Notes On The Season: Parties, Q&As, Nominations, Screenings, And The Holiday Spirit Ignites The Oscar Race; Plus ‘The Color Purple’s’ Blitz

deadline.com:

A column chronicling events and conversations on the awards circuit. As the town takes off for the holidays and comes to a virtual standstill, the Oscar race roars on as eagle-eyed pundits continue to fanatically parse yesterday’s release of the shortlist in 10 categories (3 of them shorts) that could, I said could, give clues as to the ways the Oscar winds are blowing towards the start of nomination voting on January 11.

Meanwhile the level of Q&As , talk show appearances, various honors announcements coming almost daily from the Palm Springs and Santa Barbara Film Festival, nominations from Golden Globes and Critics Choice, plus invites to parties have kept us hopping ever since the SAG strike ended and actors could once again do what they do best – talk about themselves.

By the way yesterday they announced Jo Koy as the Globes host and that follows the announcement of Chelsea Handler returning as host of the Critics Choice Awards.

The pair broke up last year, very amicably, so do you think they may be trading monologue ideas back and forth anyway? MUSICAL LEGENDS GET THEIR DUE Last night members of the music branch were in a festive mood turning out in force at Skirball Center for the annual Holiday dinner thrown by the Society Of Composers And Lyricists (SCL), an event that inducted the late legendary musical maestros Leonard Bernstein and Pete Carpenter into the Hall Of Fame, and honored the still-living film composer Laurence Rosenthal with their Life Achievement Award.