LOS ANGELES — Forget who won this year’s Oscars, Grammys and Emmys — there are millions of movie, music and TV fans out there just dying to learn which celebrity burps the loudest.
And they’ll find out, as well as learn the winners in more than a dozen other categories for film, TV, music, sports, books and video games during Saturday’s 20th annual Kids Choice Awards. ...
The event, long the loudest, messiest and at times the grossest of Hollywood’s many award shows, has grown into one of the entertainment industry’s most popular as well. It’s become a hit not only with the 14-and-under set, but with the celebrities who now attend in droves.
‘‘It’s just one of those things that’s fun to show up at,’’ said Justin Timberlake, the defending burping champion and host of this year’s show. ‘‘Hey, any awards show you can wear jeans and a T-shirt to is kind of cool.’’
Jeans and a T-shirt is almost required dress for those honored with an award at this show, as at any moment any of them could be drenched in green, gooey slime, another hallmark of the show. Timberlake himself was sprayed with the stuff in 2001 when he was with his former band ’N Sync.
X Games champion Tony Hawk once skateboarded into a vat of green slime from a platform several stories high. BMX bike champion Mat Hoffman parachuted out of a plane, while on his bicycle, straight into a vat of green goo. Last year, Robin Williams was sprayed with it.
‘‘He seemed to revel in it,’’ says Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group, who has been involved in all 20 Kids Choice Awards. She can recall the show’s early days, when it was a struggle just to get a nominee to show up.
‘‘It was a sad day back then, trying to get somebody to accept an award from us,’’ Zarghami recalled with a laugh. ‘‘It took a long time to get them to come.’’
That began to change 10 years ago, and now this year’s list of celebrity nominees who are expected to attend includes Will Smith, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Queen Latifah and Johnny Depp, who was a sliming victim two years ago. Musical performers include Gwen Stefani and Maroon 5.
The show, meanwhile, will be broadcast in the U.S., Europe, Russia, Israel, Asia, Australia and Latin America.
‘‘I think it reflects the growing importance of the family audience,’’ Valerie Van Gelder, president of marketing for Columbia Pictures, said of the program’s growth in popularity.
Williams’ sliming last year, she added, helped get attention for his movie ‘‘RV.’’
‘‘Kids have an enormous amount of influence over their entertainment choices these days and they’re very opinionated, so we’d like to try and make sure they know about the projects that are geared to them,’’ she said.
The show, which will air live at 7 p.m. on cable’s Nickelodeon, is done before an audience of 10,000 or so shrieking kids lucky enough to score tickets to it.
‘‘I don’t think there’s anything quite like walking down the orange carpet with kids screaming the entire time,’’ said Zarghami. ‘‘And I think they get it. The minute the celebrities step on the orange carpet they realize it ain’t the Oscars.’’
As more actors have grown up with the show, it’s also become a bigger deal for one of them to take home one of the awards — an orange-colored blimp.
‘‘You grow up watching the Kids Choice Awards and you never expect to be taking a blimp home,’’ said Drake Bell, the 20-year-old co-star of the teen comedy ‘‘Drake & Josh.’’ He claimed his first two last year, for favorite actor and favorite TV show.
It wasn’t lost on him, Bell said, that some 25 million votes were cast online for last year’s winners.
‘‘It’s not like watching the Oscars and it’s left to a panel and you go, ’Oh, no, that person shouldn’t have won,’’’ said the actor, who’s nominated in the same categories again this year. ‘‘If someone is going to go get online, go to www.nick.com and find out how to vote and all that stuff, they’re really passionate about it.’’
Then there is the fun factor, said Timberlake: ‘‘You put me in front of a bunch of kids and I become a circus clown.’’
He’s won four Grammys, but he preferred to talk about a more endearing prize.
‘‘The only award that means more than the world to me is the prestigious burp award,’’ Timberlake joked. ‘‘I don’t think there is a higher honor at the Kids Choice Awards, and I’m pretty proud that I’m the big burp champion of all time.’’
Indeed, he is the only person to win the award twice.
LOS ANGELES — Twenty years ago, cable TV finally broke down the Emmy barrier that kept it from competing with broadcasting. Until the 1987-88 TV season, when HBO’s ‘‘Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam’’ was honored, cable channels settled for CableAce trophies.
It’s a different story for today’s newest media — the digital programming available on the Internet and phone — with a handful of Emmys already claimed by Web shows including the charity concert Live 8 on AOL. Whether there will be more honors any time soon, however, is as fuzzy as a black-and-white picture tuned with rabbit ears. ...
The companies scrambling for ways to profitably mate TV and the Web are glad to submit digital fare for Emmy consideration; the fear and loathing broadcasters had for nascent cable has no place in this synergistic world.
But the TV academies that dispense Emmys are at odds over the issue, with the dispute even landing in court. The East Coast group wants to accelerate the move toward broadband awards while the West Coast one favors a deliberative pace.
‘‘I urged our people that if we don’t recognize the future of television it will pass us by and someone else will recognize it,’’ said Peter Price, president and chief executive officer of the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).
On Tuesday, the video-sharing site YouTube did just that, announcing its first YouTube Video Award winners that included the online series ‘‘Ask a Ninja’’ and the pop group OK Go’s ‘‘Here It Goes Again’’ music video.
The Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) is unswayed.
‘‘Digital certainly should be honored. It’s a new, emerging part of the television landscape,’’ said Dick Askin, chairman and CEO. ‘‘What we want to do is figure out how to honor excellence in this new medium and still be consistent with the standards of excellence we’ve always applied to quality programming.’’
The issue flared in 2006 when NATAS added a broadband award to each of the categories it administers: daytime, news, public service and sports programming. The response was surprisingly strong, Price said, with the majority of entries from ‘‘digital divisions of big companies — including ABC.com, NationalGeorgraphic.com’’ and a variety of newspapers and magazines.
One nominee, based on Fox’s ‘‘24’’ and made for mobile phones, proved disquieting to ATAS, which has oversight of the prime-time Emmys handed out each fall.
‘‘We were questioned by colleagues on the West Coast, ‘Isn’t that prime-time programming repurposed for digital form? Shouldn’t there be lines drawn here?’’’ Price recalled.
NATAS responded that boundaries were being observed. It maintained that the brief cell phone episode differed from the TV show and that daytime and prime-time distinctions don’t hold given the fluid accessibility of broadband.
The academies were negotiating to resolved the broadband issue and were to bring recommendations to their boards. But after NATAS announced additional broadband awards with Web site MySpace.com as sponsor, ATAS aggressively shifted gears this month.
It submitted an arbitration request to the American Arbitration Association and filed suit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for a temporary injunction barring NATAS from creating new digital content awards.
On Tuesday, Judge Manuel Real dismissed the request, ruling that the matter should be settled through arbitration. ATAS responded that it was ‘‘optimistic that this matter will be resolved fairly and quickly.’’
The NATAS chief was blunter. ‘‘I think the way to find opportunities to resolve this is to sit down without a pack of lawyers or arbitrators, figure out what you’re going to do and do it,’’ Price said Wednesday.
The two groups have to reach an accord, said Tom O’Neil, author of ‘‘The Emmys’’ and host of the Goldderby.com awards Web site. ‘‘YouTube has proven that TV and the Internet have finally joined. The TV academies’ challenge is how to recognize it,’’ he said.
Not all agree. Dan Harmon has a foot both in the Internet world, as co-creator of Channel101.com, and in the traditional TV world with a new VH1 series, ‘‘Acceptable.TV,’’ based on his Web site showcasing abbreviated shows.
To Harmon, the idea of bestowing Emmys on Web fare is absurd on several levels.
‘‘Emmys are about this kind of 60-year-old television studio system and the heroes who do things within that system to get quality content onto the box,’’ he said. ‘‘The idea of having a special category in which they award themselves for having a lower budget and making content that doesn’t deserve to be on TV ... that’s what they’re talking about with the ‘24’ episode and things like that.’’
Besides, the online world and awards are antithetical, he said: While awards show are a way for traditional media to get feedback, ‘‘the Internet is instantaneous.’’
‘‘The Internet represents the breakdown of the paradigm in which we were able to categorize media. So why give it an Emmy? They (the TV academies) are scared of looking like they’re going extinct.’’
ATAS chief Askin doesn’t envision that scenario.
‘‘We’ll be celebrating our 60th birthday next year, and the Television Academy has done a very good job of changing with the times,’’ he said. ‘‘The important thing is that the academy recognizes that digital content is a very dynamic part of the business and will grow in importance as we go forward.’’
Whatever the future of the Emmys, Harmon doesn’t deny their current allure. He and his 30ish colleagues at Channel101 stage an annual mock awards show that, it seems, isn’t entirely a joke: Harmon has dreams of someday receiving a trophy for his TV work.
‘‘This generation has a lot of love for the medium and we’re not going to shake it. ... I wouldn’t mind getting an Emmy, believe me. That’s one I want before I die,’’ he said.
Jimmy Kimmel and NBA star LeBron James have been tapped to co-host the 15th anniversary of ESPN’s ESPY Awards. The two-hour awards show, which honors the best in sports and entertainment, will be taped at July 11 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland. The telecast is set to air at 8 p.m. July 15.
Barbara Mandrell, Jason Aldean, Josh Turner, Kellie Pickler, LeAnn Rimes, former professional wrestler ‘‘Stone Cold’’ Steve Austin and Taylor Swift have been added to the list of presenters for CMT’s 2007 Music Awards, which will be held April 16 in Nashville. Performers on the show include Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban (performing from Australia), Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Toby Keith and Bon Jovi. In an interesting twist, and in addition to casting their vote to determine the night’s winners at CMT.com, fans can choose their ‘‘Flatt Out Fan Favorite,’’ the song that Rascal Flatts will perform to open the broadcast.
The 80th Annual Academy Awards has settled into the late-February time frame that the awards show has now used three times — in 2004, ’05 and again this year. Next year’s ceremony is set for Feb. 24, the last Sunday in February, said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis, who announced the 2008 Oscar calendar Wednesday.
ABC again will broadcast the show live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
To accommodate the Feb. 24 date, the Academy will announce its nominations at 5:30 a.m. PST on Jan. 22.
The awards cycle will kick off Dec. 3, when official screen credit forms are due.
Nominations ballots will be mailed Dec. 26, and the nominations polls will close at 5 p.m. PST on Jan 12.
Following the announcement of the nominations Jan. 22, final ballots will be mailed Jan. 30, and the final polls will close at 5 p.m. PST on Feb. 19.
The Academy will hold its nominees luncheon Feb. 4. The Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation is slated for Feb. 9.
Reba returning to ACMs; Billboard adds country awards
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Reba McEntire will return as host of the 42nd annual Academy of Country Music Awards, the organization announced Thursday. ‘‘I’m so flattered,’’ McEntire said in a statement. ‘‘I’m thrilled to be heading back to Las Vegas to help put on the greatest show in country music.’’ The awards will be presented May 15 in Las Vegas, and the show will air live on CBS.
George Strait leads the nominees with eight nominations, including entertainer of the year and top male vocalist. Vocal duo Brooks & Dunn have seven nominations and Rascal Flatts six. ...
In other news, Billboard is looking to expand its awards brand to Nashville by creating a Billboard County Music Awards telecast. Billboard already has successful TV franchises with the Billboard Music Awards, which honors the top sellers of the year, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, as well as a weekly Spanish countdown show.
‘‘Country music is very important to Billboard and we would love to put the spotlight on its brightest stars,’’ says Tamara Conniff, executive editor and associate publisher of Billboard. ‘‘We are in early discussions to determine our plans. If this is something Nashville thinks would be good for the county music industry, we would love to do it.’’
No broadcast partner has been confirmed for the Billboard County Music Awards or the Billboard Music Awards, however negotiations are currently taking place for both shows.
Billboard is also home to the Billboard Touring Awards and the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Awards.
Soon-to-retire game show host Bob Barker has a chance to win his 18th Daytime Emmy. He received a nomination today, while the CBS soap opera ‘‘Guiding Light’’ captured a leading 17. Another CBS soap, ‘‘As the World Turns,’’ got 16. ...
New ‘‘Today’’ show host Meredith Vieira was nominated for hosting the syndicated ‘‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’’ and may be recognized in another category: A new award for morning shows such as NBC’s ‘‘Today’’ is being established. Those nominations will be announced in April.
‘‘There’s so much talk and feature material on the morning shows that has never been recognized,’’ said Peter Price, president of the National Television Academy.
It’s not a judgment that the network morning shows are no longer news programs, Price said. They still will be able to submit material for the News and Documentary Emmys.
The Daytime Emmys ceremony will be telecast June 15 on CBS.
Barker, 83, will step down as host of CBS’ ‘‘The Price is Right’’ in June. Besides Vieira, the sentimental favorite will be competing for the best game show host trophy against Alex Trebek of ‘‘Jeopardy!,’’ Pat Sajak of ‘‘Wheel of Fortune’’ and Ben Bailey of Discovery’s ‘‘Cash Cab.’’
His 17 previous honors include a lifetime achievement award. It may not be his last chance to win, either; since the awards work on a calendar year basis, he would be eligible again in 2008 for his partial year as host in 2007.
‘‘Sesame Street,’’ ‘‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’’ and ‘‘The Young and the Restless’’ each got 12 nominations.
Two ‘‘Guiding Light’’ cast members, Crystal Chappell and Kim Zimmer, will compete for best actress in a daytime drama. Other nominees: Jeanne Cooper and Michelle Stafford, both of CBS’ ‘‘The Young and the Restless,’’ and Maura West of ‘‘As the World Turns.’’
With Peter Bergman and Christian LeBlanc, ‘‘The Young and the Restless’’ also had two nominees for best actor. Also in the running: Michael Park of ‘‘As the World Turns,’’ Anthony Geary of ABC’s ‘‘General Hospital’’ and Ricky Paull Goldin of ‘‘Guiding Light.’’
Rosie O’Donnell, who won six straight Daytime Emmys for best talk show host on her old program, has the chance to return to the winner’s circle again.
She’d have to break a jinx to do it, though. The women of ABC’s ‘‘The View’’ have been nominated for best talk show host nine times without a win.
Other talk show host nominees: Dr. Phil McGraw, DeGeneres, Rachael Ray, Tyra Banks, and Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway of ‘‘Soap Talk.’’
PASADENA, Calif. — Jamie Foxx and Mary J. Blige took best album honors Saturday at the 21st Anniversary Soul Train Music Awards. Foxx won best male album for ‘‘Unpredictable’’ while Blige won best female album for ‘‘The Breakthrough.’’
Chicago's Jennifer Hudson, who last month won a best supporting actress Oscar for the movie musical ‘‘Dreamgirls,’’ was given the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year. After receiving her award, Hudson reflected on her rapid rise to stardom after being an ‘‘American Idol’’ finalist a few years ago.
‘‘I just can’t believe I got the Sammy Davis Jr. award,’’ said Hudson, who also performed during the show. ‘‘I’m standing on the same stage where I made the top 32 of ’American Idol.’ ’’ ...
John Legend won best male single for ‘‘Save Room,’’ and Gnarls Barkley won for best single in the category for group, band or duo for ‘‘Crazy.’’
‘‘I want to thank Soul Train for appreciating my music and black music over the years,’’ said Legend, who did not attend the show, via a television feed.
Jay-Z won the Michael Jackson award for best soul or rap video for ‘‘Show Me What You Got.’’ The Isley Brothers Featuring Ronald Isley won best album for a group, band or duo for ‘‘Baby Makin’ Music.’’
Beyonce won best female single for ‘‘Irreplaceable’’ while best gospel album went to Kirk Franklin for ‘‘Sounds from the Storm, Volume 1.’’
LeToya and Omarion were co-hosts of the show at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, which was scheduled to be televised in syndication between March 17-25.
The Soul Train Music Awards are sponsored by the syndicated music show ‘‘Soul Train’’ and celebrate artists in R&B, hip-hop and gospel music. Winners are determined by a group of radio-station professionals, talent managers and performers.
A complete list of winners :
Best R&B soul or rap dance cut: ‘‘Chicken Noodle Soup,’’ Webstar & Young B Featuring The Voice of Harlem.
Best R&B soul single, group, band or duo: ‘‘Crazy,’’ Gnarls Barkley.
Best R&B soul single, male: ‘‘Save Room,’’ John Legend.
Best R&B soul single, female: ‘‘Irreplaceable,’’ Beyonce.
Best R&B soul album, male: ‘‘Unpredictable,’’ Jamie Foxx.
Best R&B soul album, female: ‘‘The Breakthrough,’’ Mary J. Blige.
Best R&B soul album, group, band or duo: ‘‘Baby Makin’ Music,’’ The Isley Brothers Featuring Ronald Isley.
Best R&B soul or rap new artist: Ne-Yo, ‘‘Sexy Love.’’
Michael Jackson Award for Best R&B soul or rap video: ‘‘Show Me What You Got,’’ Jay-Z.
Best Gospel Album: ‘‘Sounds from the Storm, Volume 1,’’ Kirk Franklin.
Special Awards:
2007 Stevie Wonder Award for Outstanding Achievements in Song Writing: Kenneth ‘‘Babyface’’ Edmonds.
2007 Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year: Jennifer Hudson.
2007 Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding Career Achievements: Jermaine Dupri.
Chicago native Terrence Howardtells ContactMusic.com he snubbed the Oscars (despite being announced early as a presenter) to avoid all that fake smiling and posing. "You see people learning to smile on cue, to laugh on cue and to wear what they're supposed to wear. You start off as a celebrated artist and you end up as a celebrity. I don't want to be a celebrity."
Meanwhile, "Little MIss Sunshine" star Toni Collette skipped the big gig to concentrate on, er, her music career.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — George Strait led the nominees announced today for the Academy of Country Music Awards with eight nominations, including entertainer of the year and top male vocalist. Vocal duo Brooks & Dunn got seven nominations and Rascal Flatts earned six.
Nominees were introduced by Kenny Chesney — the reigning ACM entertainer of the year — and the duo Sugarland. The announcement was made at the Country Music Hall of Fame and aired live on CBS’ ‘‘The Early Show.’’
‘‘Whenever you get nominated, it’s a reflection of a lot of people’s hard work,’’ said Chesney, who is nominated again for entertainer of the year as well as male vocalist.
Carrie Underwood received five nominations and Big & Rich got four.
‘‘I feel like I’m still in a dream,’’ said Underwood, the former ‘‘American Idol’’ champ whose debut album, ‘‘Some Hearts,’’ has sold 5 million copies. ‘‘My life has been such a whirlwind in the past two years, so please don’t wake me up.’’
The 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be presented May 15 in Las Vegas.
Following is the list of nominees for the 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards:
Entertainer of the Year: Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, George Strait.
Top Male Vocalist: Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Keith Urban.
Top Female Vocalist: Sara Evans, Faith Hill, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood.
Top Vocal Group: Diamond Rio, Emerson Drive, Little Big Town, Lonestar, Rascal Flatts.
Top Vocal Duo: Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, Sugarland, the Wreckers.
Top New Male Vocalist: Rodney Atkins, Craig Morgan, Chris Young.
Top New Female Vocalist: Miranda Lambert, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift.
Top New Duo or Vocal Group: Heartland, Little Big Town, the Wreckers
Album of the Year: ‘‘Hillbilly Deluxe,’’ Brooks & Dunn; ‘‘It Just Comes Natural,’’ George Strait; ‘‘Me and My Gang,’’ Rascal Flatts; ‘‘Some Hearts,’’ Carrie Underwood; ‘‘These Days,’’ Vince Gill.
Single Record of the Year: ‘‘Before He Cheats,’’ Carrie Underwood; ‘‘Give It Away,’’ George Strait; ‘‘I Loved Her First,’’ Heartland; ‘‘What Hurts the Most,’’ Rascal Flatts; ‘‘Would You Go with Me,’’ Josh Turner.
Song of the Year: ‘‘Amarillo Sky,’’ Jason Aldean; ‘‘Before He Cheats,’’ Carrie Underwood; ‘‘Give It Away,’’ George Strait; ‘‘If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows),’’ Rodney Atkins; ‘‘Would You Go With Me,’’ Josh Turner.
Video of the Year: ‘‘8th of November,’’ Big & Rich; ‘‘Amarillo Sky,’’ Jason Aldean; ‘‘Before He Cheats,’’ Carrie Underwood; ‘‘Hillbilly Deluxe,’’ Brooks & Dunn; ‘‘Seashores of Old Mexico,’’ George Strait.
Vocal Event of the Year: ‘‘Building Bridges,’’ Brooks & Dunn with Vince Gill & Sheryl Crow; ‘‘I Don’t Want to,’’ Ashley Monroe & Ronnie Dunn; ‘‘Me and God,’’ Josh Turner featuring Dr. Ralph Stanley; ‘‘Politically Uncorrect,’’ Gretchen Wilson featuring Merle Haggard; ‘‘That’s How They Do It in Dixie,’’ Hank Williams Jr. with Gretchen Wilson, Big & Rich and Van Zant.
Hudson wins more at NAACP Image Awards; Obama, too
By PETER PRENGAMAN
LOS ANGELES — Oscar winners Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson kept their winning streaks alive Friday, while ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy’’ star Isaiah Washington claimed a best actor prize at the 38th annual NAACP Image Awards. ‘‘Ugly Betty’’ took top television honors.
Hudson, a Chicago native and former ‘‘American Idol’’ finalist, garnered a best supporting actress award for her role in the musical ‘‘Dreamgirls,’’ the same category she won at the Academy Awards last Sunday.
‘‘There is nothing like being recognized and honored by your own,’’ said Hudson.
Whitaker, who won a best actor Oscar for ‘‘The Last King of Scotland,’’ earned the same prize at Friday’s ceremony, which honor projects and individuals who promote diversity in the arts.
‘‘Doing this role gave me so many blessings,’’ said Whitaker, who plays a Ugandan dictator in the film. ‘‘One was being able to go back to Africa and touch my roots.’’
Washington, who has been sharply criticized for uttering a gay slur on the set of his hit show, scored best actor for a drama series.
‘‘I’m humbled and honored to be recognized by the NAACP,’’ said Washington, who announced earlier this year he would seek help after receiving a torrent of negative publicity for his comments.
‘‘The first time I was up here I felt deserving of something,’’ he added. ‘‘This time I feel privileged.’’
‘‘The Pursuit of Happyness,’’ starring Will Smith and his son, won best picture honors. Keke Palmer nabbed best actress for ‘‘Akee
