Joel Siegel

While 2001 proved a landmark year for computer-animated features--dominated, of course, by the blockbuster success of DreamWorks' "Shrek" and Pixar's "Monsters, Inc."--it also marked the 15th anniversary of Pixar, the company that started it all when it graduated from short-film obscurity to a commanding feature debut with "Toy Story."

William H. Ginsburg knows all about kissing babies and trying cases. He considers both to be glorious pursuits. He waxed rhapsodic three months ago as he recalled coddling his most famous client, Monica S. Lewinsky, as an infant. Perhaps a little too rhapsodic. "I was there at the beginning," began just one of many Ginsburg quotes that later came back to haunt him. "I kissed that little girl's inner thighs when she was six days old--I said, 'Look at those little poulkes.'

George Plimpton, the urbane and eclectic writer and editor who in wry books like "Paper Lion" described his experiences as an amateur player in professional sports, music and other specialized fields, died Thursday night. He was 76. A founding editor of the Paris Review literary magazine in 1953, Plimpton published and befriended many of the great writers of his day, including Ernest Hemingway, John Updike and Philip Roth.

If you have been reading movie reviews in newspapers and magazines the last few years, you are well aware the movies have gone to hell. The critics whose job it is to see 150-250 movies a year explain with painful regularity that a great percentage of the pictures coming out of Hollywood represent the shriveled imaginations and market-minded proficiencies of a generation of film school gnomes and moral pygmies.

General Categories * Record of the Year: "I Will Always Love You," Whitney Houston (David Foster, producer). * Album of the Year: "The Bodyguard" soundtrack, Whitney Houston (David Foster, Narada Michael Walden, L.A. Reid, Babyface, Whitney Houston and BeBe Winans, producers). * Song of the Year: "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)," Alan Menken and Tim Rice, songwriters (Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle, artists). * Best New Artist: Toni Braxton.

The Writers Guild of America has released its nominations for its 2013 awards. On the TV front, HBO's freshman series "Girls" made its debut with two nominations -- one for best new series and one for best comedy. Cable series shut out broadcast shows in the drama categories, while broadcast laffers dominate the comedy categories. The winners will be announced Feb. 17 at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. Here's a full list of nominees: TELEVISION NOMINEES DRAMA SERIES "Boardwalk Empire," written by Dave Flebotte, Diane Frolov, Chris Haddock, Rolin Jones, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Andrew Schneider, David Stenn, Terence Winter; HBO "Breaking Bad," written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC "Game of Thrones," written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, George R. R. Martin, Vanessa Taylor, D.B. Weiss; HBO "Homeland," written by Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Meredith Stiehm; Showtime "Mad Men," written by Lisa Albert, Semi Chellas, Jason Grote, Jonathan Igla, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Janet Leahy, Victor Levin, Erin Levy, Frank Pierson, Michael Saltzman, Tom Smuts, Matthew Weiner; AMC COMEDY SERIES "30 Rock," written by Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Luke Del Tredici, Tina Fey, Lauren Gurganous, Matt...

"An explosive warp speed 10 . . . Sheer fun and excitement . . . The wildest galaxy ride of 'em all." After Susan Granger of cable channel American Movie Classics gushed for "Star Trek: Generations," it's no wonder Paramount Pictures splashed that praise across ads for the film. Never mind that Granger had a cameo in the 1994 movie (she says it ended up on the cutting room floor) or that her son is a senior Paramount executive.

"I'm not so sure there are any important film critics left in America," said the studio marketing executive. "Once you get past Siskel and Ebert, it's a short list. And if there are any others, you can bet they're almost all on TV." Is it time to say goodby to the once-prestigious role of the "important" film critic who pontificates for a living? Is TV killing film criticism? Just look at an obvious indicator--the movie ads.

It's impossible to deem the passing of any influential arts, entertainment or pop culture figure more "important" than that of another. It is possible, however, to observe that two performers who died in 2007 managed to transcend the traditional boundaries between art and entertainment like no others: opera's beloved Italian tenor and American soprano, Luciano Pavarotti and Beverly Sills.

"For three weeks you are the most powerful person in the town. But don't worry," counseled Allan Carr, who is producing the 61st Academy Awards show. "I'm not turning into Little Caesar." The producer ("Grease") is living out a childhood fantasy-- he's producing the Oscars !--and mostly he's behaving himself. So are the people around him. Very little ranting and raving. Even the "crankies," the Hollywood veterans who see everything through jaded eyes, are stunned. Such synchronicity!