• With fans already camped out awaiting its Friday opening, New Moon, the latest installment in the Twilight cycle, has already broken its first record, becoming the all-time leader in advance ticket sales, according the Fandango's rankings. The ticket seller reports that a full 86 percent of its sales over the past week were for New Moon. The US government has advised all citizens to prepare a safe room in their homes that will be kept free of all media, warning the incoming vampire tsunami over the next week will overrun every available crevice of television, newspapers, magazines, internet and human speech, flooding the populace with a deluge Twilight propaganda. [Deadline]

• Use whatever big bang metaphor you like, 2012 did that at the box office this weekend, hauling in $225 million worldwide. Precious also impressed on a much smaller scale, taking the number four slot with $6.1 million while running on only 174 screens. The weekend also gave some hope to Disney's promise that A Christmas Carol would prove to have legs through the holiday season despite its tepid opening. Carol dropped off a mere 26 percent from its opening weekend. [Variety]

• The Academy of Motion Pics met in a low-key, old fashioned, just-among-friends ceremony to give out its special awards off-camera this year. Special Oscars were handed to Lauren Bacall, cinematographer Gordon Willis and producers Roger Corman and John Calley. The evening was full of low-key speeches and tableside toasts to the honorees. Warren Beatty heralded the wonder of attending an Oscar event where "Nobody's worried whether 36.9 million people are watching us, or 29.2 million." The off-camera nature of the event apparently inspired the stars to their most-long winded heights. Time it took to hand out four awards: three and a half hours. [NY Times]

• Variety chronicles the keeping the trains running resigned mood at MGM as the company waits to be auctioned off and wonders whether it will continue to be a standalone studio. While the wait goes on, development work continues on The Hobbit, James Bond 23 and a Poltergeist reboot. Audiences will rejoice at the news that the studio is guaranteeing it will release the already completed Red Dawn, Hot Tub Time Machine and a 3D retelling of Cabin in the Woods. [Variety]

• Mediaweek reports on "Growing Pains at Hulu." The portal is apparently demonstrating why joint ventures in show biz are fraught propositions as conflicts have been springing up between the ABC, NBC and Fox staffs whose companies co-founed the site. [MediaWeek]

We were actually kind of stunned to read that Ruby Dee, an Oscar nominee this year for American Gangster, was not yet a member; other invited actors include Josh Brolin, Allison Janney and Ray Winstone. Directors Gore Verbinski, Kimberly Peirce and Walter Salles received nods alongside '07 Oscar screenwriting alums Tamara Jenkins (The Savages) and Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl). Variety notes that the invitations are merely that, and that official inductions for those who accept (most do, though some decline, forget to reply in time or, on rare occasions, accidentally throw the letter out with the Crate and Barrel catalog) will follow upon acceptance.

Congratulations to the invitees, and may the traditional Bruce Vilanch Inductee Roast be painless for all!

• AMPAS invites 105 to join its ranks [Variety]

Var reports that the Academy has officially demanded the immediate removal of all unauthorized clips from Sunday night's Oscars telecast from the YouTubes, dealing a severe blow to modern-dance fans wishing to experience Pilobolus' kinetic, silhouetted interpretations of popular films over and over again. The purge has already claimed the racy footage of Clint Eastwood's wife's now-infamous crotch-swipe, and we suspect it won't be long before the joint YouTube/AMPAS copyright task force removes the historical record of our new favorite Oscar moment: when triumphant Best Foreign Language Film director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck taunts vanquished frontrunner Guillermo del Toro by wiping his hindquarters upon the back of the Pan's Labyrinth also-ran's head.

• Academy threatens YouTube [Variety]
• Guillermo del Toro's Sorrow [Hurty Elbow]

"Mr. Yari's legal representatives have indicated his intention to continue pressing his cause at a higher level," he wrote, referring to the case as a "petulant, nonsensical lawsuit." "So we assume that we can look forward to spending many additional thousands of dollars pointlessly a year or so down the road."

As a matter of course, Hollywood generally sublimates conflict beneath a patina of glitter and avoidance, but Mr. Davis sent a message in breathtakingly direct fashion. "We are not in any sense a vindictive organization," his note continues, "but neither are we schmucks: please let Mr. Yari know that for the next half-dozen years or so, unless he personally is a nominee, his Oscar night plans should not include the Governors Ball."

To make sure that his warning is heeded by those who might think to challenge the Academy's credit decisions with future petulant and nonsensical legal actions, Davis will renew his threats at this year's Governors Ball gala, briefly interrupting the festivities to announce over the public address system, "Good evening, Friends of Oscar! Are you enjoying our delicious food? Take a minute to savor what you're chewing. If you ever—EVER—try to make us look like schmucks, that will be the last fucking mouthful of our free sushi you ever taste. Enjoy the rest of your evening!"

• Deciding Eligibility for Oscar [NY Times]

During this holiday season, Defamer is committed to giving a voice to readers wishing to blow the whistle on the mirth-killing party practices of their employers, whose exclusionary invitation policies, Scroogey alcohol-consumption-throttling mechanisms, or other generalized Grinchery threaten to make staffers forget what end-of-year events are all about: getting drunk enough to forget the pain of the past 12 months (and, hopefully, to have an ill-advised, spiked-eggnog-fueled tryst with a co-worker in a darkened hallway). An anonymous AMPAS worker files this report about the Academy's upcoming Christmas bash:

First let me say, I wish I could use my real name but I have to pay my rent.

Here's the down low on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Christmas Party. The whole point of any work-related party is to mix and mingle with people you work with but don't know or see very often. Also to hopefully let all employees know they are appreciated.

The story begins with last Christmas, when "the mgmt" decided that not all were welcome at our annual holiday fiesta. Yes, it's true. They decided to only invite full time employees. Despite the fact that many of our part time employees had worked for us for many years and several "new" full time employees had been there for a few months, part-timers were excluded.

So, invitations were sent to the "chosen ones" for the Christmas party. Many complained but mgmt didn't listen and continued the policy through out the year. (There are three annual parties for the Staff, a we-all-survived-the-show party in April at the Pickford Center, a barbeque at the Fairbanks Center in August and the Christmas party traditionally held in the Goldwyn lobby.) So, at the Pickford Party part-time employees working in the building were not invited to a party taking place "for employees" in their own lobby. Same for the other two. Such Class.

The "official" claim was we had gotten so big there wasn't enough room in the Goldwyn lobby for all of us. (Complete lies of course, because I've seen twice the number of current employees packed into the Goldwyn lobby for a reception before an Academy event. Also, the party is always held at the latest possible date to keep the numbers low. Cheap bastards.) Despite the fact that according to an LA Times article, we are sitting on a $140 million, and could easily afford to rent somewhere with enough room for all employees, they proceeded with the plan.

Also, despite the non-cash flow problem, they continue to give out $100 or $200 bucks as a Christmas bonus to the "chosen ones." It's the same dollar amount they've given out for the past several years. It never goes up.

The best part is the food at the Christmas party is gourmet and there is an open bar. Aside from the tiny "bonuses" they give out discarded, left over merchandise from the show, usually something with the ABC logo all over it, and other assorted crap they clear out of storage.Then employees who have slaved away for 10, 15 or even 20 years are given 'honorable mention' by the executive director and given what looks like a tiny gold pin (size of a dime?) with AMPAS and the number of years. No shit. Thanks for your loyalty folks. Happy-sucking-crapass-cheapass-Holidays from the Academy!

• Previously: Defamer Party Report: The Paramount Holiday Party [Defamer]