Question: The Oscar voters seem to go out of their way to nominate the "little guys." Felicity Huffman was nominated for Transamerica even if the movie made less than $3 million at the box office. Why can't it be the same for the Emmys? If the Oscar voters were anything like Emmy voters, then Crash or Brokeback Mountain wouldn't even be on the list of nominations. I am especially nervous about the category for best actress in a comedy: I agree with you that Marcia Cross deserves to win. She makes the transition from a psychotic alcoholic to a caring mother look so freakin' easy! Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Teri Hatcher will also be nominated. She's a great actress, but there are actresses who are more deserving. Huffman is always great, but this season of Desperate Housewives belonged to Cross. Mary-Louise Parker will probably get nominated, too. Other nominees I'd like to see are Lisa Kudrow — sadly, I think the Emmy voters might pass on her, and though she was on HBO, her ...
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Dude looks like a lady: Felicity Huffman, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Question: Why are actresses playing transsexuals in movies lately? First Felicity Huffman and now possibly Catherine Zeta-Jones. I think it's completely ridiculous/offensive that these roles aren't being cast with actual transsexual actors. Not only would that be a wonderful way to represent more diversity in Hollywood, but it makes sense to cast someone whose own life is the same as the character's. Being a transsexual is not a mere lifestyle choice that an actor can emulate; it's a gender. This new trend is like having a man play a woman, a woman play a man or even having one race play another — a practice I thought had finally left Hollywood.Answer: First, I need to point out that even by the laziest J-school standards, it takes three instances to make a trend. Right now we've got one confirmed instance — Felicity Huffman as a fictional pre-op transsexual in Transamerica
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Surreal LifeAh, chemistry. I hated it in high school but I love it on The Surreal Life. Not every cast has worked. But if the first episode of the new season is a harbinger of drama to come, this may be the most addictive edition yet. As observed by Florence Henderson, aka Mrs. Brady, aka Dr. Flo, the cast's on-call guidance counselor (she's a real-life hypnotherapist), the house is filled with some strong personalities: Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille, who sounds like a cross between Bob Goldthwait and my super-Jewish Long Island aunt (come to think of it, he used to look like her, too, when he wore makeup back in the '80s); Playboy hottie Andrea Lowell, who insists she's not a bimbo (even though she uses made-up words like "ominent"); Tawny Kitaen,
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Amanda Bynes bends her gender in She's the Man.
In the new comedy She's the Man (in theaters now), Amanda Bynes plays Viola, a soccer star forced to get her kicks by masquerading as her twin brother, Sebastian. Along the way, of course, all manner of hunky guys and ironically attracted girls find themselves mesmerized by this gal in disguise. Was Bynes able to pull it off? Should Felicity Huffman be looking over her shoulder? And more to the point, is the perky What I Like About You star ready to kick some Natalie Portman butt this weekend? Here's what Bynes shared with TVGuide.com in a fun one-on-one.
TVGuide.com: Seeing She's the Man almost — and my AP English teacher will be happy to hear this — made me want to actually read Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, on which it is loosely based. Or at least revisit the CliffsNotes
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Jon Stewart hosts the 78th Annual Academy Awards.
The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, host of the 78th Annual Academy Awards (airing Sunday at 9 pm/ET on ABC) answers TVGuide.com readers' burning questions!
What can you tell me about your Oscar-hosting gig? — Paul Strouse, Pittsburgh, Pa.Jon Stewart: This may be the most devastating, controversial, powerful, dangerous awards show ever.... No, I'm looking to have fun with it. If people are kind enough to spend four hours watching this damn show, I'm hoping to give them something other than a numb ass. And I won't sing; I want them to be happy.
Will you have The Daily Show's Rob Corddry or Ed Helms on hand to help on the red carpet with some impromptu interviews? Or Stephen Colbert —
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Question: Why are there only three songs nominated this year, and has that ever happened before?
Answer: The reason has to do with the current nominating practice for songs, which involves an averaged point system. Only songs that get an average score of 8.25 or better are eligible for nomination, and of the songs from 2005 films, the only ones that succeeded were "In the Deep" from Crash, "It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from Hustle & Flow and "Travelin’ Thru" from Transamerica. That said, there's also a stipulation that there have to be at least three nominations and no more than five, so if only two songs come up to snuff, there must be some back-up plan to get a third on the ballot.
Those are the rules now, but in the past they were clearly different: In previous years there have been as few as three song nominees (as far back as 1934 and as recently as 1988) and as many as
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Lead actress nom Keira Knightley
Nominations for the 78th-annual Academy Awards were announced Tuesday morning, and leading the herd was — yep — Brokeback Mountain, lassoing eight nods, including best picture, best director, and acting bids for Heath Ledger (in the lead category), Jake Gyllenhaal (supporting) and Michelle Williams. Challenging the cowboy romance for best-pic honors are Capote, Crash, Munich and Good Night, and Good Luck. The lead-actor race pits Ledger against SAG-Golden Globe winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), Globe winner Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line), Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow) and David Strathairn (Good Night), while the lead-actress contenders are SAG-Globe winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line), Globe winner Felicity Huffman (Tran
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Desperate HousewivesOf course ABC chose to show a repeat tonight — the cast was up for best ensemble in a comedy series at the SAG Awards, airing at the same time. So glad they won for the second year in a row, and I was quite happy about Felicity Huffman continuing her winning streak: first an Emmy, then a Golden Globe (for Transamerica) and now a SAG award. She's this year's Jamie Foxx (at least Felicity doesn't sing the same Ray Charles song at every single awards show). Hopefully, she'll be announced as an Oscar nominee this Tuesday morning. Tonight's repeat reminded me of what a "whack job" (the term that Layla woman used) George was. He's a character I simply do not miss. I do, however, enjoy Lesley Ann Warren and Bob Newhart, so I hope they bring them back. And it made sense for us to see Gabrielle release that red balloo
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Lost's Evangeline Lilly, Yunjin Kim and Cynthia Watros
Monday's Golden Globes ceremony saw ABC's Lost and Desperate Housewives win the best drama and comedy categories, while Brokeback Mountain hauled away a quartet of statues, including prizes for best dramatic film and for director Ang Lee. Although Weeds' Mary-Louise Parker bested four Housewives to take home honors for best actress in a comedy series, Felicity Huffman didn't leave empty-handed, earning dramatic-actress kudos for her turn in Transamerica. TVGuide.com has the complete coverage you seek, including pictures, a roundup of the winners, Watercooler chatter, video interviews and a whole lotta
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Geena Davis, Commander in Chief
After the shell-shocked winners step off stage at the Golden Globe Awards, they go backstage to meet the press. When they find us reporters camped out in the Wilshire Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the stars are granted a second chance of sorts: They can either address the world with more eloquence than they mustered onstage, or simply make bigger fools of themselves! Once this TVGuide.com reporter got past surly security guards at the door, I took my seat and watched a parade of Lost thespians, Desperate Housewives and Brokeback Mountaineers take their shots. Read on to see how they fared in the media frenzy.
5:15 pm/PT What will Syriana scene-stealer George Clooney do with his best-supporting-actor trophy? "I'm going to put this on the hood of my car," he quipped. "Is that too much?" Everybody's a joker, George. But this time it's a plus: While Mr. Clooney couldn't resist making that Jack Abramoff crack onstage, at
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