, there are other first-timers who may or may not get some recognition during the season. Samantha Barks of Les Miserables is far from out of the conversation for Best Supporting Actress, while longer shots like Bryan Cranston of Argo and Jason Clarke of Zero Dark Thirty hope to stay in the conversation for Best Supporting Actor. Their odds may not be amazingly favorable, but it’d be remiss to leave them out completely from this discussion.

Even less likely, but still on the fringes, indie darlings like Melanie Lynskey of Hello I Must Be Going and Mary Elizabeth Winstead of Smashed hope to remain above water in the Best Actress race. They’re far from the top 10, though, which I’ll get into now.

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By Scott Feinberg
The Hollywood Reporter

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TORONTO — Less than 48 hours ago, I spent an extensive amount of time with two of Hollywood’s brightest young stars, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart. The duo star as the free spirits Dean and LuAnn in Walter Salles‘ big screen adaptation of Jack Kerouac‘s classic Beat Generation novel On the Road, and had come to town to attend its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday night. On Friday and Saturday, they granted a small handful of joint-interviews at the downtown InterContinental Hotel.

Despite the fact that the personal life of one of these actors has recently been the subject of considerable media coverage, I was never asked and would not have agreed to consent to any preconditions for this interview. Instead, I simply pursued the topics that I felt were the most important and interesting — and came away feeling that this approach had been rewarded with answers of unusual detail and candor.

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

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•To alleviate concerns that the Arrested Development movie and fourth season (to air on Netflix) were myths, Jason Bateman tweeted a picture from the set.

•Comedy Central’s The Daily Show has booked Robert Pattinson for his first interview since it was revealed that his Twilight co-star and girlfriend Kristen Stewart had an affair. Will Jon Stewart go there?

•Comedian and NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon has passed on hosting the 2013 Oscars, which will air on ABC. (NBC’s Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michael has also passed on producing the show.)

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By Molly Sullivan

The MTV Movie Awards aired last night, and while many were talking about the big winners for the night, others were talking about the winners and losers on the red carpet.

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By Scott Mendelson

“Why is this okay?” It was a random thought that I had while watching the final twenty minutes of Snow White and the Huntsman.

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By Josh Abraham

Katy Perry, Tim Tebow, Taylor Lautner, Big Time Rush, Selena Gomez, Kristen Stewart, Victorious, LMFAO, SpongeBob SquarePants, Justin Bieber, and Puss in Boots were among the big winners of the coveted Orange Blimps at Nickelodeon’s 25th annual Kids’ Choice Awards.

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By Molly Sullivan

The Kids’ Choice Awards on Saturday night will be filled with some of the biggest stars in the world, including many members of the Twilight and Hunger Games casts.

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By Josh Abraham

Summit Entertainment’s highly anticipated THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 will debut a teaser trailer in theaters with Lionsgate’s THE HUNGER GAMES on March 23, 2012.

The next and final chapter in THE TWILIGHT SAGA, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 will arrive in theatres on November 16, 2012. Academy Award® winner Bill Condon directed both the first and second part of the two-part finale starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. The project, based on the fourth novel in author Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, was written by Melissa Rosenberg with Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt and Stephenie Meyer producing.

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By Josh Abraham

Kristen Stewart’s slideshow celebration for being the “Hollywood Celebrity of the Month.” Twi-hards! Save the date. In preparation for the DVD and Blu-rayt release of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” Walmart announced that select retail locations will hold special “Twilight” celebrating the marriage of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).

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As 2011 winds to a close and the announcement of Oscar nominations approaches, I thought it might be interesting to catch up with some of the films many thought, at one time or another, would factor into this year’s awards race but never did.

Some screened at festivals in search of a distributor but didn’t find one; others found a distributor, but the distributor decided it lacked the money, manpower or time to mount a campaign this year. Some had distributors before they were in the can and simply were not completed in time to be released this year; others were completed in time to be released this year, but their distributors had their hands full with other contenders and decided to hold them until next year.

It is important to remember that just because a film is not part of this year’s awards race doesn’t mean it won’t be part of next year’s. True, some of these titles will never be heard from again — but others could follow in the footsteps of, say:

• Crash, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2004, at which time it was picked up for U.S. distribution by Lionsgate and held for the following year; was released theatrically in May 2005; and, in March 2006, won the best picture Oscar.
• The Visitor, which premiered at Toronto in September 2007, at which time it was picked up for U.S. distribution by Overture and held for the following year; was released theatrically in April 2008; and, in February 2009, was represented at the Oscars in the best actor category.
• Lovely, Still, which premiered at Toronto in September 2008; was not picked up by a distributor until 2010, when Monterey Media decided to take a chance on it; and was released in theaters in September 2010.
• The Hurt Locker, which premiered at Toronto in September 2008, at which time it was picked up for U.S. distribution by Summit and held for the following year; was released theatrically in June 2009; and, in March 2010, won the best picture Oscar.
• The Debt, Everything Must Go, The First Grader, Girlfriend, Meek’s Cutoff, Sarah’s Key, Tabloid, The Way and The Whistleblower, all of which premiered at Toronto in September 2010; were subsequently picked up by various distributors; and were held for release until 2011.

Without further ado, here is the class of 2011:

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