This is the strongest indication yet that "Milk" will nab an Oscar nomination for best picture. Producers Guild of America announced its five best picture nominations Monday. Their award often mirrors the Academy Awards final five. In addition to "Milk," the nominees are "The Dark Knight" "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "Milk" and "Slumdog Millionaire."

The nominees for best animated feature are "Bolt," "Kung Fu Panda" and "WALL-E."

Contenders for TV comedy are "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Entourage," "The Office, "30 Rock" and "Weeds." The TV drama nominees are "BostonLegal," "Damages," "Dexter," "Lost" and "Mad Men."

Winners will be announced at a Jan. 24 ceremony in Hollywood.

An expanded online version of The Advocate's current cover story has been posted on Advocate.com. It explores, in great detail, what a Barack Obama presidency could mean for the gay rights movement. The article asks: Now's the time for Barack Obama to start delivering on his promise of change. But will your most important issues be among his top priorities?

Here is the first part of the story with a link to the whole piece at the end...

On the evening of October 10, then-Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama attended a fund-raiser in Philadelphia for major gay donors at the city's Sheraton Hotel. According to the event's organizer, Equality Forum executive director Malcolm Lazin, the benefit was the only top-level LGBT donor event Obama attended during the general election campaign. Fittingly, Obama used that exclusive opportunity to make a dramatic announcement that, if not technically a promise, was nonetheless heartening as far as political pledges go.

"He anticipated that very early on both hate crimes and [the Employment Non-Discrimination Act] would pass," Lazin says. "Then he went further and said that he expected during his term[s], four or eight years, that 'don't ask, don't tell' and [the Defense of Marriage Act] would be repealed." At no other time in the campaign did Obama speak with such specificity about gay rights, nor has he or anyone in his administration made such detailed comments about his legislative agenda with respect to those issues since he won the presidency. But if Obama does indeed undertake the steps needed to accomplish the goals that Lazin says he outlined--and, more important, if he is successful in doing so--it would solidify his position in the pantheon of gay rights heroes.

Barack Obama was arguably the most pro-gay major-party presidential campaigner in American history. From his first national political address (the barnstorming keynote he delivered at the 2004 Democratic National Convention) up to his acceptance speech in Chicago's Grant Park, he repeatedly spoke of the struggles gay people face, explicitly linking them to the greater civil rights movements that have illuminated American history. So it's understandable that his election has left gay men and women feeling a bit giddy. And the fact that all this inclusive language is coming from a man who, as of January 20, will become the country's first black president makes the rhetoric all the more meaningful.

While everyone has discussed the transformative nature of a black president, few have pondered its possible effects on the gay populace--how a black president may move the country toward greater acceptance of other minorities, including gay people.

To read the rest,here is a link to Advocate.com...

It could be getting to the point where I feel like telling Melissa Etheridge to stick to singing. But, this is America and everyone is entitled to their opinion even when they don't square with the activist person we thought she was - the woman who coined the "throw us under the bus" line and threatened post-Prop 8 to not pay her taxes since she could no longer get married in California.

So Etheridge went on NPR again today and again defended Barack Obama's choice of homophobic pastor Rick Warren to say the innvocation at the inauguration. Towleroad.com has a nice transcript and audio link but the part where Melissa loses me is when interviewer Guy Raz played her the clip of Warren comparing homosexuality to polygamy and incest and in response Etheridge lamely says:

"Just because he [likens gay marriage to polygamy and incest] does not mean I have to not speak to him, or I don't want to ever be in his company. [...] We had a crazy experience at the Muslim Public Affairs Council Conference. They invited him, and me, not knowing that it would be such a dichotomy at the time. So we met. We spoke. [...] He said he was trying to make the definition of marriage not change -- not necessarily saying that gays are pedophiles or any of that stuff. One can draw whatever they want from that."

Egads. I've had enough.

Beloved "Bewitched" star Elizabeth Montgomery, 62 years old at the time, was dying of cancer in 1995 and the press was swarming. Although the daughter of actor Robert Montgomery was famous since birth, she was notoriously press shy and rarely did interviews.

She was also sensitive about her age.

"When she was born, it was in the Hollywood trade papers," publicist Howard Bragman told me in our recent interview about his new book "Where's My Fifteen Minutes?" "We all know how old she was and a lot of things about her life. But the last conversation I had with her was her saying, 'Howard, remember I'm 57 years old.' She wasn't exactly 57 but it was the last wish of a dying woman and I told the media 'She's 57.'"

Although "Bewitched" had been off the air since 1972, Montgomery had remained enormously popular despite the fact that she never did another TV series. What she did was set the template for so many actresses to follow doing was 1-2 movies for television each year. But Montgomery chose carefully and had Emmy-nominated turns in "A Case of Rape," "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" and "An Awakening Land." She was so good in all she did in movies like "Amos" opposite Kirk Douglas, "Dark Victory" opposite Anthony Hopkins and my very favorite as Pulitzer Prize winning crime reporter Edna Buchanan in "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face" and a follow-up film as Buchanan which would be her last.

But she will always be remembered best as Samantha Stephens, the beautiful witch married to a mortal for eight seasons on "Bewitched." For the first five years of the ABC sitcom, Dick York played the role of husband Darrin Stephens then was replaced by Dick Sargent who appeared in seasons six, seven and eight.

What audiences did not know then and until the early 90s, was that off-screen, Sargent was gay and in a committed relationship during the series. Bragman handled Sargent's PR when he finally came out as a gay man 20 years after the series had ended.

Remembers Bragman: "I got a call from a guy named David Smith who was head of PR at the \[LA\] Gay and Lesbian Center at that point. David said, 'Listen, we're all going to march in Sacramento and this week is National Coming Out Day and I have two people who are coming out: Sheila Khuel and Dick Sargent. Can you handle that?' We went to 'Entertainment Tonight' and we gave them Dick Sargent and Sheila Khuel and Dick was joking: 'I'm in my 60s, who's gonna care? I haven't been on TV in decades.' People did care. A lot of actors had not come out at that point and still, to this day, when an actor comes out it's big news. So, I helped him out of the closet and was there when he passed away."
Sargent died in 1994, the year before Montgomery. They had remained close friends since the show ended and Mongomery had accompanied Sargent at the Orange County Gay Pride Parade in 1992 when he was chosen as grand marshall. It thrilled crowds to see them together again.

That Bragman was their publicist at the end of their lives was somehow fitting: "What's ironic is I grew up in Flint, Mich. I knew nothing about show business other than watching TV," he said. "I was 14 and I came out to Los Angeles for my cousin's wedding and a friend of hers got my parents and I to the set of 'Bewitched' being filmed. It wasn't a studio audience show. They really got us in. The only celebrities I had ever met in my whole life until I moved out here were Dick Sargent and Elizabeth Montgomery. There's a certain karmac thing that I was friends with both of them and there for both of them when they died. It was kind of an amazing journey."

I hope Sean Penn has a good place to put all his acting trophies because by the time awards season is over, the Oscar winner for "Mystic River" is going to have a boatload including possibly a second Academy Award for best actor.

Over the weekend, Penn was given the the top honor from the National Society of Film Critics for his portrayal of slain gay activist Harvey Milk in "Milk." Penn has also earned best actor from the L.A. Film Critics Assn. and the New York Film Critics Circle. Well find out over the next six days whether he also wins the Critics' Choice Award and the Golden Globe. He's also been nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award.

I don't find myself at home at 7 p.m. most evenings but when I am, forget about catching "Entertainment Tonight" or checking out Mario Lopez on "Extra." Starting tonight on the Lifetime channel, reruns of the terrific comedy "How I Met Your Mother" start airing weeknights. The cast is first-rate and, of course, Neil Patrick Harris is a real stand-out as Barney. Below is a clip of some Barney-isms. Enjoy!

The gays love Diane Keaton best in "Baby Boom" and the absolute best in "First Wives Club" with Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn. But, of course, there is so much more to celebrate about the Oscar winner's film career as she turns 63 years old today.
There's the brilliant comic actress in "Annie Hall," "Baby Boom," "First Wives" and opposite Jack Nicholson in the glorious "Something's Gotta Give" (pictured, left) which earned Keaton the Golden Globe Award and her fourth Oscar nomination (She won in 1978 for "Annie Hall"). And then there also the first-rate dramatic actress who played Al Pacino's wife in the "Godfather" trilogy, the Oscar nominated performances in "Reds" and "Marvin's Room") and lesser-known gems including the dramas "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and "Shoot the Moon" and the wonderful comedy-mystery "Manhattan Murder Mystery" opposite Woody Allen.

Always interesting to watch in films, Keaton is often even more interesting as herself. I found this 2003 interview with Lesley Stahl really sums up her life and career well...

Isaiah Washington, who played Dr. Preston Burke on "Grey's Anatomy," was fired from the show in June 2007 amid tension that began when he used a gay slur to refer to co-star T.R. Knight and used the word again backstage at the Golden Globes after the show won best drama..

After signing on with Howard Bragman's Fifteen Minutes firm, Washington taped a few PSA messages for GLAAD and underwent executive counseling to deal with anger management. Then, ABC fired him anyway.

In part two of this series coinciding with the release of Bragman's new book "Where's My Fifteen Minutes," I talked to the publicist extraordinaire about why he, an openly gay man, would take on a man who seemed to be homophobic.

"I had reservations until I met him," Bragman admitted. "I did not know him but we had a lot of mutual friends. Before I took him on, I ascertained one thing: that he had made a mistake and he had lost his temper and he had said something in a moment. At his core, Isaiah is not a homophobe. He had played gay in Spike Lee's 'Get on the Bus.' He told me early on: 'Howard, I'm gonna tell you two things: I have more gay friends than you and I speak better Yiddish than you."

Bragman (pictured, left), still feels strongly that Washington got a raw deal.

"Isaiah made a mistake, he apologized numerous times for his mistake, he went to executive counseling for his mistake, we made a (public service announcement0 for GLAAD, he met with GLAAD. If you're in society and you make a mistake and you do all these things, you've built these bridges again. Then they go, 'Ha! Ha! You're still fired.' What happens to the next person who does something wrong? Is that the message we want to send to people? There's no redemption? I don't think that's the right thing. I think redemption is a good thing in our society."

"I believe that Isaiah is a wonderful actor and I believe that a hit TV show is like my grandmother's chicken soup recipe: don't screw with it! 'Grey's Anatomy," by removing Isaiah, you lose the romance with Sandra Oh romance and you lost Diahnn Carroll and Richard Roundtree who played his parents. You lost a really good, interesting compelling character and I think it hurt the show overall and I'm sad for that because I think it was one of the best shows on TV."

I figured Bragman must have taken some grief for repping Washington during this time, a controversial client who the gay community was furious with. I wondered why the heck he would even want to.

"I love a PR challenge," he said. "I represent a lot of people who have had crisises. Naomi Campbell to Ed McMahon to Mischa Barton to Monica Lewinsky. I did take a lot of grief. But the people who know me, my friends in the community, know that I didn't just do it for the money. It was about the idea of getting this man's story out there and getting the redemption that he deserved and positioning him as the incredible actor that I believe he is."

Hollywood A-lister Jennifer Aniston ("Marley & Me"), Adam Sandler ("Bedtime Stories"), Brad Pitt ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), Tom Cruise ("Valkyrie"), Will Smith ("Seven Pounds") and Jim Carrey ("Yes Man") are among those with top 10 movies over the holiday season - all with films in wide release playing in thousands of theaters.

Then there is the number 16 film for the weekend, "Milk," starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch and others. Still playing in just 309 locations in its sixth week of release, the Gus Van Sant-directed drama about the life of Harvey Milk grossed an estimated $1.9 million, a 5.5 percent increase from the weekend before.

The per-theater average of $6,019 is outstanding as the film ups its overall gross-to-date to $17.1 million.

I love this! Look at those groovy threads! It's Carol, Mike greg, Marcia, Peter, fake Jan, Bobby and Cindy doing singing and dancing. Fake Jan (Eve Plumb passed on the "Brady Bunch Variety Hour") is the best singer of the bunch (besides Florence Henderson, of course).

When someone like Howard Bragman - who has worked intimately with everyone from Frank Sinatra to O.J. Simpson to Monica Lewinsky to Martina Navratilova - decides to write a book, you just rub your hands together with anticipation.

That book, "Where's My Fifteen Minutes?" is just out and Bragman, often been referred to as the best publicist in the business, does do some dishing in a book that aims to be a how-to guide on managing your own public image.

"We live in a society where 10 years ago celebrities had public images," he said during our recent interview. "We live in a society where a lot of people have public images now - a reporter, a lawyer, an activist, a politician - by virtue of Google, by virtue of blogs, by virtue of Facebook, more people than ever have a public image."

"Even if you just read the book, you get a little insight into PR works. I wanted to empower the average person to work on their public image," he added. "For 100 years, Hollywood has been the Olympics of image management. I'm taking our skills, our secrets and our insights from more than two decades and I'm showing how they apply to somebody in daily life. It's tough out there. It's a very, very, very challenging economy. If you want to keep your job, if you want to get a new job, if you want to run for president of the PTA, whatever you want to do, you have to do it on a public image basis. As John Kerry can tell you, if you don't define yourself, somebody else is going to define you and you probably aren't going to be as happy about the way they define you as you would about the way you define yourself."

"I'm proud of the way it's written, it's an easy read, it's a fun read with some great Hollywood anecdotes in it. It's got red ,meat, okay?"

Okay, on to some of that red meat:

O.J. Simpson: "I was in Chicago and my client was a financial printer and they were doing a golf tournament. This was about 25 years ago and O.J. was at the height of his popularity. They flew O.J. in to be at this tournament."

Bragman prepped Simpson for a television interview and stressed the importance of mentioning the sponsor that had paid thousands of dollars to fly him in.
"He didn't do it and he started yelling at me: "They didn't ask me about that!' He was just arrogant and a grumpy, nasty man which was at odds with his public image at the time."
Monica Lewinsky: A few weeks after the scandal broke, Bragman was hired to help and gave Lewinsky some advice and prepared them for interviews.
"You talk about being in the eye of the storm, it was amazing. What I told Monica recently was, 'As bad as it was, can you imagine today with the blog, the paparazzi and the agressiveness that's out there?' I didn't think it was fair that this young lady, who had made a mistake, was having to pay this heavy, heavy price."

"There were a lot of people who wanted to pay her a lot of money to do a lot of unseamly things and it was really tempting. Monica chose dignity over dollars and I have nothing but dignity and respect for her to this day. She showed a shocking amount of courage."

Doug Savant:: Bragman repped Doug Savant in the early 90s when had landed the role of a gay man on "Melrose Place."

"Most actors, when they're straight playing a gay role, they seem to go out of their way to say, 'Yeah, I play gay but I'm really straight. Here's my wife and my kids'" Bragman said. "Doug (pictured with wife Laura Leighton) played a gay guy very convincingly on 'Melrose Place' and there was a lot of buzz about 'Is he really gay?' I think it's a tribute to his acting more than anything. He wouldn't address his personal life because he felt it was insulting and by pushing his hetersexuality, he was being disrespectful to the gay community and somehow making it lesser so we joke that we kept his heterosexuality in the closet."

Paula Abdul:: "How do I put this nicely? I have a lot of respect for Paula. I think she's a survivor. She became the most famous Laker Girl ever, she became one of the most famous choreographers ever, she was number one as a pop star and now she's on the number one TV show in the world. She's got something. But I think it would be fair to say Paula is high maintenance."

He and Abdul "mutually agreed" to end their relationship and she hired a new PR person a few years back and it made headlines.

"She had a conference call that got recorded on a phone answering machine and it was leaked to Page Six of the New York Post and in it, she was criticising me. She said I called her a crying, whiny (expletive).'"

I interrupted Bragman and asked: "Did you?"

He replied: "No. It was her translation. I told her if she didn't burst into tears every 15 minutes that we could probably get more done at our meetings."

When he was contacted by Page Six, Bragman initially didn't want to comment but decided that since he wouldn't let a client get away without a reponse, he said only: "I'll stand by my reputation if she stands by hers."

"She's a good person. She has a good heart at her core. I don't like to burn bridges because listen, Paula's probably got a fifth or a sixth life."

Later, he sent her an email which said, "I'm sorry the way this ended, I'm sorry the tape was leaked. It's a small town and we're going to see each other. Next time I see you out in public, I'll give you a hug and we'll be kind and we'll get beyond this."

This is the first of a four-part series continuing Sunday (about repping Isaiah Washington during the "Grey's Anatomy" controversy), Monday (about clients Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick Sargent) and Tuesday (on handling the coming out of John Amaechi and other athletes).

One of my favorite pleasures as a tennis fan was watching the world's top-ranked player - Spanish hearthrob Rafael Nadal - play in those sleeveless shirts. He's debuted a new look this week in kicking off the 2009 season. Nice look but those Popeye-like biceps are all covered up!

Not only did lovely Cynthia Nixon ride in the Rose Parade over the weekend with other breast cancer survivors, but she and girlfriend Christine Marinoni took their family to Disneyland! Looks like a fun time was had by all...

This is a doozy!!! So hapless Noah decides it's finally time for he and Luke to consumate their relationship after almost two years or so? Um, I'm not convinced Noah is even gay what with his Maddie and Ameera diversions. So long-suffering Luke gets drunk and starts making out with Brian. Sure, it's his grandmother's new husband and it is wrong in that sense. But who could blame him? Brian is an absolute babe.

You go Luke!

It's so rare that a star who is this gorgeous is also such a major talent. His curremt hit ABC show "Private Practice" has finally given him some small screen success but it doesn't give him the kind of showcase he deserves. Taye, who turns 38 today, is one of the original stars of "Rent" and returned for the movie version. The clip below is the film's opening number.

Thank God KTLA runs encore presentations of the Rose Parade all day yesterday because I was finally able to watch it Thursday evening while hanging out with family in the OC. First of all, how terrific that KTLA came to its senses and rehired the beloved Stephanie Edwards to co-host with Bob Eubanks. Her expertise, humor and chemistry with Eubanks had been sorely missed the past two years. She has a far bigger following than the station thought.

Also, the selection of Cloris Leachman as Grand Marshal was inspired! I know everyone has just "discovered" her since "Dancing With the Stars" but this Oscar winning actress is one of the greats. She's also very aware of her accomplishments. My niece and I sat next to Miss Leachman at the "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" premiere a few summers back and I mentioned to my niece in introducing them that she had won eight Emmys. Miss Leachman quickly cirrected me: "Actually, it's nine." But my favorite memory was gabbing with her saying that my friend Eddie and I love some of her lines from the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" especially the first episode of the series when her on-screen daughter, Bess, blurts out that Mary's ex-fiancee is in town.

Phyllis (the character Leachman won a few of her Emmys for) turns to Bess: 'That was mother's news Bess....that really was mother's news."

I did the whole bit before I could help myself and, thank God, Cloris was doubled over with laughter. It was so gratifying.

Anyway, to the famous gays in the parade: it was such a kick to see the great sax player Dave Koz on the first float playing and looking gorgeous. Then a little while later, there was diving legend Greg Louganis, the winner of four Olympic gold medals and a silver medal, on a swim club float that included an actual swimming pool!

And finally, the lovely and oh-so-talented Cynthia Nixon (pictured at the top of this post) riding on the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer float "Hope Grows," A breast cancer survivor, we know her best as Miranda on "Sex and the City." But Cynthia is also the winner of two Emmys and of a Tony Award. An amazing woman who despite living in New York, spoke out very strongly against California's Prop. 8 and did a wonderful interview with Joy Behar on "Larry King Live" after the election.

The Vera Bradley float featured an elaborate garden scene with Vera Bradley handbags popping from the flowers. It received the Director's Trophy for outstanding artistic merit in design and floral presentation.

Uh oh, I hope this isn't another Dakota Fanning moment for Kathy Griffin. Several years back, while co-hosting the E! channel pre-awards coverage (I think Golden Globes) and she asked some stars for their reaction that Dakota had checked into rehab. She was joking but got fired. Watch this from last night and see if you think she'll suffer the same fate on CNN!

If I told you I didn't have maybe one too many drinks last night, it would be a lie. But it was New Years Eve! I flitted around West Hollywood and spent most of the evening at Here Lounge at the Enchantment event with a winter wonderland theme . I had a VIP wristband so felt pretty special having access to the suites but vaguely remember at one point being turned away from this super VIP area. It bothered me, I think. It's not really clear because by that time, I had consumed several drinks poured by my favorite bartender who I'm pictured with below. He was so adorable and could not have been more sweet. I don't remember his name now but last night, I felt like we had become fast friends.

Anyway, Happy New Year everyone!

This past year has been a dream come true for a gay kid who used to just pour over Rona Barrett's magazines the second they came out. It's been so much fun to interview such a diverse list of celebs this year from showbiz legends to new discoveries and everything in between. I'm sure there is a massive game of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" that could be played with all of the people I've interviewed in 2009. Here is a user-friendly list to allow you to revisit some of those people. Just click on the name and enjoy!
Florence Henderson (pictured w/me)Ellen DeGeneres, Denis Leary, Bernadette Peters, Diane Keaton, Phylicia Rashad, Seth Myers, Rick Springfield, Alfre Woodard, Barry Manilow, Jay Leno, Lisa Ling, Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Kevin Spacey, Mitzi Gaynor, Katey Sagal, Lanie Kazan, Kathy Griffin, Elaine Stritch, Beatrice Arhtur, Susan Lucci, Phoebe Snow, Sherri Shepard, Cynthia Nixon, Joy Behar, Chad Allen, Val Kilmer, Margaret Cho, Robert Buckley, Jason Bateman, Tori Spelling, Kristen Scott Thomas, Harry Hamlin, Ryan Seacrest, Bill Maher,, Christian Vincent, , Rachel Griffiths, Doug Spreaman, Jensen Atwood, Rodney Chester, Darryl Stephens, JP Calderon, Gus Van Sant, Dakota Fanning, Eric McCormack, Jennie Garth, Tom Cavanaugh, Armie Hammer, Andrea Roth, Nick Adams, Ewan McGregor, Sharon Gless, Grant Show, Jennifer Beals, Lori Laughlin, Amy Brenneman, Mathew Modine, Charlie Hunnam, Kate Walsh, Angela Bassett, Ellen Burstyn, Gayle King, Jason O'Mara,, Neal McDonough, Molly Shannon, Victor Garber, William Hurt, Kyle Chandler, Donald Faison, Selma Blair, Wilson Cruz, Matthew Montgomery, Bryan Batt, Margot Kidder, Jane Lynch, Chris Diamantopoulos, Ted Danson, James Roday, Jackie Warner, Paula Poundstone, Jimmy Smits, Ace Young, Evan Handler, Van Hansis, David Duchovny, Tommy Tune and Carol Channing, Joey Fatone, TR Knight, Cameron Mathison, Joey Lawrence, Elizabeth Pena, Jean Smart, Patrick Duffy, Ross Mathews, Sharon Stone, Robert Gant, Tom Ford, Rufus Wainwright, Leslie Jordan, Christopher Gorham, Billy Baldwin, Luke Macfarlane and Matthew Rhys, Janet Jackson, Lee Pace, Brandon Routh, Jason Alexander, Neil Patrick Harris, David Spade, Ron Livingston, Julie Newmar, Lucie Arnaz, Rosie Perez, Joely Fisher, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Martina Navratilova, Sean Faris, Jared Leto, Brad Rowe, Tatum Channing, Ryan Phillippe, Steve Guttenberg, Donny Osmond, Audra McDonald, George Takei, Ruby Dee,Anthony Hopkins, Lorraine Bracco, Debra Messing, Kristen Chenoweth, Jon Hamm and Ricki Lake...

Since tonight is New Year's Eve, it's a good time to start thinking about our resolutions for 2009. I want to go green and drink fewer sodas, for starters. Since I'm making resolutions for myself, I thought I'd also help those in the show-biz community out and start a list for them:

** As the awards season kicks off next week with the Critics Choice Awards followed a few days later by the Golden Globes, can the interviewers on the red carpet do a little basic research and get past the Joan Rivers "Who are you wearing?" schtick. It is tired and turns the whole thing into a big advertisement for designers and jewel makers etc. It feels like I'm watching Home Shopping Network!

I loved what happened last year when someone asked Julie Christie whose pants she was wearing at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Christie's curt reply: "They're mine."

** Speaking of awards, it would be such a thrill to see Meryl Streep, so superb in "Doubt," finally win a long overdue third Academy Award. When she won the supporting actress Oscar in 1980 for "Kramer vs. Kramer" followed by a best actress win just three years later for "Sophie's Choice," Streep seemed destined to win several more. But it has not happened despite a record 14 nominations overall.

I just do not for one minute believe that Gwyneth Paltrow was better in "Shakespeare in Love" than Streep was the same year in "One True Thing." I also believe she should have won for "The Bridges of Madison County" although Susan Sarandon was a worthy winner for "Dead Man Walking."

** It might take a miracle but I wish for resolution between the Screen Actors Guild - working without a new contract since last June - and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

SAG, understandably, does not want to be screwed out of residuals for web programming the way they were on DVD profits in the past. But the stalemate and threats of a strike are hurting everyone and bitterly dividing the often fractious guild even deeper. It's no sure thing that SAG would have enough support among its won members to go on strike (a vote will take place in January) so I do hope a plan B is ready to go.

** Somehow, the wonderful but tragically unseen "12 Miles of Bad Road" rises from the dead after being cancelled by HBO before it aired a single episode. I've watched all of the episodes produced and believe me, with a cast that includes Lily Tomlin, Gary Cole, Mary Kay Place and Leslie Jordan, this show is a hoot and deserves to be aired.

I'm not sure what the business implications are but I'd like to see this show, created by the gifted writer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason ("Designing Women"), picked up by a cable channel like Lifetime or Oxygen, released on DVD or even streamed over the Internet. With all the garbage reality shows on TV, it's criminal that such a quality shown has not been seen.

** Those tacky weekly magazines we can't help but leaf through at the supermarket need to let Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie move on with their lives!

With Britney Spears now walking the straight and narrow and Lindsay Lohan mostly out of trouble, I realize there may be a dearth of sure-fire best-selling covers out there but c'mon! Most of the stuff is clearly untrue or blown way out of proportion.

I also have no use for the over-exposed and underwhelming Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag who would go to the opening of an envelope if cameras were there. Santa, even their good deeds like serving food to the needy seem like a shameless publicity stunt.

** And finally, even though the 2009 Emmy Awards are more than eight months away, the parties involved clearly need to get a head start on finding: a suitable host for the show honoring television's best.
Things were bad enough when Ryan Seacrest was solo host in 2007 but were made five times worse when last fall he was joined by reality show hosts Heidi Klum, Jeff Probst, Howie Mandel and Tom Bergeron. The quintet did not rehearse a thing which was obvious when they laid the biggest egg since the one Jonathan Winters emerged from on "Mork & Mindy" all those years ago.

Attention TV Academy: Try something radical and book a host with talent and charm like the Oscars have done with Hugh Jackman. I have some suggestions: the wildly popular Ellen DeGeneres if she'd do it or the very smart and funny Jon Stewart, Bill Maher or Joy Behar.

My favorite part of this is Kathy dissing on Lou Dobbs. Kathy and Anderson are such a great team! They should have their own morning show. Too bad they have such kick-ass day jobs...

Here is more of last night's Griffin-fest. She was also on with Larry King...