Four years ago it was a shrewd move on the part of Warner Bros. to attach the opening five or six minutes of “The Dark Knight” to IMAX versions of the studio’s “I Am Legend.” It brought more people to that film (and to the higher price point of IMAX) and it was a great way of drumming up interest in the summer 2008 film as far back as December of 2007. It was also the only footage Heath Ledger ever saw of his work in a slick presentation. This year, the studio is apparently looking to turn the same trick, though rather than go with WB’s own December opener “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” they reportedly will be attaching eight minutes of footage to Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.” [/Film]

River Phoenix’s final film to be finally be released 18 years later. [Hollywood Reporter]

Excerpting Roger Ebert’s memoir “Life Itself,” on Martin Scorsese. [indieWIRE]

Sasha Stone thinks the NYFCC’s decision yesterday has to do with “self respect” and “creating distance” from the “orgy” of awards season. She’s wrong. It’s about being ahead of LAFCA and, most certainly, asserting itself FIRST! [Awards Daily]

David Poland, I think, has the right perspective. [The Hot Blog]

And here’s Greg Ellwood’s take. [Awards Campaign]

Tracing Michelle Williams’s lack of luck with Oscar to her good friend and plus one. [Ministry of Gossip]

Steve Pond on a year for makeup Oscar consideration with Glenn Close, Nick Nolte and Christopher Plummer in mind. [The Odds]

Hollywood revs up partisan films a year ahead of election. [New York Times]

With Halloween in mind, the scariest deaths you’ve seen on screen, and how they would really happen. [io9]

Anyone else excited about the return of “Beavis and Butt-Head?” Mike Judge offers up a medley of voices on camera (rare for him). [Speakeasy]