November 2007 Archives

LOS ANGELES — The whimsical Bob Dylan narrative ‘‘I’m Not There,’’ featuring Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere and four others playing incarnations of the enigmatic singer, led nominees today for the Spirit Awards honoring independent film.

‘‘I’m Not There’’ was nominated for best feature; supporting actress for Blanchett; supporting actor for child performer Marcus Carl Franklin; and best director for Todd Haynes. ...

By STEPHEN GALLOWAY

A bleak, even nihilistic, worldview pervades many of the movies contending for the 80th Academy Awards, a direct reflection of the social and political turmoil roiling the United States.

‘‘A lot of filmmakers are gravitating toward a dark world these days because we are in a state of gravity in our lives,’’ says Craig Zadan, who, along with Neil Meron, produced one of the few upbeat awards season contenders in New Line’s musical ‘‘Hairspray.’’ ‘‘The war and everything connected to it has put everybody in a very sober mood, and in talking to filmmakers, I see that everybody is leaning toward being very serious.’’

No kidding...

By SANDY COHEN

LOS ANGELES — Without the quips between celebrity presenters, inside jokes about the entertainment industry and skits that poke fun at stars behaving badly, awards shows would be little more than shiny trophies and long lists of names.

That could be the case for some of the shows in Hollywood’s fabled awards season this year if the Writers Guild of America remains on strike for several months. ...

NEW YORK — The Police reunion tour was the big winner at the fourth annual Billboard Touring Awards, held last night at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York.

The global trek by the Police, produced by TNA International, took home awards for top tour and top draw, which recognize the top-grossing tour and the top ticket-selling tour, respectively. Additionally, Kathy Schenker Management, management company for the Police tour, was named top manager. ...

By KATIE HASTY

The Academy Is ..., from Chicago, Say Anything and Boys Like Girls were the big winners Thursday night at the 2007 mtvU Woodie Awards. The college music network awarded seven wooden statuettes at the high-energy ceremony, held at New York’s Roseland Ballroom.

The Shins, who were the nominations frontrunner with three nods, went home empty-handed. Over 4.6 million votes were cast for the fourth annual event. ...

‘‘The Bourne Ultimatum’’ was among leading nominees for the 34th annual People’s Choice Awards, organizers said Thursday. The spy thriller was nominated for favorite movie, favorite action movie and favorite ‘‘threequel.’’ Leading man Matt Damon was nominated for favorite male action star.

He’s up against Johnny Depp, who got nods in the male action star and favorite male movie star categories. Jessica Alba scored nominations for favorite leading lady and favorite female action star.

By STEVEN ZEITCHIK

NEW YORK — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday released a list of the 12 films that are eligible to compete for the best animated feature Oscar.

A complete list of winners at Thursday’s eightth annual Latin Grammy Awards ...

By ALEX VEIGA

LAS VEGAS — You could say the hand was stacked in Juan Luis Guerra’s favor before the prolific singer-songwriter ever got to Sin City and came away with a jackpot of Latin Grammy trophies.

The Dominican superstar had a show-leading five nominations heading into the eighth annual Latin Grammy Awards on Thursday and won them all, including the most-coveted trifecta: album of the year, record of the year and song of the year.

The singer and his band, 440, also won trophies for best merengue album and tropical song for their album, ‘‘La Llave De Mi Corazon,’’ and its title track. ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Patty Griffin, whose songs have been praised for their poetic lyrics, won album of the year and artist of the year awards at the Americana Music awards.

Griffin, 43, won album of the year for ‘‘Children Running Through,’’ which some critics have called the most complete work of her career. ...

MONTE CARLO, Monaco — Celine Dion and Patti LaBelle were honored at the World Music Awards for their outstanding careers, while British newcomer Mika took home a clutch of prizes.

Dion received the highest accolade, the Legend Award, at a gala in Monte Carlo on Sunday night. Prince Albert II, who presented the honor, said Dion’s voice ‘‘soothes the world’s hearts and creates smiles of love across the face of the world.’’