Events News
'Twilight' Tops 2009 MTV Movie Award Noms
Robert Pattinson may be picking up that coveted popcorn statue at this year's
MTV Movie Awards! The young star's mega-hit 'Twilight' ties with Oscar-winner
'Slumdog Millionaire' with each film receiving nominations in six award
categories including Best Movie, Best Kiss and Breakthrough Performance Male.
Breaking from the past, this year voters will determine the winners. From May
4 - May 27, viewers can visit www.MovieAwards.MTV.com and vote for their
picks. The Best Movie category will remain open throughout the live show, in
a race to the final minutes of the broadcast to see who wins. The show will
be hosted by Andy Samberg, and broadcast live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in
Universal City, CA on Sunday, May 31st at 9p.m./8p.m.
'30 Rock' gets record 22 Emmy nominations
Fey's NBC comedy series, "30 Rock," earned 22 Emmy nominations yesterday, the
most any comedy series has received in Emmy history. It earned nods for best
comedy series, as well as best comedy actress for Fey and best comedy actor
for Alec Baldwin. The show won best comedy series last year. Though Emmys
eluded her during her lifetime, Farrah Fawcett was posthumously nominated for
an Emmy for outstanding nonfiction special for "Farrah's Story," the poignant
NBC documentary chronicling her courageous battle with cancer. Fawcett, 62,
died June 25. Also nominated for this film: Fawcett's good friend and
producer, Alana Stewart. Joining "30 Rock" in the best comedy category are
HBO's long-running "Entourage," Fox's ribald animated "Family Guy," HBO's
quirky "Flight of the Conchords," CBS' popular "How I Met Your Mother,"
perennial NBC nominee "The Office" and the Showtime drug comedy "Weeds."
Competing with "Mad Men" in the best drama series category are HBO's polygamy
melodrama, "Big Love," and AMC's dark "Breaking Bad" – the two have never
received nominations in this category before. Also nominated in this
category: FX's legal drama, "Damages"; Showtime's lovable serial killer,
"Dexter"; Fox's grouchy doctor, "House"; and ABC's enigmatic "Lost." Other
notable nominations: 92-year-old Ernest Borgnine earned a nomination as guest
actor in a drama series for "ER." Betty White earned a nod for guest actress
in a comedy series for playing "Crazy Witch Lady" in "My Name Is Earl." Fey
also will be competing in that category, for her role as Sarah Palin, the
Republican nominee for vice president, on "Saturday Night Live's"
"Presidential Bash 2008." Justin Timberlake earned two nominations, one for
guest actor in a comedy series as host of "Saturday Night Live" and for
co-writing the naughty and heavily bleeped song "Motherlover." And Sedgwick
isn't the only member of her household to be nominated this year: Husband
Kevin Bacon earned a nod for best actor in a movie or miniseries for "Taking
Chance." The Emmys will air Sept. 20 on CBS from the Nokia Theatre in Los
Angeles. "How I Met Your Mother" star and Emmy nominee Neil Patrick Harris,
who received acclaim in June for hosting the Tony Awards telecast, has been
tapped as the emcee.
Bafta best film list not expanded
Bafta will not follow the Academy Awards and expand its best picture
shortlist at next year's ceremony, a Bafta spokeswoman has confirmed.
Speaking to BBC Five Live, Bafta's managing director Amanda Berry said: "I
can categorically say at the moment we have no plans to increase to 10
films." She added: "We decided that we think top five is the right number of
films". Oscars officials said the move will recognise a wider range of films
and include "more populist movies". TV ratings It is the first time since
1943 that 10 films will be in the running. Following last year's Oscars
ceremony, the show's producers advised the Academy that efforts were needed
to bring the show to a wider audience. It is believed that if the best
picture category were to feature more box office hits, television ratings
would improve in 2010. "I think they're just constantly - as we do at Bafta -
looking at the event to see that it works within the industry and the
television audience," Ms Berry said. "They obviously think that by increasing
the best film to 10 they're going to get a larger audience for it. "Now
obviously you should never say never and obviously we continue every year to
look at our rules and regulations and the categories and the make-up of the
categories, but I can categorically say at the moment we have no plans to
increase to 10 films." It has also been announced that no Oscar will be
awarded for best song at next year's ceremony if none of the tunes are deemed
to be good enough. The Bafta's always take place in February just before the
Oscars. The ceremony sometimes indicates which actors are likely to take home
an Academy Award. Assurances have been made that the 2010 Academy Awards
ceremony, which takes place on 7 March, will not be longer due to having 10
shortlisted films.
Emmy's Confirmed As A Live Event
The Emmy's have always been surrounded by all of the Hollywood tinsel and are
considered the Oscars of the television industry. Last month though, CBS
received a major backlash after announcing that parts of the ceremony would
be pre-recorded, edited and then broadcast at the ceremony ... but now CBS
has backtracked on their decision and confirmed that the ceremony will be
held live. Traditionally, the Emmy Awards are broadcast in rotation between
CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox as a live event, however The Academy of Television Arts
& Sciences' board of governors authorized the change in format for the CBS
portion in the hopes that a broader audience would be attracted to the prime
time event. Last year the ratings for the ceremony hit the lowest the event
has ever achieved. "Lost" leads the way with a nomination for best drama
series and Michael Emmerson is up for the supporting actor award for his part
in the series. Meanwhile Michael Rymer of "Battlestar Galactica" has received
a nomination for outstanding direction. The Primetime Emmy Awards air Sept.
20.
Qatar's Tribeca looks to create regional film hub
The Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Qatar's first film event, said on Monday it
wants to create a hub for regional filmmakers in the Gulf Arab state, through
education initiatives and community involvement.
New York's Tribeca Film Festival was founded by actor Robert De Niro after
the September 11 attacks and Qatar is the first venue to host the event
outside its home country. The festival, which starts October 29, will host
around 30 films, eight to ten of which will be Middle Eastern Arab films. "We
want to create a hub where filmmakers can stay," Amanda Palmer, executive
director of the festival said, adding: "We are also aware that there's very
different gradations of film making abilities at the moment." "There are also
existing filmmakers so we need to give them a higher level of engagement and
education, workshops, scrip-writing developments, producer-investor
networking and distribution," she said, adding that emerging, aspiring and
established filmmakers need to be equally supported. The United Arab Emirates
has become a place for budding filmmakers in the region to showcase their
creations, with Hollywood, Bollywood and Arab cinema stars arriving at its
annual film festivals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai has also created a
freezone for film establishments and production companies to set up office.
Qatar has so far only hosted the Al Jazeera Documentary Film Festival, but
the world's largest exporter of LNG aims to mold itself into a cultural
capital for the region. The New York festival was created as a way to
rejuvenate lower Manhattan after the 2001 al Qaeda attacks and has become a
showcase for international films. Qatar, which borders Saudi Arabia, is an
ally of the United States that hosts the U.S. Central Command at a huge
military base on the outskirts of Doha. In the media world, it is best known
as the home of the Al Jazeera Network, arguably the dominant news service for
the Arabic-speaking world.
Billboard names Beyonce as 'Woman of the Year'
The year's not even over, but Billboard already knows who its woman of the
year is — Beyonce. The superstar will be honored by the industry
publication at its annual Women in Music event. Past "Woman of the Year"
honorees were Ciara and Reba McEntire. Beyonce will be on hand to accept her
award at the Oct. 2 event in New York City. It's been yet another big year
for the entertainer. She had the smash hit "Single Ladies," sang at President
Obama's inauguration, had a No. 1 movie with "Obsessed" and embarked on an
arena tour.
Carrie Underwood to Co-host Awards Show
Which televised awards show will country star Carrie Underwood be hosting?
According to reports, Carrie has signed on to emcee the Country Music
Association Awards for the second year running this November alongside fellow
country crooner Brad Paisley. "I thought we did a good job," Underwood said
of her performance with Paisley last year, according to People. "I wasn't
nervous about being asked back. But I was hoping they would ask us," Carrie
said. The CMAs will be air live from Nashville on ABC on November 11 of this
year.
Voting change for best film Oscar
The voting system, which will determine the winner of the best picture at
this year's Oscars is being changed, it has been announced. The Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said preferential voting will now be used to
tally the final vote for the award. Voters will be asked to rank nominees in
order of preference from 1 to 10. In all other categories, the victory goes
to the performer who earns the most votes. The new system for tallying vote
for best picture is the same preferential voting system that the Academy uses
in its nominating process. However, this is the first time it has been
introduced for best picture voting since 1945. 'Strongest support' The voting
process has been adapted to accommodate the new picture shortlist, which has
been increased to allow 10 films into the category, instead of five. "Instead
of just marking an X to indicate which one picture they believe to be the
best, members will indicate their second, third and further preferences as
well," Academy president Tom Sherak said. He explained that would "establish
the best picture recipient with the strongest support of a majority of our
electorate". The decision to use the preferential system was made because a
larger field meant a winner could emerge with just slightly more than 580
votes out of the potential voting pool of 5,800 members. The 82nd Academy
Awards nominations will be announced on 2 February at the Academy's Samuel
Goldwyn Theater.
'Baaria' kicks off Venice Film Festival
The 66th edition of the Venice Film Festival got underway Wednesday with an
epic and sentimental homage to the Sicilian Oscar-winning director Giuseppe
Tornatore and a gala ceremony hosted by Italian actress Maria Grazia
Cucinotta.
With its screening, Tornatore's "Baaria" became the first Italian film to
open the storied Venice festival in nearly a quarter century, and it caused
ripples even before its official world premiere: earlier in the day Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi -- who also owns the country's largest media
empire -- called the work a masterpiece and said that no "real" Italian
should choose not to see the film. In a press briefing, Tornatore, best known
for the Oscar-winning "Cinema Paradiso," said the film was his most personal
project yet. "I took themes like frustrations, happiness, dreams, challenges,
and I turned them into a movie," he said. "It's my take on life, but everyone
born in a small town will fine similarities." The screening took place in
conjunction with a star-studded ceremony hosted by Cucinotta, the star of
another Oscar-winning Italian film, "Il Postino." The festival hosted a
beachside party after the ceremony. The festival, which runs through Sept.
12, will have its first full day on Thursday. Its competition lineup is made
up entirely of world premieres for the third time in four years and has
healthy doses of Hollywood fare and domestic productions, with an
unprecedented 19 first- and second-works in the official selections.
Clooney, Fantastic Mr. Fox to open London festival
George Clooney will be on the red carpet for the opening night of this year's
London Film Festival at the world premiere of Wes Anderson's animated
"Fantastic Mr. Fox." The movie, also starring Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and
Jason Schwartzman, is Anderson's take on author Roald Dahl's story about a
fox who poaches chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys for his wife Mrs. Fox and
the small Four Foxes. The London event opens on October 14 and ends on
October 29, and boasts 15 world premieres, 191 feature films and 113 short
films. Clooney, 48, will also appear at the festival with "The Men Who Stare
at Goats," a comedy set in Iraq which had its world premiere at the Venice
film festival this week. The London festival will close with "Nowhere Boy," a
drama about the early life of Beatle John Lennon directed by British artist
Sam Taylor-Wood.
Michael Jackson Tribute Postponed Till Next June
The Michael Jackson tribute concert originally scheduled to take place in
Vienna this month has been postponed. The location has also been changed from
Vienna to London. The event's promoter, Georg Kindel, told reporters that
they encountered scheduling conflicts with performers that were invited to
participate. He told the Associated Press, "Maybe we underestimated these
issues." This news follows Katherine Jackson's statement yesterday that she
would attent the event, and announcements made earlier this week of A-list
acts committing to perform at this event. Artists such as Mary J. Blige,
Chris Brown, and Natalie Cole were unable to commit to the originally
scheduled event on September 26. Katherine Jackson also announced on Thursday
that she would attend the now-canceled Vienna tribute. It has not yet been
announced where the tribute will take place in London. Kindel only specified
that it will be scheduled in the first half of June 2010.
Meryl Streep, Richard Gere and George Clooney in Rome Film Festival
Meryl Streep, Richard Gere and George Clooney are among the film stars
attending this year's Rome Film Festival.
Also expected to walk the red carpet are Colin Farrell, Helen Mirren and
Anthony Hopkins. Movies screening out of competition at the Oct. 15-22
festival include "Julie & Julia," with Streep, and Joel and Ethan Coen's "A
Serious Man." Organizers said Friday that 14 films will compete for the Best
Movie Award, including Jason Reitman's comic drama "Up in the Air," featuring
Clooney, and "Triage," with Farrell. The festival also will screen scenes
from the highly-anticipated vampire sequel "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."
Rome, now at its fourth season, is becoming part of the international circuit
of movie festivals.
Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson Lead AMA Nominations
The late Michael Jackson has received five nominations for an 2009 American
Music Award, including the highly-coveted Artist Of The Year.
Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Kings of Leon were also nominated for Artist
of the Year. The nominations were announced Tuesday morning at the Beverly
Hills Hotel by former American Idol judge Paula Abdul, Idol runner-up Adam
Lambert and Snoop Dog. Jackson --who died June 25th of cardiac arrest at his
Holmby Hills mansion--was nominated in both the Pop/Rock and the Soul/R&B
categories. He was also nominated in both the Pop/Rock and Soul/R&B
categories for Favorite Album for Number Ones. In all, Taylor Swift leads the
nominations race this year with six total nominations, Jackson follows with
five nominations, Eminem follows with four nominations and Beyonce, Black
Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Kings of Leon and T.I. collected three nominations
respectively. Nominations for the 2009 American Music Awards are in eight
categories: Pop/Rock, Country, Soul/Rhythm & Blues, Rap/Hip Hop, Latin Music,
Alternative Music, Contemporary Inspirational, and Adult Contemporary
categories. A total of 20 awards will be presented during the 2009 American
Music Awards ceremony, which will air live on Sunday, November 22 on ABC.
65 foreign-language films vie for Oscar nominations
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Jacques Audiard's French film "A Prophet,"
Michael Haneke's German film "The White Ribbon" and Bong Joon-ho's "Mother,"
from South Korea -- three films that have figured prominently on this year's
festival circuit -- are among the titles being considered for the
foreign-language film Oscar. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
released its list Thursday of the 65 countries that have submitted films for
the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Nominations will be announced on February 2,
and the awards ceremony will take place March 7.
Gervais Selected to Host the Golden Globes
In a somewhat bold move by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, comedian
Ricky Gervais has been chosen to host the next Golden Globe Awards ceremony.
Aside from the slight surprise of selecting the unpredictable and still
relatively unknown (at least Stateside) Gervais for hosting duties, the
HFPA’s decision marks quite a format change for the Globes -- because no
one has hosted the ceremony since 1995. Gervais is best known for his British
series The Office, which spawned NBC’s American version as well as
adaptations all around the globe, but he recently made the transition to the
big-screen, including the October comedy The Invention of Lying. The 67th
Annual Golden Globe Awards will air Jan. 17.
"Glee" cast to get Hollywood diversity award
The cast of the quirky Fox TV show "Glee" will be presented with a Hollywood
diversity award in November for their portrayal of a group of teen oddballs
with a passion for song and dance. The Diversity Awards committee said on
Saturday that the "Glee" cast had won the favorite new diverse ensemble cast
award for 2009. The musical comedy series features an array of students in an
uncool high school glee club, including a boy in a wheelchair, a geeky girl,
a gay student, an Asian and an overweight African-American girl. "The bunch
are determined to overcome the odds and make it to the big time both in high
school and the world beyond," the Diversity Awards executive committee said
in a statement. "Twilight"'s Korean-American actor Justin Chon,
Nigerian-English-American newcomer Hope Olaide Wilson and Taraji P. Henson --
both stars of the Tyler Perry movie "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" -- are also
among those to be honored at the November 22 awards gala. The Diversity
Awards are presented annually by the Multicultural Motion Picture Association
to promote story lines, characters and actors of all backgrounds in the
Hollywood film and TV industry.
Martin, Baldwin to "ratchet up the funny" at Oscars
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were chosen as co-hosts of next year's Oscars
to inject a fresh comedic twist into the ceremony while building on decades
of tradition, new co-producer Adam Shankman said. Actors Ben Stiller, Robert
Downey Jr and comedian Tina Fey were among names "thrown around" as possible
hosts, Shankman told Entertainment Weekly magazine in an interview published
on Wednesday, one day after the choice of Martin and Baldwin was revealed.
But the choreographer and "Hairspray" director said there were scheduling
conflicts and that Martin and Baldwin were picked to "ratchet up the funny"
at the March 7 awards of the movie industry's highest honors. Martin, has
hosted the Oscar telecast twice before, but 2010 will be a first for Baldwin,
the Emmy-award winning star of the satirical TV series "30 Rock".
'Twilight,' 'True Blood' Set to Rule People's Choice Awards
Vampires are set to rule the upcoming People's Choice Awards -- with
blockbuster fantasy film franchise Twilight and blood-sucking TV series True
Blood leading the nominations.
The public cast more than 18 million votes online to select the nominees for
next year's ceremony, and it will also choose the winners in 35 categories.
The Twilight Saga will compete against Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
and Star Trek in the favorite-movie and favorite-film-franchise categories.
Stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner have earned nods
for best onscreen team, joining fellow nominees Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert
Grint and Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Sandra
Bullock andRyan Reynolds (The Proposal), Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox
(Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) and Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan
Reynolds, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Henney (X-Men Origins:
Wolverine). Pattinson and Stewart were also nominated individually for
favorite movie actress and actor, and will face-off against A-listers Brad
Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp, Ryan Reynolds, Anne Hathaway, Drew
Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock in their respective
categories. Lautner is also up for breakout movie actor alongside Chris Pine,
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sam Worthington and Zachary Quinto. Meanwhile, True
Blood was nominated for favorite TV obsession and favorite sci-fi/fantasy TV
show, where it will battle against Vampire Diaries, Heroes, Lost and
Supernatural. The show's star Anna Paquin will fight it out with Blake
Lively, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Katherine Heigl and Mariska Hargitay for
favorite TV drama actress -- while Hugh Laurie, Kiefer Sutherland, Mark
Harmon, Matthew Fox and Patrick Dempsey compete for the title of favorite TV
drama actor. Musically, newcomers Adam Lambert, Demi Lovato, Kris Allen, Lady
Gaga and reality TV star Susan Boyle will battle for favorite breakout music
artist. Eminem, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, Keith Urban and Tim McGraw will go
head-to-head for the favorite-male-artist accolade, while their female
counterparts include Beyonce, Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Pink and
Taylor Swift. Queen Latifah will host the People's Choice Awards at Los
Angeles' Nokia Theatre on Jan. 6.
"Star Trek" creator to enter TV Hall of Fame
Late "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, comedy duo Tom and Dick Smothers
and actress Candice Bergen will be among those inducted into the Television
Academy's Hall of Fame in January. The Television Academy said on Tuesday
they would be joined by "Saturday Night Live" and game show announcer Don
Pardo, "The Price is Right" game show creator Bob Stewart and Emmy-award
winning art director Charles Lisanby for the annual ceremony. "This year's
inductees have challenged and shaped popular culture and entertained us
royally while doing so," said Television Academy chairman John Shaffner.
Bergen is best known for her role in the 1990s CBS comedy "Murphy Brown",
while the Smothers brothers started their TV career in the 1960s and are
still performing for audiences around the United States. Roddenberry's "Star
Trek" franchise includes 10 movies and 7 TV series stretching back to 1966.
Halle Berry to receive Sherry Lansing award
Halle Berry has something else in common with fellow Oscar winners Meryl
Streep and Jodie Foster: The Sherry Lansing Leadership Award.
The Hollywood Reporter says Berry will receive the honor next month at the
paper's 18th annual Power 100: Women in Entertainment breakfast. The award
recognizes groundbreaking contributions to the entertainment industry.
Besides Streep and Foster, past recipients include Barbara Walters, Glenn
Close and Lansing herself. Hilary Swank will give the keynote address at the
Power 100 breakfast, to be held Dec. 4 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
