Which “The Dark Knight Rises” cast member has the best chance for an Oscar nomination? “Before you scoff, there’s obviously some precedent here: Heath Ledger was posthumously nominated for — and later won — Best Supporting Actor for his work as The Joker in ‘The Dark Knight.’ Even if, as rumor has it, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ had a tepid reaction among Academy voters, there’s still a chance the film could nab an acting nomination — especially since its cast is overloaded with well-respected thespians. So! How does the cast rank? Excluding lead star Christian Bale, who has the best shot at earning one of the 10 supporting nominations? Join HuffPost Entertainment in figuring out the odds below.” HUFFINGTON POST
Motion Picture Academy COO Ric Robertson explains reasoning behind change in campaigning rules: “According to him, there was no major surgery involved this year. ‘I characterize these as tweaking and reacting to a couple of things we got feedback on last year,’ he said, specifically mentioning input from Academy members and studios directly involved in campaigning for Oscars. Almost all of the ‘tweaking’ is for the post-nomination period starting with the noms announcement January 15, 2013 through the return of final ballots on the previously unannounced date of February 19.” DEADLINE
Despite extensive career, Emmy-winning “Futurama” voice actor Maurice LaMarche is stil relatively unknown: “Even when the Toronto-raised talent heard his name called out at the Emmy Awards last year, he remembers rising to his feet to claim his trophy — unsteadily, fighting back tears — while those seated around him wondered exactly who he was. ‘People are going: “This fat guy picked a great time to go to the bathroom,”‘ said the 54-year-old with a laugh during a telephone interview this week. Well, such is life as one of the world’s premiere voice acting talents. While LaMarche — who just picked up a second consecutive Emmy nomination for outstanding voice-over performance for his roles on the sci-fi satire ‘Futurama’ after his win last year — has used his pliable pipes to amass more credits than a Vegas casino, he remains incognito pretty much all the time.” CTV NEWS
Why weren’t network shows nominated for Emmys this year? “We have nothing against the shows that did get nominated. In fact, we love many of them quite dearly. There’s no question that, for example, ‘Mad Men‘ and ‘Breaking Bad‘ are masterfully crafted, slow-burning stories that unfold their characters with an astounding level of detail and subtlety. But is that the only standard for good TV? Take ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ with its weekly episodic plots and big broad emotional stories. It’s obviously not trying to achieve the same thing as ‘Mad Men’ (or ‘Game of Thrones‘ or ‘Homeland,’ etc.) It’s funnier, it’s soapier, its big emotional moments are more in-your-face, but it does what it wants to do well, and the Academy used to be able to acknowledge that.” WETPAINT
Grammy-winner Pepe Aguilar gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: “Latin singer Pepe Aguilar, who has won four Grammys and sold more than 12 million recordings worldwide, will receive the 2,474th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. Neil Portnow, president and chief executive officer of The Recording Academy, which conducts the Grammy Awards, will join Aguilar at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony in front of the Live Nation building on Hollywood Boulevard. The ceremony will be preceded by performances by Mariachi Zacatecano de Pepe Aguilar and Banda Sinaloense Viento de Oro from 11-11:30 a.m. Aguilar’s star is next to the star of his late father, Mexican singing star and actor Antonio Aguilar.” HOLLYWOOD PATCH
Building Oscar buzz is not the primary goal of the Toronto Film Festival: “… the swell of attention risks overstating the importance of Toronto to the Oscars. Of the nine films nominated for Oscar picture honors six months ago, only three screened at TIFF, and only ‘Moneyball‘ was a premiere … Toronto’s reputation as an Oscar gateway was burnished when its People’s Choice award winners in 2008 and 2010, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘The King’s Speech,’ went on to Academy Award glory … But the connection between Toronto and Oscar night is too haphazard for the fest to be considered a transcendent launching point. In 2011, the intersection between awards films and Toronto pics was actually quite slim.” VARIETY
