Weakerthans, Corb Lund vie for Western Canadian Music Awards
Veteran Winnipeg rockers The Weakerthans and Albertan country music star Corb Lund are among the top nominees for the sixth annual Western Canadian Music Awards.
Organizers announced nominees in 19 categories on Thursday in Edmonton. The city will host the conference and awards gala this fall. As in the past, the awards are a publicly voted honour.
The Weakerthans (Reunion Tour) and Lund (Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!) scored four nods each and will go head-to-head in categories like outstanding independent album. Their rivals in that category include Jeremy Fisher (Goodbye Blue Monday), Immaculate Machine (Immaculate Machine's Fables) and The Perpetrators (Tow Truck).
Other nominees include:
Classical Recording
David Harding, Phillip Bush & Jonathan Crow (Brahms)
Jasper Wood (A Child's Cry from Izieu)
Michael Horwood (Suite and Serious)
Shauna Rolston (Dreamscape)
Tiresias (Delicate Fires)
Country Recording
Aaron Lines (Moments that Matter)
Gord Bamford (Honkytonks and Heartaches)
Hey Romeo (Hey Romeo)
Jo Hikk (Ride)
Paul Brandt (Risk)
Jazz Recording
Altered Laws (Metaphora)
Greg Lowe (Guitar and Bass Sessions)
Hutchinson Andrew Trio (Music Box)
Ian McDougall Big Band (No Passport Required)
Saul Berson Quartet (Intricacy)
Rock Recording
Maybe Smith (Animals & Architects)
Social Code (Social Code)
State of Shock (Life, Love & Lies)
The Evaporators (Gassy Jack and Other Tales)
The Weakerthans (Reunion Tour)
Urban Recording
GreenTaRA (Global Baby)
Moka Only (Vermillion)
Moka Only & Def 3 (Dog River)
Souljah Fyah (Truth Will Reveal)
Touch & Nato (Intelligent Design)
Songwriter(s) of the Year
Aaron Lines (Moments that Matter)
Corb Lund (Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!)
Jeremy Fisher (Goodbye Blue Monday)
Social Code (Social Code)
The Weakerthans (Reunion Tour)
Video of the Year
I Wanna Be In The Cavalry, Corb Lund
Transportation, James Murdoch Band
Cigarette, Jeremy Fisher
Civil Twilight, The Weakerthans
Viva la Vinyl, Twilight Hotel
A full list of nominees can be found at the awards website.
Part of the celebrations will include tributes to Vancouver's Spirit of the West and Albertan bandleader and Senator Tommy Banks.
The gala is set for Oct. 19, as a grand finale to a music festival, conference and industry awards that kicks off in Edmonton Oct. 16.
Batman may bow down to "Mummy"
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - This is the weekend Batman should get whooped by somebody's mummy.
Universal on Friday opens "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," which could earn upwards of $50 million for the weekend in United States and Canada, enough to end the two-week reign of "The Dark Knight."
Warner Bros.' massive Batman sequel appears likely to gross $40 million or so during its third session.
"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" marks the third film in the Brendan Fraser adventure franchise, following 1999's "The Mummy," which opened to $43.4 million, and 2001's "The Mummy Returns," which unwrapped a $68 million bow. They ended up with $155.4 million and $202 million, respectively.
The addition of Jet Li as a villain in the threequel seems to have restoked interest among the franchise's fan base. Michelle Yeoh also joins the cast, while Maria Bello replaces Rachel Weisz.
Also Friday, Disney debuts the Kevin Costner political comedy "Swing Vote," but low turnout among an older-skewing crowd should limit returns to the single-digit millions.