"J. Edgar" is in trouble thanks to poor marketing: "Don't you just want to grab the marketing campaign for this one, give it a good shake, and say, 'Listen, you are boring us all to death'? They've got Leonardo DiCaprio! Armie Hammer! Naomi Watts! Enormous stakes! Political intrigue! So why are they selling the movie like its a snoozerific Sunday afternoon History Channel re-creation?" VULTURE

"War Horse" dips on Movieline's Oscar Index: "It’s not all good for the new front-runners; after all, no one wants to peak too soon, and hearing guys like Tom O’Neil and Scott Feinberg debate the mechanics of a 'Descendants'/'Artist' showdown (and for the likes of longtime 'Horse'-whipper Jeff Wells to spotlight it) suggests 'War Horse' and DreamWorks’ happy retreat (for now) into the Oscar shadows while the other heavyweights get all gladiatorial on each other for the awards gods." MOVIELINE

Scott Feinberg talks with Mia Wasikowska about her prolific year 2011: "... the future looks bright for Wasikowska: 'Restless' is playing still in select theaters; 'Albert Nobbs' will open nationally Jan. 27; and, on Jan. 24, there is an outside shot that she might score a best actress Oscar nod for her critically acclaimed take on the oft-attempted title character in 'Jane Eyre.' Then, at some point over the next few months, we'll see her playing Shia LeBeouf's girlfriend in John Hillcoat's highly anticipated bootlegging period piece 'The Wettest County in the World' and as the daughter of fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman in Chan-woon Park's twisted-sounding 'Stoker.'" HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"Melancholia" and "Martha Marcy May Marlene" are strikingly similar films: "If you've seen one of those movies, you've kind of seen the other, too. Sure, Sean Durkin's tiny-budgeted cult drama and Lars von Trier's gorgeous, apocalyptic melodrama might initially appear to have little in common, but you'd be surprised how much they resemble each other underneath their hardscrabble and glossy surfaces, respectively. Here's a chart breaking down their similarities, with some light spoilers." VULTURE

Tickets for a new Broadway revival of "Evita" go on sale today: "Previews begin at the Marquis Theatre, the current home of the acclaimed revival of 'Follies,' March 12, 2012, with an official opening April 5 ... The cast will be headed by Olivier winner Elena Roger, who starred in the 2006 London production. She will be joined on Broadway by Grammy winner Ricky Martin as Che and Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris ('Tommy,' 'Sweeney Todd') as Juan Peron. (As previously reported, Roger will play six performances a week due to the vocal demands of the Lloyd Webber-Rice score.)" PLAYBILL

Paramount previews footage from the 3D conversion of Best Picture champ "Titanic": "Paramount and 20th Century Fox — which holds international rights after bringing in Paramount to be domestic distributor when the film was sailing way over budget — will open the new 3D-converted 'Titanic' on April 6, 2012. That’s just days before the 100th anniversary of the ship’s maiden launch on April 10, 1912 ... [Director James] Cameron says the film will be available in all formats, not just 3D. There will be Imax 2D and 3D  and regular 2D prints that he says will look 'stunning.' They have created a 4K master, gotten rid of the grain, and color-corrected everything so it looks even better than it did for its first release." DEADLINE

The new film "Anonymous" takes a controversial question -- did the Earl of Oxford really write William Shakespeare's plays? -- and turns it into a Shakespearean-styled thriller updated for modern film-goers. Personally, I think it's one of the best films of the year. Film-goers seem to agree, giving it a CinemaScore of A-. But how true is its historic premise? Let's chat with script scribe John Orloff.

Kaley Cuoco is set to host the People's Choice Awards in January 2012: "'We are thrilled to welcome Kaley as the new host of PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS 2012,' said Executive Producer Mark Burnett. 'She's been making people laugh on top-rated comedy series for the last decade, first with "8 Simple Rules" and now with "The Big Bang Theory," Thursday’s #1 show. I'm looking forward to working with her on a fun-filled, comedy-packed show in January.'" CBS

"The Adventures of Tintin" performs well overseas: "Steven Spielberg’s 'The Adventures of Tintin' debuted in first place in France, the United Kingdom, and Belgium on Wednesday, grossing $4.7 million, $3.5 million, and $240,000, respectively, according to Sony Pictures. The film’s first day in France puts it on track for the biggest opening in that country besides 'Avatar.' The 3-D performance-capture movie is expected to perform much better overseas than in the United States, where Hergé’s comic strips aren’t nearly as well known. As a result, Paramount and Sony are releasing the film in more than 40 countries before it reaches America in hopes that stellar foreign results will boost awareness domestically." EW.COM

The Academy launches its Governors Awards Film Festival with tributes to James Earl Jones and Oprah Winfrey: "The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is ... promoting the third annual Governors Awards on November 12 by launching their first-ever Governors Awards Film Series, set for November 9-11 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills ... Bringing attention to the three Honorary Oscar winners this year, the Academy will devote one night to each of them in the run-up to the big event. Each evening will be highlighted by a screening of one of their most significant film accomplishments and remarks from colleagues." DEADLINE

A date has been set for the next Independent Spirit Awards: "Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced today that the 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards will return to its traditional Saturday afternoon on February 25 in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. The premiere broadcast of the Film Independent Spirit Awards will air later that evening at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on IFC. The 2012 Spirit Award nominees will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, November 29 at The London West Hollywood Hotel." FILM INDEPENDENT

The Tony Administration Committee meets for the first time this season: "... the Tony Awards Administration Committee will assemble for the first time during the 2011-2012 season the afternoon of Nov. 3, according to a Tony Awards spokesperson ... This committee 'determines eligibility for nominations in all awards categories, reviews the rules governing the awards, and appoints the Nominating Committee. It may, at its discretion, bestow non-competitive Tony Awards including Special Tony Awards, the Regional Theatre Tony Award, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award; as well as Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.' Committee members will be announced shortly." PLAYBILL

The first ever ArcLight Cinemas Documentary Film Festival will run November 7-11: "The 10 entrants were chosen by fans who voted for trailers on Arclight’s YouTube page out of some 150 hopefuls that attracted more than 100,000 views and more than 30,000 votes ... Winners will be chosen by four judges from the documentary and entertainment community: Rebecca Cammisa ('Which Way Home'), Rhadi Taylor (Sundance Institute), Marjan Safina (International Documentary Association) and Gretchen McCourt (ArcLight’s EVP of cinema programming), who conceived the event." DEADLINE

Gold Derby recently sat down with Gavin O'Connor, the director of "Warrior," Lionsgate's most likely awards contender this year.

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Can Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady") win the Oscar for Best Actress over Michelle Williams ("My Week with Marilyn") and Viola Davis ("The Help")? What will win Best Picture? Make your early predictions now -- and make changes later. CLICK HERE!

"Warrior" is the story of two brothers, estranged for years after a difficult childhood, who are brought together, along with their alcoholic father, in the most unusual of circumstances – the world of mixed martial arts. It stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, and includes a captivating and buzzed about tour-de-force performance from veteran actor Nick Nolte.

O'Connor recalls the long process of casting Hardy and Edgerton as his two leading men. The irony of casting a Brit and an Aussie to play two very American men is not lost on O'Connor; however, a crucial element in casting the film was for the actors to not be overly familiar faces. At the time the search was on for the two brothers, Hardy and Edgerton were not very well known at all, and O'Connor had already scoured the country looking for the right fit for the parts. As luck would have it, the release of this film couldn't have been timed more perfectly, as just under three years later, both actors are poised to be superstars in their own right, as Hardy is busy filming the eagerly anticipated "The Dark Knight Rises" and Edgerton is starring in Baz Luhrmann's "Great Gatsby" remake.

At this early stage of awards season, the attention is firmly focused on the spectacular comeback performance by Nick Nolte. Nolte is a two-time Best Actor Oscar nominee: in 1991 he was nominated for "The Prince of Tides" (he lost to Anthony Hopkins for "The Silence of the Lambs") and in 1998 he was nominated for "Affliction" (he lost to Roberto Benigni for "Life is Beautiful").

As the once washed-up alcoholic father hanging on to his sobriety and trying to make amends with his two estranged sons who harbor their own deep resentment and anger against their father, Nolte is a force to be reckoned with in the Supporting Actor race this year. Two other "overdue" actors are being touted for that category -- Christopher Plummer in "Beginners" and Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." 

MAKE YOUR OSCAR PREDICTIONS: Will Nolte be nominated for Best Supporting Actor?

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O'Connor is enthusiastic about Nolte's raw and emotional performance and the support being thrown behind Nolte thus far. "To see Nick get recognised is very gratifying to me because I love Nick, he was so committed to this film, he didn't do it for a payday, he poured his heart into the part, and he went to some very deep emotional, painful places that required a lot of courage," O'Connor says.

Depending on how the various critics associations and other awards groups vote in in the coming months, "Warrior" might also make a showing in other categories, especially for Hardy or Edgerton as well as for its screenplay and its director. O'Connor is happy to wait and see what happens. "The thing about making movies is, you don't make them alone; I call it a 'team sport' and we all worked really hard and it was a long journey."

Is it possible that the film's journey might include a stop at the Kodak Theater?

RELATED LINKS:

Academy drops alphabetical announcing of Best Picture nominees

Oscarologists' Slugfest: Tom O'Neil vs. Scott Feinberg [video]

Corey Stoll on the magic in 'Midnight in Paris'

Experts' latest Oscar predictions for Best Picture

Video: George Clooney at the Hollywood Awards

'The Descendants' and 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' lead Gotham Awards nominations

Celebrate Halloween by revisiting Oscars favorite scary movies

Don’t miss important Oscars news and predictions – Get free Gold Derby updates

Sasha Stone is outraged by the NC-17 rating for "Shame": "When the unsurprising but disappointing news came down yesterday that, indeed, the MPAA slapped 'Shame' with an NC-17 and not what it truly deserves — an R rating — most people were appropriately outraged.  A few shrugged and moved on to a new topic.  Worse, some actually defended the MPAA’s boneheaded decision, as in, 'it’s an appropriate rating' ... What I get from this list of NC-17 on Wikipedia is that it isn’t only sex that raises the red flag for the MPAA. It is sometimes violence.  Although you don’t have to look very far to see how many violent movies are given an easy R rating — and you don’t have to look very far to see how this country allows us (in fact, encourages us) to indulge in our violent impulses." AWARDS DAILY

In episode four of "Feinberg & Friends," Scott Feinberg discusses the Hollywood Awards, the Gotham Awards, and more with Gold Derby's Tom O'Neil: "I really enjoyed our chat, during which we tackled the following 10 questions ... Who was the biggest winner and the biggest loser at Monday night's 15th annual Hollywood Film Awards? ... We know that 'J. Edgar' is being held for the opening night of the AFI Fest, but why are the other year-end awards hopefuls -- 'War Horse,' 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,' 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,' 'The Iron Lady,' 'We Bought a Zoo,' and 'Young Adult' -- still being held so close to the vest?" HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Brad Pitt joins prospective Oscar rival Michael Fassbender in "12 Years a Slave": "Brad Pitt may be contending with Michael Fassbender for a Best Actor nomination this year, but no hard feelings: He'll reunite with his 'Inglourious Basterds' co-star for '12 Years a Slave,' report Screen Daily and the Playlist. That's the next film from 'Shame' director Steve McQueen, and it'll star Chiwetel Ejiofor in the true story of a New Yorker who's captured in 1841 and enslaved in Louisiana." VULTURE

Lynne Ramsay wants to direct "Moby Dick" in space: "After writer-director Lynne Ramsay ('Ratcatcher,' 'Morvern Callar') debuts her latest film, this December’s moody Tilda Swinton-Ezra Miller pic 'We Need to Talk About Kevin,' she’ll set her sights on more classic fare: Herman Melville’s 'Moby Dick' ... only, set in space. 'We’re taking the premise into the realm of the galaxy; it’s creating a whole new world, and a new alien, a very psychological piece' Ramsay told Radio 5 Live’s Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo." MOVIELINE

"We Need to Talk About Kevin" wins top honors in London: "... the unflinching mother/son drama about a Columbine-style mass murderer starring Tilda Swinton was named Best Film at the 55th BFI London Film Festival, besting such Oscar hopefuls as 'The Artist,' 'The Descendants,' and 'Shame.' 'In the end, we were simply bowled over by one film, a sublime, uncompromising tale of the torment that can stand in the place of love,' said the jury’s chair, director John Madden ('The Debt')." EW.COM

Who will play Princess Grace? "20th Century figures seem to be the rage ... The next figure to watch out for: actress-turned-Monaco princess Grace Kelly. Shortly after his agents began circulating the Arash Amel script 'Grace of Monaco,' producer Pierre-Ange Le Pogam has agreed to fully fund a $15 million project that is now out to directors and will soon look for an actress to play Princess Grace. The film covers a half year period in 1962 ... By that time, Kelly (33 at the time) had given up her acting career to become a full time princess, and the film details her political manuevering behind the scenes to save Monaco." DEADLINE

Male actors are often lauded for their supposed bravery in playing gay on film, giving performances that regularly result in Oscar nominations and occasional wins. This year, Christopher Plummer has an enormous amount of traction in the Best Supporting Actor race for playing a gay widower who comes out at the age of 75 in "Beginners."

MAKE YOUR OSCAR PREDICTIONS

Can Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady") win the Oscar for Best Actress over Michelle Williams ("My Week with Marilyn") and Viola Davis ("The Help")? What will win Best Picture? Make your early predictions now -- and make changes later. CLICK HERE!

The press has also been speculating on the potentially queer nature of Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer. Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black initially insinuated the film would speculate about the sexualities of the titular FBI director (DiCaprio) and his associate Clyde Tolson (Hammer). DiCaprio recently told GQ that J. Edgar Hoover "definitely had a relationship with Tolson that lasted for nearly fifty years. Neither of them married. They lived close to one another. They worked together every day. They vacationed together. And there was rumored to be more. There are definite insinuations of—well, I'm not going to get into where it goes..." Eastwood further clarified, "It's not a movie about two gay guys. It's a movie about how this guy manipulated everybody around him and managed to stay on through nine presidents. I mean, I don't give a crap if he was gay or not."

In any case, Plummer, DiCaprio, and Hammer all have quite a precedent to build upon if they are nominated for gay roles. Here is a look at some of the male actors who contended for playing gay.

Before Colin Firth won his Best Actor statuette for "The King's Speech" (2010), he was nominated for playing a gay professor living in Los Angeles in "A Single Man" (2009). He lost on his first attempt to Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart").

A year prior, Sean Penn won his second Best Actor Oscar (following "Mystic River," 2003) for playing gay rights activist Harvey Milk in "Milk." The film was nominated for eight Oscars and also won Best Original Screenplay for "J. Edgar" writer Black.

Three actors were nominated for playing gay in 2005. Philip Seymour Hoffman won for his portrayal of author Truman Capote in "Capote." Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were both nominated for playing lovers in "Brokeback Mountain," which won three Oscars in total, but controversially lost Best Picture to "Crash." Gyllenhaal, contending in Supporting Actor, lost his bid to George Clooney ("Syriana").

Ed Harris played a suicidal, HIV-positive author who had a relationship with Meryl Streep's character in his youth, but went on to have same-sex relationships including one with Jeff Daniels. The Academy gave the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to Chris Cooper ("Adaptation") instead of Harris.

His villainous turn in "No Country for Old Men" (2007) won Javier Bardem his Academy Award, but he was first nominated for playing real-life author Reinaldo Arenas in "Before Night Falls" (2000). Arenas was an influential Cuban writer who emigrated to the United States, dying of AIDS in 1990. Though Bardem was acclaimed for his performance, the Oscar went to Russell Crowe ("Gladiator").

MAKE YOUR OSCAR PREDICTIONS: Will Plummer and Hammer earn nods for playing gay?

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Ian McKellen was the early frontrunner in 1998 for "Gods and Monsters." The openly gay actor portrayed director James Whale in his final days. Whale is best remembered for "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein." Though McKellen won numerous awards from critics groups, Roberto Benigni ("Life Is Beautiful") took home the Oscar.

Playing a struggling gay artist in "As Good As It Gets" (1997) earned Greg Kinnear his only Oscar nod to date. His co-stars Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won in the lead races, but Kinnear lost Best Supporting Actor to Robin Williams ("Good Will Hunting").

Tom Hanks famously outed a school teacher he thanked in his Oscar acceptance speech when he won for "Philadelphia" (1993). Hanks played a lawyer who sues his ex-employers when they fire him for being HIV-positive.

A controversial scene in Oliver Stone's "JFK" (1991) showed Tommy Lee Jones, as businessman Clay Shaw, engaging in a gay orgy. Jones lost Best Supporting Actor to Jack Palance ("City Slickers"), but later won the category for "The Fugitive" (1993).

Bruce Davison won a Golden Globe for his heartrending performance in "Longtime Companion." He played David, who learns his boyfriend Sean (Mark Lamos) is dying of AIDS. Joe Pesci ("Goodfellas") won the Academy Award.

The first actor to win for playing a gay man was William Hurt for "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985). His superb and flamboyant turn as an imprisoned window dresser helped the small independent film pick up nominations for Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay.

Song and dance man Robert Preston got his only Oscar nomination for "Victor/Victoria" (1982), though he is best known for his role in "The Music Man" (1962). In "Victor/Victoria," Preston schemes with Julie Andrews to turn her into a gender-bending cabaret star. He lost to Louis Gossett, Jr. for "An Officer and a Gentleman."

James Coco turned a few heads when he was nominated for both an Oscar and a Razzie for playing Marsha Mason's gay best friend in "Only When I Laugh" (1981). He lost the Oscar to gay actor John Gielgud ("Arthur") and the Razzie to Steve Forrest ("Mommie Dearest").

The only actor to be nominated for playing gay in a foreign language film is Marcello Mastroianni.  In "A Special Day" (1977), he reveals to his neighbor Sophia Loren that he is being deported from Italy because he is homosexual. Richard Dreyfuss won Best Actor that year for "The Goodbye Girl."

Peter Finch has the distinction of being the first actor to be Oscar-nominated for playing an openly gay character. He played a doctor in "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1971) who is having an affair with Murray Head. Though Finch would posthumously win Best Actor for "Network" (1976), he lost the first time around to Gene Hackman ("The French Connection").

RELATED LINKS:

Academy drops alphabetical announcing of Best Picture nominees

Oscarologists' Slugfest: Tom O'Neil vs. Scott Feinberg [video]

Corey Stoll on the magic in 'Midnight in Paris'

Experts' latest Oscar predictions for Best Picture

Video: George Clooney at the Hollywood Awards

'The Descendants' and 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' lead Gotham Awards nominations

Celebrate Halloween by revisiting Oscars favorite scary movies

Don’t miss important Oscars news and predictions – Get free Gold Derby updates

Performances announced for the Grammy nominations concert: "Five-time Grammy winner Lady Gaga and country singer Jason Aldean have been tapped to performed at the Grammy Nominations Concert, which takes place live on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live and is hosted by LL Cool J. Nominations in several categories will be announced during the show, with additional performers and presenters announced shortly. This is the fourth time nominations for the Grammy Awards have been announced on primetime television." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Listen to Jeff Wells, Sasha Stone, and Gold Derby's own Tom O'Neil discuss the current state of the Oscar race in this week's edition of "Oscar Poker." HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE

Black Keys upset about MTV Award blunder: "Indie rockers The Black Keys are fuming with MTV Video Music Awards bosses for messing up the wording on their 2011 Breakthrough Video prize. The duo was on tour and couldn't attend the prizegiving in August (11) and they were flabbergasted when their manager sent them a cellphone image of the 'Moonman' award, which listed the winners as the Black Eyed Peas. Revealing the blunder in a new GQ interview, Black Keys star Dan Auerbach says, 'The plaque read... "The Black Eyed Peas - Tighten Up. Breakthrough Video." I was just like, Wow. A channel that's never respected us or played us to f**k us like that? It's kind of awesome.'" CONTACT MUSIC

Eddie Murphy thinks he'll be the worst Oscar host ever: "'I think it's so funny that people think I'm the perfect for this,' he told Entertainment Tonight. 'I'm going to be horrendous... I'm going to be the worst host ever. I'm going to wear a powered sky blue tuxedo and at the end of the evening I'm going to urinate on myself in front of a billion people,' Murphy added ... According to Entertainment Weekly, the actor revealed during a promotional event for 'Tower Heist' that the hosting gig was all his idea. 'The conversation came up about who would host, and [Brett Ratner] was saying different names," Murphy said. "And I was like, you know, if I hosted that show, it would probably get nice little chatter for our movie before the movie came out - that I was hosting the Oscars. ... And that's kind of how it happened.'" CBS NEWS

Demian Bichir is a hidden treasure in this year's Oscar race: "It’s a funny thing when some of the year’s best films aren’t films that anyone would seriously consider as Best Picture contenders. We know the way the Oscar race works by now. Oscar buzz should always come with a caveat: Oscar buzz for worthy stars. It doesn’t really cover the outsiders very well ... So it is unlikely that an actor like Demian Bichir can realistically break into the Best Actor race. Not with the star power at play in that category, not with the hotter than hot movie stars who have their places already in line. But just because he might not crack the big five is no reason to not talk about Bichir and Christopher Weitz’s moving and relevant film 'A Better Life.'" AWARDS DAILY

George Clooney shuns Oscar buzz: Hollywood star George Clooney shrugged off talk that he is already a top contender for next year’s awards ... 'I don’t pay attention to that,' he told the press, including ABS-CBN Europe. 'I’ve been on both sides of that equation a few times now, and what I have learnt about it is whenever someone says that, they’re complimenting the work and for that you say "thank you." It’s a very nice thing to say. It’s the result of a lot of people doing a lot of hard work.'" ABS-CBN

There were many notable acceptance speeches from the 19 recipients of the Hollywood Awards doled out at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Monday night. One of the most heart-felt, and brief, thank you's came from Michelle Williams who noted the irony in her receiving the award for Best Actress for her spot-on portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn."

“It seems to me that all Marilyn Monroe wanted was to be taken seriously as an actress, and she studied so hard and never really got there,” she said.

Glenn Close ("Albert Nobbs"), who received a career-achievement salute, gave the longest speech, reading off several sheets of paper while thanking almost everyone she ever met in her career. The people who received her chief gratitude were hairstylists, because, "It's all about the hair."

But George Clooney ("The Descendants") doled out the most charm when accepting the Best Actor prize.

Mark Harris analyzes Oscar's screenplay races: "Among original screenplays, it’s probably wise to reserve a slot for 'Midnight in Paris,' since Woody Allen has been there 14 times before and the writers’ branch likes movies that skillfully incorporate fantasy elements — plus, it’s about a writer hanging out with writers. Way to play to your base, Woody! ... And I’d love to believe voters will find room for Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo’s 'Bridesmaids' script; it’s been 28 years since an female team was nominated for best original screenplay, and this one is wholly deserving." GRANTLAND

"We Need to Talk About Kevin" deserves Oscar consideration for Best Sound: "It's also noteworthy that [director Lynne Ramsay] and her producer are keen to acknowledge their sound designer, Paul Davies. It's a conspicuous asset of the film that the sound design is hand in glove with the aesthetic of the images, pacing and dovetailed narrative fragments - an artifice of the film that 'would bring you back to spaces subliminally' as Ramsay neatly puts it. The banal, pitchless monotony of the sprinkler is the stand-out example." FRAMESCOURER

Will Ferrell accepts the 14th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor: "'For 13 consecutive years, I have been begged by the Kennedy Center to accept this award,' he said Sunday night at a ceremony in Washington. 'And for 13 consecutive years, I’ve emphatically said, "No."' And upon receiving the award, a bronze-colored bust of Twain, Mr. Ferrell promptly dropped it on the stage, shattering it. With a glance at the shards on the floor, Mr. Ferrell said, 'As I stare at this magnificent bust of Mark Twain, I’m reminded of how humbled I am to receive such an honor and how I vow to take very special care of it.' Fortunately, the joke was on the audience. Mr. Ferrell’s award was safe and whole." NEW YORK TIMES

Oscar-winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reunite on-screen: "Not surprisingly, their new project has a Boston connection. As Deadline first reported, Damon will star as Whitey Bulger, the real-life South Boston crime boss who was recently arrested in California after eluding the FBI for years. Bulger was the inspiration for Jack Nicholson’s character in 'The Departed,' in which Damon also played a mole in the Boston police department. Affleck will direct, co-star, and produce along with Damon under their production company, Pearl Street Films, through their first-look deal with Warner Bros." EW.COM

Will Kelly Clarkson's new album "Stronger" return her to Grammy glory? "Kelly Clarkson's fifth studio album is based on a simple formula: 1) Put Clarkson in a room with a microphone; 2) Give her a solid pop song to sing; 3) Get the hell out of the way. It's a sound strategy. From the walloping breakup anthem 'Mr. Know-It-All' to the closing roof-raiser, 'Breaking Your Own Heart,' 'Stronger' is as deft as any Clarkson album, with 13 catchy songs that hover between pop rock, R&B and Nashville – all of them showcases for one of music's most remarkable voices." ROLLING STONE

"The Artist" picks up yet another film festival Audience Award: "As it continues its tour of major film festivals, Michel Hazanavicius' 'The Artist' has picked up another audience award. The 47th Chicago International Film Festival announced Monday that the black-and-white, silent movie has earned the festival's Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature. The film, which the Weinstein Co. releases in the U.S. on Nov. 23, has also picked up audiences prizes at the Hamptons International Film Festival and the San Sebastian International Film Festival." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER