Hello Fans,

I've been MIA from my blog for a while now. But now,  with all  this time at home during the Corona Virus Pandemic, I thought maybe I'd do a little blogging again. For now, I'll start with a video song I made to inspire during this weird and difficult time!!

**This video is dedicated to all of the Front Line Workers who risk their lives every day & fight to keep us all safe and well. 

THANK YOU !!

It's Awards Season and we all want to know who's who: Who wins and who are the decision makers in this magical world of the movies.

This year it all started on January 8th with the People's Choice Awards, in which the nominees and winners are voted on by "the people," and they can vote as many times as they want! Sandra Bullock was the big winner this year, walking away with 4 awards -- I wonder how she ran that campaign?

But the People's Choice is just a warm up for the drunk fest of the year, the Golden Globes, which was aired on January 12th. Winning Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, American Hustle was the biggest winner here, getting a total of 3 awards including: Amy Adams' Best Actress and Jennifer Lawrence's Best Supporting Awards.

Golden Globe nominees and winners are determined by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association -- but who exactly is that?

According to my sources, the HFPA is a small but powerful group of international journalists based in Southern California. What? Southern California, is that a foreign land? Well, in a way it is. If you've spent any time there, you know what I mean. Anyway, there are only 90 HFPA members. Their non-profit task is to disseminate information about movies and television to the entire world. Really? Wow!

So, it is these powerful few who ultimately decide on the winners. Winning actors thank them very much, because everyone knows that getting a nod at the Golden Globes can determine who is nominated for an Oscar....

If you'd like to be one of these powerful players in the world of movies, you can apply for membership during February and March. Click here for the HFPA New Member Rules and Instructions.

Following up after the Globes, on January 18th the SAG Awards (or the Naked Actor Awards) created quite a buzz with Dallas Buyers Club, Breaking Bad, and Modern Family actors receiving the most SAG Awards this year.

I love these awards, not only because they are naked, but because all SAG (now SAG-AFTRA) members can vote on the actors that they felt did the best in their respective categories. As a SAG-AFTRA member myself, I get to participate in choosing the winners from the nominees. But how are they nominated in the first place.....? That's the question!

Well, SAG Awards nominees are determined by a smaller group of SAG-AFTRA members who are randomly selected threw a drawing in April of the paid-up members. Those chosen become The Screen Actors Awards Theatrical Motion Picture and Television Nominating Committees. Each committee is made up of 2200 members who review the "For Your Consideration" films and television shows for nominations.

Winning a SAG award is, in my estimation, one of the best indicators of your craft since actors know when acting is real, and we can be our own harshest judges.

BUT the truth is, all of these awards pale in comparison to the press and popularity that comes with winning an Oscar. But we have to wait...the Academy Awards are not aired until March 2nd this year, though the nominees are out now.

Oscar nominees and winners are determined by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which contains roughly 6,000 voting members. The Academy is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. In order to become a member you must qualify. FIRST, you must be a film artist or crafts-person working in one or more of the sixteen art form's key creative areas (Acting, Directing, Music, Sound, Design, Costume Design, etc.), AND SECOND, your work must represent an unusually high level of quality and distinction....whatever that means.

Nominations for the Oscars are chosen from qualified submissions, and all voting (for both nominees and winners) is done by secret ballots, which are tabulated by a firm of certified public accountants designated by the Academy President. This is why no one knows who the winners are until the envelope is opened on the night of the Awards Ceremony. And almost no one knew, until now, that the very first Oscars awarded were made of chocolate*, now they are made of solid gold.

So, there you have it.

* The statement about the first Oscars awards being made of chocolate may be completely made up, but you can get Chocolate Oscars to present to the winners at your personal Oscar Awards party.

Enjoy Awards Season 2014!! And don't miss the Oscars on March 2nd, 2014.

I watched the Emmy's tonight because I love TV Shows (and of course movies and webcasts). It is my business. And what a business it is! But my true love is Musicals so this Emmy Show was great fun for me. Below I've selected the best moments, and my personal picks as winners for you're entertainment.

And the Emmy winner is: Neil Patrick Harris for Best Musical Awards Show!!

Push play here to view video if you cannot view it on your device.

And just when you think the music has ended he adds a musical dance number for and by the nominees for Best Choreography....

Push play here to view video if you cannot view it on your device.

Best acceptance speech: Merritt Wever

Push play here to view video if you cannot view it on your device.

Now you've seen all the best parts of the show!!  

I voted, as all of us SAG members did, for the 19th Annual SAG Awards, aired tonight. I've listed the nominees below my words of wisdom.

Most of the ones I picked, as you can see, didn't win. Just 2 of the total 15 winners, and none were individual actors. Oh well!

Still, I'm more than pleased for the lifetime achievement award went to Dick Van Dyke. I would have definitely picked him. He rocks! He's still handsome, and in great shape at....I don't know what age (kinda like me). I love that he said that we (actresses/actors) have found a business where we never have to grow up--which is why I love it!! I'm never going to grow up!

Best Speech goes to: Jennifer Lawrence talking about the naked statue, who doesn't love that the SAG Award is exactly that! Plus, she was so gracious with her genuine gratitude to her acting colleges, who she's always wanted in the company of, "and some of you actually voted for me."

Although it was a very exciting night, I must admit that I was disappointed with some of the nominations, and discouraged that there were some very important and talented people left out.....which I suppose is always the case.

But there was one sheer talent that wasn't nominted, and cannot figure out why. Was he overlooked because he's a kid? Is it because they couldn't decide if he belonged in the Best Lead Actor or Best Supporting Actor category? I'm not sure, I only know that the best performance by any actor that I saw this year was by Tom Holland, the14-year-old child who played Lucas in the movie THE IMPOSSIBLE. If you haven't seen it, you must. He's amazing, and should have been nominated. The movie itself is beautiful, and horrific, and moving. It has everything we expect when we want to be swept away in a story...pun intended.

Anyway, maybe next year more of those deserving will be nominated, and maybe I'll pick more winners.

In the meantime, congrats to all the winners, nominees and other actors that have not yet been recognized by such accolades. All your hard work and talent is much appreciated by everyone -- actors, actresses and consumers of entertainment. Thank you!

AND the winners are . . . (the winners are in Green....my picks are in Red, of course).

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Supporting Role
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Rober De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Comedy Series
Alec Balwdin, 30 Rock
Ty Burrell, Modern Family 
Louis CK, Louie
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Comedy Series
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Comedy Series
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie
The Office

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Television Movie Or Miniseries
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Charlotte Rampling, Restless
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals
Alfre Woodard, Steel Magnolias

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Television Movie Or Miniseries
Kevin Costner, Hatfields and McCoys
Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Ed Harris, Game Change
Clive Owen, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Bill Paxton, Hatfields and McCoys

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Drama Series
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Drama Series
Steve Buscemei, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Homeland
Mad Men

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Denzel Washington, Flight

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Motion Picture
The Amazing Spiderman
The Bourne Legacy
The Dark Knight Rises
Les Miserables
Skyfall

Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Television Series
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
 Game of Thrones
Sons of Anarchy
The walking dead

I really enjoyed the Oscars this year...mostly because Billy Crystal is a phenomenal host! It's his ninth time doing it, and he most definitely wins for the lifetime achievement of Best Oscar Host Ever!

Watch the opening film portion for the 84th Oscar Awards. It only got better from here...

Indeed, my favorite line from his opening monologue was, "Nothing takes the sting out of a recession like watching millionaires present each other with gold statues." It's funny because it's true!!

Thanks Billy for making the Oscars shine! In honor of you're great work, I'm awarding you with your very own Oscar from me!!

He's hard to give up...but you, Billy, deserve him more than I do this time!

Back in March, I wrote a review encouraging those who could to see "Cool Blues," a play written by Bill Harris about alto saxophonist Charlie Parker in 1955, to go see it. Produced at The New Federal Theatre in New York City, the most moving aspect of this play for me was watching Jay Ward's performance as Kid Welpool. 

Apparently, I'm not the only one who noticed his talent. On Enchanted Tickets Review of "Cool Blues," Jay Ward was noted for his skillful rendition of an addict settling into madness. I'm please to let you know that his performance has now earned him a well deserved nomination for Best Supporting Actor by the AUDELCO Award.

AUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by the late Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in New York Afican American Theatre through presentation of Vivan Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards (aka Viv awards). The awards were created to promote "recognition, understanding and awareness of the arts in the African-American community".

Congratulations Jay Ward!

For her outstanding performance playing a gay man trapped in a woman's body, Red wins the Academy Award for the Best!

Watch this video slide-show of her accepting her award (also pictured on Red's carpet and backstage, kissing her new boyfriend - Oscar).

She'd like to thank her attorney, because she always promised she'd mention him when she won. She also says a special thanks to the Gays, who inspired her performance. Especially, her gay William for all he's done to let everyone know of her talents.

And, of course, she thanks the Academy and all those that support gay marriage.

kisses...Red

THE GOLDEN BRAD AWARDS was formed to discover and promote new writing talent, in order to make Hollywood more accessible. They connect writers with producers, literary managers and agents. Their focus is finding and promoting producible, winning screenplays and getting that material to companies who have the power and connections to make something happen. 

Because I wanted to -  and because I was inspired by true events - I wrote the feature-length screenplay called NOTHING TO LOSE. This past month THE GOLDE BRAD AWARDS (Movie Script Competition) recognized my efforts and awarded my screenplay, "NOTHING TO LOSE", the honer of being one of the Top Drama Scripts for 2010. 

"NOTHING TO LOSE" is a story of transformation. Trials can become triumphs if we keep an open mind to the opportunities that life puts in front of us. And since I believe in life without limits, this subject matter seemed especially suited for me to write on...may it be produced into a film someday soon!! 

Script synopsis: 
When successful psychotherapist, and loving step-mother, Robin Wilson's husband announces that he is in love with another woman, Robin's life is thrown into a tailspin. Faced with the truth about her marriage, instead of feeling sorry for herself Robin decides to re-invent herself, moving to New York City with the intention of making it as an actress. A fish out of water, Robin encounters many challenges along the way as she struggles to create a new life for herself far from the comfort of her suburban existence. "NOTHING TO LOSE" proves that it is never to late to make your dreams come true. 

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