Oscar Nominations Coming Tomorrow
Kate Winslet took home two Golden Globes earlier this month for "Revolutionary Road" and "The Reader." Could she repeat with two Oscars?
Nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards will be announced at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow. Check back here tomorrow for a full list of nominations.
While traditionally announced on a Tuesday, this year's nominations were delayed out of respect for President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony.
The 81st Academy Awards will air Feb. 22 on ABC from Los Angeles' Kodak Theater. "Australia" star Hugh Jackman will host.
Full details on Bond 3 and a surprise
The specs have come in on Volume 3 of The James Bond films coming from MGM.
Goldfinger will come with two audio commentaries; one with director Guy Hamilton and one with cast and crew. An interactive guide to Goldfinger will be included along with the featurettes Sean Connery From the set of Goldfinger, On tour with the Aston Martin DB5, Exoctic Locations, The Making of Goldfinger, The Goldfinger Phenomenon and the original promotional featurette, screen tests for Theodore Bikel and Tito Vandis, an interview with Honor Blackman, a trailer, TV broacasts, radio interviews and a photo gallery.
Moonraker is filled with two audio commentaries as well; one from Sir Roger Moore and one with director Lewis Gilbert and members of the cast and crew. Another interactive guide is included along with the featurettes 007 in Rio, Bond '79 and Exotic Locations, the documentaries Inside Moonraker and The Men Behind the Mayhem, Ken Adam's Production films, sky diving test footage, storyboards, a trailer and photo gallery.
The World is Not Enough comes with a huge list of features starting with commentaries from director Michael Apted and one from Peter Lamont, David Arnold and Vic Armstrong. Deleted and extended scenes are included. Also on the disc is an introduction with Apted, the featurettes James Bond Down River, Making the Teaser Trailer, Exoric Locations, The Making of The World Is Not Enough, Bond Cocktail and Tribute to Desmond Llewelyn, the Hong Kong Press Conference, an interactive guide, a music video by Garbage, and alternative video option for selected scenes, a trailer and a photo gallery are onboard.
That would be enough for most people, but if four Bond titles in March doesn't satiate, perhaps the faux Bond film Never Say Never Again to arrive on the same day. It's unknown whether the film has been restored with the same amazing techniques used on the other films, but the black sheep film will contain an audio commentary with Irvin Kershner and Steven Jay Rubin along with a theatrical trailer, photo gallery and the featurettes The Big Gamble, Sean is Back and The Girls of Never Say Never Again.
All four titles (along with Quantum of Solace) will arrive on March 24th.
Young box set pushed back again
TORONTO - The wait continues for Neil Young fans.
Young's oft-delayed "The Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972" box set has been pushed back again until later this year with no firm date for its release, according to a representative from Warner Music Canada.
The collection, originally scheduled for release last fall, is expected to include unreleased studio and live recordings, fresh film footage, photos, personal letters and a 150-page book.
Some reports have indicated that the set will use the Blu-Ray format, but the Warner rep said details have not been finalized.
In the meantime, Young's new disc, "Fork in the Road," is scheduled for release March 31, with the title track already available for download on his website.
Early press about the record, however, has not been positive.
In a review of a Madison Square Garden performance by Young last month, the Village Voice called his new material "absolutely terrible."
The songs, which writer Rob Harvilla said seemed culled from a concept album about eco-friendly cars, were "disturbingly beef-witted" and the crowd reaction was emphatic: Harvilla reported that only 60 per cent of the original audience remained by the end of the show.
Young's interest in eco-friendly cars is well-established.
Last year, the legendary Canadian rocker teamed up with mechanic Johnathan Goodwin, in the hopes of converting Young's 1959 Lincoln Continental to operate on an electric battery.
Young is nominated for a Grammy Award for best solo rock vocal performance for his song "No Hidden Path," off last year's "Chrome Dreams II." The awards will be handed out Feb. 8 in Los Angeles.
Heritage minister promises no cuts to culture funding
Heritage Minister James Moore has promised no cuts to Canadian arts and culture spending in the upcoming federal budget.
"There will be no cuts, that was our campaign commitment," he said in an interview with CBC's Q cultural affairs show aired Wednesday.
Asked whether the $1 billion federal allocation to the CBC would be cut by the Conservative government, as the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting has suggested, Moore denied there would be cuts.
"The short answer to your question is, no, we're going to continue our strong investment into the CBC. We believe in a Canadian broadcaster and that's why we're spending more money than ever before and we will continue to work with the CBC and obviously the concerns — there's issues over HD conversion that's coming and mandate questions about how the CBC will fulfil its responsibilities — but we're looking forward to being strong partners with the CBC," he said.
Moore suggested that arts and culture would be considered in the economic stimulus package the government plans to present.
"This is an incredibly important part of the Canadian economy. We often talk about arts and culture building value in communities and building networks and so bringing creativity," he said.
"It's a huge part of our GDP. It's twice the size of all those who work solely in agriculture. It's three times the size of our forest industry. So it's a huge part of our economy and most importantly, in my view, is that arts and culture is about improving the quality of life of Canadians," Moore said.
Moore defended the Conservative record on arts and culture, saying Canadians have an "incorrect" perception that the government does not support the arts.
He has been meeting with arts groups across the country in a good will tour aimed at counteracting the perception that the Tories are "anti-arts."
When asked about the $45 million in cuts to programs such as Trade Routes and Prom Art, which helped promote Canadian artists in international markets, he said the money was reallocated to other arts programs.
"There weren't cuts in arts and culture, the $45 million that you were describing in the campaign…that was money that was not cut from arts and culture," Moore said.
Why Trade Routes was cut
The international programs were cut because of their "inefficiency" and "demonstrated ability to fail," Moore said.
"Trade Routes — one of the highest profile programs that received a lot of scrutiny and certainly in the city of Montreal — is a small program, a $7-million program — but it cost $5 million to administer $2 million worth of benefits. It's a level of inefficiency that rivals the old long-gun registry and it's just inappropriate," he said.
The Trade Routes program, which helped for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in the arts and cultural sector prepare to export and sell in international markets, will end in April.
Moore claimed money from that program went to increases at the Canada Council, the Museum Assistance Program and funding for the National Gallery.
"It's not a straight line — that money is reduced and is then reallocated within different envelopes, but net, there has not been a nickel spending reduction by our government in arts and culture. We're spending more money on arts and culture that any government in Canadian history," he said.
Moore said Trade Routes will not be reinstated, but that the government "agrees with the goals" of the program and will consider other options.
He distanced himself from comments made by the foreign affairs office that suggested the cuts were ideologically motivated.
In September, Anne Howland, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson, had mentioned the Toronto indie band Holy F--- and writers such as Gwyn Dyer and Avi Lewis as artists funded by Prom Art and Trade Routes who should not have received taxpayers' money.
Moore said that as heritage minister, he has no mechanism to affect who gets money or to cut funding where art has been controversial or even offensive. Those decisions are made by arm's-length funding agencies such as the Canada Council for the Arts, he said.
"The Canada Council for the Arts — $181 million this year, up 20 per cent — because we're a government that believes in those decisions being made independent of all politicians, whether they come from the right, left, centre, whatever," he said.
Springsteen Unveils European Stadium Dates
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will indeed tour behind their new album, "Working on a Dream," with stadium dates announced today for Europe in May, June and July.
So far, 10 shows are confirmed, beginning May 30 at the Pink Pop Festival in Holland. The group will also play June 2 in Tampere, Finland, June 4-5 in Stockholm, June 9-10 in Bergen, Norway, July 2 in Munich, July 3 in Frankfurt, July 5 in Vienna and July 8 in Herning, Denmark. Tickets go on sale Monday (Jan. 26).
Springsteen's reps had been cagey about whether he would tour again this year, on the heels of an extensive run in 2007-2008 in support of the album "Magic." The tour grossed about $232 million worldwide, according to Billboard Boxscore.
The group will headline the Super Bowl XLIII halftime show in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 1; "Working on a Dream" arrives Jan. 27 from Columbia.
Sex And The City Stars Agree To Sequel Deals
The stars of Sex And The City have agreed deals to star in a big screen sequel, according to reports.
Just months after the first movie adaptation of the hit TV series became a box office hit - making more than $400 million (GBP285 million) worldwide - producers have gathered actresses Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis and Kim Cattrall together, and thrashed out lucrative agreements for them to reprise their roles.
A source tells Us Weekly magazine, "Not all the contracts are signed, but everyone is on board. It just happened."
Parker publicly rebuked Cattrall last year after she prematurely announced the sequel was going ahead during an interview on TV in Britain.
Parker said, "I'm thrilled to know Kim is excited but all the deals are not yet done... We need to figure this out in the next couple of months."
And, last month, co-star Nixon announced, "We don't know if it's (sequel) coming up. We're in negotiation. I'm very hopeful, but certainly nothing is for sure. I don't think anyone's deals are done.
"We were very excited to get to do the first one, and we're keeping our fingers crossed that we get to do another one."
Shooting is scheduled to start this summer.
George Clooney Scrubbing Into ER
Los Angeles (E! Online) – ER paged Dr. Ross—and he answered.
Sources tell E! News that George Clooney will be shooting scenes this week for an upcoming episode of the hit medical series, which is in its 15th and final season on NBC.
The network recently ordered up another three episodes of its stalwart Thursday-night drama, raising hopes that nabbing Clooney for a guest spot was one of the reasons for the extension.
Aw, George. Is there any humanitarian cause he won't support?
The Oscar winner last appeared on ER for an uncredited minute in 2000, a year after taking off to make movies fulltime, to help tie up the storyline for Julianna Margulies' departing character, Nurse Carol Hathaway, who had twin daughters with Clooney's Dr. Doug Ross.
Whether or not Clooney would pop up one last time has been up in the air for months, despite Noah Wyle's past assurance that his former costar would return, "schedule permitting."
The Michael Clayton star's publicist didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. An ER rep would not confirm other reports that Clooney would be shooting his scenes Thursday and Friday.
ER's series finale airs April 2 on NBC.
Myers' 'Love Guru' proves endearing at Razzies
LOS ANGELES – Voters for 2008's worst movies love Mike Myers. They really love him.
Myers' comedy flop "The Love Guru" led the field Wednesday for the Razzies with seven nominations, among them worst picture and worst-acting slots for Myers, Jessica Alba, Verne Troyer and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley.
The number of nominations for "Love Guru" was appropriate given what a personal project it was for Myers, who not only starred but also co-wrote and produced the movie, said John Wilson, founder of the Razzies, an Oscar spoof that dishes out "dis-honors" for the lousiest stuff Hollywood dredged up the previous year.
"This is one of those auteur-of-the-awful situations," Wilson said. "I think people are tired of him in general. He hasn't really made a good movie in quite some time."
The other worst-picture contenders were "Disaster Movie" and "Meet the Spartans," Hollywood spoofs that shared a nomination for a "badly beaten dead horse of a concept"; the fright flick "The Happening"; Paris Hilton's romantic comedy bomb "The Hottie & the Nottie"; and the sword-and-sorcery fantasy "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale."
Razzie "winners" will be announced Feb. 21, the day before the Oscars.
Hilton had three nominations, worst actress and worst screen couple alongside her co-stars in "The Hottie & the Nottie," plus worst supporting actress for "Repo! The Genetic Opera."
Eddie Murphy, named worst actor, supporting actor and supporting actress last year for multiple roles in "Norbit," has two nominations this time, as worst actor and screen couple alongside himself for dual roles in his sci-fi comedy dud "Meet Dave."
Cameron Diaz also picked up two Razzie nominations for the romance "What Happens in Vegas," as worst actress and worst screen couple alongside co-star Ashton Kutcher.
Along with Kingsley, Oscar winner Al Pacino had a worst-actor nomination for his crime thrillers "88 Minutes" and "Righteous Kill."
The stars of the remake "The Women" — Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith and Meg Ryan — shared a worst-actress nomination. Joining them, Alba, Diaz and Hilton in the worst-actress category was Kate Hudson for "Fool's Gold" and "My Best Friend's Girl."
Besides Murphy, Myers and Pacino, worst-actor nominees were Larry the Cable Guy for "Witless Protection" and Mark Wahlberg for "The Happening" and "Max Payne."
"In the Name of the King" filmmaker Uwe Boll had three nominations for 2008 movies, worst director for that flick and "1968: Tunnel Rats" and "Postal," supporting actor for playing himself in "Postal" and screen couple alongside "any actor, camera or screenplay."
Boll — whose movies include such horror or action tales as "Bloodrayne," "Alone in the Dark" and "House of the Dead" — also was selected by Razzies voters to receive a special prize for worst career achievement as "Germany's answer to Ed Wood," the legendary bad filmmaker responsible for "Plan 9 From Outer Space."
"It's pretty insulting to Ed Wood. Although Wood didn't understand how to splice two frames together, there was a joy of incompetence in his work," Wilson said. "Uwe Boll's like our Meryl Streep. As long as he continues to work, he will get nominated, just like Meryl Streep does with those other awards."