- Hollywood-Elsewhere and Awards Daily: Jeff Wells and Sasha Stone post the latest edition of their podcast “Oscar Poker,” and their guests this week are box office analyst Phil Contrino and our very own Scott Feinberg. The quartet discuss possibilities for the “tenth slot” in the best picture race; the tight race for best actress and the wide open race for best supporting actress; and the prospects for performances that have not been widely seen but have passionate supporters, like Tilda Swinton in “I Am Love,” who Sasha and Scott believe should be talking up her explicit sex scenes in the film in order to court attention (as has been done already by the folks behind “Blue Valentine”).
- Deadline New York: Mike Fleming confirms reports that producer Scott Rudin — whose 2010 credits includes “The Social Network,” “True Grit,” and “The Way Back” — will receive the Producers Guild of America’s 2011 David O. Selznick Achievement Award, which seeks to recognize the producer for his “outstanding body of work in motion pictures,” which includes “The Firm” (1993), “Nobody’s Fool” (1994), “The Truman Show” (1998), “Wonder Boys” (2000), “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001), “The Hours” (2002), “Closer” (2004), “Notes on a Scandal” (2006), “The Queen” (2006), “No Country for Old Men” (2007), “There Will Be Blood” (2007), “Doubt” (2008), and “Julie & Julia” (2009), among many others. The 22nd annual Producers Guild of America Awards will take place on January 22nd.
- indieWIRE: Peter Knegt passes along the Independent Filmmaker Project’s announcement that actor Stanley Tucci (“Easy A”) and actress Patricia Clarkson (“Cairo Time”) will host the 20th anniversary Gotham Independent Film Awards on on November 29th. The two thespians, who worked together in Tucci’s directorial debut “Blind Date” (2007), said in a joint-statement, “We took the job with the understanding that every time either of us says the word ‘independent,’ everyone at home watching or attending the awards themselves must take a shot. Here’s to a fun evening for all.”
- Awards Tracker: Nicole Sperling points out several parallels between Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” and Julian Schnabel’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (2007), most notably that both recount the true life struggles of men after sudden tragedies forever change their lives. These types of struggles, she explains, often turn off moviegoers: “It’s just fascinating to watch these two incredibly visual directors tackle subject matter that most perceive as completely lacking in both color and life.” (One noteworthy difference between the two films: “Diving Bell” earned only $6 million domestically and $20 million worldwide, whereas Fox Searchlight expects “127 Hours” to generate much bigger numbers.)
- The Guardian: Charlotte Higgins writes about Mary (best actress contender Lesley Manville), the central character in Mike Leigh’s “Another Year,” whom she describes as “a bogeywoman for middle-aged females.” She goes on to describe her as, “a spectre of wine-soaked, self-regarding, middle-aged femininity that is all the more horrendous for its recognisability,” asking, “Who among us hasn’t known a Mary weeping into the lees of her wine, bemoaning singledom/heartbreak/bad luck? Who among us hasn’t — at one point or another — been dangerously close to being Mary? My most fervent atheistic prayer on watching ‘Another Year’ was ‘Don’t let me ever, ever become like her (again).'”
- Coming Soon: Ed Douglas offers his annual comprehensive preview of the Oscar race, noting that there are three films “that are pretty much on everyone’s top 10 list already and therefore fairly guaranteed to end up in the ten nominations for best picture,” while cautioning that there is still a “small list of movies that no one has seen yet” that could make a splash, namely “True Grit” and “How Do You Know.”
- Movieline: Chris Rosen writes up another edition of Movieline’s “patented Screen Time Check,” this time tallying the screen time of the “veritable cavalcade of recognizable actresses” who can be seen opposite James Franco in “127 Hours” — if you’re careful not to blink too often. They include Kate Mara (12 minutes), Amber Tamblyn (11 minutes), Clemence Poesy (9 minutes), Kate Burton (5 minutes), Lizzy Caplan (30 seconds), and Jessica Ralston (12 seconds), the real-life wife of Aron Ralston, whose story inspired the film.
- From the Front Row: Matthew Lucas reprints the Academy’s just-released list of the 15 films that will be eligible for this year’s best animated feature Oscar. As Matthew explains, “Since there are only 15 eligible films, only 3 can be nominated, lessening the chances of a ‘Secret of Kells’ type surprise nominee.” He expects the final three to be “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Illusionist,” and “Toy Story 3.”
Photo: Tilda Swinton in “I Am Love.” Credit: Magnolia.