Axed CBC drama wins top Gemini
TORONTO - The choice showed Intelligence, but the timing was kind of awkward.
The critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged series Intelligence, which officially was cancelled by the CBC last winter, took home the award for best drama series at the 2008 Gemini Awards, which were held last night in Toronto.
The last new episode of Intelligence aired almost a year ago, so it made for a bit of a weird atmosphere last night when Intelligence beat out fellow best-drama nominees The Border, The Tudors, Durham County and Murdoch Mysteries.
But we don't mean "weird" in a way that suggests Intelligence, which starred the excellent Ian Tracey and Klea Scott, wasn't worthy. In fact, yours truly was a devoted follower, and we always wondered why more Canadians weren't tuning in.
Regardless, last night must have been pretty sweet for Intelligence creator Chris Haddock. Sadly, he was not in attendance last night to share his, uh, "opinion."
However, mentalist The Amazing Kreskin cracked wise by "predicting" Intelligence would be "renewed for two more seasons." Priceless.
In an interview that appeared in Sun Media outlets in November 2007, Haddock blasted the CBC, claiming the public broadcaster had become "hostile" to his kind of story-telling and had not adequately promoted his show.
CBC executive director of network programming Kirstine Layfield strongly rejected Haddock's accusations, pointing out no creator of a series ever thinks their show is being promoted enough. Layfield claimed the CBC brought Intelligence back for a second season "in good faith" because of the quality of the series, but the ratings simply did not improve.
Haddock subsequently attempted to take an American-ized version of Intelligence to Fox in the United States, but Fox's initial interest was not followed by firm commitments.
The Gemini Awards were hosted by veteran Canadian actor/director Jason Priestley, who first made a name for himself playing Brandon Walsh on Beverly Hills 90210 in the 1990s. Priestley had a hilarious taped opening bit about proving he was Canadian to the likes of Brent Butt, Megan Follows and the Trailer Park Boys.
Among the presenters last night was Shenae Grimes, the young Canadian who plays Annie Wilson in the new 90210, following her portrayal of Darcy Edwards on CTV's Degrassi: The Next Generation. Priestley referred to Grimes as being from "the new, old, 9021-oh, let it go already."
"It's so exciting to be home - it's about time," said Grimes, who is from the Toronto area. "I haven't been here since June. The cold is crazy."
Another presenter last night was Canadian actress Natasha Henstridge, who currently is starring in the apparently doomed ABC series Eli Stone. Fortunately for Henstridge, she was on hand to accept a Gemini Award in person for best actress in a dramatic program or mini-series, for her role in CTV's Would Be Kings.
"To feel that in my home country people recognize my work on that level is so, so flattering," Henstridge said.
Project Runway Canada took home a Gemini for best reality program or series.
Best comedy program or series was won by CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
Cock'd Gunns, which originally aired on IFC, took home trophies for best ensemble performance in a comedy and best writing in a comedy or variety program.
Best dramatic mini-series was won by The Englishman's Boy, and Nicholas Campbell's work in that program earned him an award for best actor in a mini-series.
Justin Louis and Helene Joy won best-actor and best-actress in a drama for their performances in Durham County, which aired originally on The Movie Network and Movie Central.
"Acting in Canada you often don't feel you get the attention you deserve, so this is great," Joy said.
Best direction in a drama series went to Holly Dale for Durham County.
Leah Miller and Brendan Fehr won the viewers' choice polls for hottest female and male, respectively.
GEMINI WINNERS
Best dramatic series: "Intelligence."
Best comedy program or series: "This Hour Has 22 Minutes."
Best dramatic miniseries: "The Englishman's Boy."
Best reality program or series: "Project Runway Canada."
Best performance by an actor in a continuing leading dramatic role: Justin Louis, "Durham County" (episode "What Lies Beneath").
Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a dramatic program or miniseries: Nicholas Campbell, "The Englishman's Boy."
Best performance by an actress in a continuing leading dramatic role: Helene Joy, "Durham County" (episode "Guys and Dolls").
Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a dramatic program or miniseries: Natasha Henstridge, "Would Be Kings."
Best ensemble performance in a comedy program or series: Inessa Annie Frantowski, Brooks Gray, Andy King, Rebecca McMahon, Leo Scherman, Morgan Waters: "Cock'd Gunns" (episode "A Taste of Success").
Best host or interviewer in a general/human interest or talk program or series: George Stroumboulopoulos, "The Hour With George Stroumboulopoulos."
Best host or interviewer in a sports program or sportscast: Ron MacLean, "Hockey Day in Canada."
Best news anchor: Ian Hanomansing, "CBC News at Six."
Best writing in a comedy or variety program or series: Brooks Gray, Andy King, Leo Scherman, Morgan Waters: "Cock'd Gunns" (episode "Ready, Aim, Fire").
Best direction in a dramatic series: Holly Dale, "Durham County" (episode "What Lies Beneath").
Sarah McLachlan, Loverboy to be honoured at Junos
Lilith Fair founder and charitable campaigner Sarah McLachlan has been named winner of the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award to be presented at the Juno Awards gala in March.
It is the fourth time the award, for an artist whose "humanitarian contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada" has been given.
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Junos, also announced Thursday that '80s rock band Loverboy would be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
The band that created Turn Me Loose and This Could Be the Night was formed in Calgary in 1980 and is now based in Vancouver.
Members include Mike Reno on lead vocals, guitarist Paul Dean, bassist Scott Smith, keyboard player Doug Johnson on keyboards and Matt Frenette on drums. Smith died in 2000 after being knocked off a sailboat.
McLachlan, best known for her hit Angel, has had a 20-year career as a singer-songwriter and is an eight-time Juno Award winner. She also earned Grammy Awards for Building a Mystery, Last Dance and I Will Remember You.
She is widely recognized for founding Lilith Fair, a tour headlined by all female artists that raised money for charities and women's shelters across North America.
Lilith Fair ran for three years and was considered ground-breaking for its role in promoting women in music.
Her Sarah McLachlan Foundation supports music education among young Canadians and has established a Vancouver program to provide music lessons to disadvantaged children.
In 2004, McLachlan and director Sophie Muller created fund-raising video World on Fire, designed to raise awareness about the need for global aid.
She also has been involved with music education charity MusiCounts, global charity Free the Children, and the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Previous winners of the Allan Waters Award, named for the CHUM Ltd. founder, include Paul Brandt, Bruce Cockburn and Tom Jackson.
The Juno gala is March 28.
Superheroes will battle for People's Choice honors
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Superheroes Batman and Iron Man and adventurer Indiana Jones, will battle for top film honors at the upcoming People's Choice Awards which annually bestows honors on favorite celebrities in film, TV and music.
Among nominees named on Monday for People's Choice Awards was pop star Britney Spears who earned a nod as a "scene stealing" guest star on television but was shut out of music categories.
The People's Choice Awards, which will be given out on January 7, are one of Hollywood's earliest shows in its season of honors leading to the Oscars, the film industry's top prizes.
But unlike the more prestigious Oscars or any of the many other honors given out by entertainment groups, People's Choice winners are voted on by movie, TV and music fans.
Australian actor Heath Ledger was nominated with his "The Dark Knight" co-star Christian Bale for best on-screen matchup, as well as in the favorite cast category for the Batman movie released after Ledger's accidental death in January. Ledger played the villainous Joker to Bale's heroic Batman.
"Iron Man" star Robert Downey Jr. and Bale were also nominated for favorite male action star, while "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" will fight it out with "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" for the favorite movie and favorite action movie award.
New categories for this year's 35th Annual People's Choice Awards include favorite superhero, favorite TV drama diva, favorite film cast, favorite scene-stealing guest star and favorite star under 35.
Spears, 26, is nominated for her two guest appearances earlier this year in the TV sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" in which she played a sassy office assistant.
But Spears does not appear in the music categories, which are dominated by Rihanna, Alicia Keys and Carrie Underwood on the female side. R&B star Chris Brown had most mentions in the male music sections.
The four singers were also among the favorite under 35 year-old nominees, along with teen favorites Daniel Radcliffe, Miley Cyrus, Zac Efron, Chace Crawford, Shia LaBeouf and Justin Timberlake.
The winner will be chosen by a public online vote at the www.pcaVOTE.com Web site from November10 thru December 7. The awards will be handed out in Los Angeles in a live TV broadcast on the CBS broadcast network.
CBC big winner of Geminis for news, sports and documentaries
CBC Television's The National was named best newscast and also took home a trophy for best reportage at the Gemini News, Sports and Documentary Gala on Monday evening.
Two other CBC TV shows earned three awards each at the ceremony — current affairs show The Fifth Estate and Hockey Night in Canada.
The National's Adrienne Arsenault, Erin Boudreau and Richard Devey won the Gemini for best news magazine segment for "Moshe and Munir," about the friendship between a Palestinian and an Israeli.
The Fifth Estate was named best information series, and host Hana Gartner won the Gemini for best host or interviewer in a current affairs series.
Avi Lev won the award for best picture editing for his work on The Fifth Estate episode "Brian Mulroney: The Unauthorized Chapter."
Hockey Night in Canada's coverage of its annual outdoor game was named best live sporting event, with Geminis going to Sherali Najak, Brian Spear and Doug Walton. Inside Hockey: The Aud won the award for best sports feature segment.
Don Wittman, the veteran CBC sportscaster who died in January in Winnipeg, won the Gemini for best play-by-play announcing for his work on Hockey Night in Canada.
Wittman joined CBC Sports in 1961 and went on to call some of the most vicious, arresting and triumphant moments in Canadian sports history. He worked with Hockey Night in Canada from 1979 until the 2007-08 season.
Another veteran CBC News reporter, Don Newman, senior parliamentary editor and host of CBC Newsworld's Politics, was honoured with the Gordon Sinclair Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.
Newman, who joined CBC in 1976 as its Washington correspondent, began reporting on Ottawa in 1981.
The award is given annually for outstanding contribution to Canadian television journalism.
Other winners included:
- Pierre McGuire, best game analyst, IIHF World Junior Hockey Gold Final: Canada vs. Sweden, TSN
- Bob McKenzie best studio analyst, IIHF World Junior Hockey Gold Final: Canada vs. Sweden, TSN.
- Diamond Road, best documentary series, TVO.
- Confessions of an Innocent Man, best biography documentary program, CTV.
Confessions of an Innocent Man was a documentary about William Sampson, a dual Canadian-British citizen who was imprisoned and tortured in Saudi Arabia after being accused of orchestrating a car bombing.
In June 2006, CTV News announced it would no longer nominate its news programs for the Gemini Awards, saying too much work was involved in the nomination process.
CBC's The National had nine nominations and The Fifth Estate had 11 heading into the Geminis. Winners in some categories will be declared later in the week.
The Gemini gala for lifestyle, children's and youth winners will be held Tuesday and the gala for drama, variety and comedy will follow on Wednesday.
The main Gemini show is to be held in Toronto on Nov. 28.
Weakerthans win three WCMAs
EDMONTON - Maybe they should be called the Strongerthans.
Songs about curling, a Winnipeg bus driver and Big Foot helped The Weakerthans dominate the Western Canadian Music Awards Sunday. The indy pop recording darlings, who have been winning rave reviews as they play around the world in support of their latest album Reunion Tour, were honoured for outstanding independent album and songwriters of the year at the awards show in Edmonton.
The band, which crafted Reunion Tour in a factory on the outskirts of Winnipeg during a few frigid weeks in March 2007, also won video of the year for Civil Twilight, a song about a city bus driver whose route takes him past a house that is haunted only for him.
The Weakerthans appear to have a love-hate relationship with buses. This summer the band missed playing the Lalapalooza festival in Chicago when their tour bus broke down after a show, stranding them in Ohio.
The Western Canadian Music Awards recognizes the best recording artists from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon in 19 categories.
"It was definitely a great weekend," said Kennedy Jensen, executive director of the Western Canadian Music Alliance.
"We were thrilled to be hosting the event in Edmonton this year - to share our hospitality and amazing spirit."
Alberta native son Corb Lund won the outstanding roots recording - solo - award for the title song of his Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! album, a ballad that chronicles the changing fortunes of cavalrymen throughout history.
The show opened with a tribute to the life and career of jazz icon Tommy Banks, who was inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame, as were Spirit of the West. The Vancouver-based artists performed rousing renditions of their hit singles during the program.
Feist, k.d. lang and Nickelback were all honoured with awards for international achievement.
Country crooner Paul Brandt, who has sold more than one-million albums during his career, won the top country recording award for his album Risk.
Winnipeg rockers The Liptonians were honoured for outstanding pop recording for their self-titled debut album.
Altered Laws' Metaphora, an album that explores Latin, pop, Brazilian, mainstream and avant-garde jazz, won top jazz recording.
Other award winners included; Little Miss Higgins for outstanding blues recording for the album Junction City, State of Shock's Life, Love and Lies was top rock record, Twilight Hotel' Highway Prayer was honoured for outstanding roots recording.
List of winners from the 2008 Western Canadian Music Awards
EDMONTON - Here's the list of winners from the Western Canadian Music Awards presented Sunday night in Edmonton:
The 2008 Western Canadian Music Award winners are:
Outstanding Aboriginal Recording: Tracy Bone, No Lies.
Outstanding Blues Recording: Little Miss Higgins, Junction City.
Outstanding Children's Recording (Tie): Googol Power, Crazy 4 Math. The Kerplunks, The Kerplunks.
Outstanding Contemporary Christian/Gospel Recording: Steve Bell, The Symphony Sessions.
Outstanding Classical Composition: Elizabeth Raum, Dark Thoughts (How Bodies Make Ecstatic Marks).
Outstanding Classical Recording: Jasper Wood, A Child's Cry from Izieu.
Outstanding Country Recording: Paul Brandt, Risk.
Outstanding Francophone Recording: Ariane Mahryke Lemire, Double Entendre.
Outstanding Instrumental Recording: Bob Evans, 4 on 6.
Outstanding Jazz Recording: Altered Laws, Metaphora.
Outstanding Pop Recording: The Liptonians, Self-Titled.
Outstanding Rock Recording: State of Shock, Life, Love & Lies.
Outstanding Roots Recording - Duo/Group: Twilight Hotel, Highway Prayer.
Outstanding Roots Recording - Solo: Corb Lund, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!.
Outstanding Urban Recording: Souljah Fyah, Truth Will Reveal.
Outstanding World Recording: Alex Cuba, Agua Del Pozo.
Outstanding Independent Album: The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour.
Songwriter(s) of the Year: The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour.
Video of the Year: The Weakerthans, Civil Twilight.
Hall of Fame: Senator Tommy Banks, Spirit of the West.
International Achievement Award: Feist, k.d. lang, Nickelback
Alicia Keys, Coldplay, Eagles lead AMA nominees
Alicia Keys, Coldplay and The Eagles led the pack when nominees for the 2008 American Music Awards were announced Tuesday (10/14).
Keys garnered five nominations to top the field, while Coldplay and The Eagles followed closely behind with four apiece. Each of the top-three nominees are in the running for the overall Artist of the Year prize, along with Chris Brown and Lil Wayne.
Nominations for the awards, which are divided into several categories--including Pop/Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Latin and Contemporary Inspirational--were announced by comedian Jimmy Kimmel at a press conference in Beverly Hills. The awards will be presented during a November 23rd live broadcast from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.
The complete list of nominees is included below.
AMA nominations are based on sales data compiled by music-industry trade magazine Radio & Records and Nielsen SoundScan. For the second consecutive year, winners will be determined through an online vote open to the general public. In previous years, winners were selected via a national sampling of about 20,000 people.
Votes will be collected through Nov. 7.
Nominees for the 2008 American Music Awards:
POP/ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Chris Brown
Kid Rock
Usher
Favorite Female Artist
Mariah Carey
Alicia Keys
Rihanna
Favorite Band, Duo Or Group
Coldplay
Eagles
Daughtry
Favorite Album
Coldplay, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends"
Eagles, "Long Road Out of Eden"
Alicia Keys, "As I Am"
COUNTRY MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Garth Brooks
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Favorite Female Artist
Reba Mcentire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Favorite Band, Duo Or Group
Brooks & Dunn
Rascal Flatts
Sugarland
Favorite Album
Garth Brooks, "The Ultimate Hits"
Rascal Flatts, "Still Feels Good"
Carrie Underwood, "Carnival Ride"
RAP/HIP-HOP MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Flo Rida
Lil Wayne
Kanye West
Favorite Band, Duo Or Group
G Unit
Three 6 Mafia
Wu-Tang Clan
Favorite Album
Jay-Z, "American Gangster"
Lil Wayne, "Tha Carter III"
Kayne West, "Graduation"
SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Chris Brown
J. Holiday
Usher
Favorite Female Artist
Mary J. Blige
Alicia Keys
Rihanna
Favorite Album
Mary J. Blige, "Growing Pains"
Mariah Carey, "E=Mc2"
Alicia Keys, "As I Am"
SOUNDTRACKS
Favorite Album
"Alvin And The Chipmunks"
"Juno"
"Mamma Mia!"
ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Coldplay
Foo Fighters
Linkin Park
ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Daughtry
Eagles
Jordin Sparks
LATIN MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Enrique Iglesias
Juanes
Wisin Y Yandel
CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Favorite Artist
Casting Crowns
Mercyme
Third Day
T-MOBILE BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Colbie Caillat
Flo Rida
Jonas Brothers
Paramore
The-Dream
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lil Wayne
Chris Brown
Alicia Keys
Eagles
Coldplay
Late fiddler Oliver Schroer leads Canadian Folk Music nominations
Toronto fiddler Oliver Schroer, who died of leukemia July 3 at the age of 52, leads the lineup for this year's Canadian Folk Music Awards with four nominations.
Schroer, who combined folk music traditions with classical arrangements, received nominations for contemporary album of the year, solo instrumentalist, producer and a category called pushing the boundaries. He'll be honoured in a tribute at the CFMA ceremony next month.
Close behind him are Vancouver signer-songwriter Wyckham Porteous and Nova Scotia fiddler Troy MacGillivray with three nominations each.
With more than 400 submissions from across Canada this year, it has become more difficult to decide on nominations for the awards, notes Jean Hewson, a St. John's singer who is on the organization committee.
Nominees for traditional album are:
Troy MacGillivray & Shane Cook, When Here Meets There (Lanark, N.S.).
Le Vent du Nord, Dans les Airs (Montreal).
Mariam Matossian, In the Light ( Vancouver).
Yves Lambert and Le Brébert Orchestra, Le Monde à Lambert (Montreal).
Genticorum, La Bibournoise (Montreal).
Nominees for contemporary album:
Oliver Schroer, Hymns and Hers (Toronto).
Justin Rutledge, Man Descending (Toronto).
NQ Arbuckle, X O K (Toronto).
Annebelle Chvostek, Resilience (Montreal).
Luke Doucet & The White Falcon, Blood's Too Rich (Toronto).
Nominees for Children's Album of the Year are:
Rik Barron, Shine (St. John's).
Celtic Rathskallions, All Around the Circle (Ottawa).
Funky Mamas, Rollin' Along (Guelph, Ont.).
The Kerplunks, The Kerplunks (Gabriola Island, B.C.).
Art Napoleon, Mocikan: Songs for Learning Cree (Victoria).
Nominees for traditional singer are:
Norah Rendell, Wait There Pretty One (Richmond, B.C.).
Enoch Kent, One More Round (Toronto).
Mary Beth Carty, Voici … Bette et Wallet (Quebec City).
Allison Lupton, Fly Like Swallows (Cambridge, Ont.).
Daniel Payne, Chain (Cow Head, N.L.).
Nomines for contemporary singer are:
Amos Garrett, Get Way Back (Turner Valley, Alta.).
Wyckham Porteous, 3 AM (Vancouver).
Tannis Slimmon, Lucky Blue (Guelph, Ont.).
Dave Carroll, Perfect Blue (Halifax).
Rita Chiarelli, Uptown Goes Downtown (Toronto).
Nominees for instrumental solo artist are:
Oliver Schroer, Hymns and Hers (Toronto).
Pierre Schryer, Melange (Kakabeka Falls, Ont.).
Sarah Burnell for the Sarah Burnell Band, Return Ticket (Ottawa/Montreal).
Craig Korth, Suspicious Minds (Edmonton).
Troy MacGillivray, Live at the Music Room (Lanark, N.S.).
Nominees for instrumental group are:
Marc Atkinson Trio, Vol. IV (Victoria).
Odessa/Havana, Odessa/Havana (Toronto).
Troy MacGillivray & Shane Cook, When Here Meets There (Lanark, N.S.).
Sagapool, Sagapool, Episode Trois (Montreal).
UCalgary String Quartet, Far Behind /Left My Country (Calgary).
Nominees for English songwriter are:
Garnet Rogers, Get a Witness (Brantford, Ont.).
Tim Hus, Bush Pilot Buckaroo (Calgary).
Wyckham Porteous, 3 AM (Vancouver).
Corb Lund, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! (Edmonton).
Lindsay Jane, Lovers Find Reasons (Winnipeg).
Nominees for French songwriter are:
David Jalbert, Des Histoires (Mascouche, Que.).
Anique Granger, Pepins (Montreal).
Yves Desrosiers, Chansons indociles (Montreal).
Tomas Jensen, Quelqu'un d'autre (Montreal).
Swing, Tradarnac (Ottawa).
Nominees for vocal group are:
Sisters of Sheynville, Sheynville Express (Toronto).
The Sojourners, Hold On (Vancouver).
Chic Gamine, Chic gamine (Winnipeg).
Dala, Who Do You Think You Are? (Toronto).
Frida's Brow, Frida's Brow (Wakefield, Que.).
Nominees for ensemble of the year are:
Foggy Hogtown Boys, The Golden West (Toronto).
Yves Lambert and Le Brébert Orchestra, Le Monde à Lambert (Montreal).
Rita Chiarelli, Uptown Goes Downtown (Toronto).
Le Vent du Nord, Dans les Airs (Montreal).
Hungry Hill, Ride (Smithers, B.C.).
Nominees for solo artist are:
Wyckham Porteous, 3 AM (Vancouver).
Ken Whiteley, One World Dance (Toronto).
Michael Jerome Browne, Double (Montreal).
Lindsay Jane, Lovers Find Reasons (Winnipeg).
Corb Lund, Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! (Edmonton).
Nominees for world solo artist are:
Musa Dieng Kala, Exile (Brossard, Que.).
Ines Canepa, Capricho (Montreal).
Celso Machado, Jogo da Vida (Gibsons, B.C.).
Harry Manx, Harry Manx and Friends Live at the Glenn Gould Studio (Saltspring Island, B.C.).
Eliana Cuevas, Vidas (Toronto).
Nominations for world group are:
Compadres, Buddy Where You Been? (Calgary/Winnipeg).
Odessa/Havana, Odessa/Havana (Toronto).
Sagapool, Episode Trois (Montreal).
Constantinople et Françoise Atlan, Ay! Amor (Montreal).
Sisters of Sheynville, Sheynville Express (Toronto).
Nominees for new/emerging artist are:
The Polyjesters, Kitchen Radio (Calgary).
Mariam Matossian, In the Light (Vancouver).
Chic Gamine, Chic Gamine (Winnipeg).
Chloe Albert, Dedicated State (Edmonton).
David Jalbert, Des Histoires (Mascouche, Que.).
Nominees for producer of the year are:
Steve Dawson for Steve Dawson, Waiting for the Lights to Come Up (Vancouver).
Mathieu Dandurand for David Jalbert, Des Histoires (Montreal).
Erik West-Millette for Bia, Nocturno (Montreal).
Oliver Schroer for Oliver Schroer, Hymns and Hers (Toronto).
Othentic for Swing, Tradarnac (Montreal).
Nominees for pushing the boundaries are:
Oliver Schroer, Hymns and Hers (Toronto).
Steve Dawson, Waiting for the Lights to Come Up (Vancouver).
The Marc Atkinson Trio, IV (Victoria).
Harry Manx, Harry Manx and Friends Live at the Glenn Gould Studio (Saltspring Island, B.C.).
Bia, Nocturno (Montreal).
Nominees for young performer are:
Emma Beaton, Pretty Fair Maid (Qualicum Beach, B.C.).
Chrissy Crowley, Demo (Margaree, N.S.).
Kierah, Irish Madness (White Rock, B.C.).
Drumlin, Mackerel Skies (Bridgewater, N.S.).
Paul Cresey, Piece the Picture (Edmonton).
Rik Barron, nominated for children's album of the year, said he is glad to be a part of this year's awards. "Up until three or four years ago, we didn't have an award that was just for children," he said.
The awards ceremony will be held Nov. 23 in St. John's.
And the Oscar-Hosting Job Goes to...Ricky Gervais?
Los Angeles (E! Online) - Ricky Gervais as the next host of the Oscars?
Not so fast.
No doubt the Extras funnyman knows how to crack us up, but reports of him already being a leading contender for hosting duties have been greatly—well, hugely—exaggerated.
"We haven't made one single phone call," Larry Mark, who was announced yesterday as a coproducer of the 81st Annual Academy Awards show with writer-director Bill Condon, said earlier today. "There has been no reaching out."
"We haven't gotten that far yet," said Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. "We're just not there yet."
Ganis knows they'll never please everyone no matter who they pick for the top job. "If you toss up all the opinions on last year's shows and they all came down, 50 percent of them will say, 'It was a sensational show' and fifty percent of them say, 'Uck, it's the worst thing I have ever seen on television,' " he said. "It's hard. Everyone has an opinion."
Unfortunately, last year's Oscar telecast with Jon Stewart as host hit an all-time ratings low with just 32 million U.S. viewers, down about 8 million from 2007.
This will be Mark and Condon's first time producing the Oscars. The show telecasts live from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on ABC Feb. 22.
"We were taken aback for a moment," Mark said about being offered the gig. "And then we took a moment to figure our schedules and whatever else, and then we were like, This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance." (Condon wasn't available for an interview today because he is finishing a script for a movie he's going to direct about comedian Richard Pryor.)
Mark comes to the job with a lengthy producing résumé that includes Jerry Maguire, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and Dreamgirls. Condon wrote and directed Dreamgirls, Gods and Monsters and Kinsey.
As for pumping up the ratings, Ganis said a lot depends on what movies are nominated. "Hopefully, there will be films in contention this year that are of a more populist nature," he said.
Not that he wasn't a fan of last year's big winners like No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, but "I also know that all of them were kind of on the low side in terms of eyeballs."
Crystal Shawanda, Eagle & Hawk top nominees for Aboriginal Music Awards
Country singer Crystal Shawanda and Winnipeg rockers Eagle & Hawk each have a leading five nominations for this year's Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.
Eagle & Hawk, an alternative rock group, are nominated for best group, best album for Sirensong and best single and best songwriter for the title song Sirensong.
The group, which won a Juno in 2002, is scheduled to perform with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra next year.
Shawanda, of Wikwemikong, Ont., has made a splash in Nashville and on the Canadian country scene with her chart-topping debut album Dawn of a New Day.
She's nominated for best album, best country album, best female singer, best video and best single. The Ojibwa singer's surname, Shawanda, translates to "dawn of a new day."
She is competing against Vancouver's Christa Couture and Savona, B.C.'s Farah Palmer for best female artist.
Shawanda and Eagle & Hawk will vie for the best album honours along with Tanya Tagaq, the Inuit throat singer nominated for her album Auk-Blood.
Tagaq, a native of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, who has been filling concert halls for her unusual performance with strings group Kronos Quartet, has nominations for best traditional female singer and best album cover.
Red Power Squad of Morinville, Alta., and Lester of White Rock, B.C., have been nominated for best group.
The nominees for best male artist are:
Mitch Daigneault of Battleford, Sask.
Main Event of Barrie, Ont.
Jace Martin of Ohsweken, Ont.
Nominees for best rap artist:
7th Generation, from Penticton, B.C.
Feenix, from Edmonton.
Wabs Whitebird of Toronto.
This year's ceremony adds several new awards, including categories for best original score and best hip-hop music video.
The Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, in their 10th year, will be given out Nov. 28 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
WHAT YOU DIDN'T SEE AT THE EMMYS
The stars of TV stumbled back to work yesterday - after a three-hour Emmy telecast and a night of partying.
Sure, it was the biggest night of Tina Fey's life - three Emmys for her sitcom, "30 Rock."
But here's a glimpse of what went on away from the cameras:
A LEGEND WIPING OUT
Mary Tyler Moore, on hand to pay tribute to former co-star Betty White, took a nasty spill while climbing a red carpet platform to be interviewed by "The Insider."
The actress, 72, was helped back to her feet and was able to walk away, telling reporters: "I feel fine, thanks."
ARI GOLD TEARING UP
Jeremy Piven got all choked up when a reporter asked what his late father would think of the "Entourage" star's third Emmy.
"I was talking to my mother before I came here and she was sayin' 'Just raise it up to him,'" he said, holding back tears.
ONE MAD WRITER
Kirk Ellis (Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, "John Adams") was mad as hell at his acceptance speech being cut short.
"When I got up there, as soon as I got up there, they were already flashing the 'Wrap It Up' light," he complained backstage.
"I find it very interesting that we can have 30 minutes of the ceremony devoted to reality show hosts, but the people who actually create the work, don't get time to talk!"
CASE OF THE MISSING PURSE
"If anyone has seen a small purple purse with an iPhone in it with a picture of a naked toddler, please let me know," Tina Fey pleaded backstage.
"I left it under my chair when we went up to accept the award (for Outstanding Comedy Series for '30 Rock')".
NEXT YEAR, CABLE
Add up the ratings for the Emmys - the lowest in 18 years - and the number of awards going to cable TV shows like "Mad Men" and "Damages" and what do you get?
The four broadcast TV networks - which rotate the Emmys each year - may be ready to let the Emmy show go to cable.
The current Emmy contract ends in 2010, Variety reports, and the old-line networks may want to see the the back of the awards show.
BALD & THE BEAUTIFUL
"I was late getting here because I really won't leave the house until my hair is perfect," "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston joked after picking up his first-ever Emmy (Lead Actor in a Drama). "It feels like Velcro to me. And it works like Velcro. There are all kind of things sticking to my head, fuzz and Jujubes."
WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
It took some extra time for portly "Lost" star Jorge Garcia to get his Woody Wilson tux red-carpet ready. "I had to call housekeeping for some safety pins," he admits. "I discovered one of my suspenders broke."
ISN'T IT TIME
...that Heidi Klum got some speech lessons?
All she says on "Project Runway" is "You're either in or you're out" and "Auf Wiedersehn."
Using her as a comedienne at the Emmys was a mistake. Her lines, delivered in a thick accent, were incomprehensible.
TALK ABOUT MISSING A CUE
How jaded do you have to be to not give cancer-comeback kid Christina Applegate a standing ovation?
The only standing O all night was when Kathy Griffin ordered the crowd to its feet for Don Rickles.
Emmy telecast bombs in ratings and reviews
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The 60th annual Primetime Emmys show, roundly panned by critics as perhaps the worst ever, laid a big, fat ratings egg as well, with early figures pointing to the smallest audience in the awards' history.
According to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research, ABC's three-hour Sunday telecast, featuring major wins for "Mad Men" and "30 Rock," averaged 12.2 million viewers, falling just below the historic low of 12.3 million posted by the 1990 ceremony aired on Fox.
Final national ratings for Sunday's broadcasts are due Tuesday.
By comparison, 13 million viewers tuned in for last year's ceremony and its farewell send-off of "The Sopranos," which ranked as the second-lowest Emmys audience on the books.
Sunday's telecast no doubt suffered from the fact that the shows and stars getting most of the attention, including best drama "Mad Men," comedy champion "30 Rock" and winning actors from shows like "Damages" and "Breaking Bad," represent programs that draw relatively few viewers themselves.
The Emmy telecast on ABC also collided in the eastern half of the country with NBC's highly rated Sunday Night Football broadcast of the Dallas Cowboys' 27-16 defeat of the Green Bay Packers.
And many New York viewers were likely siphoned off by an ESPN telecast of the last baseball game by the New York Yankees at historic Yankee Stadium.
Still, ABC's cause was not helped by an Emmy presentation that critics largely derided as a flop, especially an oddly ad-libbed opening monologue shared by five reality-show hosts who served as the evening's collective emcees.
In an apparent homage to their unscripted TV genre, Howie Mandell ("Deal or No Deal"), Ryan Seacrest ("American Idol") Jeff Probst ("Survivor"), Tom Bergeron ("Dancing with the Stars") and Heidi Klum ("Project Runway") took to the stage for about five minutes to joke about how they literally had nothing prepared to say.
Probst, Seacrest and Mandell then left the stage to Bergeron and Klum, who were joined by William Shatner for a gag that involved ripping off Klum's clothes.
The whole bit was panned by reviewers and other performers. Emmy winner Jeremy Piven, co-star of HBO's "Entourage," called the opening confusing and a "celebration of nothingness."
The ceremony then lurched into overdrive by mid-show with many presenters and winners forced to rush through their appearances to make up for lost time.
"It was hideously awful from start to harried finish, dragged down by five amateurish reality anchors who would have been unwelcome as guests, let alone hosts," USA Today wrote.
ABC, a unit of the Walt Disney Co. and fellow networks doubt hoped for a more auspicious official kickoff to prime-time TV's premiere week, seen by industry executives as a kind of reboot for television after last season was cut short by the Hollywood writers strike.
Run-D.M.C., Metallica nominated for Rock Hall
CLEVELAND - Run-D.M.C. could "Walk This Way" into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The 1980s rap act, along with Metallica and the Stooges are among the nine nominees for next year's hall of fame class, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced Monday.
The other nominees are guitarist Jeff Beck, singer Wanda Jackson, Little Anthony and the Imperials, War, Bobby Womack, and disco and R&B group Chic, the only nominee back from last year's ballot.
The five leading vote-getters will be announced in January and inducted April 4, 2009, in Cleveland.
The ceremony typically has been held in New York but is returning to Cleveland after more than a decade-long absence. Tickets will be made available to the public for the first time.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five opened the door for rap at the Rock Hall as the first hip-hop act to be inducted in 2007. Now, Run-D.M.C., nominated in the first year of its eligibility, has the chance to follow on the strength of rock and rap blends such as the 1986 cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" and classics like "It's Tricky" and "My Adidas."
Metallica jumped on the heavy metal wave of the '80s and 25 years later is still selling out arenas. This month the group released "Death Magnetic," which marks a return to its early speed metal days.
The Stooges, recently given props in the film "Juno," get another shot after last appearing on the ballot two years ago.
Left off the ballot were Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bon Jovi. Both had been eligible for the first time. To be nominated an act must have released its first single or album 25 years prior.
More than 500 musicians, industry professionals and journalists vote on the inductions
TV Review: Emmycast tries to get real, and flops
NEW YORK - Are the TV writers still on strike?
There have been boring, listless and otherwise ham-handed Emmy broadcasts among the past 59. Sunday's Emmycast was all of those things. But "The 60th Primetime Emmys" also seemed an inadvertent homage to the 100 days of the Hollywood writers strike last season, when the shows that were able to continue demonstrated what TV without writers is like.
ABC's Emmycast seemed to recapture that dreary world, despite the strike having been settled seven months ago, and the credits for the Emmycast listing writers and script supervisors.
The writing was on the wall (sorry) at the top of the show, when its five co-emcees — Heidi Klum ("Project Runway"), Tom Bergeron ("Dancing With the Stars"), Howie Mandel ("Deal or No Deal"), Jeff Probst ("Survivor") and Ryan Seacrest ("American Idol") — arrived on stage, all dressed in tuxedoes.
They, of course, were also the five nominees in the brand-new reality host category. Each is skilled, charming and/or gorgeous doing whatever series got each of them nominated. But on the Emmy broadcast they shared no chemistry, and seemed at a loss for anything clever to say from the outset.
After their initial strained banter, Probst confessed to the audience, "We have absolutely nothing for you. This is not a joke."
"This is not a bit," Mandel chimed in. "This is reality, and who better to offer that to you?"
Seacrest broke it to viewers that "there is absolutely nothing" on the TelePrompTers.
"We are like on Sarah Palin's bridge to nowhere," Mandel said.
A few more tedious moments and William Shatner burst from his seat in the Nokia Theatre, strode on stage, and gave a tug to Klum's tux, which ripped away to reveal a scanty black sequined number.
Well, at least someone presumably wrote that gag, however lame.
The remainder of the three-hour broadcast was occasionally jolted back to life by the appearance of people who knew to BYOM (bring your own material).
An early presenter, Ricky Gervais, displayed how he's one of the drollest performers on the planet as he recalled his absence last year, when he won a comedy Emmy for his series "Extras."
"I couldn't come last year. Which is a shame. But I STILL won. Do you remember?"
Another presenter, Steve Martin, introduced himself by saying "I'm Steve Martin and I'll be out here in just a minute" — a 40-year-old quip from his standup days that was still fresher than most of the broadcast's material.
Politics, and the presidential race, was in evidence in the exchange between Jon Stewart and his co-presenter, Stephen Colbert. While Stewart tried to list the best miniseries nominees, Colbert began munching from a bagful of prunes.
It was necessary, said Colbert, slipping into character as right-wing buffoon, then added, "Right now, America needs a prune ... This dried-up old fruit has the experience we need."
Stewart looked doubtful. "You know, after eight years of prunes, you would think _"
"Never enough!" Colbert snapped, then ate another. "What could possibly go wrong?"
While the Emmycast seemed to want to validate reality shows, it also crammed in a few pleasant, but extraneous, tributes to favorite scripted entertainment. These clips, accompanied by reproductions of familiar settings from those bygone shows (the WJM newsroom from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," Monk's Diner from "Seinfeld"), seemed little more than filler.
Not nearly soon enough, the program was nearing its conclusion. Jimmy Kimmel handled the chore of presenting the best reality host Emmy.
With his customary wryness, Kimmel offered all five nominees a bit of backhanded praise for their shared Emmycast performance.
"Haven't they been sufficient, everybody?" he said.
He was being too kind.
'Mad Men,' '30 Rock' take top Emmy awards
LOS ANGELES - The sleek '60s drama "Mad Men" made Emmy history Sunday as the first basic-cable show to win a top series award, while the sitcom "30 Rock" and its stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin also emerged as big winners.
"We're all so very grateful to have jobs in this turkey-burger economy," Fey said after accepting the best comedy series trophy for her satire about a late-night TV show.
"This is the greatest job I've ever had in my life," Baldwin said of his role an a network executive.
He paid tribute to Fey, the NBC show's star and creator, as "the Elaine May of her generation."
"I thank my parents for somehow raising me to have confidence that is disproportionate with my looks and abilities. Well done. That is what all parents should do," said Fey, who also won for best actress and writing in a comedy series.
Emmy voters rewarded quality, not ratings: Many of the winners draw relatively small audiences. AMC's "Mad Men," which looks at America through the prism of Madison Avenue, is lucky to get 2 million viewers.
Glenn Close of FX's "Damages" and Bryan Cranston of AMC's "Breaking Bad" captured drama acting trophies.
Close, honored for her portrayal of a ruthless attorney, complimented her fellow nominees, including Holly Hunter and Sally Field.
"We're proving that complicated, powerful, mature women are sexy in high entertainment and can carry a show," she said. "I call us the sisterhood of the TV drama divas."
Cranston won the trophy for his role of a desperate man who turns to making drugs.
Dianne Wiest of "In Treatment" and Zeljko Ivanek of "Damages" won supporting acting honors for the drama series. Jean Smart of ABC's "Samantha Who?" was honored as best supporting actress in a comedy series, with Jeremy Piven her actor counterpart for "Entourage."
Piven took aim at the five reality hosts who helped open the ceremony in what could charitably called a rambling way, saying, "What if I just kept talking for 12 minutes — what would happen? That was the opening."
The crowd at the 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards laughed heartily, not a good sign for the hosts, who included Ryan Seacreast of "American Idol."
Don Rickles was honored for best individual performance in a variety or music program for "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project."
"It's a mistake," Rickles said. "I've been in the business 55 years and the biggest award I got was an ashtray from the Friar's in New York."
Best reality-competition program went to "The Amazing Race," the show's sixth award. It and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" are now tied for most consecutive awards in a best-series category.
Jeff Probst of "Survivor," one of the ceremony's masters of ceremonies, claimed the first award for best reality series host. "We feel honored to be part of this family. Thank you for letting reality in," he said.
As the evening progressed, politics went from having a cameo to a co-starring role.
"I really look forward to the next administration, whoever it is," Jon Stewart said as he accepted the best variety, music or comedy series award for "The Daily Show." "I have nothing to follow that. I just really look forward to the next administration."
Later, Stewart and Stephen Colbert, whose "The Colbert Report" won a writing trophy, teamed to present an award — and exchange banter in which they used a package of prunes as a metaphor for the upcoming presidential election.
"America needs prunes. It may not be a young, sexy plum. Granted, it's shriveled and at times hard to swallow. But this dried-up old prune has the experience we need," Colbert said.
Tommy Smothers received a commemorative writing achievement for his work on the cutting-edge and controversial "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" from the late '60s — and turned serious.
"It's hard for me to stay silent when I keep hearing that peace is only attainable through war. And there's nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action," he said, dedicating his award to "all people who feel compelled to speak out, and are not afraid to speak to power, and won't shut up and refuse to be silenced."
Martin Sheen, who played a president on "The West Wing," lauded television for giving America a front-row seat to real presidential campaigns. Then he urged viewers to vote for "the candidate of your choice, at least once."
The award for best TV movie went to "Recount," about the contested 2000 Bush-Gore contest.
HBO's "John Adams," about the founding father, was named best miniseries and won other awards including acting trophies for Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson.
The historical drama set a record for most awards, 13, including five trophies Sunday and eight previously announced. The record of 11 was held by HBO's "Angels in America," the TV academy said.
HBO was the most-honored network, with 26 awards earned Sunday and at the creative arts ceremony held earlier this month. ABC was second with 12 awards, followed by CBS, NBC and PBS with 10 each; AMC with eight, Showtime with five and Fox with four.
Throughout the evening, the ceremony kept its landmark 60th birthday in the spotlight with salutes to television's past.
Pop star Josh Groban offered a marathon medley of TV theme songs, ranging from "The Simpsons" to "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" to "South Park" to "Gilligan's Island." At one point, Ed McMahon kicked in a "Heeeere's Johnny!" to salute Johnny Carson's "Tonight" show.
A tribute to memorable TV dialogue of the past was delivered by the stars of today in an opening clip package.
"One of these days, Alice, pow, right in the kisser!" Helen Mirren said, quoting Jackie Gleason's line from "The Honeymooners."
As the show opened at the Nokia Theatre, Howie Mandel and his fellow hosts riffed about a lack of material for the ceremony.
They then turned to slapstick: "Boston Legal" star William Shatner came on stage to help Tom Bergeron rip off co-host Heidi Klum's modest suit to reveal hot pants and more skin.
Four faces — and outfits — to watch at the Emmys
NEW YORK - The red carpet at the 60th Emmy Awards on Sunday will surely be a parade of beautiful people wearing beautiful things — the faux pas of years past are out.
These days, designers use the carpet as a second runway and stylists keep their clients picture perfect. Still, armchair fashion critics want to have their say, even if it's only to say how great everyone looks.
Here are some buzz-worthy candidates to keep an eye on:
_Tina Fey
She was already the toast of the town with 17 nominations for "30 Rock," including her own nomination as best actress in a comedy — a prize she won last year.
Her return to "Saturday Night Live" was the watercooler talk of the week. What brought her back to "SNL" is her uncanny resemblance to GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Will she play that up or down?
"I think she'll try to look as far away from Sarah Palin as she can — that is, if she doesn't want to be asked to do the same imitation for every camera," says "Access Hollywood" supervising producer Ryan Patterson.
Fey often wears black to events and leaves her glasses at home, but the updo she wore last year might invite Palin comparisons.
"I think she might be forced to go in another direction," Ryan says. "I'm hoping to see her in something sleek and sexy with her hair sleek, too."
However, anything too trendy or fashion-forward wouldn't match her personality, notes Gretta Monahan, the new co-host on "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style." "My advice would be to see her play up her classic, pretty beauty. ... I'd say don't be the geek, be the beauty."
_Heidi Klum
Klum, one of the ceremony's co-hosts, won't have one stunning look on Sunday, she'll have eight, starting with an all-over sparkler by Armani Prive.
Each of the supermodel's outfits were carefully thought out, says Klum's stylist Maryam Malakpour. "The whole concept is more than just a celebrity changing clothes, we wanted every time you see her to say, `Wow!'"
Klum is working with Michael Kors, John Galliano for Dior, Valentino, Roland Mouret and "Project Runway" alum Christian Siriano have all provided looks, as well as one vintage choice. "An off-the-runway look might overwhelm someone else but she can pull that off because she's a model," Malakpour says.
It doesn't hurt that there's very few things that don't look good on her and that Klum treats the red carpet like just another catwalk, which she struts with confidence.
The one thing Klum doesn't wear is anything too trendy, Monahan says. "Whatever is trendy right now, you can assume Heidi is a step ahead."
_Christina Applegate
This is Applegate's first splashy fashion event since undergoing a double mastectomy, and while it's unlikely that anyone would criticize whatever she wears, "Access Hollywood's" Patterson has high expectations.
"She's young, flirty, fresh — I'm really excited to see what she does," Patterson says. "She always looks good."
Applegate has grown up in front of the cameras and so has her style. She doesn't dress too maturely for a 36-year-old but she also knows not to dress like a teenager.
"This is the Emmys, it's not the VMAs (MTV's Video Music Awards). She's not going to show up in thigh-high boots, a miniskirt or show a lot of cleavage. She will be classic and glamorous."
Applegate has taken to wearing her hair up to black-tie events and choosing retro gowns, including a beaded Art Deco-inspired look to the Screen Actors Guild Awards and a slinky siren number to last year's Tonys.
_The women of "Mad Men"
The old-school style that January Jones, Christina Hendricks and Elisabeth Moss, among others, bring to the 1960s-era drama hasn't been lost on the fashion world. Several designers and tastemakers have said they've been influenced by the show's costumes that marry a buttoned-up style with straight-up sex appeal.
You'd never catch these women in yoga pants or even jeans.
Monahan says she hopes the stars stick to that overall aesthetic.
"They shouldn't be in costumes but I'd like to see them in a modern take on their characters," she says. "I want to see that glamour — it's refreshing. ... Maybe next year they could wear something crazy, but this year I want to see them do what they do best."
Patterson, though, thinks this could be the time for the actresses to give the audience a glimpse of who they really are.
"They might go the opposite way and get out of the clothes they seem to wear 24/7. It's a chance for them not to be typecast and to offer some personal expression."
Movie buffs can win bleacher seats for 2009 Oscars
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Stargazers seeking an up-close glimpse of Hollywood's royalty can win seats on Oscar night along the red carpet.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that 300 bleacher seats will be up for grabs in an online lottery.
Beginning at 9 a.m. PDT Monday, movie buffs can enter for a chance to win a seat in front of the Kodak Theater for the Oscars scheduled for Feb. 22. The lottery runs through 9 p.m. Sept. 28.
Applicants can register for up to four seats at http://www.oscars.org/bleachers.
In previous years, as many as 20,000 fans have applied online for the bleacher seats.
Lincoln Center to honor Tom Hanks in annual gala
NEW YORK - The Film Society of Lincoln Center will honor Tom Hanks in its annual gala tribute, citing the actor's talent of making "a good man compelling."
The two-time Academy Award winner will be feted April 27 at Alice Tully Hall, which is being renovated but scheduled to reopen Feb. 22. It will be the society's 36th annual gala, following last year's celebration of Meryl Streep.
"There are so few actors who have been able to make the struggle and drama of being a good man compelling," Kent Jones, the society's associate director of programming, said Monday. "With his talent, his presence, his versatility, his sense of humor, he has set a very high standard for his fellow actors."
The 52-year-old Hanks won best-actor Oscars for 1993's "Philadelphia" and 1994's "Forrest Gump."
Michael J. Fox always a Canadian at heart as he returns home for Walk of Fame
TORONTO - Michael J. Fox may have become a U.S. citizen a few years back, but when it came to the recent Beijing Olympics, the Edmonton-born actor was cheering for the Canucks all the way.
"In my heart, I'm a Canadian, I'll always be a Canadian," he said in a recent telephone interview from Long Island, New York.
"That was really evident the last couple of weeks watching the Olympics. Someone diving off a platform, if they had a Maple Leaf on them, I was all for them."
Fox's Canadian ties will be on full display this weekend when he is officially inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. The honour was initially announced in 2000 but Fox was not on hand for the ceremony.
"I'm most blown away by the company I'm in. It's really cool. Steve Nash, kd lang, Bryan Adams," he said, referring to fellow honorees.
"It's just really exciting to kind of know that even though I don't live in Canada anymore that it's still my home and people still think of me as one of them."
People also still think of him, of course, as young Republican Alex P. Keaton from the '80s TV smash "Family Ties" and as Marty McFly, the time-travelling teen from the "Back to the Future" movies.
Although Fox also appeared on the popular TV comedy "Spin City" and in films including "Doc Hollywood," "The Secret of My Success" and "Casualties of War," he says people most remember him for his iconic teen roles.
"I am amazed when people with teenaged kids come up and tell you that they grew up watching you, you kind of check your watch and go, 'oh yeah, I'm old,"' said Fox, 47.
"(Family Ties) was so 'of its time,' that when people think of it, they don't just think of the show or the actors, they think of the time, they think of where they were, they think of what that period of their lives was. There's a lot of emotion and memory mixed together with it."
"Family Ties" also became the place where Fox met his wife of 20 years, Tracy Pollan, who played Alex's girlfriend Ellen. The characters' theme song was "At This Moment," which became a hit for Billy Vera and the Beaters, a band Fox knew from the L.A. club scene.
The actor was glad the tune found an audience, but says it followed he and Pollan around for years.
"People would always play it, whenever we came into a room or something," he said. "When you'd go to a wedding or something, people would throw it on and we'd kind of go 'Oh, god, here's the song again."
In recent years, Fox has taken on a very different role. He's become a high-profile advocate for stem cell research and a spokesman for Parkinson's disease.
He was diagnosed with the condition in 1991, but did not make his illness public until seven years later. In 2000, he set up the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has funded $126 million in research.
Despite the tremors that accompany Parkinson's, the actor says he's feeling "great" and has been playing tennis and golf this summer.
In October, he's set to guest star on "Rescue Me," the dark firehouse drama that stars his hockey buddy Denis Leary.
"Denis is a good friend of mine," said Fox. "I love the show, I love Denis and I love his edge and he had a great idea or a character and ran it by me and I thought: 'Cool, that would be a fun thing to do'."
Fox will play the boyfriend of the ex-wife of Leary's character, Tommy Gavin.
For now, however, the actor is focused on the Walk of Fame - and on back-to-school activities.
He and Pollan have four children - Fox proudly mentions that his son is entering college, while his daughter is going into first grade and his twin girls are headed to junior high.
He says they get up to Canada at least once a year and cherish the visits to their father's homeland.
"My kids love Canada," said Fox. "They always talk about the Canadian relatives as the funny relatives, the laughing relatives."
Other stars to be honoured at the Walk of Fame ceremonies this Saturday include comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, model Daria Werbowy, filmmaker James Cameron and actress Frances Bay.
'Murdoch Mysteries' leads Gemini noms
TORONTO - A pair of detective shows - one set in the 19th century and another that takes place in present-day suburbia - are this year's leading Gemini Award nominees.
"Murdoch Mysteries," which airs on Citytv and stars Yannick Bisson as a sleuth who solves crimes in Toronto in the late 1800s, is up for 14 of the prizes, which recognize excellence in Canadian television.
The show received nods for best dramatic series, writing, visual effects, photography, score and make-up. A host of guest stars who appeared on the program are also vying for awards.
"We're really, really excited...we're ordering quite a few bottles of champagne," said Christina Jennings, executive producer of 'Murdoch Mysteries.'
"Who would have thought a mystery series set in 1895 would capture both Canadian audiences and international audiences?"
"Durham County," in which Hugh Dillon plays a homicide detective who moves his family from Toronto to the suburbs only to discover that his neighbour may be a serial killer, nabbed 13 Gemini nominations.
Dillon is up for an acting prize, as are co-stars Helene Joy and Justin Louis. The program, which airs on The Movie Network and Movie Central, is also up for best dramatic series as well as for writing, directing, editing, sound and photography.
Jennings said that while TV audiences are well-versed in the crime genre these days, "Murdoch Mysteries" gives them some historical perspective.
"I think we all know about 'CSI,' and we've all seen these cop procedurals before," she said.
"This (show) is the beginnings of where forensics started, things that we take for granted like lie detectors...or infrared. I think the audience is interested in where all of that comes from."
In the best drama category, "Murdoch Mysteries" and "Durham County" will square off against the sexy Henry VIII drama "The Tudors," cop thriller "The Border and organized crime drama "Intelligence."
"The Tudors" received 12 nominations overall, as did "The Englishman's Boy," a miniseries based on a Guy Vanderhaeghe novel.
"The Fifth Estate" picked up 11 nods, while "The Border" and "CBC News: The National" tied with nine apiece.
The TV miniseries "Would Be Kings" picked up eight nominations and "Across the River to Motor City" and "Mayerthorpe" each collected seven.
"Marketplace," "ReGenesis," "Rent-A-Goalie" and "Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Revisited" amassed six.
Competing for best comedy will be: "Cock'd Gunns"; "Corner Gas"; "Kenny vs. Spenny"; "Odd Job Jack"; "Rent-A-Goalie"; and "This Hour Has 22 Minutes."
And, the reality show contenders are: "Canada's Next Top Model"; "Dragons' Den"; "Project Runway Canada"; "Triple Sensation"; and "The Week the Women Went."
Three nights of Gemini galas will be held on Oct. 20, 21 and 22 to hand out hardware for various categories including news, sports, documentaries and children's shows.
The main Gemini Awards show will take place in Toronto on Nov. 28.
The awards are administered by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.
A brief list of nominees in major categories for the 23rd Gemini Awards
Best Comedy Program or Series:
"Cock'd Gunns," (Tricon Films & Television) Andrea Gorfolova, Brooks Gray, Andy King, Shaam Makan, Leo Scherman, Morgan Waters.
"Corner Gas," (Prairie Pants Productions Inc., Verite Films, 335 Productions) David Storey, Brent Butt, Mark Farrell, Virginia Thompson, Kevin White.
"Kenny vs. Spenny," (Breakthrough Films & Television, Blueprint Entertainment) Ira Levy, Abby Finer, Noreen Halpern, Kenny Hotz, Amy Marcella, John Morayniss, Trey Parker, Spencer Rice, Kirsten Scollie, Matt Stone, Peter Williamson.
"Odd Job Jack," (Smiley Guy Studios) Jonas Diamond, Adrian Carter, Jeremy Diamond, Denny Silverthorne.
"Rent-A-Goalie," (RAG-TV-2 Inc.) Chris Szarka, Christopher Bolton
"This Hour Has 22 Minutes," (Hour Productions XV Inc.) Michael Donovan, Geoff D'Eon, Mark Farrell, Jack Kellum, Susan MacDonald, Jenipher Ritchie.
Best Dramatic Series:
"The Border," (White Pine Pictures) Peter Raymont, David Barlow, Brian Dennis, Janet MacLean.
"Durham County," (Back Alley Film Productions Ltd. /Muse Entertainment Ent. Inc.) Janis Lundman, Adrienne Mitchell, Michael Prupas.
"Intelligence," (Watcher Films) Chris Haddock, Laura Lightbown, Arvi Liimatainen.
"Murdoch Mysteries," (Shaftesbury Films Inc.) Christina Jennings, Cal Coons, Scott Garvie, Noel Hedges, Jan Peter Meyboom.
"The Tudors ," (Peace Arch Television Ltd., PA Tudors Inc., TM Productions) Sheila Hockin, Morgan O'Sullivan.
Best Reality Program or Series:
"Canada's Next Top Model," (Temple Street Productions) Sheila Hockin, David Fortier, Ivan Schneeberg.
"Dragon's Den," (CBC) Stuart Coxe, Catherine Annau, Lisa Gabriele, Tracie Tighe.
"Project Runway Canada," (Insight Production Co. Ltd.) John Brunton, Barbara Bowlby, Andrea Webb.
"Triple Sensation," (Triple Sensation II Productions) Garth Drabinsky, Sandra Cunningham, Sari Friedland, Alex Ganetakos.
"The Week the Women Went," (Paperny Films Inc.) Cal Shumiatcher, Sally Aitken, Trevor Hodgson, David Paperny.
Best TV Movie:
"A Life Interrupted," (Incendo Smith Production Inc.) Jean Bureau, Serge Denis, Stephen Greenberg, Josee Mauffette.
"Luna: Spirit of the Whale," (Screen Siren Pictures) Trish Dolman.
"Mayerthorpe," (SEVEN24 Films, Slanted Wheel Entertainment) Jordy Randall, Tom Cox, Jon Slan.
"Sticks and Stones," (Productions Hockeyville Inc., Dream Street SS Pictures Inc.) Josee Vallee, Andre Beraud, Timothy M. Hogan, Rick LeGuerrier.
"Victor: The Victor Davis Story," (Victor Movie Productions Inc.) Bernard Zukerman.
Best Host or Interviewer in a General/Human Interest or Talk Program or Series:
Jeff Douglas, "Ancestors in the Attic - Ghost Ranch."
Jeff Douglas, "Working Over Time - Building Up."
Peter Mansbridge, "Mansbridge One on One."
Les Stroud -Survivorman - Kalahari
George Stroumboulopoulos, "The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos."
Best Individual Performance in a Comedy Program or Series:
Natalie Brown, "Sophie - Door Number Two."
Louis CK, "Just For Laughs Gala Series - Show 3."
Jon Dore, "The Jon Dore Television Show - Jon Gets Scared."
Jo Koy, "Just For Laughs Gala Series - Show 4."
Ian Sirota, "Comedy Inc. - Season 4 - Episode 4-03."
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role:
Hugh Dillon, "Durham County - Life In The Dollhouse."
Justin Louis, "Durham County - What Lies Beneath."
James McGowan, "The Border - Blowback."
Peter Outerbridge, "ReGenesis - TB or not TB."
Ian Tracey, "Intelligence - A Dark Alliance."
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series:
Ben Bass, "Would Be Kings."
Nicholas Campbell, "The Englishman's Boy."
Henry Czerny, "Mayerthorpe."
Michael Eisner, "The Englishman's Boy."
David Fox, "Across the River to Motor City."
Brian Markinson, "Mayerthorpe."
Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role:
Kristin Booth, "MVP Secret Lives of Hockey Wives - Sudden Death."
Natalie Dormer, "The Tudors - Episode 110."
Helene Joy, "Durham County - Guys and Dolls."
Jewel Staite, "Stargate: Atlantis - Missing."
Camille Sullivan, "Intelligence - A Man is Framed."
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series:
Jordy Benattar, "Charlie & Me."
Erica Durance, "I Me Wed."
Megan Follows, "Booky and the Secret Santa."
Natasha Henstridge, "Would Be Kings."
Rachel Marcus, "Booky and the Secret Santa."
Best Newscast:
"CBC News: The National," (CBC) Jonathan Whitten, Terry Auciello, Mark Harrison, Fred Parker, Greg Reaume.
"Global National," (Global Television) Kenton Boston, Bryan Grahn, Jason Keel, Kevin Newman, Doriana Temolo.
"Global News Toronto," (Global Television Network) Ron Waksman
Best News Anchor:
Ian Hanomansing, "CBC News at Six - Vancouver."
Peter Mansbridge, "CBC News: The National."
Kevin Newman, "Global National."
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.
Farrell leads CCMA noms
TORONTO - Newcomer Jessie Farrell leads the nominees for the Canadian Country Music Awards this year, snagging a total of seven nominations Wednesday, including single, album, songwriter and female artist of the year.
The Vancouver singer, a 30-year-old redhead with a strong pop bent, dominated a field heavy with more traditional fare from more established acts.
They include Winnipeg's Doc Walker who raked in six nominations, Calgary's Paul Brandt with five, and Gord Bamford of Lacombe, Alta., with four.
Farrell said she was still drifting in and out of sleep in Vancouver when the nominations were being announced at a Toronto press conference.
"I was kind of half-asleep thinking: 'I wonder if I should get up. What am I doing now?' and the phone rang. So I jumped out of bed and there's nothing like waking up to good news," said Farrell, who got word from her record label at about 8:30 a.m. Pacific time.
"I've been working so hard for the last eight years and it's only been in the last year and a half that I've been on the radar. It is kind of surprising.... It's such an amazing thing to think people are listening to the music. I am lucky."
The album of the year is a race between Doc Walker, Deric Ruttan, Johnny Reid, Farrell and Brandt while nominees for songwriter of the year include Doc Walker, Farrell, Bamford, Ruttan and Brandt.
The awards will be handed out at a gala in Winnipeg on Sept. 8. Country singer Terri Clark will host the bash, which will feature performances by nominees George Canyon, Emerson Drive, Farrell and Reid.
Bamford, who showed up at the announcement clad in a black coat and black hat, said he and his band have been pleased with the success of his nominated single, "Blame It On That Red Dress."
"When you work hard at something you hope that there's rewards and they're starting to happen for me so it's very cool," Bamford said.
"We just keep putting out stuff that we think we do well at and whether there's trends or not, you see how music kind of goes through the pop to country, I'm real traditional. We've just tried to stick with the grassroots of that. I think that the consistency of doing that and the persistence of doing that is what's paying off."
Nominees Doc Walker have been designated honorary chairs for Country Music Week, a series of music-related events leading up to the awards bash. They said they were thrilled to serve as ambassadors for their hometown of Winnipeg, which will host the awards for the first time in more than 20 years.
Frontman Chris Thorsteinson said they were blown away to hear they were up for six trophies.
"It's pretty amazing, that's a lot of nominations," said Thorsteinson.
"It's pretty humbling when you look at the people we're in the categories with. I grew up listening to these artists and respecting these artists and to be in the same category is pretty amazing. We're really excited."
Prairie Oyster singer Russell deCarle said the group was honoured to be named this year's inductees into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
"I don't feel that old but it's a real honour for us," said deCarle, who formed the band in the mid-70s and went on to craft a sound that blended rockabilly, folk and country traditions.
"We're certainly in incredible company there - I think of the years I watched people like Hank Snow, and Gordon Lightfoot and Ian Tyson, a whole host of others."
The awards show is set to air on CBC-TV on Sept. 8.
Canadian Country Music Award nominees
TORONTO - Here are some of the major nominations for this year's Canadian Country Music Awards:
FANS' CHOICE AWARD: Paul Brandt, George Canyon, Doc Walker, Emerson Drive, Jessie Farrell.
SINGLE OF THE YEAR: "Beautiful Life," Doc Walker; "Best of Me," Jessie Farrell; "Blame It on That Red Dress," Gord Bamford; "Risk," Paul Brandt; "You Can Let Go," Crystal Shawanda.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: "Beautiful Life," Doc Walker; "First Time in a Long Time," Deric Ruttan; "Kicking Stones," Johnny Reid; "Nothing Fancy," Jessie Farrell; "Risk," Paul Brandt.
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Lisa Brokop, Terri Clark, Jessie Farrell, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Crystal Shawanda.
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Paul Brandt, George Canyon, Johnny Reid, Deric Ruttan, Shane Yellowbird.
SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR: "Beautiful Life" (written by Murray Pulver, Chris Thorsteinson, Dave Wasyliw; recorded by Doc Walker); "Best of Me" (written by Jessie Farrell, Jared Kuemper, Jesse Tucker; recorded by Jessie Farrell); "Blame It on That Red Dress" (written by Gord Bamford, Byron Hill, Zack Turner; recorded by Gord Bamford); "First Time in a Long Time" (written by Jimmy Rankin, Deric Ruttan; recorded by Deric Ruttan); "Risk" (written by Paul Brandt; recorded by Paul Brandt).
GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR: Ambush, Doc Walker, Emerson Drive, the Higgins, the Wilkinsons.
ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR: Ridley Bent, the Cruzeros, Sean Hogan, Corb Lund, Prairie Oyster.
TOP NEW TALENT OF THE YEAR - FEMALE: Jessie Farrell, Amber Nicholson, Alex J. Robinson.
TOP NEW TALENT OF THE YEAR - MALE: Gord Bamford, Ridley Bent, Jason Blaine.
TOP NEW TALENT OF THE YEAR GROUP OR DUO: Desert Heat, Hey Romeo, Jo Hikk.
CMT VIDEO OF THE YEAR: "Beautiful Life," Doc Walker; "Best of Me," Jessie Farrell; "Blame It on That Red Dress," Gord Bamford; "In This Room," Ambush; "Ring of Fire," George Canyon.
TOP SELLING ALBUM: "Carnival Ride," Carrie Underwood; "Raising Sand," Robert Plant/Alison Krauss; "Reba Duets," Reba McEntire; "Taylor Swift," Taylor Swift; "Ultimate Hits," Garth Brooks.
TOP SELLING CANADIAN ALBUM: "Classics," George Canyon; "Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!" Corb Lund; "Kicking Stones," Johnny Reid; "Nothing Fancy," Jessie Farrell; "Risk," Paul Brandt.
5 nominated reality hosts to preside over Emmys
LOS ANGELES - The reality is, there won't be an Emmy host this year — there will be five.
The reality-TV hosts nominated in the new category that honors their work will preside over the show, ABC and The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences told The Associated Press on Friday.
They are: Tom Bergeron, of "Dancing With the Stars"; Ryan Seacrest, of "American Idol"; Howie Mandel of "Deal or No Deal"; Heidi Klum of "Project Runway"; and Jeff Probst of "Survivor."
The Emmy Awards will be held Sept. 21 and broadcast on ABC.
'Mad Men,' 'Damages' make Emmy noms history
LOS ANGELES - Basic cable TV looked more like a pop-culture bargain Thursday as AMC's "Mad Men" and FX's "Damages" snared historic best-series Emmy nominations, while stars from cable's less glamorous channels also made a splash in major acting categories.
Meanwhile, premium channel HBO and broadcast networks saw their share of awards glory erode.
In the lead drama actor category, four of the six nominees were stars of cable shows, including Jon Hamm of "Mad Men." The sleek drama about 1960s America set in New York's advertising world was also the leading drama series contender with 16 nominations.
Three best-actress nods also went to cable series stars, including Glenn Close of "Damages." The hard-nosed legal drama joins "Mad Men" as the first basic cable shows put up for best series.
"I think it's changed the landscape of television," Close said of basic cable's growing creative strength.
HBO failed to field a best-drama series contender for the first time since 1998, after its now-departed "The Sopranos" claimed the honor last year. The premium cable channel still scored a leading 85 bids overall, followed by ABC with 76.
Boosting HBO's total was the historical drama "John Adams," the overall front-runner with a record 23 bids. That included a lead-actor nomination for Paul Giamatti's turn as one of America's founding fathers.
"30 Rock," last's year's best comedy series winner, was the top nominee among sitcoms with 17 bids. Other best comedy series nominees were "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Entourage," "The Office" and "Two And a Half Men."
"The Wire," the just-ended, critically acclaimed HBO drama about police and drug dealers in Baltimore, lost its last shot at a best-drama nod after years of Emmy snubs. It received one nomination Thursday, for writing.
But other cable series made a serious dent in several top categories, gaining further ground on the networks. Broadcast favorites that failed to make a serious showing included "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," both left out of the best-series categories. "Grey's" stars Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson received nominations — but the "Desperate" cast was shut out.
"Lost," rebounding with a well-received season, joined "Mad Men" and "Damages" in the best-drama series category with six nominees, including "Boston Legal, "Dexter" and "House." Only one acting nomination went to "Lost," a best-supporting actor nod for Michael Emerson's role as the manipulative Ben.
Oh and Wilson are competing in the best supporting drama actress category that last year was won by castmate Katherine Heigl — who took herself out of the running this time, blaming her decision on lackluster scripts.
Joining Hamm with lead drama acting nods were last year's winner James Spader, "Boston Legal," Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad," Michael C. Hall, "Dexter," Hugh Laurie, "House" and Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment."
"I'm surprised," Hamm said. "For someone like me to be included is amazing. Look at this list: These are people I've been watching, and been a fan of, for years and years. It's a genuinely wonderful feeling."
Close's competition for lead drama actress honors includes 2007 winner Sally Field for "Brothers & Sisters," Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer," Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace."
"I'm very honored," Field said in an email. "It never gets old. I do, but it doesn't."
"Damages," in which Close plays a tough-as-nails litigator, won critical acclaim last year but not great ratings. Close is hoping the Emmy attention will boost the show's audience for season two.
"We need all the help we can get," said Close, who was being driven to a shooting location on Long Island when her sister, Nancy, called her cell phone with the nomination news.
As for her nomination, she was more sanguine.
"I don't believe in comparison among artists," she said, "but, given the amazing number of talented people in this profession, to be included with a distinguished group of people is a huge honor."
Actresses nominated for best comedy series were Tina Fey of "30 Rock," the series she created; last year's honoree America Ferrera of "Ugly Betty," Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?" and Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds."
Nods for comedy series lead actors went to Tony Shalhoub for "Monk," Steve Carrell, "The Office," Lee Pace, "Pushing Daisies," Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" and Charlie Sheen, "Two And A Half Men."
Ryan Seacrest, host of top-rated series "American Idol" made the cut in the new category of best host for a reality or reality-competition show. Other nominees were Howie Mandel of "Deal or No Deal," Heidi Klum of "Project Runway," Jeff Probst of "Survivor" and Tom Bergeron of "Dancing with the Stars."
"I'm thrilled that they've added this category, and thrilled to be part of this virgin group, if you will," Bergeron said.
The "Dancing" host said he debated whether to watch the announcement: "You know, there's that sort of weird sort of superstitious-think, like, 'Well, if I don't watch, maybe I'll get nominated, but if I do watch, I won't.' Like that's gonna change anything."
Nominees in the top categories for the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences by Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris and TV academy Chairman John Shaffner.
Shaffner surprised Harris and Chenoweth at the end of the telecast by announcing supporting-actor nominations for each. Chenoweth, of "Pushing Daisies," stood open-jawed, while Harris, the regular scene-stealer of "How I Met Your Mother," pumped his fist and exclaimed, "Nice!"
The trio then blew out candles on a birthday cake to celebrate the Emmys' 60th anniversary.
Harris kidded about his easy rapport onstage with Chenoweth, whose seemingly off-the-cuff quips injected some life into the normally mundane reading of a list.
"We dated for years and years," joked the actor, who came out as gay to People magazine in 2006.
Besides ABC's 76 nods, the broadcast networks tallies were CBS, 51 nominations; NBC, 50 and Fox, 28. PBS had 33 bids, while AMC garnered 20 bids.
The Emmy Awards ceremony will be held Sept. 21 and broadcast on ABC. Other Emmy honors, including those for technical achievement and guest actors and actresses in series, will be given at the creative arts ceremony on Sept. 13.
New Oscar rule limits song noms to 2 per film
LOS ANGELES - Last time around, the Oscar songs category was three times "Enchanted" — a trick that may never be repeated.
The number of original songs that can be nominated from a single movie will now be limited to two, according to a rule change by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The academy's governors approved the change late Tuesday.
Last year, Disney's "Enchanted" had three titles in contention: "Happy Working Song," "So Close" and "That's How You Know." The winner of best original song: "Falling Slowly," from "Once."
The new rule would also have applied in 2007, when three songs from "Dreamgirls" were nominated. That year, the Oscar went to "I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth."
Hedley cleans up at MMVAs
Torrential downpours couldn't dampen the spirits at last night's MuchMusic Video Awards in downtown Toronto where love 'em or hate 'em pop-punk act Hedley cleaned up with four awards.
The B.C.-based group -- whose outspoken, heavily tattooed and ear-pierced frontman Jacob Hoggard has been known to flash his backside at previous MMVAs -- won for best video and best director for the song For The Nights I Can't Remember and best rock video and best cinematography for She's So Sorry.
Heading into the freewheeling, performance-heavy awards ceremony held at MuchMusic's Toronto headquarters which draws thousands of people into the streets every year, Hedley had a leading six MMVA nods. (Hoggard gained national prominence placing third during Season 2 of Canadian Idol.)
Close behind Hedley's six nods were Palestinian-born, Ottawa-based rapper Belly and Mississauga, Ont., ska-punk outfit illScarlett with five nominations each.
At press time, the three People's Choice Awards had yet to be handed out with Hedley and illScarlett also in the running for favourite Canadian group and Belly up for favourite Canadian artist.
Another multiple winner last night was R&B-pop singer Rihanna whose clip for Don't Stop The Music won for best international video (artist) while Umbrella featuring Jay-Z picked up MuchMusic.com's most watched video.
Linkin Park's Bleed It Out took home best international video (group), while the clip for shaggy-haired Montreal rocker Sam Roberts' latest single Them Kids, won best post-production.
Ridin' by Belly featuring Mario Winans picked up best rap video, and Wintersleep's Weighty Ghost was named best independent video.
"This one really goes to the (director) Dave Pawsey and (effects supervisor) Jonathan Legris, again we're just happy that they managed to make a statement with our song through video, they did all the hard work," said Roberts, accepting the award during the MMVA red-carpet special.
In addition to Hedley, Rihanna and illScarlett, among last night's scheduled MMVA performers were New Kids On The Block, whose recent reunion has led to three shows at the Air Canada Centre including the tour launch on Sept. 19, Girlicious, Simple Plan, rappers Kardinal Offishall featuring Akon and Flo Rida, Sean Kingston, and America's Best Dance Crew (Season 2) JabbaWockeeZ.
Presenters included Mel C, aka Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls, Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford, Brody Jenner of The Hills, Kristen Cavallari of Laguna Beach fame, and gossip monger Perez Hilton.
"We're really excited, 15 years has been way too long," joked Jocz of the NKOTB reunion.
Also in attendance was comic actor Rainn Wilson of The Office -- who could be seen on the red carpet taking pictures with fans before the rain fell.
"It's a little Rain-ny this year," kidded Wilson of the dark storm clouds above that eventually opened up and soaked the red carpet and everyone on it. "Hey, do you want to get under my umbrella, brella, brella, brella?"
Tony Awards make a nod to the past and future
NEW YORK - Broadway looked to the future — and to its past — at the 2008 Tony Awards with "In the Heights," the best musical winner, and "August: Osage County," the best play, sharing the spotlight with a nearly 60-year-old "South Pacific."
Both "Heights," a salsa and rap-flavored look at the Latino immigrant experience in Upper Manhattan, and "August," a brutal dissection of a backbiting Oklahoma family, were written by artists making their Broadway debuts.
Yet it was Lincoln Center Theater's lush, lavish revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic that took more awards — seven — than any other show Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. Besides winning the musical-revival prize, it collected awards for debonair leading man Paulo Szot, who plays the French plantation owner Emile de Becque; director Bartlett Sher; and for the designers of its sets, costumes, lighting and sound.
Sher, in his acceptance speech, thanked not only the men who wrote the show's music and lyrics, but its original director, Joshua Logan, and James Michener, who wrote the World War II short story on which the musical (which won nine Tonys back in 1950) is based.
"They were kind of incredible men, because they seem to teach me particularly that in a way I wasn't only an artist but I was also a citizen," Sher said. "And the work that we do in these musicals or in any of these plays is not only important in terms of entertaining people, but that our country was really a pretty great place, and that perhaps it could be a little better, and perhaps, in fact, we could change."
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the Tony-winning score for "In the Heights," rapped his acceptance speech and later proclaimed, "It is like the best prom ever, dude. I have several more musicals inside my head, and I want to write them." The show, which was first seen off-Broadway last season before moving to Broadway this year, also won awards for choreography and orchestrations.
"August" playwright Tracy Letts, whose previous work in New York was only seen off-Broadway, said, "Writing is better than acting. You get to use your words and you don't need to be there eight days a week."
And in thanking his producers, Letts took a swipe at Broadway shows that cast movie stars and winners from TV reality shows and said, "They did an amazing thing: They decided to produce an American play on Broadway with theater actors."
Two of his "August" actors, Deanna Dunagan and Rondi Reed, and the play's director, Anna D. Shapiro, also won Tonys for their work in the show, which began life last summer at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Said Dunagan, who portrays the bilious matriarch in the play: "This is so overwhelming. This whole year has been entirely unexpected and astonishing. ... After 34 years in regional theater, I never thought about it (the Tonys). I watched it on television like everybody else."
Despite losing the musical revival prize to "South Pacific," "Gypsy" monopolized the musical performance prizes, taking three of the four awards.
The most dramatic was Patti LuPone's win for her portrayal of Rose, the ultimate stage mother. Her rendition of "Everything's Coming Up Roses" during the show got the cheering audience to its feet.
"It's such a wonderful gift to be an actor who makes her living on the Broadway stage and then every 30 years or so picks up one of these," said an exuberant LuPone, who last won a Tony in 1980 for "Evita." "I was afraid to write a speech, because I had written a couple before and they never made it out of my purse. So I'm going to use one of the old ones and add a few names."
Her co-star, Boyd Gaines, did even better. He collected his fourth Tony, winning for his portrayal of Rose's gentlemanly candy-salesman suitor, Herbie. And Laura Benanti, who plays the ugly duckling daughter who blossoms into Gypsy Rose Lee in the show, received the featured-actress award.
"Boeing-Boeing," a 1960s sex farce awash in slammed doors and split-second timing, took the play revival prize. Its lead, Mark Rylance, who portrays a nerdy visitor to Paris, won the top acting prize. He gave the night's most bewildering acceptance speech, riffing about wearing clothing appropriate to your vocation or avocation.
"Otherwise, it might appear that you don't know what you're doing, that you're just wandering the earth, no particular reason for being here, no particular place to go," he said. "Thanks very much for this."
"Passing Strange," which had been expected to give "In the Heights" the stiffest competition, managed to take only one award — book of a musical — for its star and creator, Stew, another Broadway newcomer.
He said the intention of "Passing Strange," a young black man's journey through sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, was to stay "true to the music that people actually listen to... on subways or when they're at home getting stoned or when they're at parties."
Heigl says no thanks, Emmy, it's undeserved
LOS ANGELES - Katherine Heigl won't be chewing her manicure at this year's Emmy ceremony: She says she didn't seek a nomination because "Grey's Anatomy" failed to deliver the goods for an award-worthy performance.
Heigl, who was honored as best supporting actress in a drama last year for the ABC series, declined to put her name in consideration for a bid, a spokeswoman for the actress said Wednesday.
"I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization" decided against competing, Heigl said in a written statement provided by her publicist, Melissa Kates, who was contacted by the AP.
"In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials," added Heigl. She plays Dr. Izzie Stevens on "Grey's Anatomy," which slipped in the ratings this past season but remained a top 10 show.
An after-hours message left with a publicist for "Grey's Anatomy" creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes was not immediately returned Wednesday night.
Heigl, who shot to box-office success last summer with the comedy "Knocked Up," has established herself as one of Hollywood's rare voices of candor.
In a Vanity Fair magazine interview published in January, she called the hit film "a little sexist" and said that it painted women as "shrews, as humorless and uptight," while the male characters were lovable and goofy.
Heigl also was outspoken when "Grey's" castmates Isaiah Washington and T.R. Knight clashed last year over Washington's alleged use of a homophobic slur.
"I'm going to be really honest right now, he needs to just not speak in public. Period," Heigl said at one point of Washington, who ended up being booted from the medical drama.
Nominations for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced July 17. The ceremony is Sept. 21.
RIAA honours Jewel for 18 million in US album sales
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Jewel has been honored by the Recording Industry Association of America with a career milestone plaque commemorating sales of more than 18 million albums in the U.S.
Jenny Alves, RIAA's coordinator of artist industry relations, surprised the 34-year-old singer Thursday as she prepared to sign autographs at the Country Music Association festival.
"This is awesome. Thank you so much," said the singer, who also was scheduled to perform at the festival.
Jewel, whose full name is Jewel Kilcher, released a country album, "Perfectly Clear," on Tuesday. The lead single, "Stronger Woman," is No. 15 on the Billboard chart.
Perhaps best known for her pop and rock hits that include "Foolish Games" and "You Were Meant for Me," Jewel has sold 27 million albums worldwide since her 1995 debut.
She is touring with Brad Paisley this summer.
James Cameron, Kids to join Walk of Fame
NBA star Steve Nash, comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, singer kd lang, model Daria Werbowy and filmmaker James Cameron are among the latest inductees to Canada's Walk of Fame.
But of all the stars set to be recognized for their impressive contributions to the worlds of sports, entertainment and the arts, the Walk of Fame's founding director said one star had far and away the most nominations for this year's honour – Frances Bay.
The 90-year-old actress is affectionately known as Hollywood's Grandma for her string of old lady characters.
"We received a signed petition of over 10,000 names for Frances Bay, including personal letters from Adam Sandler and Jerry Seinfeld and David Lynch and Henry Winkler, Monty Hall among many others, all making a very compelling case for Frances and they were right," Peter Soumalias said.
The Winnipeg performer didn't start acting until age 60, but has racked up an impressive resume that includes film and TV roles in Happy Gilmore, Seinfeld, ER, Road to Avonlea and Hannah Montana.
Corner Gas star Brent Butt helped announced the lineup Tuesday and said he was particularly excited to see comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall among the inductees.
The funnyman said he used to be the warm-up act when the Kids taped their eponymous sketch comedy show for CBC in the mid-'90s.
"It was a sweet gig, it was easy money," Butt said.
"Because everybody was so jazzed about seeing the Kids in the Hall. There were rabid Kids in the Hall fans and one of the Kids would come out and introduce you as being a friend of theirs, so everybody liked you – they wanted you to like them.
"Normally, you know, when you're a young comic, 99 per cent of the shows you're just dodging ashtrays, people hate your guts. And this was the one gig where, `Oh, people are excited that I'm here!'"
Also set to attend this year's ceremonies are rocker Bryan Adams and actor Michael J. Fox, who were both previously named to the Walk, but couldn't attend the induction festivities.
Adams was an inaugural inductee in 1998, a year Soumalias notes hardly attracted anyone to the then-little-known gala. Fox was inducted in 2000, but didn't learn of the honour until after the gala because Walk of Fame organizers had such a hard time notifying him.
"In the early years we got a lot of `Who? What? Why?'" Soumalias said of the Walk, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
In 2003, organizers announced 13 inductees thinking "five or six would show up."
"But all 13 of them came," Soumalias said. "Which was wonderful in some respects but we didn't budget for 13. So it became a challenge for us."
He said the event's stature has grown considerably since then, with more than 40 per cent of this year's nominations coming from countries other than Canada.
To qualify, candidates must have been born in Canada or spent their formative or creative years here and must have a body of work recognized for its impact on Canada's cultural heritage.
Fans can lobby on behalf of their favourite athlete or artist, but the final decision is made by Walk of Fame organizers.
Previous inductees include Alanis Morissette, Paul Anka, Jim Carrey, Shania Twain, William Hutt and Wayne Gretzky.
To date, 107 Canadians have been honoured.
The new inductees will be celebrated during a gala on Sept. 6 in Toronto.
Over-the-top MTV Movie Awards have smoke, no fire
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - The "Transformers" have another chunk of metal to add to their collection.
The blockbuster about robots in disguise took home the golden popcorn trophy for best film at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday night, and Johnny Depp won two buckets for best comedic performance and best villain.
Accepting the best film award with director Michael Bay, "Transformers" co-star Megan Fox trotted out some R-rated language to describe how good the film's sequel is going to be. Bay said the film would begin shooting the following day and take place two years after the first film.
And Rainn Wilson — who presented best kiss wearing nothing but a teddy bear — told The Associated Press on the gold carpet that he would play a college professor in "Transformers 2."
"I just love the idea of me being in a giant Michael Bay movie," Wilson said.
A couple of hundred yards downhill, the final remnants of a disastrous fire that ripped through Universal Studios was extinguished as the ceremony got under way.
While there was no mention of the fire, there was definitely smoke during the over-the-top ceremony: Presenters Seth Rogen and James Franco, stars of the upcoming stoner comedy "Pineapple Express," pretended to smoke marijuana before handing out the popcorn trophy for new category of best summer movie so far.
"Kids, don't really smoke fake weed like this," Rogen sarcastically told the crowd at the Gibson Amphitheatre.
As they pulled out the "contraband," the cameras pulled away to a wide angle, staying that way until Rogen and Franco left the stage. The awkward moment made some in the audience laugh, but left Robert Downey Jr. — who accepted the award on behalf of "Iron Man" — with a puzzled look.
"Thanks fellas," he said, "for that intoxicating introduction."
Franco later told the AP backstage that MTV put them up to the joke, but that someone from the network decided at the last minute that they couldn't go through with it. By then, it was too late to pull back.
"MTV wrote it! ... Then backstage there was this big commotion: 'You guys can't say that,'" Franco said. "It says right in the script: 'Lights fake joint.'"
The nearby studio fire broke out 4:30 a.m. on a soundstage featuring a New York brownstone facades at the 400-acre property. It was contained to the lot but burned for more than 12 hours before the final flames were extinguished.
"I actually came here early because I wanted to see it," Chris Brown said before the show. What did he see? "A whole lot of chaos."
Winners were threatened to keep their speeches short by a man resembling Javier Bardem's character from "No Country for Old Men" — complete with the bob hairdo and pneumatic cattle gun. Best female performance winner Ellen Page from "Juno" escaped unscathed, but best fight winners Sean Faris and Cam Gigandet were ushered off stage by the menacing lookalike.
Host Mike Myers and Dana Carvey resurrected their "Saturday Night Live" characters Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, the cable access hosts of "Wayne's World." They acknowledged it's been awhile since they've been together ("1994. That's a while," said Wayne) and presented a risque top ten list of adult film titles (No. 8: "I Am Legend ... In Bed"; and No. 1 "Iron Man").
The mood backstage was calm as stars schmoozed during the show. Tom Cruise posed for photos with his arm around Ben Stiller while wife Katie Holmes stood a few steps away. She wasn't by herself for long: Sarah Jessica Parker chatted Holmes up, and Sandler and Will Smith both had their children with them behind the scenes.
Depp showed up to accept his trophies for best comedic performance for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and best villain for "Sweeney Todd." While the crowd was visibly excited — including a nearly swooning Diablo Cody — "Superbad" actors Jonah Hill and Rogen shook their fists at Depp and gave him the thumbs down.
Depp kept his first acceptance speech short.
"You can ask anybody," he said quietly. "I'm not a very funny person. I'm not even remotely funny."
Cruise presented Adam Sandler with the Generation Award, the MTV Movie Awards' highest honor, for his various comedic and "stupid" performances over the years. Sandler sang a live version of "Nobody Does It Better" alongside a bevy of backup dancers clad in skintight gold outfits. Among them: Rob Schneider.
Sandler, who took a guitar solo on his gold Les Paul, changed the lyrics to "baby, I'm the best."
"That was probably the most arrogant thing I've ever done," Sandler said, moments after Cruise got on his knees to hand over the golden popcorn.
Coldplay performed "Viva la Vida" amid a flurry of confetti, which at one point found its way in lead singer Chris Martin's mouth. Later, the Pussycat Dolls danced in front of a giant lit-up sign broadcasting the group's name alongside "America's Best Dance Crew" winners JabbaWockeeZ to "When I Grow Up."
Other winners during the ceremony included Smith for best male performance for "I Am Legend"; Zac Efron for best breakthrough performance for "Hairspray"; and Briana Evigan and Robert Hoffman for best kiss in "Step Up 2: The Streets."
The Show Will go On!
Los Angeles (E! Online) - UPDATE: Today's MTV Movie Awards are still on.
"The show will go on as planned," an MTV rep says!
And if Mike Myers appears tonight in Love Guru garb, what will the audience's reaction be?
Myers will host the 2008 MTV Movie Awards, which, logically enough, can be seen across Canada on MTV.
But as well as appearing as the master of ceremonies, Myers will be attempting to "get his face out there" in advance of the release of his new movie The Love Guru, which will be in theatres June 20.
Certainly, The Love Guru already has attracted a certain degree of controversy, given that some Hindu groups are worried that the flick will poke fun at their faith. Hey, maybe it will, but generally we believe that everybody and everything in the world is fair game for good comedy, and placing an "off limits" sign on anything is a step backward.
Sometimes a little controversy can be good for box-office receipts, so we'll see what happens. And speaking of seeing what happens, keep in mind that hardly anyone has seen The Love Guru yet, so any kind of pre-release "bad buzz" should be evaluated accordingly, if you catch our drift.
Myers, who grew up in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, stars as a Hindu self-help coach who tries to aid a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player. The cast of The Love Guru also includes Jessica Alba, Ben Kingsley and Justin Timberlake.
It'll be intriguing to see if Myers references The Love Guru at all tonight, be it through words or attire. Either way, we're sure Myers is savvy enough to realize that when you're hosting an event like the MTV Movie Awards, it's impossible -- and undesirable -- to make it all about yourself when there's eye candy such as Lindsay Lohan and Megan Fox strutting around.
The star power at the MTV Movie Awards always is first-rate, and this year is no exception.
Scheduled presenters at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., include Johnny Depp, Sarah Jessica Parker (gee, we haven't heard a lot about her lately), Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Liv Tyler, Edward Norton, Dwayne Johnson, Katharine McPhee, Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Wahlberg, Seth Rogen, Jennifer Hudson, Anne Hathaway, James Franco, Rumer Willis, Brendan Fraser, Danny McBride and the aforementioned Lohan and Fox.
Also, Coldplay and the Pussycat Dolls will take the stage for live performances -- not together, mind you.
Throw in the usual bizarre awards categories -- such as "best kiss," in which Juno's Ellen Page and Michael Cera are nominated this year, "best villain" and "best fight" -- and it should be another fun night at the MTV Movie Awards.
Hey, you know what would be cool? If the "best fight" nominees were required to perform their fight scenes live. What a show: Kicking and punching and sweating, with the affluent, bloodthirsty youth of today cheering them on ... oh wait, we have that already. It's called the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Can't we all just get along? Good thing the Love Guru himself will be in the house.
French classroom drama wins Cannes' top prize
CANNES, France (AP) — The French film "The Class," a frank tale about classroom life using real students and teachers at a junior high school, won top honors Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival.
Directed by Laurent Cantet, "The Class" ("Entre les Murs") was the first French film to win the main prize, the Palme d'Or, at Cannes since "Under Satan's Sun" in 1987. The docudrama was shot in a raw, improvisational style to chronicle the drama that unfolds over one school year.
The win was a unanimous decision among the nine-member Cannes jury, said Sean Penn, who headed the panel.
"The movie that we wanted to make had to resemble French society, had to be multifaceted, a bit teeming, complex, and had to sometimes portray frictions that the film didn't try to erase," Cantet said.
Italian films won the second-place grand prize and third-place jury prize. Matteo Garrone's "Gomorrah," a study of the criminal underworld in Naples, took the grand prize, while Paolo Sorrentino's "Il Divo," a lively portrait of former Premier Giulio Andreotti, won the jury award.
Benicio Del Toro won the best-actor prize for "Che," Steven Soderbergh's four-hour-plus epic about Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara. Presented as two films, "Che" follows Guevara and Fidel Castro's triumphant guerrilla campaign to overthrow Cuba's government in the late 1950s and Guevara's downfall and execution after trying to foment a similar rebellion in Bolivia in the 1960s.
Del Toro, who co-starred in Penn's "21 Grams," also won in a unanimous jury vote, Penn said.
"I'd like to dedicate this to the man himself, Che Guevara," said Del Toro. He also thanked Soderbergh, "who got up every day, forced me to this. ... He was there pushing it, and he pushed all of us."
Soderbergh directed Del Toro to the supporting-actor Oscar for 2000's "Traffic."
Sandra Corveloni was chosen as best actress for "Linha de Passe," in which she plays the mother of four brothers struggling to make better lives for themselves in a Brazilian slum. It was her first role in a feature film.
Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan was named best director for "Three Monkeys," which centers on a father who takes the rap for his employer's crime in exchange for financial support for his wife and son, only to have the scheme backfire amid bitter repercussions.
Belgian siblings Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, two-time winners of the Palme d'Or, received the screenplay prize for "Lorna's Silence," about an immigrant woman who enters a sham marriage to gain Belgian citizenship.
The prize for a film by a first-time director went to British filmmaker Steve McQueen's "Hunger," set at a Northern Ireland prison where IRA volunteer Bobby Sands and other inmates seeking Irish independence staged a hunger strike in 1981.
The Cannes jury awarded special prizes to Clint Eastwood, who directed the competition film "Changeling," and Catherine Deneuve, who appeared in two films at Cannes this year.
Eastwood was shut out for key prizes with "Changeling," his warmly received missing-child drama starring Angelina Jolie.
Eastwood, who delivered two best-picture and director Academy Award recipients with "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby," has never won top honors at Cannes after five times in competition there since 1985.
Jury president Penn won the best-actor Oscar for Eastwood's "Mystic River," which was shut out for prizes at Cannes five years ago.
"There was a field of such powerful, emotional, moving movies, performances. There was so many times that we thought, it just can't get better," Penn said.
Critics judged the Cannes lineup more harshly, however. While Cannes presented few outright bombs this time, critics found the films a bit tepid.
Last year's competition included such films as Joel and Ethan Coen's "No Country for Old Men," which went on to win the best-picture Academy Award, and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated coming-of-age tale "Persepolis," which was nominated for the animation Oscar.
A film from Kazakhstan, Sergey Dvortsevoy's "Tulpan," won a secondary competition called "Un Certain Regard." "Tulpan" is the story of an aspiring shepherd on the isolated Kazakh steppes who must wed before he can enter his chosen trade but is refused by the only prospective bride because she thinks his ears are too big.
Bosnian director Aida Begic's "Snow," a drama about villagers struggling with the decision to leave their war-ravaged town, won top honors in another Cannes competition overseen by critics.
After the awards ceremony, the festival closed with the premiere of Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened?", starring Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis and Penn in the tale of a fading Hollywood producer trying to rejuvenate his career amid personal and professional crises.
"What Just Happened?" came full circle: A year ago, Levinson and his collaborators were at Cannes filming scenes for the movie.
Hedley leads MMVA nominations
TORONTO - Pop-rock pranksters Hedley lead the nominees for this year's MuchMusic Video Awards, ensuring a wild carnival ride for the annual celebrity street party.
Jacob Hoggard and the boys snagged six nods while rapper Belly and pop band IllScarlett each got five nominations. The annual music show, traditionally an off-the-wall spectacle that overtakes Toronto's trendy Queen Street with a red carpet and live performances, airs live June 15.
Last year, members of Hedley showed up with a nude male blow-up doll and the previous year they dropped their pants on the red carpet.
Other multiple nominees this year include three for Simple Plan and two each for City and Colour, Feist and Sam Roberts.
International nominees include Fall Out Boy, Flo Rida, Kanye West, Rihanna, and Timbaland Presents OneRepublic.
Performers are expected to be announced next week.
Grammy Awards set 2009 date
The Recording Academy has set Feb. 8, 2009, as the date the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, to be held once again from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The Grammys have been telecast live from the Staples Center since 2000, with one exception coming in 2003, when the awards were held in New York.
The 2009 awards will once again fall on a Sunday, where, overall, the show has enjoyed solid TV ratings. In 2006, the Grammys aired on a Wednesday and lost its night to "American Idol," but bounced back in 2007. This year's telecast, which featured performances from Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Amy Winehouse, scored 17.5 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, about a 12% dip from the 2007 broadcast.
With today's announcement from the Recording Academy, the eligibility period for the 2009 Grammy Awards has also been confirmed. Once again, the Grammys will recognize albums released between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008. While allowing more time for votes to be tabulated, the eligibility period forces the Grammys to recognize some of the year's blockbuster releases a year late, as October and November tend to be two of the music industry's busiest months.
Set to open prior to next year's Grammy telecast will be the 30,000-square-foot Grammy Museum, located next to the Staples Center at the L.A. Live entertainment complex (home to the Nokia Theatre). The four-floor museum, with a small theater and a rooftop terrace for private events, is slated to open in late 2008, according to a Grammy spokeswoman.
Nominations for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards will be announced on Dec. 4 from Los Angeles. The Feb. 9, 2009, awards will once again be broadcast live on CBS, airing on a tape delay for West Coast viewers.
Chesney after ACM win: Fan votes shouldn't decide
LAS VEGAS - Kenny Chesney won entertainer of the year for a fourth straight time Sunday, then promptly took issue with the way the Academy of Country music awarded the honor: through fan votes.
For the first time in the show's 43 years, the top prize — traditionally decided by ACM members — was determined through online voting. With the win, Chesney ties Garth Brooks and trails only Alabama, which won five in a row.
Chesney said immediately backstage that he thought fans should be included, just not by voting for the show's most important award.
"The entertainer of the year trophy is supposed to represent heart and passion and an amazing amount of sacrifice, commitment and focus," he said. "That's the way Garth won it four times, that's the way I won it, that's the way (George) Strait won it, Reba (McEntire), Alabama all those years. That's what it's supposed to represent."
He said his com