Look for Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy predictions and news at GoldDerby.com. That's the new web address for Gold Derby as this blog comes to an end. Tom O'Neil will write for the new site in addition to the new L.A. Times kudos blog Awards Tracker, whic  includes contributions from film writer Nicole Sperling and many other Times writers. The site will cover the ups and downs of the races for gold, the festival circuit and all the awards themselves. 

At the new GoldDerby.com you'll find latest news and predictions for Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammys and Emmys plus interactive features, videos and games.

Obviously, "The Social Network" is ahead in the Oscar race for best adapted screenplay, given its front-runner status as best picture and the vaunted reputation of Aaron Sorkin as master wordsmith. However, upsets are always possible at these quirkly Hollywood awards, of course.

"127 Hours" or "True Grit" could quickly jump ahead if one of them wins best picture from the film critics' awards in early December, which is quite possible. The creators of both films have been honored by them in the past and they also previously won the Oscars for best picture and screenplay in the past for "Slumdog Millionaire," "No Country for Old Men."

There's an obvious link between those two Academy Award categories. Over the past 10 years, five best pictures won best adapted screenplay ("The Departed," "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King," "A Beautiful Mind" in addition to "Slumdog" and "No Country") and two won best original screenplay ("The Hurt Locker," "Crash").

This year's other major rival for best picture, "The King's Speech," is over in the category for original scripts, so this category for adapted fare may be turned into a consolation prize, as often happens ("Precious," "Brokeback Mountain," "Sideways").

There's a lot of love for "Toy Story 3," animated films are overdue to prevail and Michael Arndt is a past Oscar fave ("Little Miss Sunshine"). Beware: "Toy Story 3" may even become a threat in the best picture battle.

Forget "Rabbit Hole." Yeah, yeah, it won the Pulitzer Prize, but voters must've been drunk. The script didn't deserve it.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
(Favorites)
"127 Hours," Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyle
"How to Train Your Dragon," William Davies, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
"Love and Other Drugs," Marshall Herskovitz, Charles Randolph, Edward Zwick
"Rabbit Hole," David Lindsay Abaire
"The Social Network," Aaron Sorkin
"The Town," Ben Affleck, Peter Craig, Aaron Stockard
"Toy Story 3," Michael Arndt
"True Grit," Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
"Winter's Bone," Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Daniel Woodrell

• Pete Hammond has the scoop on the possibility of the animated feature Oscar race expanding this year. As he reports, "the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences sent out a reminder confirming the 5 PM PT November 1st deadline for 2010 Best Animated feature entries. At this point there do not appear to be enough entries to trigger five nominations rather than the more common three but there is still time, brother. What wasn’t mentioned in the release is the number that have been received so far at the Academy. A really good clue though is a  letter I have learned that was  sent late last week updating members and potential members of the Animation committee (the ones doing the voting)  and informing them that 14 entries had been received but that it was still possible to reach 16, the magic number needed to expand the category." DEADLINE

• In his latest edition of Oscar Futures, Lane Brown touts the rise of best actor contender James Franco ("127 Hours") -- "Reviews for his movie are ecstatic, reviews for his book are not bad, and S.T. Vanairsdale has him leapfrogging Firth to top position this week" -- and the decline of Jesse Eisenberg ("The Social Network") -- "Buzz seems to be cooling down here. Was he really as good as everybody thought a month ago?" VULTURE

• In a fascinating read, Guy Lodge looks back at British success at the Oscars and forecasts the chances for this year's contenders "The King's Speech," "Made in Dagenham" and "Another Year." IN CONTENTION

• After seeing "Morning Glory," Jeff Wells says, "this film is close to 'Broadcast News' level Brooks + grade A, totally-on-his-game Michell + Harrison Ford's best performance in years + Rachel McAdams giving an ever better performance than she did in 'The Wedding Crashers' (and that's saying something). Ford's performance as a grumpy, past-his-prime, Dan Rather-ish newsman has a shot at a Best Supporting Actor recognition. Or not. He's surly but smirking all the while. The role as written isn't quite home-run-level, but it's fair to call it a solid triple, I think." HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE

• In the context of announced gigs by Jeff Bridges ("True Grit") and Anne Hathaway ("Love and Other Drugs"), Mike Ryan investigates the correlation between hosting "Saturday Night Live" and nabbing an Oscar nomination. He discovers, "since SNL’s debut in 1975, 27 future Oscar nominees have hosted Saturday Night Live during the same season that they were nominated or won. (Nine more, including winners Adrien Brody, Richard Dreyfuss, Angelica Huston and Geena Davis actually hosted during the season, but after the ceremony; call those a victory lap.) Of that 27, seven have gone on to win the award he or she was nominated for, most recently Forest Whitaker, who hosted on Feb 10, 2007." MOVIELINE

• Dave Karger reports, "this week I saw the first For Your Consideration trade ad that listed possible contenders by category. The distinction goes to Disney’s 'Alice in Wonderland,' which is being touted for Best Picture, Best Director (Tim Burton), Best Actor (Johnny Depp), and Best Supporting Actress (Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway), along with 13 other categories." OSCAR WATCH

• For Steve Pond, "Trent Reznor may have taken a circuitous route to writing the music for David Fincher's 'The Social Network,' but he and his longtime collaborator Atticus Ross made the most of the gig once they took it. The Nine Inch Nails mastermind and his co-composer have created one of the year’s most imaginative and bracing film scores, a piano-rooted, synthesizer-drenched work that is by turns plaintive and assaultive, and always adventurous and unconventional." THE ODDS

• And Sheila Roberts sits down with Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman ("Slumdog Millionaire") to talk about his score for "127 Hours." COLLIDER

Photo: "MegaMind" poster. Credit: DreamWorks Animation.

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Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds") dominated last year's Oscar race for supporting actor from the outset, but now there's no early front-runner.

There's a lot of support for Geoffrey Rush's flamboyant role as wily voice coach to Britain's stammering King George VI in "The King's Speech," but voters may feel been-there-done-that due to his 1996 lead actor win for "Shine."

What's curious is that this race isn't overshadowed by the kind of villainous role that ruled this category, with fiendish terror, in recent years (Christoph Waltz, Javier Bardem, Heath Ledger). However, there are a lot of bad-boy roles, including Sam Rockwell as a hooligan wrongly imprisoned for murder in "Conviction," Jeremy Renner as a bully bank robber in "The Town," Mark Ruffalo ("The Kids Are All Right") as a lothario who tries to break up a happy lesbian liaison and Justin Timberlake ("The Social Network") as Napster's founding rascal.

Rockwell has an edge — he's got a lead role hiding in this supporting race (always a plus). Renner holds an Oscar IOU, having top-lined last year's best picture, "The Hurt Locker," losing the lead actor race to Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart").

But two other bad-boy roles are standouts for other, personal reasons. Christian Bale gives a knock-out performance as a street thug turned boxing trainer in "The Fighter," but his personal woes may be foremost on voters' minds. They may want to embrace him as he rebounds from recent tabloid scandals. Michael Douglas won lead actor of 1987 as a heartless corporate raider in "Wall Street," but now that he reprises the role in the sequel, academy members may be eager to comfort him as he battles Stage 4 cancer.

Vote also in our poll asking: Who will win for best supporting actress?

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Photos: Christian Bale in "The Fighter" (Paramount), Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech" (Weinstein Co.)

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What film won best picture when the Oscars telecast had its lowest Nielsen rating? Only 31.7 million viewers tuned in. To see the answer, click the "Continue Reading" link below.

• Nominees for the International Documentary Assn. Awards were announced Wednesday. Contending for the top prize of best feature documentary are: "Exit Through the Gift Shop," "The Oath," "Steam of Life," "Sweetgrass" and "Waste Land." In making the announcement, IDA executive director Michael Lumpkin said, "This has been another banner year for documentary films, and that is reflected in our list of nominees. Entries to the awards increased by nearly 20% this year, and the quality of the films vying for recognition is unprecedented." The awards will be handed out in a Dec. 3 ceremony at the Directors Guild Theater in Los Angeles, hosted by documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. IDA

• And Peter Knegt wonders whether the feature documentary "Waiting for Superman" can make it into this year's best picture race. INDIE WIRE

• As S.T. Van Airsdale notes: "All is mostly calm as the second month of Movieline's Oscar Index commences; mostly, that is, unless you're at the top of three of the four acting categories and/or trying to get your embattled African-American ensemble drama through stolid barriers of critical mass. Otherwise, it's just hunches, gossip and word-of-mouth business as usual." MOVIELINE

• Following Tuesday's release of the satirical "Mr. Men" illustrated book comes news of another tome spun from the gold that is "Mad Men." As David Itzkoff reports: "The Grove Press imprint of Grove/Atlantic Inc. said it would release 'Sterling’s Gold: The Wit & Wisdom of an Ad Man,' a memoir the publisher attributes to the 'advertising pioneer and visionary Roger Sterling Jr.'" ARTSBEAT

• Brad Brevet conducts a fascinating online round-table debate about whether "Another Year" player Lesley Manville should go lead or supporting. As per Brad: "I've had her listed as a Supporting Actress contender since seeing the film back in May at Cannes only to learn today that's just not the way it is ... at least not right now. Before going any further with my predictions I felt it was finally time to get a clear answer from Sony Classics and find out exactly how they were going to promote Manville's 'Another Year' performance. For the record, I was the only one that had her listed for Best Supporting Actor among Oscar pundits and as it turns out, I was the only one that was wrong. In a phone call this morning with Sony Classics co-president Michael Barker I was told Sony Classics is currently pushing her as a lead actress. The argument is she has the largest amount of screen time in the film and Barker has said he's asked around and lead is the general consensus based on whom he's spoken with. However, it seems as if the door is far from closed." ROPE OF SILICON

• Jeff Wells is "vaguely bummed out" about the news that James Cameron is to direct back-to-back sequels to 2009 best picture nominee "Avatar." As he explains" "It's a downer because it's basically a corporate cash-grab move. (Rothman and Gianopulos: 'They'll pay to see this again ... twice! Revenues! Hah-hah-hah!') Because it's a creatively lazy enterprise for Cameron as it'll be no great feat to come up with a prequel and a sequel. Because 'Avatar' was a great four-course meal, and I'm not feeling a need to go there again. Because the ending of Avatar was perfect (i.e., the opening of the transformed Jake Sully's eyes), and I'm thinking 'leave it there.' And because a guy like Cameron committing to a two-movie, four-year rehash project that is primarily about making money (i.e., certainly on 20th Century Fox's end) is a kind of capitulation to the golden-calf mentality." HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE

• Nominees Marc Anthony, Aida Cuevas, Jenni Rivera, Gilberto Santa Rosa , Aleks Syntek, and Johnny Ventura will perform at the 11th annual Latin Grammy Awards, which are to air on Univision live from Las Vegas on Nov. 11. LATIN GRAMMYS

• The first rialto production of "Driving Miss Daisy" opened this week to strong reviews for stars Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones, prompting David Ng to ask, "How will Tony organizers treat 'Miss Daisy'?" As he explains: "According to recent Tony rules, a production can qualify as a 'revival' if the committee deems the work a 'classic' or part of 'the popular or historical repertoire,' which is to say that it's a subjective call." CULTURE MONSTER

• College students will get another chance to cover the Oscars as the academy and MTVU announced the return of a contest to pick three roving correspondents. Entrants have until Dec. 6 to submit an audition tape with voting on the top-10 being held online from Jan. 10 to Jan. 28. Three finalists will be flown to town to cover lead-up events, with the winner getting a spot on the red carpet. AMPAS

• The upcoming fifth season of "Big Love" will be the last, as per the announcement Thursday by paycaster HBO. The series about polygamy contended for best drama series at the 2009 Emmys and likewise at the Golden Globes for the last three years.

• To qualify in the animated feature film category for the upcoming Oscars, entry forms and supporting materials are due at the academy by 5 p.m. PDT on Nov. 1. The deadline to submit accompanying film prints is Nov. 12. AMPAS

Photo: Lesley Manville in "Another Year." Credit: Focus Features

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At this time last year, Mo'Nique was already out front in the Oscar race for best supporting actress based upon the early buzz generated by "Precious" at the Sundance Film Festival. And there was no stopping her thereafter, of course. This year, there is no leader.

Some pundits say Helena Bonham Carter is ahead thanks to "The King's Speech's" status as a best picture front-runner, but, truth be told, her role as the beloved "queen mum" Elizabeth isn't very expressive. Other seers say Dianne Wiest is ahead for portraying Nicole Kidman's doting mom in "Rabbit Hole," but that's just because she's an automatic Oscar grabber with past victories for "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Bullets Over Broadway."

Lots of Oscarologists are betting on Hailee Steinfeld because she's got the grandstanding role as a sassy tomboy in "True Grit," but that didn't help Kim Darby in 1969. Even though Darby stole every scene of the original film version (some from feisty John Wayne, who nabbed the gold for lead actor), she wasn't even nominated.

So what about Jacki Weaver, whose "Animal Kingdom" led with the most nominations at the Australian Film Institute Awards today? Read more here.

This is one of those Oscar categories that usually becomes more clear once we've heard from the film-critics' awards in early December — after they picked the likes of Marcia Gay Harden ("Pollock") or Penelope Cruz ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona") in past years. 

Photos: "True Grit" (Paramount), "The King's Speech" (Weinstein).

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News of "Animal Kingdom's" good fortune at awards Down Under sparked our resident Aussie Rob Licuria (Awards Heaven) to send us his thoughts. See below.

But, first, here is what Kenneth Turan said of the film in his L.A. Times review: " 'Animal Kingdom' is an art house crime saga that will put your heart in your mouth, a moody, brooding, modern-day film noir that marks the impressive debut of an Australian writer-director who knows how to make a film that is, in his own words, 'dark and violent yet beautiful and poetic at the same time .... Faultlessly acted by top Australian talent, including Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn and Jacki Weaver."

Weaver portrays the protagonist's grandmother, "a tiny blond woman, upbeat and bubbly, whom everyone calls Smurf," adds Turan. Rob is optimistic that Weaver can reap an Oscar nomination for supporting actress, which is already a crowded contest: Helena Bonham Carter ("The King's Speech"), Marion Cotillard ("Inception"), Barbara Hershey ("Black Swan"), Melissa Leo ("The Fighter"), Miranda Richardson ("Made in Dangenham"), Hailee Steinfeld ("True Grit"), Dianne Wiest ("Rabbit Hole").

Weaver does have a few pluses in this race: (1) "Animal Kingdom" was the first DVD screener sent to Oscar voters this derby season and (2) Sony Pictures Classics has been actively tub-thumping for Weaver by sending us Oscar bloggers T-shirts with her image on the front. (Thanks, SPC! Do I have to declare this on my taxes?)

Here is Rob's report:

With word that Sony Pictures Classics' "Animal Kingdom" reaped a record-breaking 18 Australian Film Institute Award nominations, including a nomination as best actress for Jacki Weaver, the talk is getting even louder for Jacki Weaver to come "out of nowhere" (so to speak) and grab an Oscar nomination next year.

The buzz surrounding this film has been escalating ever since it won the world jury prize at Sundance earlier this year, and many have already noted that Weaver is a good bet for a nomination for best supporting actress in what many deem to be a relatively open category.

• As Michael Bodey reports, "Crime drama 'Animal Kingdom' has swamped the Australian Film Institute nominations, grabbing a nod in every category for which it was eligible. The film about a Melbourne crime family overseen by a charismatic matriarch (played by Jacki Weaver) earned 18 nominations, with war drama 'Beneath Hill 60' next in numbers with a surprising 12 nominations. Jane Campion's British-Australian co-production 'Bright Star' earned 11 nominations, the teen novel adaptation 'Tomorrow When The War Began' earned eight and indigenous musical 'Bran Nue Dae' and the French-Australian co-production 'The Tree' grabbed seven nominations each. All six films will vie for the best film prize." THE AUSTRALIAN

• Mike Fleming has the scoop: "Attorneys representing the Gotham-based real estate clan The Durst Organization are threatening to sue over the December release of 'All Good Things.'" The pic stars Ryan Gosling as a character allegedly modeled on Robert Durst, who was accused of murdering his wife and friend. DEADLINE

• Kyle Buchanan considers whether or not Sandra Bullock will be able to avoid the curse that has befallen other best actress champs as of late. As he notes: "If all goes according to plan, Bullock's next three films will be 'Gravity,' an ambitious space drama directed by Alfonso Cuarón ('Children of Men'), an adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's acclaimed novel 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' by Stephen Daldry ('The Hours'), and an untitled comedy that would find Bullock co-starring opposite A-listers like Meryl Streep and Oprah Winfrey." VULTURE

• Richard Verrier has all the details on the decision to keep production of the prequels to Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" in New Zealand: "The nation's prime minister, John Key, announced Wednesday that his government had reached an agreement with the producers of the two 'Hobbit' movies to keep the $500-million production in his country. 'I am delighted we have achieved this result,' Key said in a statement. 'Making the two 'Hobbit' movies here will not only safeguard work for thousands of New Zealanders, but it will also follow the success of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy in once again promoting New Zealand on the world stage.' The agreement comes after Key held talks with New Line Cinema President Toby Emmerich and other executives, who wanted assurances that the production would not be disrupted by labor unrest. They also were seeking additional financial sweeteners, which they received." COMPANY TOWN

• Jeff Wells examines the awards prospects for "I Am Love" leading lady Tilda Swinton. HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE

• Guy Lodge sings the praises of Emma Stone for her sparkling performance in the teen comedy "Easy A," and bemoans the lack of love from the academy for funny turns by pretty young things. IN CONTENTION

• The 2008 Tony best musical champ, "In the Heights," is closing Jan. 9. Creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda, who won a Tony for his score, will be returning to the show for the final two weeks. PLAYBILL

• As Patrick Healey notes: "If the highly anticipated Colin Firth film 'The King's Speech' performs well this awards season, chances are a stage version will come about relatively quickly on Broadway, in London's West End, or both. Michael Alden, a producer on the Broadway musical 'Grey Gardens' and the Sarah Jones solo show 'Bridge & Tunnel,' said in an interview on Tuesday that he was developing a stage production of 'The King’s Speech' after acquiring the rights to the work, about the real-life relationship between King George VI of Britain (the World War II monarch and current queen’s father) and a speech therapist named Lionel Logue, who helped him overcome a stammer." ARTS BEAT

• Reports Joyce Eng: "Justin Bieber, Ke$ha and Katy Perry will make their American Music Awards debuts next month as performers, producers announced Wednesday. All three are multiple nominees and will duke it out in the artist of the year race alongside Lady Gaga and Eminem. Bieber is up for four awards, while Ke$ha and Perry each have three nominations. Eminem and Lady Antebellum lead with five bids." TV GUIDE

Upper photo: "Animal Kingdom" poster. Credit: Sony Pictures Classics

Middle photo: "The Hobbit" book cover. Credit: Houghton Mifflin

Lower photo: Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech." Credit: The Weinstein Co.

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It's a shame that the Hollywood Film Festival's Hollywood Awards aren't televised. There's a lazy, mischievous air about the gala that makes it seem like the Golden Globes on even more bubbly. They're held in the same space as the Globes — in the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel — where stars giggle, prattle, meow, yell, insult, confess and laugh while not being barked at by TV producers rushing to commercial breaks. They throw a lot of f-bombs around. It's a hoot.

Monday night one of them almost even cried at the podium: Sean Penn as he accepted a humanitarian award for the charitable work performed by him and his organization JP/HRO to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti. He told a touching story of a Haitian policeman who saved 50 lives after enduring the horror of losing his wife and children. Penn also made startling confessions, including how his staffers "chuckled" when they heard that he, of all people — someone who subjects them to "tantrums" and other unpleasant behavior — was receiving a humanitarian award.

Those of us in the audience even learned that Helena Bonham Carter (winner of the Hollywood supporting actress award) has a nickname, "Cups," because she's always surrounded by cups of various, mostly caffeinated beverages. She was honored by the festival for performing two queens (the nasty red one in "Alice in Wonderland" and the beloved "queen mum" Elizabeth in "The King's Speech") and a witch (Bellatrix Lestrange in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"), only one of which was directed by Tim Burton ("Alice").

"I don't just work for my boyfriend!" she shouted to the room full of film titans. "I'm available for leading roles too!"

There was a funny exchange between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis when they presented a career achievement award to Sylvester Stallone. See video below. After the jump: Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Jesse Eisenberg and costars accept "The Social Network's" prize for ensemble acting.

• Submissions for consideration by the nominating panels of the SAG Awards have to be in by 5 p.m. PDT Thursday. SAG AWARDS

• Sasha Stone examines the truthfulness of certain best picture contenders, including front-running "The Social Network," and considers this in terms of the state of the race. AWARDS DAILY

• John Lopez looks at the long list of lead actress contenders. LITTLE GOLD MEN

• Three-time Emmy champ "Mad Men" has inspired a British satirical website to create a cheeky revamp of the "Mr. Men" series of cartoon characters by the late Roger Hargreaves. Included in their tongue-in-cheek report, is this statement from spokesperson Camile Von Bach: "Pre-orders for 'Mr. Sterling Gets Angry' have exceeded all expectations, so we can’t wait to see what happens with 'Mr. Draper Loses His Trousers' or 'Little Miss Peggy Gets Another Bump In Her Tummy.'" THE POKE

• The motion picture academy has set up a Twitter feed. The first tweet — "I'm ready for my close-up" — is an abridgment of that memorable final line of dialogue from 1950 best picture nominee "Sunset Boulevard" when faded star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) descends into madness. TWITTER

• Pete Hammond reports on the first of many weekends filled with screenings and parties touting various awards contenders and caps this off with a peek behind the scenes at Monday's Hollywood Film Awards. DEADLINE

• Steve Pond has the scoop on the online voting for the kudos handed out by the International Documentary Assn. Among the details: "To be approved to vote using the new system, members cannot have any professional connection to a nominee, must agree to watch all five films in their entirety, and must have a high-speed Internet connection and satisfy minimum browser requirements." THE ODDS

• Katie Hasty chatted with writer-director Tyler Perry and two of the women — Anika Noni Rose and Phylicia Rashad — featured in his new film "For Colored Girls." HITFIX

• The Palm Springs film festival will fete lead actress contender Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone") as a rising star at the annual gala Jan. 8. In making the announcement, fest chair Harold Matzner said, "Call it a gift for us all when a young performer comes along, demonstrating such natural theatrical instinct." Past recipients include Jessica Biel, Dakota Fanning, Emile Hirsch, Bryce Dallas Howard, Terrence Howard, Anna Kendrick and Scarlett Johansson. PSIFF

• Ryan Adams praises the relatively short running time of "127 Hours" and considers this in light of the academy's ususal preference for pictures that run longer. However, as he writes, "the brevity of 'Marty,' 'Driving Miss Daisy' and 'Annie Hall' work so well because they’re 100% free of excess padding. '127 Hours' is exactly as lean and mean as it needs to be." AWARDS DAILY

• Anne Thompson thinks, "The only way for (Tilda) Swinton — who is admired by critics and art house audiences alike — to make the best actress Oscar grade this year for 'I Am Love' (which played the fest circuit before opening in June), is for critics to make a fuss over her in their year-end wraps and ten-best lists, and for critics groups and the Golden Globes to reward her with prizes and nominations and thus turn the screener into a must-see for SAG and Academy actors." THOMPSON ON HOLLYWOOD

Image: Mr. Draper from "Mad Men." Credit: ThePoke.co.uk.

"Saturday Night Live" has not yet announced that Jeff Bridges will host the show on Dec. 18, but Gold Derby has the scoop. The recent Oscar champ ("Crazy Heart") has a lot coming up to promote. Not only is he back in the lead actor derby with "True Grit," due to unspool in theaters in December, but he also appears in November's "Tron Legacy."

But could Jeff Bridges also win an Emmy? He'll be eligible for his stint on "SNL." Several other stars won for appearances over the past two years — Betty White, Tina Fey and Justin Timberlake.

Our forums moderator Chris "Boomer" Beachum discovered the news about Bridges' upcoming "SNL" host gig and reminds us, "Jeff Bridges has hosted 'SNL' only once before, back in February 1983 with his brother Beau as co-host. At more than 27 years and 10 months, that will make it the longest stretch between hosting appearances. The previous record was held by Sigourney Weaver, who hosted in October 1986 and then in January 2010 (23 years and three months)."

Photo: Jeff Bridges in "True Grit" (Paramount)

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