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via legacy.com

Huh? Dems blame Wall Street for gas prices...

via thehill.com

Talk about a slam dunk for the folks who bring you the Academy Awards. Never mind the scorn that gets thrown at it every year (that is expected and most is petty).

But, for the business of show, it won. Here is the headline from the press release sent to this news service (O'Brien News Service). Viewers Consume Over 9 billion total minutes of ABC’s Academy Awards-themed programming since the nominations on "Good Morning America" Yes, the business of show worked, and even the ratings 39.3 million was up from last year. That number only reflects U.S. numbers. Across TV and digital platforms, audiences took in 9.02 billion minutes of ABC’s Academy Awards-themed programming - cumulative number of minutes viewed across platforms.

The Grammys rated higher with 40 million average, but truth be told, Adele's comeback and Whitney Houston's untimely death, spurred that number. ABC’s Oscar Sunday programming reached nearly 81 million unique viewers across the United States. Here are some more numbers from all their coverage.

- Audience for ABC's Oscar multi-platform experience jumped by 53 percent.

- 11 Million visitors to Oscar.com and the Oscar App.

- Social TV Score on Oscar Sunday more than Doubled, year to year. It rose 125 percent

- ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards” Special" grabbed more than 8 Million video views via ABC.com and YouTube.

- "Oscar’s Red Carpet Live" pre-show, the Academy Awards telecast and "Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards," ABC’s Oscar programming on Sunday reached an estimated 80.77 million unique television viewers across the U.S.

- unduplicated Viewers 2+ watching 1-minute or more during the broadcast. - Oscar.com and the Oscar App experienced tremendous year-over-year growth. The number of visitors to Oscar.com since the nomination announcement (11 million) jumped 53 percent over 2011.

- The Oscar App was downloaded 375,000 times, a 1177 percent jump over 2011. - On Oscar Sunday alone, 4 million people visited Oscar.com or used an Oscar App.

- Through the Oscar.com and the Oscar App, the digital audience consumed more than 50 million cumulative minutes on Sunday (33.7 million on 2/26/12) and Monday (16.4 million on 2/27/12).

- Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, GetGlue and Miso on Oscar Sunday grabbed a total Social TV Score of 4.5 million. That is up by 125 percent over last year (2 million).

Unplugged

via thehill.com

No, 'The Help' is not the front runner

Los Angeles - True to form, as the Screen Actors Guild awards ensembles, "The Help" wins the top honor at tonight's show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. But, truth be told, it will be called an upset. It probably should be as "The Artist" was on a roll.

"The Help" also notched wins in performance by a female actor (Viola Davis) and female actor in a supporting role (Octavia Spencer). In what could be called another upset by some, Jean Dujardin beat George Clooney for lead actor in a motion picture. - - - This was the before the show first look: As people digest the winners of the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the word ensemble should be the main word to remember. That is especially true for theatrical motion picture. The ensemble idea has been known to throw a curve. With the current crop of contenders, if ensemble would truly win out then "The Help" or "Bridesmaids" should win. Look here as the night goes on and winners will be in bold. Supporting actor award was first. And remember, it is called The Actor and they use the phrase, "and the Actor goes to..."

Oscar hopefuls eye SAG Awards

Now that the Oscar nominees have adjusted into their new roles, many won't have to wait long to see if they can grab a prestigious win along the way.

On Sunday, Jan. 29, the Screen Actors Guild will hand out their trophies. The Actor, as it is called, can be a huge step in establishing Oscar gold. Over the years, it is the SAG Awards that have proved to be a better barometer than the Golden Globes. The following story will be a double whammy of sorts, as it will give the SAG nominees and some thoughts, plus, a few quotes from some of the recent Oscar nominees. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented by Dick Van Dyke to Mary Tyler Moore. A few items of note. Notice the name of the categories. As for "best picture" the SAG Awards stress the ensemble since this is the actors wing. Also, notice how they say the winner name. They will use "actor" for all, even for the actresses.

Going into the Oscar nominations, it wasn't the idea of a showdown between the two Golden Globe winners for comedy/musical and drama, "The Artist" and "The Descendants."

No, it was wondering if there will indeed be 10 nominees in the Best Picture category.Insiders and others who follow these awards closely were not confident that would happen. And it did not. "Hugo: leads all nominees with 11 and with that comes a nomination for Best Picture and Best Director. Overall, there were nine films nominated in the Best Picture category. After the Best Picture category, the next award that affects the outcome is Best Director. Over the years, if you win that category, chances are pretty good the top honor would follow. Take the five nominees in the director category and head back to Best Picture. Now, take the five who have the directors in both and there you have the five finalists for Best Picture. This may not happen this year but that would be a surprise. This year the director and film may go their separate ways. One such scenario would be Martin Scorsese winning for director and film going to "The Artist." If the idea would pan out then your five "best" pictures going in are "The Artist," "The Descendants," "Hugo," "Midnight in Paris" and "The Tree of Life. Those have both a director and picture nod. A film that has been ignored thus far in this award season was "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" but Oscar put them in here as they did with "The Tree of Life." All along it was figured that the Best Actress category would be a hotly contested one. With this category it just may prove to be Meryl Streep's year to win another. Her competition plays out with Michelle Williams and now, Viola Davis, too For Best Actor, a front-runner has emerged in George Clooney as Leonardo DiCaprio was left out. In the Best Supporting Actor category, a couple surprises popped up. One being Jonah Hill for "Moneyball." The other is Max Von Sydow in "Extreme Loud..." As for Best Animated Picture, one may ask, where is "The Adventures of Tintin"?

complete coverage at http://www.obriennewsservice.com

John Wayne still rates

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For years, the Harris Poll has been asking Americans who their favorite actor is. With that comes the list. On this list over the years seems to be a man who the public still loves and admires.

No, it's not Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, Elvis or even James Dean. Before his name is noted, it is rare to see others of his era on this lit because of the fickle nature and the short attention spans of many. With that in mind, No. 2 on the list has the potential to be on it after he passes as well. As for the name mentioned above, see No. 5. The results: 1. Johnny Depp 2. Clint Eastwood (tie) 2. Denzel Washington (tie) 4. Tom Hanks 5. John Wayne 6. George Clooney 7. Sandra Bullock 8. Harrison Ford 9. Will Smith 10. Adam Sander Yes, after all these years, John Wayne still makes the list. Meanwhile, the top ten has only one actress with Sandra Bullock. Now, please note, when the Screen Actors Guild hands out their awards this month. They do not use the word actress, so the question of "Who is your favorite actor?" can and does apply to both sexes here. In fact, the SAG trophy is called "The Actor." Of note is that Wayne was No. 3 last year and Eastwood was No. 9. Breaking it down even more, those in the Midwest put Depp on top as did the East and West, for that matter. Depp got the nod for both Republicans and Independents while Denzel Washington was the Democrats favorite. Depp again is back on top for Liberals and Conservatives while Moderates opted for Washington. * The Harris Poll® - 2,237 adults surveyed online between December 5 and 12, 2011 by Harris Interactive®.

Drew Peterson gets his TV treatment in movie Jan. 21

Even though the case is still in progress and Drew Peterson sits in jail, Lifetime will air a movie about his current troubles.

Too soon? Or not necessary? You make the call, but you can also see it on Lifetime Television Saturday night. It's called "Drew Peterson: Untouchable." In a nutshell, here is what this offers. It stars Rob Lowe as Drew Peterson and a note right here to Mr. Peterson. Send a thank you to Lowe for deciding to take this role. Even after makeup, Lowe still has his charm, unlike Peterson. However, when watching this film you will see that, apparently, so did Peterson. And that is what this Lifetime movie is aiming for: Charming Chicago-area officer Drew Peterson (Lowe) seemed virtually "untouchable" in more ways than one when it came to his womanizing ways, having been married three times before landing the eye and affection of Stacy Cales (Kaley Cuoco), a woman half his age, says a release. Ah, that is the angle they want. But, with the case still fresh in the minds of the people involved and those living around the Chicago area, is this necessary - - yet? The truth is, this is quite a tawdry tale and to see it in a TV movie might not be enough. This may need more when the entire story is revealed. As for it being necessary. That could be said of many things that are made into movies and TV shows. So, that was a loaded question, to say the least. It gets a first showing at 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 21 on Lifetime. The film is based on the book "Fatal Vows: The Tragic Wives of Sergeant Drew Peterson" by Joseph Hosey.

Silence is Golden at Globes

Beverly Hills - As "The Descendants" won the last award of the night, The Golden Globes wrapped up another evening of fine dining and award giving.

The 69th Annual Golden Globes were handed out in Beverly Hills tonight and made two films the favorites as the award season progresses, even though the Oscar nominations are yet to be announced. The other film, "The Artist" won for comedy or musical while "The Descendants" won for drama. Host Ricky Gervais delighted and, for the most part, did not offend. As Gervais began, many were waiting. He did note, "The Golden Globes were just like the Oscars, but without the esteem." He wasn't done, "The Golden Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton - a bit louder, a bit trashier and more easily bought. He the added, with a smirk, "Allegedly." A nice tribute came for Morgan Freeman, who received the Cecil B De Mille Award from Sidney Poitier, who called him "a prince in his profession." "The Artist" was the big winner of the night taking home three trophies.

Here are the winners: Motion Picture Drama "The Descendants" Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical "The Artist" Animation "The Adventures of Tintin" Director Martin Scorsese, "Hugo" Foreign film "A Separation" (Iran) Motion Picture Actor, Drama George Clooney, "The Descendants" Motion Picture Actress, Drama Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady" Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical Jean Dujardin, "The Artist" Motion Picture Actress, Comedy or Musical Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn" Motion Picture Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer, "Beginners" Motion Picture Supporting Actress Octavia Spencer, "The Help" Motion Picture Screenplay Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris" Motion Picture Original Score Ludovic Bource, "The Artist" Motion Picture Original Song "Masterpiece" - Music and lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry. "W.E." Television TV Drama "Homeland" TV Actor, Drama Kelsey Grammer, "Boss" TV Actress, Drama Claire Danes, "Homeland" TV Series, Comedy or Musical "Modern Family" TV Actor, Musical or Comedy Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes" TV Actress, Musical or Comedy Laura Dern, "Enlightened" TV Movie or Miniseries "Downton Abbey" Actor, TV movie or miniseries Idris Elba, "Luther" Actress. TV Movie or Miniseries Kate Winslet, "Mildred Pierce" Supporting Actor, TV Movie, Miniseries or Series Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones" Supporting Actress, TV Movie, Miniseries or Series Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story" Cecil B DeMille Morgan Freeman

2012 Oscar poster

Each year the Academy of Motions Picture Arts and Sciences released its poster for its award show. This year they encourage all to collect and share.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled the poster for the 84th Academy Awards® today in Beverly Hills. The theme for the poster, which was created by award-winning graphic designer Anthony Goldschmidt, and Mark and Karen Crawford of the design firm Blood&Chocolate is, "Celebrate the movies in all of us."

Movies have been a part of all of our lives and this year the Academy has tried to invoke that message in all of us. And perhaps, the collector as well. Academy President Sherak said in an AMPAS release, "Whether it's a first date or a holiday gathering with friends or family, movies are a big part of our memory."

One more feature about the poster, which has the golden statuette on one side and floating like features embedded, can be downloaded shared. In fact, they encourage it. The image is available on the Academy's website, www.oscars.org/poster.

A quick glance at the poster one can see those floating objects. They represent images from eight films which span eight decades. They are "Gone with the Wind" (1939), "Casablanca" (1943), "Giant" (1956), "The Sound of Music" (1965), "The Godfather" (1972), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "Forrest Gump" (1994) and "Gladiator" (2000). Seven of the eight won for Best Picture. "Giant" did not, but, its director, George Stevens, won for director.

"The Academy Awards not only honor the excellence of these movies, but also celebrate what they mean to us as a culture and to each of us individually," Sherak added. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®