It's a felony crime in Hollywood that Darren Aronofsky doesn't have an Oscar yet — not even a nomination. His "Requiem for a Dream" earned Ellen Burstyn noms for lead actress at the Oscars, Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, etc. His "The Wrestler" reaped Oscar bids for Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. Rourke won at the Golden Globes, BAFTA and Indie Spirits. "The Wrestler" also won best picture at the Spirits — at least Aronofsky has that consolation kudos prize. But he should've won 15 Oscars for "The Fountain," if you ask me. Instead, he got snubbed by virtually everyone for the greatest film of his oeuvre.

Next up trotting into the 2010 derby: "Black Swan."

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Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine ("Marty") is to receive the lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild on Jan. 30, six days after he turns 94. In making the announcement, SAG president Ken Howard said, "Whether portraying brutish villains, sympathetic everymen, complex leaders or hapless heroes, Ernest Borgnine has brought a boundless energy which, at 93, is still a hallmark of his remarkably busy life and career. It is with that same joyous spirit that we salute his impressive body of work and his steadfast generosity."

While Borgnine's work ethic is admirable — he has three films due out this year — his personal politics are less than laudable. Four years ago, he waded into the discussion about the merits of the movie "Brokeback Mountain," the first film to feature A-list talent in a gay love story. As Borgnine told Entertainment Weekly, "I didn’t see it and I don’t care to see it. I know they say it’s a good picture, but I don’t care to see it." Then he added, "If John Wayne were alive, he’d be rolling over in his grave!"

Such sentiments were widespread enough in Hollywood to cause "Brokeback Mountain" to stumble in the home stretch of the awards derby. The film was the front-runner after having been named the best picture of the year by 23 award groups, including the Producers Guild, BAFTA, Indie Spirits, Los Angeles Film Critics Assn., New York Film Critics Circle, the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. and the Golden Globes (where "Crash" wasn't even nominated).

Then "Brokeback Mountain" lost all four of its SAG Awards bids and would go down to defeat in these same races at the Oscars. The SAG ensemble prize was claimed by best picture winner "Crash," the SAG lead actor award went to eventual Oscar champ Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote") over Heath Ledger and supporting actress was taken likewise by Rachel Weisz ("The Constant Gardener") over Michelle Williams. Supporting actor nominee Jake Gyllenhaal was beaten by Paul Giamatti ("Cinderella Man") at SAG while both of them lost to George Clooney ("Syriana") at the Oscars.

While academy voters rewarded "Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee and screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana as well as composer Gustavo Santaolalla, they could not award this breakthrough film the best picture prize. How many of them were like Borgnine and didn't even watch it? 

Photo: Ernest Borgnine holds his best actor Oscar for "Marty" at the Academy Awards in 1956. Credit: AMPAS

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Chelsea Handler has been tapped to host the 27th annual edition of the MTV VMAs on Sept. 12. The tart-tongued comic has charmed viewers and guests with her irreverent style as host of "Chelsea Lately" on the E! network for the last three years. She made the announcement on Wednesday night's edition of the late-night talker.

Handler will be only the second woman to emcee these free-wheeling kudos single-handed. Handler's humor hews more closely to the flash of Bette Midler, who co-hosted the first MTV VMAs with Dan Aykroyd back in 1984, than the trash of Roseanne Barr, who was solo host a decade later.

Balmy Brit Russell Brand presided over the awards for the last two years. In 2008, he paired up with Britney Spears for a series of promos that brought 23 million viewers to the cumulative airings of the kudocast. Last year's festivities made news when Kanye West stormed the stage while Taylor Swift was accepting the best female video award to insist that Beyonce should have won.

West is back on the guest list this year, a fact that MTV referred to when making the announcement of Handler as host: "There were three important criteria that any candidate had to meet:

1. The candidate must be funny, engaging, and have great stage presence.
2. The candidate must be able to tell jokes so scandalous that they could actually cause someone's grandma to spontaneously catch fire.
3. The candidate must be able to take down Kanye in under 3 seconds if he starts rushing the stage to perpetrate a rehash of last year's tomfoolery."

At some point in the show -- which airs live on MTV from L.A.'s Nokia Theatre -- West will be allowed onstage to perform and/or present. Both West and Swift are nominees this year: he for his collaboration with Drake, Li'l Wayne and Eminem on the "Forever" hip-hop music video and she for best female video for "Fifteen." Lady Gaga leads with a record 13 nominations.

At 35, Handler knows she is not part of the usual MTV demographic. As the sassy wag said in a statement, "This has been a huge year for hip-hop and rap, and it is well-known that I have the closest ties with these communities musically and sexually. I am to rap and hippity-hop what Warren Buffet is to finance, minus the sex."

Photo: "Chelsea Lately" promotional poster. Credit: E! Network

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For a third year, the Grammys will unveil nominations during a primetime TV special on CBS.

This year's hourlong "Grammy Nominations Concert Live" will air live Dec. 1 at 10 p.m. Eastern time and via tape delay at 10 p.m. Pacific time. Interspersed with music performances, nominees will be announced in top categories: best album, record, song and new artist of the year.

Last year's show was telecast from Club Nokia in L.A. Live. It was hosted by LL Cool J and included performances by Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell and Sugarland.

"Nominations show ratings have been tepid to date," Variety reports. "The 2009 special drew an average of 6.37 million viewers, with a 2.3 rating and 6 share in adults 18-49. The first noms special in 2008 brought in 7.1 million and 2.4/6."

Photo credit: National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences

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The series premiere episode of "Glee" is so joyous and entertaining that I find it hard to believe that it won't win the Emmys for comedy writing and direction, but Chris "Boomer" Beachum and Rob Licuria (Awards Heaven) don't agree that it's a cinch in both races. Boomer puts it ahead for direction but not for writing. Rob puts it out front for writing but not directing.

BEST COMEDY DIRECTING: ROB'S PREDIX
1. "Glee" ("Wheels" directed by Paris Barclay)
2. "Modern Family" ("Pilot" directed by Jason Winer)
3. "Glee" ("Pilot" directed by Ryan Murphy)
4. "Nurse Jackie" ("Pilot" directed by Allen Coulter)
5. "30 Rock" ("I Do Do" directed by Don Scardino)

BEST COMEDY DIRECTING: BOOMER'S PREDIX
1. "Glee" ("Pilot" directed by Ryan Murphy)
2. "Modern Family" ("Pilot" directed by Jason Winer)
3. "Glee" ("Wheels" directed by Paris Barclay)
4. "Nurse Jackie" ("Pilot" directed by Allen Coulter)
5. "30 Rock" ("I Do Do" directed by Don Scardino)

BEST COMEDY WRITING: ROB'S PREDIX
1. "Glee" ("Pilot" written by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan)
2. "Modern Family" ("Pilot" written by Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd)
3. "30 Rock" ("Anna Howard Shaw Day" written by Matt Hubbard)
4. "The Office" ("Niagara" written by Greg Daniels, Mindy Kaling)
5. "30 Rock" ("Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" written by Kay Cannon, Tina Fey)

BEST COMEDY WRITING: BOOMER'S PREDIX
1. "Modern Family" ("Pilot" written by Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd)
2. "Glee" ("Pilot" written by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan)
3. "30 Rock" ("Anna Howard Shaw Day" written by Matt Hubbard)
4. "30 Rock" ("Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" written by Kay Cannon, Tina Fey)
5. "The Office" ("Niagara" written by Greg Daniels, Mindy Kaling)

Photo: pilot episode of "Glee." Credit: Fox

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While dishing the Emmy race for best drama series, Chris "Boomer" Beachum, Rob Licuria (Awards Heaven) and I discuss how different the voting system is compared with that of the acting categories. Understanding the process is essential to making an intelligent prediction.

Every year, about 300 members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences serve as judges of best drama or comedy series. They're asked to watch two sample episodes of the six nominees, and the question we pundits must ask is this: Do they really watch all 12 before checking off their ballots? (To see a full list of episode submissions, click here.)

We know that voters do watch all of the episodes when judging the acting races. Upsets happen in those categories all the time, and they're usually triggered by powerhouse episode submissions by the likes of Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") or Toni Collette ("United States of Tara"). But that's different. Only actors can judge fellow actors. They take their "craft" very seriously, which means they make a point of watching all episodes. However, judges only have to watch one episode per nominee in the acting races.

Asking voters to judge two episodes in the series contests may be too much. If so, upsets are probably far less likely because results reflect popular industry sentiment. If that's true, then which shows are ahead this year to win best drama and comedy series? Personally, I believe the battle over best drama series is among "Mad Men," "Lost" and "Dexter," and the comedy contest is a three-way race among "Modern Family," "30 Rock" and "Glee." Am I wrong to dismiss the hopes of "Breaking Bad" and "Nurse Jackie"?

After viewing this webcam, also see our discussions of these Emmy races: best supporting drama actor, supporting drama actress, supporting comedy actor, supporting comedy actress, the guest acting categories and best reality host.

Photo credit: AMC

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The record stands at nine. Which series won that many trophies in one annual haul? To see the answer, click on the "Continue Reading" link underneath the photos below.

The Emmys have announced a new batch of presenters who'll be doling out the gold on Aug. 29:

Will Arnett – Nominated for guest actor in a comedy series ("30 Rock") and star of the upcoming Fox series "Running Wilde."

Stephen Colbert – Nominated for variety series and writing ("The Colbert Report"),

Edie Falco – Nominated for lead actress in a comedy ("Nurse Jackie").

Tina Fey – Nominated for producing, writing and starring in "30 Rock" plus guest actress in a comedy ("Saturday Night Live")

Laurence Fishburne -  Star of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

The above join previously announced presenters Ricky Gervais, January Jones, Julianna Margulies, Matthew Morrison, John Krasinski and Sofia Vergara.

Photos: WireImage

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Last month I made the bold prediction that "American Idol" would finally win the Emmy for best reality competition program, based on viewing the episodes submitted to judges. At that point I thought Ryan Seacrest had a good chance to win for best reality host too because I assumed that he also submitted the season finale, in which he got lots of quality face time. Nope. Below is the list of actual submissions. Our Emmy guru Rob Licuria (AwardsHeaven) has viewed them all and thinks Jeff Probst will prevail as best host for a third year in a row, based on the strength of his "Survivor" entry. Rob says Ryan's eppy is good but that nothing can beat Jeff's powerhouse segment.

BEST REALITY HOST: EPISODE SUBMISSIONS
Tom Bergeron, "Dancing with the Stars" ("Episode 1001")
Phil Keoghan, "The Amazing Race" ("Nanna is Kicking Your Butt")
Heidi Klum, "Project Runway" ("Sew Much Pressure")
Jeff Probst, "Survivor" ("This is the Man Test")
Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol" ("Episode 930/931A")

Also watch our webcam discussions of these Emmy races: best supporting drama actor, supporting drama actress, supporting comedy actor, supporting comedy actress and the guest acting categories.

Many thanks to our forums moderator Matt Noble for pointing out this clip below from You Tube, which shows the "money scene" from Jeff Probst's Emmy episode submission.

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After viewing the trailer of "Love and Other Drugs" and weighing what he's heard from a spy who saw an advance screening, Oscarologist Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood-Elsehwere) says, "Anne Hathaway is a guaranteed lock for a best actress nomination. Honestly? I'm 60% convinced she's going to win."

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"I'm happy to be in the same barn with all these other cats," Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights") says in our podcast chat about being nominated for best drama actor at the Emmys opposite Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), Matthew Fox ("Lost"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), Jon Hamm ("Mad Men") and Hugh Laurie ("House"). "It makes me walk a few inches higher off the ground, believe me."

To listen to the audio of our podcast, click on the right-pointing arrow below.

Chandler is not merely in the company of prestigious rivals, he has a real chance to beat them. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly predicts Chandler will prevail, and Tucker may be right. Chandler picked a good episode of "Friday Night Lights" to give to Emmy judges — "East of Dillon," in which he has a powerful locker-room scene, bellowing to the high-school football team he coaches, "If you don't want to be here, get out of my house!" Actually, Chandler didn't really pick the episode himself, as he revealed in our podcast. "I let other people choose it because I couldn't go through the whole season and objectively try to pick something," he says. "I asked people who are respected and who are involved with the show.

"My strategy was to have no strategy," Chandler says in reference to his Emmy candidacy. Though he took a hands-off approach to episode selection, he nonetheless paid attention to the shrewd Emmy campaign run by DirecTV, which included sending all 14,000 members of the TV academy DVDs of the complete fourth season as NBC aired them just weeks before Emmy voting.

"I saw a lot of the material before it went out," he says. "I thought it was fantastic for that support. That's what it's all about. Standing behind the product. To go out there, do all that and pull it off, we've all got our hands in the air."

Photo: NBC / DirecTV

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In the current issue of Emmy Magazine, Courteney Cox addresses a sensitive subject -- how she feels about being the only cast member of "Friends" not nominated for an Emmy. She hasn't been nominated since either. Consolation prize: Cox just won the Gold Derby TV Award, bestowed by our forum posters, as best comedy actress for starring in "Cougar Town."

Photo: NBC

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