When awards return to the air, a notable presence will be missing from the red carpet.  Giuliana Rancic has announced her departure from E! to take up a development deal with NBCUniversal – the company that owns…you guessed it, E!  Since Ryan Seacrest already left, someone decided to combine those two and come up with a formidable replacement.  Laverne Cox will greet nominees and ask what they’re wearing.

Laverne made news last week for another reason – and it could jeopardize her new working relationship.  When films are released overseas, they are often dubbed by actors who speak the language.  In the upcoming Italian release of Promising Young Woman (which came out here last Christmas), Laverne plays the pivotal role of Gail.  In the Italian dubbed version, Gail is voiced by actor Roberto Pedicini.  This is not an isolated incident – when Orange is the New Black, The Mindy Project and Doubt were released in Italy, Cox was dubbed by male actor Andrea Lavagnino.  Days before the film’s scheduled Italian release, someone leaked a clip online with Roberto’s voice.  All hell broke loose.  Oh, did I mention the film comes to us courtesy of Universal?  The company issued a statement: “We are deeply grateful to Laverne and the transgender community for opening our eyes to a bias that neither we nor many in our industry had recognized.”  They added that the part is being redubbed with a female actor…which I’m not sure is any better.  I mean, a cis female?  Not that I know how many transgender voiceover actresses there are in Italy.  That’s beyond my pay grade.