Nickelback named 'band of decade'
TORONTO — Bad news Nickelback haters: the rock band so many love to hate has been named the group of the decade by Billboard magazine.
Billboard has released a list of the top music stars of the 2000s based on chart success, and Canada’s Nickelback was the top group or duo, ranking No. 7 overall.
The list was compiled by tabulating the rankings on the Billboard top 200 albums and the Billboard Hot 100 songs lists from Dec. 4, 1999 to Nov. 28, 2009.
The list was topped by rapper Eminem, followed by Usher, Nelly, Beyonce and Alicia Keys.
Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” was also named the top rock song of the decade, and was No. 4 on the Top 10 songs of the 2000s list.
The much-maligned rock band also had five other Top 10 singles in the 2000s, and its last four albums all cracked the Top 10 of Billboard’s album charts.
The 2005 CD “All the Right Reasons,” with the hits “Rockstar“ and “Photograph,” spent 156 weeks on Billboard’s top-selling albums list.
DA: Letterman suspect sought to mask blackmail
NEW YORK — A TV producer accused of trying to blackmail David Letterman for $2 million said he needed money to visit his son and would mask the transaction as a business deal, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Robert J. "Joe" Halderman also told the comedian's lawyer he would keep copies of his information on Letterman's personal life for "protection" and acknowledged misgivings about the scheme, Manhattan prosecutors said in court papers.
"The issue is your client does not want this information public," Halderman told Letterman's attorney in a secretly taped conversation, according to prosecutors. "I have said, for a price, I will sign a confidentiality agreement and I will not make this information public. That's, that's the deal."
Halderman wants a judge to dismiss the attempted grand larceny charge against him, saying he was just shopping a screenplay.
Prosecutors, in a court filing asking that the charges be upheld, said Halderman's comments make it "crystal clear" that his goal was extortion — not a screenplay sale. Halderman told Letterman's lawyer that he needed money to visit his son, who he said lived 2,000 miles away, prosecutors said.
A decision is expected next month on Halderman's bid to get the case dismissed. Halderman's lawyer had no immediate response to Tuesday's filing.
The case spurred Letterman to disclose on-air that he had affairs with staffers.
Prosecutors say Halderman demanded $2 million as hush money after contacting the talk-show host with a threat styled as an outline for a movie script.
A package given to Letterman's driver Sept. 9 included a letter saying Halderman needed to make "a large chunk of money" and a claim that the screenplay would depict Letterman's life unraveling after his personal life was exposed, authorities said.
The package included photos, personal correspondence and portions of a diary in which Halderman's ex-girlfriend described an affair with the comic, law enforcement officials have said.
Prosecutors said they recorded two meetings Halderman had with Letterman's lawyer, including one in which the attorney gave him a phony $2 million check.
Halderman has said he simply struck a screenplay deal. He said in court papers filed last month that he sketched out a backstage story of the "atmosphere and conduct" of Letterman and the Late Show— with the characters' names changed — and peddled it to Letterman. He warned of nothing more than a sale to someone else if the TV host rejected it, his court papers said.
Letterman's lawyer has said Halderman's message and tactics were pure extortion, noting that he delivered his package to the comic's car around 6 a.m. and demanded a response within two hours.
Halderman, a 52-year-old producer for CBS' 48 Hours Mystery, has pleaded not guilty. He could face five to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Who Was Snubbed by The Golden Globes?
Do you know who stars in Avatar? Do you know who directed Precious? Golden Globe voters apparently don't, either.
A bunch of blue-faced folk and Lee Daniels, the answers to the above questions, respectively, were among today's MIAs, as were Zooey Deschanel and every human (and animal) who appeared in The Hangover.
James Cameron's Avatar did well with four nods, but scored none for its actors, regardless of their hue.
Daniels was the only director with a film in the best drama race to not snag a Best Director nod. On the flip side, Clint Eastwood was the only Best Director nominee to not snag a best drama nom for his film, the sorta-snubbed Invictus.
Deschanel didn't make the cut in the comedy category, even though her film, (500) Days of Summer, and her peer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, did.
And while The Hangover made awards season safe for R-rated raunch, it didn't get Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms or any of its actors seats at the grown-up table.
More Star Trek snubs—and District 9 surprises:
• Transfomers: Revenge of the Fallen made more money than any 2009 movie, period. Its reward? Um, did we mention it made a lot of money?
• The difference between this year and last is that Transformers wasn't expected to be a player, and The Dark Knight, which infamously came away with only one nod, was. If there was a big surprise today, it's that the nominations went pretty much exactly as expected.
• Star Trek, great reviews, great box office and all, got zip. Then again, it wasn't "supposed" to get anything. Please see above.
• New Moon, great, um, hair and all, got zip. Then again, it wasn't "supposed" to get anything, either. Please see above.
• Globe voters loved Borat. As for Brüno? Eh, not so much. (Zero nominations.)
• Globe voters love Peter Jackson. Even King Kong—King Kong!—scored him a Best Director nod. So, one can only presume they really didn't like The Lovely Bones, which did well for Stanley Tucci, but nobody else involved.
• District 9 qualifies as both a snub and a surprise. The little sci-fi movie that could was shut out of best drama but welcomed in Best Screenplay. (Hey, Globe voters got to show Jackson a little love, after all—he produced!)
• The Proposal's Ryan Reynolds can relate to the Deschanel dilemma. His romantic-comedy partner, Sandra Bullock, was nominated for the film; he wasn't.
• Mariah Carey will always have the good buzz of appearing, sans her diva hair, in Precious. She just won't have the long-shot Globe nomination to go with it.
• Avatar and Precious, both up for best drama, were both denied for Best Screenplay. If that happens at the Oscars, both films' Best Picture dreams presumably would be all but dashed.
• The Hurt Locker is Avatar, with soldiers instead of blue people: Not a single acting nod. (It did, however, get a screenplay nod.)
• Michael Jackson's This Is It wasn't snubbed; it wasn't eligible.
• Monsters vs. Aliens made more money than any 2009 big-screen 'toon, save Up. Its reward? The same as Transformers', Star Trek's and New Moon's.
Rock Hall takes a chance on ABBA, Genesis, Stooges
CLEVELAND – ABBA is dancing its way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, The Hollies and The Stooges.
The list of the next class of inductees was released Tuesday by the Cleveland hall. ABBA and The Stooges made it in this time after being nominated previously but not making the cut.
ABBA, a Swedish pop group that became one of the most successful acts in pop history, continues to sell millions of records each year and has been finding new fans through the popularity of "Mamma Mia," a stage musical and film incorporating its songs, including "Dancing Queen," "Money, Money, Money" and "The Winner Takes It All."
ABBA's name is an acronym formed from the first names of band members Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Annifrid Lyngstad. They broke up in 1982 and have resisted reunion offers.
Genesis began in the late 1960s as an art-rock act fronted by Peter Gabriel and evolved after his 1975 departure into a more mainstream act, with drummer Phil Collins taking over as lead singer. Some of the band's more familiar songs include "Follow You, Follow Me," "Tonight Tonight Tonight" and "Invisible Touch."
Cliff, a Jamaican singer, is credited with introducing reggae music to a broader audience through his album "The Harder They Come" and the movie of the same name, in which he starred in the early 1970s.
Part of the British Invasion, the Hollies had a long string of pop hits in the 1960s characterized by the three-part harmonies of original members Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Eric Haydock.
Led by the Iggy Pop, The Stooges came sneering out of Ann Arbor, Mich., in the late '60s with a primal, growling sound that paved the way for punk, new wave, grunge and other, edgier music genres.
The Rock Hall also announced that its Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers would go to music industry executive David Geffen, the songwriting teams of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, and individual songwriters Jesse Stone, Mort Shuman and Otis Blackwell.
Ertegun, the founder and chairman of Atlantic Records, died in 2006.
The hall's 25th annual induction ceremony is scheduled for March 15 in New York City.
'Up in the Air' leads Golden Globes with 6 noms
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The recession-era tale "Up in the Air" led Golden Globe film contenders Tuesday with six nominations, among them best drama and acting honors for George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.
Other drama picks were the space fantasy "Avatar," the Iraq War tale "The Hurt Locker," the World War II saga "Inglourious Basterds" and the Harlem drama "Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' by Sapphire."
The musical "Nine" ran second with five nominations, including best musical or comedy and acting slots for Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard.
Also competing for musical or comedy are the romance "(500) Days of Summer," the bachelor-party bash "The Hangover" and two Meryl Streep films, "It's Complicated" and "Julie & Julia." Streep is competing against herself as best actress in the musical or comedy, as chef Julia Child in "Julie & Julia" and a woman in an affair with her ex-husband in "It's Complicated."
In TV categories, nominations for drama series went to HBO's "Big Love," Showtime's "Dexter," Fox's "House," AMC's "Mad Men" and HBO's "True Blood." Musical or comedy series bids went to NBC's "30 Rock," HBO's "Entourage," Fox's "Glee," ABC's "Modern Family" and NBC's "The Office."
Nominees in the miniseries or movie category went to Lifetime Television's "Georgia O'Keeffe," PBS' "Little Dorrit," and three HBO offerings, "Grey Gardens," "Into the Storm" and "Taking Chance."
"Up in the Air" generally has been considered a comedy, but its inclusion in the film drama category could give it more weight as a potential favorite for the Academy Awards, where dramatic films tend to dominate. The film also earned best-director and screenplay nominations for Jason Reitman.
"I can't put into words how exciting it is to feel and to know that I'll be going to the Golden Globes with everyone I worked with on this film," Reitman said. "This was one of those ensembles that we really enjoyed working together. We're a tight-knit family. The idea that we're going together is just wonderful."
The directing category pits "Avatar" filmmaker James Cameron against ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker." Other directing nominees were Clint Eastwood for the South African rugby drama "Invictus" and Quentin Tarantino for his World War II rewrite "Inglourious Basterds."
Playing a frequent-flyer junkie in "Up in the Air," Clooney had a nomination for best dramatic actor, along with Jeff Bridges as a boozy country singer in "Crazy Heart," Colin Firth as a grieving gay academic in "A Single Man," Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela in "Invictus" and Tobey Maguire as a prisoner of war in "Brothers."
"I suspect we will do a little bit of celebration, not a whole lot, you know. But it's wonderful news," said Freeman, who got the nomination news in South Africa, where he is appearing for premieres of "Invictus."
With four nominations, Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" had a surprisingly strong showing. The film was a hit with audiences and critics, but it was considered a bit of an awards longshot beyond a performance by Christoph Waltz, a supporting-actor nominee as a gleefully savage Nazi.
Tarantino also was nominated for the screenplay, in which he changes the war's ending with a ferocious bloodbath at a Paris cinema.
"I'm extremely excited and overwhelmed," said "Inglourious Basterds" co-star Diane Kruger, who helped announce the nominations. "It's the first time I've been part of such a big movie that encountered so much success and love. I'm extremely happy for Quentin and Christoph. I think he gave one of those inspiring performances that only come around once in awhile."
Along with Streep, Sandra Bullock also had two nominations, as dramatic actress in the football story "The Blind Side" and as a dragon-lady boss forcing her assistant to pose as her fiance in "The Proposal."
Matt Damon picked up two nominations, as well, as musical or comedy actor playing a whistleblower spinning wild fabrications in "The Informant!" and as supporting actor playing a South African rugby star in "Invictus."
Other dramatic actress nominees were Emily Blunt as Britain's monarch in her early reign in "The Young Victoria," Helen Mirren as the imperious wife of Leo Tolstoy in "The Last Station," Carey Mulligan as a 1960s British teen in an affair with an older man in "An Education" and Gabourey Sidibe as an illiterate, abused teen turning her life around in "Precious."
Julia Roberts was a surprise nominee for musical or comedy actress as a corporate spy in "Duplicity," a box-office underachiever that generally was not on the awards radar. Along with Roberts, Streep and Bullock, Cotillard rounded out the category as the wife of an unfaithful filmmaker in "Nine."
Day-Lewis as the "Nine" filmmaker scored a nomination for musical or comedy actor. Besides Damon, the category also includes Robert Downey Jr. as the London detective in "Sherlock Holmes," Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a lovesick man in "(500) Days of Summer" and Michael Stuhlbarg as a 1960s Jewish academic besieged by crises in "A Serious Man."
"Up in the Air" co-stars Farmiga, playing Clooney's frequent-flyer soul mate, and Anna Kendrick, playing a smart but inexperienced efficiency expert, are competing against each other for supporting actress. Also nominated are Cruz as the filmmaker's insecure mistress in "Nine," Mo'Nique as a hateful welfare mother in "Precious" and Julianne Moore as a grief-stricken professor's best pal in "A Single Man."
Damon and Waltz are joined in the supporting-actor category by Woody Harrelson as a military man delivering bad news to next of kin in "The Messenger," Christopher Plummer as aging author Tolstoy in "The Last Station" and Stanley Tucci as a serial killer in "The Lovely Bones."
Hollywood's second biggest film honors after the Academy Awards, the Globes are a key ceremony that sort out the prospects leading up to the Oscar nominations Feb. 2.
The 67th annual Globes will be handed out Jan. 17, six days before nomination voting closes for the Oscars. Globe winners can get a last-minute bump for an Oscar nomination, particularly on smaller films such as 1999's "Boys Don't Cry," whose Globe triumph for Hilary Swank helped put her on the map for a best-actress win at the Oscars.
Last year's best drama winner at the Globes, "Slumdog Millionaire," went on to win best picture and dominate at the Oscars. Other Globe recipients who followed with Oscar wins included Heath Ledger as supporting actor for "The Dark Knight" and Kate Winslet, who won supporting actress at the Globes for "The Reader" and best actress for that film at the Oscars.
The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 85 critics and reporters for overseas outlets.
List of nominees for the Golden Globe Awards
Here are the nominees for the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards, announced Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif.:
MOTION PICTURES
_Picture, Drama: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglorious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Up in the Air."
_Picture, Musical or Comedy: "(500) Days of Summer," "The Hangover," "It's Complicated," "Julie & Julia," "Nine."
_Actor, Drama: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"; George Clooney, "Up in the Air"; Colin Firth, "A Single Man"; Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"; Tobey Maguire, "Brothers."
_Actress, Drama: Emily Blunt, "The Young Victoria"; Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"; Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"; Carey Mulligan, "An Education"; Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."
_Director: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"; James Cameron, "Avatar"; Clint Eastwood, "Invictus"; Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglorious Basterds."
_Actor, Musical or Comedy: Matt Damon, "The Informant!"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "Nine"; Robert Downey Jr., "Sherlock Holmes"; Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "(500) Days of Summer"; Michael Stuhlbarg, "A Serious Man."
_Actress, Musical or Comedy: Sandra Bullock, "The Proposal"; Marion Cotillard, "Nine"; Julia Roberts, "Duplicity"; Meryl Streep, "It's Complicated"; Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia."
_Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, "Invictus"; Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"; Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"; Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"; Christoph Waltz, "Inglorious Basterds."
_Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Nine"; Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"; Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"; Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Julianne Moore, "A Single Man."
_Foreign Language: "Baaria," "Broken Embraces," "The Maid (La Nana)," "A Prophet," "The White Ribbon."
_Animated Film: "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," "Coraline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "The Princess and the Frog," "Up."
_Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp, "District 9"; Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker"; Nancy Meyers, "It's Complicated"; Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglorious Basterds."
_Original Score: Michael Giacchino, "Up"; Marvin Hamlisch, "The Informant!"; James Horner, "Avatar"; Abel Korzeniowski, "A Single Man"; Karen O, Carter Burwell, "Where the Wild Things Are."
_Original Song: "Cinema Italiano" (written by Maury Yeston), "Nine"; "I Want to Come Home" (written by Paul McCartney); "Everybody's Fine"; "I Will See You" (written by James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell); "Avatar"; "The Weary Kind (Theme from 'Crazy Heart')" (written by Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett); "Crazy Heart"; "Winter" (written by U2), "Brothers."
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Martin Scorsese.