Baby's got a brand new SAG

At the SAG Awards on Sunday, most everything went as expected. No Country for Old Men continued its pre-Oscar dominance by capturing the Best Ensemble award, Daniel Day-Lewis and Julie Christie nabbed leading honors, and No Country's villan Javier Bardem collected yet another trophy, thanking the Coen Brothers for choosing takes "where I didn't suck."

Yet in the Supporting Actress race, where up until now the race seemed to be between Critics' darling Amy Ryan and Golden Globe winner Cate Blanchett, Ruby Dee pulled off a stunner. Her performance in American Gangster didn't even last five minutes, but left such an impression that she's clearly got her guild buzzing. This makes the Supporting Actress Oscar race a lot more interesting.

On the TV side, I was pleased by 30 Rock's wins for Tina Fey and the absent Alec Baldwin. Fey's speech, in which she compared Baldwin to Fred Astaire and herself to a hat rack, was charming in its honesty.

The Oscars will (probably) go on, and this was a good example to follow - a straight-forward show with minimal schtick. The In Memorium montage was moving, as usual, and highlighted lesser-known actors, such as Lois Nettleton, whom I didn't even know had passed away. One sticking point: could it be more obvious Heath Ledger's inclusion in that tribute was tacked on hastily?

The List is Out

Hey, kids.

The Oscar nominations are out. Check 'em out here: http://www.oscar.com/

Any surprises? A few. Tommy Lee Jones broke through the depressing-war-movie curse with a Lead Actor nomination for In the Valley of Elah. And Laura Linney, an academy fave (though not as much as The Emmys... yowza) notched a nod for The Savages. Her co-star, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, took solace with a Supporting Actor nomination for Charlie Wilson's War. And Cate Blanchett? Wow. She's a part of three records. She's the second woman nominated for playing a man; she's the first woman nominated twice for the same role; and she's the 11th person nominated for both lead and supporting performances in the same year. Damn.

Who was snubbed? Angelina Jolie from A Mighty Heart, and pretty much everyone from Into the Wild except Hal Holbrook. Anything shocking? Not really.

I will give no hints on front-runners, since I am the head of an Oscar Pool five years in the running. But I will say this: feel free to check out http://theenvelope.latimes.com/ - from awards veteran commentator Tom O'Neil, which has constant updates on who's ahead and who's obsolete.

Happy Oscar season, everyone... I'm sure the show will go on, no matter what happens with the writers. Just hope it's not as awful as the Golden Globes.

RIP, Emily Hartley

Heath Ledger's death was shocking and tragic.

But I'm just as sad to hear that Suzanne Pleshette died.

She had a varied movie career, including an immortal role as Annie the school teacher in Alfred Hitchock's The Birds. But Pleshette will be forever known as Bob Newhart's smart, sarcastic, sexy wife Emily on The Bob Newhart Show.

From 1972-78, Pleshette played straight woman to even straighter Bob. Where Bob stammered on the phone and lovingly discussed patients, Emily was there with a hot meal (when she wasn't busy with school or her active social life) and witty commentary. It was a marriage that was believable and funny, and Newhart would have drowned in his own droll schtick without someone talented to play off of.

In later years, Pleshette also voiced the monstrous Yubaba in the English-language version of the Japanese animated film Spirited Away, winning rave reviews. It was a far cry from the warmth she exhibited as Emily - the happy energy she gave week after week in her iconic role.

The Globes Must Go On... Or Not

Hello again.

Well, the writers' strike goes on. And on. And on. With no apparent end in sight, it seems. I was encouraged when Dave Letterman's production company struck a deal that allowed his show to return to the air with his writing staff intact. Tom Cruise's production company, meanwhile, struck a deal with the WGA to begin work on Tommy Boy's new movie.

But that's about the extent of it. The question is: are the Oscars next on the writers' hit list? I don't blame the writers for what they're doing; on the other hand, they're preventing people in Hollywood, including themselves, from getting recognition. And they're depriving viewers, at least those who care, from watching it all happen.

My guess is, whatever happens with the strike, the Oscars will go on in some way. Either a deal will be struck to allow actors to cross picket lines, or there will be a show full of clips or retrospectives. At least that way I can still have a party.