By Lee Pfeiffer

A.M.P.A.S. is back to toying with the rules governing the nominations in the Best Song category. The fact of the matter is that the Academy has been tone deaf when it comes to honoring appropriate songs in recent years - but then there have been slim pickins in terms of what members had to choose from. Last year, there actually were some good songs - Bruce Springsteen's title theme from The Wrestler and Jamie Cullum and Clint Eastwood's song from Gran Torino - but astonishingly, neither even got nominated. The dearth of good songs from major films renders the Best Song category basically meaningless. Trying to choose the "Best Song" is like trying to decide which member of the Iran Supreme Council is the funniest. Variety's Jon Burlingame reports that this year, the Academy is introducing yet another change in rules that require songs to achieve a certain number of points before being considered for nomination. The result may be a situation in which there may actually be no qualifying nominees. To read click here

Robert Downey Jr, who plays the title role in the new Sherlock Holmes film, seems to be on a one-man crusade to thwart the studio's attempts to brand the legendary detective as a modern action hero. Downey keeps making jocular remarks in interviews alluding to the fact that Holmes and Watson may be more than friends. He points out that the two characters even share a bed. Such behavior was not seen as overtly gay in Victorian times and the Holmes/Watson relationship has generally avoided being branded as such. However, Downey seems intent on stirring the pot concerning director Guy Ritchie's determination to make Holmes a man of action, as adept with his fists as he is with his mind. Huffington Post writer Rob Shuter speculates that the studio publicity department thinks such inferences can do damage to the film's box-office appeal, which is aimed at young males. The fear is that, if the perception is that this is a Victorian love story between two men, it may diminish the lure for action-oriented audiences. Click here for more.

Screen writer Dan O'Bannon has died at age 63 following a decades long battle with Crohn's Disease. He specialized in science fiction and penned the screenplays for the blockbuster hits Alien and Total Recall. Other credits include Blue Thunder, Heavy Metal and Lifeforce. For more click here