The Tony Awards administration committee rules on eligibility as well as category placement. On Friday, the committee deemed that the score for "American Idiot" was ineligible because less than 50% of it was written specifically for the Broadway production. The show is based on the 2004 disc of the same name by Green Day, who wrote it as a rock opera in the style of The Who's 1969 smash, "Tommy."

That double disc, written by Pete Townshend, was turned into a film in 1975 and then a stage show in 1992. That production reached Broadway in 1993 and won five Tony Awards including best original score for Townshend, who tied with John Kander and Fred Ebb for "The Kiss of the Spider Woman."

While the trio of musicians in Green Day -- Billie Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt -- won't be in the running for score, Armstrong, who wrote all the lyrics, could contend for the book of the musical. He worked with theater director Michael Mayer to craft the story of three young men from the suburbs who confront adulthood in different ways.

A trio of scores created for plays were deemed eligible to contend: "Enron" -- Adam Cork, music, and Lucy Prebble, lyrics); "Fences" -- Branford Marsalis, music; and "The Royal Family" -- Maury Yeston, music. In 1999, Jeanine Tesori was nominated for the score she created for a production of "Twelfth Night." She lost to Jason Robert Brown for "Parade."

Earlier this season, the score for the new musical "Fela!" was also ruled ineligible, as it featured previously written songs by the subject of the show, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Yet in 1996, the late Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II contended for their score for "State Fair," which was a combination of the material they wrote for the 1945 movie of the same name and songs cut from their Broadway show "Oklahoma!" (1943) and included in three of their lesser stage hits -- "Allegro" (1947); "Me and Juliet" (1953); and "Pipe Dream" (1955). They lost to Jonathan Larson for "Rent."

Photo: "American Idiot" playbill. Credit: St. James Theater

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On Friday, the administration committee for the Tony Awards convened for the fourth and final time this theater season. The committee is made up of two dozen theater folk, with 10 apiece from the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing -- which jointly host these top theater kudos -- and one each from the Dramatists Guild, Actors' Equity Assn., United Scenic Artists and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

They rule on category placement -- usually only those performers listed above the title contend in the lead categories at the Tony Awards. However, with the increase in equal billing for all, there is a need to separate out the true star turns from the supporting players. Such was the case with Friday's finding that only John Gallagher Jr. gives a leading performance in "American Idiot" while his cast mates are all in featured roles.

Producers can petition the committee to slot certain performers in one category over another. The Roundabout Theater website touts Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat as starring in "Sondheim on Sondheim." However, Friday the committee conceded that they could all contend in the featured races. Cook won the featured actress Tony Award for her role as Marian the librarian in 1958's top  tuner "The Music Man" while Grammy and Emmy nominee Williams nabbed a lead actress Tony nomination for the 2002 revival of Sondheim's "Into the Woods" and Wopat -- best known for TV's "The Dukes of Hazzard" -- is a two-time Tony nominee for his lead roles in the musicals "Annie Get Your Gun" (1999) and "A Catered Affair" (2008). 

Although the committee's decisions about the nature of the roles in new works are debatable, past Tony nominations should guide them when deciding placement for performers in revivals. Yet this is not always the case. On Friday, the committee decided that Viola Davis gives a leading performance in "Fences" in the same role that won Mary Alice the featured actress Tony for the original 1987 production.

In February, the committee ruled that even though Jessica Hecht was playing the same role in a revival of "A View From the Bridge" that netted Allison Janney a lead Tony Awards nomination back in 1998, she should contend in the featured race. That puts her in direct competition with co-star Scarlett Johansson, who impressed the critics with her performance as a nubile niece lusted after by her uncle.

Nominations for the 64th annual Tony Awards will be announced on May 4.

Photo: Tony Award statue. Credit: American Theater Wing

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The Lucille Lortel Awards celebrate a silver anniversary Sunday night. These kudos are presented by the Off-Broadway League, a collection of producers who stage shows in smaller venues than those on Broadway. A successful off-Broadway run can lead to a transfer to Broadway and a chance to contend at the Tony Awards.

Last year, the musical "Next to Normal" -- which had premiered at the off-Broadway venue Second Stage in 2008 -- was a last-minute entry into the derby. This tuner about a woman coping with mental illness contended for 11 Tony Awards, winning three: lead actress Alice Ripley, score by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey and orchestrations. Last month it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

This year, among the possible contenders for the Tony Awards is another tuner from Second Stage -- "Everyday Rapture" -- which is nominated for both best musical and lead actress (Sherie Renee Scott) at the Lucille Lortels. Also new to Broadway this season is "Fela," which won three of its five bids at last year's Lortels, including best musical. The full list of nominees can be found on the Lucille Lortel Awards website.

The Lucille Lortel Awards -- named for the renowned actress turned producer -- do what the Drama Desk Awards used to -- celebrate the best of off-Broadway. While the Tony Awards, which date to 1947, salute Broadway, the Drama Desk kudos were begun in 1955 to honor the rest of the New York theater world. And for the first 14 years they did just that with winners coming exclusively from the burgeoning off-Broadway scene. However, beginning with the 15th festivities in 1968, those appearing on Broadway became eligible for consideration and since then these awards have tilted towards those also competing at the Tonys, leaving the off-Broadway performers in the wings.

This year's nominations for the Drama Desk Awards will be announced Monday and may well include many of the Lucille Lortel contenders. However, if the past is any indication, most of them needn't bother showing up at the May 23 ceremony. Indeed, in the last six years only 10 of the 153 Drama Desk Awards bestowed for plays and musicals have gone to off-Broadway productions.

Photo: Lucille Lortel Awards logo. Credit: Lucille Lortel Foundation

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Get Gold Derby on Twitter. Join the Gold Derby Group at Facebook. Become friends with Tom O'Neil on Facebook. Get Gold Derby RSS feed via Facebook. RSS Feedburner. RSS Atom.

• Kathryn Bigelow has bested her ex James Cameron once again. The Oscar-winning director of "The Hurt Locker" secured the third spot on Time's top 25 most influential artists of the year -- only Lady Gaga and Conan O'Brien ranked higher -- while the onetime "king of the world" had to settle for the last slot despite creating the biggest moneymaker in movie history with "Avatar." Also earning places of distinction were director Neill Blokamp -- who contended at this year's Oscars for his script for best picture nominee "District 9" -- at No. 16 and best actress champ Sandra Bullock ("The Blind Side") at No. 22. Neil Patrick Harris -- who hosted both the Emmys and Tonys last year and opened this year's Oscars -- was ranked No. 10. TIME

• James Cameron may not cut it with Time magazine, but the folks at NASA listen to him. Emma Gallegos reports that the Oscar winner met with Charles Bolden, the head honcho of NASA, in January to persuade him to include a 3-D camera on Curiosity, a rover headed to Mars next year. PASADENA STAR NEWS

• Cara Shultz considers Sandra Bullock's acceptance speeches at the Oscars and Golden Globes in light of the revelation Wednesday that she and her then-husband Jesse James had adopted a baby in January. Onstage at the Kodak Theater, Bullock said, "I would like to thank what this film is about for me -- the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from. Those moms and parents never get thanked." And at the Globes in January, she said, "A family is not just who you were born to, or what color you are. It's who's got your back." PEOPLE

• Composer John Kander and representatives of the late lyricist Fred Ebb and director-choreographer Bob Fosse -- who together brought "Chicago" to Broadway in 1975 -- are suing the producers of the 2002 Oscar-winning film adaptation. The lawsuit alleges that "the studios' 'financial theatrics' ... resulted in a nearly $200 million increase in the 'Adjusted Gross Receipts' from which plaintiffs' participation is calculated. With interest, the net impact on plaintiffs is the wrongful reduction of their share by upwards of $12 million." PLAYBILL

• Kid Rock has confirmed he will host the ninth annual CMT Music Awards. In a three-sentence post on his website, Rock said, "The rumors are true – I’m hosting the CMT Awards live from Nashville on June 9th… All I can promise is I will be awesome." Last year the rocker won Wide Open Country video of the year for "All Summer Long." This year, eight of the nine categories at the CMTs have eight contenders apiece. Online voting that runs till Monday will winnow these to four finalists in each category, which will be announced May 11. Then another round of online voting through June 8 will determine the winners. Voting for video of the year is different. There are 10 semifinalists, which will be cut down to a final five that will be revealed at the start of the awards ceremony, and the winner of the top prize will be determined by votes cast online and via text message during the kudocast.

• The power of a Facebook petition helped land Betty White a hosting gig on "Saturday Night Live." Now, there is a movement afoot online to have "Glee" devote an episode to the music of Barbra Streisand, much as it did last week with Madonna. Writes Allison Walman, "What do you think it meant when co-creator Ryan Murphy accepted the Golden Globe for 'Glee' last January, he said, 'Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press and Miss Barbra Streisand.' That was a shout-out linking Streisand to that show. And don't forget that for sectionals, Rachel channeled Streisand when she sang 'Don't Rain on My Parade.' " TV SQUAD

• The status of "The Hobbit," the long-in-the-making two-part prequel to the hit trilogy "The Lord of the Rings," just became much clearer. The first of the films -- produced by Peter Jackson, who picked up three Oscars for the final installment of "LOTR" and directed by Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labryinth") -- will arrive in theaters in December 2012 and the second will be out a year later. As Borys Kit reports, "A confusion over release dates surfaced earlier today when Imax announced an overall, 20-film, three-year deal with Warners. In outlining which films would be included, Imax incorrectly gave 2013 as the release date for the first 'Hobbit' movie." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Top photo: Kathryn Bigelow backstage at the 82nd annual Academy Awards. Credit: AMPAS.

Middle photo: "Chicago" DVD cover. Credit: Miramax Home Entertainment.

Bottom photo: "The Hobbit" book cover. Credit: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

There's a lot of drama surrounding the Tony Award nominations, which will be unveiled Tuesday. Take, for example, the battle over best musical. The pundits cited below are split over eight contenders to take those four category slots. "American Idiot" is the favorite to win, but an upset is possible. The biggest drama of all is over best drama — there's no clear front-runner.

We've recruited predix from a team of savvy prognosticators: Melissa Bernardo (Entertainment Weekly), Martin Denton (NYTheatre), Thom Geier (Entertainment Weekly), Andy Humm (Gay City News, Gay USA), Kenneth Jones (Playbill.com), Brian Lipton (Theater Mania), Patrick Pacheco, David Sheward (Back Stage), Matt Windman (amNY) and me.

BEST PLAY
"A Behanding in Spokane" — Geier, Humm
"Enron" — Bernardo, Denton, Humm, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward
"In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play" — Windman
"Next Fall" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"Race" — Denton, Jones, O'Neil, Sheward
"Red" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"Time Stands Still" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, Pacheco, Windman

BEST MUSICAL
"The Addams Family" — Jones, Sheward
"American Idiot" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"Come Fly Away" — Bernardo, Geier, Windman
"Everyday Rapture" — Lipton, Pacheco
"Fela!" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"Memphis" — Denton, Geier, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"Million Dollar Quartet" — Bernardo, Denton, Humm
"Sondheim on Sondheim" — O'Neil, Humm

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
"A View from the Bridge" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"Fences" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"Hamlet" — Bernardo, Humm
"Lend Me a Tenor" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"The Royal Family" — Denton, Geier, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
"A Little Night Music" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"Finian’s Rainbow" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"La Cage Aux Folles" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
"Ragtime" — Bernardo, Humm
"Promises, Promises" — Denton, Geier, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
John Gallagher Jr., "American Idiot" — Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, O'Neil, Sheward, Windman
Kelsey Grammer, "La Cage aux Folles" — Denton, Jones
Sean Hayes, "Promises, Promises" — Bernardo, Geier, Lipton, Pacheco, Windman
Douglas Hodge, "La Cage Aux Folles" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
Chad Kimball, "Memphis" — Bernardo, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
Nathan Lane, "The Addams Family" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward
Sahr Nguajah, "Fela!" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Kate Baldwin, "Finian’s Rainbow" — Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
Kristin Chenoweth, "Promises, Promises" — Bernardo, O'Neil
Montego Glover, "Memphis" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
Bebe Neuwirth, "The Addams Family" — Geier, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Sheward, Windman
Sherie Rene Scott, "Everyday Rapture" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman
Catherine Zeta-Jones, "A Little Night Music" — Bernardo, Denton, Geier, Humm, Jones, Lipton, O'Neil, Pacheco, Sheward, Windman

Rave reviews for her performance in "Collected Stories" could win Linda Lavin her second Tony Award as best actress in a play. The revival of this 1997 Pulitzer Prize finalist from Donald Margulies stars Lavin as a respected writer battling a onetime protege (Sarah Paulson) who has found fame by fictionalizing one of the older woman's love affairs. Lavin, a longtime stage star before TV's "Alice" turned her into a household name, appeared opposite Samantha Mathis in a 1999 production of "Collected Stories" in Los Angeles, and the pair reunited in 2002 for a TV version that aired on PBS.

Lavin's strongest competition may well be three-time Emmy champ Laura Linney, who recently finished an acclaimed run in "Time Stands Still" -- a new play by Margulies -- at the same theater where "Collected Stories" just opened. Linney picked up the second of her two Tony noms in the lead actress category in 2005 for her performance in a revival of Margulies' "Sight Unseen." Her other bid was in 2002 for a revival of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible."

Lavin won her first Tony in 1987 for "Broadway Bound" by Neil Simon. (A rialto revival of that play starring three-time Emmy winner Laurie Metcalf was canceled earlier this season due to poor advance sales.) If Lavin prevails again this year, she would become the seventh woman with Tony bookends for leading performances in plays. Two actresses -- Zoe Caldwell and Jessica Tandy -- have three apiece while Julie Harris won a record five Tony Awards for her star turns in plays. Not surprisingly, Harris sits atop the nominations list as well, with nine bids. Angela Lansbury -- who has a record four lead musical actress Tonys -- won a fifth award last year for her featured performance in the play "Blithe Spirit" and might well break the tie with Harris this year with a win for her featured role in the musical "A Little Night Music."

Unlike the gallery of recent best actress Oscar champs, which looks like the lineup at a beauty pageant, the Tony winners in the equivalent race range in age. Recent winners have included Deanna Dunagan, 68 when she won for "August: Osage County" (2008); Vanessa Redgrave, 66 when she won for "Long Day's Journey into Night" (2004); and Judi Dench, 64 when she won for "Amy's View" (1999). At 72, Lavin would not be the oldest lead actress in a play winner, as Tandy was just two days shy of her 74th birthday when she won her third Tony in this category for "Foxfire" in 1983. Tandy is also the oldest winner of the Oscar for best actress, with her 1989 win for "Driving Miss Daisy" at age 80.

RELATED:

Will 'Enron' electrify Tony Awards voters?

Can Denzel Washington climb 'Fences' to Tony Awards?

Tony Award nominations: Melissa Bernardo makes brave, early predix

Gold Derby nuggets: Green Day rocks 'American Idiot' | 'Lost' found all over ABC sked | Tony Awards out west

Will 'Promises, Promises' be fulfilled at Tony Awards?

'Memphis' and 'The Royal Family' top Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations

Tony Awards predix: 'American Idiot' and 'Enron' are front-runners to win best musical and play

Tony Awards predix: Angela Lansbury will score historic sixth win

Tony Awards preview: What will win best play?

Get Gold Derby on Twitter. Join the Gold Derby Group at Facebook. Become friends with Tom O'Neil on Facebook. Get Gold Derby RSS feed via Facebook. RSS Feedburner. RSS Atom.

• Writer/director Bill Condon -- who co-produced last year's Academy Awards -- has inked a deal to direct the fourth film in the "Twilight" franchise. There is talk that "Breaking Dawn" will be split into two films, as is being done with the last in the "Harry Potter" series. Condon -- who won an Oscar for his script for "Gods & Monsters" -- said in a statement, "I’m very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen. As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book and we’re hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience."

• The first wave of bold-faced names who will attend the presentation of the AFI lifetime achievement award to Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols ("The Graduate") has been announced. Among those speaking at the June 10 ceremony will be a pair of two-time Oscar winners who are both previous AFI honorees -- Tom Hanks (2002) and Meryl Streep (2003) -- as well as two more Oscar champs -- Cher and Julia Roberts. All four of them have been directed at least once by Nichols who is one of only 10 people to have won the grand slam of all four major showbiz awards. YAHOO

• Looks like four-time lead actor Emmy nominee Steve Carell could be resigning from "The Office" when his contract expires at the end of next season. As Willa Paskin reports, "Asked if he would stay longer, Carell, who has some ten movie projects in the works, told a BBC reporter, 'I don't think so. I think that will probably be my last year.' Of course, the last thing NBC needs is for the leading man of their highest-rated comedy to split, so they will likely offer Carell just about anything he wants to stay." NEW YORK

• The revamped official website of the Tony Awards will include a streaming feed of both the red carpet and the press room at the 64th annual edition of these top theater kudos on June 13. There will also be a section devoted to the Twitter feeds of the nominees after they are announced on May 4. TONY AWARDS

•Two-time Emmy champ Kathy Griffin talks with Scott Huver about the upcoming sixth season of "My Life on the D-List" including what sounds like a must-see episode with her taking an acting lesson from Oscar champ Liza Minnelli ("Cabaret"). Says Griffin, "What I took away from working with Liza was she wasn’t in her Liza kooky wacky mode. We see her on TV and so often she’s just putting on the Liza show. And when we were alone in her room, just the two of us rehearsing, she was so in the moment and so fantastic and that’s when you really see it." TV GUIDE

• Jethro Nededog reports on the fun MTV is having touting its choice of "Parks and Recreation" supporting player Aziz Ansari as the host of this year's movie awards on June 6. In the promo, which debuted Tuesday night, "High School Musical" star Zac Efron, music mogul Diddy and "Gossip Girl" narrator Kristen Bell answer the question: Who is Aziz Ansari? ZAP2IT

Top photo: "Breaking Dawn" book cover. Credit: Hachette

Middle photo: Steve Carell in "The Office." Credit: NBC

Bottom photo: Kathy Griffin in "My Life on the D-List." Credit: Bravo

The cast and creators of "Glee" sang like canaries when wooing Emmy voters at a special event held Tuesday night at the TV academy's headquarters in North Hollywood.

Many "Glee" secrets were blabbed on the red carpet to reporters and onstage where E! Online's Kristin dos Santos emceed. For starters, Quinn's long-awaited birth scene "will blow you away" if you tune in to the Season 1 finale June 8, promises executive producer Brad Falchuk. Read more birth dish here(but beware of spoilers). Watch video of the full Emmy dishfest here or read an article report.

Also, watch red carpet videos featuring various "Glee" stars.

Lea Michele: "I've been doing Broadway since I was 8 years old. After my fourth Broadway show about a year and a half ago, I came out to L.A and auditioned for a show called 'Glee.'  I'd never been on TV in my life. I'm still learning the lingo."

Jane Lynch: "The hardest thing about my job is learning the lines because [my character] does not say anything with any economy. She's rather verbose. Sometimes I'll have these run-on sentences. I get to the end of it and I'm not sure where I started."

Below, Cory Monteith reveals on odd job he once held before he became famous. He was the "mystery shopper" scouting sales items stocked at 7-Eleven stores.

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Photo: Fox TV

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"Not a great night for Ricky Gervais fans," sighed Mary McNamara in the L.A. Times after the British gadfly hosted the Golden Globes in January. In fact, he performed so poorly that she predicted "Gervais will probably not be hosting the Oscars any time soon."

But now it looks like the rascally comedian will get the last laugh. The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. just announced that he'll return as Golden Globes host next year.

The reason may be the hike in TV viewership for this last show — up 14% from the previous year (16.9 million compared with 14.9 million in 2009). But was that really the result of Gervais at the helm? The last Globes received an added marketing push on many fronts — including Facebook and other new media — while it also went live on both coasts for the first time ever.

The Hollywood Reporter said Gervais was "disappointingly toothless" as he "tackled predictable subjects," making "few inspired" jokes.

Afterward, he seemed to admit defeat, promising, "I'm not going to do this again."

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Photo: NBC

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Although the hit West End play "Enron" opened on Broadway on Tuesday to mixed reviews, it remains a front-runner in the race for the top prize at the Tony Awards. This ambitious production uses music, dance and video to tell the tale of the infamous financial scandal of 2001. Rupert Goold -- who won an Olivier Award for his original helming -- directs an American cast that includes Tony champ Norbert Leo Butz ("Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), three-time Tony nominee Marin Mazzie and Tony and Emmy nominee Gregory Itzin.

"Enron" -- which lost best play at the Oliviers to "The Mountaintop" -- is only the second full-length play from Lucy Prebble, who also created the saucy TV series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl." Critics lauded the ambitiousness of the piece but faulted it for simplifying the complex issues underlying the collapse of the onetime corporate powerhouse. However, none of the other top contenders for the best play prize at the Tony Awards premiered to universal praise.

On the technical side, expect a slew of Tony nominations. This is only the seventh Broadway show for Anthony Ward, who designs both sets and costumes. However, he has racked up three scenic design noms already and won last year for his costume designs for "Mary Stuart." In 2006, lighting designer Mark Henderson finally won the Tony Award with his fifth nomination, for "The History Boys." The sound design category is only two years old, and Adam Cork contended in its first year for "Macbeth."

"Brick City" is a curious entry in this year's Emmy race. Often there's tough competition between reality TV shows starring shockingly dysfunctional people, but this Sundance Channel series spotlights a whole shockingly dysfunctional city: Newark, N.J.

"Brick City" is "an involving, often moving, slice of Newark city life," notes Newark's Star-Ledger. It stars a mayor and police chief, gang members, teachers, real estate developers and others trying to survive – and save – a once-great city now beset with gang wars, crime, illiteracy and racial strife during disastrous economic times. Its co-creators/directors Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin strived to "capture real people inside the establishment and outside on the streets, trying to make a difference," says Levin.

Benjamin adds: "We're witnessing what's happening in a city that's going through this dream of transformation."

"Here's a city that had such a bad reputation and look how it's struggling to change," Levin says. "This is a microcosm of much more than Newark. It's Gary, Ind. It's Baltimore. It's St. Louis. It's East L.A."

The TV academy is still weighing category eligibility, but "Brick City" will compete either for best nonfiction series or exceptional merit in nonfiction filmmaking plus crafts categories.

Click the right-pointing arrow below to listen to Gold Derby's full podcast chat with Benjamin and Levin. (It begins with just Benjamin, but then Levin connects with our chat.) Also check out their video discussion below. Here's the series' website.

Photo: Mayor Cory Booker addresses the Newark Police Academy graduation ceremony. Credit: Sundance Channel

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• The winning streak of "The Amazing Race" in the reality competition race at the Emmys stands at a staggering seven years and counting. Indeed the show chronicling a race around the world has never lost this category since it was created in 2003. However, Donald Trump is determined to avenge his  losses for "The Apprentice" (2004, 2005) with a win this year for the third season of the celebrity version of the show. He told Randee Dawn that the Emmys have "lost credibility. Instead of shows that deserve to win, they pick 'Amazing Race.' It's a very sad commentary." As Randee reports, "Perhaps Trump is sore over what happened in 2004, the first year that 'Apprentice' and 'Race' faced off. Ever assured, Trump recalls he was halfway out of his seat when the Emmy presenter began announcing 'Race' as the winner. 'I was standing up to go down there and pick up the Emmy,' he says. 'Incredible. It's a joke. If the Emmys want their ratings back, they have to pick shows that deserve it.' " HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

• The organization behind the prime-time Emmys will salute eight programs that exemplify "television with a conscience" at the third annual Television Academy Honors on May 5. Two-time Emmy champ Dana Delaney ("China Beach") will host the event at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The honorees: episodes from the series "CSI," "Glee," and "Private Practice," the telefilm "Taking Chance," and the news and informational specials "Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? with Maria Shriver," "Inside Death Row," "The Oxycontin Express," and "Unlocking Autism."

• Add Stephen Lang to the list of "Avatar" actors fuming over the academy's snub of the blockbuster in the big Oscar races. Appearing on the British TV show "Live From Studio Five" Lang admitted, "We were kind of prepared for it. I was slightly disgusted, I would say, but I saw every picture that was nominated and they're all marvelous pictures. If I happen to think 'Avatar' is the best of the lot you can forgive me for that." He then added, "I would never want to in any way disrespect another film or director, but having said that, we should have won." Earlier this month, Sigourney Weaver blamed reverse sexism on "Hurt Locker" helmer Kathryn Bigelow winning best director over "Avatar" creator James Cameron. IMDB

• Brad Brevet thinks that Pixar's upcoming "Toy Story 3" is not a slam-dunk for the animated feature Academy Award now that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the domestic rights to Sylvain Chomet's "The Illusionist." The film is based on an unproduced screenplay by Gallic great Jacques Tati ("M.Hulot's Holiday"). As Brad notes, "Sony Classics distributed Chomet's 'The Triplets of Belleville' in 2003 and it then went on to be nominated for two Oscars, including best animated feature and best original song ('Belleville Rendez-Vous'). 'Triplets' ended up losing to 'Finding Nemo' that year setting up an interesting bit of competition." ROPE OF SILICON

• Who knew there were so many "Bosom Buddies" fans? The cast reunion -- led by two-time Oscar champ Tom Hanks -- on the eighth annual TV Land Awards on Sunday helped propel this kudocast to its best numbers since 2004. The cable net reports that 1.7 million people tuned in to watch Tim Allen host this celebration of classic TV, an increase of 53% over last year's show. TV BY THE NUMBERS

• The Tony Awards in conjunction with longtime host broadcaster CBS and Macy’s launched an online contest today to find two would-be Broadway belters to walk the red carpet at the 64th annual theater kudos June 13. Winners will be chosen in a two-art process. First, contestants will upload videos of their renditions of selected show tunes. An online vote will determine five finalists who will be flown to Gotham to take part in a sing-off at the flagship Macy's in Herald Square on June 11, where an expert panel will pick the two winners. CBS

• The Royal Shakespeare Company's recent acclaimed production of "Hamlet" with "Doctor Who" star David Tennant in the title role airs on "Great Performances" Wednesday night. Last year, two of the lead actor in a TV movie or mini-series Emmy nominees appeared in taped versions of their theatrical triumphs: Kevin Kline ("Cyrano de Bergerac") and Ian McKellen ("King Lear"). Both lost to Brendan Gleeson, who played Winston Churchill in the WWII biopic "Into the Storm."

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While the ESPN family of channels went into the 31st annual Sports Emmys with a leading 54 nominations, the cable nets had to settle for second place with seven wins, as paycaster HBO walked away with nine awards.

HBO dominated the pre-taped end of the spectrum winning for best edited sports special ("24/7 Mayweather‑Marquez"), best edited series ("Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Cincinnati Bengals") and best sports documentary ("Assault in the Ring") as well as a half dozen technical awards.

The main ESPN network won three Sports Emmys including both of the studio show awards for the daily "Pardon the Interruption" and the weekly "College Game Day" as well as studio analyst for Kirk Herbstreit. The ESPN2 newsmagazine "E:60" took awards for sports journalism and long feature.

NBC -- which won nine Sports Emmys last year including four for its 2008 Summer Olympics coverage -- had to settle for just four wins this year: best live sports special (the 2009 Super Bowl), best live sports series ("Sunday Night Football"), and repeats by Bob Costas (best sports host) and Cris Collinsworth (best sports analyst).