The Gold Rush

LOS ANGELES — Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and Kyra Sedgwick are among the celebrities added to the list of presenters for the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. ...

Baldwin and Fey star on NBC’s ‘‘30 Rock,’’ Colbert is host of ‘‘The Colbert Report’’ on Comedy Central, and Sedgwick stars on TNT’s ‘‘The Closer.’’

Other presenters announced Thursday by executive producer Ken Ehrlich include Marcia Cross, Ellen DeGeneres and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The Emmys Awards, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, will air live Sept. 16 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on the Fox network.

Previously announced presenters include Jon Stewart, Jeremy Piven, Kelsey Grammer, Kiefer Sutherland and Katherine Heigl.

AP

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LOS ANGELES — Mail carriers rejoice: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wants film studios to scale back the crush of mail they send to Academy members to promote their movies during the annual marketing push that leads up to the Oscars.

‘‘We’re asking the companies to use e-mail as much as possible,’’ said Ric Robertson, the Academy’s executive administrator. ‘‘Part of it is being conservation-minded, and part of it is a reaction to our members who complain about the deluge of mail they receive every day.’’

The 80th Academy Awards will air Feb. 24, 2008.

Under new rules disclosed this week, the Academy will no longer permit movie studios to mail sound recordings, music videos, or sheet music of film scores or soundtracks to Oscar voters.

Previously, movie studios could send out CDs with the musical score or song they wanted to promote.

‘‘There is a concern in the music branch that when a score is sent out by itself it is being evaluated outside of the context of the movie and that’s not the way they’re supposed to be evaluated,’’ Robertson said. ‘‘It can’t just be a nice, great, good song, it has to serve the movie in some way intended by the filmmakers.’’

The Academy is also asking film studios to give members the opportunity to opt out from receiving mailings.
Robertson said Academy members can see all the eligible movies and perform their voting duties without relying on the materials the studios send out every fall and winter prior to the Oscars.

In general, the new rules limit studios to sending Academy members screeners, or copies of films for home viewing, screenplays, and information on public screenings.

Robertson said the Academy hasn’t received any calls from studios voicing objections over the latest rules.
In any case, it’s unlikely the Academy would make any changes in the changes until after the Oscars telecast in February.

AP

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NEW YORK — Justin Timberlake and Beyonce lead the pop parade of nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards with seven nods apiece, it was announced this week. ...

Beyonce’s ‘‘Irreplaceable’’ was nominated for video of the year, as was Timberlake’s ambitiously cinematic ‘‘What Goes Around ... Comes Around,’’ which co-starred Scarlett Johansson. Also competing in the category are Amy Winehouse’s ‘‘Rehab,’’ Kanye West’s ‘‘Stronger,’’ Rihanna’s ‘‘Umbrella’’ (featuring Jay-Z) and Justice’s ‘‘D.A.N.C.E.’’

Timberlake was also nominated for male artist of the year and ‘‘most earth shattering collaboration’’ for pairing with Timbaland for ‘‘Sexy Back.’’ Beyonce was nominated for female artist of the year and for her collaboration with Shakira on ‘‘Beautiful Liar.’’

West landed five nominations, including male artist of the year. He has often appeared prickly about losing awards, and on Tuesday he was still sore over being snubbed last year for his Evel Knievel spoof video ‘‘Touch the Sky.’’ (In 2005, he did win best male video for ‘‘Jesus Walks.’’)

‘‘I come to win. I don’t come to lose,’’ West told MTV Tuesday on ‘‘TRL,’’ where the awards were announced. ‘‘I think there’s some really strong competition this year.’’

Rihanna also received five nominations, propelled by her hit single, ‘‘Umbrella,’’ which is up for ‘‘monster single of the year.’’

Also nominated for male artist of the year was Akon, T.I. and Robin Thicke. Rounding out the nominees for female artist of the year were Fergie and Nelly Furtado.

Winehouse, whose album ‘‘Back to Black’’ was her second disc but her first released in the U.S., was nominated for best new artist. She received three nods, including female artist of the year. In the best new artist category, Winehouse will compete with her compatriot Lily Allen, as well as Carrie Underwood, Gym Class Heroes and Peter Bjorn & John.

Up for best group are Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Linkin Park, Maroon 5 and the White Stripes.

The 24th annual VMAs will be handed out during a live two-hour show on Sept. 9 in Las Vegas at the Palms Hotel and Casino. Only eight categories will be awarded on the broadcast. Performers will include Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Amy Winehouse, Chris Brown, the Foo Fighters and Rihanna.

Timbaland will be the ‘‘maestro’’ of the award show, serving essentially as the evening’s DJ. Last year, the Raconteurs played a similar role.

‘‘By me being maestro,’’ said Timbaland, ‘‘I am the show.’’

AP

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LOS ANGELES — Fox’s ‘‘Idol Gives Back,’’ which provided millions of dollars in aid to children in extreme poverty, and HBO’s ‘‘The Addiction Project’’ educational campaign will receive the television academy’s 2007 Governors Award. ...

‘‘We salute these programs for harnessing the power of television to educate and inform viewers about two very significant issues that touch all of us,’’ academy chairman Dick Askin said in announcing the award this week.

Part concert and part public-service campaign, ‘‘Idol Gives Back’’ joined ‘‘American Idol’’ host Ryan Seacrest and Ellen DeGeneres with musicians, humanitarians and corporate sponsors to raise more than $74 million for poor, homeless and sick children in the United States and Africa.

‘‘We are so proud to have been able to leverage the power of ‘Idol’ with the support of our dedicated viewers across America to raise so much money and awareness for such worthwhile charitable organizations,’’ creator and executive producer Simon Fuller said in a statement.

‘‘The Addiction Project,’’ a partnership between HBO, the National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson foundation, included a series of documentary films and outreach events in more than 100 cities to build awareness of addiction as a chronic brain disease that responds to medical and behavioral treatments.

‘‘It’s a topic which affects the lives of millions of Americans, and HBO considers it a privilege to have made some small contribution to helping people understand the challenges and treatment opportunities of this terrible disease,’’ HBO chairman and chief executive Bill Nelson said in a statement.

The Governors Award is the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ highest honor, recognizing the achievements of an individual, company or organization. Past recipients include Jerry Lewis for his work with the Muscular Dystrophy telethon and mtvU’s Campaign for Darfur.

The awards will be presented Sept. 8 at the creative arts Emmy ceremony, which honors technical achievements and guest actors in series.

The prime-time Emmys are scheduled to air live on Fox on Sept. 16.

AP

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