I am back east after a hectic last few days in Hollywood—sorry for not posting, but there was just no opportunity. I could get into details now... but I won't. Suffice it to say that I have returned with not only a number of exciting new interviews/interview commitments, but also a significantly better understanding of the landscape of the upcoming awards season.

Among the sadder things I learned during one meeting is that the health of the great actress-dancer Cyd Charisse has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks, leaving her many friends and husband, Tony Martin, gravely concerned. Charisse, who is best known for her work in classic M-G-M musicals such as Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon (1954), and Silk Stockings (1957), is no spring chicken (she turned 87 in March), but she and Martin (who she married in 1948, and who is 95) have remained quite active in recent years, and she seemed to be in very good form when she gave me a wonderful interview for my aforementioned book project just a few years ago. Anyway, here's hoping she's back on those famous million-dollar legs very soon.

Additional thoughts go out to Jackie Cooper's wife of nearly fifty-five years, Barbara Kraus, who is also ailing.

And, finally, of course, to the family of the great Tim Russert, whose weekly Q&As on NBC's Meet the Press were must-see TV and helped to shape our national dialogue (as well as my own love of politics and interviewing style) for the past seventeen years. The universal praise and outpouring of grief over his untimely passing strikes me as comparable only to that which followed the death of another beloved analyst of our society, humorist Will Rogers, who perished in a plane crash in 1935, and of course the trio of 1960s political-assassination victims, President John F. Kennedy in November 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968, and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968, exactly forty years ago this week.

ALSO: In completely unrelated news, I just wanted to mention that I spotted, of all people, Sid Ganis leaving a meeting at my hotel on Friday afternoon... I didn't run into any stars this trip, but I ran into the president of the Academy... how appropriate!

This morning began with a very nice breakfast at the hotel, which was even nicer because it was comped—amazing what the discovery of some green gook in the toilet can get you! Afterwards, we headed out to Venice Beach to enjoy the beautiful weather, and later to the Los Angeles Farmer's Market to get a bite and check out the shops. (I picked up a framed 27x40 original poster of Dracula at an art gallery, and only later thought about how much fun it is going to be trying to get that back to the east coast in one piece.)

As far as work goes, I scheduled some great interviews for the coming days, about which I'm very excited but also overwhelmed, as I have very little time to prepare: tomorrow, I'll be speaking with Gloria Stuart, who most know as the older version of Kate Winslet in Titanic (1997), for which she received an Oscar nomination, but who was actually a great star of the early sound era in films like The Invisible Man (1933); Norman Corwin, one of the most important figures in the history of radio, whose "On a Note of Triumph" address on V-E Day in 1945 is regarded as one of the high points of the medium; and Jackie Cooper, the great 1930s child star who became the youngest person ever nominated for a Best Actor Oscar (he's still the record holder) for his powerful performance in Skippy (1931), for which director Norman Taurog famously induced him to cry by threatening to shoot his dog. Then, the crown jewel is on Friday, when I'll have the privilege and thrill of speaking with one of the great actresses and beauties ever to grace the silver screen, Eva Marie Saint, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work in On the Waterfront (1954) opposite Marlon Brando, and stole Cary Grant's heart in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, among other fine performances. More on all of these to come.

I also had a dinner meeting with an old friend who is a top publicist for a major studio whose big horse is an early Best Picture favorite of many experts, based on its pedigree. (Deliberately vague, in case you wondered!) Our relationship is such that we never BS each other trying to sell something that isn't there because we respect each other enough to know that the other one can see right through it, so I took what was said very seriously. While I agreed not to publicize the exact sentiments of our discussion this early in the season, I will be able to address them before long, and they will be taken into consideration when I compile my initial projections later this summer.

That's all for now. Thanks for checking the site, and as always, I can be reached for industry-related inquiries at scottfeinberg[at]hotmail[dot]com, and for all other inquiries in the Comments section. Until next time...