In his most recent (12.27) Oscar prediction column, THR’s Scott Feinberg has capitulated to the advancing Macedonian army of Paul Giamatti, star of The Holdovers, and in so doing has merged with the advocacy campaigns of Awards Daily’s Sasha Stone and N.Y. Times columnist Kyle Buchanan.

The whole “you can’t penalize Donald Trump because he hasn’t been convicted of insurrection” argument is a dodge based upon ignorance.

The “leave the animal alone” argument is based upon a mistaken understanding that blocking him from appearing on primary ballots in Colorado and Maine is punitive — an unfair punishment, his defenders believe, because Trump hasn’t been found guilty of insurrection in a court of law.

In fact section 3 of the 14th amendment is not about bitch-slapping an alleged insurrectionist but defending the workings of government from what judges may believe to be potential malignancy.

Leading section 3 scholar Mark Graber (University of Maryland school of law) says the amendment is about “qualification for office, not a punishment for a criminal offense.”

— from a 12.26 Guardian essay by Sidney Blumenthal. The subhead reads, “The [Supreme Court] can only rescue Trump by shredding originalism and textualism. Will it?”

The great Tom Wilkinson has passed at age 75. Hugs and condolences. For me Wilkinson’s two finest performances were the ones that resulted in Oscar noms — the grief-plagued small-town doctor in Todd Field‘s In The Bedroom (’01) and the brilliant, emotionally unstable attorney in Tony Gilroy‘s Michael Clayton (’07).

I’ve watched these two films repeatedly, year after year, and Wilkinson’s work has always been a central motivation. The performances are poles apart emotionally, and yet equally fascinating. I’m thinking about watching Clayton again tonight for tribute’s sake. I just re-watched Bedroom three or four weeks ago — I need some time off in that resepct.

Wilkinson won a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award for his performance in The Full Monty (’97). Honestly? I’ve never seen it because I’m afraid of middle-aged wangs bouncing around.

I’m just sorry that Wilkinson participated in historical fabrication by playing President Lyndon Johnson in Ava DuVernay‘s Selma (’14). Not by his own design, but still. The film fantasized that LBJ tried to pressure Martin Luther King into backing off on the 1965 Voting Rights Act with audio tapes of King’s hotel room indiscretions, which LBJ allegedly ordered J.Edgar Hoover to assemble. Complete bullshit.

Wilkinson was first-rate in In the Name of the Father (’93), Sense and Sensibility (’95), Shakespeare in Love (’98), The Patriot (’00), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (’04), Batman Begins (’05), Valkyrie (’08) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (’14).

Wilkinson won both a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Film for playing Benjamin Franklin in the HBO’s John Adams (2008).