Getting ready for the Oscars? They’re a long way away, you know, an extra two weeks in the schedule because of the March 2, 2014 date. That means the Oscar buzzed movies are going to start pushing their release dates well into December. Those movies have to get through February, when the Olympics are going to be marketed through the roof.

Knowing this, The Weinstein Company, HQ of all Oscar activity, has picked its Academy Award front runner and moved it. “August: Osage County” has had such great reactions that it’s moving from October to Christmas Day. The John Wells-directed adaptation of the award winning play stars Meryl Streep, a natural for Best Actress consideration. Julia Roberts co-stars, and those who’ve seen it are impressed with her performance. (If she’s not strident and self-referential, this will be a comeback of major proportions.)

Others in the film include Juliette Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney, Benedict Cumberbatch, Margo Martindale, and Abigail Breslin. Come on! It’s already a Best Picture nominee. But seriously, it does look like “AOC” will get a serious push. The only problem– and everyone should have this problem– is that TWC has like four or five Best Actresses with Nicole Kidman, Oprah Winfrey, and Noemi Harris in the mix too for “Grace of Monaco,” “The Butler,” and “Mandela.”

Meantime, word on “The Butler” — due in August– is that tweaking and editing continue to make it perfect. One of the many actors who play a cameo may be getting cut out of the story. If so, I hope we’ll see them on the DVD.

There will never be the hoped for “Sopranos” reunion movie now. Sadly, it can’t happen ever as the star, James Gandolfini, is gone. But there was a “Sopranos” reunion of a sort, and it’s just available on DVD. “Nicky Deuce” aired on Nickelodeon last month, based on a children’s book by one of the show’s stars, Steve Schirripa. The movie features Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli, Schirripa, Vincent Curatola and Tony Sirico as cute mobsters. A high school kid is sent to live with his uncle (Schirripa) who may be involved in mob activities. It’s like a light hearted version or a send up of “The Sopranos.” Curatola, who played Johnny Sack, told me yesterday that the gang got together at the end of May to promote the film. “We had a great time. Jimmy was in a great mood,” he said. “Nicky Deuce” is available on DVD now, although Nickolodeon hasn’t said a word about it. But it does mark the one and only “Sopranos” reunion on film, a nice footnote to the famed series.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian (only claim to fame: her father was OJ Simpson’ s lawyer and best friend) have taken the wrong direction with their baby’s name. It’s North West. No kidding. According to reports, and of course, how wrong can they be? Someone had suggested Kaidence, which would have been preferable. But this may be a pre-arranged tie in with Northwest Airlines for an endorsement since K’s mother is clever at getting those deals done. Southwest Airlines doesn’t even have seat reservations. And Northwest does fly to some key cities.

Of course they could have named the baby Honey West, after the TV series which starred the late great Anne Francis. I liked Wild West, but that would be emphasizing the obvious since the baby is already said to be guaranteed coverage in 12 years on TMZ and other tabloids.

One suggestion was Mid West, but that seemed too bland, and the K’s were afraid people would just fly over her.

Another choice was Sho West, because you know she’s going to be a movie star. Many get their starts at Sho West, where clips of new films are played for distributors.

But North West it is, which means many summer vacations in the Pacific Rim. And what if this young lady develops like her mother? North West could have Twin Peaks.

Just got back from screening of “White House Down” and learned the union dispute between Prospect Park and IATSE has been resolved. “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” will resume production on August 12th after all. The shows shut down more than a week early when IATSE complained the shows’ budgets were higher than expected.

Another announcement from Prospect Park today, too: their use of foul language in the shows will end beginning with June 24th episodes. This is great news. Gratuitous use of all sorts of four letter words (and others) was grating and offensive. The writers for these shows have enough problems. Thank goodness that will end.

Now that the union mess is done, Prospect Park can figure out how to get Susan Lucci back onto “All My Children” and how to straighten out some other problems. Right now they’ve got veteran actress Cady McClain, who’s maybe 40, grandmother to a guy who looks like he’s 20. And her “Son” is 30. It’s very weird. Something about “All My Children” feels inert and canned. I think it’s missing Lucci’s gift for stirring stuff up.

The better show is “One Life to Live.” You can see they’re doing the best they can with a limited budget. But the show moves better, has a focus and feels like it has a purpose.

Soaps get laughed at a lot, but they are launching pads still for lots of talented people (and home to those who stay too). Billy Magnussen is Tony nominated from “Vanya and Sonia” — he came from “As the World Turns.” Jesse Soffer from the same show just got an NBC series. Plenty of soap grads are on every show and in plenty of films and theater. Judith Light, who’s just won Tony Awards back to back, started on “One Life to Live.” If only the soap could her to come back for a cameo…

EXCLUSIVE: One of our favorite people is Joey “Pants” Pantoliano. He played Ralph Cifaretto for two seasons on “The Sopranos,” from 2001-2004, 23 episodes in all. Joey does not want to be interviewed about James Gandolfini right now. He hung up on Greta van Susteren live last night on Fox News after her producers ambushed him and started asking what he thought were inappropriate questions.

Today, Joey told me after, believe me, a lot of prodding: “Our first scene together, we were blocking for rehearsal. Jimmy grabbed my hand, we were nose to nose. He said, ‘It’s a pleasure and an honor to be working with you.'” He took a breath. “He had those sad eyes. If you looked deep inside them, you could see your soul.” He added: “I’m so sad for his family. His sisters, his son. I got to meet his father [who died in 2005]. He was such a small man, physically, compared to Jimmy…”

Pantoliano says they used to joke about their health and getting older. “We were shooting a diner scene, in a real diner. Jimmy was eating steak and eggs. I think he had like four breakfasts. I said, “Hey, we gotta be careful now. We’re getting older.” Jimmy said, “I love steak and eggs. Anyway, 25% of my arteries are blocked.” I said, What? He said, “That means 75% aren’t.”

Joey is keeping to himself for the next few days. “Jimmy was very private. He didn’t like publicity, you know that.” He added: “I loved him.” The only other Soprano he’s talked to so far is Edie Falco. “She’s the same way. We’re in shock.”

It’s no surprise, and I’ve written about it before: but John Travolta and Kelly Preston are continuing to donate tax free money from the non profit charity they started for their late son to Scientology. Of course, this is a little strange since Scientology’s beliefs may be what cost Jett Travolta his life, in the end. For years until the day Jett died the Travoltas insisted Jett was not autistic but suffered from Kawasaki Syndrome. He was not treated for autism as Scientology doesn’t allow treatment of mental or brain issues. Jett’s “manny” when he died wasn’t a trained nurse but a wedding photographer.

Nevertheless, the Travoltas remain devoted to the cause. According to the website for the foundation, www.jett-travolta-foundation.com, contributions have been made in 2013 to several different places. But one of them is Scientology’s questionable group in Haiti that’s recruiting poor people. And the other is the group that performs bogus “detoxification.”

The Haiti group is called GROup Dynamic for the Survival of Haiti. http://www.grodysh.org. This group is run two prominent Scientologists, Leslie Hobbs and Claude Reginald Jean. There’s no mention on their website about Scientology, of course. But their address is in Clearwater, Florida, where all the other Xenu businesses are clustered.

The Form 990 filed by Jett Travolta Foundation omits any detail of where their money went last year. Charities are mandated to list their gifts and grants. But this foundation simply didn’t. The foundation just says it gave grants totaling $120,800.

But on their form 990 for 2012, GRODYSH acknowledges a recent $40,000 donation from the Jett Travolta Foundation. Their total revenue claimed in 2012 was $95,000 so that’s nearly half of what they took in.

And then there’s the International Detoxification Academy. The Jett Travolta Foundation has already donated money to them in 2013 and did so in 2011. Also in 2011, Jett Travolta Foundation donated funds  to Narconon, and to Will Smith’s New Horizon School in Calabasas, California which teaches Scientology Study Tech curriculum.

From all accounts including NBC’s Today show interview this morning with the manager of the Exedra Hotel in Rome: James Gandolfini suffered his heart attack in the hotel. His son called an ambulance but it was too late to revive him. Gandolfini was traveling with his son, as I told you first last night, and one of his two sisters. They were still in Rome and planning to travel to Sicily for the Taormina Film Festival. A press conference was held this afternoon in Rome as well, reiterating all of this.

Initially I was told last night that everything had happened in a restaurant with the son. But my scoop from last night stands. http://www.showbiz411.com/2013/06/19/james-gandolfini-dies-at-age-51-in-italy He collapsed in the bathroom and the door had to be knocked down. Either way. it’s a tragedy.

Some more statements today– from Edie Falco: “I am shocked and devastated by Jim’s passing. He was a man of tremendous depth and sensitivity, with a kindness and generosity beyond words. I consider myself very lucky to have spent 10 years as his close colleague. My heart goes out to his family. As those of us in his pretend one hold on to the memories of our intense and beautiful time together. The love between Tony and Carmela was one of the greatest I’ve ever known.”