Foo Fighters gear up for Grammys

NEW YORK (AP) - Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters, once described by bassist Nate Mendel as an "accidental" band, now have ten years under their belt, are playing bigger shows than ever and are up for five Grammys for their two-disc opus In Your Honor.

With power chords, rock riffs and a fun-loving attitude that would have been unthinkable to Nirvana, Grohl's prior band, the Foo Fighters have become an unlikely torchbearer for arena-sized rock 'n' roll.

On Feb. 8, the band will have a chance to add to its previous-earned four Grammy awards, its nominations including best rock album, best rock song (Best of You) and best pop collaboration for the unlikely duet with Norah Jones on Virginia Moon.

The ambitious In Your Honor - half rock and half acoustic - could make Grammy night an eventful evening for the band, but Grohl, speaking by phone from Paris, says whether you walk out with a trophy or not, the show's mainly for the "fam."

"You get the fam all dressed up, put 'em in the same room as Mariah Carey," the 37-year-old says, "and all of a sudden your career is validated."

Grohl answered the following questions the interview.

AP: With these five Grammy nominations, I imagine you're most pumped for the best surround-sound album one?

GROHL: You know, to be completely honest, that is the one that we're the most excited about. I mean, it's great to get the best rock record and the best rock song and all that other stuff, but something as wickedly technical and bad-ass as a true 5.1 surround record, that's pretty kick-ass. That just reeks of Pink Floyd or something like that.

AP: In other categories you're up against Neil Young, U2, the Rolling Stones . . .

GROHL: Dude, the competition is stiff. I didn't even know who else was in our category. . . . We're clearly the underdog. . . . We might stand alongside Coldplay (the other best rock album nominee), but that's about it. That's where that line is drawn.

AP: Does this album feel like your crowning achievement?

GROHL: Well, they all do in a way. Every album that we've ever made has made sense at the time. Having been a band for 10 years and watched this steady ascent, everything has just sort of grown at this really natural rate. And it's been . . . great. We've never lost it; we've never freaked out; we've never really wanted to stop. . . . But this album is probably the most ambitious record we've ever made musically. It was really our intention to widen the dynamic and broaden the scope of songs, rather than just go in and make another 10-or 11-song album that they'll pull a couple singles from and you make a new T-shirt and you hit the road. It was really more about injecting some new life into the band.

AP: You played drums for Nirvana and often drum for other bands like Queens for the Stone Age. Do you consider yourself a drummer first and foremost?

GROHL: Kind of, yeah. It's not my first instrument, but it's the one I'm most connected to for whatever reason. It's just easier for me, I can turn my brain off. . . . But when I'm hanging out with six or seven drummers, it's like they don't consider me one of them, because I'm the singer of the Foo Fighters. There's a whole drummer thing that's like Highlander. When two Highlanders are in the same room with each other, they just know. That's kind of what happens with drummers, but not with me.

AP: You're currently touring Europe. Do you find American and European crowds different?

GROHL: Not so much. When you play rock music to rock kids, it doesn't matter if you're Japanese or German, everyone pretty much reacts the same. Some countries go into football chants, other countries throw Mentos at you.

AP: Is it true you guys don't play Big Me anymore because crowds throw Mentos at you? (The Foo Fighters' video for Big Me famously featured parodies of Mentos commercials.)

GROHL: About maybe two weeks into the tour, Rivers (Cuomo), the Weezer singer, knocked on our door and asked if he could come in. He's shy - it was weird, I don't think anyone had ever knocked on our dressing room door before. And he said, "Hey, I was wondering if you guys would mind if we played your song Big Me?" And we hadn't played that song in six, seven years, and we thought, "Yeah, have at it." And they played it every . . . night. And we actually started to miss it. So once that tour ended and we went back out on our own, we kinda threw it back into the set list. But we did stop playing that song for a while because, honestly, it's like being stoned. Those little . . . things are like pebbles - they hurt.

AP: In some sense, that kind of reaction is something to be proud of.

GROHL: Yeah, but I wish they were like marshmallows or something.

Spears to Guest Star on 'Will & Grace'

NEW YORK - Britney Spears will guest star on an episode of "Will & Grace," NBC announced Tuesday. The pop star will appear as a Christian conservative sidekick to Sean Hayes' character, Jack, who hosts his own talk show, on the April 13 episode, the network said.

Jack's fictional network, Out TV, is bought by a Christian TV network, leading to Spears contributing a cooking segment called "Cruci-fixin's."

As a young girl, the 24-year-old Spears was a regular on "The Mickey Mouse Club." After becoming a pop singer, she starred in the critically panned 2002 film "Crossroads."

Last September, Spears gave birth to her first child, son Sean Preston, with husband Kevin Federline.

"Will & Grace," which also stars Eric McCormack, Debra Messing and Megan Mullally, is in its eighth and final season. It airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. (EST).

'Walk the Line' Snubbed for 'Best Picture'

NEW YORK - Here are some of the surprises from Tuesday's Academy Award nominations:

• WALK ON BY: Despite earning acting nominations for stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line" was snubbed in the best-picture and best-director categories. The crowd-pleasing, critically acclaimed story of Johnny Cash and his lifelong on- and offstage partner, June Carter, looked like a shoo-in among the top spots. Witherspoon, though, will likely end up in a two-woman race for the best-actress award with "Transamerica" star Felicity Huffman.

• ITS PLACE IN HISTORY: Taking the spot expected to go to "Walk the Line" among the best-picture nominees is "Munich," about the aftermath of the killing of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympics. The film earned five nominations, including best director for Steven Spielberg and best adapted screenplay. "Munich" had won no major awards leading up to Tuesday, and despite receiving solid reviews, it wasn't considered a serious Oscar contender.

• MAN VS. HIMSELF: One of the nominations "Munich" received was for John Williams' original score — but he'll be competing against himself. Spielberg's longtime musical collaborator also was nominated this year for his work on "Memoirs of a Geisha." The veteran composer has found himself in this situation before, including 1978 when he was up for his iconic music from both "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Star Wars." (He won for the latter.)

• THE FORCE IS WEAK: Speaking of "Star Wars," seems that barely anyone was among Academy voters. "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," the sixth and (hopefully) final installment in George Lucas' epic galactic saga, failed to earn a nomination for best visual effects. All five previous movies either were recognized in the category or received a special achievement award for their high-tech visuals, the work of Lucas' company Industrial Light & Magic. "Sith" did get a nomination for best makeup, though — and it made over $380 million at the box office.

• WHERE IS THE LOVE?: Also receiving a surprising solitary nomination was "Match Point," for Woody Allen's original screenplay. The drama about a torrid affair between a social-climbing British tennis pro and an American actress had been hailed among film critics as a return to form for Allen, and it was the subject of a highbrow, high-profile awards campaign.

• THE INTRIGUE CONTINUES: Joining Allen among the original-screenplay nominees is writer-director Stephen Gaghan for "Syriana," a complex international tale of oil, power and corruption. That his script was nominated comes as no surprise — it's intricate, intelligent and extremely relevant. Where it was nominated is the unexpected part. "Syriana" has always been considered an adapted work, based on a memoir by former CIA officer Robert Baer, the basis for George Clooney's character. It's up for best adapted screenplay at this year's Writers Guild awards. The motion picture academy, however, chose to place the film in the original screenplay category.

• HUSTLE & BLEEP: Perhaps the most surprising nomination of all, and the one we're the most excited about, is in the original-song category: the insanely catchy "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," from the movie "Hustle & Flow" starring Terrence Howard as a Memphis pimp-turned-rapper. Since he performs the song in the movie, you know he's got to do it live on stage during the awards ceremony, right? Just like Faith Hill or Celine Dion or anyone else with a nominated song? And since Howard is up for a best-actor Oscar, you know he'll already be there. (Unfortunately, most of his graphic flow will be hustled away in the name of good taste.)

Dan Predicts

The Oscar won't actually be given out until March 5th, but if they were given out today, here are the people that I (Dan Reynish) think would win in the Six Major categories.

These predictions are based on industry buzz, the way the nominees have been acting during Hollywood's annual awards season, who has won either a SAG or Golden Globe award, and finally, on the performance in or of the film.

BEST PICTURE
Brokeback Mountain

Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote

Best Actress
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man

Best Supporting Actress
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener

Best Director
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain

Reaction to Academy Awards Nominations

Reaction to nominations for the 78th Academy Awards:

"We didn't make the film for any kind of political movement. We never expected to change people's minds. But if it does affect people's hearts, if perceptions can get altered, that's a good thing." — Heath Ledger, nominated for best actor for the gay romance "Brokeback Mountain."

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"I'll really enjoy it because it will never happen again." — Michelle Williams, on being nominated for best supporting actress alongside fiancee Ledger.

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"... I'm not certain that there's ever been a film that has a gay romance that's been embraced this way. But on the other hand the film is about a lot more than that. I've said this before, but it's sort of like saying 'Lonesome Dove' is just a story about a cattle drive." — Diana Ossana, nominated with Larry McMurtry for adapted screenplay for "Brokeback Mountain."

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"... I think I'm amazed how people everywhere have had the sensitivity to want to get into the complexity of the issue, the probability of love, the illusion of love, all those things." — Ang Lee, best director nominee for "Brokeback Mountain."

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"I'm just really delighted that this little film with big ambitions got the recognition it deserved. The only thing I wish is that some of my fellow cast members could have been recognized too." — Matt Dillon, best supporting actor nominee for "Crash."

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"I guess I'll go have a drink. I don't think my year could get much better." — Paul Giamatti, best supporting actor nominee for "Cinderella Man."

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"My eyes are so covered in tears, I couldn't see half the television. I didn't expect to cry. I thought I would be all right." — Terrence Howard, best actor nominee for "Hustle & Flow."

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"I am so thrilled to be nominated for something I loved working on every single day. I'm in such good company." — Judi Dench, best actress nominee for "Mrs. Henderson Presents."

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"It's just beyond my wildest dreams ever. Especially having five nominations for the picture, it's a dream come true." — Michael Ohoven, producer of best picture nominee "Capote."

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"I'm feeling very euphoric, I have a glass of champagne in front of me. It is the high point of my professional life so far. I say so far because winning it would be even better, but I'll settle for this for now." — Jeffrey Caine, nominated for adapted screenplay for "The Constant Gardener."

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"We're sharing the news with a lot of people, including a lot of people in Rwanda. The news is incredibly meaningful because they realize that people care about what happened to them." — Kimberlee Acquaro, co-director of "God Sleeps in Rwanda," nominated for best documentary short.

Globes Versus Oscar!

OSCAR - Best Picture:
"Brokeback Mountain"
"Capote"
"Crash"
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"Munich."

GLOBES - Best Motion Picture - Drama
A History Of Violence
WINNER - Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Good Night, And Good Luck
Match Point

GLOBES - Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
The Producers
The Squid And The Whale
WINNER - Walk The Line

Here is the main proof the the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (who give out the Golden Globes) and the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are two different groups with two different agendas. Yes, the HFPA do have two categories and more nominations, but only two Golden Globe nominees were Oscar nominees: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN and GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.

OSCAR - Actress:
Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"
Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"
Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"
Charlize Theron, "North Country"
Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line."

GLOBES - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Maria Bello – A History Of Violence
WINNER - Felicity Huffman – Transamerica
Gwyneth Paltrow – Proof
Charlize Theron – North Country
Ziyi Zhang – Memoirs Of A Geisha

GLOBES - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Judi Dench – Mrs. Henderson Presents
Keira Knightley – Pride & Prejudice
Laura Linney – The Squid And The Whale
Sarah Jessica Parker – The Family Stone
WINNER - Reese Witherspoon – Walk The Line

On the other hand, all five Oscar nominees had been nominated for a Globe as well. Many people have said that this would be a tough year to find 5 worthy Oscar nominees, and that seems to be true with past winners - and Oscar favourites - Judi Dench and Charlize Theron nominated again. In the end, however, they did nominate the five best.

OSCAR - Actor:
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"
Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"
David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck."

GLOBES - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Russell Crowe – Cinderella Man
WINNER - Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
Terrence Howard – Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger – Brokeback Mountain
David Strathairn – Good Night, And Good Luck

GLOBES - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Pierce Brosnan – The Matador
Jeff Daniels – The Squid And The Whale
Johnny Depp – Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Nathan Lane – The Producers
Cillian Murphy – Breakfast On Pluto
WINNER - Joaquin Phoenix – Walk The Line

In this category there were more to choose from and the AMPAS members nailed the right five. Yes, the fact that Russell Crowe wasn't nominated is interesting as he is a favourite as well, but the film did underperform, and he did get arrested when it came out for throwing a phone at a hotel clerk, so that explains that. Otherwise, this is the perfect category and the race is on!!

'Brokeback Mountain' Gets 8 Oscar Nods

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The cowboy love story "Brokeback Mountain" led the Academy Awards field Tuesday with eight nominations, among them best picture and honors for actor Heath Ledger and director Ang Lee.

Also nominated for best picture were the Truman Capote story "Capote"; the ensemble drama "Crash"; the Edward R. Murrow chronicle "Good Night, and Good Luck"; and the assassination thriller "Munich."

The Johnny Cash biography "Walk the Line," considered a likely best-picture nominee, was left out of that category, though Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon earned acting nominations.

Three films were tied with six nominations each — "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Memoirs of a Geisha," though "Geisha" was shut out in the top categories.

"Munich," which had fallen off many awards analysts' best-picture picks after a lukewarm reception, scored well with five nominations, including director for Steven Spielberg.

"King Kong," directed by "Lord of the Rings" creator Peter Jackson, earned only technical nominations, losing out in the major categories.

George Clooney picked up three nominations: as supporting actor for his role as a steadfast CIA undercover agent in "Syriana" and best director and co-writer for "Good Night."

It was the first time ever that a contender was honored with acting and directing nominations for two different movies.

Along with best-actor contender Ledger, and directing nominee Lee, "Brokeback Mountain" scored nominations for Michelle Williams as supporting actress, Jake Gyllenhaal as supporting actor and Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana for their screenplay adaptation of Annie Proulx's short story.

Director Lee said he was gratified at the reception both homosexual and heterosexual audiences have given "Brokeback Mountain," which has proven a steady box-office draw across the country.

"I didn't know there were so many gay people out there. Everywhere, they turn up," Lee said. "More importantly, I think I'm amazed how people everywhere have had the sensitivity to want to get into the complexity of the issue, the probability of love, the illusion of love, all those things. It's not simple things you can categorize as right or wrong."

The acting categories were a mix of familiar Oscar faces such as past winners Judi Dench and Charlize Theron, veterans like Clooney, Witherspoon, Rachel Weisz, David Strathairn and Felicity Huffman gaining their first academy attention, and young performers such as Williams and Amy Adams as a big-hearted Southern waif in "Junebug."

Philip Seymour Hoffman, the best-actor favorite for his remarkable embodiment of Capote, joined Ledger in the best-actor category. Hoffman has triumphed at earlier film honors, including the Golden Globes.

Along with Hoffman, Ledger and Phoenix, the other nominees were Terrence Howard as a small-time hood turned rap singer in "Hustle & Flow" and Strathairn as newsman Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck."

The best-actress race presumably will shape up as a two-woman contest between Huffman in a gender-bending role as a man about to undergo sex-change surgery in "Transamerica" and Witherspoon as singer June Carter, Cash's musical companion and future wife, in "Walk the Line."

Huffman won the Golden Globe for best dramatic actress, while Witherspoon earned the Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy. Witherspoon beat Huffman on Sunday for the best-actress prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Also nominated for the best-actress Oscar: Dench as a society dame who starts a nude stage revue in 1930s London in "Mrs. Henderson Presents"; Keira Knightley as the romantic heroine of the Jane Austen adaptation "Pride & Prejudice"; Charlize Theron as a mine worker who leads a sexual-harassment lawsuit against male co-workers in "North Country."

"I am so thrilled to be nominated for something I loved working on every single day," Dench said.

"Brokeback Mountain" led a wave of independent films that scored big in the nominations, instead of the studio fare that normally dominates the Oscars. Other than "Munich," most bigger budget movies that had been on the best-picture radar, such as "Walk the Line," "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Cinderella Man," were overlooked in the top Oscar category.

The year's biggest hit, "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," earned only one nomination (for makeup) — but was shut out otherwise — including the visual-effects category, a blow to George Lucas and his Industrial Light & Magic outfit that has pioneered special effects. The visual effects nominees were "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," "King Kong," and Spielberg's "War of the Worlds."

With key prizes at earlier Hollywood honors, "Brokeback Mountain" heads into the March 5 awards as the best-picture front-runner, potentially the first film with explicit gay themes to claim the grand prize at the Oscars.

The film stars Ledger and Gyllenhaal as Western roughnecks who share a summer of love while tending sheep together in the 1960s, then carry on a lifelong romance they conceal from their families. Williams co-stars as Ledger's wife, who overlooks her husband's affair to try to hold her family together.

Weisz, playing a humanitarian-aid worker in "The Constant Gardener," won the supporting-actress prize at the Golden Globes and SAG awards, giving her the inside track for the same honor at the Oscars.

Along with Weisz, Williams and Adams, supporting-actress bids went to Catherine Keener as "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee in "Capote"; and Frances McDormand as a miner coping with debilitating disease in "North Country."

Besides Gyllenhaal and Clooney, nominees for supporting actor were Matt Dillon as a racist cop in "Crash"; Paul Giamatti as a boxing manager in "Cinderella Man"; and William Hurt as a ruthless mobster in "A History of Violence."

Hurt was a bit of surprise since he only appears for a few minutes at the end of the film in scene-stealing role.

Lee, who won the Directors Guild of America honor Saturday for "Brokeback Mountain," is the clear favorite to win the best-director Oscar.

Along with him, Spielberg and Clooney, other directing nominees were Paul Haggis for "Crash" and Bennett Miller for "Capote."

It was the first time since 1981 that the same five movies were nominated for directing and best picture.

And for the first time since the animated feature film category was added in 2001 that no nominees were made using computer-generated imagery. The nominees: the hand-drawn "Howl's Moving Castle," and the stop-motion films " Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" and "Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."

"Wallace & Gromit" creator Nick Park said he was thrilled by the nomination.

"It's fantastic," Park said, toasting the nomination with champagne at Heathrow Airport as he waited for a flight to Los Angeles. "You never know with these things. It's so unpredictable.

"You make the film for its own sake really. You don't make the film for this reason. It's just a great bonus."

Oscar nominees in most categories are chosen by specific branches of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, such as directors, actors and writers. The full academy membership of about 5,800 is eligible to vote in all categories for the Oscars themselves.

ABC will broadcast the Oscars live from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, with Jon Stewart as host.

Here is the complete list of the 78th annual Oscar nominations announced Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif., by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

1. Best Picture: "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Munich."

2. Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"; Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"; Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"; Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"; David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck."

3. Actress: Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"; Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"; Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"; Charlize Theron, "North Country"; Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line."

4. Supporting Actor: George Clooney, "Syriana"; Matt Dillon, "Crash"; Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man"; Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain"; William Hurt, "A History of Violence."

5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "Junebug"; Catherine Keener, "Capote"; Frances McDormand, "North Country"; Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener"; Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain."

6. Director: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"; Bennett Miller, "Capote"; Paul Haggis, "Crash"; George Clooney, "Good Night, and Good Luck"; Steven Spielberg, "Munich."

7. Foreign Film: "Don't Tell," Italy; "Joyeux Noel," France; "Paradise Now," Palestine; "Sophie Scholl -- The Final Days," Germany; "Tsotsi," South Africa.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana, "Brokeback Mountain"; Dan Futterman, "Capote"; Jeffrey Caine, "The Constant Gardener"; Josh Olson, "A History of Violence"; Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, "Munich."

9. Original Screenplay: Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco, "Crash"; George Clooney & Grant Heslov, "Good Night, and Good Luck"; Woody Allen, "Match Point"; Noah Baumbach, "The Squid and the Whale"; Stephen Gaghan, "Syriana."

10. Animated Feature Film: "Howl's Moving Castle"; "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"; "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit."

11. Art Direction: "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," "King Kong," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Pride & Prejudice."

12. Cinematography: "Batman Begins," "Brokeback Mountain," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "The New World."

13. Sound Mixing: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," "King Kong," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Walk the Line," "War of the Worlds."

14. Sound Editing: "King Kong," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "War of the Worlds."

15. Original Score: "Brokeback Mountain," Gustavo Santaolalla; "The Constant Gardener," Alberto Iglesias; "Memoirs of a Geisha," John Williams; "Munich," John Williams; "Pride & Prejudice," Dario Marianelli.

16. Original Song: "In the Deep" from "Crash," Kathleen "Bird" York and Michael Becker; "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow," Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard; "Travelin' Thru" from "Transamerica," Dolly Parton.

17. Costume: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Mrs. Henderson Presents," "Pride & Prejudice," "Walk the Line."

18. Documentary Feature: "Darwin's Nightmare," "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," "March of the Penguins," "Murderball," "Street Fight."

19. Documentary (short subject): "The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club," "God Sleeps in Rwanda," "The Mushroom Club," "A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin."

20. Film Editing: "Cinderella Man," "The Constant Gardener," "Crash," "Munich," "Walk the Line."

21. Makeup: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," "Cinderella Man," "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith."

22. Animated Short Film: "Badgered," "The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation," "The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello," "9," "One Man Band."

23. Live Action Short Film: "Ausreisser (The Runaway)," "Cashback," "The Last Farm," "Our Time Is Up," "Six Shooter."

24. Visual Effects: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," "King Kong," "War of the Worlds." More to come....

Academy Award winners previously announced this year:

Honorary Award (Oscar statuette): Robert Altman.

The Gordon E. Sawyer award (Oscar statuette): Gary Demos.

The Couch Potato Report - January 31st, 2006

This week The Couch Potato Report includes movies that somehow entertain us, so we like them.

Sometimes we like movies and television shows just because we like them.

Regardless of their artistic merits, quality, or integrity, they entertain us and we like them.

That is definitely true for me when it comes to the work of Tim Burton.

Regardless of how successful - or unsuccessful - his films are with audiences, I usually find myself enjoying them.

That all started in 1985 with PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE and it continues now with his latest film CORPSE BRIDE.

Much like TIM BURTON'S 1993 film A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, CORPSE BRIDE uses the highly enjoyable stop-motion animation process to bring it's characters to life...and in this case, death.

In CORPSE BRIDE Johnny Depp provides the voice of Victor, a man who is about to marry a woman named Victoria.

When he can't seem to remember his vows he is sent into the woods to practice.

It is there where he finally gets it right, and he then places the ring on a twig that is sticking out of the ground.

The twig turns out to be the finger of a deceased bride who claims to be Victor's lawful wife. She then takes him to the Land of the Dead so they can begin their new life together.

In addition to Johnny Depp the vocal cast of CORPSE BRIDE also includes Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant and Christopher Lee. Every voice fits the character design and the film is fun!

Yes, it is about a bride who is a corpse, and that is a subject matter that might not be for everyone, but CORPSE BRIDE entertained me and I liked it.

I also liked KNIGHT RIDER, the 1982 to 1986 television series about a lone crimefighter who fights injustice with the help of an indestructible and artificially intelligent talking car.

Actually, I still like it! It never fails to entertain me, so I like it!

And now, the third season of KNIGHT RIDER is available in a three-disc box set.

In the history of the show season three is probably the one that is the best example of how entertaining the show is.

The camaraderie and working relationships between all of the main characters is strong, plus the actual KITT car has some upgrades as well.

No, KNIGHT RIDER was never the best show on television, but for some reason, it entertained me when it was first on, and the KNIGHT RIDER - SEASON THREE box set entertained me this week. So I like it!

I also like the 1984 science fiction film DUNE, although it is only an interesting, yet unsatisfying movie.

In fact, the new on DVD EXTENDED CUT is so bad, that director David Lynch took his name off of it.

When you watch the film, if you watch the film, it is listed as "An Alan Smithee Film."

Alan Smithee was a pseudonym that was used between 1968 and 1999 by Hollywood film directors who wanted to be dissociated from a film for which they no longer wanted credit. It was used when the director could prove to the satisfaction of a panel of members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers that the film had been wrested from his or her creative control. The director is also required to keep the reason for the disavowal a secret. The pseudonym cannot be used to hide a director's failures.

In 1997 the Director's Guild decided to choose a pseudonym for each case separately, rather than re-use a particular pseudonym.

The extended version of the David Lynch film Dune was credited to Alan Smithee when Lynch objected to edits made to the film by its producers.

With or without Lynch's blessing, That EXTENDED VERSION of DUNE has finally made its way to DVD, and if you like the original version, which still has David Lynch's name on it, it is included on the disc as well.

Both versions of DUNE are set in the far future. A duke and his family are sent to a sand world, a world that produces a spice that is essential for interstellar travel. The fact that they are sent to this world is meant to destroy the duke and his family, but his son escapes and he seeks revenge, using the world's ecology as one of his weapons.

From the first time I saw the movie years ago I never thought it was very good, but somehow it entertained me, and I like it.

But as I said about REPO MAN last week, I now say about DUNE: "DUNE will never be considered a classic by anyone who didn't see it when it first came out, and it is for those people that this new EXTENDED EDITION is aimed at."

So, in a nutshell, it is aimed at me.

If you are like me, you'll be happy to hear that the EXTENDED VERSION of DUNE is available now available at your favourite local video store, along with the KNIGHT RIDER - SEASON THREE box set and TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

In Cameron Crowe's ELIZABETHTOWN Orlando Bloom is a man who must deal with losing his job and his father at the same time. Kirsten Dunst and Susan Sarandon also star.

WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT features the wonderful animated characters in their first full-length movie, and BAMBI II is the sequel to the classic Disney film.

In JUST LIKE HEAVEN Mark Ruffalo from YOU CAN COUNT ON ME plays a man who falls in love with a woman who is a ghost. That ghost is played by Reese Witherspoon.

In DOOM The Rock and Karl Urban play Marines who must go to Mars to battle experiments gone bad.

And WAITING is the story of a group of young people working in a restaurant.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

New CD Releases January 31

Daniel Agust Swallowed a Star (One Little Indian)

Ernie Andrews How About Me? (HighNote)

Andrea Bocelli Amore (Decca)

Boston T Party Boston T Party (fusion album w/Dennis Chambers, Dave Fiuczynski and more) (Tone Center)

Chino XL Poison Pen (two CDs; w/Killah Priest, the Beatnuts, D-12's Proof and more) (Audio Fidelity)

John Corbett John Corbett (Fun Bone)

Degree Absolute Degree Absolute (Sensory)

DJ Cam Revisited by... (remixes by DJ Premier, Thievery Corporation, J Dilla and more) (Recall)

Dozer Through the Eyes of Heathens (Small Stone)

Bobby Few & Avram Fefer Sanctuary (CIMP)

William Gagliardi 5tet Memories of Tomorrow (CIMP)

Heather Headley In My Mind (DualDisc same day; produced by Babyface and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; guests Lil Jon and Shaggy) (RCA)

The High Violets To Where You Are (Reverb)

Tom Hunter Here I Go Again (FS Music)

Wanda Jackson I Remember Elvis (Goldenlane)

Jamey Johnson The Dollar (BNA)

Ernie Krivda 5tet Stellar Sax (CIMP)

Byard Lancaster 4tet Pam Africa (CIMP)

Adam Lane Trio Music Degree Zero (CIMP)

Eliot Lipp Tacoma Mockingbird (Hefty)

Barry Manilow The Greatest Songs from the Fifties (DualDisc same day; covers of songs by the Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and more) (Arista)

Lisa McClendon Live from the House of Blues (Columbia)

Michael McGoldrick Wired (Compass)

Media Lab Bleeding Memory (Sunland)

Moreau (formerly known as Cousteau) Nova Scotia (One Little Indian)

Anna Nalick Wreck of the Day (DualDisc) (Columbia)

David "Fathead" Newman Cityscape (HighNote)

P.O.S Audition (Rhymesayers)

Planet Asia The Sickness, Part One (Copter)

Lee Rocker (ex-Stray Cats) Racin' the Devil (Alligator)

Scotch Greens Professional (Brass Tacks/DRT)

She Wants Revenge She Wants Revenge (Geffen)

Matthew Shipp One (Thirsty Ear)

Stoned Emotion Stoned Emotion (AEC/Big Daddy)

Temptations Reflections (new recordings of classic Motown songs) (New Door/Mercury/Universal)

Termanology Out the Gate (Street/Showoff)

Train For Me, It's You (Columbia)

Larry Willis The Big Push (HighNote)

Rev. Billy C. Wirtz Sermon from Bethlehem (DVD same day) (Blind Pig)

Wolfmother Dimension EP (Interscope)

Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 ...tick...tick...tick (Down There)

VA Breakfast Club: Paris (Water Music)

VA Dream Brother: The Songs of Jeff and Tim Buckley (w/Sufjan Stevens, the Magic Numbers, the Earlies and more) (Rykodisc)

VA Gangster Love Volume 3 (Thump)

VA Nicolette Larson Tribute (Rhino)

VA Rock for Relief (Rounder)

OST Baker Street (Decca)

OST Manderlay (Lars von Trier film w/Willem Dafoe, Danny Glover and Lauren Bacall) (Milan)

OST Mulholland Drive (Silver Screen Series) (Milan)

OST The Family Stone (score by Michael Giacchino) (Varése Sarabande)

OST Three Burials of Melquidades Estrada (Tommy Lee Jones/Dwight Yoakam film; songs by Yoakam, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and more) (Recall)

OST Tristan & Isolde (score by Anne Dudley) (Varése Sarabande)

DVD And 1 Ball Access: Asia Pacific (Penalty/And 1)

DVD Alison Moyet One Blue Voice (Sanctuary)

DVD VA It's All About Dancing: Jamaican Dancehall Style (Penalty)

UMD Good Charlotte Live at Brixton (Epic)

Scrubs - Season 3 is coming in May!

I haven't heard anything from Disney, but Amazon.com put up a listing for the third season of Scrubs, due out on May 9.

The 3 disc set will contain all 22 episodes from the third season, and will sell for $39.99 (Amazon is taking preorder for $27.99). We hope to have more information, and artwork, when the set is officially announced.

Episodes include:
My American Girl
My Journey
My White Whale
My Lucky Night
My Brother, Where Art Thou?
My Advice to You
My Fifteen Seconds
My Friend the Doctor
My Dirty Secret
My Rule of Thumb
My Clean Break
My Catalyst
My Porcelain God
My Screw Up
My Tormented Mentor
My Butterfly
My Moment of Un-Truth
His Story II
My Choosiest Choice of All
My Fault
My Self-Examination
My Best Friend's Wedding

Golden Globes to Add Animation Category

LOS ANGELES - Animated movies will finally have a Golden Globe to call their own.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association will add a category to its awards program — best animated feature film — beginning with the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards in 2007, HFPA President Philip Berk announced Monday.

"Animated features have become an important component of the studio lineup," Berk said in a statement, "so there was an overwhelming consensus that this new category be added."

Animated films have been recognized with Golden Globe nominations in the best picture, musical or comedy category. "The Incredibles" was nominated in 2004 and "Finding Nemo" in 2003. Neither won best picture.

The new category is open to feature-length animated films 70 minutes or longer. If fewer than eight films qualify in a given year, the award will not be given, Berk said.

CBS' Latest "Amazing" Globetrotters

And they're off...

CBS has revealed the identities of its latest batch of Amazing Race-rs, including college sweethearts, bohemian best buds and a mother-daughter pairing.

The three-time Emmy-winning reality show will forgo last season's gimmick of four-member family teams and return to its original format for its ninth season, pitting 11 two-person teams against each other in a race around the world for a million-dollar prize.

Phil Keoghan again hosts the globe-trotting adventure series, which this season will span five continents and include stops in the Middle East, Moscow and Sicily, among other exotic locales, CBS announced Monday.

The 30-day trek requires contestants to compete in a series of mental and physical challenges at each destination, and only when each task is complete do they learn the location of their next mission. Each week, the team that's made the least amount of progress is eliminated.

Among the 22 contestants for The Amazing Race 9 are Tyler MacNiven, one-half of the self-proclaimed bohemian best-bud pairing, once walked the 2,000-mile length of Japan in order to impress a local woman, while married couple Fran and Barry Lazarus, both in their 60s and the race's oldest competitors, claim to have traveled to more than 45 countries and climbed all of Colorado's mountains.

Here's the complete list of competitors:

BJ Averell, 26, online tutor, Los Angeles; Tyler MacNiven, 25, filmmaker, San Francisco (best friends)

Scott Braginton-Smith, 41, sales rep, West Harwich, Massachusetts; John Lowe, 38, wealth manager, Dorchester, Massachusetts (lifelong friends)

Yolanda Brown-Moore, 27, science teacher, Chicago; Ray Whitty, 31, attorney, Chicago (dating)

Monica Cayce, 23, student, Fayetteville, Arkansas; Joseph Meadows, 23, homebuilder, Fort Smith, Arkansas (dating)

Desiree Cifre, 24, writer, New York; Wanda Lopez-Rochford, 44, corporate trainer, Smyrna, Georgia (mother/daughter)

Michelle Garner, 36, homemaker, Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Lake Garner, 37, dentist, Hattiesburg, Mississippi (married parents)

Joni Glaze, 44, children's minister, Katy, Texas; Lisa Hinds, 48, realtor/artist, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida (sisters)

Barry Lazarus, 63, retired physician, Silverthorne, Colorado; Fran Lazarus, 61, retired accountant, Silverthorne, Colorado (married 40 years)

Jeremy Ryan, 26, valet, Fort Lauderdale; Eric Sanchez, 27, waiter, Fort Lauderdale (friends)

David Spiker, 30, musician, Manhattan, Kansas; Lori Willems, 25, Pizza Hut manager, Manhattan, Kansas (dating)

Dani Torchio, 22, recent college grad, Staten Island; Danielle Turner, 22, recent college grad, Staten Island (childhood friends)

"Son of the Mask," Couch-Jumping Cruise Razzed

As if we needed the Razzie folks to tell us how superlatively sucking Son of the Mask was.

Nonetheless, the Jim Carrey-less sequel stands atop the field of 2005's craptacular cinema, notching a leading eight nominations for the 26th Annual Razzie Awards: Worst Picture, Worst Actor for star Jamie Kennedy (filling in for Carrey), Worst Supporting Actor for Alan Cumming and Bob Hoskins, Worst Screen Couple (for Kennedy and anybody sharing the screen with him), Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Sequel/Remake.

And while its lameness isn't up for debate, Son of the Mask actually has some serious competition for the distinction of Worst Film, namely: Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, House of Wax, The Dukes of Hazzard and Jenny McCarthy's blink-and-you-missed-it "comedy," Dirty Love.

Not only was it a disaster year for Hollywood at the box office, but with Hollywood's most reliably bankable star jumping the couch on Oprah, Razzie organizers decided to add a brand-new category: Most Tiresome Tabloid Target.

Naturally, the list is headed up by Tom Cruise (who doubled his displeasure with a Worst Actor nomination for War of the Worlds). He'll square off against another double nominee, Paris Hilton (whose "performance" in House of Wax garnered a Worst Supporting Actress nod), as well as Britney Spears and Kevin Federline (nominated as "Mr. & Mrs. Britney) and the Simpsons, which in this case include Jessica, Ashlee and Nick.

Cruise's betrothed didn't escape the Razzies wrath, either. Katie Holmes nabbed a Worst Supporting Actress nomination for Batman Begins.

Joining Cruise and Kennedy in the Worst Actor race were Will Ferrell, dinged for the twin bill of turkeys Bewitched and Kicking & Screaming, Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson for Doom and Rob Schneider for foisting a Deuce Bigalow sequel on the world.

On the actress side, McCarthy (who also is up for Worst Screenplay and Worst Couple) will face off against Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four and Into the Blue), Hilary Duff (Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and The Perfect Man), Jennifer Lopez for Monster-in-Law and Tara Reid for playing a "genius anthropologist" in Alone in the Dark.

Formerly know as the Golden Raspberry Awards, the Razzies were founded in 1980 and chosen by 725 film professionals, film journalists and film fans willing to pay a $25 fee.

Per tradition, the Razzie ceremonies will be held the night before the Oscars, Mar. 4, at the Hollywood's Ivar Theater.

Here's the complete list of Razzie contenders:

Worst Picture:
Son of the Mask
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow
House of Wax
Dirty Love
The Dukes of Hazzard

Worst Actor:
Tom Cruise (War of the Worlds)
Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow)
Jamie Kennedy (Son of the Mask)
Will Ferrell (Bewitched and Kicking & Screaming)
The Rock (Doom)

Worst Actress:
Jenny McCarthy (Dirty Love)
Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four, Into the Blue)
Hilary Duff (Cheaper by the Dozen 2, The Perfect Man)
Jennifer Lopez (Monster-in-Law)
Tara Reid (Alone in the Dark)

Worst Supporting Actor:
Alan Cumming (Son of the Mask)
Bob Hoskins (Son of the Mask)
Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith)
Eugene Levy (Cheaper by the Dozen 2, The Man)
Burt Reynolds (The Dukes of Hazzard, The Longest Yard)

Worst Supporting Actress:
Paris Hilton (House of Wax)
Katie Holmes (Batman Begins)
Carmen Electra (Dirty Love)
Jessica Simpson (The Dukes of Hazzard)
Ashlee Simpson (Undiscovered)

Worst Director:
John Asher (Dirty Love)
Ewe Boll (Alone in the Dark)
Jay Chandrasekhar (The Dukes of Hazzard)
Nora Ephron (Bewitched)
Lawrence Guterman (Son of the Mask)

Worst Screenplay:
Jenny McCarthy (Dirty Love)
Rob Schneider, David Garrett & Jason Ward (Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow)
Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron & Adam McKay (Bewitched)
John O'Brien (The Dukes of Hazzard)
Lance Khazei (Son of the Mask)

Worst Sequel or Remake:
Bewitched
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
The Dukes of Hazzard
House of Wax
Son of the Mask

Worst Screen Couple:
Jamie Kennedy and Anybody Stuck Sharing the Screen with Him (Son of the Mask)
Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman (Bewitched)
Jenny McCarthy and Anyone Dumb Enough to Befriend or Date Her (Dirty Love)
Rob Schneider and his Diapers (Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow)
Jessica Simpson and her Daisy Dukes (The Dukes of Hazzard)

Most Tiresome Tabloid Target:
Tom Cruise and...His Anti-Psychiatry Rant, Oprah Winfrey's Couch, the Eiffel Tower and "Tom's Baby"
Paris Hilton and...Who-EVER!
Mr. and Mrs. Britney, Their Baby and Their Camcorder
The Simpsons--Ashlee, Jessica and Nick

Oscars nominations may climb "Brokeback Mountain"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - This year, the big ape doesn't seem to stand much of a chance.

The Academy of Motion picture Arts and Sciences announces its Oscar nominations on Tuesday, and the betting is that small is beautiful in a year in which a spare, bleak film about a pair of gay cowboys, "Brokeback Mountain," has stirred more movie talk than the $200 million return of "King Kong" or other costly epics.

In stark contrast to some Academy Award years, small films made by independent filmmakers who spent years fighting for financing are expected to dominate Hollywood's most closely watched awards list, instead of big budget movies by Hollywood studios that have money to burn.

After all, nobody asked President Bush if he had seen the critically acclaimed remake of "King Kong," but he was asked if he saw "Brokeback Mountain." He found himself awkwardly ducking the question, although he offered to talk about ranching.

"Brokeback," with its challenge to one of America's most masculine preserves, Marlboro Country, has achieved a much sought after status in America -- it has become the subject for much talk around office water coolers.

But whether it can win the Oscar for best picture when the Academy Awards are handed out on March 5 is another question. No film with a theme of gay love has won the prize, which is a symbol of mainstream success.

"Brokeback" has won many early critics and press group awards, but "Crash," a racially charged drama full of unexpected twists and turns, stole the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night. Its win put a temporary halt to the "Brokeback" bandwagon and suggested to some that there might be an Oscar contest this year, after all.

However, only one night before, Ang Lee, the Taiwanese director of "Brokeback," was named the year's best director by the Directors Guild of America, and winners of the DGA have a long history of winning Oscars.

BUCKING "BROKEBACK"

"Brokeback's" competition may come from "Crash," "Walk the Line," a bio drama of the stormy love affair between June Carter and Johnny Cash, and "Good Night, and Good Luck," the story of newsman Edward R. Morrow's fight against McCarthyism.

The big question for Oscar watchers is which film will round out the top five for best picture -- will it be "The Constant Gardener," a tale of drug company chicanery in Africa, "Syriana," a complicated tale of oil politics, Steven Spielberg's "Munich," about the aftermath of the murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, or maybe even longshot "King Kong," Oscar winner Peter Jackson's affectionate look at the big ape.

Many Oscar experts say the fight for best actor could come down to two men, Philip Seymour Hoffman for his performance as writer Truman Capote in "Capote," and Heath Ledger for his performance as one of the cowboy lovers in "Brokeback."

Time magazine film critic Richard Schickel says that Hoffman's performance is the kind "that Oscar voters like. It is visible acting and very much against type, whereas Ledger's is naturalistic and effective."

Other possible contenders are David Strathairn for his pitch-perfect performance as broadcaster Murrow in George Clooney's film on the McCarthy era; Joaquin Phoenix for playing Johnny Cash, warts, warbles and all; and the so far overlooked Ralph Fiennes, whose portrayal of a meek British diplomat in "The Constant Gardener" was overshadowed by his co-star Rachel Weisz, a possible candidate for best supporting actress.

Reese Witherspoon, who played June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line," and Felicity Huffman, who plays a man waiting for a sex change operation in "Transamerica" are both considered shoo-ins for the best actress nomination. Other possible nominees are Dame Judi Dench for "Mrs. Henderson Presents," a comedy set in wartime London, and Ziyi Zhang, the Chinese star of "Memoirs of a Geisha."

'Brokeback' Sparks Interest in Wyo.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Fans of "Brokeback Mountain" don't seem to care the movie was actually filmed in Canada. They want the Wyoming experience. The Wyoming Business Council's travel and tourism department has received hundreds of calls asking about scenery in the movie, which is based on Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Proulx's short story about two gay Wyoming cowboys.

"When we tell them it was shot in Canada, they're still interested in Wyoming," said Michell Howard, manager of the council's film, arts and entertainment office. "They don't hang up and call Alberta. They're intrigued in the story."

Wyoming Business Council spokesman Chuck Coon said he hasn't seen a movie generate this much interest in the state during his 15 years with the travel and tourism department.

"In terms of phone calls and Internet requests, it's usually slow this time of the year," he said. "This movie has changed that."

Tourism officials have long known that a good movie can attract tourists. Store owners in Livingston, Mont., say customers still come to see the area where "A River Runs Through It" was filmed, said Sten Iverson of the Montana Film Office; New Zealand is banking on "Lord of the Rings" tours; "Sideways" didn't just create a demand for wine tours around Santa Barbara, Calif., it boosted sales of certain wines.

Wyoming has had a hard time tapping into that market, though, because so few big-budget movies are filmed here.

Occasionally people who see reruns of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" — a 1977 movie shot near Devil's Tower — call with questions about the state, Coon said.

"But there's surprisingly much more interest in Brokeback," he said. "The subject matter has something to do with it, but most of the calls we get are asking about scenery."

Coon said Ang Lee, the director of "Brokeback Mountain," toured much of the eastern Big Horn Mountains and several nearby towns when scouting locations for the film. But because of budget concerns, Lee shot the film in Canada.

Financial incentives have drawn many film companies to Canada, which has built a $5 billion film industry in the process. Because of the high amount of production there already, companies can hire local crews instead of bringing them from elsewhere, cheapening the overall price of the project.

Wyoming, on the other hand, doesn't have enough skilled workers for most large film crews, Howard said; if a major project was shot here, crews would have to be brought in from outside.

Three movies in the last three years — "An Unfinished Life" starring Redford and Jennifer Lopez in 2003, "Brokeback Mountain" in 2004 and "Flicka" in 2005 — had stories set in Wyoming but were not primarily filmed in the state.

"Flicka," a remake of the 1950's television series "My Friend Flicka," scheduled to come out next year, was primarily shot in California. There were, however, a couple of weeks of location shooting near Sheridan, Howard said.

Wyoming business and travel leaders are trying to find ways to lure movie production companies to film in the state, including a proposal to rebate up to 15 percent of purchases made in the state by film companies that spend at least $500,000 on production there.

The bill has good support in the legislature, Howard said, "but we'll just have to see what they want to do."

If it passes, Howard also wants to create a jobs program to train more Wyoming residents to work on film crews.

"It's kind of like the chicken and the egg, though," she said. "You don't want to train people until you know there will be work for them."

'American Idol' favored for gold over Olympics

TV's February sweeps, usually a hotly contested month full of specials and stunts, is an Olympic feat this year.

The ratings period that starts Thursday, which is used by local stations to set future ad rates, will instead be marked with a triple-axel asterisk: NBC's Winter Olympics competes on 17 of its 28 days.

Never mind that CBS will air the Grammy Awards and ABC has the season's top-rated Super Bowl.

Fox has a little talent competition called American Idol, which, at its torrid pace, probably will become the first series in eight years to outmuscle the Olympics. The show faces the Games on five nights.

"I do think it will beat the Olympics," says Magna Global USA analyst Steve Sternberg, except during figure skating finals that involve the U.S. team.

All of which leaves rivals combing for leftovers, especially among young viewers and men, who tend to be less interested in winter gold.

"We're not throwing in the towel; we're still programming aggressively," ABC scheduling chief Jeff Bader says. "But the combination of the Olympics and American Idol creates some time periods where those programs will dominate no matter what airs against them."

Still, ABC plans mostly original series opposite the Games, although it will air a repeat of Lost's pilot Feb. 22 opposite the Olympics and a two-hour Idol.

In addition to Idol, which adds a Thursday semifinals results show for three weeks starting Feb. 23, Fox plans new episodes of 24 all month. WB's series will sit out the second week of the Olympics, and the network will air a weeklong movie marathon.

CBS plans a rerun-filled lineup, along with Survivor, some new comedy episodes and a Valentine's Day special in which Dr. Phil offers love advice to Paula Abdul.

In deciding where to parcel out fresh episodes, "you probably don't get maximum value against the Olympics," CBS scheduler Kelly Kahl says. "Even though it's sweeps, they're probably better utilized somewhere else." On the bright side, look for fewer repeats than usual in March.

Despite NBC's Olympics marathon, analysts say, the network is too far behind to count on the Games to vault it anywhere close to first place. Instead, Sternberg predicts that ABC, CBS and, by mid-March, Fox will be in a razor-thin race for first among young-adult viewers.

So none can afford to sit out the month entirely. Says Sternberg: "The network races are so close, whoever's ahead season-to-date (as February ends) has a very good chance of winning the season."

Tom Cruise front-runner for worst acting award

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tom Cruise may have survived a Martian attack in last year's remake of "War of the Worlds," but he has failed to elude Hollywood's movie police.

The actor was among the contenders announced on Monday for the annual Razzie Awards, which "honor" the worst achievements in film.

Cruise will compete for the year's worst actor award with Will Ferrell ("Bewitched," "Kicking & Screaming"), Jamie Kennedy ("Son of the Mask"), Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ("Doom") and Rob Schneider ("Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo").

The nominees were announced by The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, a tongue-in-cheek organization that claims more than 700 voting members.

Foundation head John Wilson said in an interview he did not think Cruise's portrayal of a working-class man in "War of the Worlds" was particularly credible.

While there were arguably worse performances, Cruise's off-screen antics, either in support of Scientology, or in the throes of passion with new girlfriend Katie Holmes, ensured he made the grade, Wilson said.

Indeed, Cruise was nominated twice in the new category of most tiresome tabloid target, which salutes "the celebs we're all sick and tired of," Wilson said.

Cruise is already a Razzie winner, sharing the honor with Brad Pitt for worst screen couple in "Interview with the Vampire." He was also nominated for the film "Cocktail."

Actresses Jenny McCarthy and Jessica Simpson also picked up three nominations. McCarthy was cited for worst actress, worst screen couple and worst screenplay for "Dirty Love." Simpson will also vie for worst screen couple, as well as worst supporting actress as Daisy Duke in "The Dukes of Hazard."

"Son of the Mask," a sequel to the 1994 Jim Carrey hit, led the nominated films with eight mentions. Unfortunately for the producers, Carrey did not reprise his role in the new film and no one went to see it.

"Dukes of Hazzard," which did well at the box office, received seven nominations.

Winners will be announced on March 4, the day before the Academy Awards. Last year's announcement was attended by Halle Berry, graciously taking her lumps for "Catwoman."

Jessica Alba picked as best girlfriend material by AskMen.com

NEW YORK (AP) - More guys want Jessica Alba for their girlfriend than any other woman, according to AskMen.com's top 99 list for 2006.

The 24-year-old actress tops the website's list ranking female celebrities on their "long-term relationship material." Alba is followed by Alfie star Sienna Miller and the ubiquitous Angelina Jolie.

The list will be posted Tuesday.

James Bassil, editor-in-chief of AskMen.com, told The Associated Press the list was determined by the rankings of 2.5 million readers and by the site's staff.

Readers of the online magazine were asked to vote according to the woman they would most want a relationship with, would consider marrying or thought best-suited to be the mother of their children.

Of course, few have ever accused Alba, Miller or Jolie of being short on movie star glamour.

"We encouraged readers not to go on looks alone," Bassil said. "I don't believe it's an entirely accurate reflection of what a reader strives for in their long-term relationships, but at the same time, it's not a sheerly surface appreciation."

The rest of the top 10, in order, is Brazilian model Adriana Lima (No. 1 last year), Access Hollywood correspondent Maria Menounos, Charlize Theron, Jessica Biel, singer Amerie, Natalie Portman and Eva Longoria.

Britney Spears - a mainstay of such lists in previous years - failed to chart.

Rescuers Save 67 Canadian Miners

ESTERHAZY, Saskatchewan - Rescuers retrieved 67 western Canadian potash miners who had been trapped underground by a fire, but several more miners were still in subterranean emergency chambers Monday waiting for help.

Seventy-two miners were trapped early Sunday when a fire started in polyethylene piping more than a half-mile underground.

When toxic smoke began to fill the tunnels, the miners retreated to so-called refuge stations — spacious chambers that can be sealed off and are equipped with supplies of oxygen, food and water.

Thirty-two miners were brought to the surface at about 3:30 a.m., said Mosaic Co., which owns the mine. Another 35 emerged a few hours later. No serious injuries were reported.

"They are glad to be on the surface," said Brian Hagan, director of health and safety for Dynatech, the contractor that employed the miners. "They protected themselves and that is what they are trained to do."

Marshall Hamilton, a spokesman for Mosaic Potash, said Monday morning that the five remaining miners were safe and expected to be brought to the surface shortly.

Rob Dyck, one of the members of the rescue team, said the fire created a lot of smoke.

"It was hot, dusty, but our training came through," Dyck said. "We've been in smoke before, but probably nothing this complicated."

The miners were not exposed to the smoke, Hagan said.

"A lot of them said they had a good sleep down there in the refuge station," he said. "They were pretty calm. They had water, they had food, they had all the stuff that they needed."

The mine, which was Saskatchewan's first potash operation when it opened in 1962, is located about 125 miles northeast of Regina.

Voice actor Carlson dies

For a generation of Canadians, he was the soothing TV voice that proffered recipes involving products such as Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows and Miracle Whip.

The voice of Kraft foods from the '70s and '80s, Len Carlson died Thursday of a heart attack at age 68. He was one of the country's most prolific voice actors.

Carlson was the narrator in the popular Canadian cartoon Rocket Robin Hood, the voice of several Marvel cartoon characters including Captain America and Spider-Man's enemy The Green Goblin, and the voice of Bert Raccoon in CBC's The Raccoons.

"He was very physically active, so his death was a shock," said his agent Richard Menich. Menich said Carlson began as a pro athlete, a running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and a pitcher for the minor League Seattle Pilots. He turned to acting after injuries ended his sports career.

Carlson was a voice character in two YTV series still in production, Atomic Betty and Cyberchase.

The actor is survived by his wife Judy and daughter Corrine. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at Marshall Funeral Home in Richmond Hill.

Documentary revisits Cdn. pop from 60's

Canuck music history doc boasts never-before-seen performances

One of the clips in Shakin' All Over is an old footage of the Squires with Neil Young, top left corner, jamming together.

You won't believe the sight of David Clayton Thomas and the Shays performing on American television in 1965.

That's not the only reason to watch the two-hour documentary Shakin' All Over: Canadian Pop Music In The 1960s. But the Thomas clip will stick in your noggin because it's so damn bizarre.

The producers of the NBC musical-variety show Hullabaloo must have thought, "Hell, these guys are Canadian, so let's go with a hockey theme. Anything else might scare 'em."

So there's the group, performing the song Walk That Walk on a ridiculous set that is painted like a hockey rink. Large logos of the six NHL teams that were in existence in '65 hang in the background, alongside a scoreboard.

The most goofy thing of all? There are some stoic female models -- mannequins maybe? -- wearing hockey jerseys and posing stiffly with sticks, amid the musicians.

The girl standing guard in front of the net is donning a Maple Leafs sweater, so feel free to make up your own joke about the current quality of the club's goaltending.

Anyway, it all comes across as comical but slightly demeaning. These days hockey has been romanticized so much that Canadians might take such treatment as a compliment, but that's a rant for another day.

The whole point of Shakin' All Over is not to demean Canadian music, but to celebrate it. The documentary deals specifically with the era prior to the 1971 Canadian-content laws that force Canadian radio stations to play a minimum percentage of Canadian music.

The great thing about Shakin' All Over is the rare clips. Even if you're familiar with standard rock 'n' roll archives, there will be dozens of performances here that you never have seen before.

But be forewarned: While there are segments reserved for big-time acts like the Guess Who, Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Anne Murray and Neil Young, a lot of this stuff is very obscure. That might turn you off, or on, depending upon your level of fascination with Canuck musical history.

You'll see a group called the Great Scots, fully attired in kilts.

You'll see Tom Baird, keyboard player for the Classics, playing solitaire with one hand and piano with the other.

You'll hear Jerry Mercer, the drummer for Mashmakhan (which had a big hit with As The Years Go By), recalling that the band went from playing in a church basement in Montreal on a Wednesday to a full stadium in Japan on a Saturday. "We were almost like the Beatles there," Mercer says.

Yeah, almost.

A small criticism of Shakin' All Over is that it doesn't end in a particularly succinct way. One minute Crowbar is playing a concert with a stripper, then boom, the closing credits are running.

Overall, though, Shakin' All Over is a sharp showcase for a bygone era. And whether you're a hardcore music nut or someone who just likes watching weird archival footage, you never, ever will forget the hokey hockey set on Hullabaloo. Groovy, man.

Sirius, XM expose Canadian acts to Americans

TORONTO (Billboard) - Canadian acts picking up airplay on the country's new satellite-based subscription radio services are also getting much-coveted U.S. exposure.

Sirius Canada launched December 1, with XM Canada following December 12.

Sirius Canada is a partnership among Canadian Broadcasting Corp., Toronto-based Standard Broadcasting Corp. and New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio. It offers 100 channels for a monthly subscription price of $14.99 Canadian ($12.85).

Its package includes 10 Canadian-produced channels, with four of them dedicated to music: English-language Iceberg Radio and CBC Radio 3 and French-language Rock Velours and Energie 2. The music channels are all available to Sirius subscribers in the United States.

XM Canada is operated by publicly traded Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings with a minority stake held by Washington, D.C.-based XM Satellite Radio Holdings. Its $12.99 Canadian ($11.14) monthly package contains 80 channels, eight of them Canadian-produced.

All of its Canadian channels can be heard on XM's U.S. service. They include three music strands: the English-language outlet Unsigned and French-language Air Musique and Sur Route.

"XM and Sirius are being aggressive in seeking domestic content," says Derrick Ross, EMI Music Canada VP of national promotion and media relations.

Among the acts being heard on XM's triple A-based Unsigned are alternative acts Broken Social Scene, the Novaks, Metric and Luke Doucet. Sirius' triple-A/Americana-styled Iceberg has been playing roots-based Blackie & the Rodeo Kings and singer/songwriters Feist and Colin Linden.

"XM Canada has really gotten behind the Novaks, and, to a lesser extent, Luke Doucet," Warner Music Canada VP of radio promotion Steve Coady says. "These are acts on labels we distribute that we were struggling to get airplay on."

With Unsigned, XM Canada VP of programming Ross Davies says he is "discovering this incredible depth of music that hasn't been played before on Canadian radio."

Sources at XM and Sirius say that subscriptions at both Canadian operations are running ahead of expectations, but the companies decline to provide details.

"In Canada, there aren't many people listening yet," Standard Radio president Gary Slaight admits. "Most of the people listening to us are in the U.S. The big benefit right now for Canadian acts is in the United States."

Coady says, "I suspect the effect in the U.S. will be apparent as artists start getting hits on their Web sites from Oklahoma City or elsewhere."

But according to Iceberg program manager Liz Janik, Canadian labels are not yet taking advantage of the two satellite companies reaching "over 3 million subscribers on Sirius in the U.S. and almost 6 million on XM there."

With a few exceptions, she says, "the Canadian labels are asleep at the wheel" with servicing.

Broadcast regulator the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission granted the two satellite licenses in June 2005.

Under their license terms, the satellite providers can carry less Canadian content than commercial radio overall, but must offer at least eight Canadian-produced channels with 85% Canadian programming. They can also have a maximum of nine U.S.-based channels for each Canadian channel.

That ruling looks likely to be a central topic at hearings during the review of commercial radio slated to start May 15 in Ottawa. The Canadian Assn. of Broadcasters has said it will push for modifying Canadian content quotas at the review.

"Heading into the review of radio, we're very concerned how the satellite decision will (have an) impact on Canadian content levels," says Cori Ferguson, executive director of the Canadian Independent Record Production Assn.

Sources say that media spillover from Howard Stern's launch on Sirius in the United States has increased awareness of the satellite broadcaster in Canada.

However, Sirius Canada does not carry Stern, and it seems unlikely he will be heard in Canada anytime soon.

Under the satellite licenses, XM Canada and Sirius Canada's programming falls under CRTC radio regulations dealing with abusive comment. Both services also have to abide by the standards and codes of the Broadcast Standards Council.

"If there was complaint over Stern, and the Broadcast Standards Council found the programming in contravention to their codes, Sirius would have a big headache," one source notes.

"I don't think it would be a problem," Slaight counters. "People have to pay for service and can opt out of a channel. We're still evaluating the channel lineup and how Howard is doing in the U.S."

One Huge "Momma"

Everyone seemed to head to Big Momma's House 2 this weekend.

The chance to see Martin Lawrence redon the fat suit as an undercover agent playing nanny to some kids was too tempting for moviegoers, who shelled out an estimated $28 million for tickets to the sequel, making it the biggest draw of the weekend over fellow newcomers Nanny McPhee and Annapolis.

Big Momma was apparently buoyed by good word of mouth. Fox happily pointed out that business for the PG-13 flick was 47 percent higher Saturday than it had been on Friday. The movie averaged $8,586 per screen at 3,261 sites and its gross was the second best ever for January, beaten only by Star Wars: Special Edition's $35.9 million.

Additionally the sequel bested the opening of the original Big Momma's House, which debuted with $25.6 million in June 2000. For Lawrence, it's his second best opening, way behind Bad Boys II, which was bolstered by the presence of costar Will Smith and debuted with $46.5 million in the summer of 2003.

Emma Thompson's anti-Mary Poppins tale Nanny McPhee was about half the woman Big Momma was. Literally. The family comedy about a warts-and-all nanny tending to Colin Firth's unruly kids earned $14.1 million in second place, while playing at considerably fewer theaters.

Universal declared itself extremely happy with "the well above expectation" haul for the PG adaptation of the Nurse Matilda books, which also stars Angela Lansbury. Already a huge hit on its home turf in the U.K., Nanny McPhee check in at just 1,995 sites in North America and averaged $7,068.

Nikki Rocco, Universal's distribution president, noted that while "family films work right now" this movie had the additional appeal because "it's not violent, it's a fantasy, and children really like it." Rocco's says she hopes Nanny McPhee will "linger in the marketplace for a while."

It will undoubtedly linger longer than Annapolis. The lightweight Officer and a Gentleman wannabe, set in the U.S. Naval Academy and starring James Franco, foundered in fourth place with $7.7 million.

A PG-13 entry from Disney, Annapolis averaged just $4,802 per screen at 1,605 sites. It's been a rough go for Franco of late. A Golden Globe winner in 2002 for a James Dean TV movie, Franco's Dark Ages romance Tristan & Isolde has dropped out of sight after 17 days.

Meanwhile, last week's top movie, Underworld: Evolution dropped 59 percent to third place, earning $11.1 million. Kate Beckinsale's vampire sequel has tallied $44.3 million in two weeks.

But the movies in the fifth and six slots continued to hang in strongly. The fractured fairy tale 'toon Hoodwinked dipped just 29 percent in its third week with $7.3 million and has now grossed $37.6 million. And the favorite going into Tuesday's Oscar noms, Brokeback Mountain, fell off just 19 percent with $6.3 million. The film, which earned Ang Lee the top DGA Award Saturday, has an eight-week tally of $50.8 million.

Moving up 18 slots into 10th place was another critically praised movie, The Matador, starring Pierce Brosnan as a mixed-up hit man and Greg Kinnear as a distressed salesman. Adding 819 sites to play at 885 in its fifth week, the film gained 838 percent with $3.8 million, bringing its total to $5.5 million.

In limited release, the top per-screen average was $14,704 for Disney's Roving Mars, the documentary about Spirit and Opportunity's quest for water on the red planet, which unspooled at 27 large-screen sites and grossed $397,000.

At just eight sites, Fox Searchlight's Imagine Me and You, a British comedy about a lesbian love affair in the face of a traditional marriage, averaged $6,604 per screen for $52,830.

Overall, business was up 5 percent from last weekend, but, in a bad sign for the movie biz, down 5 percent from this time last year.

Here's a rundown of the top 10 films, based on estimates compiled Sunday by Exhibitor Relations (final figures are due Monday):

1. Big Momma's House 2, $28 million
2. Nanny McPhee, $14.1 million
3. Underworld: Evolution, $11.1 million
4. Annapolis, $7.7 million
5. Hoodwinked, $7.3 million
6. Brokeback Mountain, $6.3 million
7. Glory Road, $5.1 million
8. Last Holiday, $4.8 million
9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, $4.4 million
10. The Matador, $3.8 million

Rocker Bryan Adams in Pakistan for quake relief gig

KARACHI (Reuters) - Canadian rocker Bryan Adams thrilled 10,000 fans at a concert in Karachi on Sunday, the first big show by a Western singer in Pakistan in decades, to help students affected by country's October 8 earthquake.

Adams, who performed most of his hits and moved the audience with "Summer of 69," said he was glad to discover new fans in Pakistan.

"I am here because this city has a special love for music," the singer greeted his fans at the Arabian Sea Club on the outskirts of Karachi, as hundreds of Pakistani police guarded roads and checked vehicles leading to the venue.

The Canadian rocker said before the show that he was excited to help the victims of the earthquake in northern Pakistan.

"The whole idea of coming to Pakistan is very exciting on many levels ... we are the first Western artists to come and play a big concert here," he singer told a news conference.

"We are going to raise a lot of money hopefully to help rebuild some schools in the areas that have been devastated."

Over 17,000 of the more than 73,000 killed in the quake were children who died in schools destroyed in the quake. About 3 million people were left homeless by the disaster.

Adams, who will meet President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad on Monday, said he had no worries about coming to Pakistan.

Musharraf was instrumental in Pakistan joining the U.S.-led war on terrorism in 2001, a move that sparked a violent anti-Western reaction by Islamist radicals.

The hard-line Islamists oppose Western influences in Pakistan, especially rock music, dress and movies, which they consider immoral influences counter to Islam.

Witherspoon, Hoffman, 'Crash' lead SAG honours

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Reese Witherspoon as singer June Carter in Walk the Line and Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in Capote won lead-acting awards Sunday from the Screen Actors Guild, while the ensemble drama Crash, directed by Canadian Paul Haggis, pulled off an upset win over Brokeback Mountain for the overall cast award.

The best-actress honour for a television drama series went to Canadian Sandra Oh for the medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

Rachel Weisz of the murder thriller The Constant Gardener and Paul Giamatti of the boxing drama Cinderella Man received supporting-acting honours.

"Oh, my God, y'all. Sometimes, I can't just shake the feeling that I'm just a little girl from Tennessee," said Witherspoon, who plays Carter during her long, stormy courtship with country legend Johnny Cash. "I want to say my biggest inspiration for this movie obviously was June Carter. She was an incredible woman."

Hoffman, considered the favourite for the best-actor Oscar as Capote amid the author's struggles to research and write the true-crime novel In Cold Blood, had gushing thanks for his Capote co-stars.

"It's important to say that actors can't act alone, it's impossible. What we have to do is support each other," Hoffman said. "Actors have to have each others' backs. It's the only way to act well is when you know the other actor has your back, and these actors had my back, and I hope they know I had theirs."

Oh, who won a Golden Globe earlier this month, said she was gratified at how the casting of the show reflected real-world diversity.

"This is unbelievable. I thank every single actor out there. I'm so grateful for having a job," Oh said. "To all my fellow Asian-American actors out there, I share this with you, and be encouraged and keep shining."

Brokeback Mountain has been considered the best-picture front-runner at the Oscars, whose nominations come out Tuesday, with awards presented March 5. Its loss to Crash could prove a speed-bump on the film's path toward becoming the first explicitly gay-themed movie to win a best picture award at the Oscars, but Brokeback Mountain has dominated earlier Hollywood honours so it will likely continue to be considered the favourite.

It led the Jan. 16 Golden Globes with four wins, among them best dramatic film and director for Ang Lee, who took the same prize Saturday from the Directors Guild of America.

Adapted from Annie Proulx's short story about old sheepherding buddies who conceal a homosexual affair from their families, Brokeback Mountain also has earned top honours from key critics groups and the Producers Guild of America.

Sean Hayes, won for best actor in a TV comedy for his role as a gay man in Will & Grace, had a ready wisecrack about Brokeback Mountain.

"First of all, I would like to thank Ang Lee for taking a chance on me," said Hayes, who is not in Brokeback Mountain.

Last year, the wine-country romp Sideways won SAG's ensemble prize, while Million Dollar Baby went on to earn best-picture.

Crash follows the lives of a far-flung cast of characters over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles.

"This celebrates the definition of what an ensemble is all about. There's 74 of us," Crash co-star Terrence Howard said of the film's huge cast.

Weisz won supporting-actress for her role as a rabble-rousing aid worker, while Giamatti was honoured as supporting actor for playing the manager of Depression-era fighter Jim Braddock. Both had gracious thanks for their fellow actors.

"I can't imagine a greater honour than being acknowledged by my peers," Giamatti said. "Being an actor is a hell of a thing. It's a hell of a thing. It's up and down. It's great, but I found the best thing about it is hanging around the craft-service table with other actors and crew people, eating doughnuts."

"It's so special to be honoured by fellow actors, so thanks very much to the tribe," said Weisz, who also won the Golden Globe supporting-actress prize.

Felicity Huffman, who has been considered the best-actress Oscar front-runner for her gender-bending role in Transamerica, lost to Witherspoon but won the guild prize for best actress in a TV comedy for Desperate Housewives, which also won for best comedy ensemble.

"I love actors. I married one. OK, I married a fantastic one," Huffman said, of her husband, William Macy. "But even more than acting, I love the community of actors. I love the green room. I love the hair and makeup trailer. . . . I'm so happy I can make a living at it, because I was never very good at math."

Kiefer Sutherland won as best actor in a TV drama for the action series 24, while the airplane-disaster show Lost won for TV dramatic ensemble.

"A friend of mine always says if you don't have something nice to say about someone, say it," said Lost co-star Terry O'Quinn, surrounded by fellow cast members. "This is the saddest collection of climbing, grasping, paranoid, back-stabbing, screen-grabbing schmoozers and losers that you ever saw in your life. But we love each very much."

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Here is a complete list of winners of the 12th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards:

Movies:

Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote.

Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line.

Supporting actor: Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man.

Supporting actress: Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener.

Ensemble cast: Crash.

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Television:

Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Paul Newman, Empire Falls.

Actress in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Epatha Merkerson, Lackawanna Blues.

Actor in a Drama Series: Kiefer Sutherland, 24.

Actress in a Drama Series: Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy.

Actor in a Comedy Series: Sean Hayes, Will & Grace.

Actress in a Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives.

Drama ensemble: Lost.

Comedy ensemble: Desperate Housewives.

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Lifetime Achievement: Shirley Temple Black.

Mozart hometown welcomes fans for bash

SALZBURG, Austria (AP) - Hot rock and cool jazz mixed with the classics in Salzburg on Friday, as Mozart fans spilled from museums and concert halls into a floodlit main square in an exuberant 250th birthday bash echoed by thousands of other commemorations worldwide.

As the city of his birth, Salzburg claimed first rights in the international celebrations, showcasing him in a dozen events that displayed not only his musical mastery but his life, loves and pastimes.

Salzburg church bells pealed at 8 p.m., the hour of his birth. Posters sprinkling the city proclaimed Happy Birthday Mozart, while the daily Salzburger Nachrichten displayed a full-page portrait of a serious-looking "Wunderkind" sitting at the harpsichord, with the headline: Salzburg Celebrates Its Great Son.

But it was mostly Mozart just about everywhere else as well, as people celebrated his musical gift to the world with uncounted concerts, opera performances, marathon classical broadcasts and other events.

In Vancouver, CBC Radio One's studios invited the public to a 12-hour celebration called Mozart Noon and Night, culminating in a birthday cake to be presented at 10 p.m. At Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, along with actor Colm Feore and several soloists, planned a literary and musical journey through Mozart's life as portrayed in his letters and the vocal music they inspired. Edmonton declared Friday to be Mozart Day.

The Google internet search machine rose to the occasion with programmers bedecking an "o" with a Mozartian wig and replacing a "g" with the treble clef.

Giants of classical music sang the praises to the creator of more than 600 works, including some of the most beautiful music ever written; the lover of scatological jokes; the impertinent youth who talked back to Austrian Emperor Joseph II after he criticized his Abduction From the Seraglio.

"He comes from another star," declared conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt as he grappled to define Mozart in his entirety.

Others put it more simply.

"I have CDs of him playing all day," said medical company sales director Peggy Taylor of Richmond, Va., as she prepared to go Mozart hopping from Salzburg to Vienna. "He brings me back into balance."

And for Salzburg cabbie Andrea Gautsch, "Mozart came with mother's milk."

While paying homage to Mozart, Austrian President Heintz Fischer evoked another Jan. 27 - the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp from the Nazis 61 years go.

"Austria not only gave birth to Mozart but to (Adolf) Eichmann," he said, alluding to a key henchman of Adolf Hitler - himself an Austrian.

In Sweden, state radio set up an Internet radio station broadcasting Mozart music for 24 hours playing "Wolfie's hits & misses." Public television also honoured Mozart with a 12-hour special.

Orchestra halls and opera houses performed his works in Moscow, Washington, Prague, London, Paris, Tokyo, Caracas, Quito, Havana, Mexico City, Taipei, Budapest, Beijing and scores of other cities worldwide.

America's oldest orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, got a jump on the birthday by playing an all-Mozart program on Thursday night. The program, being repeated Friday and Saturday, included the orchestra's first-ever performance of the uplifting Coronation Mass, which Mozart wrote in 1779. The New Jersey Symphony was nearing the conclusion of a three-week Mozart festival that included a community play-in of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik on Saturday afternoon at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

Many classical radio outlets worldwide were reprogramming for the day to play only Mozart. Hundreds of marionettes took to the stage in excerpts of his operas in the German city of Augsburg, where his father was born.

Croatia's central post office stamped letters with special Mozart images. In Helsinki, Finnish music buffs were treated to 1,650 Mozart pastries before a special concert.

The square in front of the Austrian Embassy in the Slovene capital, Ljubljana, was declared "Mozart Square" for the day. In Brussels, Manneken Pis, the storied statue of the tinkling boy, was bedecked in a Mozart costume.

In Austria, the celebrations added special spice to the rivalry between Salzburg - where Mozart was born on Jan. 27, 1756 - and Vienna, where he died 35 years later.

Vienna was staging a new production of his Idomeneo in one of the city's three opera houses and reviving The Magic Flute in another. The Gothic St. Stephen's Cathedral was the venue for a performance of his Coronation Mass, and chamber music ensembles spread across town to perform some of his better known works.

Vienna Mayor Michael Hauepl took note of both cities' ties to the Austrian master as he reopened the baroque downtown house where Mozart wrote The Marriage of Figaro, declaring: "Mozart was incontestably a Salzburger, but today he also becomes a Viennese."

Back in Salzburg, visitors to the ornate Neue Residenz museum eyed Mozart's clothes brush and tobacco tins as they scurried through the Viva Mozart exhibit. Others at the interactive presentation joined in a minuet, under the watchful eyes of a dancemaster, dressed in 18th-century garb.

In an evening climax, thousands of bundled-up revellers packed the floodlit Kapitel Square. Flanked by baroque church spires, they sipped mulled wine and champagne and grooved to the sound of Mozart classics, Austrian rock and jazz against the backdrop of the city's majestic hilltop fortress.

"Momma" set to open big

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Martin Lawrence is expected to lead the weekend box office with his comedy sequel "Big Momma's House 2," one of four films opening Friday.

Horror fans should keep incumbent champ "Underworld: Evolution" in the mix. After opening at No. 1 last weekend with a sterling $26.9 million, the creature-filled R-rated sequel should cast a shadow among the top rankings.

Industry observers expect "Big Momma's House 2" to open slightly lower than the original film's $25.7 million bow in 2000 because it's a sequel and the first picture debuted in the heat of summer.

Lawrence reprises his role as master-of-disguise FBI agent Malcolm Turner, and Nia Long returns as the love interest. This time, Big Momma takes a turn as a nanny as Turner attempts to find his ex-partner's killer. But while undercover, he starts to grow attached to the prime suspect's three children. John Whitesell ("Malibu's Most Wanted") directed the sequel.

Universal Pictures' "Nanny McPhee," aimed at the family audience, will find its primary competition coming from the Weinstein Co.'s animated "Hoodwinked." Emma Thompson stars opposite Colin Firth and Kelly MacDonald in "McPhee," which has grossed about $34 million internationally, with $29 million coming from the U.K. The film was adapted from Christianna Brand's book series, which follows a magical nanny who tames the seven naughtiest children in the history of the world.

Disney's "Annapolis," referred to as a younger person's "An Officer and a Gentleman," appeals mostly to men but has been tracking well with female teens, James Franco stars as a young man from the wrong side of the tracks who gains admission to the prestigious U.S. Naval Academy.

The Weinstein Co.'s "The Matador" expands to 885 theaters Friday, up from the previous session's 66 sites. The

The comedy-drama, starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear, has generated $1.5 million from its limited-release run. Richard Shepard wrote and directed.

Magnolia Pictures' small-town murder mystery "Bubble" is the first of six films that will be released in near-simultaneous day-and-date on cable TV and DVD. The distributor will debut "Bubble" in 32 locations, about 60% of which are Landmark Theatres, the exhibition chain co-owned by billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner. Cuban and Wagner's 2929 Entertainment produced the film, which Steven Soderbergh directed.

"Bubble" will run twice tonight on HDNet Movies, the high-definition cable network co-founded by Cuban and Philip Garvin, and will be available Tuesday in video stores.

Disney's "Roving Mars," a large-format Imax release from Walt Disney Pictures, debuts in 27 theaters. The G-rated picture documents NASA's Mars rovers and their voyage to explore the Red Planet.

Fraggle Rock - A 2nd Season Set In September!

Muppet Central News is reporting that Fraggle Rock - Season 2 is being prepped by HIT Entertainment for release on DVD on September 5, 2006!!

Here is the word, direct via a Muppet News Flash from MuppetCentral.com:

HIT Entertainment has announced that Fraggle Rock Season 2 is officially coming to DVD. The scheduled release date is Tuesday September 5, 2006.

Fraggle Rock Season 1 was released last September and has sold well. Fans around the world will be thrilled that HIT is continuing with releasing subsequent Fraggle Rock seasons on DVD.

Over the weekend, Muppeteer Dave Goelz was the featured guest at a Fraggle Rock theatrical screening in Dallas. He confirmed that The Jim Henson Company has begun scanning the archives for bonus material for the second season box set.

Stay tuned for further updates and we'll keep you informed!

Ex-PM's in reality TV show

Stephen Harper may have the honour of being Canada's newest prime minister, but four of the nation's past leaders will have the great privilege of being judges in a new reality TV show.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, "The Next Great Prime Minister" will feature former prime ministers Kim Campbell, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney and John Turner judging five young Canadians' public speaking and debating abilities.

The winner will receive an internship in a Canadian public policy think tank.

The show will air on CTV beginning Feb. 4.

Mozart Rules From Salzburg to Santiago

SALZBURG, Austria - This cobblestoned and turreted city of his birth is pulling out all the stops to celebrate Mozart's 250th birthday Friday. But not only Austria is seized with Mozart madness.

Symphony orchestras and opera houses worldwide are going through final rehearsals while radio program directors line up their Mozart CDs. Piano students are polishing pieces for Mozart marathons and puppeteers are preparing for jubilee performances as hundreds of cities across five continents prepare to pay their respects to the musical genius.

For many, Mozart Central will be Salzburg, where he was born on Jan. 27, 1756.

Always a trove for Mozart souvenirs, Salzburg has outdone itself this year. Store shelves are stocked with Mozart beer and wine, Mozart baby bottles, Mozart milkshakes, Mozart knickers and Mozart jigsaw puzzles — along with the usual T-shirts, calendars and coffee mugs.

But on Friday, the music's the thing. Among the most interesting Salzburg offerings: Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Vienna Philharmonic play Mozart's Piano Concert No. 18, before Riccardo Muti takes to the podium and leads the orchestra — and renowned signers — through their paces in a collage of his works.

Vienna, which claims Mozart in his later years, is staging a new production of his "Idomeneo" in one of the city's three opera houses and reviving "The Magic Flute" in another.

Both cities are offering either musical or culinary tours built around Mozart's works, his favorite restaurants, his friends and enemies, and his approach to art and love.

But the immortal Mozart will rule elsewhere as well.

He'll be the focus of a 12-hour Swedish documentary, his works will be performed by orchestras or opera houses in Moscow, Washington, Prague, London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Caracas, Quito, Havana, Mexico City, Taipei, Budapest and scores of other cities worldwide.

Even Nashville, more famous for country music than Mozart, will tip its hat to Amadeus, with the city's symphony orchestra performing his Piano Concerto No. 21.

And there are hundreds of other offerings.

Many classical radio outlets in the United States and elsewhere are reprogramming for the day to play only Mozart. Hundreds of marionettes will take to the stage in excerpts of his operas in the German city of Augsburg, where his father was born.

Vienna has set up 50 bright red "Calling Mozart" booths to allow visitors to listen to his works and information about his life and times. It will formally reopen the restored house where he wrote "The Marriage of Figaro."

Salzburg visitors are advised to watch the calories. Bakers were putting the icing Thursday on a gargantuan birthday cake — about 300 pounds.

Too much hoopla? Consider this: Mozart wrote his first symphonies before turning 10 and his first significant opera at 12. He was instrumental in changing opera into the form we know and enjoy today.

He was prolific like few others, creating nearly two dozen operas and other stage works and hundreds of solo and orchestral pieces before his death at 35. Other greats like Beethoven and Wagner publicly recognized their debt to him.

There is some comfort, however, for those who feel Mozart mania is out of control — he had his detractors.

Some history books depict his tenure in Salzburg ending ingloriously in 1781 with a kick in the bottom from a servant of Mozart's patron, the city's imperious archbishop, after Mozart refused to follow orders on how to compose.

But for mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager, Mozart is "a gift from God" and "the light I orient my life around."

Others describe him in more down-to-earth terms (and his letters certainly reveal an exuberant personality and scatological sense of humor) as they explain why he can reach out even to those normally immune to classical music.

Two 'Narnia' versions to hit DVD in April

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Disney has big DVD plans for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," preparing two versions of the blockbuster hit for release on April 4.

Both the single-disc version ($19.99) and a two-disc edition ($29.99) will include two commentaries with director Andrew Adamson, one in which he's accompanied by other filmmakers and the other, by children. Both versions also will come with pop-up windows throughout the film with facts on the movie and "Narnia" author C.S. Lewis.

The double-disc "Narnia" also will come with a booklet, concept art, storytelling diaries of the filmmakers, a "making of" featurette, an interactive map of Narnia and other extras.

Also in the works from Disney is a single-disc version of "Chicken Little," the studio's first computer-animated film produced in-house rather than by Pixar. The DVD will be out March 21 and include music videos, "making of" featurettes on the animation process and the vocal talent, and deleted scenes, including an early take in which Chicken Little is a girl voiced by Holly Hunter.

Disney also has begun showing an 11-minute preview of the direct-to-video sequel "Bambi II" on the film's Web site (http://www.bambi2DVD.com) in advance of the February 7 street date. The belated sequel to the 1942 animated classic will be in stores only 70 days before it is placed on moratorium.

Kidman Accepts Role As Goodwill Ambassador

UNITED NATIONS - Nicole Kidman has a new role — working to advance women's rights around the globe as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. The Oscar-winning actress will work with the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM, on critical gender concerns such as ending violence against women.

"I hope that I can act as a conduit, that I can be the person who tells some of these stories," Kidman told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. "The way in which I was raised and the things I've seen in my life has led me toward this."

Kidman, 38, looked relaxed throughout the interview, wearing a fitted black pants suit and wearing a ring on her left ring finger. The actress, who is divorced from Tom Cruise, has been romantically linked to country singer Keith Urban.

When asked what led her to volunteer for what she says will be a lifetime commitment to women's causes, Kidman said her parents were a big influence during her childhood in Australia.

"My family, we sat around the dinner table, we had political conversations. My father always said, `You need to be involved. Don't be a voyeur, be a participator,'" Kidman said.

She first heard about the work of UNIFEM after her mother listened to a BBC report about the group's work in Cambodia and told her about it.

Additionally, her work on the movie "The Human Stain" — in which she played a woman exposed to abuse — led her to real-life brushes with the issue.

"I went to meet with a lot of women in shelters — abuse shelters — and the stories I heard there ... were so disturbing," Kidman said at an earlier news conference Thursday.

She said that experience led her to try to find a way to help such women.

Since the 1950s, U.N. agencies have enlisted the help of prominent personalities from the arts and sports worlds to highlight key issues, including Angelina Jolie, who has traveled widely as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency.

Kidman said she didn't know if she would be able to travel as much as Jolie. Having older children in school makes it more difficult, she said, but she hopes the actresses' celebrity status might work together to benefit their respective causes.

"Angelina is dealing with a certain issue, I'm dealing with different issues. I hope all of it comes together in some way," she told the AP.

The first countries Kidman plans to visit are Sudan, Congo, Liberia, Afghanistan and Cambodia.

UNIFEM's Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer said Kidman will help greatly with the group's cause.

"She's a very profound actress and artist and I was very, very touched by her commitment to make sure she used her gifts for women everywhere in the world," Heyzer said.

Heyzer noted that it was Kidman who contacted UNIFEM and that her decision to work with the group has already generated a lot of attention from women around the globe.

"I have to say that today many women celebrate this event and welcome you as a sister, a sister of commitment," Heyzer said. "I've been receiving messages from all parts of the world to say that this is a special day to them as well."

Kidman won an Oscar for her role in 2002's "The Hours."

Her screen credits include "The Interpreter," a 2005 thriller in which she played a U.N. interpreter caught up in a cloak-and-dagger assassination attempt.

The Couch Potato Report - January 26th, 2006

This week The Couch Potato Report includes a flightplan, the aristocrats and three films from the 1980s.

I am now and I have always been a fan of Jodie Foster and her work.

Ever since 1976, when I first saw her onscreen as Tallulah in BUGSY MALONE, and as Annabel Andrews in FREAKY FRIDAY, I have been hooked.

Since then I have thoroughly enjoyed Jodie's work in FIVE CORNERS, STEALING HOME, LITTLE MAN TATE, CONTACT, THE ACCUSED, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and PANIC ROOM, just to name a few of her films.

Much to my chagrin, Jodie only appears these days in a new film about once every 18 months.

Last September I was very excited to watch Jodie's 2005 effort, the thriller FLIGHTPLAN.

But make no mistake, I don't usually love a movie just because an artist I admire is in it. And yes, I admire Jodie Foster, and I find some enjoyment in all of her movies due to that fact, but in order for me to recommend it to you in this forum, FLIGHTPLAN has to stand on its own as a film.

Sadly, it doesn't.

In the film Jodie plays a woman who is flying on a jumbo jet with her daughter from Berlin to America.

Along the way, at 30,000 feet above the ground, the child disappears without a trace and no one is able to confirm that the child was ever actually there.

I love that premise, and my opinions on Jodie Foster are well stated, but FLIGHTPLAN just has too many holes in the plot to allow me to recommend it.

Yes, you will remain curious throughout the movie as there is a great deal of suspense, and it is well paced with a running time of 98 minutes, but FLIGHTPLAN doesn't answer all the questions that it asks, and the end result is only a mediocre thriller.

One that I can't recommend to you, no matter how much I love the star.

Unfortunately, I also can't recommend this week's other major new release to you.

That film is THE ARISTOCRATS.

In this film one-hundred comedians, including George Carlin, Robin Williams, Drew Carey, Dave Thomas, John Stewart, Eric Idle, Chris Rock, Tim Conway, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Silverman, and many, many more, each tell "the dirtiest joke of all time" in their own unique way.

The joke starts off with a person telling a Manager that they have the greatest show business act of all time, and it ends with the words "The Aristocrats."

Everything in between is what the comedians fill in.

And comedians have been filling in the middle part for years as it originated during the vaudeville years.

Unfortunately, not much of what they use in the middle is repeatable here as they use outrageously obscene scenarios to try and make other comedians laugh.

And if you watch the film you will laugh at least once. I laughed many, many times.

Yet, I can't recommend the film.

That is because the scenarios that these comedians conjure up are so dirty, so foul and so disgusting that I don't want anyone checking this film out because they heard it would make them laugh.

Yes, THE ARISTOCRATS will make you laugh, but it might also offend you.

Thus, I don't recommend it, but it is a very, very funny film that I enjoyed immensely!

I have also enjoyed DEAD POET'S SOCIETY and GOOD MORNING VIETNAM.

Both of them star Robin Williams - who you can also see in THE ARISTOCRATS - and both of them are now available as SPECIAL EDITION DVDs!

In DEAD POET'S SOCIETY Williams stars as English professor John Keating. He works hard to entertain and inspire his students to form a love of poetry, and more importantly to "seize the day."

The SPECIAL EDITION DVD features a commentary by Director Peter Weir, a collection of uncut, deleted scenes, a look back at the making of the film and more.

DEAD POET'S SOCIETY remains a superb film seventeen years after it's release, but if we are talking about superb Robin Williams films, and we are, that list will always feature GOOD MORNING VIETNAM at the top of it!

In that film Williams plays real life person Adrian Cronauer, an unorthodox and irreverent radio announcer who breathes life into the stale and stiff US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam.

He does the type of things on his show I would love to do!

The GOOD MORNING VIETNAM SPECIAL EDITION DVD includes a thirty-four minute production diary, six behind-the-scenes features, and the real Adrian Cronauer explains how he created the "Good Morning Vietnam" sign on.

There is also about thirteen minutes of raw Williams performance footage, from which many of the movie's best comedic moments were taken.

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM remains one of my favourite movies of all time, and this SPECIAL EDITION is a great addition to my movie library.

Finally this week is the new COLLECTOR'S EDITION of the 1984 film REPO MAN. Emilio Estevaz plays a young punk named Otto in the movie who becomes a repo man after helping to steal a car. Once he begins his new job he soon finds himself in the middle of a world that contains aliens, government agents and a huge repossession bounty on a 1964 Chevy Malibu.

REPO MAN will never be considered a classic by anyone who didn't see the film when it first came out. It is for those people that this new COLLECTOR'S EDITION is for, especially since this is the fourth time that the film has been released on DVD.

I am not one of the people who love REPO MAN, but it remains a unique, cult film from my youth. Plus, it is the sort of obscure science fiction film that they don't make anymore, and that makes it worth seeing, at least once.

The REPO MAN - COLLECTOR'S EDITION is now available at your favourite local video store along with GOOD MORNING VIETNAM, DEAD POET'S SOCIETY, THE ARISTOCRATS and FLIGHTPLAN.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

I'll talk about Tim Burton's completely enjoyable stop-motion animation film CORPSE BRIDE; the third season of the TV show KNIGHT RIDER and I tell you what the name Alan Smithee means in the movie world as it relates to the EXTENDED EDITION of the 1984 movie DUNE.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

'C.R.A.Z.Y.' nabs a 12 Genie noms

TORONTO (CP) - C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean-Marc Vallee's funny but poignant story of an extraordinary young man growing up in Quebec, leads the nominations for the 26th annual Genie Awards, which celebrate the best in Canadian cinema.

It has 12 nods, including best picture. The comedy is also Canada's official submission for the best foreign-film Oscar this year. The four other best-picture contenders include Deepa Mehta's Water, the third in her elements trilogy which previously included Earth and Fire.

Familia, another Quebec film and Louise Archambault's first feature, about what constitutes real family bonds, also made the cut, as did Michael Dowse's It's All Gone Pete Tong, a frenetic tale about a coke-addicted superstar DJ who learns he is going deaf.

The other best-picture entry is Michael McGowan's Saint Ralph, about a Catholic teenager in the 1950s who decides to enter the Boston Marathon foot race, hoping for a miracle to cure his ailing mother.

Surprisingly, 2005 features from two of Canada's most internationally famous directors, Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg, are not in the best-picture race.

Cronenberg's A History of Violence was foreign financed and so did not qualify under the Genies' complex Canadian content rules. Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies was eligible and did get five nominations, including best adapted screenplay for the director.

The 2006 Genies will be handed out March 13.

Paul Gratton, chairman of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, which oversees the awards, says the nomination of C.R.A.Z.Y., which is also Canada's top-grossing film of 2005, was no surprise.

"A gay coming-of-age story that's been given a different and totally delightful original spin based on style and the use of pop music," is how Gratton described it.

He also had praise for Mehta's Water, recalling how the production had to shut down in India because of threats of violence from fundamentalists who objected to its story of the treatment of widows under ancient religious laws.

"I think it's Deepa's most accomplished and most beautiful film to date. It has a lyrical quality. . .and it builds subtly to a very moving climax."

Water was a nominations runner-up with nine, including best director. It's All Gone Pete Tong enjoyed eight, while Luc Picard's L'Audition and Familia had seven each.

Best-actor nominees include Picard, Paul Kaye for Pete Tong and Adam Butcher for Saint Ralph. Campbell Scott and Gordon Pinsent are best supporting actor contenders for Saint Ralph.

Best actress nominees include Arsinee Khanjian for Sabah - A Love Story and Macha Grenon and Sylvie Moreau for Familia.

Academy president and CEO Maria Topalovitch called the nominees an "eclectic, wonderful group of films" and declined to comment on the absence of Egoyan and Cronenberg, whose films appeared together at both the Cannes and Toronto International Film Festivals last year.

Topalovitch conceded that while things are improving, Canadian films still have a struggle getting exposed to Canadian theatre-going audiences.

"We're in a unique situation, situated right next to the largest entertainment machine in the world," she said. "But the Genie Awards are part of a national passion to raise awareness."

She said the nominated titles are actually doing quite well, especially C.R.A.Z.Y. and Familia which are doing huge box office in Quebec, and she will be watching to see if C.R.A.Z.Y. makes the foreign-film category when Academy Award nominations are announced next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Genies will be telecast for the third year in a row on CHUM stations across Canada (Citytv, Bravo, Star and MusiMax). CHUM continues to tinker with the format, last year setting it in a nightclub atmosphere. This year the one-hour telecast will actually begin in an after-the-awards party setting. The handing out of the hardware will take place first, with excerpts played back during the live backstage show.

Marcie Martin, executive producer at CHUM, believed that would make for a better show, especially after last year when the awards were top-heavy with Quebec winners who chose to make their acceptance speeches in French, which, Martin says, didn't make for the best English-language TV and didn't do as much to help promote the titles for anglophone audiences.

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Here are the nominees in key categories for the 2006 Genie Awards, honouring the best in Canadian-made cinema:

Best Motion Picture: C.R.A.Z.Y. (Pierre Even, Jean-Marc Vallee); Familia (Luc Dery); It's All Gone Pete Tong (Elizabeth Yake, Allan Niblo, James Richardson); Saint Ralph (Michael Souther, Teza Lawrence, Andrea Mann, Seaton McLean); Water (David Hamilton)

Direction: Luc Picard (L'Audition); Jean-Marc Vallee (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Louise Archambault (Familia); Michael Dowse (It's All Gone Pete Tong); Deepa Mehta (Water)

Actor in a leading role: Luc Picard (L'Audition); Michael Cote (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Marc-Andre Grondin (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Paul Kaye (It's All Gone Pete Tong); Adam Butcher (Saint Ralph)

Actor in a supporting role: Denis Bernard (L'Audition); Remy Girard (Aurore); Bernard Starlight (Hank Williams First Nation); Campbell Scott (Saint Ralph); Gordon Pinsent (Saint Ralph)

Actress in a leading role: Macha Grenon (Familia); Sylvie Moreau (Familia); Arsinee Khanjian (Sabah - A Love Story); Gina Chiarelli (See Grace Fly); Seema Biswas (Water)

Actress in a supporting role: Suzanne Clement (L'Audition); Marianne Fortier (Aurore); Danielle Proulx (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Micheline Lanctot (Familia); Babz Chula (Seven Times Lucky)

Original Screenplay: Luc Picard (L'Audition); Jean-Marc Vallee, Francois Boulay (C.R.A.Z.Y.); Louise Archambault (Familia); Michael Dowse (It's All Gone Pete Tong); Deepa Mehta (Water)

Vintage Springsteen Show Headed To CD

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Nov. 18, 1975, show at London's Hammersmith Odeon will be released as a two-disc set Feb. 28 via Columbia. The show first appeared on DVD last fall as part of the label's 30th anniversary edition of Springsteen's "Born To Run" album.

Touted as the first complete E Street Band concert to be released on CD, "Hammersmith Odeon, London '75" is highlighted by exuberant runs through tracks like "She's the One," "Rosalita" and "It's Hard To Be a Saint in the City." The show was Springsteen and company's first on English soil and came just ahead of the release of "Born To Run."

"This was a young band that just finished a new album. 'Born To Run' is not an anthem yet -- it's in the middle of the set," director Thom Zimny said of the show in November. And while the 24-track audiotapes of the show had long been known to exist, Zimny spent months synching them up with unlabeled cans of silent film to complete the DVD.

Having completed his solo touring in support of his 2005 studio album, "Devils & Dust," Springsteen will next be seen on stage at an event honoring 2006 MusiCares Person of the Year James Taylor, which will be held Feb. 6 in Los Angeles.

Here is the track list for "Hammersmith Odeon, London '75":

Disc One:
"Thunder Road"
"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"
"Spirit in the Night"
"Lost in the Flood"
"She's the One"
"Born To Run"
"The E Street Shuffle"
"It's Hard To Be a Saint in the City"
"Backstreets"

Disc Two:
"Kitty's Back"
"Jungleland"
"Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"
"4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)"
"Detroit Medley"
"For You"
"Quarter to Three"

No Reunion for 'Friends'

Producers of the hit show Friends have hit out at claims the six stars are set for a money-spinning reunion. According to reports, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox met in secret before Christmas and each agreed a $5 million deal with NBC bosses in Los Angeles, to reprise their roles in four special one-hour episodes. But a Warner Bros spokesperson insists, "There is absolutely no truth to it. There is nothing planned of any kind."

'Family Guy's' Stewie hosting Web talk show

LAS VEGAS (Hollywood Reporter) - Heeeeere's Stewie!

The tyrannical tyke in the Fox animated series "Family Guy" will be the virtual host of a talk show being developed strictly for the Internet later this year.

Stewie's show will be based on familyguy.com (http://www.familyguy.com) and other News Corp.-owned Web properties catering to the young demographics that have embraced the Fox series.

"We think that the property is perfectly suited for that audience," Fox Interactive Media president Ross Levinsohn said Tuesday.

He added that the idea for the show has been embraced on Madison Avenue by potential advertisers. He does not expect the program to cannibalize viewing for the Fox series or other "Family" brand extensions like DVD. Stewie wouldn't be the first animated character to get his own talk show; that distinction belongs to "Space Ghost Coast to Coast," which aired on Cartoon Network.

Cause of Actor Chris Penn's Death Unknown

LOS ANGELES - The cause of actor Chris Penn's death remained undetermined despite an autopsy performed Wednesday just hours before the premiere of his latest film at the Sundance Film Festival.

Toxicology tests were ordered on the actor, who was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium Tuesday.

"It's just normal procedure for someone who's 40 and has not seen their doctor," said Los Angeles County coroner's spokeswoman Brenda Shafer.

In a coincidence, Penn's latest film, "The Darwin Awards," premiered later in the day at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

"He gave an incredible performance in the film," writer-director Finn Taylor said before the screening. "I think he is going to be remembered for years to come and we will miss him."

The cast of the movie — a twisted comedy about accidental death — also includes Winona Ryder, Joseph Fiennes, David Arquette and Juliette Lewis.

Ryder talked about Penn during a question-and-answer session with the Sundance audience after the film's premiere.

"I really hope people go back and watch his movies, because he was such a fantastic actor, and he is going to be so missed," Ryder said. "Not just Sean Penn's little brother, you know? He was Chris Penn."

Penn was the younger brother of Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. He appeared in numerous films, including "Reservoir Dogs," "Starsky & Hutch," "Rush Hour" and "Corky Romano."

"Corky" star Chris Kattan described Penn's death as "a huge shock."

"He was an amazing actor and a great comedian," Kattan said. "He was such a sweet soul and so funny. He had a really great innocence in his eyes. Of course he'll be terribly missed."

New film "Bubble" to test anxious industry

PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - If director Steven Soderbergh and others have their way, movies may soon start appearing in homes and stores at the same time they hit theaters, paving the way for a revolution in the industry.

On Friday, Soderbergh and businessman Todd Wagner are releasing "Bubble" as the first movie in a six-part series of low-budget films, all debuting in theaters and on a cable TV network owned by Wagner's company, as well as on DVD, at the same time and for the same prices consumers would generally pay.

They are not the only ones undertaking such "day-and-date" distribution strategy. Earlier this week at the Sundance Film Festival, IFC Entertainment, a unit of Rainbow Media, unveiled its plan to release 24 low-budget movies in theaters and on pay-per-view TV channels on the same day.

The simultaneous distribution in all three venues presents a direct challenge to the industry standard of releasing films first in theaters, months later on video or DVD, then on TV. Studios have benefited from the traditional practice as they sell the same film again and again at different times of its product life.

Soderbergh, Wagner and IFC want to use new methods of digital distribution to give audiences the movies they want to see, when they want to see them and where they want to see them.

"The technology is there," Soderbergh told Reuters. "Consumers now want choice, and they should have it. At the very least, let's find out -- instead of speculating -- what it's going to mean in the long run and in the larger picture."

But theater owners argue such distribution plans could signal the end of a more than 100-year-old industry by cannibalizing box office ticket sales that now reach around $24 billion annually around the world.

"We believe simultaneous release is a death threat for the movie industry," said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners.

ALL EYES ON 'BUBBLE'

Hollywood studios are closely watching the "Bubble" release, which they see as something of a test, albeit a small one because the film is a low-budget production made for a reported $1.6 million.

The studios know change is coming because new digital technology is allowing consumers to download movies and TV shows directly to home PCs, laptop computers and handheld gadgets such as Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod.

They are concerned that illegal copying and downloading of films will become widely popular and hurt ticket sales in the same way piracy damaged the music industry's CD sales.

Moreover, this past summer, the studios suffered through a box office slump that many attributed in part to audiences simply skipping the films and waiting for the DVD. To compensate, the studios now are narrowing the time between a film's theatrical and DVD releases.

But just like theater owners, studio executives are loath to see the "day-and-date" distribution strategy take hold because it might cannibalize ticket sales. Video retailers are subject to the release patterns set by movie studios and, as a result, have less say in the matter.

This past summer, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger told analysts and reporters that digital technology was moving the industry toward simultaneous releases.

The company pressed the issue last fall, when its ABC television network began offering TV shows for download on the iPod. Other networks followed, but NATO's Fithian said Hollywood's major film studios remain hesitant.

LIMITED IMPACT?

Many industry watchers see a somewhat limited impact from the "Bubble" release because the film is low-budget and will play mainly in Wagner's Landmark art-house theaters and only on his HDNet cable TV network, rather than on a broadcast network.

The film weaves a tale of small-town boredom and jealousy. Soderbergh used people from local Ohio towns to act the four major roles, and he shot it with digital cameras.

"It added realism," Soderbergh said. "Every once in a while, it's nice to see somebody on screen who you felt was from that place and spoke like somebody from that place."

Still, "Bubble" has kicked up a fuss in Hollywood because Soderbergh is the director of such big-budget films as "Ocean's Eleven," and the idea of day-and-date releases of $200 million blockbusters like "King Kong" or "Harry Potter" is what really worries Hollywood and theater owners.

In fact, at this early stage, many industry watchers believe the real impact of day-and-date distribution will be for low-budget independent films and filmmakers like those gathered in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival.

Such movies generally only play in large cities and in fewer than 100 screens. A big-budget Hollywood flick like "Kong" reaches more than 3,000 theaters.

Day-and-date distribution takes advantage of the national advertising campaigns for a low-budget movie by putting the film not only in big cities, but also in rural areas on TV or PC.

Rainbow Chief Executive Joshua Sapan likens the idea to an art house in the home. "It will have the effect of enlarging the audience for independent films when they debut," he said.

But Wagner sees a broader future when theater owners around the world embrace the idea. To offset the possibility of cannibalizing ticket sales, he said he would share DVD revenue with them.

"Not all theater owners are saying no," Wagner said. "In fact, a lot of them are saying yes."

But Fithian warns of a time when movies are no longer special events for audiences, and become more like TV shows that can be seen anytime, anywhere.

Disney buying Pixar for $7.4B

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday it is buying longtime partner Pixar Animation Studios Inc. for $7.4 billion US in a deal that could restore Disney's clout in animation while vaulting Pixar CEO Steve Jobs into a powerful role at the media conglomerate.

Disney will buy the maker of the blockbuster films Toy Story and Finding Nemo in an all-stock transaction that makes Jobs Disney's largest shareholder. Jobs, who controls more than half of Pixar's stock and also heads Apple Computer Inc., will also join Disney's board.

"With this transaction, we welcome and embrace Pixar's unique culture, which for two decades, has fostered some of the most innovative and successful films in history," Disney chief executive Robert Iger said in a statement.

Disney has co-financed and distributed Pixar's animated films for the past 12 years, splitting the profits. But that deal expires in June after Pixar delivers Cars.

Disney, the theme park owner that also owns the ABC and ESPN TV networks, and Pixar have been talking for months about a new relationship.

Pixar executive vice-president John Lasseter will become chief creative officer of the animation studios and principal creative adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering, which designs and builds the company's theme parks.

Pixar president Ed Catmull will serve as president of the new combined Pixar and Disney animation studios, reporting to Iger and Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.

"Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders," Jobs said in a statement. "Now, everyone can focus on what is most important, creating innovative stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around the world."

Under the deal, Disney said it will issue 2.3 shares for each share of Pixar stock. At Tuesday's closing price of $25.99 for Disney, Pixar shareholders would get stock worth $59.78, a four per cent premium over Pixar's closing price of $57.57. The deal was announced after the markets closed for the day,

With Pixar, Disney gains a company that has produced a long-running string of animated blockbusters, including The Incredibles.

Through Jobs, Disney tightens its link with Apple Computer, the innovative technology company behind music and video IPods.

Disney is not acquiring a direct interest in Apple. But Jobs could help Iger push his plans to marry films, TV shows, video games and other content to computers, IPods, handheld game consoles and even cellphones.

The deal will accelerate Iger's plans to strengthen Disney's animated features, the hallmark of the company since its founding and a steady source of characters for Disney's theme parks and other units.

Pixar has served as Disney's de facto animation unit for a decade. Two Pixar movies, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, have won Academy Awards for best animated feature film.

Pixar films have been a financial windfall for Disney, which receives 60 per cent of the profits.

By contrast, Disney's own animation unit has struggled, producing some modest successes, such as 2002's Lilo & Stitch, and many flops, including Treasure Planet and Home on the Range.

Its first fully computer-animated effort, Chicken Little, grossed more than $100 million domestically since its release last year and will likely be profitable. But that figure falls well short of the more than $200 million domestic gross of 2004's The Incredibles.

Disney and Pixar had been discussing an extension of their distribution deal since early 2003. Last year, analysts said striking that agreement was Iger's top priority.

The talks stalled in 2004 after Pixar demanded that it own 100 per cent of all future films and pay Disney a straight distribution fee, similar to the deal Star Wars creator George Lucas had with Twentieth Century Fox.

Pixar also wanted ownership of all the films already produced as well as two that were remaining under the existing agreement at the time.

Personal animosity between Jobs and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner also contributed to the breakdown.

In 2004, Jobs broke off talks with Disney and said he would begin talking to other studios, including Fox and Warner Bros. Relations soured even more after Disney announced it would make the sequel Toy Story 3, a project strongly opposed by Pixar.

The relationship between the two companies goes back to 1991, when Disney agreed to finance and distribute three films from the fledgling company.

That deal led to the release of Toy Story in 1995 - the world's first fully computer animated feature film. It was a huge hit and became the highest-grossing film that year.

The same year, Pixar raised $140 million in an initial public offering.

Pink Asserts Vitality On New Album

Pop vocalist Pink will release her next album, "I'm Not Dead," April 4 via LaFace. The Dave Meyers-directed video for first single "Stupid Girl" will premiere Thursday (Jan. 26) on the MTV broadband network Overdrive. A send-up of superficial culture, the clip finds Pink dancing next to a 50 Cent lookalike, wielding an inflatable chest and crashing a car while talking on her cell phone.

Executive produced by the artist, "I'm Not Dead" also features contributions from songwriter/producers like Max Martin, Billy Mann, Butch Walker, Mike Elizondo and Luke Gottwald. The Indigo Girls also appear on an as-yet-unnamed track.

According to a letter posted by the artist last fall on her official Web site, a DVD featuring unknown content will be released simultaneously with "I'm Not Dead." "I'm trying to save you a trip to the store," she wrote.

The album is the follow-up to 2003's "Try This," which has sold 700,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Its predecessor, 2001's "M!ssundaztood," has moved 5.2 million copies and spawned four top 20 Billboard Hot 100 hits.

Actor Chris Penn dead, no sign of foul play-police

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Character actor Chris Penn, younger brother of Oscar-winner Sean Penn, was found dead on Tuesday at an apartment near the Pacific Ocean in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica, police sources said.

No cause of death was immediately determined but there was no signs of foul play, the sources added.

A family spokeswoman confirmed the death and said the Penn family "would appreciate the media's respect of their privacy during this difficult time."

Penn, 43, was a character actor who appeared in dozens of films including "Reservoir Dogs," "Mullholland Falls" and the 2004 film "Starsky & Hutch."

In one of his best known roles, he played baby-faced criminal Nice Guy Eddie Cabot in director Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." He also starred along with his brother in the 1986 film "At Close Range."

Recently, Penn voiced Officer Eddie Pulaski in the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."

Thurber to direct 'Magnum' remake

"Dodgeball" helmer Rawson Marshall Thurber has signed on to write and direct the big-screen adaptation of the '80s TV classic "Magnum, P.I.," Variety reports.

The film, produced by Brian Grazer ("A Beautiful Mind," "Cinderella Man"), will mix humour and danger, much like the Tom Selleck-starring series.

The storyline features Magnum, with the help of his former military pals, searching for a missing friend.

Casting has yet to start for the film, and there is no word on whether Selleck will star in the movie version.

Coldplay, Nickelback to play Junos

HALIFAX (CP) - Coldplay, Michael Buble and Nickelback will bring their star power to this year's Juno Awards, organizers announced Monday.

Trophies will be distributed on April 2 from Halifax's Metro Centre. The Junos will once again be spread over three days and will include a celebrity hockey game.

Nominations for the awards will be announced on Feb. 15.

Superstar Collaborations Join Grammy Lineup

Irish rockers U2 will be joined by R&B diva Mary J. Blige as one of several big name collaborations during the upcoming 48th annual Grammy Awards. Also due to pair up on stage are Faith Hill and Keith Urban, Christina Aguilera and Herbie Hancock and Jamie Foxx with previously announced performer Kanye West.

Although specific songs have yet to be confirmed, it seems likely U2 and Blige will reprise their cover of the latter's "One," the studio version of which appeared on Blige's recent album, "The Breakthrough." Last year, Aguilera sang on "A Song for You" from Hancock's latest album, "Possibilities."

West and his fellow lead nominees Mariah Carey and John Legend were the first confirmed artists for the Feb. 8 show, which will take place at Los Angeles' Staples Center and be broadcast live on CBS. As previously reported, all three are tied with eight nominations.

Additionally, the Recording Academy has confirmed the show's first presenters: country duo Big & Rich and actors Tom Hanks ("The DaVinci Code") and Terrence Howard ("Get Rich or Die Tryin'").

Disney board okays takeover offer to Pixar: source

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The board of Walt Disney Co. has authorized Chief Executive Robert Iger to make an offer to buy Pixar Animation Studios Inc., and that is expected by Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said late on Monday.

Pixar's board is expected to consider the offer on Tuesday as well, said the source, who did not disclose financial terms.

The Pixar board was expected to confer by telephone, the source said.

In the event a decision is reached, an announcement by Disney would be expected after the market closes, the source said.

Pixar shares closed at $58.27 on Monday on Nasdaq, putting its market value at just under $7 billion. The shares have risen about 12 percent in the last month, partly on speculation that Disney would buy the computer animation company that created such hits as "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles."

Shares of Disney were up nearly 2 percent, or 48 cents, at $26.01 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Pixar shares were down 8 cents at $58.19 on Nasdaq.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Disney is considering an all-stock offer, which would make Pixar Chief Executive Steve Jobs the company's largest individual shareholder.

The Journal reported late on Monday that the offer under consideration would give Jobs, who has a controlling stake in Pixar, a seat on the Disney board.

Disney, for decades the world leader in hand-drawn animated films such as "Pinocchio" and "Lion King," has struggled in recent years to maintain its position in an industry that has embraced computer-generated films.

Although Disney has not produced a blockbuster animated film on its own in years, the six films Pixar and Disney made since the 1995 release of "Toy Story" have grossed more than $3.2 billion.

Jobs had feuded publicly with Iger's predecessor, Michael Eisner, and broke off negotiations for a new distribution agreement with Disney about two years ago.

Iger, who succeeded Eisner as Disney's CEO in October, made a priority of smoothing over relations with Jobs and was in the midst of renegotiating the distribution pact, which expires in June with the release of "Cars," when takeover rumors surfaced.

Jobs, who is also chief executive of Apple Computer Inc., has already led a revolution in digital delivery of content by providing legal downloads of music through Apple's iTunes Music Store and by striking a deal with Iger and Disney to offer video downloads of ABC television shows.

A deal that would give Jobs a Disney board seat could also put him in a position to lead Hollywood's move onto the Web.

The Disney board may also approve a buyer for the company's ABC Radio assets, worth an estimated $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion, from among several bidders.

Sources familiar with the radio transaction said on Friday that Disney was within a week or two of deciding on a buyer.

"Friends" Comeback?

It looks like the folks over at NBC are missing their Friends so much they've persuaded the TV gang to reunite.

Fox News reports Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry have all agreed to four new hour-long episodes of the long running mega-hit, to air this year.

The new deal pushes each of the former sitcom stars earnings to a whopping $5 million each, per-episode.

While the network anticipates a ratings windfall with the new Friends specials, execs are also looking at improving Matt LeBlanc's sitcom spin-off by possibly adding David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry to the cast and renaming the show, from "Joey" to "It's A Guy Thing."

Love is all around for Moore on "70s'

LOS ANGELES — Mary Tyler Moore is on the set, playing a 1970s professional woman who works at a TV station in the Upper Midwest.

But it's not her '70s show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It's That '70s Show— which happens to have inherited the soundstage of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Got it?

Moore returned to the scene of her classic TV comedy last fall to shoot three episodes of That '70s Show. Her first episode runs Thursday (Fox, 8 p.m. ET/PT).

Moore, 69, plays Christine St. George, a local daytime TV host who hires Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis) to be her assistant at What's Up Wisconsin? Surface parallels to her MTM character, Mary Richards of WJM in Minneapolis, are obvious, but there's a big difference.

While Richards was "ladylike and wholesome and welcoming, this woman's just the opposite," says Moore, who likes playing against type. "Christine St. George is a very self-centered woman, a tad psychotic."

'70s Show writers and producers had fun with the connection to Moore's TV past. St. George has a single rose on her desk, as Richards did. Gavin MacLeod, who co-starred as news writer Murray, guests in one episode. (St. George fires him because he's always writing stories about Minnesota.)

In one scene, Jackie asks St. George what she thinks of a hat. "I say, 'I'll show you what I think of it,' and I hurl it to the sky with such venom,' " Moore says.

Moore says she already was a fan of That '70s Show, which will finish its eight-season run with its 200th episode on May 18. (Moore's show ran seven seasons, from 1970 to 1977.)

Working with a legend — there's a plaque on the soundstage wall commemorating Moore's sitcom — was easy and comfortable, '70s regulars say.

"She will try anything. She's very gung-ho," says Kunis, 22, who grew up watching MTM on Nick at Nite.

Things might have gotten too comfortable for Debra Jo Rupp, '70s mom Kitty Forman, who watched Moore's comedy during her college years. "One day I needed to ask her something during a scene, and I went, 'Mair,' " as Rhoda or Murray or Ted might have, Rupp says. "I was horrified. I went, 'Oh, my God. That's too intimate.' But she let it roll right off her."

Moore notes the changes made in the soundstage over the years: Sets are in different places; new audience bleachers have been built. Sitcoms are shot differently, with an extra camera. And she marvels at technological advances such as new editing tools.

But for all the changes, "there's an aura here," she says.

Moore, who lives with her husband, physician Robert Levine, in New York, doesn't miss the week-in, week-out grind of a TV series. Most of her recent work has been in movies, and she still works closely with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

But she still gets a thrill performing in front of a studio audience. "It's the sound of laughter," she says. "That's what I miss more than anything."

NEW CD RELEASES FOR JANUARY 24, 2006

Tom Abbs and Frequency Response The Animated Adventures of Knox (CD/DVD combo; includes film and soundtrack) (482 Music)

Action Action An Army of Shapes Between Wars (Victory)

The Advantage elf-titled (Kill Rock Stars)

Ahleuchatistas What You Will (Cuneiform)

AIDS Wolf Lovvers (Lovepump United)

Akimbo Forging Steel and Laying Stone (Alternative Tentacles)

Tha Alkaholiks Firewater (group's final album; w/production by Danger Mouse, Evidence of Dilated Peoples and more) (Koch)

The Apparitions As This Is Futuristic (Machine)

Audio Bullys Generation (w/Roots Manuva and Madness frontman Suggs) (Astralwerks)

Benassi Brothers Phobia (Ultra)

Karl Blau Beneath Waves (K Records)

Bones Brigade Endless Bummer (Coalition)

Marty Casey and the Lovehammers (runner-up of Rock Star: INXS contest) Marty Casey and the Lovehammers (Epic)

Rosanne Cash Black Cadillac (Capitol)

Cat Power The Greatest (Matador)

Catfish Haven Please Come Back EP (Secretly Canadian)

Andre Ceccarelli Trio Avenue Des Diables Blues (Dreyfus)

The Class of 98 Touch This and Die (The Militia Group)

Clearlake Amber (Domino)

Davis Coen Can't Get There from Here (219)

Tony Conrad Fantastic Glissando (Table of the Elements)

Cuete Sounds of Violence (PR)

Current 93 Whilst the Night Rejoices Profound and Still (re-recording of 1998 album "Soft Black Stars" w/new vocals and arrangements) (Durtro)

Demiricous One (Metal Blade)

Discipline Downfall of the Working Man (Thorp)

DJ Beyond Krash Presents: Beyond Hip-Hop (mix CD) (Tommy Boy)

T. Duggins Undone (includes covers of Bob Dylan, Leadbelly, Shane MacGowen and more) (Thick)

Liz Durrett The Mezzanine (produced by Vic Chesnutt) (Warm)

East River Pipe What Are You on? (Merge)

East West Blast Test Popular Music for Unpopular People (Ipecac)

The Elected (members of Rilo Kiley) Sun, Sun, Sun (Sub Pop)

Electric President Electric President (Morr)

Enlow The Recovery (produced by the Descendents' Stephen Egerton) (Blood & Ink)

Ester Drang Rocinate (Jade Tree)

Excepter Sunbomber EP (Touch and Go)

Piers Faccini Streets of London EP (Everloving)

Fatsoe 1 Is Thatsoe (Hungry Hustler)

Film School Film School (Beggars Banquet)

Fivespeed Morning Over Midnight (Virgin)

Ace Frehley Greatest Hits Live (Megaforce)

The Gibson Brothers Red Letter Day (Rounder)

The Go-Betweens That Striped Sunlight Sound of (Yep Roc)

Golden Dogs Everything in 3 Parts (enhanced CD; 2004 Canadian release) (Funzalo)

Larry Goldings Quartet (Palmetto)

Jose Gonzalez Stay in the Shade EP (Parasol/Hidden Agenda)

The Gossip Standing in the Way of Control (Kill Rock Stars)

The Gourds Heavy Ornamentals (Eleven Thirty)

Green Carnation The Acoustic Verses (The End Records)

Hayseed Dixie Hot Piece of Grass (Cooking Vinyl)

His Name Is Alive Detrola (Reincarnate)

Taylor Hollingsworth Tragic City (Brash)

William Hooker/Lee Ranaldo The Celestial Answer (Table of the Elements)

Michael Houser (of Widespread Panic) Sandbox (posthumous release) (Supercat)

Il Divo Ancora (special edition CD/DVD combo available same day) (Columbia)

Incognito Eleven (Narada)

Interference Viva La Interference (The Social Registry)

Ironbound NYC (members of Sick of It All) With a Brick (Thorp)

Richard Leo Johnson The Legend of Vernon McAlister (Cuneiform)

Jukebox Zeros Four on the Floor (Steel Cage)

Richard Julian Slow New York (w/Norah Jones and members of her band) (Manhattan)

Junior Kelly, Bounty Killer and Capleton The Good, the Bad and the Blazing (Minor7Flat5)

Kevin Kerby The Secret Lives of All Night Radios (Max)

Jennifer Kimball Oh Hear Us (Jennifer Kimball/Redeye)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Long Walk to Freedom (SACD same day) (Heads Up)

Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) Rabbit Fur Coat (guests Bright Eyes, M. Ward and members of Maroon 5 and Death Cab for Cutie) (Team Love)

Liar Murder Manifesto (GSR)

Lovedrug Pretend You're Alive (re-release of 2004 debut) (Columbia)

Mask (w/Sonja Kristina of Curved Air) Heavy Petal - The Tenebrous Odyssey of Jack and Virginia (Globe Music Media Arts)

Eric Matthews Foundation Sounds (Empyrean)

Mellowdrone Box (Columbia)

Alistair Moock Let It Go (Corazong)

Paul Motian Band Garden of Eden (ECM)

Nasum Grand Finale (Relapse)

Natas N of tha World (featuring Esham) (Moist Music)

The National Trust Kings and Queens (Thrill Jockey)

The Nein Wrath of Circuits (Sonic Unyon)

A Northern Chorus Bitter Hands Resign (Sonic Unyon)

P.O.D. Testify (co-produced by Glen Ballard; guests Matisyahu and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.) (Atlantic)

Jak Paris Electric Revolution (NEV)

Patty Hurst Shifter Too Crowded on the Losing End (w/Whiskeytown's Skillet Gilmore) (Evo)

Pearls & Brass The Indian Tower (ICE #226) (Drag City)

Robert Pollard From a Compound Eye (Merge)

Portugal. The Man Waiter: "You Vultures!!" (Fearless)

Railroad Earth Elko (two CDs; live album) (SCI Fidelity)

Scott Reeder (ex-Obsessed/Kyuss) TunnelVision Brilliance (Liquor and Poker)

Steve Reynolds Exile (429)

Henry Rollins Talk Is Cheap Volume 2 (two CDs) (Touch and Go)

Saint Etienne Tales from Turnpike House (w/three bonus tracks not on UK release) (Savoy)

Scarlet This Was Always Meant to Fall Apart (Ferret)

Duncan Sheik White Limousine (Rounder)

Slow Runner No Disassemble (J Records)

Snotty featuring PooPoo Man and George Clinton Snot Logical (Audio Fidelity)

Some Girls Heaven's Pregnant Teens (Epitaph)

Soweto Gospel Choir Blessed (Shanachie)

The Special Goodness T.S.G. (Epitaph)

Streetwize Does Dre (Shanachie)

subdudes Behind the Levee (Back Porch)

KT Sullivan/Mark Nader A Fine Romance (DRG/Koch)

Sworn Enemy The Beginning of the End (Abacus)

Jeff Talmadge Blissville (Corazong)

Tarkio Omnibus (two CDs) (Kill Rock Stars)

Livingston Taylor There You Are Again (guests Carly Simon, James Taylor, Take 6, Vince Gill, David Sanborn and more) (Coconut Bay)

Test Icicles For Screening Purposes Only (Domino)

Tortoise and Bonnie "Prince" Billie The Brave and the Bold (covers album w/songs by Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Devo and more) (Overcoat)

Lamine Toure and Group Saloum Lamine Toure (Nomadic Wax)

Town and Country Up Above (Thrill Jockey)

Josh Turner Your Man (MCA Nashville)

UB40 Who You Fighting For? (includes cover of Beatles rarity "I'll Be on My Way") (Rhino)

Varttina Miero (Real World)

Rocky Votolato Makers (Second Nature/Barsuk)

Waterdown All Riot (Victory)

The Weather Machines The Sound of Pseudoscience (Tigers Against Crime!)

Wintergreen The Extended Play EP (Mt. Fuji)

Jah Wobble Mu (Trojan)

Yellowcard Lights and Sounds (Capitol)

Zaar Zaar (Cuneiform)

Zaperoko 3 (Universal)

VA 2006 Grammy Nominees (BMG Heritage)

VA Best of the Taste of Chaos (two CDs; rare, exclusive and previously unreleased tracks from Thrice, Deftones, the Used, Dillinger Escape Plan and more) (Warcon Enterprises)

VA Chicano Players: The Best of Chicano Rap (PR)

VA Future Retro (Rhino)

VA Klub.Life (two CDs; dance compilation) (Water Music)

VA Love Sucks (Rhino)

VA No. 1 Smooth Jazz Hits (Shanachie)

VA Otis's Opuses (Kill Rock Stars)

VA The Killer in You: A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins (w/Hopesfall, A Static Lullaby, Poison the Well and more) (Reignition)

VA Ultra.Dance: 7 (mix CD w/Duran Duran, the Killers, Destiny's Child and more) (Ultra)

OCR The Color Purple (includes duet "What About Love?" by Patti LaBelle and Jill Scott; show produced by Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones) (Angel)

OST Annapolis (score by Brian Tyler) (Varése Sarabande)

OST Breakfast on Pluto (Cillian Murphy/Liam Neeson film) (Milan)

OST Fun with Dick and Jane (Jim Carrey comedy; score by Theodore Shapiro) (Varése Sarabande)

OST Hostel (score by Nathan Barr) (Varése Sarabande)

OST London (includes eight new songs by the Crystal Method; debut release on the group's label) (Tiny E)

OST Nanny McPhee (score by Patrick Doyle) (Varése Sarabande)

OST The L Word: The Third Season (w/songs by D'Angelo, Tegan and Sara, Telepopmusik and more) (Tommy Boy)

OST The World's Fastest Indian (Anthony Hopkins drama) (Milan)

DVD Hooked (Music Video Distributors)

DVD South Beach Raw (live performances and interviews w/Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas, Slick Rick and more) (Music Video Distributors)

DVD Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? (documentary on Christian music scene; w/performances from Pedro the Lion, Cool Hand Luke and more) (Blank Stare)

DVD AWOL-One Culturama Video Bombshelter Presents: Culturama 666 Vol. 2 (Music Video Distributors)

DVD Nick Barrett and Clive Nolan (of Pendragon and Arena) A Rush of Adrenaline (live acoustic duo performance) (Music Video Distributors/Metal Mind)

DVD Buzzcocks Live at Shepherds Bush Empire 2003 (London performance plus interviews and tour footage) (Music Video Distributors)

DVD Four Tet Everything Ecstatic Part II (music videos; includes bonus CD w/new music) (Domino)

DVD The Game Stop Snitchin', Stop Lyin' (Bungalo)

DVD Gordon Haskell The Road to Harry's Bar (Music Video Distributors)

DVD Il Divo Encore (Columbia)

DVD Pain Live Is Overrated (two 2005 concerts plus music videos, interview and more) (Music Video Distributors)

DVD Startet Set Starter Set (Kill Rock Stars)

DVD Starz Back in Action Live 2003 (reunion show w/behind-the-scenes footage) (Music Video Distributors/GB Music)

DVD Kim Waters In the Groove (Shanachie)

Jewel Emerges From 'Wonderland' With New CD

Jewel has set a May 2 release date for her sixth studio album, "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland." The Atlantic set was produced by Rob Cavallo and will be led by the single "Again and Again," which will be delivered in late February to U.S. radio outlets.

"This is the most autobiographical album I have made since [her 1995 debut] 'Pieces of You' and I spent a lot of time sequencing it, so that each song sets up the next, like a novel with a beginning, a middle and an end," the artist says in a statement.

A video for the new album's title track will be made available first to members of Jewel's fan club on Wednesday (Jan. 25) and then to the general public via her Web site five days later. The clip was shot on the artist's Texas ranch by photographer Kurt Markus.

"Goodbye Alice in Wonderland" is the follow-up to 2003's "0304," which debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 and has sold more than 756,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

'OFFICE' TO CLOSE EARLY

'The Office" — the new comedy that was just finding its feet after a year on the air — is ending its season early.

NBC, the network that airs the show, says "The Office" will end for the year in March.

The show's star, Steve Carell, has a commitment to make a movie, "Evan Almighty," and will not be available to tape episodes.

The shortened season rep resents something of a blow for the series. Since moving to Thursday nights, the show's ratings have skyrocketed as viewers discovered its eccentric, cringe-worthy humor.

NBC said it had already renewed the series for next season — but interrupting viewers' habits is a gamble.

The time slot is set to be filled by new comedy, "Teachers.

NBC's 'Scrubs' Getting Sillier

PASADENA, Calif. - His colleagues at "Scrubs" wouldn't let Zach Braff get a big head after the success of his movie, "Garden State."

"I was at Sundance feeling very proud of myself," Braff said Sunday, "and the very first thing I had to do when I came back was a scene where I was wearing a full clown suit and having children hit me with balloons."

And that, snickered executive producer Bill Lawrence, didn't even make it on the show.

By design, the medical spoof is getting sillier and sillier in its fifth season, Lawrence said.

For one of Tuesday's episodes, producers dug a trench to film an elaborate scene where Braff's character rides a scooter into a puddle and then pops out of another, nearby puddle.

"Twenty-one seconds, $70,000," Lawrence said. "Thank you, NBC. It made us laugh."

Oscars May Surprise Despite Front-Runners

NEW YORK - As Oscar season heats up, it's a one-horse race led by two cowboys.

"Brokeback Mountain," the Western romance starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, is widely considered the front-runner approaching the Jan. 31 nominations.

The Ang Lee-directed film won a commanding four Golden Globes, including best picture, adding to previous honors from New York and Los Angeles film critics. On Sunday, it also won the top honor from the Producers Guild.

But the March 5 Oscars are unusually late this year because of the Olympics, leaving voters plenty of time to mull over their choices.

In the meantime, awards will be bestowed by the Directors Guild, the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild and the British Academy — all of which could change the handicapping.

"The guild awards are the same voters as the Oscars — they're all like-minded people," says Tom O'Neil, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times' "The Envelope" Web site. "They could give us a very different direction for this race."

"In that month, there's a lot of time for pampered, indulgent Oscar voters to change their mind if they want to," he says. "This race is not over."

O'Neil grants that "Brokeback" is easily in the lead right now, but sees competition in George Clooney's black-and-white retelling of Edward R. Murrow's famous broadcasts in "Good Night, and Good Luck." He also sees a contender in "Crash," the ensemble drama about intertwining prejudices, by Paul Haggis.

"Crash" has caught heat recently, buoyed by a DVD release (its theatrical release was in May) and nominations from the Producers Guild for best picture and the Directors Guild for best director.

Nevertheless, its spring release and low budget don't give it the heft of other Oscar contenders, leaving it a definite underdog.

"Walk the Line," which took three Golden Globes including best picture for a musical or comedy, will probably be nominated for best picture. However, the Johnny Cash biopic doesn't have the social themes that "Brokeback," "Good Night" and "Crash" do.

In the past, Hollywood has often opted to support films making a statement. Last year's winner, "Million Dollar Baby," was far from your typical popcorn fare, dealing with the divisive issue of euthanasia. 2002's winner, "A Beautiful Mind," tackled mental illness, and "American Beauty," which won in 2000, peered at suburban mid-life crisis.

Other Best Pictures that could be said to have an air of importance include "Schindler's List" (1994), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1990), "Rain Man" (1989), "Platoon" (1987), "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1980), "The Deer Hunter" (1979) and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1976).

But there are also a fair share of less brainy winners, including crowd-pleasing epics like "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2004), "Gladiator" (2001) and "Braveheart" (1996). Then there are bright, optimistic movies like "Chicago" (2003), "Forrest Gump" (1995) and "Rocky" (1977).

If the 2006 Oscar voters choose to go that way, they could look to Peter Jackson's "King Kong," the pageantry of "Memoirs of a Geisha," or the Jane Austen adaptation "Pride & Prejudice."

That appears unlikely, though, since critics savaged "Geisha," "Kong" never quite ran amok as expected, and "Prejudice" received good reviews but little buzz.

Other story lines to look for:

• Capote vs. Cash: The Golden Globes kept Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote") and Joaquin Phoenix ("Walk the Line") separated by genre, but the Oscars won't. Toss in Heath Ledger from "Brokeback," and the best actor category is a battlefield of heavyweight performances.

• Munich Rebound? In November, Steven Spielberg's "Munich" was expected to rule the Oscars. It has since been received by some as a classic, but by many with a shrug. Still, Spielberg isn't often forgotten by Oscar.

• Felicity Alone: The best actress category appears this year's most predictable. Felicity Huffman's gender-bending performance in "Transamerica" has the look of a shoo-in, though Reese Witherspoon in "Walk the Line" has a fighting chance.

• Clooney On Top: Can George Clooney land two nominations — one for acting in "Syriana," one for directing "Good Night, and Good Luck"?

• A (Newer) World: Terrence Malick has edited down his poetic tale of Pocahontas after initial screenings. Will the shorter cut of "The New World" find favor with Oscar voters? The maverick, recluse director has long been a hero of Hollywood's; his last picture, "The Thin Red Line," was awarded seven noms by the Academy.

• Daily Show, Primetime: Everyone will be curious how political the jokes of host Jon Stewart's are. The entire ceremony may have a generally liberal vibe (even more so than usual), considering so many of the relevant films deal with sexuality or politics.

• Will Anyone Watch? Past ratings have suggested that the key to high viewership for the Academy Awards often isn't the host, but the movies. When one film (like "Titanic") has dominated the field, people tune in. This year, the current favorite, "Brokeback Mountain," is a controversial film that has grossed less than $50 million.

Music Sales Resumed Decline in 2005

CANNES, France - Recorded music sales resumed their decline in 2005, the industry's leading global body said Sunday, despite high-profile victories against piracy and a surge in online and mobile music store revenues.

Global music retail revenues fell about 2 percent last year, said John Kennedy, chairman and CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. In 2004 they remained flat at $33.6 billion, punctuating a four-year slide.

The new downturn, based on data from three-quarters of the global market, underlined major challenges facing record companies as executives assembled for the music industry's largest European gathering, Midem, which is taking place this week in the French Riviera town of Cannes.

The drop in overall sales came despite a threefold increase in digital music revenue to $1.1 billion from $380 million, while illegal file-sharing volumes changed little, according to a separate IFPI market report published Thursday. The federation sees total sales broadly unchanged in 2006.

Record bosses are now having to look beyond piracy to explain the latest decline in revenues, which have fallen about 20 percent globally since 1999.

"Piracy in all its forms has been the major factor in this reversal but not the only factor," said Eric Nicoli, chairman of EMI Group PLC, the world's No. 3 record company.

Speaking at the MidemNet music technology forum, which preceded the main event, Nicoli also cited tougher competition from other categories of consumer goods.

"Twenty years ago there were no mobile phones, no DVDs, no computer games to speak of," he said. "In categories that did exist, like magazines, cosmetics and designer clothes, we've seen a massive explosion of choice and accessibility to consumers. So no surprise, then, that music sales have come under pressure."

EMI and other record companies are also pressing Apple Computer Inc. to allow more pricing flexibility on its iTunes Music Store, which charges the same rate for any song downloaded — 99 cents for U.S. customers. They have argued — so far without success — that they should be able to charge more for the most sought-after hits.

Apple's iTunes accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. and British online music sales and has significant shares of its 19 other markets. Its popularity is widely credited with halting the growth of piracy, but record companies complain that this has come at the price of a loss of control over their own pricing and marketing.

"One of the biggest mistakes we've made is to hand a monopoly to the retailer," said Alison Wenham, chairman and chief executive of the Association of Independent Music, which represents 800 indie labels.

Some analysts see other reasons for the industry's current woes. "Executives have focused so much of their attention on piracy that they've diverted their efforts from developing new talent," said Phil Leigh of Inside Digital Media, a U.S. market research firm.

Entertainment companies won a series of major court rulings against music piracy in 2005, including a June U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing them sue the file-sharing site Grokster for encouraging copyright infringement. Grokster paid $50 million to settle out of court and closed down the site pending a planned switch to licensed sales.

But anti-piracy laws and their enforcement remain patchy in some parts of the world. Record companies, copyright holders' groups and artists are planning protests during Midem against a French move last month to legalize online file sharing.

In a rebellion by lawmakers from the conservative ruling party, the French parliament approved amendments introducing a so-called "global license" — allowing Internet subscribers who pay an extra monthly fee to copy as much music as they like online. The government is seeking the amendments' withdrawal and is expected to announce compromise proposals in coming days.

Despite the music industry's gloomy sales and outlook, almost 9,500 participants from 92 countries are registered to take part in Midem, which runs through Thursday. That's a 7 percent increase from 2005.

ABC Defends Cancellation of Graham Comedy

PASADENA, Calif. - One minute, Heather Graham was the face of ABC. The next minute, she was gone. Her comedy series "Emily's Reasons Why Not" was promoted relentlessly by the network as the linchpin of its post-football Monday night schedule, but was only given one airing before being yanked earlier this month.

ABC committed to the big promotional campaign before even seeing a script for the show, said ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson on Saturday. The series turned out to be a dog creatively, he indicated.

"Once we saw it was not launching, we felt like unfortunately it was not going to get better and we had to make a change," McPherson said.

A total of six episodes were filmed, and McPherson said no determination has been made about whether they would be burned off.

The quick hook doesn't mean producers of other ABC series with middling ratings — "Invasion," for example — should be shaking in fear.

"That's a great example for us of when to be patient and when to fold them," he said. "We believe in that show."

Vampires Edge Out Box Office Competition

LOS ANGELES - Golden Globe-winning films saw significant boosts at the weekend box office, but the action-packed vampire flick "Underworld: Evolution" was the top earner, debuting with $27.6 million in ticket sales.

The blood-drenched thriller, starring Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman, edged out last weekend's winning family fare, according to studio estimates released Sunday.

"Hoodwinked," the animated update of the Little Red Riding Hood story, fell to second place with $11 million in ticket sales, while inspirational films "Glory Road" and "Last Holiday" ranked third and fourth, taking in $9.1 million each.

Horror movies and family films "probably have the biggest built-in audience at the box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

The animated family friendly film "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and the horror flick "Hostel" also retained spots in the weekend top 10.

Last week's Golden Globe Awards provided a big box office bump for its winning films, most notably "Brokeback Mountain," which ranked fifth in weekend ticket sales.

The film, which follows the 20-year forbidden romance between two rugged ranch hands, won four Golden Globes, including best motion picture in the drama category and best director. It earned $7.8 million, an increase of 35 percent over the previous weekend.

"The Golden Globes gave more validation and importance to the film, and the box office shows it," said Jack Foley, president of theatrical distribution for Focus Features. "It's created a whole new level of momentum."

The Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line," also gained newfound spunk. The film didn't climb into the top 10, but its weekend earnings jumped 77 percent after Golden Globe wins for stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. The film also won the trophy for best motion picture in the musical or comedy category.

"I've never seen a boost of this magnitude," said Chris Aronson of 20th Century Fox. "It has to be Golden Globe-oriented."

"Capote," which earned Golden Globe acting honors for its star Philip Seymour Hoffman, and "Transamerica," which won an acting award for star Felicity Huffman, also saw weekend box office boosts.

"The Golden Globes are now a force to be reckoned with in terms of the box office bump they provide," Dergarabedian said. "We've never really seen a Globes bump like this."

Overall, the top 12 films grossed an estimated $97 million, up nearly 17 percent from last year's $82.9 million.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Underworld: Evolution," Sony, $27.6 million.
2. "Hoodwinked," Weinstein Co., $11 million.
3. "Glory Road," Disney, $9.1 million.
4. "Last Holiday," Paramount, $9.1 million.
5. "Brokeback Mountain," Focus, $7.8 million.
6. "Fun With Dick and Jane," Sony, $6.1 million.
7. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," Disney, $6 million.
8. "Hostel," Lions Gate, $4.3 million.
9. "The New World," New Line, $4.2 million.
10. "End of the Spear," Rocky Mountain, $4.2 million.

NBC Cancels 'West Wing' After 7 Seasons

PASADENA, Calif. - The new president on "The West Wing" will be a real short-timer: NBC announced Sunday it was pulling the plug on the Emmy-winning political drama in May after seven seasons.

NBC, struggling to regain its footing after the worst season in its history, also outlined several midseason schedule changes — including the moves of popular dramas "Law & Order" and "Las Vegas."

"The West Wing" announcement wasn't much of a surprise. Although this season's story line with a presidential campaign involving a Democrat played by Jimmy Smits and Republican portrayed by Alan Alda has been strong critically, ratings have sunk with its move to Sunday nights.

The decision to cancel it was made before actor John Spencer, who played former presidential chief of staff Leo McGarry, died of a heart attack Dec. 16, said Kevin Reilly, NBC entertainment president.

"There's a point when you look at the ratings and say, it feels like it's time," Reilly said.

The series finale will be May 14, preceded by a one-hour retrospective. The campaign to replace the fictional Josiah Bartlet as president will be settled, NBC said.

Producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, who created the show and guided it through its early years, will not be involved in the finale, Reilly said.

"The West Wing" won four Emmy Awards for best television drama in a row for its tales of political intrigue. At its prime, it also offered NBC two valuable benefits: critical acclaim and the most upscale audience on television, an important drawing point for advertisers.

NBC's revamped schedule offered veteran "Law & Order" producer Dick Wolf good and bad news. NBC is putting Wolf's new drama "Conviction," about young prosecutors in New York, on Friday's schedule starting March 3. But it is moving "Law & Order" up an hour to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET — competing directly with ABC's blockbuster "Lost."

Wolf, who has had at least one show on NBC's schedule for 21 years, shrugged when asked about the move.

"It's like a long-term marriage," he said. "There are stresses and strains intermittently, but we are kind of stuck with each other."

NBC is also moving "Las Vegas" from Monday to Friday starting in March. Donald Trump is changing addresses again, with "The Apprentice" moving to Monday where it will be preceded by the Howie Mandel-hosted game show "Deal or No Deal."

The network has two more midseason shows: "Heist," a cops-and-robbers drama from the director of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," and "Teachers," a comedy about a high school English teacher.

"The Office" will go off the air at the end of March so star Steve Carell can film a movie, Reilly said. He said he also hasn't figured out what to do with the ill-fated "Friends" spinoff "Joey," which has 12 new episodes done but no place on the schedule.

"NBC is stable and our vital signs are encouraging," Reilly said. "Most predictions were that we were going to go from bad to worse this year, and that hasn't happened."

Lowdown: Shaye working on new album

Harmony-driven trio Shaye is working once again with Nashville-based producer Jay Joyce on the follow-up to 2003's "The Bridge."

The Toronto group -- comprised of close friends Kim Stockwood, Damhnait Doyle and Tara MacLean -- is in writing mode with Joyce, who flew up two days ago to first start writing with the girls. He has produced Chantal Kreviazuk, Tim Finn, and Patty Griffin, among others.

They will head into Toronto's Orange Studios next week to start recordings, but will likely continue to write as well.

"It's going to be skewed a little more organically, kind of a roots pop feel to it," says EMI Music Canada VP of A&R, Fraser Hill of the new album, "but what they're known for are the vocals, the harmonies, and that will probably be more prominent on this record, more the blends and the things that people who see them live say, 'Boy you guys sing together really well.'"

Stockwood and Doyle are both from Newfoundland and MacLean is from PEI, but they have all been based in Toronto for many years now and have all pursued solo careers and released albums of their own. Shaye's debut album, "The Bridge," spawned two singles, "Happy Baby" and "Beauty," and scanned 16,500 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan Canada.

The new album is slated for a late summer/early fall release with a single probably serviced to radio in the summer.

Steve Martin Adds to 'SNL' Record

Steve Martin, who's hosted "Saturday Night Live" more than anyone else in history, will add to his record next month.

Martin, who last hosted the show in September 1994, will take his 14th turn as frontman for the venerable NBC comedy show on Saturday, Feb. 4. He'll be joined by musical guest Prince, who'll be making his second appearance on the show -- almost 25 years after his first.

As so often happens, both host and musical guest have things to promote via their appearance. Martin is starring as Inspector Clouseau in a remake of "The Pink Panther" due for release the week after his "SNL" gig, and Prince is set to release a new album, "3121," in March.

Martin helped give "Saturday Night Live" its identity in the mid-1970s, teaming with Dan Aykroyd to create the Festrunk brothers, two "wild and crazy guys" from behind the Iron Curtain, and fronting the classic King Tut sketch, among many others. He has made uncredited cameos on the show a couple of times in recent years but hasn't stepped out to host in more than a decade.

Prince last appeared on "SNL" in February 1981, during his "Little Red Corvette" days. He has, of course, since gone on to become one of the more revered, and enigmatic, figures in pop music.

Dud DVDs Doom "Munich" at Brit Oscars?

No views might have been bad news for Munich.

With most voters of the so-called British Oscars reportedly unable to watch Steven Spielberg's docudrama about the aftermath of the terrorism-marred 1972 Summer Olympics because of a DVD screener snafu, the movie was absent from Thursday's nominee field.

Hometown favorite The Constant Gardener had better luck with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). The U.K.-produced John Le Carre thriller led the way with 10 nominations, including one for Best Film.

Golden Globes favorite Brokeback Mountain added more notches to its belt with nine nods, including ones for its usual suspects-- Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams and director Ang Lee. Crash, an all-star parable about racism in Los Angeles, also scored nine nominations.

It was not known definitively if Munich's screener troubles sealed its fate with BAFTA. To be sure, the $70 million epic has struggled for weeks to gain footholds at the box office (grossing just $34.2 million domestically through Tuesday, per BoxOfficeMojo.com) and at Hollywood's pre-Oscar events. At Monday's Globes, it went oh-for-two.

With all that, if there was one film that could ill afford one false move it was Munich. And according to reports, it suffered two false moves as it tried to make its pitch to BAFTA voters.

"It's been quite a cock-up," a BAFTA member said last week in the U.K. newspaper, The Guardian. "We were promised that they were going to send screeners before Christmas, but they never arrived. Now we finally have a copy but there is no way we can watch it."

In the newspaper, the film's U.K. publicity firm blamed the bum DVDs on human error--"someone pushed the wrong button" during encoding--making the discs incompatible with Region 2 players. And even if British-based BAFTA voters wanted to pay to see the movie, they couldn't--it doesn't open in theaters there until Jan. 27.

Universal Pictures, Munich's Hollywood studio home, did not return a call for comment Thursday.

Focus Features, Universal's art-house division, however, was in the crowing mood, issuing a press release Thursday noting Brokeback Mountain's BAFTA--and box office--success.

On Tuesday, one day after its four Globe wins, Brokeback broke to the top of the movie chart. Its gross wasn't stunning--it made all of $742,412--but it was good enough to best its competitors for the first time in six weeks in theaters. The R-rated tale of gay cowboys will move up to nearly 1,200 screens on Friday, per BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Though on the downside of its own theatrical run, Good Night, and Good Luck remains a hot ticket on the awards show circuit. George Clooney's take on CBS Newsman Edward R. Murrow is up for six BAFTAs, including Best Film and Best Director. Clooney is a double nominee for Best Supporting Actor, for his role as CBS news producer Fred Friendly in Good Night and, as was his golden lot at the Globes, for his paunchy turn in Syriana.

In addition to Good Night, and Good Luck and The Constant Gardener, the BAFTA Best Film field is rounded out by Brokeback Mountain, Crash and Capote.

Other top nominees are Pride & Prejudice and Memoirs of a Geisha, with six each. This is Geisha's best award-show showing yet. Like the Oscars, the BAFTAs honor the craft fields, enabling the sweeping Geisha to pick up nominations for cinematography, production design and costume design.

Likewise, BAFTA's special effects categories helped Hollywood's blockbusters finally break into the nominee circle. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Chronicles of Narnia, Batman Begins and King Kong each scored multiple nods.

Notably absent from that list is Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, the top-grossing movie of 2005, which was thoroughly snubbed, Munich-style--except in the case of Sith, voters probably saw it.

Here's a complete list of 2006 BAFTA nominations:

Best Film:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Best British Film:
A Cock and Bull Story
The Constant Gardener
Festival
Pride & Prejudice
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Best Actor:
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Ralph Fiennes, The Constant Gardener

Best Actress:
Charlize Theron, North Country
Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Reese Witherspoon, Walk The Line
Ziyi Zhang, Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Supporting Actor:
Don Cheadle, Crash
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
George Clooney, Syriana
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
Matt Dillon, Crash

Best Supporting Actress:
Brenda Blethyn, Pride & Prejudice
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain
Thandie Newton, Crash

The David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction:
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller, Capote
Fernando Meirelles, The Constant Gardener
Paul Haggis, Crash
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck

Original Screenplay:
Cinderella Man, Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman
Crash, Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco
Good Night, and Good Luck, George Clooney and Grant Heslov
Hotel Rwanda, Keir Pearson and Terry George
Mrs. Henderson Presents, Martin Sherman

Adapted Screenplay:
Brokeback Mountain, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana
Capote, Dan Futterman
The Constant Gardener, Jeffrey Caine
A History of Violence, Josh Olson
Pride & Prejudice, Deborah Moggach

The Carl Foreman Award for Apecial Achievement by British Director/Producer or Writer in First Feature Film:
David Belton (producer), Shooting Dogs
Peter Fudakowski (producer), Tsotsi
Annie Griffin (director/writer), Festival
Richard Hawkins (director), Everything
Joe Wright (director), Pride & Prejudice

Best Foreign-Language Film:
De Battre Mon Coeur S'est Arrete
Le Grand Voyage
Kung Fu Hustle
Joyeux Noel
Tsotsi

The Anthony Asquith Award for Achievement in Film Music:
Brokeback Mountain, Gustavo Santaolalla
The Constant Gardener, Alberto Iglesias
Memoirs of a Geisha, John Williams
Mrs. Henderson Presents, George Fenton
Walk The Line, T Bone Burnett

Cinematography:
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Crash
March of the Penguins
Memoirs of a Geisha

Editing:
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
March of the Penguins

Production Design:
Batman Begins
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha

Costume Design:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice

Sound:
Batman Begins
The Constant Gardener
Crash
King Kong
Walk the Line

Achievement in Special Visual Effects:
Batman Begins
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong

Makeup and Hair:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride & Prejudice

Short Animation Film:
Fallen Art
Film Noir
Kamiya's Correspondence
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
Rabbit

Short Film:
Antonio's Breakfast
Call Register
Heavy Metal Drummer
Heydar, An Afghan in Tehran
Lucky

Report: Disney in Talks to Acquire Pixar

LOS ANGELES - The Walt Disney Co.'s possible acquisition of Pixar Animation Studio could make Pixar CEO Steve Jobs a member of Disney's board and its single largest shareholder, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Shares of both companies rose slightly Thursday after The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources familiar with the plan, reported Disney was in serious talks to buy Pixar.

Both companies declined comment to The Associated Press Thursday.

Pixar has made several hit movies, including "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo." Jobs is its largest shareholder, with more than 60 million shares, or 50.6 percent, according to Pixar's filings with securities regulators last year.

At its current share price, his stake is worth about $3.44 billion.

Jobs also heads Apple Computer Inc., the maker of the hugely successful iPod music and video player.

"Investors may hope that Mr. Jobs' successful track record at Pixar and Apple will rub off more broadly on Disney," Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Research, wrote in a report Thursday.

Greenfield estimated that Jobs could gain a 6 percent stake in Disney as the result of a merger. Disney's largest reported individual shareholder now is former CEO Michael Eisner, who owns 1.8 percent of outstanding shares.

Pixar shares rose $1.61 a share, or 2.81 percent, to close at $58.87 Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Disney shares gained $1.04, or 4 percent, to $26.24 at the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Disney CEO Robert Iger has made it clear that technology will be a cornerstone of Disney's success in the future. Having Jobs on Disney's board could strengthen the link between Disney's content and the technology that links TV shows, movies and music to consumers.

"In our view, no company understands both technology and the consumer better than Apple," analyst Kathy Styponias of Prudential Equity Group wrote.

Reports of a possible Disney-Pixar merger first surfaced several weeks ago after shares of Pixar jumped, leading analysts to speculate that Jobs might become Disney's chairman.

Disney and Pixar have been talking for months about a new relationship.

Disney has co-financed and distributed Pixar's animated films for the past 12 years, splitting the profits. But that deal expires in June after Pixar delivers "Cars."

The company, based in Emeryville, is already at work on its next several films but has yet to decide if Disney or another studio will distribute them. The studio makes one movie a year.

Many analysts expect a new distribution deal soon but dismissed the idea of Disney buying Pixar as so expensive that it would dilute Disney's earnings for several years.

Others said that if Disney paid only a slight premium for Pixar's shares, as the Journal report suggests, Disney could recover fairly quickly, especially if Pixar increases its production to two films per year.

"Despite dilution in the near-term and the likely negative impact Disney's stock would take should it acquire Pixar, we believe the deal would make sense both strategically and, eventually, financially," Styponias wrote.

Rick Moranis channels his inner 'Cowboy'

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Anyone who came of age in the 1980s is well-versed in the filmography of Rick Moranis, thanks to such memorable roles as the accountant/nerd extraordinaire in both "Ghostbusters" films, the evil/clueless overlord in "Spaceballs," the windsurfing tourist in "Club Paradise" and the bumbling inventor in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."

But the 52-year-old Toronto native also frequently demonstrated his musical talents, most notably as doomed florist Seymour Krelborn in the 1986 film version of the musical "Little Shop of Horrors." He also made an art out of satirizing pop music during his stint with famed Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV, impersonating everybody from Elton John to Michael McDonald and Gordon Lightfoot.

Having phased out his acting career in the late '90s while raising his children in New York, Moranis is now garnering acclaim for an album of humorous country songs, "The Agoraphobic Cowboy," which he released last fall via his Web site (http://www.rickmoranis.com). It will vie for a Grammy Award next month in the comedy album category.

Moranis recently inked deals for wider distribution of "Cowboy," which was made available via online retailers on Monday and in stores on February 7.

Moranis recently filled Billboard.com in on his musical roots and his inspirations for the material on "The Agoraphobic Cowboy."

DID YOU SING OR PERFORM AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL CAREER?

Well, the very first thing I did professionally was working with a partner, a guy I'd gone to summer camp with. We wrote an act and played the improv clubs in Toronto in 1975. I'd already been in radio for awhile, but when we wrote our act and performed live, I used my guitar in that act. We split and I started doing standup, and carried my guitar for a year doing standup. It was before I'd seen Steve Martin, but somebody said, 'You should see him. He does what you do, but with a banjo.' I was doing similar, non sequitur kinds of musical bits. I don't know if I have any of them recorded. Some of them were parodies of rock music. You know that Boz Scaggs song, 'Lowdown?' It has that slap bass sound. That was a hugely popular song in 1976, and I would do the entire song just playing this one note. Or, I would say, 'I need a volunteer from the audience, somebody tall.' Somebody would come up and I'd play the opening few lines of (Simon & Garfunkel's) 'Sounds of Silence"' Then, I'd turn to him and go, 'Come on, Art. What's going on?' I'd get into a fight with him and split up with him.

THEN YOU JOINED SCTV, WHICH FEATURED SO MANY HYSTERICAL MUSICAL-THEMED BITS.

When I first got onto SCTV, we were working in a vacuum. We had no idea there was an audience. We were just making each other laugh. I had done, for example, a parody of Canadian Content where I'd re-written a song of Gordon Lightfoot's. (Cast member) Dave (Thomas) did all these bogus K-Tel commercials, so we came up with the sketch 'Gordon Lightfoot Sings Every Song Ever Written.' Then, they had the budget to get a local country-sounding band in Edmonton to do a few bars from every single one of these songs I wanted. When I read that at the table, it was very clear what it was. It was a bit everybody could understand. That's the way things happened, doing a post-production show like that.

SO HOW DID THIS PROJECT START TO TAKE SHAPE? WERE ANY OF THESE SONGS THINGS YOU HAD LYING AROUND PREVIOUSLY?

Well, what happened was, around two years ago, I had been doing more sort of op-ed piece kind of writing and essay writing. I pretty much pulled out of shooting anything in the mid to late '90s, because I couldn't stand the travel anymore. I'm a single parent and my kids were young, so I just needed to take a break. After I started spending more time at home, I realized I didn't miss what I was doing. I hadn't enjoyed the last few years of what's called acting. I'm really not an actor. The reason we performed was because we'd written the material. I never studied acting. When I was acting in other people's things, I knew how to enjoy myself. It was lucrative and it fit into life. But I wasn't enjoying the work. After I stopped, I really wasn't missing it.

My kids, particularly my daughter, started listening to a lot of alternative country, jam bands and some bluegrass. I had played that stuff to them when they were little kids. They'd play me something I knew the original of, so I'd tell them, 'So and so did this a long time ago.' It got under my skin. On any given day, if I would hear a turn of phrase or get a funny idea or something, instead of trying to write a piece I could sell to the New York Times, I started writing a song. I wrote one, and then another one. I was singing them to a couple of friends, and they'd be relatively amused. After I had a few, they said I should do something with them. That's really how I wound up having that many songs. I just kept doing it. When I got to the point where I had enough to do a whole album, I stopped writing and started pursuing recording them. Once the recording process started, I wrote another couple of things.

WOULD YOU SAY THAT IF SOMEONE ASKED, 'WHAT HAS RICK BEEN DOING LATELY?', THIS ALBUM PROVIDES THE ANSWERS, LIKE GOLFING, HANGING OUT AND ENJOYING LIFE?

(Laughs). There's a bunch of golf references in there. I couldn't resist. People are hearing different things in this. Some have heard a theme. Some have heard a lot of self-deprecation. A lot of technology. It's very much me. I'm writing what I know and what I'm feeling, but beyond that, I leave it to you guys to figure out where it fits.

I NOTICED A DONALD FAGEN THANK-YOU ON THE CD. DID YOU EVER PONDER COLLABORATING WITH HIM?

Initially, I was working on a screenplay a long, long time ago that never got produced. I wanted him to do the music for it, and that's how we started talking. We just stayed in touch. Whenever Steely Dan would perform I'd go see them. As I was writing this stuff, I knew he'd get a kick out of it. He really encouraged me a lot to do something with this.

SINCE YOU FINISHED THE ALBUM, HAVE YOU KEPT WRITING MUSIC?

Yeah. I've written a couple of jazz songs that I guess could be arranged as bluegrass songs, and I've gone back to writing the kinds of songs I was writing before this album. Those are a bit more rock-ish, and not as on the nose lyrically as these are, and not as comedic. The jazz ones are comedic like this, but the other ones are a different kind of thing. I'm not good at making plans, because I never have been. I never do things with an idea of where they may wind up.

Vampire thriller set to bite box office rivals

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The new Kate Beckinsale horror film "Underworld: Evolution" is expected to lead the weekend box office, while Golden Globes glory should boost business for "Brokeback Mountain" and "Walk the Line."

It looks to be a pitched battle for No. 2 between incumbent champ "Glory Road" and "Hoodwinked," which were separated by a mere $48,187 last weekend during the four-day Martin Luther King holiday.

Screen Gems' "Underworld: Evolution" is a sequel to the 2003 hit "Underworld," which opened to $21.8 million and went on to glean $51.5 million. Additional success on home video should help the sequel approach -- and maybe surpass -- that opening level.

The R-rated film centers on an ancient feud between vampires and werewolves and interweaves a forbidden interspecies romance between the groups. As with its predecessor, the film was directed by Len Wiseman, Beckinsale's husband.

Disney's college basketball movie "Glory Road" has been performing strongly during the week, and the film generated exceptionally high exit-poll scores, which should contribute significantly to positive word-of-mouth. It bowed to $16.93 million last weekend. As the only new family-oriented film in the marketplace, the Weinstein Co.'s computer-animated "Hoodwinked" should be a player as well.

The four Globe wins Monday for "Brokeback" helped spur the gay cowboy romance to some hardy midweek grosses; it was the No. 1 film across North America on Tuesday and Wednesday. This weekend, distributor Focus Features is almost doubling its theater count to 1,194 outlets (vs. 3,207 for "Underworld: Evolution," 2,396 for "Glory Road" and 3,002 for "Hoodwinked").

Fox's Johnny Cash bipic, which picked up three Globes, adds 242 runs in its ninth weekend, taking the total to 1,106. It should be enough to propel the film past $100 million.

The only other new picture to arrive in wide release is Rocky Mountain Pictures' "End of the Spear," which opens in 1,162 theaters. The drama, based on a true story, largely takes place in the eastern rain forests of Ecuador. It centers on a member of the Waodani tribe whose life is changed when five missionaries are killed, which, in turn, transforms the entire tribe and touches the lives of all involved, including the missionaries' children.

After a brief limited run in December for Academy qualification, New Line Cinema's "The New World" will arrive in about 800 theaters. Terrence Malick directed and wrote the screenplay for the PG-13 drama, which stars Colin Farrell and is based on the story of Pocahontas and the cultural collision between the European explorers and American Indians.

Warner Independent Pictures will release "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World" in 161 locations. Albert Brooks stars in, wrote and directed the PG-13 comedy, which has met with some controversy because of its title and subject matter but has garnered positive reviews and reportedly has been well received in Muslim communities.

Howard in talks for 'Spider-Man 3'

Actress Bryce Dallas Howard ("The Village") is in talks to play Gwen Stacy in "Spider-Man 3."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Howard's character would be involved in a love triangle with Spider-Man's alter ego, Peter Parker, played by Tobey Maguire, and Mary Jane Watson, portrayed by Kirsten Dunst.

In the comics, Gwen was Peter's first love. The character ended up being kidnapped by the Green Goblin and was killed during a bridge battle. Mary Jane replaced Stacy in the film version, but she ends up surviving the bridgetop scene.

James Franco will reprise his role from the two previous installments while Topher Grace ("In Good Company") and Thomas Haden Church ("Sideways") have been added to the cast as villains.

Sam Raimi, who directed the first two "Spidey" movies will direct the film with shooting to begin this month.

Howard will next appear in Lars von Trier's film, Manderlay set for release on Jan 27.

Clarkson Relents, Lets 'Idol' Use Songs

PASADENA, Calif. - Former "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson, subject to a scolding from Simon Cowell for not letting her songs be used by new contestants on the show, has agreed to do so, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Roger Widynowski, from Clarkson's Sony BMG record label, said Clarkson's management was negotiating with the show over which songs will be used.

A day earlier, he said Clarkson was not allowing any of her songs to be licensed for other purposes. He said on Wednesday that he had not been informed by her management that negotiations were under way, and that Clarkson would allow it on a "case-by-case basis."

That was also a day after "American Idol" judge Cowell sharply criticized her.

"I think that by ignoring the show you're ignoring the audience who put you there," Cowell said Tuesday.

Clarkson has become a major star in the past year, with her hit "Since U Been Gone" earning both massive sales and critical respect, particularly from a rock community that has looked upon "American Idol" contestants warily. Her album "Breakaway" earned a Grammy nomination for best pop vocal album.

"American Idol" must obtain permission from owners of song licenses before the music can be used on the show. While many love the exposure, some artists — the Beatles, for one — like to rigidly control use of their music.

Clarkson, in an interview with The Associated Press last year, said she knows she'll always be identified as an "American Idol," and she has no problems with that.

"That's where I got my start," she said. "They always talk about the big first thing that you did. I think the only thing that I do mind is I don't want people to only focus on that."

Wilson Pickett dies of heart attack at 64

RESTON, Va. (AP) -- Wilson Pickett, the soul pioneer best known for the fiery hits "Mustang Sally" and "In The Midnight Hour," died of a heart attack Thursday, according to his management company. He was 64.

Chris Tuthill of the management company Talent Source said Pickett had been suffering from health problems for the past year.

"He did his part. It was a great ride, a great trip, I loved him and I'm sure he was well-loved, and I just hope that he's given his props," Michael Wilson Pickett, the fourth of the singer's six children, told WRC-TV in Washington after his death.

A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Pickett -- known as the "Wicked Pickett" -- became a star with his soulful hits in the 1960s.

"In the Midnight Hour" gave him his greatest success. In 1965, he linked with legendary soul producer Jerry Wexler at the equally legendary soul label Stax Records in Memphis, and recorded one of his greatest hits, "In the Midnight Hour," for Atlantic Records. A string of hits followed, including "634-5789," "Funky Broadway" and "Mustang Sally." His sensuous soul was in sharp contrast to the genteel soul songs of his Detroit counterparts at Motown Records.

As Pickett entered a new decade, he had less success on the charts, but still had hits, including the song "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You."

In later years, he had legal problems and battled substance.

Hollywood aims big in 2006

LOS ANGELES (AP) - In good years, Hollywood beats its chest and crows, "It's all about the movies!" In bad years, like 2005, Hollywood looks for something to blame and whispers, "It's all about the movies."

Studio honchos hope it was just a weak crop of flicks that resulted in a seven per cent drop in movie attendance last year and that doomsayers are wrong in predicting home-entertainment options have eroded the big screen's appeal.

If it really is all about the movies, 2006 stands a chance of turning Hollywood's slump around with a film lineup that - on paper, at least - looks like a winner.

You've got your man of steel and your mutant superheroes. You've got your pirates of the high seas and your overturned luxury liner. You've got your cartoon cars and your talking animals. You've got your action spectacle from Tom Cruise and your passion project from Mel Gibson.

And you've got your usual load of sequels, remakes and potential sleepers, plus a couple of sobering films that will test the audiences' tolerance for reliving tragedy as the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches.

Here's a rundown of Hollywood's sure hits and safe bets, along with a peek at some other intriguing possibilities (where available, specific release dates are included):

CAN'T MISS:

Superman Returns (June 30): Admit it. For all the X-Men, Bat guys, Spideys and Fantastic Foursomes prancing around on screen, the Boy Scout from Krypton is still your favourite superhero.

Superman Returns has a fresh face, Brandon Routh.

"I never intended to cast a well-known actor," said director Bryan Singer, who made the first two X-Men movies. "A known actor comes with baggage, and Superman as a character is much larger than any actor. I wanted him to come just with the baggage of the superhero. That's enough history to contend with."

The supporting cast does have star power though, with Kevin Spacey as super-villain Lex Luthor and Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane.

The premise: Having been called away on urgent off-world business, Superman comes back to Earth years later to renew his romantic dance with Lois and save us puny mortals - again.

Mission: Impossible III (May 5): Tom Cruise's third go-round as super secret agent Ethan Hunt pits him against bad guy Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Hoffman, a character actor known for smaller, intimate films, said he was thrilled to mix it up with Cruise. The studio is keeping details under wraps, so Hoffman cannot say much other than that he's the heavy.

"That's about all I can tell, or they'll put me in jail," Hoffman said.

X3 (May 26): Those marvellous mutants return for what could be the final chapter in the X-Men saga. The whole crew is back, including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn and Famke Janssen, whose character seemingly died a watery death at the end of X2: X-Men United.

With new director Brett Ratner at the helm, the superpowered mutants find themselves slowly being more accepted into a society that feared them as freaks, only to face new turmoil when a "cure" is discovered for their mutant condition.

"If you could actually get rid of your special power which alienates you from the rest of the world, would you do it?" said Jackman, who reprises his role as Wolverine. "It's a metaphor very much about intolerance, I think, fear of anything that's different. If you could choose to not be Jewish or not be gay or not be African-American. Life maybe is not as easy if you're a minority. Would you take the opportunity to change that if you could?"

Jackman said X3 would conclude the X-Men trilogy, though a Wolverine solo movie is in the works.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (July 7): Johnny Depp follows up his 2003 blockbuster, which earned him an Academy Award nomination, with the first of two sequels (part three follows in 2007).

Depp returns as woozy buccaneer Capt. Jack Sparrow, reunited with co-stars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley and director Gore Verbinski.

Poseidon (May 12): Director Wolfgang Petersen updates the 1970s disaster tale The Poseidon Adventure, about a monster tidal wave that tips an ocean liner upside down.

The cast of survivors struggling to the bottom, er, top of the vessel includes Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum and Richard Dreyfuss.

The Da Vinci Code (May 19): Take one runaway bestseller, add the directing-producing team of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer and reunite them with their Splash and Apollo 13 star, Tom Hanks.

Adapted from Dan Brown's murder thriller that dissects the origins of Christianity, the film stars Hanks as a symbologist caught up in the mysteries of an ancient, shadowy religious society.

Casino Royale (Nov. 17): Daniel Craig becomes the sixth actor to play super-cool agent 007, with Judi Dench reprising her role as spymaster M in an adaptation of Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel as our hero takes on a dastardly casino owner.

Cars (June 9): The folks at Pixar Animation present a cartoon comedy about talking automobiles. Owen Wilson, Paul Newman and Bonnie Hunt lead the voice cast in the tale of a race car that learns about life in the slow lane when he's sidetracked into a snoozy burg called Radiator Springs.

Over the Hedge (May 19): Then you have DreamWorks Animation, whose latest cartoon centres on that demarcation line where human suburbia meets the realm of furry animals in the wild.

Among the voice cast: Bruce Willis as a wily raccoon, Garry Shandling as a timid turtle, Steve Carell as a frenzied squirrel, William Shatner as a possum that specializes in playing dead, Avril Lavigne as the possum's daughter, Wanda Sykes as a saucy skunk and Nick Nolte as a bear.

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (March 31): A woolly mammoth, a sloth and a sabre-toothed tiger walk into a sequel ...

Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary reunite as mouthpieces for the mismatched trio from the 2002 animated smash, joined by Queen Latifah, who provides the voice of a fellow mammoth.

The gang this time must run for cover as global warming is about to melt a glacial dam and unleash a catastrophic flood. Fun for all the family.

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SAFE BETS:

World Trade Center (August), Flight 93 (April 28): Have we reached that point where the shock of Sept. 11, 2001, has worn off sufficiently where we want to see the events reprised on the big screen?

The curiosity factor - and two very different approaches - bode well for the first theatrical dramatizations about the terrorist attacks.

Oliver Stone's World Trade Center stars Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena in the real-life story of Port Authority policemen trapped in the rubble of the twin towers.

Flight 93, directed by Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Supremacy), uses a casts of unknowns as passengers who fought back against terrorists on the plane that crashed Sept. 11 in rural Pennsylvania.

Miami Vice (July 28): Michael Mann oversaw the TV cop show that helped define hip '80s style and music. Now he has Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell as his smooth new undercover cops as they take on Miami drug runners.

Underworld Evolution (Jan. 20): Kate Beckinsale's back as the vampire in black, whose war with rival werewolves grows more complicated when she learns she has been betrayed by her bloodsucking kin.

The Shaggy Dog (March 10), The Santa Clause 3 (Nov. 3): Tim Allen's back in the Disney fold, resurrecting the studio's franchise as a district attorney mutated into a bushy canine and reprising his Kris Kringle role as Santa fights Jack Frost (Martin Short) for dominion over Christmas.

Flushed Away (Nov. 3): The makers of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit spin a computer-animated tale featuring the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen in the story of a pampered rat washed down the drain from his cushy digs into the sewers.

Charlotte's Web (Dec. 20): The live-action adaptation of E.B. White's classic children's tale features Dakota Fanning and the voices of Julia Roberts, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Redford, Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Buscemi.

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SOUNDS PROMISING:

Apocalypto (summer): Mel Gibson scored the first blockbuster done in ancient languages with The Passion of the Christ. Now he tells a historical epic in the Mayan tongue of Yucateco, set before the 16th-century Spanish conquest of Central America. Gibson says the film will be light on dialogue and heavy on imagery and action. Lethal arrow?

The Pink Panther (Feb. 10): If there's an actor alive who maybe, possibly could resurrect Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau without bumbling his way to oblivion, it's Steve Martin. Martin stars as the idiot savant French detective in a crime caper co-starring the actor's old pal Kevin Kline as Clouseau's long-suffering boss, along with Beyonce Knowles and Jean Reno.

Lady in the Water (July 21): M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) spins another strange one, about a building super (Paul Giamatti) who discovers a water nymph (Bryce Dallas Howard) living in the tunnels beneath the apartment complex's swimming pool.

Other promising titles: Basic Instinct 2 (March 31) returns Sharon Stone to her femme fatale role, this time preying the field in London; Nanny McPhee (Jan. 27) stars Emma Thompson, who also wrote the screenplay, as a nanny whose strange powers bring order to the household of a widower (Colin Firth) with seven unruly kids; Click (June 23) brings Adam Sandler the remote control of his dreams, a device that magically transforms his job and home life; The Lake House (June) reunites Speed stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as romantic pen pals who learn they're corresponding two years apart from each other; Stranger Than Fiction (Nov. 10) casts Will Ferrell as a man suddenly able to hear a mysterious narrator (Emma Thompson) chronicling his life - and impending death; Nacho Libre (June 2), from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess, stars Jack Black as a Mexican priest who doubles as a wrestler to raise cash for his orphanage; The Break-Up (June 2) presents Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn as ex-lovers living in mutual hostility when neither will move out of the condo they share; My Super Ex-Girlfriend (July 14), directed by Ivan Reitman, has Uma Thurman as a superhero scorned who unleashes her powers on her ex-boyfriend (Luke Wilson) after he dumps her; Pursuit of Happyness (Dec. 15) puts Will Smith back in dramatic mode as a single dad who finds himself homeless with his young son; Flags of Our Fathers (fall), directed by Clint Eastwood, follows the story of the U.S. troops famously photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima in the Second World War.

Globe wins make cowboys, Cash favorites for Oscar

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - With "Brokeback Mountain" and "Walk the Line" taking the top feature prizes at the Golden Globes Awards, their Oscar prospects are greatly enhanced in this last week of Academy voting.

While no one knows how many Academy members held off returning their nomination ballots until after Monday's Globes telecast, it's a good bet that some did since the deadline is not until January 21 -- 10 days before Oscar nominations are announced.

The four Globe wins for "Brokeback Mountain" -- best picture (drama), director ( Ang Lee), screenplay (Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana) and original song ("A Love That Will Never Grow Old," music by Gustavo Santaolalla, lyrics by Bernie Taupin) -- pretty much assures that Focus Features' gay cowboy romance will wind up being nominated in Oscar's prime races.

Not only is "Brokeback" a likely Oscar nominee in all the categories in which it won Globes, but it also stands to get into Oscar races where it did not win Globes -- including best actor ( Heath Ledger), supporting actress ( Michelle Williams) and original score (Santaolalla). "Brokeback's" Globes success could also rub off on Jake Gyllenhaal, who didn't get a Globe nomination for supporting actor, but could now springboard into the Oscar supporting actor race.

Clearly, Focus Features has not lost its awards marketing touch, which in the past has generated great success for such films as Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" and Roman Polanski's "The Pianist."

Monday's other great Globes success story was 20th Century Fox's "Walk the Line," which delivered three key wins -- best picture (musical/comedy), best actor ( Joaquin Phoenix) and best actress ( Reese Witherspoon). Here, too, there should be a definite correlation between Globe wins and Oscar nominations.

With box office sales of $98.3 million through Monday, the Johnny Cash biopic has another advantage in that it's one of the few serious Oscar contenders with mainstream appeal. The Academy needs such films to be nominated if it wants to generate blockbuster ratings on March 5. (By contrast, "Brokeback Mountain" has earned $32.1 million.)

Another film that should also benefit in the Oscar race from its reception at the Globes is Sony Pictures Classics' "Capote," which took home the best actor (drama) Globe for Philip Seymour Hoffman. That should not only catapult Hoffman into the best actor Oscar race, but could also give "Capote" a shot at additional nominations. (Unfortunately for the Academy, "Capote" has earned just $13.2 million at the box office.)

"Capote," "Brokeback Mountain," and "Walk the Line" are among the five feature contenders at the Producers Guild of America Awards, which take place Sunday night. The winner usually goes on to take the best picture Oscar. (The other nominees are "Crash" and "Good Night, and Good Luck.")

Felicity Huffman's best actress (drama) win for playing a preoperative transsexual in The Weinstein Co.'s "Transamerica" is also likely to put her in Oscar's best actress sweepstakes, and it should propel the film past its current box office haul of $511,000. And George Clooney's best supporting actor win for "Syriana" seems a good bet to translate into an Oscar nod for him.

On the other hand, Clooney's loss with Warner Independent Pictures' "Good Night, and Good Luck" in the Globes' directing, screenplay and picture categories, and David Strathairn's loss in the best actor (drama) race, suggests that film could have a tougher time now on the Oscar nominations front.

Clarkson Deals With 'American Idol' Past

PASADENA, Calif. - Singer Kelly Clarkson, who vaulted to fame as the first "American Idol" winner in 2002, is now apparently refusing to let any of her songs be used by new contestants on the show.

A spokesman for Clarkson insisted it's nothing personal, but the stance prompted a public scolding from "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell.

"I think that by ignoring the show you're ignoring the audience who put you there," Cowell said on Tuesday.

Clarkson has become a major star in the past year, with her hit "Since U Been Gone" earning both massive sales and critical respect, particularly from a rock community that has looked upon "American Idol" contestants warily. Her album "Breakaway" earned a Grammy nomination for best pop vocal album.

Yet it may have cost her a good relationship with the nation's most popular talent show.

"American Idol" must obtain permission from owners of song licenses before the music can be used on the show. While many love the exposure, some artists — the Beatles, for one — like to rigidly control use of their music.

Clarkson is not allowing any of her songs to be licensed for other uses, said Roger Widynowski, a spokesman for Sony BMG. "It has nothing to do with `Idol,'" he said.

The show's executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, said he spoke to Clarkson's manager on Friday and the manager said he was unaware of the situation. He said he's waiting for a call back.

Before "Breakaway," Clarkson fired Simon Fuller, the "American Idol" creator, as her manager, saying that although he was a "great guy," she needed someone who could give her career more attention. She teamed with Swedish hitmaker Max Martin on "Since U Been Gone."

It's the same delicate position faced by countless other musicians through show biz history, wanting to break away and show artistic independence without alienating those who gave them their start.

Cowell said he hoped Clarkson would let her music be used on "American Idol."

"No matter how talented Kelly Clarkson is, she would not be in the position she's in now without winning this show," he said. "And forget the way she feels about us or the producers or anybody else, or the terrible songwriters she alleges she was with which sold her millions of records.

"It's the public who bothered to pick up the phone to vote for her," he said. "If she refuses to give songs to be used on the show, it's like saying to every person who voted for you, `you know what? Thank you. I'm not interested in you anymore.'"

With the seemingly unquenchable public interest in "American Idol," it's not like the show really needs Clarkson. But she's plainly the best example producers can point to in proving how they can open the door to wish fulfillment.

Widynowski said he would not comment on Cowell's remarks.

For his part, Cowell said, "I don't like this, when they walk away from the show and kind of forget."

Hilary Swank Hopes to Save Marriage

NEW YORK - Hilary Swank and her husband, Chad Lowe, recently announced their separation, but the Oscar-winning actress says they hope to rescue their eight-year marriage.

"We're still trying to save it," Swank told syndicated TV entertainment show "Access Hollywood" at the Golden Globe Awards, which were presented Monday in Beverly Hills, California. "It's not over, we're not divorced. We've been together for over 13 years, and there's a lot of love there."

Swank, who wore her wedding ring to the awards ceremony, added: "We're still married."

Swank, 31, and Lowe, 38, announced their split Jan. 9. They were married in 1997 and have no children.

The actress, who won Oscars for "Boys Don't Cry" and "Million Dollar Baby," next stars in the Brian De Palma-directed crime drama, "The Black Dahlia."

Lowe won an Emmy Award in 1993 for his performance on the U.S. TV series "Life Goes On."

Soul legend Isaac Hayes treated in hospital for exhaustion

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Isaac Hayes was being treated at a Memphis hospital Tuesday for exhaustion, his longtime songwriting partner said.

"He's just overworked and had been in Atlantic City performing, the D.C. area performing and in Tunica (Miss.) a couple of nights ago," David Porter told the Commercial Appeal newspaper. "He was just overworked. He's doing much better," Porter added. It was not immediately known which hospital the soul singer had checked into. Calls to his agents were not returned.

Hayes, 63, is best known for his 1971 No. 1 hit Theme From Shaft, from the Richard Roundtree film. The soundtrack won the Oscar for best musical score.

More recently, he was the voice of the character Chef on the TV show South Park.

During his time as a backup artist at Stax Records in Memphis, he established a songwriting partnership with Porter and in the 1960s they wrote such hits for Sam and Dave as Hold On, I'm Coming and Soul Man.

"X-Files" Creator Sues Fox

The cash is out there, and Chris Carter wants to find it.

The X-Files mastermind's latest conspiracy theory, put forth in a recent lawsuit, accuses 20th Century Fox Television of screwing him out of millions of dollars in residuals related to the show's profitable syndication agreement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The suit, filed in December in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Fox's TV production arm breached a 1998 contract with Carter--signed when the company's corporate sibling, Fox Broadcasting, brought back The X-Files for a sixth and seventh season--because the financial terms turned out to be "too favorable" to the creator at the expense of the studio.

Carter says his deal called for him to be paid a "profit guarantee" when the studio licensed reruns of the paranormal drama to a domestic cable network. However, the suit accuses 20th Century TV of cutting a sweetheart deal with in-house cable net FX. The bargain-bin price, Carter says, effectively cheated him out of a substantial windfall if The X-Files had been put up for bid on the open market.

Carter says when he was negotiating for a ninth season of The X-Files, he pushed the studio to scrap its licensing deal with FX and go after a bigger payday with another network.

Further, Carter claims he was supposed to be paid a "cable advance" that could have totaled $300,000 per episode.

Carter says the studio approached him in 2001 and requested he voluntarily agree to a lower advance because, as he writes in his complaint, it "would result, in their view, in too large a benefit to plaintiff, and too small a benefit to Fox Television." He declined.

Ultimately, 20th Century TV ended its agreement with FX and struck a subsequent syndication deal with USA Network and TNT. Carter says he was again shortchanged.

Neither Carter's lawyer, Larry Stein, nor Fox reps returned phone calls seeking comment.

Not so coincidentally, Stein represented X-Files star David Duchovny in a similar suit the actor brought against Fox, claiming he was cheated out of $25 million when the reruns were sold to--you guessed it--FX and other Fox outlets. Duchovny also accused Carter of conspiring to aid Fox in exchange for millions of dollars in "hush" money and a new TV development deal. The suit was eventually settled out of court for nearly $20 million.

The X-Files ended its run in 2002 after nine seasons. There's been no word whether Carter will ever move forward with his long-rumored sequel to 1998's X-Files movie. The current lawsuit might be a ploy to jumpstart a movie deal--or just the final nail in the franchise's coffin.

Fox ending "Malcolm," "That '70s Show" in May

PASADENA, California (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox's veteran comedy "Malcolm in the Middle" will end its seven-season run May 14, while "That '70s Show," now in its eighth season, will bow out four days later, the network said Tuesday.

For the homestretch, "Malcolm" will return to Sundays beginning January 29, opening the night at 7 p.m., a slot generally occupied by cartoon reruns.

Meanwhile, Fox is in conversations with former "That '70s Show" stars Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace to return for the show's finale, Fox entertainment president Peter Liguori said during the network's portion of the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour.

While the end for "Malcolm" and "That '70s Show" comes after long, successful runs, the untimely exit of the network's Emmy-winning but low-rated comedy "Arrested Development" after three seasons -- two of them abbreviated -- brought up a lot of questions.

Although the network touts airing the two-hour block of the final four episodes of "Arrested's" current order on February 10 as "season finale," Liguori stressed that a future return of the show to Fox is "highly unlikely."

"Arrested's" producers, Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox TV, are fielding offers from two networks, Showtime and ABC, which are interested in picking up the acclaimed series.

With no strong new comedy additions in the past couple of seasons ready to fill the void left by the departing comedies, the network's brass are putting a lot of muscle behind the rollout of its midseason comedies "Free Ride" and "The Loop," using the network's best launching pad, the blockbuster "American idol," to help their chances.

The partially improv "Free Ride" is slated for a March 1 preview, following a special 90-minute episode of "Idol," and "Loop" is getting a preview March 15, leading out of an "Idol" results show. On March 12, "Free Ride" moves into its regular Sunday 9:30 p.m. slot, temporarily replacing "American Dad," while "Loop" will relocate to its regular Thursday 8:30 p.m. period March 16.

Fox also is taking another look at two comedies that have been off the schedule for a while.

"King of the Hill," which is not in production but has never been officially canceled, might come back as early as January 2007 if discussions with the series' producers are successful, Liguori said.

Meanwhile, there haven't been any active negotiations to revive "Futurama," which, much like "Family Guy" before it, is enjoying a second life on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" late-night block. But Fox executives are keeping a close eye on the series' newfound success.

Shatner Sells Kidney Stone for Charity

LOS ANGELES - An online casino has a piece of Capt. Kirk. Actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for $25,000, with the money going to a housing charity, it was announced Tuesday. Shatner reached agreement Monday to sell the stone to GoldenPalace.com.

"This takes organ donors to a new height, to a new low, maybe. How much is a piece of me worth?" he said in a telephone interview.

GoldenPalace.com is noted for its collection of oddities, which includes a partially eaten cheese sandwich thought to contain the image of the Virgin Mary.

"This is a bold new addition to our fleet," GoldenPalace.com Chief Executive Officer Richard Rowe said in a statement.

The money will go to Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for the needy.

"This would be the first Habitat for Humanity house built out of stone," joked Darren Julien, president of Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions, which handled the sale.

Shatner, who played Kirk on the original "Star Trek" TV show and won an Emmy for his role on "Boston Legal," passed the stone last fall.

The stone was so big, Shatner said, "you'd want to wear it on your finger."

"If you subjected it to extreme heat, it might turn out to be a diamond," he added.

Shatner said the idea of selling the stone came up after "Boston Legal" raised $20,000 for Habitat for Humanity. With the money for the stone, Shatner said there is about enough funding to build half a house.

GoldenPalace.com originally offered $15,000 for the stone but Shatner turned it down, noting that his "Star Trek" tunics have commanded more than $100,000. His counteroffer was accepted.

The Couch Potato Report - January 17th, 2006

This week The Couch Potato Report includes a LORD OF WAR and we'll say GOOD MORNING VIETNAM, once again.

In this day and age of constant coverage of every film that comes out, I always like it when a movie comes out and doesn't get very much publicity.

For the filmmakers that usually means the movie doesn't do too well at the box office, but for me it sometimes affords the opportunity to watch a movie with no expectations.

And I like that.

I also liked Nicolas Cage's new film LORD OF WAR, but more of my thoughts in a moment.

First, let me tell you what the movie is about.

Primarily LORD OF WAR is about Yuri Orlov. Yuri is a person who has always dreamt of a better life outside his Ukrainian village in New York.

Soon his dreams come true when he begins selling guns to local mobsters.

Through hard work and good fortune he eventually becomes one of the most successful arms dealers in the world.

One of Yuri's most successful relationships is with an African warlord and his psychotic son.

Unfortunately, the relationships he has with his younger brother, his wife, and the federal agent who is determined to bring him down, aren't as successful, or as lucrative, and he soon starts to confront the morality of his work.

LORD OF WAR only made about $25 million at the box office. By comparison the unwatchable remakes of BEWITCHED and HERBIE THE LOVE BUG each made over $60 million.

But no matter how much money it did, or didn't make, it is a film worth seeing.

Nicolas Cage's performance is perfect and the movie contains just the right number of anti-war sentiments, along with a good dose of humour.

You also get a crash course in international arms dealing, but that is beside the point.

LORD OF WAR is an interesting, underexposed film, and because I didn't know too much about it before I pressed play, I enjoyed it and I think you will too!

Back in 1999 I enjoyed an underexposed film called AMERICAN PIE, about three friends who make a pact they hope to complete before graduation.

Two years later, I enjoyed AMERICAN PIE 2 a little bit less that the first one, and two years after that, I am not sure I even enjoyed AMERICAN PIE 3: AMERICAN WEDDING.

These are the type of films that get less interesting with each sequel as the original cast and crew depart for other work.

And now, some of the people who brought you AMERICAN PIE present BAND CAMP. In fact, the actual name of this movie is AMERICAN PIE PRESENTS BAND CAMP.

Sadly, the only people left this time around are Canadian comedic icon Eugene Levy, as Jim's Dad, and the guy that played "The Sherminator", and they only have supporting roles.

Instead, we get a whole new cast of kids, lead by Steve Stiffler's brother Matt. Steve Stiffler was one of the characters from the first three films and he remains a great movie character.

The brother is just a pale imitation of the original, and so is this whole movie.

In the film Matt Stiffler is sentenced to a summer at Band Camp. He plans on taking it easy, and following in the path of his older brother, who is now making GIRLS GONE WILD-like videos, but once he arrives he finds out that he is expected to work hard and contribute.

Along the way, he falls in love, and he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time more than once.

The movie isn't great, but it isn't horrible either. If you liked the original three AMERICAN PIE films, or the PORKY'S movies, then you might enjoy the adult language and situations in AMERICAN PIE PRESENTS BAND CAMP. Otherwise, skip this one.

I doubt I will ever watch it again, but I am not disappointed I've seen it once.

Two films that I have seen more than once over the years are DEAD POET'S SOCIETY and GOOD MORNING VIETNAM.

Both of them star Robin Williams and both of them are now available as SPECIAL EDITION DVDs!

In DEAD POET'S SOCIETY Williams stars as English professor John Keating. He works hard to entertain and inspire his students to form a love of poetry, and more importantly to "seize the day."

The SPECIAL EDITION DVD features a commentary by Director Peter Weir, a collection of uncut, deleted scenes, a look back at the making of the film and more.

DEAD POET'S SOCIETY remains a superb film seventeen years after it's release, but if we are talking about superb Robin Williams films, and we are, that list will always feature GOOD MORNING VIETNAM at the top of it!

In that film Williams plays real life person Adrian Cronauer, an unorthodox and irreverent radio announcer who breathes life into the stale and stiff US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam.

He does the type of things on his show I would love to do!

The GOOD MORNING VIETNAM SPECIAL EDITION DVD includes a thirty-four minute production diary, six behind-the-scenes features, and the real Adrian Cronauer explains how he created the "Good Morning Vietnam" sign on.

There is also about thirteen minutes of raw Williams performance footage, from which many of the movie's best comedic moments were taken.

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM remains one of my favourite movies of all time, and this SPECIAL EDITION is a great addition to my movie library.

It is available now at your favourite local video store along with the SPECIAL EDITION of DEAD POET'S SOCIETY, AMERICAN PIE PRESENTS BAND CAMP and the underrated, but very good film LORD OF WAR.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

Jodie Foster returns to movies in the thriller FLIGHTPLAN; THE ARISTOCRATS features one hundred big name comedians telling the exact same joke, each in their own unique way; And the classic 1981 Albert Brooks comedy MODERN ROMANCE is being released on DVD for the very first time!

Plus, Al Pacino, Rene Russo and "The Sexiest Man Alive" Matthew McConaughey topline TWO FOR THE MONEY a film about bookies in the sports-gambling business.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

Lavigne to rock Olympics

MILAN, Italy (CP) - Avril Lavigne is ready to rock the Turin Olympics.

The Canadian rock star will be the featured performer during an eight-minute Vancouver 2010 segment of the closing ceremonies in the Italian city on Feb. 26. A worldwide television audience of 500 million will be watching along with the live audience of 32,000.

The Canadian segment will include the traditional flag turnover 1,447 days prior to the Vancouver Olympics opening ceremony at B.C. Place Stadium.

Lavigne, a 21-year-old from Napanee, Ont., is a multiple Grammy nominee and Juno Award winner and has sold millions of albums.

Adding another Canadian touch to the closing ceremonies are Julie Hamelin and Jeannot Painchaud, the co-directors of Montreal's Cirque Eloize. They were hired to assist Italian director Daniele Finzi Pasca - Hamelin as first assistant stage director and Painchaud to take charge of the acrobatic elements of the extravaganza.

Acrobats, clowns and high-wire acts will be part of the two-hour closing ceremonies in Turin. A preview was attended by about 200 people in a Milan theatre on Monday.

The circus theme also will include aspects from Italy's winter carnival, a masked celebration based in Venice each February. Actual costumes featured in director Federico Fellini's 1971 film The Clowns will be used. They were made by Academy Award-winning designer Danilo Donati.

Tenor Andrea Bocelli will be among the performers.

The Sparks of Passion bladers, futuristic performers zipping around on roller blades with flames shooting from the back of their helmets, also will appear. The group is to be introduced at the Feb. 10 opening ceremony.

The Vancouver organizing committee is trying to keep details of its eight-minute entertainment segment secret but Burke Taylor, vice-president of culture and ceremonies, says "the show will use the opportunity to begin telling the story of Canada's Games in 2010 by featuring a combination of uniquely Canadian talent and themes that reflect the country from coast to coast."

Thousands of tickets remain available for the evening ceremony.

The Vancouver committee will have 80 observers at the Turin Games, 25 at the subsequent Paralympic Winter Games, and 16 working directly for the Turin organizing committee.

"Our entire team will draw from the Torino experience to refine and enhance our hosting plans, while developing a comprehensive new budget for the next four years," said John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver organizing group.

Vancouver 2010's budget for the transfer of knowledge at the 2006 Games is $1.7 million.

Wal-Mart readies Garth Brooks' 'Lost Sessions'

The second Garth Brooks (music) album to be issued under his exclusive arrangement with Wal-Mart stores is due to hit the mega-retailer's shelves on Feb. 7.

"The Lost Sessions" features 17 songs, 11 of which were unavailable prior to the November release of the box set "Garth Brooks: The Limited Series," Brooks' first Wal-Mart-only album. Also appearing on the new album are five previously unreleased tracks that were recorded earlier in Brooks' career, as well as "Love Will Always Win," a new duet from Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood.

"The Lost Sessions" will retail for $11.88 at all Wal-Mart stores, Sam's Club locations and at Walmart.com.

Meanwhile, MCA Records has announced plans to re-release Yearwood's latest album, last year's "Jasper County," adding "Love Will Always Win" to its previously released dozen tracks. The duet is expected to begin turning up on radio a week earlier, according to MCA.

In August of last year, Brooks entered into a multi-year agreement with Wal-Mart, giving the retailer the exclusive right to market his albums.

Brooks announced in 2000 that he was retiring from touring, and that his 2001 album, "Scarecrow," would be his last. The singer left the door open for a return to the music business after his daughter turns 18, which won't happen until 2015.

Gillian Anderson Wants X-Files Sequel

Gillian Anderson is interested in reprising her role as FBI agent Dana Scully from the long running TV show The X-Files.

According to JSOnline.com the 37-year-old actress is keen on picking up her FBI badge again, now that she's had enough time away from the character she played for nine seasons.

While plans are still simmering for a sequel to 1998's big-screen X-Files movie, it apparently won't be green-lit until ownership rights are cleared up.

"It's become a bit messy," says Anderson. "I think the intention is that we will and we hope to - and that, hopefully, by the time we actually do, whenever that is, people will still give a damn."

NEW CD RELEASES FOR JANUARY 17, 2006

Aqualung Strange and Beautiful (DualDisc same day) (Columbia)

Meredith Bragg and the Terminals The Departures EP (The Kora)

Breaking Laces Lemonade (Meeka Salise)

Bob Brozman Blues Reflex (Ruf)

Sabrina Bryan Byou (DVD same day) (BMG Heritage)

Canvas Solaris Penumbra Diffuse (Sensory)

Crowell, Doles and Quinn Don't Look Down (Suilven)

Toulouse Engelhardt Martian Lust (Lost Grove)

Bèla Fleck and the Flecktones The Hidden Land (DualDisc same day) (Columbia)

Hiromi Spiral (Telarc)

Hooverville Follow That Trail of Dust Back Home (co-produced by Squirrel Nut Zippers' James Mathus; mixed by Chris Stamey) (Back Up and Push)

Candye Kane Diva la Grande (Ruf)

Amy Lavere This World Is Not My Home (New Archer)

Bradley Leighton Back to the Funk (Pacific Coast Jazz)

Listing Ship Time to Dream (True Classical)

Joey Martin Strong Enough to Cry (Giantslayer)

Luis Mario Ochoa and Friends (Cuban Music Productions)

VA Da-Nang (two CDs; w/Thievery Corporation, Bebel Gilberto, Wax Poetic and more) (Quango)

VA The Now Sound of Brazil 2 (w/Bebel Gilberto, Bossacucanova and more) (Ziriguiboom/Six Degrees)

FOX DELIVERS THE COUP DE GRACE TO THE BLUTHS

"Arrested Development" will wrap its third -- and likely last -- season on Fox next month with a two-hour swan song slated to air opposite the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

Fox has decided to package four episodes of "Arrested" and air them as a two-hour season finale from 8-10 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 10, replacing the net's usual lineup of "Malcolm in the Middle," "Bernie Mac" and "Trading Spouses."

Justine Bateman and Judge Reinhold have filmed guest shots for the finale, with the former playing Nellie Bluth, the long-lost sister of Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman).

While Fox's "Idol"-packed winter and spring schedule makes the Friday airdate something less than shocking, scheduling the broadcast opposite the first night of the Olympics sends another strong signal that the net has given up any hope of reviving the show. Late last year, Fox decided to reduce the "Arrested" third-season episode order to 13.

Both ABC and Showtime have offered to pick up "Arrested" from producers 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine Television.

After an initial flurry of talks, conversations have apparently cooled as "Arrested" creator Mitch Hurwitz wraps post-production on the final four episodes of the season.

Byrne To Be Bond Girl?

Australian actress Rose Byrne is poised to become Daniel Craig's first ever James Bond girl.

There has been much speculation about the identity of Vespa Lynd, 007's love interest in Casino Royale, Craig's first movie as the world's most famous secret agent. A number of famous females including Sienna Miller, Rachael Stirling and Natasha Henstridge have been linked with the movie, most recently Mission: Impossible III star Thandie Newton.

But a spokesperson for 26-year-old Byrne insists "it's fairly certain" the brunette will be cast, according to Moviehole.net. Byrne has previously appeared in Troy as Brad Pitt's love interest and Wicker Park.

'Hoodwinked,' 'Glory Road' Top Box Office

LOS ANGELES - The animated fairy tale "Hoodwinked" and the inspirational sports flick "Glory Road" topped a family oriented box office for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, according to estimates released Monday.

"Hoodwinked," an animated update of the Little Red Riding Hood story, debuted with $16.6 million in ticket sales over the four-day weekend while "Glory Road" was a breath behind with $16.5 million.

A new Queen Latifah movie, "Last Holiday," opened in third place with $15.7 million.

The only other new movie to make the top 10 list was the romance "Tristan & Isolde," which opened in eighth place with a gross of $7.9 million.

The Golden Globe-winning "Brokeback Mountain," director Ang Lee's story of two rugged Western family men concealing their homosexual affair, had the highest per-location average of any movie in the top 10, at $10,330 per location. It was ranked No. 9 in ticket sales over the long weekend.

In spite of — or perhaps because of — the controversy over its gay theme, "Brokeback Mountain" has done well in every market where it has played.

It was nominated for seven Golden Globes and won a leading four at Monday night's ceremony in Beverly Hills. It captured the best motion picture drama award and the Golden Globe for best original song for "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" and Lee was honored as best director. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association also honored Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana with the Golden Globe for best original screenplay.

"This film has everything going for it: the critical acclaim, the word of mouth and, of course, the seven Golden Globe nominations never hurt," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, said before Monday's awards.

"Hoodwinked" received mixed critical reviews but its opening day was a financial triumph for a movie that was made for a relatively paltry $15 to $20 million. Weinstein Co. hoped to expand its showings this week to as many as 3,000 screens.

The movie was held back to January so it would not have to face the big Christmas-season releases such as "King Kong" or "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which was fourth for the weekend and has now grossed more than $260 million.

"We're getting mainly families with young children," said Weinstein's Mike Rudnitsky, senior executive vice president for domestic distribution. "We know our target audience. We picked a holiday weekend because people are always looking to take their family out and looking for a family film."

It was the second independently produced movie to make No. 1 in two weeks, after the horror film "Hostel," from Lions Gate.

Another PG-rated film, "Glory Road," was in second place and made some $3 million dollars more in its opening than expected. The movie tells the story of how underdog Texas Western, fronted by an all-black starting lineup, beat the all-white powerhouse University of Kentucky to win the NCAA title in 1966.

Critics praised its inspirational qualities but panned its cliches.

Overall, the top 12 films grossed an estimated $125.4 million, down about 12 percent from last year's $142.7 million.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Final figures will be released Tuesday.

1. "Hoodwinked," Weinstein Co., $16.6 million.
2. "Glory Road," Disney, $16.5 million.
3. "Last Holiday," Paramount, $15.7 million.
4. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," Disney, $12.2 million.
5. "Hostel," Lions Gate, $11.7 million.
6. "Fun With Dick and Jane," Sony, $10.3 million.
7. "King Kong," Universal, $9.2 million.
8. "Tristan & Isolde," 20th Century Fox, $7.9 million.
9. "Brokeback Mountain," Focus, $7.1 million.
10. "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," 20th Century Fox, $6.8 million.

'Brokeback Mountain' Gets 4 Golden Globes

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain" led the Golden Globes on Monday with four prizes, including best dramatic film and the directing honor for Ang Lee.

It was a triumphant night for films dealing with homosexuality and transsexuality. Along with the victories for "Brokeback Mountain," acting honors went to Felicity Huffman in a gender-bending role as a man preparing for sex-change surgery in "Transamerica" and Philip Seymour Hoffman as gay author Truman Capote in "Capote."

"I know as actors our job is usually to shed our skins, but I think as people our job is to become who we really are and so I would like to salute the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation and a life lived on the margins to become who they really are," Huffman said.

The Johnny Cash biography "Walk the Line" won the Globe for best musical or comedy film and earned acting honors for stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.

Director Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," the story of two rugged Western family men (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) concealing their affair, has emerged as a front-runner for the Oscars — which occasionally have handed out top acting prizes for performers in homosexual or gender-bending roles but have never given the best-picture Oscar to a gay-themed film.

Oscar nominations come out Jan. 31, with the awards presented March 5.

"Brokeback Mountain" also won for best screenplay and song, "A Love That Will Never Grow Old."

Phoenix and Witherspoon won for best actor and actress in a movie musical or comedy for the biopic that follows country legend Cash's career and his long courtship with the love of his life, June Carter.

The Globe audience clapped along to Cash's song "I Walk the Line" as Phoenix took the stage.

"Who would ever have thought that I would win in the comedy or musical category?" said Phoenix, poking fun at his image for dark, brooding roles. "Not expected."

Phoenix, who did his own singing in the film, thanked "John and June for sharing their life with all of us."

"This film is really important to me," said Witherspoon, who offers a spirited performance and fine singing as Carter. "It's about where I grew up, it's about the music I grew up listening to, so it's very meaningful."

George Clooney, who was among the directing nominees for "Good Night, and Good Luck," won the supporting-actor Globe for the oil-industry thriller "Syriana" and Rachel Weisz earned the supporting-actress prize for the murder thriller "The Constant Gardener."

"Syriana" spins a convoluted story of multiple characters caught up in a web of deceit, greed, corruption and power-brokering over Middle Eastern oil supplies. Clooney plays a fiercely devoted CIA undercover agent who comes to question his country's actions in the region.

Clooney thanked writer-director Stephen Gaghan for a movie "that asks a lot of difficult questions."

There are similar corporate undertones to "The Constant Gardener," in which Weisz plays a humanitarian-aid worker whose husband (Ralph Fiennes) is drawn into a dogged investigation of business interests connected to her murder.

"I share this with Ralph Fiennes," said Weisz. "One couldn't ask for a more magical, a more magical, committed actor."

"Brokeback Mountain" won the screenplay award for Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. McMurtry thanked his constant companion during the lonely process of writing.

"Most heartfelt, I thank my typewriter. My typewriter is a Hermes 3000, surely one of the noblest instruments of European genius," McMurtry said.

The Palestinian film "Paradise Now," a dark tale of two Arab friends tapped to carry out a suicide bombing in Israel, won the prize for foreign-language film.

Television winners included Geena Davis for best drama series actress as the U.S. president in "Commander in Chief," Hugh Laurie for drama series actor as a cranky, pill-popping doctor in "House," Steve Carell for best comedy series actor as an incompetent boss in "The Office," Jonathan Rhys Meyers for miniseries or movie actor as Elvis Presley in "Elvis," and S. Epatha Merkerson for miniseries or movie actress as a boarding house proprietor who takes in an outcast teen in "Lackawanna Blues."

"This is really wonderful for a fledgling little show like ours," said Davis, who added that a little girl coming into the Globes stopped her to say, "Because of you I want to be president some day.

"Well, that didn't actually happen," Davis joked. "But it could have."

Mary-Louise Parker of "Weeds" beat out the four lead actresses of "Desperate Housewives" for best actress in a comedy series. But "Desperate Housewives" did win for best musical or comedy series.

The Globes are awarded by the relatively small Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which has about 80 members, compared with the 5,800 film professionals eligible to vote for the Oscars.

Still, the Globes have an excellent track record at predicting the Oscars. Globe winners catch momentum that can boost their chances come Oscar night.

Ladies Wear Red, White and Black at Globes

The goddesses ruled the Golden Globes red carpet, with stars like Felicity Huffman, Maria Bello, Hilary Swank and Marcia Cross wearing plunging V-neck halter gowns with draping, fitted waists and billowing skirts.

Huffman and Bello wore ethereal white, which will be a top spring fashion trend. Bello complemented her white beaded Elie Saab gown with white gardenias in her upswept hair.

Keira Knightley also wore a stunning strapless white dress by Valentino with a rope-style belt, and Sandra Oh wore a white gown with a sophisticated scarf-style back.

"White was the big winner," Suze Yalof-Schwartz of Glamour magazine said from the red carpet.

Kate Beckinsale's white dress from the Christian Dior archives was dainty and elegant. She showed a bit of a funky streak with her oversized green earrings.

Reese Witherspoon's short vintage Chanel haute couture was a champagne color with metallic trim on the bust.

Cross' dress, meanwhile, was coral, providing a sharp and stunning contrast to her red hair.

"Marcia looked very goddesslike," said Collier Strong, consulting makeup artist for L'Oreal, who helped Cross get ready. "I knew her makeup had to be lighter and more feminine because the fabric was so billowy. ... It's easy to work with her because she has the most perfect skin you've ever seen."

Red also had a strong presence on the carpet: Scarlett Johansson wore a red scoop neck Valentino dress with soft ruffles on the straps and down the back; Geena Davis wore a strapless Escada with a jeweled bustier top; and Laura Linney had an asymmetrical version.

"Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria complemented her red Grecian wrap gown by Bob Mackie with gold platform shoes to boost her 5-foot-2-inch frame. Longoria told E!'s Isaac Mizrahi that she was sewn into the dress because it wasn't finished until she was walking out the door.

Equally bright was Ziyi Zhang's Giorgio Armani lime green silk tulle gown with a sweetheart neckline and floor-sweeping train.

But some of fashion's favorite faces stuck with classic black — and proved that it is eternally chic.

Sarah Jessica Parker was in a strapless dress with tiny rows of tulle by Rochas, and Christian Dior's John Galliano designed a custom cocktail dress for Charlize Theron that featured black lace over nude tulle. Swank's black dress by Jean Yu had a sexy back with several straps, and Mary-Louise Parker had a plunging V-front.

Natalie Portman looked Audrey Hepburnesque in a vintage Chanel black lace bustier dress with a ribbon belt and a black-and-white diamond camellia jewel around her waist. Renee Zellweger remained loyal to designer Carolina Herrera, wearing an asymmetrical black silk chiffon dress with rouched detail and a leg-length slit up the left thigh. Zellweger wore a vintage Van Cleef & Arpels brooch pinned to the back of her waist.

Candice Bergen's Michael Kors black turtleneck and ballskirt was a picture of casual elegance.

Nicolette Sheridan and Queen Latifah both choose blue dresses. Sheridan's was an Armani sapphire-blue silk chiffon gown with a deep V-neck and pleated bodice, Latifah's a periwinkle goddess number that she accessorized with 23-carat, round-shaped drop diamond earrings with a fancy yellow pear-shaped diamond drop pendant on a diamond chain by Chopard.

Teri Hatcher wore a body-hugging V-neck bronze halter gown with art deco-style beading, loose hair and a small bronze clutch that held her California driver's license. Hatcher told Mizrahi she was told to bring identification to get in at the door. (She also told him that it was her 8-year-old daughter that warned her about her panty lines, so Hatcher showed up to the Globes without underwear.)

"The Globes set the fashion tone for the rest of the season," designer Randolph Duke told the Associated Press. "It's a very chic show. Some (actresses) wear more cocktail dresses. The Globes are an opportunity to do something other than that classic, glamorous Oscar gown."

Gwyneth Paltrow's overall look was very soft. Her white Balenciaga tiered gown embraced her pregnant belly instead of hiding it and her hair was up with soft waves.

The messy bun worn by so many stars was "crucial," according to Glamour's Yalof-Schwartz, and so was heavy eye makeup, pale lips and big, teardrop earrings.

"I had to find a dress that would glow with me — that was the main challenge," said Rachel Weisz, who is five months pregnant and looked quite voluptuous in her strapless gold gown by Donna Karan.

"You still see a lot of strapless," observed designer Duke. "There's something very easy about the strapless neckline. It solves a lot of problems. The garment has a foundation — usually a bustier or corset — that makes a girl feel more confident."

George Clooney embodied the classic male movie star in his Armani two-button tuxedo with satin lapels and a classic white spread-collar evening shirt and black necktie.

Ludacris, of course, had his own twist on the penguin suit: He wore a black velvet Ralph Lauren jacket with tweed pants. And Johnny Depp — always a fashion rebel — had a red shirt under his baggy suit.

...'American Idol' returns for 5th season

It's that time of year.

Everyone is on a diet, the nicotine patch is flying off the shelves and American Idol, the show millions of people watch, but no one admits to, is back.

Tomorrow night, the fifth season of Fox's hit singing competition returns with outrageous new auditions featuring the good, the bad and the truly horrendous.

While there will likely be no big surprises this time around, judge Randy Jackson does promise more fights between the normally way-too-nice singers.

"I think the kids this time probably want this worse than ever -- there's quite a bit of interesting fighting and dialogue going on amongst the contestants.

"I think they're finally getting to the fact early that, 'Yes, we're friends. We're all in this together, but, hey, I want to win.' It's actually pretty funny how early it comes this time."

The other difference this year is there is no clear winner, says Jackson. Last season, judge Simon Cowell correctly predicted, before the Top 10 was even announced, that Carrie Underwood would win.

"We say it every single season, but this year it's really 100,000 percent true -- the talent is far better than any other season.

"I think this time it's going to come down to who grows the most during the competition in front of the American public because everybody is that good. I think it's going to come down to the wire at the end."

Jackson believes the success of last season's two finalists, country singer Underwood and rocker Bo Bice, broadened the pool of auditioners from its normal pop contestants.

He also feels CBS' series Rock Star: INXS helped make televised singing competitions somewhat cool, resulting in more rockers trying out this year.

"I think Rock Star was good ... just to show that there's everything in America. And the kid who won (Canada's J.D. Fortune) actually can really sing."

Being able to pick out talent is something Jackson knows a thing or two about. Outside his gig on American Idol, the music producer is constantly approached by young singers who think they have what it takes.

"It's so funny, no matter where I go, what I do, people are just singing to me. It's crazy. I think they think I want to just hear singing all the time.

"Even if I say, 'No, no, no. You don't have to sing,' they start singing anyway. I think in their minds it's, 'At least he heard me.' It's so weird."

WHO'S UP FOR WHAT

Best Motion Picture - Drama
"Brokeback Mountain"
"The Constant Gardener"
"Good Night, and Good Luck"
"A History of Violence"
"Match Point"

Best Motion Picture -Musical or Comedy
"Mrs. Henderson Presents"
"Pride & Prejudice"
"The Producers"
"The Squid and the Whale"
"Walk the Line"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Russell Crowe for "Cinderella Man"
Philip Seymour Hoffman for "Capote"
Terrence Howard for "Hustle & Flow"
Heath Ledger for "Brokeback Mountain"
David Strathairn for "Good Night, and Good Luck"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Maria Bello for "A History of Violence"
Felicity Huffman for "Transamerica"
Gwyneth Paltrow for "Proof"
Charlize Theron for "North Country"
Ziyi Zhang for "Memoirs of a Geisha"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Pierce Brosnan for "The Matador"
Jeff Daniels for "The Squid and the Whale"
Johnny Depp for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
Nathan Lane for "The Producers"
Cillian Murphy for "Breakfast on Pluto"
Joaquin Phoenix for "Walk the Line"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Judi Dench for "Mrs. Henderson Presents"
Keira Knightley for "Pride & Prejudice"
Laura Linney for "The Squid and the Whale"
Sarah Jessica Parker for "The Family Stone"
Reese Witherspoon for "Walk the Line"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
George Clooney for "Syriana"
Matt Dillon for "Crash"
Will Ferrell for "The Producers"
Paul Giamatti for "Cinderella Man"
Bob Hoskins for "Mrs. Henderson Presents"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Scarlett Johansson for "Match Point"
Shirley MacLaine for "In Her Shoes"
Frances McDormand for "North Country"
Rachel Weisz for "The Constant Gardener"
Michelle Williams for "Brokeback Mountain"

Best Director -Motion Picture
Woody Allen for "Match Point"
George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Peter Jackson for "King Kong"
Ang Lee for "Brokeback Mountain"
Fernando Meirelles for "The Constant Gardener"
Steven Spielberg for "Munich"

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
"Brokeback Mountain" - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
"Crash" - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
"Good Night, and Good Luck" - George Clooney, Grant Heslov
"Match Point" - Woody Allen
"Munich" - Tony Kushner, Eric Roth

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
"Brokeback Mountain" - Gustavo Santaolalla, Bernie Taupin ("A Love That Will Never Grow Old")
"Christmas in Love" - Tony Renis, Marrow, Marva Jan ("Christmas in Love")
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" - Alanis Morissette ("Wunderkind")
"The Producers" (2005) - Mel Brooks ("There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway")
"Transamerica" (2005) - Dolly Parton ("Travelin' Thru")

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
"Brokeback Mountain" - Gustavo Santaolalla
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" - Harry Gregson-Williams
"King Kong" - James Newton Howard
"Memoirs of a Geisha" -John Williams
"Syriana" - Alexandre Desplat

Best Foreign Language Film
"Joyeux Noel" (France)
"Kung Fu Hustle" (Hong Kong)
"Master of the Crimson Armor" (China)
"Paradise Now" (Palestine)
"Tsotsi" (South Africa)

Best Television Series - Drama
"Commander in Chief"
"Grey's Anatomy"
"Lost"
"Prison Break"
"Rome"

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Desperate Housewives"
"Entourage"
"Everybody Hates Chris"
"My Name Is Earl"
"Weeds"

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
"Viva Blackpool" (BBCAmerica)
"Empire Falls" (HBO)
"Into the West" (TNT)
"Sleeper Cell" (Showtime)
"Warm Springs" (HBO)
"Lackawanna Blues" (HBO)

99 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GOLDEN GLOBES

Not so long ago, the Golden Globes were not only the biggest Hollywood party of the year - they were our best chance to see celebrities let their hair down, get loaded and do embarrassing, unscripted things on- and offstage.

As the Hollywood Foreign Press Association awards ceremony, airing on NBC tonight, has come to be taken more seriously as an Oscar predictor, that's become way less likely.

But hope springs eternal, so we'll still sit rapt in front of the TV waiting for a boozy insult, a nip slip or, best of all, a Jack Nicholson sighting.

In the meantime, we present everything you need to know about the Globes and this year's nominees, from what's for dinner to what's on Jake Gyllenhaal's mind (he thinks the cowboys are straight!).

Don't worry, there won't be a quiz at the end - since everyone will forget who won when the Oscars are announced March 5, anyway.

1 What's trickier than filming in New York without a permit? Try the Middle East. While filming a scene with camel riders in "Syriana," director Stephen Gaghan and his crew accidentally crossed the border from the United Arab Emirates into Oman. The Omani army forced them to turn back.

2 Talk about faith in a script: Heath Ledger agreed to play the role of Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain" before ever meeting or speaking to director Ang Lee.

3 Apparently, nobody's geeky enough to play Chris Rock. The comedian says Tyler James Williams, the child actor who plays him in "Everybody Hates Chris," is far from a perfect match: "He's a cute kid," Rock says. "My teeth were all messed up."

4 Apparently, thinking you're doomed is funny. The cast and creators of "Scrubs" felt so uncertain of their standing at NBC - the network wouldn't say when the situation comedy would return to the air - that they stopped thinking about being appropriate and did whatever they wanted.

5 No wonder Brits have a snobby rep. "Match Point" director Woody Allen gushed over his U.K. cast members, saying even the most banal dialogue seemed smarter and wittier coming out of an English mouth.

6 BROOKLYN IN THEHOUSE: Glam couple Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams bought their Boerum Hill townhouse from New York bon vivant and "Rocky Horror Picture Show" star Nell Campbell.

7 If you want to get Burt Reynolds' attention, just make fun of him. After "My Name Is Earl" did a sharp parody of the "Smokey and the Bandit" blooper reel, Reynolds agreed to make an upcoming appearance on the show.

8 SMOKIN' HOT: Even before she became America's favorite pot dealer, Mary Louise Parker knew how to inspire tribute. The Counting Crows wrote the song "Butterfly in Reverse" for her in 2002.

9 Turns out that annoying Hollywood suits weren't the only inspiration for Ari, the viciously funny agent of HBO's "Entourage." The part was created specifically with actor Jeremy Piven in mind.

10 Proving that the wall between TV and film continues to crumble: Felicity Huffman scored nominations for Best Actress in a Film Drama ("Transamerica") and TV Musical/Comedy ("Desperate Housewives").

11 Ironically, Halle "Catwoman" Berry was late for the red carpet last year because she had lost her cat.

12 Tenacious "Crash" director Paul Haggis suffered a heart attack during shooting, but wouldn't let anyone take over his duties. He managed to return to the director's chair only two weeks later.

13 Obviously a kid in search of a father figure: Noah Baumbach, director of the autobiographical film "The Squid and the Whale," had actor Jeff Daniels wear his dad's clothes so he'd be more in tune with the part.

14 "Grey's Anatomy" was originally set in Chicago. But creator Shonda Rhimes realized the Windy City might be a little crowded in viewer's minds, what with "ER" and "Chicago Hope" having resided there as well - so it was relocated to Seattle.

15 The real scene is off-camera: Roughly 1,300 people are expected to eat dinner at the event, but three times that will show up for viewing and after-parties at the hotel.

16 But the stars who bother to show up will eat well - at least the ones who aren't trying to fit into a size-0 ball gown. The first course on this year's dinner menu is a green papaya and Asian pear salad with Indochina-spiced jumbo shrimp and chili-lime-cilantro dressing.

17 We all know about Hollywood ageism, but this seems a little extreme: Of all five drama and six comedy TV series nominees, only one has been on for longer than two seasons: HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

18 STUMBLE INTO LIQUID: "Lost" may win a Globe, but the cast has been less than lucky in criminal matters. Josh Holloway was robbed at gunpoint in his home in Oahu. And castaways Cynthia Watros and Michelle Rodriguez (right) were both arrested for drunken driving.

19 "Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee hasn't always had a way with westerns. His 1999 Civil War drama "Ride With the Devil," which features a shoot-'em-up raid on Kansas, was his first critical and commercial misstep since his breakthrough "The Wedding Banquet."

20 "Capote" star Philip Seymour Hoffman is hardly the first one to portray Truman Capote. Less accurate versions have popped up in "To Kill a Mockingbird" - novelist Harper Lee based Dill, the strange little boy next door, on her writer friend - and in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" George Peppard plays a straight, normal-looking version of the odd author.

21 STRAIGHT MAN: Denial ain't just for presidential press conferences: "Broke-back Mountain" star Jake Gyllenhaal (right) once said he thought the two main characters werestraight.

22 Back to Hoffman, according to gambling Web sites, he's a 1-to-3 favorite to win best actor in a drama, ahead of a packed field that includes Heath Ledger (9-to-5), Russell Crowe(9-to-2), Terrence Howard (8-to-1) and David Strathairn (9-to-1).

23 THE SKINNY: "King Kong" director Peter Jackson lost a stunning 70 pounds on what he dubbed the "Skull Island Diet." That's only 15 pounds less than an entire Olsen twin.

24 At 12-plus years, S. Epatha Merkerson's "Law & Order" character Lt. Anita Van Buren is the longest-running African American character in an American television drama.

25 PLAYING DOCTOR: Hunky Patrick Dempsy of "Grey's Anatomy" has no problem with generation gaps. He married his best-friend Corey Parker's mother, Rocky, in 1987 when he was just 21. That made Corey, who is nearly a full year older than him, his stepson.

26 What were Globes voters smoking in 1951? That was a low point for the show's Oscar-predicting accuracy: Only one in five winners went on to get an Academy Award.

27 Don't call it a comeback: Mel Brooks, nominated for best original song for "The Producers," was also nominated in 1969 for best screenplay for the original version of that movie.

28 The first nationally televised Golden Globes show was broadcast in 1964 on "The Andy Williams Show." But it didn't become a household name until NBC picked up the contract in the mid-'90s.

29 Times were simpler then: The first Golden Globes ceremony, in 1943, included only five categories - Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress - and the winners received a scroll, not a statuette.

30 Hold the phone - notoriously volatile Russell Crowe is the only one up for "Best Actor: Drama" who's been previously nominated. Perhaps they're afraid of what he'll do if he doesn't get a nod.

31 Foreshadowing many a hearty hangover, 67 cases (or 402 magnums) of Moet & Chandon champagne will be on hand for the event this year. Plus, there's another 3,552 tiny champagne bottles that convert into flutes available for the red carpet and throughout the evening.

32 TV creator Gregory Thomas Garcia's last show, "Yes, Dear" was blasted by critics - but they love his new show, "My Name Is Earl."

33 Just how important is Maria Bello in "A History of Violence"? The actress is nominated for Best Dramatic Actress for her role in "A History of Violence" - but the New York Film Critics Circle awarded her best supporting actress for the same role.

34 Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler were both considered for the part of Willy Wonka in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" before Johnny Depp signed on for the role.

35 During breaks in shooting "Pride & Prejudice," Keira Knightley would sneak off dressed in ball gowns and corsets to practice nunchucks for her bounty-hunter role in "Domino."

36 NO ACE UP HIS SLEEVE: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who plays a tennis pro in "Match Point," says he is actually an embarrassingly bad tennis player in real life.

37 "Memoirs of a Geisha" star Ziyi Zhang is a graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy and considered the second-most popular celebrity in China - behind NBA player Yao Ming.

38 In 1982, Pia Zadora received a Best New Star of the Year award after her husband, Meshulam Riklis, flew every member of the HFPA to Las Vegas for a luxurious press junket.

39 CANDID CAMERA: "Constant Gardener" director Fernando Meirelles followed Rachel Weisz around the slums of Nairobi, hidden from view, with just a hand-held camera to capture her authentic reactions to Kenyans.

40 Web site awfulplasticsurgery.com has voted red-carpet doyenne Joan Rivers the "third scariest-looking celebrity," after Jocelyn Wildenstein and Bruce Jenner.

41 Before his death, Johnny Cash picked Joaquin Phoenix as his choice to play him in the biopic, despite the fact that Phoenix had never sung professionally and couldn't play a lick on guitar.

42 Patrick Dempsey's nickname on the set of "Grey's Anatomy" is Dr. McDreamy.

43 HUGGING IT OUT: Jeremy Piven is best friends, and used to be roommates, with John Cusack, who got all the good parts. Then Piven's big break as obnoxious agent Ari on "Entourage" evened the score.

44 When the Golden Globe nominations were announced this year, "A History of Violence" director David Cronenberg looked for them online, but found a list of likely nominees instead. "History" hadn't made that hypothetical list, so he was surprised when told his film was nominated for Best Picture.

45 One's a hero, the other's a zero: "Scrubs" star Zach Braff went to high school with Ahmed Best, the voice of infamous "Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace" character Jar Jar Binks.

46 Matthew Fox's character on "Lost" was supposed to die in the pilot - harkening back to "Hill Street Blues," where Hill and Renko (played by Michael Warren and Charles Haid) were supposed to be killed in that pilot.

47 The second course on the dinner menu this year is saut‚ed Chilean sea bass and grilled tenderloin, served with an array of asparagus, spinach, shallots and baby carrots in a red-wine tarragon sauce that should temper even the most vociferous vegetarians.

48 More than 10,000 silverware and plate settings will be used for the awards' official events.

49 Dessert is a golden chocolate globe filled with macadamia-nut mousse and yellow sponge cake served on a raspberry "red carpet." (Isn't that cute?)

50 Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana wrote the screenplay for "Brokeback Mountain" in less than three months, but it took them seven years to get the movie made.

51 It takes two makeup artists four hours to apply Wentworth Miller's decal tattoo for "Prison Break."

52 Allegations of celebrity bribes have dogged the Globes for years. In 1999, Sharon Stone sent expensive Coach watches to each member of the HFPA before the nomination process began. They were returned, but she snagged a Best Actress nomination for box-office bomb "The Muse," anyway.

53 Bolstering the claim that they're not quite as invested in showbiz as Academy members, many HFPA members write only part-time and have other jobs, too - such as car salesman and teacher.

54 In the TV movie "Warm Springs," Cynthia Nixon plays Eleanor Roosevelt, long thought to be bisexual or lesbian, having had a long-term relationship with journalist Lorena Hickok. Coincidentally, Nixon herself recently went public with her relationship with Christine Marinoni.

55 During the making and promotion of "Brokeback Mountain," Jake Gyllenhaal repeatedly proclaimed that he, like most people, had gone through a stage where he wondered if he was attracted to people of the same sex.

56 MEDIA CIRCUS: You wouldn't think it to watch his intensely serious portrayal of Edwin R. Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck," but David Strathairn (far right) once attended Ringling Bros. Clown College and spent six months making funny in a traveling circus.

57 Ever wonder why celebs wear sunglasses and employ "handlers"? For starters, 58 camera crews, 65 still photographers and more than 100 journalists will be scrapping for interviews along the red carpet.

58 The more than 30,000 square feet of red carpet being laid down at the Beverly Hilton would cover 80 acres.

59 BATTLE OF THE NETWORK 'STACHE: Jason Lee - a world class skateboarder in his previous life - had to fight tooth and nail to keep his facial hair in "My Name Is Earl." "Trust me," he told NBCexecs, "I'm funnier with the moustache."

60 "Pride & Prejudice" shot two endings, one for American audiences and one for the U.K. Both show Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy together at the finale. But the American version shows them kissing, while the U.K. version remained faithful to the book's more chaste ending.

61 There's so much swag being handed out to this year's presenters that the gift bags have been upgraded to trunks. Valued at $62,000, they're packed with lavish toys, like a $500 BlackBerry 8700c and a $375 pair of Salt Optics sunglasses - not to mention a tasty gift certificate for $300 worth of ice-cream quarts from Cold Stone Creamery.

62 To go with their handsome trunks, presenters are showered with free vacations. They get a two-week sea excursion around Tasmania and New Zealand valued at $22,000 and a $15,000 getaway to the Canadian Northwest Territories with optional diamond-cutting and polishing lessons.

63 Internet wagering sites list Felicity Huffman as a 2 to 5 favorite to win best actress in a drama. Maria Bello from "A History of Violence" is the longshot at 10 to 1.

64 Man, that Viggo Mortenson likes rough sex! While shooting the love scene on the stairs in "History," Maria Bello got bruises all over her back, which had to be covered with makeup.

65 She's not just another pretty English face: Emma Thompson did an uncredited rewrite of the "Pride & Prejudice" script - she's thanked in the end credits.

66 We all love sharing love: Ari Gold's "Entourage" catchphrase, "Let's hug it out, bitch!" was voted No. 6 in TV Guide's list of "TV's Top 20 Catchphrases."

67 "Entourage" jokingly suited up its main character to play the lesser superhero Aquaman - but now the amphibious do-gooder has resurfaced, first in a cameo on "Smallville," then getting his own spinoff from that role.

68 In order to be a member of the HFPA, applicants have to be proposed by two existing members. And prospective members need to be sure they don't have any outstanding feuds with peers. Any member has the power to blackball a journalist who's applying.

69 Sort of like "Co-stanza"? The theme music for "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is based on a commercial jingle that got stuck in creator Larry David's head.

70 Everything you saw, he owes to spaghetti: George Clooney gained 35 pounds for his role in "Syriana," mainly on a pasta diet.

71 Gwyneth Paltrow played the role of Catherine to rave reviews in London's West End stage production of "Proof."

72 On the set of his movies, "Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee performs a Chinese good luck ceremony with the cast and crew, which involves lighting incense and bowing to the four corners of the room.

73 For the nude cliff-jumping scene in "Brokeback Mountain," it was rumored that Jake Gyllenhaal used a body double - a claim he denied in an interview with Details magazine late last year.

74 WARDROBE FUNCTION: Part of Reese Witherspoon's preparation for "Walk the Line" included looking through the recently deceased June Carter Cash's closet for inspiration.

75 Russell Crowe dislocated his shoulder during his boxing training for "Cinderella Man" and production had to be delayed for two months. Too bad he wasn't injured during his stay at the Mercer Hotel.

76 This year's Miss Golden Globes will be Dakota Johnson, daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson - who can be seen in a small role in the 1999 movie "Crazy in Alabama."

77 To match the all-Brit cast, Kate Winslet was originally picked for Scarlett Johansson's role in "Match Point." But the "Titanic" star dropped out to spend more time with her husband and kids.

78 Despite Emmy-winning work on acclaimed TV movies like "Sarah, Plain and Tall," and "Something About Amelia," Glenn Close says "The Shield" was the first TV series to seek her out.

79 World's most endearing married couple, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, who scored supporting-actor nominations for the miniseries "Empire Falls," first worked together back in 1958, in the movies "The Long Hot Summer" and "Rally Round The Flag, Boys!"

80 Like father, like son, sort of: "House" star Hugh Laurie's dad was a real doctor.

81 It's a big year for Sutherlands. Donald and Kiefer are celebrating multiple father-and-son nominations: Kiefer for "24" and Donald for the TV movie "Human Trafficking" and his sly turn on "The West Wing."

82 Continuing in the family vein: Felicity Huffman's real-life husband, actor William H. Macy, was nominated for Golden Globes for TV's "Door to Door" in 2002, and "Seabiscuit" a year later.

83 Talk about a cushy job: Hollywood Foreign Press Association members only have to publish four paid articles a year to hold onto their active standing in the organization.

84 Not that we're saying it could have any influence on them or anything, but the Golden Globes will be broadcast five days before the polls close for Oscar voting. (No wonder Globes winners also win Oscars 65 percent of the time.)

85 There's a five-way tie for the Globes' most honored films. "Doctor Zhivago," "Love Story," "The Godfather," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "A Star Is Born" all received five awards.

86 "Cuckoo's Nest" is the only picture to ever sweep all five top categories: Motion Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay.

87 Two of the biggest Globes losers were 1967's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and 1991's "The Godfather Part III." Each was nominated in seven Globes categories, but failed to win even one.

88 Most entertaining Globes guest ever? It's gotta be Jack Nicholson, who mooned the audience in 1999.

89 While television went crazy with no less than six versions of the Jane Austen classic, 2005's "Pride & Prejudice" with Keira Knightley is the first feature-film of the novel in 65 years.

90 UMA? NO ULLA? Statuesque Uma Thurman wasn't the producers' first choice for "The Producers." They originally cast Nicole Kidman to play Swedish bombshell Ulla. But before the petite star even read the script, she withdrew due to "scheduling conflicts."

91 sounds too good to be true, it is: Actress Scarlett Johansson has a good-looking twin - but, guys, before you get too excited, he's named Hunter. The actor scored a bit part in her 1996 film "Manny & Lo."

92 This year, Paramount Television and UPN sent members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Polaroid DVD players to promote "Everybody Hates Chris" - but they returned them because it violated their rules on accepting promotional items.

93 Proving that human skin can be stretched tighter than Saran wrap, TV Guide channel pre-show host Joan Rivers is 72 years young.

94 Since 1990, the Globes have had solid success predicting Oscars for Best Picture (69%), Director (69%), Song (69%), Screenplay (75%) and Actress (81%). They have fared less well at predicting Oscars for Best Foreign Film (44%), Score (50%) and Supporting Actor/Actress (50/54%).

95 Maybe it was some crazy elf magic, but "The Girl in the Caf‚" star Bill Nighy (left) got an early break as the voice of Sam Gamgee for BBC radio's adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings." It became one of the most popular radio miniseries ever.

96 If only we could get a repeat of 1958, when Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra got fed up with the bland presenting style - the HFPA journos gave out the awards themselves - and took over the proceedings. Ever since, stars have done the duties.

97 While many in the media have been skeptical of the Globes' importance, celebs themselves are usually hesitant to bite the hand that feeds them. Director Rob Reiner has referred to the Golden Globes as "unkosher" - but still does press conferences for them.

98 Only pretty people in front of the camera, please: HFPA members attend the Golden Globes, but are seated upstairs and to the side of the stage.

99 In a classic historical conflict, HBO's "Rome" and ABC's "Empire" were both filming simultaneously in Italy, fighting for every available toga, sandal and stand-in the country had to offer. But now the victor has been named. "Empire" was a critical and commercial flop. "Rome" is coming back for a second season and is nominated for Best Drama.

The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards airs tonight on NBC from 8-11 p.m. EST

A $500 million film ain't what it used to be

Can a film that's going to rake in more than $500 million be a disappointment?

Depends on whom you ask.

King Kong, the three-hour Peter Jackson opus that swung into theaters last month amid a publicity campaign that would make a monkey blush, is already the eighth-biggest film of 2005 with $195 million in North American ticket sales. Worldwide, it has taken in $465 million and will likely break the half-billion mark by this weekend.

But "compared to expectations, it was a disappointment," says Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo. "But that's what's going to happen when you spend $200 million on a movie that stars an ape."

Indeed, Kong became the latest in a string of Hollywood action films that couldn't live up to the hype — or budget. Kong cost a reported $207 million, which doesn't include Universal Studios' ubiquitous ad campaign.

Before the movie opened, Entertainment Weekly hailed it as the "blockbuster of the year." Pundits projected the film's special effects and computer-generated ape would propel it to at least $300 million and could give Titanic a run as box-office king. That film took in $600 million in North America alone, $1.2 billion worldwide.

Now, Kong has become a cautionary tale about overselling big-budget fare.

"We saw King Kong as a panacea that was going to solve the box-office problems for the year," says Russell Schwartz, marketing chief for New Line Cinema. "But we're putting too much pressure on a movie to perform. And we're going to have to ask ourselves if we're trying too hard to turn movies into 'events.' "

Universal Studios executives would not comment beyond saying that the film will be profitable. Peter Jackson did not respond to requests for an interview.

Some analysts and executives say Kong's struggles — along with high-priced action flops like Stealth and The Island— could change the landscape for selling costly films.

Where did Kong go wrong? Analysts see several missteps:

•Too loud. The Chronicles of Narnia, which has taken in $250 million, likely will outperform Kong with a quieter ad strategy that included showing the film to churches and schools. "Word of mouth is your best tool," says Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney. "Studios can't just tell people to like a movie."

•Too long. At 3 hours and 7 minutes, Kong "is a major time investment," says David Poland of moviecitynews.com. "That's asking a lot."

•Too special-effects driven. "You're not going to make a smash live-action movie when your lead character is a special effect," says Gray. "Especially one that doesn't even speak."

Basketball movie achieves box office 'Glory'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The college basketball saga "Glory Road" triumphed at the weekend box office in North America, narrowly beating fellow newcomers "Last Holiday" and "Hoodwinked," according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

"Glory Road" sold about $13.5 million worth of tickets in the Friday-to-Sunday period, followed by the Queen Latifah comedy remake "Last Holiday" with $13.0 million, and the animated tale "Hoodwinked" with $12.2 million.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" fell two places to No. 4 with $10.1 million. Last weekend's champion, the torture thriller "Hostel," tumbled to No. 5 with $9.6 million. Their respective totals rose to $261.4 million and $34.8 million.

With the Martin Luther King holiday falling on Monday, some studios were waiting until then to report four-day estimates. Final data will be issued on Tuesday.

"Glory Road," released by Walt Disney Co., recounts the true story of a Texas university basketball team that broke the color barrier when it went to the NCAA championship with an all-black starting lineup.

Disney said the film made as much in three days as industry analysts had been expecting it to make in four days. That was also the case with Paramount Pictures' "Last Holiday," in which Queen Latifah plays a woman who takes the trip of a lifetime after learning she has a terminal disease. Paramount is a unit of Viacom Inc.

Still, the films will come nowhere near last year's Martin Luther King weekend leader, "Coach Carter," which opened with $29.2 million for the four days.

"Hoodwinked," an animated update of the Little Red Riding Hood fable, was released by the Weinstein Co., the nascent banner formed by Miramax Films co-founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein.

Further down the charts, No. 7-ranked "King Kong" finally passed the double-century mark, reaching $202.8 million in its 33rd day of release after a $7.3 million weekend. "Narnia," by contrast, took 22 days to reach that milestone.

And Steven Spielberg's "Munich," no longer in the top 10, rose to $32.8 million after a $4.9 million weekend. Short of a miraculous Oscar boost, the Munich Olympics revenge thriller will likely become one of those rare Spielberg efforts not to hit $100 million.

"Narnia" is also a Disney release, while "Hostel" was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co., released "King Kong" and "Munich."

'Sopranos' cast mum on final season

PASADENA -- Remember The Sopranos? The little mob drama was a bit of a hit a few years back. Fans will have waited 22 months before the next new episode airs March 12 at 9 p.m. on The Movie Network.

And, yes, this is it. Creator/writer/producer David Chase confirmed that there will be 12 new episodes, then eight, then that's it.

James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano), Edie Falco (Carmela), Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Melfi) and Michael Imperioli (Christopher) all joined Chase at HBO's portion of yesterday's press tour. Did they spill the beans about the finale?

Fuggeddaboudit.

In the half-hour session and again later out in the hall of the hotel, critics tried every which way to squeeze the actors for info. Gandolfini was mobbed like a rock star, backed against a wall and surrounded by digital recorders. Might as well try to get Paulie Walnuts to sing. Chase has them all sworn to secrecy.

Critics were shown a terrific clip reel with the juicy voice-over from Richard III, "Now is the winter of our discontent..." Was this some sort of Shakespearean clue to Tony's final fate?

"Nah, it's just a stupid line of dialogue," Chase said after the session.

Here's what we do know: After the next 12 episodes, the series will take another six-month break before coming back in January of 2007 with the final eight.

Production on episode 11 starts next week in New York. After shooting No. 12, the actors will break until June before shooting the final eight. Chase will keep writing. All swore they didn't know how it would end -- including Chase, although obviously he has some idea.

Will Tony and the gang stop going on, or just go on without us, asked the clever critic from Miami. "They're going on without you," quipped Chase, who admired the question but wanted the dude whacked for asking it.

"Truth is, both really. Obviously, they're not all going to go up in a nuclear cloud." Here's what we do know:

* Among the guest stars this season will be Ben Kingsley, who plays Ben Kingsley. Chase hinted after the session that it all has to do with a movie being made. Maybe Christopher finally sold that script.

* Julianna Margulies plays a real estate agent. Does she have an affair with Tony -- or even Carmela? "Can't say," Falco said.

* Hal Holbrook plays a scientist who becomes involved with the mob. "That happens to Hal Holbrook all the time," Chase said.

* Anthony Jr. (Robert Iler), along with Christopher, will have big years. So will Paulie, if the clip reel rings true.

Will guys get whacked? You bet. Does the cast have some sort of ritual when somebody is killed off?

"We take them to dinner," Imperioli said. "When you're asked to go out to dinner, it's not such a good thing."

The story will pick up in real time, nearly two years after the fifth season finale. After the capture and trial of rival boss Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola), there is a ripple effect. People are dissatisfied, suggested Imperioli. "Disquieted," Chase corrected.

Discontented? Viewers may be after such a long wait. Has the show lost its thunder? "Nobody signed anything to watch this show," Falco said. "If they find something else to watch, God bless them."

And what about Gandolfini? He didn't sound as discontented yesterday as he has in the past. He's developing other projects (including a spin as Ernest Hemingway). Will he forever be typecast as Tony? Gandolfini shrugged. "What am I gonna do?"

Besides, he was a virtual unknown, along with the rest of the cast (except Bracco), when The Sopranos began. The show has changed his life, both good and bad, and he can live with that. He says he's learned all he needs to know about "success and money and celebrity." At this point, he knows what's important.

Sure, there were times inside his trailer in Long Island in the middle of the night when he felt "mobbed out." Then he sees yesterday's clever clip reel and goes, "Wow! This is good stuff. It's been a great ride in many ways."

Rapper Eminem, ex-wife remarry

ROCHESTER HILLS, Michigan (Reuters) - Rapper Eminem and his former wife remarried on Saturday, five years after an ugly divorce ruptured their turbulent relationship.

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, and Kimberly Mathers exchanged vows in a small and tightly guarded ceremony at Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Hills, near Detroit.

Journalists and fans crowded the entrance to the grounds around the hall -- a popular wedding site on the Oakland University campus -- as guests began arriving in the afternoon.

Little information was available from inside but Eminem's publicist, Dennis Dennehy, confirmed to Reuters that the wedding had taken place.

Among other guests, rapper 50 Cent's G-Unit hip-hop group arrived in an entourage of four sport utility vehicles.

Eminem, 33, arrived in a black limousine, sporting a red baseball hat.

The hip-hop superstar, whose 2000 hit "Kim" is a graphic rap fantasy about his wife's death, told a Detroit radio station last month the couple had reconciled and would probably remarry.

The Mathers first married in 1999 and their divorce, which prompted a custody battle over their 10-year-old daughter, was finalized in 2001.

Last year, Eminem was treated for addiction to a sleep medication and had to cancel his European tour. His greatest hits collection, "Curtain Call," was released in December.

Eminem has denied he plans to retire but suggested he could take a break from recording and performing.

"I'm at a point in my life right now where I feel like I don't know where my career is going right now," he told Detroit radio station WKQI-FM last month in the only interview he granted to promote the album.

Oscar Winner Shelley Winters Dies at 85

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Shelley Winters, the forceful, outspoken star who graduated from blond bombshell parts to dramas, winning Academy Awards as supporting actress in "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "A Patch of Blue," has died. She was 85.

Winters died of heart failure early Saturday at The Rehabilitation Centre of Beverly Hills, her publicist Dale Olson said. She had been hospitalized in October after suffering a heart attack.

The actress sustained her long career by repeatedly reinventing herself. Starting as a nightclub chorus girl, advanced to supporting roles in New York plays, then became famous as a Hollywood sexpot.

A devotee of the Actors Studio, she switched to serious roles as she matured. Her Oscars were for her portrayal of mothers. Still working well into her 70s, she had a recurring role as Roseanne's grandmother on the 1990s TV show "Roseanne."

"I am so sad. She was a great person and a genius to work with," Roseanne Barr said in a statement. "We will all miss her."

"Shelley was an idol of mine — and many — an extraordinary woman with powerful charisma, enormous talent and a keen, perceptive mind," said longtime friend and actress Connie Stevens.

In 1959's "The Diary of Anne Frank," she was Petronella Van Daan, mother of Peter Van Daan and one of eight real-life Jewish refugees in World War II Holland who hid for more than a year in cramped quarters until they were betrayed and sent to Nazi death camps. The socially conscious Winters donated her Oscar statuette to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

In 1965's "Patch of Blue," she portrayed a hateful, foul-mouthed mother who tries to keep her blind daughter, who is white, apart from the kind black man who has befriended her.

Ever vocal on social and political matters, Winters was a favored guest on television talk shows, and she demonstrated her frankness in two autobiographies: "Shelley, Also Known as Shirley" (1980) and "Shelley II: The Middle of My Century" (1989).

Winters wrote openly in them of her romances with Burt Lancaster, William Holden, Marlon Brando, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable and other leading men. She also said after she came to Hollywood in the mid-1940s she was roommates with another rising starlet — Marilyn Monroe.

"I've had it all," she exulted after her first book became a best seller. "I'm excited about the literary aspects of my career. My concentration is there now."

Typically Winters, she also had a complaint about her literary fame: While reviewers treated her book as a serious human document, she said, talk show hosts Phil Donohue and Johnny Carson "only want to know about my love affairs."

Winters, whose given name was Shirley Schrift, was appearing in the Broadway hit "Rosalinda" when Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn offered her a screen test. A Columbia contact and a new name — Shelley Winters — followed, but all the good roles at the studio were going to Jean Arthur in those days.

Winters' early films included such light fare as "Knickerbocker Holiday," "Sailor's Holiday," "Cover Girl," "Tonight and Every Night" and "Red River."

When her contract ended, Winters returned to New York as Ado Annie in "Oklahoma!"

She would soon be called back and signed to a seven-year contract at Universal, where she was transformed into a blonde bombshell. She vamped her way through a number of potboilers for the studio, including "South Sea Sinner," with Liberace as her dance-hall pianist, and "Frenchie," as wild saloon owner Frenchie Fontaine, out to avenge her father's murder.

The only hint of her future as an actress came in 1948's "A Double Life" as a trashy waitress strangled by a Shakespearian actor, Ronald Colman. The role won Colman an Oscar.

"A Place in the Sun" in 1951 brought her first Oscar nomination and established her as a serious actress. She desperately sought the role of the pregnant factory girl drowned by Montgomery Clift so he could marry Elizabeth Taylor. The director, George Stevens, rejected her at first for being too sexy.

"So I scrubbed off all my makeup, pulled my hair back and sat next to him at the Hollywood Athletic Club without his even recognizing me because I looked so plain. That got me the part," she recalled in a 1962 interview.

Winters received her final Oscar nomination, for 1972's "The Poseidon Adventure," in which she was one of a handful of passengers scrambling desperately to survive aboard an ocean liner turned upside down by a tidal wave. By then she had put on a good deal of weight, and following a scene in which her character must swim frantically she charmed audiences with the line: "In the water I'm a very skinny lady."

Although she was in demand as a character actress, Winters continued to study her craft. She attended Charles Laughton's Shakespeare classes and worked at the Actors Studio, both as student and teacher. She appeared on Broadway as the distraught wife of a drug addict in "A Hatful of Rain" and as the Marx Brothers' mother in "Minnie's Boys."

Among her other notable films: "Night of the Hunter," "Executive Suite," "I Am a Camera," "The Big Knife," "Odds Against Tomorrow," "The Young Savages," "Lolita," "The Chapman Report," "The Greatest Story Ever Told," "A House Is Not a Home," "Alfie," "Harper," "Pete's Dragon," "Stepping Out" and "Over the Brooklyn Bridge."

During her 50 years as a widely known personality, Winters was rarely out of the news. Her stormy marriages, her romances with famous stars, her forays into politics and feminist causes kept her name before the public. She delighted in giving provocative interviews and seemed to have an opinion on everything.

Robert Mitchum once told her: "Shelley, arguing with you is like trying to hold a conversation with a swarm of bumblebees."

The revelations in her autobiographies provided endless material for interviewers and gossip writers. She wrote of an enchanted evening when she and Burt Lancaster attended "South Pacific" in New York, dined elegantly, then retired to his hotel room.

"This chance meeting proved to be the beginning of a long but painful romance," she wrote. "Despite the immediate and powerful chemistry between us, the love and the friendship, some wise part of me knew that he would never abandon his children while they were young and needed him."

She also told of a dalliance with William Holden after a studio Christmas party. In a glamorous, real-life version of the play "Same Time, Next Year," they continued their annual Yuletide rendezvous for seven years.

She wrote that despite their intimacy, they continued to refer to each other as "Mr. Holden" and "Miss Winters," and when they met on the set of the 1981 film "S.O.B." she said, "Hello, Mr. Holden." He smiled and replied, "Shelley, after your book, I think you should call me Bill."

Shirley Schrift was born on Aug. 18, 1920, and grew up New York, where she appeared in high school plays.

"My childhood is a blur of memories," she wrote in the first of her autobiographies. "Money was so scarce in my family that at the age of 9 I was selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door.

"It was during this stage of my life that I developed a whole fantasy world; reality was too unbearable. Every chance I got, I was at the movies. I adored them."

Working as a chorus girl and garment district model helped finance her drama studies. She gained practical training by appearing in plays and musicals on the summer Borscht Circuit in the Catskill mountains.

During the Detroit run of a musical revue, she married businessman Paul "Mack" Mayer on Jan. 1, 1942. He entered the Army Air Corps, and after the war, the pair found they had little in common. They divorced in 1948.

Winters' second and third marriages were brief and tempestuous: to Vittorio Gassman (1952-1954) and Anthony Franciosa (1957-1960). The combination of a Jewish Brooklynite and Italian actors seemed destined to produce fireworks, and both unions resulted in headlines.

A daughter, Vittoria, resulted from the marriage to Gassman. She became a successful physician.

The controversial sitcom Action comes to DVD in February!

The show too controversial for network television Action: The Complete Series – Uncut and Unbleeped!, starring Jay Mohr, Illeana Douglas, Buddy Hackett, Jarrad Paul and Jack Plotnick, debuts on DVD this February from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

“Action” took on Hollywood and the censors with its no holds barred, bleep-filled take on the film industry. Executive Producers Joel Silver, Ted Demme and Don Reo took great pride in pushing sitcom boundaries with their wry, campy and irreverent humor along with a “no mercy” attitude toward Hollywood and the show’s characters. Shot with just a single camera, the innovative series featured cameos by top talent in almost every episode, including appearances by Keanu Reeves, Salma Hayek, Sandra Bullock and Scott Wolf.

In the show, mega-producer Peter Dragon (Jay Mohr) has a track-record of huge box-office hits, and a hugely inflated ego, even by Hollywood standards. A Xantac-popping, stereotypical over-the-top producer who everyone loves to hate, Peter’s record of box office hits was perfect … until his last cinematic bomb. Determined to remain on the Hollywood "hit" list he resorts to desperate measures. Dragon hires Wendy Ward (Illeana Douglas), a former child TV star who is now a call girl, to be his new development executive since she’s the only one he can trust to tell him the truth. Rounding out the cast are Jack Plotnick as Vice President of Development Stuart Glazer, Jarrad Paul playing neurotic writer Adam Rifkin and Buddy Hackett as Uncle Lonnie, the head of security who spends most of his time sleeping on the couch.

The DVD version will feature all 13 episodes from the show in 2-disc DVD set. The release is scheduled for February 21 and will carry a $24.96 suggested retail price.

Cronenberg looking forward to Golden Globes

TORONTO (CP) - David Cronenberg insists he's not bothered that his film A History of Violence is nominated for best film at Monday's Golden Globe Awards but that he didn't make the cut in the best director category.

"It's always been this way," Cronenberg said Friday in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "There are some strange voting systems. Each group has its own weird system of voting."

Cronenberg also shrugs off perennial questions about the validity of the Golden Globes, which are voted on by fewer than 100 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, often the target of scathing criticism in years past for having members of questionable credibility.

They awards seem to have an uncanny knack for forecasting the Academy Award nominees, which will be announced Jan. 31.

"Somehow the Globes just by force of will, and partly luck, have come to have meaning and are taken seriously even though, on another level, they're not," he said.

Whatever the significance of Monday's awards, Cronenberg said he hears it's a pretty fun event and hopes to see a lot of people drinking and behaving badly.

"They are a strange group but they're an interesting group. You can't write them off."

The renowned director turns serious, however, when asked about fellow Canadian filmmaker Paul Haggis who wrote, produced and directed Crash, which earned one Golden Globe nomination, for supporting actor Matt Dillon.

He is furious that the film, an interweaving of stories about various Los Angeles residents on a single day, has the identical title to his own 1996 feature.

He calls it disrespectful, condescending and unjustified.

"I have now met Paul Haggis and he knows exactly how I feel," Cronenberg said caustically. "I thought it was a really stupid thing to do because when we both end up in the DVD racks together, it's going to be very confusing."

On the issue of violence that is at the heart of his nominated film, Cronenberg acknowledges he set up the brutal sequences precisely to make them both thrilling and repugnant.

And indeed, moviegoers are often compelled to cheer when a bad guy who deserved it gets blown away in such graphic fashion, yet their excitement is likely to turn quickly to guilt for having found the violence so satisfying.

"I think it's part of what the movie is about, that ambivalence that we have towards it, especially in the cinema."

But Cronenberg, who hails from Toronto - where gun violence has shaken the city - has no patience for people who suggest violence in the movies begets real-life violence.

He doubts those people even go to the movies.

"I've never felt that people were so simple that they would just do what they see," he said.

"I myself have seen, I think it must be hundreds of thousands of killings in cinema, but they're not really killings. And I've never remotely felt close to killing somebody."

Cronenberg has previously said he took on A History of Violence because he needed "a solid paycheque" after the weak financial performance of previous auteur features like 2002's Spider and 1999's eXistenZ.

While he appreciates the favourable memos from studio heads for making a film that was both a commercial and critical hit, he said he doesn't organize his work into doing one film for his art and one for the bank account.

"No, no. I don't make enough movies to do that," he says. "If it's two years of your life, which it tends to be - and it seems to take me three years between movies - I can't really afford to play that kind of game. I have to be working on something I really want to work on. And History of Violence was something that I really wanted to work on."

The film also netted a best film actress nomination for Maria Bello. The Golden Globes air Monday night at 8 p.m. EST.

Golden Globes may make a star of 'Brokeback'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Brokeback Mountain," once ridiculed as "the gay cowboy movie" but now the front-runner in Hollywood's Oscar race, gets its first major awards show test on Monday night -- in prime time with millions watching.

The gay romance goes into the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards on Monday with the most nominations -- seven -- of any film and with a favorite status that many in the industry think could be unshakable in the buildup to the March 5 Oscars.

The Golden Globe Awards are an only-in-Hollywood tradition. They are given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a hard-to-join group composed of a large number of freelancers working for some obscure publications.

But they give one of the best awards parties in town and over the years the show has become famous as a predictor of Oscar winners. And the stars sashaying across the red carpet in drop-dead designer duds is reminiscent of the glamour of old Hollywood.

Normally the Globes help set up the Oscar race by drawing public attention to films that are the strongest contenders.

The Globes' two main awards are best drama, for which "Brokeback" is a contender, and best musical or comedy.

Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee's tale of love and loneliness in the mountains of Wyoming is a strong contender for best drama by virtue of its picking up a slew of best movie awards from film critics and nabbing top prize at 2005's Venice Film Festival.

But its makers are very conscious the movie's theme of homosexual love in the macho world of Marlboro Country could be a problem for mainstream audiences and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Lee has said he thought reaction would be split. "Some people would like it, and some people wouldn't even go to see it or it would be a laughingstock, like when they called it 'a gay cowboy movie.' Then when they see it, they start to embrace it. It's a wonderful turnaround."

"Brokeback" is up against "The Constant Gardener," a thriller based on a John le Carre novel; "Good Night, and Good Luck," George Clooney's tale of the fight against McCarthyism; "A History of Violence," a story of the violence that lurks beneath the surface in everyday life; and "Match Point," Woody Allen's "comeback" film about the cost of social climbing in Britain.

"Brokeback's" star, Heath Ledger, who has won rave reviews, is a candidate for best actor, but the competition is tough with Philip Seymour Hoffmann, seemingly the man to beat for his performance as gay novelist Truman Capote in "Capote." Other category nominees include Terrence Howard for "Hustle & Flow," David Strathairn as broadcaster Edward R. Morrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck," and Russell Crowe for "Cinderella Man."

Vying for best musical or comedy are "Mrs. Henderson Presents," "Pride and Prejudice," "The Producers," "The Squid and the Whale" and "Walk the Line."

The nomination of "The Squid and the Whale" as a comedy surprised many because the movie is a harrowing tale of a divorce as seen from the eyes of a couple's two teenage sons.

Gwyneth Paltrow Confirms She's Pregnant

LOS ANGELES - After months of rumors about a pregnancy, Gwyneth Paltrow has confirmed she's expecting her second child with Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin.

In an interview following a screening of her movie "Proof" late Thursday, the 33-year-old actress was introduced as a pregnant woman, according to the syndicated entertainment television show "The Insider."

Moderator Lou Diamond Phillips asked Paltrow, "How far along are you?"

"Far enough along to feel very cumbersome," she answered.

Paltrow's publicist, Stephen Huvane, would not comment.

A spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild, which sponsored the screening, referred callers to Huvane.

Paltrow and Martin already have a 20-month-old daughter named Apple. They tied the knot in December 2003.

Paltrow won an Academy Award for her role in 1998's "Shakespeare in Love." She plays the daughter of a mentally unstable math genius in "Proof," an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning play.

The Couch Potato Report - January 14th, 2006

This week The Couch Potato Report features a film that I don't understand all the fuss over, and some films that I will fuss over.

I admit it.

I admit that from time to time there are movies that come out that are universally praised and loved, yet I can't understand why.

Even if I have respect for the actors and the filmmakers, I am usually left wondering what all the fuss is about.

The last movie that left me feeling this way was Clint Eastwood's MYSTIC RIVER, and now you can add THE CONSTANT GARDENER to that list.

I'm sorry, but I just don't see what all the fuss is about regarding this film based on the best-selling John le Carré novel.

I respect the source material and I like the actors in the film, but as I watched THE CONSTANT GARDENER I was constantly waiting for something to happen.

And when something did happen, I just didn't find it satisfying.

However, many other people who have seen the film did find it satisfying.

And I don't understand why.

In the film Ralph Fiennes from THE ENGLISH PATIENT plays a stereotypically stiff British diplomat based in Africa who falls in love with the fiery Rachel Weisz from ABOUT A BOY.

He's happy to turn a blind eye to the truths surrounding them, but she takes on the humanitarian plight of the Africans, sometimes at the expense of his career.

Then she and an African doctor she is rumoured to be having an affair with are murdered and Fiennes gets involved in the investigation.

He discovers corruption and that the Africans are being used by giant pharmaceutical companies as guinea pigs to test new drugs.

Eventually, his own life is in danger, and that all sounds interesting...right?

But man did I find the film boring!

Yes, the acting is excellent, and the film is well made, but I wasn't involved in the story, and in the end I was left less than interested. Not bored, mind you, but close.

I don't think THE CONSTANT GARDENER is a bad film, but I didn't like it, and I am not sure why anyone else would either. I just don't get it.

Read the book, skip the movie is what I suggest.

Now even though it was suggested to me by several people that I skip the thriller RED EYE, I didn't, and even though it isn't a quality film like THE CONSTANT GARDER, RED EYE is what I would describe as a "good rental."

Rachel McAdams from WEDDING CRASHERS, THE NOTEBOOK and MEAN GIRLS is a woman who is kidnapped by a stranger on an airplane.

She is told that if she doesn't help with the plot to assassinate the deputy secretary of Homeland Security her father will be killed in his home.

The kidnapper's name is Jackson Rippner - ha ha ha - get it? Jack Ripper? Oh, that is inventive!

Not much else is as inventive as that in RED EYE, and that is hardly inventive at all, so how did I arrive at the conclusion that this is a "good rental", you ask.

Well, first off, the lovely and talented Rachel McAdams is on the verge of becoming a major film actress, and she's Canadian, so to see her in her early work will be interesting in the years to come.

Secondly, Cillian Murphy, the actor who plays Jackson Rippner, is just so creepy. And in this case, creepy is good!

And finally, even though you have to sit through more than an hour to get to it, the final 30 minutes are filled with some real cinematic tension.

No, I don't think RED EYE should be at the top of anyone's list as a movie that needs to be seen, but if everything else that you wanted to see is out, and you like thrillers, then RED EYE is a "good rental."

I was hoping to proclaim the documentary GRIZZLY MAN to be better than just a "good rental", but I am not even sure that it is that.

GRIZZLY MAN centers on amateur grizzly bear expert Timothy Treadwell who traveled to Alaska to study and live with the bears.

In October of 2003 Treadwell was killed by a bear, along with his girlfriend.

Filmmaker Werner Herzog was given access to over 100 hours of video shot by Treadwell during the latter portion of the 13 summers he spent in Alaska.

The film shows you the dreamer, the idealist, the failed actor, the recovered alcoholic, and the seemingly ungrounded man that Timothy Treadwell was.

What it doesn't show you is a much of that footage that was shot with the bears.

Herzog keeps cutting away to people talking about Treadwell and his fate. A fate that one person says is "...what he deserved."

Had it included more footage of the bears in their natural habitat, and Treadwell with them there with his passion and desire to protect them on full display, GRIZZLY MAN could have been a superb movie.

As it is the film is a mildly entertaining look at a man's life, as told by others with only sporadic looks at what the man at the centre was trying to do.

I liked GRIZZLY MAN, but I was prepared to love it. The film let me down.

I also feel the film SERENITY let me down, but I may have let it down too.

Serenity is the movie that is based on the failed TV science-fiction show FIREFLY.

Both the TV show and movie are about the crew of a star ship freighter. Captain Reynolds and his motley crew make their living doing odd jobs out on the frontier, some of them not exactly legal.

They bicker and at times almost come to blows, frequently due to the fact that one of the character's sister is wanted by the government after she was rescued from a top secret laboratory.

Even though I was told that I didn't need to see the series to enjoy the film, I constantly felt as if I was missing part of the back-story.

That is where I failed SERENITY.

Where it failed me is the fact that it wasn't as interesting as STAR TREK, STAR WARS, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY or many of the other science fiction films that came before it.

No, you don't have to be original to be good, but when you can't be original, it is still important to be good.

I didn't think SERENITY was good.

People who are fans of the series FIREFLY, and the movie SERENITY, are called Browncoats. For the record, my coat is black and I won't be changing the colour anytime soon.

I also won't be changing my allegiance to movies made about KING KONG anytime soon. Ever since I saw the 1976 remake of the film, I have been hooked. I have seen the original 1933 version and the 1976 update several times, and I must admit that I have also seen Peter Jackson's new version...three times.

It is for people just like me that the new box set containing PETER JACKSON'S KING KONG PRODUCTION DIARIES has been released.

PRODUCTION DIARIES is an impressive 2-DVD set that gives us an inside look at the six-month production process of the newest film with 54 featurettes produced while the movie was still being filmed.

Nothing is off-limits and after you have seen both discs you will feel as if you know what goes on behind the scenes on a major motion picture set.

In addition to the DVDs the box set for KING KONG PETER JACKSON'S PRODUCTION DIARIES also has a 52-page production memoir and some art prints.

I enjoy the character of King Kong, I've enjoyed all of the films made about him, and I enjoyed the backstage look I got from PETER JACKSON'S PRODUCTION DIARIES. I also found out something I didn't know...they are already making sequels!

KING KONG PETER JACKSON'S PRODUCTION DIARIES, SERENITY, GRIZZLY MAN, RED EYE and THE CONSTANT GARDENER are all available on DVD right now.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

Nicolas Cage is an arms dealer in LORD OF WAR who confronts the morality of his work.

Al Pacino, Rene Russo and "The Sexiest Man Alive" Matthew McConaughey topline TWO FOR THE MONEY a film about bookies in the sports-gambling business.

Some of the people who brought you the AMERICAN PIE films present a sequel of sorts called BAND CAMP.

And I will tell you about the SPECIAL EDITIONS of two classic Robin Williams films DEAD POET'S SOCIETY and GOOD MORNING VIETNAM.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

ABC Moves Walters Oscar Special

Barbara Walters interviewing celebrities on Oscar night is almost as much of an Academy Awards tradition as weeping starlets and shout-outs to agents. Walters will do the special again this year, but it won't air the same night as the Oscar ceremony.

Instead, ABC says Walters' special will air Wednesday, March 1, four days before the 78th annual Academy Awards. The move comes in part because the network will begin the Oscar telecast at 8 p.m. ET, rather than 8:30 as in past years. That means red-carpet coverage will begin in the 7 p.m. hour, the time when Walters' show usually airs to the eastern half of the country (it followed the awards out West).

And, in a win-win for ABC, March 1 is also the final night of February sweeps, giving the network one final stab at bigger ratings in the period.

"We've been wanting to expand the celebration of the Oscars for some time, and moving Barbara's special to Wednesday as part of our strategy for the February sweep makes it the true national kickoff event for the awards broadcast," says Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment. "Her specials are always star studded and glamorous -- now they'll signal that even more is on the way."

Walters is okay with the change too, saying she's "very pleased" the show will air in the same timeslot across the country. "And being seen earlier in the week gives us much more flexibility than in the past in terms of guests."

A lineup of guests will be announced in the coming weeks.

Country singer Cyndi Thomson returns to music

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - In a surprise move, country artist Cyndi Thomson has returned to the Capitol Records Nashville artist roster after a three-year-plus hiatus.

Thomson's 2001 debut album, "My World," went gold, and her single "What I Really Meant To Say" spent three weeks atop Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. But the following year, she stunned the industry by walking away from her career, saying she couldn't "commit to those obligations" that go along with the profession.

At the time, Capitol Records Nashville president/CEO Mike Dungan said the label's staff was "heartbroken and bewildered at (her) decision."

Now, the label is seeking songs for 29-year-old Thomson, who is set to begin recording a new album in late February. Before stepping away, Thomson had said she planned to "continue writing and creating music," but it is unknown how much work she did.

Brosnan feels free by not being 007

NEW YORK (AP) - The burnt-out hit man Pierce Brosnan plays in The Matador cowers in a stairwell after another botched job, reduced to tears, blubbering: "I'm a wreck. I'm a parody."

The 52-year-old actor appreciates how those words might have haunted his real-life career if he hadn't been cashiered from Bond. "I certainly connected with the line. It's rife with sweet irony," Brosnan says. "I certainly didn't want to become a parody."

But, as he puts it, "That problem got solved without me having to do anything" - except take a phone call informing him that after four James Bond movies, his services were no longer needed.

"You know going into that gig that someday the door is going to close on it. You're not sure when. And you've seen guys who kind of stayed too long on the stage and then you saw ones that just kind of came and went in the blink of an eye," he notes. (Roger Moore and George Lazenby, anyone?)

While he admittedly was miffed at first, Brosnan is now glad he got 86'd from 007.

"With the chapter of Bond past now, there is a wonderful sense of liberation and freedom from having to carry that part," he says. "You have more ownership of your life and the direction your life is going to go and choices of parts. And The Matador is kind of a really wonderful transitional time. Serendipitous, really."

Going into The Matador, Brosnan wasn't thinking: "I'm going to destroy an image that's gone before. But as I got more and more into it I realized that's exactly what's going on."

Brosnan's Julian Noble does act like a vulgarian - the antithesis of so many of his debonair, sophisticated characters - although The Matador begins as any Bond film might: he wakes up next to a beautiful woman he clearly hasn't known for more than a few hours.

Then he takes her nail polish and paints his toenails.

He later struts through a hotel lobby wearing nothing but boots and black briefs, cigarette in one hand, beer in the other, before plunging into a pool. He comes face to face with a shark, which makes no attempt to devour him. Professional courtesy, perhaps?

While Brosnan has played a dissolute, amoral character before (in 2001's The Tailor of Panama) he's getting the biggest raves of his career. He received a Golden Globe nomination, and topped AP's list of top 10 overlooked performances of 2005.

Richard Shepard, writer-director of The Matador, was intrigued by the possibility of having Brosnan play the inappropriately named Noble precisely because "in the past almost every character he has played, Bond, Remington Steele, Thomas Crown, have always been characters in absolute control, and Julian, while appearing in control, is a complete mess."

Casting him paid off, he says. "Ultimately he found a heart in Julian that was only hinted at in the script. He found his soul. And because of that, he took a completely unlikable character and somehow gets the audience to root for him. It's an amazing achievement."

The movie raises the curtain on what's at least Act 4 in Brosnan's professional life. His acting career started in England - where he even learned to entertain with fire-eating - then he moved to the United States, lining up the Remington Steele job within two days of landing stateside. After losing the Bond role in the mid-'80s because NBC changed its mind about cancelling the series, he got a second chance with 1995's GoldenEye.

He's gratified by the credit he receives for resuscitating the Bond franchise, adding: "You revel in it for a second or two, and then move on. Always move on."

But the true satisfaction of acting is "the day-to-day of doing it. ... Come home from work and say: 'Nailed that scene.' ... Because (when) the movie comes out, you have no control over it. If it's great, it's great! And if it's crap, it's painful - beyond words. You just live with it."

Currently, he's filming a western, Seraphim Falls, co-starring Liam Neeson and Anjelica Huston. It's set after the U.S. Civil War, which explains the Vandyke on his face these days. He's also planning a followup to 1999's The Thomas Crown Affair.

Born in Ireland, Brosnan was raised by relatives after his father left while he was still an infant. Reunited in England with his mother by 11, he quit school by 16.

He eventually found sanctuary with people he could identify with ("crazy, mangled, artistic, funny") especially after coming from an "Irish, cloistered, Catholic, repressed" background of the '50s and '60s. A community of actors served as his university while he voraciously read Sartre and Dostoyevksy.

"And I realized I wasn't alone," he says, laughing heartily for the only time during the interview. "I realized it was good to be mad; it was good to feel conflicting emotions."

Even though he got roles in West End productions by Franco Zeffirelli and Tennessee Williams, he felt typecast and longed for America and the movies.

"Thank God for my late, dear wife, who was the one who said, 'This is what we should do. We should go to America,' " Brosnan says, referring to Cassandra Harris - a Bond girl (in 1981's For Your Eyes Only) who died of ovarian cancer in 1991.

In the early '80s, they took out a loan and booked a cheap flight.

"I just felt lucky. I got to America and I felt reborn - brand-new. I thought anything is possible."

Anything is indeed possible for the rest of Brosnan's career. He doesn't know exactly where it's going and never really has. He just has a sensation of where he'd like it to go - drama, comedy, horror, science fiction, musical ...

"I'd like to do it all."

Academy has honorary Oscar for Altman

Robert Altman, one of five directors who hold the record for most Academy Award nominations without winning, is to take home an Oscar this March.

Altman, who had best-director nominations for MASH, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts and Gosford Park, will receive an honorary Oscar at the March 5 awards.

Altman's work "has repeatedly reinvented the art form and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday in announcing the award.

Altman, 80, is considered one of movie-making's boldest innovators, with an unconventional style that separates him from other Hollywood filmmakers.

His films feature huge ensemble casts, overlapping dialogue and tracking shots lasting minutes at a time.

He is also known for the cutting satire in films such as MASH and Nashville and the understated commentary of films like Gosford Park .

In losing all five times he was nominated for an Oscar, Altman joins the company of Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock, Clarence Brown and King Vidor, all directors who are five-time losers.

"Altman's innovation, his redefinition of genres, his invention of new ways of using the film medium and his reinvigoration of old ones," all made him a candidate for an Oscar, said Sid Ganis, academy president. "He is a master filmmaker and well deserves this honour."

Altman began his career in documentary, industrial and educational movies, moving into feature films with the low-budget The Delinquents in 1957. After working in television, he shot to fame with MASH, an anti-Vietnam film thinly disguised as a tale set during the Korean War.

His other movies include McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye, Popeye and the dark Hollywood satire The Player.

Altman's latest film, A Prairie Home Companion, based on Garrison Keillor's radio show, is scheduled for release June 9.

Jack's Back for Another Season on '24'

LOS ANGELES - Jack Bauer has been through hell and it's starting to show.

Over the last four years — one day at a time — the superhero of Fox's "24" has saved humanity from terrorists, beaten confessions out of close friends, battled heroin addiction, discovered his murdered wife's body, and, last year, even faked his own death. All with little regard for himself.

But now, as the hit series starts up its fifth season with a two-night, four-part marathon (Sunday and Monday, 8 o'clock, EST) , the stress on Bauer, an agent for the fictional federal Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU), is finally taking its toll.

"This time, something happens to Jack on a very personal level that pisses him off," says Bauer's alter-ego, star Kiefer Sutherland. "Because he's presumed dead, a lot of the boundaries he was restricted by — by virtue of who he was working for — simply don't exist now. And he's mad."

Until now, Sutherland has only subtly allowed the stress of selflessly saving the world to show on Bauer's boyish face. This season, however, besides being cranky, our clean-cut action hero is looking downright disheveled.

"The weight on people who are responsible for making decisions that affect so many lives, you can only imagine what that must be like — putting 10 lives at risk to save 1000," the actor says.

Bauer has been in a constant fight against not only terrorists but often the bureaucracy of his own government.

"Sometimes bureaucracies are incompetent, just by virtue of the fact that they're bureaucracies," says co-executive producer Howard Gordon. "And, sometimes, Jack has to do things outside the law."

Gordon notes that while Bauer has a strong moral compass, "he's sort of politically agnostic. He has a humility and respect for the government on one hand, but a contempt for it on the other ... Jack's strength is in his ability to navigate these really narrow straits, keeping the greater good in mind, even while doing the most loathsome things."

Having faked Bauer's death at the end of last season, the new story line was a challenge for the writers. "We had kind of painted ourselves into a corner," grins Gordon.

Creating a "Jack-centric thriller this year puts him on a collision course with the people who thought he was dead," he explains.

That world includes his one-time mentor, Christopher Henderson ( Peter Weller), who is introduced this season.

"Henderson schooled him on the finer points of counterterrorism," says Weller. "The backstory is ... Jack had investigated some CIA agents and CTU guys. While the other people were brought up on criminal charges, they could never prove anything with me. So for my part, he's my protégé — who turned me in when I was innocent."

Weller probably has a better understanding of Bauer's character than most. "My father was a colonel in the Army who flew President Johnson by helicopter in Texas. He was answerable only to the President," he says.

"This show really gets it," the actor continues, "about how the bureaucracy of the United States gets bogged down in minutia, and yet it can all be severed by one phone call from the C.O."

In addition to Sutherland and Weller, "24" has been able to attract other top-notch talent from the feature-film world, including Sean Astin and JoBeth Williams, who both joined the cast this year.

"We shoot this like one big movie," explains co-executive producer Jon Cassar, one of two directors who helm the majority of the episodes. "The film actors are used to having one director throughout a project, which is what we essentially offer them here. They're quite at home."

Nonetheless, Astin, who plays Lynn McGill — sent by the President to oversee the goings-on at CTU — found the TV world required a little adjustment.

"The main challenge was memorizing all the techno-talk. There are five- or six-page scenes full of dialogue! 'Yeah, that's television,' I was told," he laughs.

Gordon notes that the series — which plays out in real time, with each season covering 24 hours — doesn't "go after big names just for their reputations. Our material is deceptively challenging to deliver (credibly), some of these outrageous twists and turns ... and it requires the right amount of seriousness, intelligence and emotion. And Kiefer, of course, sets the tone."

"Kiefer can bring all that backstory and pain in his character, and he does it without hitting you over the head with it," comments Weller. "And he's incredibly professional. On his days off, the guy comes in and reads off-camera lines for the other actors. Most guys take the bullion and are gone to the Bahamas!"

The series films at a former pencil factory in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley on a cavernous set that houses not only the impressive CTU headquarters but the beautiful West Coast retreat for the show's President Logan.

For all of Bauer's toughness, his humanity almost sneaked into one episode filmed recently.

"There's a running joke among fans that Jack never goes to the bathroom," Sutherland recalls. "We had a scene where I was running towards a sign pointing 'BATHROOM' to the left and 'OFFICES' to the right. I did a double-take and ran towards the bathroom! We sent it in to the network, as a joke reel. But, quite frankly, nobody wants to see Jack Bauer go to the bathroom."

So how many more years — or days — does Bauer still have in him?

"That'll be up to an audience when they start to feel that someone else should come in and do it," Sutherland says. "Personally, I'm hoping that's a long way off."

Jolie Expecting a Baby With Brad Pitt

LOS ANGELES - Angelina Jolie is expecting a baby this summer with Brad Pitt, finally affirming the long-presumed relationship previously only glimpsed on African beaches and in paparazzi snapshots.

Pitt's publicist, Cindy Guagenti, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Jolie is pregnant and that Pitt is the father, confirming People magazine's earlier report.

"Yes, I'm pregnant," the magazine quoted Jolie as telling a charity aid worker Monday in the Dominican Republic, where she is filming "The Good Shepherd" with Matt Damon.

The news comes one month after papers were filed to make Pitt the adoptive father of Jolie's two children. Jolie sought to change the names of the children to Zahara Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Jolie-Pitt.

Pitt accompanied Jolie to Ethiopia in July to pick up Zahara, now 1. Jolie's adopted son, now 4, is from Cambodia.

Jolie's father, Jon Voight, was reached Wednesday morning for his reaction by entertainment TV show "Access Hollywood." The Oscar-winning star of 1978's "Coming Home" said he had not spoken to Jolie, but said, "Angie is my daughter and I am always wishing the best for her."

Previously, Jolie, 30, and Pitt, 42, had not publicly acknowledged their relationship despite increasingly frequent sightings of the couple. They had been spotted together across the globe: in Canadian shopping malls (near Pitt's movie set for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"), vacationing on African beaches and, most recently, in Pakistan.

In November, Pitt and Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N., toured quake-devastated areas in Pakistan. Jolie also met with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Jolie, whose films include "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and "Alexander," is divorced from actors Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee Miller.

Pitt, the star of films including "Ocean's Eleven" and "Troy," had no children from his four-year marriage to Jennifer Aniston, which ended in divorce last October. The couple cited irreconcilable differences. Pitt has denied Jolie was behind the split.

Pitt and Jolie also starred together in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" last year.

'Star Wars' gets revenge at People's Choice

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Epic space adventure "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" won best overall film and best drama honors on Tuesday at the People's Choice Awards, a widely watched measure of movie, television and star appeal.

In two other film categories, box office hit "Wedding Crashers" was named top comedy and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was chosen as the favorite family movie.

For "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, the People's Choice Awards held special significance because winners are voted on by fans who cast ballots online, unlike other Hollywood honors given by industry groups and the media.

Despite being a multibillion-dollar film franchise, the six "Star Wars" movies have had a mixed record with critics and Hollywood award groups. "I'm not a big favorite with the critics, but who listens to them," Lucas said onstage. "The reason I make films is for you. The audience rules."

Sandra Bullock was named favorite female movie star, and Reese Witherspoon collected the trophy for favorite leading lady playing country singer June Carter in Oscar-hopeful film, "Walk the Line." One night earlier, Witherspoon won a Critics' Choice award, but like Lucas she noted that the popular voting for the People's Choice held a special appeal.

"You guys voted for us. Not the stuffy people in closed rooms ... people who voted actually go to the movies," she said.

Jennifer Garner was chosen top female action star over Angelina Jolie and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Matthew McConaughey won favorite male action star over Brad Pitt and The Rock.

Pitt, however, did win favorite leading man, and Johnny Depp was named favorite male movie star. Neither was on hand.

TV AND MUSIC

Ray Romano was named favorite male TV star even though his show, "Everybody Loves Raymond," has been off air for many months. The show also earned the title best TV comedy, while "My Name is Earl" picked up the trophy for best new TV comedy.

In one of the award program's funnier moments, Romano tried to coax his 13 year-old sons to join him onstage as they had in years past. But they refused, and Romano teased them in front of the packed house at Los Angeles' Shrine auditorium.

"Now all of a sudden, it's not cool to be with dad ... We got girlfriends. We got body hair," he said. The boys lowered their heads and hid their faces from the TV cameras.

Other TV awards went to "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" for best drama, and "Prison Break" for favorite new drama.

Ellen DeGeneres was favorite daytime talk show host, and Jay Leno earned the title favorite late night show host.

"American Idol" was chosen best competition show, and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was favorite reality show.

In music categories, one-time "American Idol" star Kelly Clarkson was named favorite female performer, and country star Tim McGraw was best male performer.

Rockers Green Day picked up an award for best music group, and U2 won the award for best concert tour.

Singer Jessica Simpson, who recently separated from husband Nick Lachey, started off the show singing "These Boots Are Made For Walkin,"' and later the song, which is from the film "The Dukes of Hazzard," won the award for favorite song in a movie.

She thanked the fans, but did not say anything about her recent separation or Lachey.

Report: Angelina Jolie Expecting Baby

LOS ANGELES - Angelina Jolie is expecting a baby this summer with Brad Pitt, according to a report on the People magazine Web site.

"Yes, I'm pregnant," the magazine quoted Jolie as telling charity aid worker Monday in the Dominican Republic, where she is filming "The Good Shepherd" with Matt Damon.

The report says the pregnancy was confirmed by representatives of both stars but does not identify them by name.

The news comes one month after papers were filed to make Pitt the adoptive father of Jolie's two children. Jolie sought to change the names of the children to Zahara Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Jolie-Pitt was filed.

Pitt accompanied Jolie to Ethiopia in July to pick up Zahara, now 1 year old. Jolie's son, now 4 years old, was adopted from Cambodia.

Pitt and actress Jennifer Aniston announced their separation last January, and Aniston filed for divorce in March, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce became final in October.

Pitt, 42, has denied Jolie, 30, was behind the split.

Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, recently toured quake-devastated areas in Pakistan with Pitt. She met with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and toured a town largely destroyed by the Oct. 8 earthquake that killed an estimated 86,000 people.

Doctor Who - The Doctor calls in sick - Season 1 delayed

Earlier today we received a report that Doctor Who may be delayed from the planned Feb 14 release date.

We checked with the BBC PR company, and they checked with BBC and were told that there were "complications" with the set, and it wouldn't meet the release date.

This doesn't surprise us since nothing with this release has gone according to every other BBC title.

The release was announced, yet the Warner Home Video (their distributor) press site had nothing about it for weeks, then once it was added to the press site it still wasn't available to purchase.

It could be that the delay was simply caused by the slow process of getting the title information out to retailers, or it could have been delayed due to ongoing negotiations with a US broadcaster (the series hasn't been shown in the US yet).

We called Warner Canada to find out if the title will be delayed as well, and while Warner Canada hadn't received a delay notice, they expected to receive one given the delay in the US.

"War of the Roses" Remake?

Catherine Zeta Jones is attempting to remake the 1989 dark comedy, War of the Roses. According to Moviehole.net, The Legend of Zorro actress wants to re-visit the film that saw her husband, Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner duke it out on-screen as a married couple who hate each other. Zeta Jones is hoping to replace Turner in the new version, while her hubby would reprise his original role. Commenting on the news, Turner says, ''Well, I think Catherine and Michael are very good together, but as for doing a remake... I think that would be silly. It wouldn't be as good as the one with me in it.''

Blunt, Kaiser Chiefs Lead Brit Award Nominations

With five nods each, newcomers James Blunt and Kaiser Chiefs are the frontrunners heading into the Brit Awards 2006, to be held Feb. 15 at London's Earl's Court.

Singer/songwriter Blunt is nominated in the British male solo artist, British breakthrough act and pop act categories. His debut album, "Back to Bedlam" (Atlantic), is up for the British album award, while the hit single "You're Beautiful" is in the running for the British single trophy.

Alternative rock act Kaiser Chiefs (B Unique/Polydor) are in the hunt for the British group, breakthrough act, rock act and live act awards. Their first album, "Employment," is nominated in the British album category. The band was on hand to perform several songs tonight (Jan. 10) at the nominations announcement in London.

Coldplay has nominations in four categories, including British group and British album for their international chart-topping hit "X&Y" (Parlophone). American pop superstar Madonna, critically lauded Canadian band the Arcade Fire and Scottish singer/songwriter K.T. Tunstall are among a host of U.K. and international acts to garner multiple nominations.

Tunstall is up against pop singers Charlotte Church and Natasha Bedingfield and veteran songstress Kate Bush in the British female category.

Robbie Williams has a chance to extend his record total of 15 Brit Awards with a lone nomination in the British male category. Williams will compete against 2005 Mercury Prize winner Antony Hegarty (frontman of Antony and the Johnsons), former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown, pop singer Will Young and Blunt.

Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs, Blunt, Tunstall, Kanye West and Kelly Clarkson are the first performers confirmed for the event, and will be joined by Paul Weller, already announced as the recipient of the outstanding contribution to music award.

In the United Kingdom, Sony BMG will issue on Feb. 6 a Brits TV compilation album in the DualDisc format.

Letterman Not the Retiring Type

At 58, David Letterman may be approaching traditional retirement age, but a spokesman says the talk host wasn't looking ahead to his own shuffleboard court years on Monday's Late Show.

"Dave has no plans to retire," Steven Rubenstein of Letterman's Worldwide Pants production company said Tuesday.

The comment came in response to an inquiry about an exchange between Letterman and guest Albert Brooks, in which a deadpan Brooks wished his friend well on the occasion of his farewell week. Letterman corrected Brooks, remarking, more than once, that he had another (only?) "two or three years" to go on the show.

The statements were first red-flagged by blogger Bob Sassone on TVSquad.com, who wrote, "Maybe I'm reading a little too much into this, but the way it was presented, I don't think so."

But according to a TV industry source, Letterman is not only not not contemplating retirement, he's talking contract extension.

Letterman has been with CBS and Late Show since 1993, a year after he lost out on the Tonight Show gig at NBC to Jay Leno. In 2002, the irony-rich comic spurned ABC's advances, and reupped with CBS with what was reported to be a three-year deal, with an option for two additional years.

While Letterman's said to be the unretiring type, it's the indefatigable Leno who's down to only three years on the job. Per a 2004 announcement, Leno is due to hand the Tonight Show keys to Late Night's Conan O'Brien in 2009. Leno inherited the show from Johnny Carson in 1992.

In making his retirement plans public, Leno said he'd promised his wife he'd take her out to dinner before he turned 60. In 2009, he'll be 59.

Letterman turns 59 in April. Traditional retirement age is generally defined as 65, although one can start receiving full Social Security benefits at 62. Given the reported $14 million Letterman makes a year, it's unlikely his plans will be dictated by what a monthly government check may or may not bring.

If Letterman were to use the Carson model--and it's served him well so far--he would stay in the late-night game until age 66. That would give him a few years to try to do to O'Brien what he's only rarely been able to do to Leno since 1995, beat him in the ratings.

Given that O'Brien will be on the fast slide to 50 by the time he's scheduled to take over Tonight (he'll be 46), Letterman wouldn't even have to worry about making a kid cry.

Lohan 'Appalled' by Vanity Fair Article

NEW YORK - Lindsay Lohan is "appalled" by the Vanity Fair article released last week in which she confessed to dabbling in drugs and battling bulimia.

The Vanity Fair story, which hit newsstands nationally Tuesday and was widely reported last week, made headlines for the 19-year-old actress' acknowledgment that she dabbled in drugs "a little."

The magazine also quoted Lohan on her drastic weight loss last year: "I was making myself sick," she said. The article, written by Evgenia Peretz, noted Lohan was "referring to bulimic episodes."

Lohan also said, "I knew I had a problem and I couldn't admit it."

However, in a statement released Tuesday to Teen People magazine, Lohan denied having bulimia and said, "The words that I gave to the writer for Vanity Fair were misused and misconstrued, and I'm appalled with the way it was done."

An editor for Teen People said Lohan's denial was regarding Vanity Fair's reporting of her alleged bulimia, not drug use.

"Aside from (the writer's) lies and changing of my words, I am blessed to have this job and wonderful family that I do," Lohan's statement read.

Vanity Fair, in a statement of its own, stood by its story.

"Evgenia Peretz is one of our most reliable reporters," the magazine said. "Every word Lindsay Lohan told her is on tape. Vanity Fair stands by the story."

A call to Lohan's publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnick, was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Britney Spears Tops 'Worst Dressed' List

LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears topped Mr. Blackwell's 46th annual "Worst Dressed" list for wearing clothes that he said made her look like an "over-the-hill Lolita."

"When it comes to Couture Chaos, this Tacky Terror should take a bow — looks like an over-the-hill Lolita," Mr. Blackwell said in a statement released Tuesday.

Bohemian teen tycoon Mary-Kate Olsen was the next target of the acid-tongued fashion critic. He called her clothes "bag lady rags" and "depressingly decayed."

Jessica Simpson followed Olsen. Though her Daisy Dukes shorts landed her on the pages of numerous magazines, Mr. Blackwell said she "resembles a cut-rate Rapunzel — slingin' hash in a Vegas diner."

The other offenders on Blackwell's list of fashion flops were Eva Longoria, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Shakira, Anna Nicole Smith and Renee Zellweger.

Blackwell said Hilton — who topped his list two years ago — "still looks like yesterday's cheesecake ... with a side of kitsch."

Lohan is "drowning in grown-up groaners," he said, while Zellweger looks like "a painted pumpkin on a pogo stick."

"2005 turned out to be a particularly bad year for couture chaos, wardrobe wrecks and stylistic sleaze," Blackwell said. "These woman may be fabulously talented in their respective fields, but when it comes to fashion, they resemble weary weeds in a lovely garden."

Billy Crystal Says He Passed Oscar Job

LOS ANGELES - Billy Crystal said he passed on the Oscar hosting job that went to Jon Stewart because his one-man stage show is consuming his attention.

Academy Awards producer Gil Cates repeatedly asked, "please do the show," calling as late as just before Christmas, Crystal said. But his Tony Award-winning "700 Sundays" was his first priority.

"I'm so tired at the end of '700 Sundays,'" Crystal told the Los Angeles Daily News. "I didn't want to go from that into a meeting where I'm saying, 'Give me "Brokeback Mountain" jokes.' It seemed so not what I wanted to do."

"700 Sundays," currently playing in Los Angeles, concludes its limited engagement Feb. 18. It previously played in New York and Chicago.

Stewart said he is pleased to have the chance to host the Oscar's, but speculated there were alternative motives to his being chosen.

"As a performer, I'm truly honored to be hosting the show. Although, as an avid watcher of the Oscars, I can't help but be a little disappointed with the choice. It appears to be another sad attempt to smoke out Billy Crystal," Stewart said last week.

Crystal has been a reliable performer for the Oscars. The ceremony turned last year to Chris Rock, who drew younger viewers but managed to annoy some academy members with his jokes about stars including Jude Law and Tobey Maguire.

Rock is producing and narrating "Everybody Hates Chris," a UPN sitcom based on his life.

Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," will be making his first appearance as Oscar host. He has twice hosted the Grammy Awards.

When Stewart was announced as host last week, Cates said he doesn't believe that Stewart — whose show revels in pointed political humor — will have any problems.

"Jon knows the difference of being irreverent without being impolite," Cates said. "This is not a political show. I think he understands that."

The 78th annual Academy Awards will air March 5 on ABC from Hollywood.

Michael J. Fox returns to small screen

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Michael J. Fox says that acting for him, these days, is "like being a right-handed painter and being forced to paint with your left hand."

"You go, 'Yeah, I'm artistic, but the lines aren't straight anymore. I have creativity, but I'm not staying within the lines.' "

Since quitting acting full-time in 2000 because of the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease, first diagnosed in 1991 but not revealed to the public until 1998, the Family Ties and Spin City star has only occasionally acted on TV.

In 2001 he returned for several guest appearances as Deputy Mayor Michael Flaherty in ABC's Spin City, and in 2004 guest starred as a surgeon with obsessive-compulsive disorder on two episodes of NBC's Scrubs.

Now the 44-year-old Canadian-born actor guest stars in three (and a bit) episodes of ABC's Boston Legal. He plays a business tycoon, Daniel Post, a cancer sufferer who hires the notorious legal firm Crane, Poole and Schmidt to defend him. Post's been sued for corrupting a study for a new cancer-fighting drug by using his insider clout to ensure he was given the non-placebo. Amid the court case he becomes romantically entangled with his lawyer, Denise Bauer (Julie Bowen.)

Fox's first episode The Cancer Man Can, airs Tuesday. His story arc concludes Feb. 7. All the episodes air 10:01 p.m. EST.

The producers of Boston Legal knew since last season of Fox's interest in the show, but it wasn't until now that a suitable role came up.

Executive producer Bill D'Elia says the actor was "number 1 on a list of one," because "the character was someone that had to have irresistible charm."

"It was kismet - a combination of several events occurring to create perfect karma," says D'Elia, delighted that Fox signed on for the David E. Kelley series, which "often creates these spicy roles" for guest stars.

Fox says he is a fan of Boston Legal for a number of reasons, including its "so smart and so funny take" on ethical and moral issues. He also likes the way the show understands the complexities of human nature and that it is not afraid to recognize that "sometimes people are likable and they are corrupted, and sometimes they are incorruptible, but kind of off-putting."

He particularly enjoyed working on Post's brief encounter with Denny Crane, the most notorious of the ethically challenged lawyers, played by William Shatner, a "fellow Canadian."

"I was really pleasantly blown away by him. First of all Denny Crane, is, I think, one of the great creations of television in the 21st century ... and then there's Shatner's artistry, which I think is a lot misunderstood," Fox says, during a phone interview from New York.

Fox - once the cute young Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy of feature films - says, "What I loved was being part of the creative process again. Something as simple as being in a night shoot and smelling the smell of carbon lights in the cold air. 'Wow, the smell of the grease paint!' It was nice, and nice being involved with other actors."

Because of the Parkinson's disease, Fox says he "can't show up with a game plan." He expresses sympathy and understanding for veteran showman Dick Clark, who, though not fully recovered from a debilitating stroke, had gamely co-hosted ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

"I am not in such a bad position as he, just given the nature of our separate challenges, but I can see what he was going for, and I felt bad for him that he's gotten such a mixed reaction," says Fox.

Because Fox doesn't know how extreme the symptoms of his illness will be on any given day, he had to wing it in suggesting Post's own health problems. "I just show up and do what I can do, and stay true to the emotional arc of the character."

Fox, who won three Emmys for portraying Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties and a fourth for playing Flaherty on Spin City, says he loved it that Boston Legal provided "the chance to do one those courtroom speeches - a soliloquy in front of the judge - which in my long and assorted career I've never done. It was so much fun."

Fun though it was, he admits it was physically "pretty taxing," and he doesn't plan to return to acting full-time. Instead, he says, he's always "finding better things to do," particularly spending as much time as possible with his four kids and wife, Tracy Pollan.

He also devotes himself to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, founded in 2000, which has already raised millions in hopes of finding a cure.

Additionally, he's working on a book, a "kind of followup" to his memoir Lucky Man.

Its theme?

"I'm exploring the idea of optimism in all it's forms ... What is optimism all about? It's kind of something I've been playing with."

'SOUTH PARK' DEFENDS 'BLOODY' CUT

Comedy Central says religious groups are prematurely claiming victory in a battle over a recent episode of "South Park."

In the controversial episode of the racy animated show — titled "Bloody Mary" — a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeds from her nether regions.

The graphic tone of the show, which first aired in early December, offended The Catholic League and other conservative religious groups, who now claim to have pressured Comedy Central into pulling the "vile" episode from rotation on the network.

Not so, Comedy Central executives wrote in a letter issued late last week to irate viewers who had e-mailed the network voicing their displeasure for "caving in" to outside groups.

"Despite misleading claims from those who would like to claim victory, we have not permanently shelved the 'Bloody Mary' episode from future airings due to outside pressure, nor will we exclude it from future DVD releases," the letter stated.

"We appreciate your concerns about the potential influences of outside special interest groups on the media and entertainment industries, and particularly Comedy Central."

Some viewers were especially upset that the episode did not appear in a year-end "South Park" marathon.

The Comedy Central letter stated that the network had kept the episode out of the marathon "in deference to the holidays." But it did in fact "air in every one of 'South Park's' normally scheduled repeat timeslots.

"As satirists, we believe that it is our First Amendment right to poke fun at any and all people, groups, organizations and religions and we will continue to defend that right," the letter stated. "Our goal is to make people laugh, and perhaps if we're lucky, even make them think in the process."

Music Lovers Go Legit

Consumers' embrace of legal online music downloads grew ever larger in 2005, and with all the buzz about MP3 players' continued popularity, it's no surprise that legal downloads achieved a new record in the week between Christmas and New Year's.

According to Nielsen SoundScan data, legal downloads nearly hit the 20 million mark in that key holiday week -- almost three times the number of tracks downloaded in the same period the year before. The market research firm said that this new record smashed the previous weekly peak of 9.5 million tracks downloaded -- and that record was set a mere week beforehand.

It goes without saying that Apple is the elephant in this particular room. Consumers' love affair with the iPod still seems to be going strong, and iTunes entered the list of top 10 music retailers in the third quarter of 2005. Traffic to Apple's site was hopping in the weeks leading up to the holidays, largely due to iTunes' popularity.

As the Reuters article citing this data pointed out, downloads from peer-to-peer networks may still greatly overshadow legal download numbers. In addition, older data about CD sales suggests that they're still a trouble point for the music industry. Still, the momentum for legally downloaded music seems destined to grow, provided it remains convenient and attractively priced. The time frame in question may have also helped the surge in legal downloads; it's likely that many iPods were unwrapped under the tree or by the menorah, not to mention a flood of gift cards being redeemed for services such as iTunes.

The increasing momentum in legal music downloads helps to explain why so many companies want to get in the groove. Napster, RealNetworks, and Yahoo! are just a few of the companies that hope to compete in the musical arena. Major mobile phone companies also want in; just consider recent news from Motorola, as well as an autumn move by Sprint Nextel.

For me, the most significant element of this story is the amazing and continued success of Apple's iPods and iTunes. There's still plenty of opportunity for rival download services to gain market share, but for now, Apple still seems to be the name to beat.

'Brokeback' Wins 3 Critics' Choice Awards

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - "Brokeback Mountain" won a leading three awards, including best picture and best director for Ang Lee, but it was Philip Seymour Hoffman's entrancing portrayal of Truman Capote that captured the best actor honor Monday at the 11th annual Critics' Choice Awards.

George Clooney received the Freedom Award, a special tribute "for illuminating our shared values of freedom, tolerance and democracy" through "Good Night, and Good Luck," his film about television reporter Edward R. Murrow and the McCarthy era. Oscar winner Julia Roberts, making her first public appearance since having twins, presented the award.

Reese Witherspoon was named best actress for her sassy performance as June Carter in the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line."

Michelle Williams of "Brokeback Mountain" tied for the award for best supporting actress with Amy Adams of "Junebug."

Paul Giamatti, whose "Sideways" co-star Thomas Haden Church was named best supporting actor last year, took the honor this year for his role as a fight promoter in "Cinderella Man."

Freddie Highmore won his second award for best young actor for his role in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Last year, it was for "Finding Neverland."

The awards were presented by the Broadcast Film Critics Association at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

Another special award, for Distinguished Achievement in Performing Arts, went to the movie epic "King Kong," for "revolutionary cinematic achievement in synthesizing visual effects with an actor's performance to create the character." Andy Serkis, whose movements and expressions were captured to animate the big ape, was among those on hand to accept.

The complete list of winners:

Picture: "Brokeback Mountain."
Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote."
Actress: Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line."
Supporting Actor: Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man."
Supporting Actress: (tie) Amy Adams, "Junebug," and Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain."
Acting Ensemble: "Crash."
Director: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain."
Writer: Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, "Crash."
Animated Feature: "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."
Young Actor: Freddie Highmore, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Young Actress: Dakota Fanning, "War of the Worlds."
Comedy: "The 40 Year-Old Virgin."
Family Film (live action): "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
Picture Made for Television: "Into the West."
Foreign Language Film: "Kung Fu Hustle."
Song: "Hustle & Flow," written by Al Kapone and performed by Terrence Howard, from the film "Hustle & Flow."
Soundtrack: "Walk the Line."
Composer: John Williams for "Memoirs of a Geisha."
Documentary Feature: "March of the Penguins."

---

Special Awards:

Freedom: George Clooney.
Distinguished Achievement in Performing Arts: "King Kong."

First paperback of "Da Vinci Code" due in March

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dan Brown's publisher will bring out the first U.S. paperback edition of his blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" on March 28, ahead of the May release of the film adaptation starring Tom Hanks, the company said on Monday.

With sales of the hardback edition still booming nearly three years after it was first published, the tale of church conspiracy and murder is expected to see another spike in sales linked to the eagerly awaited Columbia Pictures movie, directed by Ron Howard.

Random House imprint Anchor Books said it would publish 5 million paperback copies in mass market and trade editions, as well as trade paperback version of the special illustrated edition. Doubleday will also publish a book about the making of the film on May 19 to coincide with its opening.

Originally published in March 2003, "The Da Vinci Code" is one of the most successful, and controversial, books in U.S. publishing history.

The novel has been condemned by the Roman Catholic Church because the plot is based on the theory that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had children, whose descendants are alive in the present day.

Despite more than 40 million copies in print worldwide in 44 languages, the novel's literary merits have been questioned by critics and it has attracted lawsuits, so far unsuccessful, claiming it was plagiarized.

"The Da Vinci Code" has spent 144 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, 54 of them at number one. The book currently has 12 million copies in print in North America.

Marshall Offers 'Indy IV' Insight, 'Bourne' Buzz

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)- As the sun set in Century City on Sunday (Jan. 8) afternoon, a group of journalists waited patiently as producer Frank Marshall discussed his upcoming IMAX documentary "Roving Mars."

The expanded format film follows, as one might guess from the title, the creation, launch and discoveries of the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. It has fascinating computer imagery and a catchy Phillip Glass score. What it doesn't have, however, is Harrison Ford, some kind of ancient treasure and a bullwhip. Marshall's presence is largely an invitation to discuss the neverending drama surrounding the on-again/off-again "Indiana Jones 4."

"Way back when Harrison was being honored by the AFI when this all started, we were all standing backstage, we saw all the movies and everything and we were a little nostalgic and mellow and we said, 'You know, that was fun. We ought to do that. Let's try and do this.'" Marshall recounts. "Well that was a while ago. And I think that what we want is we want it to be as good as the others. These are not stories based on anything, so it's taking a while. But I'll tell you, it's on the front burner and we're gonna decide to do this or not real soon."

It's been well-established that in order for the first Indiana Jones adventure since 1989's "Last Crusade" to become a reality, all of the principals -- Marshall, Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas -- have to agree on the direction for the franchise. A script by Frank Darabont already failed to meet that criteria ("Frank did a nice job, but we wanted to go in a different direction, and that's moviemaking," Marshall says), putting the saga in the hands of Jeff Nathanson ("Rush Hour 2") most recently.

"We're gonna have a script real soon and now it's a question of getting our schedules all to where we can do it," is all Marshall can promise. "There's four of us, so it's hard."

Things are much more concrete for the fate of the Marshall-produced "Bourne Ultimatum," the third installment of the popular series featuring Matt Damon as a former government operative with a spotty memory and tons of grief. Marshall reveals that production on "Ultimatum" will begin in Europe on Aug. 1 and that Damon and "Bourne Supremacy" director Paul Greengrass are excited to return. Also back in the fold are screenwriter Tony Gilroy and co-stars Joan Allen and Julia Stiles.

"He made up another incredible story," Marshall says of Gilroy, who long ago abandoned the blueprint set by Robert Ludlum's novels. "It's really, really out there, but it's incredible."

Asked if Bourne will finally be able to get some satisfaction by the end of the trilogy, Marshall is cagey.

"I think he's going to get there in this one," he comments. "He's going to get to a place of nirvana and a place of satisfaction and he'll feel good about himself by the end of this movie, sail off into the sunset. Like Indy. Then I'll have to go through this again in five years."

The priority placement of "Indy" and "Bourne" has left another franchise out in the cold. "Jurassic Park," last visited in 2001, seemed on the verge of another sequel. Not so fast.

"It's kind of off the radar," Marshall says. "I'd say we've got 'Bourne' here [he gestures in front of himself], we've got 'Indy' here [gestures a bit behind] and we have 'Jurassic' back here [he creates a wide gulf with his hands]. Steve's obviously been pretty busy the last year, so we haven't really focused on that yet. But we will."

Oh and "Roving Mars" hits IMAX screens on Friday, Jan. 27.

NEW CD RELEASES FOR JANUARY 10, 2006

Tony Bennett Sings for Lovers Tony Bennett

Morningwood Morningwood

With Love and Squalor We Are Scientists

High School Musical [Soundtrack] Original Soundtrack

Stan Getz Plays for Lovers Stan Getz

Don't Forget About Us [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import] Mariah Carey

Inhuman Rampage Dragonforce

Dave Brubeck Plays for Lovers Dave Brubeck

Bill Evans Plays for Lovers Bill Evans

Walking in the Air Chloé

Colour the Small One Sia

Original Cast Recording [Limited Edition] [Import] Billy Elliot

Blessed Soweto Gospel Choir

Raining Up Mairead

Tradition Years: I Wonder as I Wander [Original recording remastered] John Jacob Niles

Heartbreak Hotel [CD-single] [Original recording remastered] Elvis Presley

A Celtic Journey Meav

Bronx In Blue Dion

Soul of a Man Eric Burdon

The Water Is Wide Orla

'Survivor' Cast to Include Ex-Astronaut

NEW YORK - The next cast of CBS' "Survivor" will include a retired astronaut who flew in space three times, twice on the space shuttle Discovery.

The 12th version of the popular game, this time set in Panama, will feature tribes briefly separated by age and an exile where a contestant can profit after stomaching some time alone.

Dan Barry, a 52-year-old ex-astronaut from S. Hadley, Mass., is among the 16 cast members. Barry last flew in space in 2001, and he has four space walks to his name. A yoga instructor, nurse, engineer, lawyer, social worker and logging sports performer are among his competitors.

On "Survivor: Panama — Exile Island," at least one cast member each episode will be sent alone to a separate island miles from the others. Hidden on the island, however, will be an immunity idol.

The next "Survivor" edition begins on CBS February 2nd.

Hilary Swank and Husband Chad Lowe Split

LOS ANGELES - Two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank and actor husband Chad Lowe have separated after more than eight years of marriage. "Hilary and Chad have decided to separate, but they are hopeful they'll be able to get through this tough time," Swank's manager Troy Nankin said in a statement Monday.

There was no elaboration on the reason for the split.

Swank, 31, and Lowe, who turns 38 on Jan. 15, were married on Sept. 28, 1997. They have no children.

Swank famously forgot to thank a tearful Lowe while accepting her best actress Oscar in 2000 for "Boys Don't Cry." Last year, Swank won again for "Million Dollar Baby" — this time, thanking her husband.

She will next star in "The Black Dahlia," Brian De Palma's adaptation of James Ellroy's novel.

Lowe, who is the brother of actor Rob Lowe, won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of AIDS patient Jesse McKenna on the TV series "Life Goes On" in 1993.

David Rose, the actor's agent at Innovative Artists, said there would be no comment from Lowe.

Howard Stern Makes Debut on Satellite

NEW YORK - Howard Stern began his new satellite radio show on Monday by putting to rest rumors that he got married to his longtime girlfriend, model Beth Ostrosky — in a comment complete with a federally banned expletive.

"I am not married. It's a nice feeling that we get along great. We're very happy and I don't want to (blank) it up," said Stern, who is finally free of government decency laws on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Stern has promised everything from stripper poles to live sex on his new show. His deal could be worth up to $500 million over five years to headline two Sirius channels.

At the start of the show Monday, Stern dished up some phone sex with Playboy bunny Heidi Cortez, who has her own phone-sex nighttime show lined up on Sirius.

Stern also introduced George Takei as his new on-air personality. Takei, who played Sulu on "Star Trek" and who last year publicly said he is gay, will serve as announcer. After the first week, he will record segments for the show but will not be in the studio.

"The revolution has begun" in new radio, Takei said Monday.

Even before his first day on the job, the shock jock recruited listeners for the $13-per-month service: Its audience expanded from 600,000 to 2.2 million subscribers after Stern announced his switch last year.

That's hardly a surprise. Stern's wildly popular syndicated show proved a cash cow for Infinity Broadcasting, raking in about $100 million in annual advertising revenues and capturing 12 million listeners with raunchy, boundary-pushing programming.

Stern had frequently tested and sparred with the regulatory Federal Communications Commission during his 25-year run on the public airwaves, often having his morning show interrupted by censors.

Weeks after Janet Jackson's Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," Clear Channel yanked Stern from six stations amid an FCC crackdown. Stern signed with Sirius five months later.

"I thought Clear Channel and companies like that were going to fight the FCC," Stern, 51, told the Associated Press last month. "I kept hanging around. And they never fought back. ... They are cowards. They bow, and they deserve to be destroyed."

On Monday, caller after caller wished Stern luck — and he reacted with annoyance.

"I've been doing years and years of shows but I get irritated when people wish me luck," he said. "You should have wished me luck 25 years ago."

Stern broadcast his last FM radio show on Dec. 16 as thousands of fans gathered outside his New York City studio.

The Couch Potato Report - January 9th, 2006

This week The Couch Potato Report features movies that I have only seen in theatres.

Most weeks here on The Couch Potato Report I speak about films that I have watched at home on DVD.

This week, I haven't watched any of the films I will speak about at home. I saw them all in movie theatres.

I will watch all of this week's releases at home eventually - no matter what I thought of them in theatres - because I want to see them all again.

But over the past few weeks I was on vacation visiting friends and meeting my girlfriend's family for the first time, so there wasn't any extra time to watch movies.

Thus, this week, let me talk with you about this week's new DVD releases as they were seen in theatres.

Up first is the summer comedy blockbuster WEDDING CRASHERS.

In WEDDING CRASHERS Vince Vaughn from OLD SCHOOL and Owen Wilson from MEET THE PARENTS are a pair of womanizers who sneak into weddings to take advantage of women who's inhibitions might be lowered due to the romantic feelings in the air.

Trouble arises for the duo's lifestyle when one of them actually falls in love at a wedding.

WEDDING CRASHERS is one of my favourite films of 2005 and that is primarily due to the fact that Vaughn and Wilson have such great chemistry as friends.

Plus, the supporting cast that includes Christopher Walken, Jane Seymour and Rachel McAdams are all perfect.

If you like to laugh, this is a film for you!

I wanted to see WEDDING CRASHERS from the moment I saw the trailer and now that it is out on DVD I want to see it again.

I am also looking forward to seeing BROKEN FLOWERS again.

Bill Murray from LOST IN TRANSLATION stars as a long-time bachelor who receives a letter telling him he has an unknown son who might be looking for him.

He doesn't seem interested at first but he is urged to investigate this mystery by his neighbour, a man who is an amateur detective.

So Murray travels across America to visit four former lovers to see if they can shed any light on the mysterious letters.

Those lovers are played by Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton and Sharon Stone.

Unlike WEDDING CRASHERS, BROKEN FLOWERS isn't for everyone. It is too slow moving and sad for a mass audience, yet it is exceptionally well acted, written and directed, but at times it is also a very funny film.

That humour primarily comes from Bill Murray's incredibly expressive face and his expressions of disgruntled cynicism and irony.

Ultimately I would call BROKEN FLOWERS a film for people who like small films that allow you the chance to draw your own conclusions. Conclusions about the people in the film and the movie's resolution.

It isn't a masterpiece, but it is very interesting.

The suspense thriller DARK WATER isn't a masterpiece either, and from what I remember when I saw it in a theatre a few months ago, it isn't even very entertaining, but for some reason I still want to watch it again.

That might be due to the fact that I am a fan of Jennifer Connelly from A BEAUTIFUL MIND, but it could also be due to the fact that there is no way the movie can be as bad as I remember.

In DARK WATER Connelly is a woman who is going through a messy custody battle with her husband over their daughter.

Since they don't have much money they move into the only apartment they can afford - a dark, depressing place, with water leaks in the ceiling.

Before long, scary things begin to happen and the daughter has seemingly made an imaginary friend - one who tells her mysterious things about her mother.

Much like THE RING and THE GRUDGE, DARK WATER is a remake of a Japanese film.

But where the original was, well, original*and interesting, this remake is not. It is all build up, build up, build up, leading to an incredibly unsatisfying resolution.

Yet I still want to see DARK WATER again. I remember it as unsatisfying, but maybe with lower expectations it will be more enjoyable a second time.

I doubt it, but I remain optimistic.

I've only seen them so far in theatres, but if you missed them on the big screen, DARK WATER, BROKEN FLOWERS and WEDDING CRASHERS are all available on DVD right now.

Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report

Ralph Fiennes is a widower is determined to get to the bottom of a potentially explosive secret involving his wife's murder in THE CONSTANT GARDNER.

In RED EYE Rachel McAdams from WEDDING CRASHERS is kidnapped by a stranger on an airplane and threatened by the potential murder of her father.

The documentary GRIZZLY MAN is about two grizzly bear activists who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzlies in Alaska.

And the TV show FIREFLY becomes the movie SERENITY.

I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!

The Journey of 'Lost'

"Basically, 'Lost' is one of those things," says executive producer Carlton Cuse, "where you have to appreciate the journey and try not to worry about the endpoint. We're not in control of the endpoint."

The Wednesday-night ABC megahit about the survivors of the crash of a Sydney-to-Los Angeles airliner on a deserted island -- which turned out to be not so deserted after all -- returns on Wednesday, Jan. 11, with the first new season-two episode in a while.

According to ABC, in "The 23rd Psalm," tail-section strongman Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) quizzes recovering addict Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) about his heroin-stuffed Virgin Mary statue; upon discovering Charlie's secret, Claire (Emilie de Ravin) loses faith in him; and Jack (Matthew Fox) looks on as Kate (Evangeline Lilly) gives Sawyer (Josh Holloway) a haircut.

As hinted at by the guest-star list, the episode, written by Cuse and series co-creator Damon Lindelof, appears to include a flashback relating to Eko's Nigerian past.

But viewers probably shouldn't get their hopes up that it will provide a complete explanation for any one of the show's myriad mysteries.

As Lindelof points out, "When have we given you a definitive answer to anything?"

Serialized television is a curious thing. The writers control where a story begins, but networks usually say when it ends. That's especially true with a show that's a hit, whether it's "The X-Files" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or "Lost." Networks want hit shows to stay on as long as possible, even when the original story arcs should have long since come to natural conclusions.

"The reality is," Lindelof says, "that Carlton, myself, J.J. [co-creator J.J. Abrams], the creative brains behind the 'Lost' universe, we could all band together and say, 'We're ending the show after three seasons because that's the arc. They get off the island, and we reveal all the things we want to reveal.'

"And the network would say, 'No, you won't.' They will hire somebody and do 'Lost,' with or without you."

Beyond the network, real-life events can affect storytelling. On Dec. 1, two cast members who play recently introduced tail-section characters were arrested 15 minutes apart on charges of drunken driving in Hawaii, where the show is filmed.

According to published reports, the attorney for Cynthia Watros, who plays psychologist Libby, requested and was granted a continuance of the arraignment to Jan. 12, when she is expected to plead guilty.

Michelle Rodriguez, who plays tough LAPD officer Ana-Lucia, has had several brushes with the law, and is on probation for previous traffic offenses in Los Angeles. She pled not guilty to the Hawaii charges, and trial is set for March 30. Later this month, Los Angeles prosecutors are also expected to ask the court to schedule a probation-violation hearing.

Asked if producers have a contingency plan should Rodriguez fail to prevail in court, Cuse says, "We're just going to see how things play out, and we'll deal with it accordingly. She's a really good part of the show. We really value her and her character and hope things work out in her favor."

Apparently, Libby will come to the fore in future episodes.

"She's a little bit of a stealth surprise that we have cooking on the island," Lindelof says. "That is going to be very cool, when the longer game reveals itself."

No doubt Libby's revelations will answer a few questions but also add to the ever-growing list of inexplicable things on the island, which includes unseen monsters, a polar bear, underground bunkers, a slave ship and a horse.

On the other hand, if you're a dedicated fan of J.J. Abrams' other ABC show, the spy drama "Alias" -- which has a plot so convoluted that explaining it could cause a cerebral hemorrhage -- you've long since learned not to sweat the small stuff.

"We suggest you do the same on 'Lost,'" Lindelof says. "That's between the lines here. If you're watching the show because you're waiting for the big answers to come, you have to understand that by the nature of what it is -- it's not a movie, it's not a series of movies, it's not a trilogy, it's not a miniseries -- it's going to be on the air for as long as ABC wants to keep it on the air.

"How can you ever possibly think that 'Lost' will end in a satisfying way? Carlton and I can almost guarantee you that it will not."

In the meantime, the producers strive for a weekly thrill ride that won't disappoint. So far, they've succeeded, since "Lost" is the first "genre" series (a catch-all showbiz term for science fiction, fantasy and horror) to capture a mass audience since "The X-Files."

"Lost" also has perhaps the most diverse cast on television in terms of race, ethnicity and cultural background.

But, says Lindelof, there's more to it than that.

"It's essentially a cult show in its design and its genre, but what makes it accessible to a wider audience is that there is a character on the show who is like you, even if that character is Jin.

"It doesn't mean that you're Korean, but you're in a marriage where your wife doesn't understand you. You are working your ass off for her father, and she doesn't appreciate your contribution.

"Or you were in the army, and you identify with Sayid, he has a very soldier-like mentality. Or you are a father who doesn't have the kind of relationship with your kid that you would want to have, then you're Michael.

"You are searching for some sense of spirituality in your life, and you're Locke, or you're pregnant and scared to be pregnant ... there is a very wide range of entryways into the show in terms of characters you can identify with."

"That's why we found a mass audience," Cuse says, "because if it was just a genre show, if there wasn't the genius of Damon and J.J.'s flashback invention, it would be a much more limited-audience show. That is the secret of 'Lost.'"

Says Lindelof, "Don't tell."

Jim Jarmusch does it his way

Cooler-than-cool New York filmmaker Jim Jarmusch is the last guy in the world who wants to watch a Jim Jarmusch film, including his Bill Murray opus Broken Flowers.

"Whenever my films are done, I never see them again," Jarmusch says. "I haven't seen Stranger Than Paradise (his 1984 feature film debut) since 1984. I made them. What am I going to learn? Why do I want to see them again?"

Jarmusch, despite his reputation as a maverick intellectual, also claims he does not have a clue what his films mean, including the enigmatic reverie that is Broken Flowers.

But he does want you to see and analyse his work, first in theatres and now on DVD. Broken Flowers was released this week in an enhanced widescreen version with behind-the-scenes insights into his unique and laconic style.

"If you don't plug it in, the juice isn't running," Jarmusch says of having an audience. "So, if you don't see the film I made, what's the point of my film? And what you see in it is more valuable than what I see in it, because I can't even see it."

Broken Flowers is the story of a faded Don Juan-like American named Don Johnston -- Murray's character. When the movie starts, his latest girlfriend is leaving for good when a pink, unsigned letter arrives announcing that our lothario has a 19-year-old son he never knew he had. The film is a chronicle of the man's journey back through his life, and many previous lovers, looking for clues about the possible progeny. Sharon Stone, Jessica Lange and Tilda Swinton all play former loves in his life.

Jarmusch, riffing on an idea that had been presented to him years earlier, wrote the screenplay specifically for Murray, after the actor had already agreed to film a different script that Jarmusch impulsively decided to abandon.

Now Jarmusch is perplexed, although he likes Broken Flowers. "There are two things about this film that I find contradictory (in relation) to myself. One is that I detest looking back. It's not my thing. So that's a contradiction.

"And the other one is that, in all my films thus far, I've started with characters who, however flawed they are, I have a love for. In this one -- and I was aware of this -- in the beginning I don't care about Don Johnston. I don't want to hang out with him. I'm not connected to him. So the trick for me with this movie is that by the end I want to feel for him. That's why I wrote it for Bill, because Bill can pull it off. I don't know if you can do this with any other actor."

Murray is still riding a career revival that culminated in his Oscar nomination for Lost In Translation. It has been suggested, Jarmusch says, that he has gone Hollywood by trying to exploit Murray's renewed fame. "I want to pull a gun out," Jarmusch says of his reflex reaction. "So what are you saying? Did I do something wrong? That's not my thing. I'm not trying to make commercial films."

What he is trying to do, he says, is simple: "I just want to create a world on a screen that people can enter and follow and bring whatever they bring to it. I don't want the film to tell you what you're supposed to feel."

Brooks on a search for comedy

NEW YORK (AP) - Albert Brooks says he wasn't looking to bring world peace, he was doing just what his new film's title said: Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.

At its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival, Brooks said he was concerned Abdullah bin Zaid al-Nahayan, the minister of information of the United Arab Emirates, would lead the audience out of the theatre.

Instead, "they went crazy. I thought, I passed the test, it's OK. The sheik is laughing; he's talking to the guy next to him in Arabic and pointing at the screen. And no one walked out," Brooks told The New York Times for Sunday editions.

In the film, Brooks is assigned a high-level government mission: travel to India and Pakistan, where he's to write a report on what makes Muslims laugh.

Brooks said he chose India and Pakistan because of the intense conflict between the countries.

"What's more important is that you're elevating this into the green zone, where you can make fun," he said. "And now it takes its place alongside everything else you can make fun of - politics or Jews or bad food or anything. If that happens, then that's really a healthy sign. That actually is something."

Horror Fans Welcome 'Hostel'

LOS ANGELES - The weekend box office was sheer torture as the bloody "Hostel," a tale of buddies who stumble into a den of violent depravity, debuted at No. 1 with $20.1 million.

Lionsgate's "Hostel" bumped off the previous weekend's No. 1 film, Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which came in second with $15.4 million to lift its domestic total to $247.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Universal's "King Kong" was third with $12.5 million, raising its domestic total to $192.5 million.

The weekend's only other new wide release, 20th Century Fox's "Grandma's Boy," flopped with just $2.9 million. The comedy from Adam Sandler's production company stars Allen Covert as a video-game tester forced to move in with his grandmother.

After a slump that saw movie attendance fall 7 percent in 2005, Hollywood was off to a good start this year. The top 12 movies grossed $106.7 million, up 9 percent from the same weekend a year ago.

"Hostel" follows two Americans ( Jay Hernandez and Derek Richardson) whose European pleasure jaunt turns nightmarish when they end up captives in a chamber of torture after a brothel visit.

"The track record of horror films tells you maybe Hollywood should just release horror movies to be successful. I can't think of a more consistently performing genre at the box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Though it was approaching the $200 million mark domestically, "King Kong" continued to perform below industry expectations. Hollywood had pegged the epic remake from "The Lord of the Rings" mastermind Peter Jackson as a potential billion-dollar smash worldwide.

Still, "King Kong" was climbing steadily internationally, its worldwide total hitting $464.5 million. "King Kong" is expected to top out in the $600 million range worldwide.

Expanding to more theaters in anticipation of Academy Awards season, Focus Features' acclaimed "Brokeback Mountain" finished at No. 9 with $5.75 million, raising its total to $22.5 million.

Playing in 484 theaters, up about 200 from the previous weekend, "Brokeback Mountain" averaged a healthy $11,881 a cinema, compared to $9,157 in 2,195 theaters for "Hostel."

"Brokeback Mountain" seems to be dashing speculation that its subject matter — a homosexual romance between two old sheepherding pals — would turn off audiences outside of urban markets.

"We're very squarely in middle America, all the way to Duluth, Minn., Portland, Maine, El Paso, Tulsa, Wichita. We're in the heartland," said Jack Foley, head of distribution for Focus Features. "I think that's no longer the real issue. The real issue is how much the film is being seen by people all over the country."

"Brokeback Mountain" star Heath Ledger had a second film expanding to wider release, Disney's "Casanova," in which he plays the legendary womanizer. "Casanova" went into 1,004 theaters, up from 37, and took in $4 million for an average of $3,998 a cinema.

Also doing well as it expanded to wider release was DreamWorks' "Match Point," Woody Allen's tale of infidelity that stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johannson and Emily Mortimer.

"Match Point" widened to 304 theaters, up from eight the previous weekend, and took in $2.8 million for an average of $9,243 a cinema.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Hostel," $20.1 million.
2. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," $15.4 million.
3. "King Kong," $12.5 million.
4. "Fun With Dick and Jane," $12.2 million.
5. "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," $8.3 million.
6. "Munich," $7.5 million.
7. "Memoirs of a Geisha," $6 million.
8. "Rumor Has It," $5.9 million
9. "Brokeback Mountain," $5.75 million.
10. "The Family Stone," $4.6 million.

'Capote' is critics' pick for best film

NEW YORK (AP) - Capote, which chronicles the years Truman Capote spent researching and writing the groundbreaking non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, was named best picture of 2005 after a lengthy vote by the National Society of Film Critics.

It took six ballots for 45 U.S. critics to come to the best picture decision Saturday at a Manhattan restaurant, according to Liz Weis, the society's executive director.

The mafia story A History of Violence earned second place in the best picture vote, and 2046, the story of a former newspaper editor's exploits in a hotel room, ranked third.

Capote star Philip Seymour Hoffman was voted best actor for his transformation into the author who became obsessed with the 1959 murder of a farm family in Kansas.

Second place in the best actor category went to Jeff Daniels, who played a father of two boys in the divorce story The Squid and the Whale. Heath Ledger, a cowboy conflicted about his feelings for another man in Brokeback Mountain, was a close third.

Reese Witherspoon was selected as best actress for her performance as June Carter Cash in the biopic Walk the Line. Keira Knightley won second place in that category for Pride and Prejudice; Vera Farmiga (Down to the Bone) and Kate Dollenmayer (Funny Ha Ha) shared third.

A History of Violence also took honours for best director, which went to Canadian David Cronenberg, and best supporting actor, awarded to Ed Harris for his portrayal of gangster Carl Fogarty. Best screenplay went to Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale.

Amy Adams was voted best supporting actress for her performance in Junebug. Best nonfiction film went to Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog's documentary about Timothy Treadwell, who lived among bears in Alaska for a dozen years before being fatally mauled.

German director Fatih Akin's Gegen die Wand (Head On), about second generation Turks living in Germany, won best foreign language picture, and 2046 took top honours for cinematography.

Utah Theater Cancels 'Brokeback Mountain'

SALT LAKE CITY - A movie theater owned by Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller abruptly changed its screening plans and decided not to show the film "Brokeback Mountain." The film, an R-rated Western gay romance story, was supposed to open Friday at the Megaplex at Jordan Commons in Sandy, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Instead it was pulled from the schedule.

A message posted at the ticket window read: "There has been a change in booking and we will not be showing 'Brokeback Mountain.' We apologize for any inconvenience."

Cal Gunderson, manager of the Jordan Commons Megaplex, declined to comment.

The film, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, is about two cowboys who discover feelings for one another. The two eventually marry women but rekindle their relationship over the years.

The movie's distributor, Focus Features, said that hours before opening, the theater management "reneged on their licensing agreement," and refused to open the film.

Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, said not showing the film set an example for the people of Utah.

"I just think (pulling the show) tells the young people especially that maybe there is something wrong with this show," she said.

Mike Thompson, executive director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah, called it disappointing.

"It's just a shame that such a beautiful and award-winning film with so much buzz about it is not being made available to a broad Utah audience because of personal bias," he said.

Grammy-Winning Singer Lou Rawls Dies

LOS ANGELES - Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to record such classic tunes as "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," died Friday of cancer. He was 72.

Rawls died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and brain cancer, said his publicist, Paul Shefrin. His wife, Nina, was at his bedside when he died.

Rawls' family and Shefrin said the singer was 72, although other records indicate he was 70.

Rawls' deep, smooth voice was his trademark, and he used it in a variety of genres.

"I've gone the full spectrum, from gospel to blues to jazz to soul to pop," Rawls once said on his Web site. "And the public has accepted what I've done through it all."

A longtime community activist, Rawls played a major role in United Negro College Fund telethons in the 1980s that raised more than $200 million. In the '60s he often visited schools, playgrounds and community centers.

Rawls' introduction to music came in his hometown of Chicago from his grandmother, who loved gospel. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s to join a touring gospel group, the Pilgrim Travelers.

After a two-year stint in the Army, Rawls rejoined the Pilgrim Travelers in Los Angeles, where he sang with his childhood friend Sam Cooke. Rawls performed with Dick Clark at the Hollywood Bowl in 1959, and he later he opened for The Beatles at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

Rawls was playing small blues and R&B clubs in Los Angeles when his four-octave range caught the ear of a Capitol Records producer, who signed him to the label in 1962.

His debut effort, "Stormy Monday," recorded with the Les McCann Trio, was the first of his 52 albums. In 1966, his "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" topped the charts and earned Rawls his first two Grammy nominations.

He won three Grammys in a career that spanned nearly five decades and included the hits "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," "Natural Man" and "Lady Love." He released his most recent album, "Seasons 4 U," in 1998 on his own label, Rawls & Brokaw Records.

But his trademark will always be "You'll Never Find," released in 1976 and written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, architects of the classic "Philadelphia Sound."

Rawls also appeared in 18 movies, including "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Blues Brothers 2000," and 16 television series, including "Fantasy Island" and "The Fall Guy."

In 1976, Rawls became the corporate spokesman for the Anheuser-Busch Cos. breweries.

Rawls was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2004 and brain cancer in May 2005.

Besides his wife, Rawls is survived by four children: Louanna Rawls, Lou Rawls Jr., Kendra Smith and Aiden Rawls.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete, Shefrin said.

BACK TO SCHOOL

After finishing promotional duties for its latest disc, Make Believe, Weezer taking a timeout while frontman Rivers Cuomo heads back to Harvard in February to complete his degree in English. He'll graduate in June, eight years after he first started.

"Sith" Happens at 2005 Box Office

Hollywood suffered an off year at the box office. George Lucas did not.

Lucas' Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, charting the death of Anakin Skywalker and the birth of Darth Vader, was 2005's top-grossing movie, tapping loyalists for $380.3 million, according to the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

The film was the only $300 million-plus grosser in a year in which, Exhibitor Relations said, overall movie attendance fell about 7 percent, and ticket sales dipped about 5 percent.

Sith, ostensibly the final chapter in the Skywalker saga, seemed unaffected by the bad box-office vibes. It now stands seventh among the all-time box-office champs, per the stats at BoxOfficeMojo.com.

With Sith leading the way, Hollywood made a lot of money ($8.9 billion) and sold a lot of tickets (1.4 billion) in 2005, per Exhibitor Relations. It just didn't make as much money ($9.4 billion) or sell as many tickets (1.5 billion) as it did in 2004.

Exacerbating the angina among the executive suite set are stats like these: lowest yearly gross since 2001; lowest attendance since 1997; worst ever opening for a Jim Carrey comedy since Ace Ventura: Pet Detective made him a star.

Here are some other factoids from the box office year that was, according to stats from Exhibitor Relations and BoxOfficeMojo.com:

- The $100 million Fun with Dick and Jane, the offending Carrey comedy, made $64.6 million through New Year's Day weekend, and couldn't crack the top 30.

- The $200 million King Kong made $175.6 million through New Year's day weekend, and couldn't crack the top 10. It finished 11th, even as two other holiday releases, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ($277.1 million) and The Chronicles of Narnia ($225.7 million), quickly settled into second and fourth place, respectively.

- The penguin-populated Madagascar (eighth place, $193.1 million) was the top-grossing animated film; the penguin-populated March of the Penguins (24th place, $77.4 million) was the top-grossing documentary.

- In retrospect, perhaps Martin Short's Jiminy Glick in Lalawood ($36,039) could have used from some penguins.

- The $130 million-ish Kingdom of Heaven ($47.4 million) and the $120 million-ish The Island ($35.8 million) didn't have penguins, but they did have overseas audiences ($163.6 million and $124.5 million, respectively).

- Neither penguins, nor international markets, could save the $130 million disaster Stealth ($31.7 million).

- The $5.5 million Diary of a Mad Black Woman ($50.6 million) made just about every studio production look bad.

- Chicken Little (14th place, $132.3 million), the top-grossing G-rated film, made about $1.6 million for every bad review counted by RottenTomatoes.com.

- Narnia was the top-grossing PG-rated film; Sith, the top-grossing PG-13 film; and Wedding Crashers (fifth place, $209.2 million), the top-grossing R-rated film.

- Among the few, the proud and the barely released NC-17 movies, Inside Deep Throat, a documentary about the porn classic Deep Throat, led the way with some $650,000--about one-tenth of 1 percent of what its source material allegedly generated during its own box-office run.

- House of Wax ($32.1 million) was the top-grossing Paris Hilton film; Kids in America ($492,078) was the top-grossing Nicole Richie film.

- The Dukes of Hazzard (23rd place, $80.3 million) was the top-grossing Jessica Simpson film; Undiscovered ($1.1 million) was the top-grossing Ashlee Simpson film.

- In a hotly contested battle, Herbie: Fully Loaded ($66 million) was the top-grossing Lindsay Lohan film; Cheaper by the Dozen 2 ($55.1 million) was the top-grossing Hilary Duff film.

- Vexing or no to Empire magazine readers, who voted Tom Cruise 2005's most irritating star, the couch-jumper's War of the Worlds (third place, $234.3 million) was the biggest box-office success of his 25-year career.

- The comedy Sex Sells: The Making of Touche ($2,386) was Adrian Zmed's biggest box-office success since a 1999 movie you've also never heard of.

- One Ice Cube movie (Are We There Yet?, $82.3 million--22nd place overall) was worth more than two Charlize Theron movies combined (Aeon Flux, $24.6 million; North Country, $18.2 million).

- One Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie movie (Mrs. and Mrs. Smith, $186.3 million--ninth place overall) was worth more than two Jennifer Aniston movies, combined (Derailed, $35.7 million; Rumor Has It..., $26.9 million).

- Saw II (20th place, $86.8 million) was a hit sequel; Son of the Mask ($17 million) wasn't.

- Rent ($28.9 million) was the top-grossing musical, which was not a compliment.

Here's a complete look at 2005's top 10 moneymakers, according to figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, $380.3 million
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, $277.1 million
3. War of the Worlds, $234.3 million
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, $225.7 million
5. Wedding Crashers, $209.2 million
6. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, $206.5 million
7. Batman Begins, $205.3 million
8. Madagascar, $193.1 million
9. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, $186.3 million
10. Hitch, $177.6 million

CBC, Global plan news changes

TORONTO (CP) - A Mohawk haircut and metal studs on Peter Mansbridge are not in the cards.

But CBC News introduces a new look and attitude next Monday on all its platforms in response to demands from Canadians that the public broadcaster try to be hipper and cooler. Global News also plans to leave the status quo behind. Next month Global National with Kevin Newman will move to 5:30 p.m., the beginning of the supper hour, in a tactic that may carry some ratings risks.

CTV News, now leading the network ratings race, is maintaining an if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it approach. But they may be carrying the concept of targeting a younger demographic to extremes in hiring precocious eight-year-old Treehouse TV star Daniel Cook as an election reporter.

The revamping of the CBC's news operation includes new music and logos.

"We're not trying to transform the CBC into some kind of contrived hip operation," assures Tony Burman, CBC News editor-in-chief. "I think our visual look will be sharper and more dynamic and more colourful. We're experienced TV people and we know how to deal with that."

The changes at CBC are in response to a sweeping survey completed two years ago. Burman says the survey, in which 1,200 Canadians were interviewed, found that parts of the operation didn't appeal to young people. He says the network has already acted on that concern by hiring the likes of Avi Lewis and George Stroumboulopoulos.

He adds that the overriding - and encouraging - message was that Canadians want high quality information, more original journalism and more in-depth investigative coverage. Improvements in those areas will be made over the next couple of years, Burman says.

"What Canadians are telling us is go the reverse of dumbing down."

Beginning Monday, the supper-hour news across the country will begin with half-hour regional newscasts called CBC News at Six, followed at 6:30 by Ian Hanomansing's Canada Now (except in Newfoundland-Labrador where Vancouver-based Hanomansing will follow one hour of local news).

Meanwhile, CTV news president Bob Hurst says his operation leads the pack because of a commitment to a 30-year-old plan and a belief in consistency.

"Steady as she goes," Hurst proclaims. "We don't believe in radical changes. Changes can be disruptive to the audience."

But he says that doesn't mean "the big dog" is doing nothing. There are constant improvements in staff and technology, Hurst says.

"The big dog runs harder and faster than any other dog in the race."

Hurst notes they did hire Daniel Cook who, he admits, is more famous than Lloyd Robertson to pint-sized (albeit non-voting) TV watchers.

"We're just having some fun with this to try to brighten up the election campaign with a different set of eyes."

The carrot-topped youngster's first piece on the Stephen Harper campaign was due to air on Mike Duffy's Newsnet show Thursday night.

Global TV plans a rebranding of its image next month, beginning during the Super Bowl Sunday Feb. 5. and followed by a major change in Global National with Kevin Newman the following Monday.

As part of what may be a risky positioning strategy, Newman's newscast will not only unveil a new set and logo but move up an hour to 5:30 p.m. in all time zones except the Maritimes.

"There's a huge audience available at the supper-hour period," says Steve Wyatt, senior vice-president of news at Global, dismissing suggestions that many news viewers may not even be home from work at that early hour.

"We want to be first out of the gate with a big picture," he says. "The Kevin Newman fans that are home at 6:30, a whole bunch of them are home at 5:30, too."

Global will use the popular daytime soap Young and the Restless as a lead-in to Newman who will then hand off the audience to locally produced news, then an hour of Entertainment Tonight leading into prime time.

Unlike CBC and CTV, Global will continue to leave its end-of-night newscast to local affiliates.

Newman says it's a coincidence that the changes are being introduced shortly after CBC's TV news makeover, that they've been in the works for several years. He says they have more to do with creating a consistency across the country where, until now, supper-hour news has been at different times in each region.

"Now we will be able to promote Global National at 5:30 on a national scale, 6:30 in the Maritimes," he says.

CD releases slim in coming months

"There's a headline for your article," said a record company publicist earlier this week, "Music industry gives up."

We'd like to assume he was joking, but then again, judging from the upcoming record release forecasts for the next few months, it appears as if the white flags have been collectively waved, at least for the time being.

Yes, if you're looking for some hot new sounds from here until March, the pickins is slimmer than a starlet Exlax-ing for a photo shoot.

In fact, this week's release of the latest Strokes CD says more about the quality of the album than the quantity of big-name releases on the way -- i.e. industry garbage gets dumped in December and January when no one is looking.

Take next week for example (please note all release dates are subject to change).

The biggest new releases on that particular Tuesday -- other than various artist collections, greatest hits and re-issues of older albums such as Yello's Stella -- come from Youngbloodz, The Autumn Offering and Colin Linden.

Hey, hey, calm down -- I'm sure you're record store has ordered enough for everyone.

The following Tuesday, Jan. 17, is just as unspectacular, with Calgary-based country artist Damian Marshall sharing shelf space with DualDisc re-issues of a handful of Talking Heads classics, including Talking Heads '77 and Fear of Music.

Things pick up only slightly on the 24th, with new records from P.O.D. and UB40 (will they S.U.C.K.? Y.E.S.!), as well as Rosanne Cash, Yellowcard and Britpoppers Starsailor.

As January thuds to a halt, look for a new disc from Roots member ?uestlove -- who is in town DJing at Tequila Jan. 13 -- as well as buzz band She Wants Revenge.

February picks up where January left off, with the most exciting thing about the first Tuesday, Feb. 7, being a solo release from Kinks legend Ray Davies.

Also of note are new studio albums from Beth Orton, Richard Ashcroft, Young Buck and Lil Rob, as well as a live disc -- because nobody asked for it -- from Collective Soul.

There's not much to love about Valentine's Day, except maybe for a new disc from The Cardigans, live albums from Kid Rock, Marty Stuart and The Sugarcubes, and the rest of the Talking Heads re-issues including Little Creatures.

On Feb. 21, a new solo album from former Junkhouse frontman Tom Wilson is perhaps the biggest draw, with discs from Goldfrapp and Dilated Peoples also on tap.

On Feb. 28, we have a good-news, bad-news situation.

The good? Elvis Costello releases My Flame Burns Blue. The bad? It's a live CD featuring a 52-piece Dutch jazz orchestra.

Also getting a release that day are new ones from Willie & Lobo, The Church, Ghostface Killah, Juvenile and, oh yeah, a reissue of the Ghostbusters soundtrack.

Oh, blessed be March -- the month where things pick up considerably when it comes to the new and notable.

Well, we hope anyway, because while many of the labels' new release schedules contain some big names in that month, most of the discs aren't yet titled, which could make them even more tentative than most.

Still, should all go according to plan, March 7 will deliver new ones from Van Morrison, 3LW, Keshia Chante, Evanescence, Chingy, The Vines and lil' Idol moppet Kalan Porter.

Speaking of tentative, the new OutKast album Idlewild is on the slate for March 14, although the disc, a soundtrack for their film, was originally scheduled for late last year, so, who knows?

If that's not in stores, look for new ones from India Arie, Devo, Queensryche, Hoobastank and Trick Daddy. Or don't.

The following week, March 21, gives the kids a little thrill, featuring, as it does, new releases from My Chemical Romance and recent corporate sell-outs Anti-Flag, as well as Placebo, Cassandra Wilson, LL Cool J, Ben Harper and, possibly, Canadian songstress Nelly Furtado.

Scheduled for seven days later are new albums from Pet Shop Boys, Pink, Paul Simon and Seal.

As for the rest of the spring, that's a whole lot sketchier.

But, at the risk of getting your hopes up, there are some huge acts with new records in the works -- ones that are either in the can and being tinkered with, or close enough to completion that the record companies are confident they'll be ready for spring.

In April, cross your fingers and hope for new albums from Pearl Jam, Diamond Rio, jacksoul, Godsmack, Dashboard Confessional, Def Leppard, Shooter Jennings, Donna Summer and Rihanna.

And if you're good, maybe May and June will bring studio recordings from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Too Short, Velvet Revolver, Tool, Alan Jackson, Clay Aiken, Billy Talent, Christina Aguilera, Eamon, Kenny Chesney, Chantal Kreviazuk and Justin Timberlake.

Jon Stewart to Host 2006 Academy Awards

LOS ANGELES - First music. Now movies. Jon Stewart, who worked the Grammys in 2001 and 2002, was tapped Thursday to host the 2006 Oscars.

"As a performer, I'm truly honored to be hosting the show," Stewart said, then joked: "Although, as an avid watcher of the Oscars, I can't help but be a little disappointed with the choice. It appears to be another sad attempt to smoke out Billy Crystal."

The 43-year-old star of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" follows a long line of standup comedians who have hosted the Oscars. Over the years, Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Whoopi Goldberg and Crystal have held down the podium.

"I love a comic who can deal with the unexpected and has the ability to run the room," said Gil Cates, the producer of this year's Academy Awards, airing March 5 on ABC. "The speed of mind and fearlessness of a comic really adds to the show."

Speculation swirled about a replacement for last year's host, Chris Rock, who said he would not be coming back. Frequently mentioned candidates included Goldberg, Steve Martin and late-night hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien.

Rock drew younger viewers, but his barbs skewering Jude Law, Tobey Maguire and others alienated some academy members. Rock is currently producing and narrating "Everybody Hates Chris," a UPN sitcom based on his life.

While Rock has been known to offend some people, Stewart also can stir the pot with his own caustic brand of humor. Stewart and his team of comedy writers often poke fun at mainstream politics and current events.

His efforts have obviously struck a chord. "The Daily Show" has earned seven Emmys and a Peabody award, while Stewart has won the 2005 Thurber Prize for American Humor for his book, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction."

Cates said he wasn't worried about hiring Rock and doesn't believe that Stewart will have any problems.

"Jon knows the difference of being irreverent without being impolite," Cates said. "This is not a political show. I think he understands that."

One requirement to be the show's host is an appreciation for movies, Cates said. Although Stewart is mostly known for his TV show, he has appeared in several movies, including "The Faculty," "Death to Smoochy" and "Big Daddy."

"He's a very, very popular entertainer with a mind that is quick, and you need that on a show like this," said Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

However, Stewart didn't enjoy his time spent on the other side of the red carpet. He once worked as a celebrity reporter covering the Oscars and said being cooped up with other journalists was like being in a zoo. In an interview with The Associated Press in 2000, he called the job "the grandaddy of humiliation."

'Brokeback Mountain' leads SAG film nominations

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The actors of gay romance "Brokeback Mountain" earned four nominations for Screen Actors Guild awards on Thursday, more than any other film, further cementing the film's position as a front-runner for Oscars.

The movie that has drawn wide critical acclaim was nominated for best cast in a film, the Screen Actors Guild's top honor, alongside race relations film "Crash," political movie "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Capote," about the author Truman Capote, and in a surprise, the drama "Hustle & Flow."

The Screen Actors Guild represents film and television actors, and because actors make up a large voting group for Oscars, the U.S. film industry's top awards, the SAG honors are considered a key indicator of which actors may win Oscars.

This year's list of nominees for best movie cast featured five low-budget movies, continuing a trend this year in which many major motion pictures have been shunned by award voters.

Moreover, several films that had been expected to compete for awards were shut out of SAG nominations including director Steven Spielberg's "Munich" and effects-filled "King Kong."

"We've had some really phenomenal performances this year," said SAG President Alan Rosenberg. "The bigger films rely on special effects, whereas these smaller films are all about the performances."

Along with best cast, "Brokeback" earned a nomination for lead actor in a film for Heath Ledger and one for supporting actor for Jake Gyllenhaal. Their co-star, Michelle Williams, was nominated for best supporting actress in a film.

ACTORS & ACTRESSES

Joining Ledger among the nominees for best movie actor were Joaquin Phoenix, playing singer Johnny Cash in romance "Walk the Line," David Strathairn as newsman Edward R. Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck," Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role in "Capote" and Russell Crowe playing a boxer in "Cinderella Man."

Best film actress nominees were Judi Dench portraying a theater owner in "Mrs. Henderson Presents," Felicity Huffman as a transgendered character in "Transamerica," Charlize Theron as a sexually harassed mine worker in "North Country," Reese Witherspoon as singer June Carter in "Walk the Line" and Ziyi Zhang in romance "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Along with Gyllenhaal for "Brokeback," supporting film actor nominations went to Don Cheadle and Matt Dillon both for "Crash," George Clooney in "Syriana" and Paul Giamatti in "Cinderella Man."

Williams was joined in the supporting actress category by Catherine Keener in "Capote," Frances McDormand in "North Country," Rachel Weisz in thriller "The Constant Gardener," and Amy Adams for independent film "Junebug."

"Capote" and "Crash" earned three SAG nominations each, and "Cinderella Man," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "North Country" and "Walk the Line" all earned two nominations.

Later on Thursday, the Directors Guild of America gives out its nominations, and they also are expected to narrow the list of Oscar contenders.

SAG also gives out awards for TV performances. For its top honor of best ensemble cast in a TV drama series, SAG nominated the actors in "Grey's Anatomy," "The Closer," "Lost," "Six Feet Under" and "The West Wing."

Nominees for best ensemble cast in a TV comedy were the actors in "Arrested Development," "Boston Legal," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Desperate Housewives," "Everybody Loves Raymond," and "My Name is Earl."

The SAG awards will be given out in Los Angeles on January 29. The ceremony will be telecast on cable TV networks TNT and TBS.

Jon Stewart Reportedly to Host Oscars 12 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Jon Stewart reportedly has been selected to host the Oscars.

The Los Angeles Times says Stewart was contacted shortly before Christmas and the deal was wrapped up a day or two before the holiday.

The Times says a formal announcement is expected today.

Stewart has hosting experience. He hosted the Grammys twice.