Dylan film ‘I’m Not There’ leads nominees for indie Spirit Awards
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. ...
Also nominated for best film were two others about real people: Angelina Jolie’s ‘‘A Mighty Heart,’’ in which she plays the wife of slain reporter Daniel Pearl, and ‘‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,’’ chronicling the life of French Elle Editor Jean-Dominique Bauby after a paralyzing stroke.
The other best-film nominees: ‘‘Juno,’’ featuring Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman and Ellen Page in a comic drama about a pregnant teen planning to give up her baby for adoption, and ‘‘Paranoid Park,’’ director Gus Van Sant’s drama about a young skateboarder tormented by an incident in which he caused a security guard’s death.
The Spirit Awards will be presented Feb. 23, the day before the Academy Awards.
Jolie as Mariane Pearl in ‘‘A Mighty Heart’’ and Page as the pregnant teen in ‘‘Juno’’ earned lead-actress nominations, along with Sienna Miller for ‘‘Interview,’’ Parker Posey for ‘‘Broken English’’ and Tang Wei for ‘‘Lust, Caution.’’
Lead-actor contenders: Pedro Castaneda for ‘‘August Evening,’’ Don Cheadle for ‘‘Talk to Me,’’ Philip Seymour Hoffman for ‘‘The Savages,’’ Frank Langella for ‘‘Starting Out in the Evening’’ and Tony Leung for ‘‘Lust, Caution.’’
Joining ‘‘I’m Not There’’ creator Haynes in the best-director field were Van Sant for ‘‘Paranoid Park,’’ Tamara Jenkins for ‘‘The Savages,’’ Jason Reitman for ‘‘Juno’’ and Julian Schnabel for ‘‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.’’
‘‘I’m Not There’’ also was chosen to receive the first-ever Robert Altman Award, given in honor of the maverick director known for sprawling ensemble casts, overlapping dialogue and other convention-breaking methods.
Adrienne Shelly, the director and co-star of the indie hit ‘‘Waitress’’ who was found slain in her Manhattan apartment last year, earned a nomination for best screenplay for the film.
This year's crop of Oscar contenders isn't exactly uplifting
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...
The Coen brothers’ Miramax release ‘‘No Country For Old Men’’ makes a Peckinpah-esque connection between America and violence; Sean Penn’s Paramount Vantage drama ‘‘Into the Wild’’ reaches a pessimistic conclusion about one man’s journey of self-exploration; Tony Gilroy’s Warner Bros. thriller ‘‘Michael Clayton’’ centers on a tarnished hero who is surrounded by a culture of lies and deceit; Paul Haggis’ Warner Independent Pictures drama ‘‘In the Valley of Elah’’ offers a meditation on war and its consequences.
It might as well be the 1970s all over again. ‘‘I was very struck at [the Toronto International Film Festival] that there has been a kind of return to a 1970s style of filmmaking — very dark and ruminative,’’ notes Newsweek critic David Ansen, who singles out Warner Bros.’ ‘‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’’ as a case in point. The film is devoid of heroes entirely.
Nor is the landscape likely to become any less bleak any time soon. Universal’s ‘‘American Gangster,’’ set in the 1970s, cleaves to that decade’s cinematic aesthetic, and films like Tim Burton’s ‘‘Sweeney Todd’’ and Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘‘There Will Be Blood’’ both promise, among other things, copious amounts of the sticky red stuff. At press time, certain studio executives were almost jittery about the fate of such projects and whether they would be rewarded with commercial success, let alone Academy Award recognition.
‘‘That’s the $64,000 question,’’ says Matthew Michael Carnahan, writer of MGM’s ‘‘Lions For Lambs.’’
The fact that films like these are being made, however, should come as no surprise, says Ansen, ‘‘given that most people feel we are living in an extremely dark time, and it is inevitable that artists are going to reflect that. Not only are we getting very dark movies. We are getting an unusual number of political and topical movies, which is part and parcel of the same thing: People are feeling this country has gone seriously off course.’’
Still, getting topical films made inside the studio system has never been easy — the very economics of Hollywood work against filmmakers looking to make topical projects. Making profitable pictures that can reach the widest audience possible is typically the studio mandate, and the filmmaking process itself can take years, even decades.
This year stands as something of an exception, though, with so many political films in the marketplace: ‘‘In the Valley of Elah’’ tells the story of a Vietnam veteran (Tommy Lee Jones) whose son, a soldier, goes missing after he returns from Iraq; Gavin Hood’s ‘‘Rendition’’ (New Line) tackles one of the most controversial policies of the Bush administration, which was making headlines even days before the movie’s release; and Robert Redford’s ‘‘Lions for Lambs’’ is a deeply skeptical study of the war and its connection to the lives of a university professor (Redford), a journalist (Meryl Streep) and a U.S. Senator (Tom Cruise).
But the topicality of ‘‘Elah’’ made it a hard sell, Haggis admits. ‘‘It was very difficult to get this going,’’ he says. ‘‘It took Clint Eastwood to champion it. Clint took it to Warner Bros. and asked [Warner Bros. president] Alan Horn, personally, to do it. They were rightfully nervous about this project. If anything had happened from the time that we started preproduction to the time it came out — if there had been another attack on American soil or if the war had gone really well — the film would be useless and wouldn’t have any value.’’
Although some critics praised the effort, at press time ‘‘Elah’’ had only earned about $6.7 million, despite its A-list cast.
Carnahan admits that he worries his project might not perform well with an audience that does not want more darkness in its life. Indeed, it is surprising that in such dark times Hollywood is making such dark pictures. ‘‘The irony is that, traditionally, in dark times audiences want to see light fare,’’ Ansen says.
With the exception of ‘‘Hairspray,’’ that might be difficult to come by. The indies and specialty divisions are also offering plenty of bleak, unsparing fare. Take Julian Schnabel’s ‘‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,’’ one of Miramax’s biggest Oscar bets, which won Schnabel the directing award at the Festival de Cannes in May. That story of a brilliant magazine editor who is almost completely paralyzed following a stroke and only able to communicate by blinking one eye might make one marvel at human courage, but its ending is no more optimistic than that of ‘‘No Country’’ or ‘‘Elah.’’
Even Ang Lee’s Focus Features drama ‘‘Lust, Caution,’’ set during the Japanese occupation of China in the 1940s, turns what might have been a conventional spy story into a metaphysical analysis of the battle between love and tyranny, with a deeply pessimistic conclusion. By the end of the story, death seems the inevitable fate for all the participants — only the ‘‘villain,’’ the Chinese strongman who has sold out to the Japanese invaders, seems to stand a chance of lasting a wee bit longer than the heroes.
Nor is it wrong to interpret a film like Lee’s as a mirror of our times. ‘‘It’s a completely legitimate exercise to look at the movies coming out of the imagination of the culture, that are a representation of the culture, and go, ’Reading the tea leaves, are you guys as confused as we are?’’’ says Gilroy.
Even Zadan’s been touched by the hand of depression. His other project with Meron, Warner Bros.’ comedy ‘‘The Bucket List,’’ revolves around two men, played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, who embark on a high-spirited journey together — after meeting one another in a cancer ward. ‘‘Our two movies this year are dealing with very serious subjects but in an entertaining and positive way,’’ Zadan says, referring to ‘‘List’s’’ examination of life and death and ‘‘Hairspray’s’’ racial themes. ‘‘We are using the darkness as subtext rather than text.’’
In other words, as publicist Tony Angellotti notes: ‘‘Even the comedies are black.’’
Will this year's awards shows lack the laughs without writers?
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. ...
Things get under way Sunday with the American Music Awards, which will air live on ABC. The script was written before the strike began last week, but without writers to make revisions, it won’t include any topical quips from host Jimmy Kimmel.
‘‘We were aware of the impending WGA strike and planned accordingly,’’ said producer Larry Klein in a statement.
They were also lucky to be the first out of the gate.
December is nominations month — and therefore writing time — for the Grammys, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards, with the Oscars nominations coming Jan. 22.
People behind awards shows say it’s too soon to say how the strike will affect their programs, but they’re likely to feel the pinch when nominations are announced. That’s because writing typically begins once the nominees are known, said Ken Ehrlich, who has produced more than a dozen Grammy and Emmy shows.
‘‘With the Grammys, it comes down to who’s performing on the show. Same thing with the Emmys; it depends on who you’re going to book to present,’’ he said. ‘‘It can’t really be canned because it’s got to be tailored to the people who are saying it.’’
During the writers strike of 1988, the Oscars still went on — but that situation was different from today. Back then, the show’s script had been written before the strike began and remained essentially unchanged throughout the telecast. Writers Guild members who appeared on the show were allowed to ad-lib, but were cautioned against writing any new material.
It would be impossible, though, for an Academy Awards script to have been written before the 2007 WGA strike began, as the year’s Oscar-qualifying films are still being released.
Spokeswoman Leslie Unger said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hasn’t even reached the planning stage yet. ‘‘Our show is a number of months off and we have no way of knowing if or how [the strike] will impact us,’’ she said.
It also may be difficult for the Academy Awards to ‘‘find people who will perform on the show who aren’t members of the Writers Guild,’’ said veteran writer Bruce Vilanch, who has worked on the Academy Awards for the past 18 years. ‘‘Most standup performers write for themselves and when they have shows, they get a writing credit.’’
Nominees for the Golden Globe Awards will be revealed Dec. 13, and the script begins the following day, said executive producer Barry Adelman.
‘‘We’re hopeful the issues pertaining to the ... strike will be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction before then,’’ he said in a statement. ‘‘We intend to explore all of our available options in the upcoming weeks.’’
Some shows employ a dozen or more writers, Vilanch said, with starting ‘‘a couple months’’ before showtime and continuing until the final curtain falls.
‘‘You’re responding to what happens during the course of the show, so there’s writing going on all evening long,’’ he said, adding that nearly every part of the program is the work of the writers — ‘‘anything basically except an acceptance speech.’’
‘‘If it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage,’’ he said. ‘‘The contribution the writers make is the same contribution every other creative element makes. It’s important.’’
The Screen Actors Guild could find itself writer-less, too. Nominees will be announced Dec. 20, and ‘‘the majority of writing is done after we have the nominations announcement,’’ said spokeswoman Rosalind Jarret.
Jon Stewart, whose ‘‘The Daily Show With Jon Stewart’’ on Comedy Central has been in reruns since the strike began, had no comment on how it might affect his duties as host of the 80th Academy Awards.
Even the Writers Guild is unsure about the strike’s impact on the upcoming awards season.
‘‘Many of the awards shows are written under WGA contracts,’’ said spokesman Neal Sacharow, ‘‘and how the strike will affect those shows remains to be seen.’’
However, Vilanch is sure of one thing: Awards shows would be dull without writers.
‘‘There might be a show where people just kind of come out and read the names and give the awards, and in between you have some lovely production numbers,’’ he said. ‘‘I bet choreographers are just champing at the bit.’’
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. ...
The Billboard Touring Awards honor the industry’s top artists, venues and professionals for the year, based on the Billboard Boxscore chart. They are determined by actual box office performance from Jan. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2007. The awards reception wrapped the 2007 Billboard Touring Conference.
Other artist awards went to the Kenny Chesney Flip Flop Summer tour (with Sugarland, Pat Green, Brooks & Dunn and Sara Evans), which captured top package for the third straight year, and Justin Timberlake, who was named breakthrough artist on the strength of his FutureSex LoveShow tour.
Prince’s 21-night, sold-out stand at the O2 in London received the top Boxscore award, and Larry the Cable Guy was named 2007’s top comedy tour. In the venue categories, Madison Square Garden in New York was named top arena for the fourth consecutive year. Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo., and the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., took home top amphitheater and top club honors, respectively.
In the closest competition of the awards, Austin-based C3 Presents edged out Jam Productions of Chicago and Outback Concerts of Nashville in the top independent promoter category.
Here are the 2007 Billboard Touring Awards winners:
TOP TOUR: The Police
TOP DRAW: The Police
TOP PACKAGE: Kenny Chesney with Sugarland, Pat Green, Brooks & Dunn, Sara Evans
BREAKTHROUGH: Justin Timberlake
TOP BOXSCORE: Prince at the O2 Arena, London
TOP COMEDY TOUR: Larry the Cable Guy
TOP ARENA: Madison Square Garden, New York
TOP AMPHITHEATER: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colo.
TOP CLUB: 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
TOP AGENCY: Creative Artists Agency
TOP FESTIVAL: Download Festival, Castle Donington, England
TOP PROMOTER: Live Nation
TOP INDEPENDENT PROMOTER: C3 Presents
TOP VENUE UNDER 10,000 SEATS (NON-RESIDENT): Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City
TOP VENUE UNDER 10,000 SEATS (RESIDENT): The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
CONCERT MARKETING & PROMOTION AWARD: Jeep/Tim McGraw & Faith Hill Soul2Soul II
HUMANITARIAN AWARD: Kevin Wall
LEGEND oF LIVE: Frank Barsalona
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. ...
One of the night’s biggest awards, Woodie of the year, was announced earliest, with Gym Class Heroes beating out artists like Amy Winehouse and Common. The honor was preceded by a live performance by rapper Lupe Fiasco, who was joined by surprise guest Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy on his new single, ‘‘Superstar.’’
The whole Fall Out Boy crew was on hand, and giggling, to present Say Anything with best music video for ‘‘Wow, I Can Be Sexual Too.’’
Annie Lennox, decked out in a brilliant red dress, calmly delivered her speech for Good Woodie, given to acts for their commitment to a social cause. Guster took that honor home for its ‘‘green’’ concerts and dedication to environmental issues.
The Acadamy Is... earned a Viral Woodie, an award for acts causing a stir on the Internet. That group performed spirited versions of ‘‘Everything We Had’’ and ‘‘We’ve Got a Big Mess on Our Hands,’’ both from its latest album, ‘‘Santi.’’
Spoon, which won the Alumni Woodie, and Muse, which scored best tour, both sent in videos to accept their awards. Madvillain took home most original artist honors around the same time rapper Spank Rock stormed the stage with a posse of bikini-clad women to perform ‘‘Loose’’ and ‘‘Rick Rubin.’’
Other performances included baby-faced rockers Tokyo Police Club, who pumped out punk-infused tracks ‘‘Nature of the Experiment’’ and ‘‘Cheer It On,’’ and Rilo Kiley, who closed the night with a pair of sultry songs from the new album ‘‘Under the Blacklight.’’
Unsigned rock act Stella By Starlight, from Duke University, won the Best Music on Campus Woodie and $5,000 after beating out more than 1,700 bands for the title.
The ceremony will premiere Thursday on mtvU and their Web site. The abridged ‘‘Best of the 2007 mtvU Woodie Awards’’ can be viewed on MTV starting Saturday.
Jason Bourne looking for People's Choice Awards ultimatum
‘‘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.
In music, Justin Timberlake earned nominations for favorite male singer and favorite pop song. ‘‘Give It to Me,’’ a Timbaland song on which Timberlake is featured, garnered a nod for favorite hip-hop song.
Other multiple nominees included ‘‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’’ and ‘‘Transformers.’’
Winners will be announced Jan. 8 during an awards show broadcast on CBS.
The nominees are:
1. Favorite Movie: The Bourne Ultimatum; Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End; Transformers
2. Favorite Family Movie: Evan Almighty, Ratatouille, Shrek the Third
3. Favorite Action Movie: 300; The Bourne Ultimatum; Transformers
4. Favorite Movie Comedy: Knocked Up; The Simpsons Movie; Wild Hogs
5. Favorite Movie Drama: Disturbia; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; Premonition
6. Favorite Threequel: The Bourne Ultimatum; Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End; Spider-Man 3
7. Favorite Independent Movie: Becoming Jane; A Mighty Heart; Sicko
8. Favorite Female Movie Star: Halle Berry; Sandra Bullock; Reese Witherspoon
9. Favorite Leading Lady: Jessica Alba; Drew Barrymore; Queen Latifah
10. Favorite Female Action Star: Jessica Alba; Jodie Foster; Keira Knightley
11. Favorite Male Movie Star: Johnny Depp; Denzel Washington; Bruce Willis
12. Favorite Leading Man: Jamie Foxx; Dwayne ‘‘The Rock’’ Johnson; Joaquin Phoenix
13. Favorite Male Action Star: Matt Damon; Johnny Depp; Bruce Willis
14. Favorite On Screen Match Up: Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 3; George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Thirteen; Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 3
15. Favorite TV Drama: ‘‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation;’’ ‘‘House;’’ ‘‘Law and Order: SVU’’
16. Favorite TV Comedy: ‘‘The King of Queens;’’ ‘‘My Name is Earl;’’ ‘‘Two and a Half Men’’
17. Favorite Animated TV Comedy: ‘‘Family Guy;’’ ‘‘King of the Hill;’’ ‘‘The Simpsons’’
18. Favorite Sci-Fi Show: ‘‘Battlestar Galactica;’’ ‘‘Doctor Who;’’ ‘‘Stargate Atlantis’’
19. Favorite Competition/Reality Show: ‘‘American Idol;’’ ‘‘Dancing with the Stars;’’ ‘‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’’
20. Favorite Game Show: ‘‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?;’’ ‘‘Deal or No Deal;’’ ‘‘Jeopardy’’
21. Favorite Female TV Star: Sally Field; Katherine Heigl; Jennifer Love Hewitt
22. Favorite Male TV Star: Patrick Dempsey; Charlie Sheen; Kiefer Sutherland
23. Favorite Scene Stealing Star: Richard Belzer from ‘‘Law & Order: SVU;’’ Neil Patrick Harris from ‘‘How I Met Your Mother;’’ Chandra Wilson from ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy’’
24. Favorite Funny Female Star: Ellen DeGeneres; Whoopi Goldberg; Wanda Sykes
25. Favorite Funny Male Star: Will Ferrell; Adam Sandler; Robin Williams
26. Favorite Talk Show Host: Ellen DeGeneres; Jay Leno; Oprah Winfrey
27. Favorite Female Singer: Beyonce; Fergie; Gwen Stefani
28. Favorite Male Singer: John Mayer; Tim McGraw; Justin Timberlake
29. Favorite Group: Daughtry; Maroon 5; Rascal Flatts
30. Favorite Rock Song: ‘‘Hey There Delilah’’ by Plain White T’s; ‘‘Home’’ by Daughtry; ‘‘Makes Me Wonder’’ by Maroon 5
31. Favorite R&B Song: ‘‘Beautiful Liar’’ by Beyonce with Shakira; ‘‘Because of You’’ by Ne-Yo; ‘‘Shut up and Drive’’ by Rihanna
32. Favorite Country Song: ‘‘I Need You’’ by Tim McGraw with Faith Hill;
‘‘Never Wanted Nothing More’’ by Kenny Chesney; ‘‘Stand’’ by Rascal Flatts
33. Favorite Hip-Hop Song: ‘‘Give It to Me’’ by Timbaland feat. Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado; ‘‘Party Like a Rock Star’’ by Shop Boyz; ‘‘Stronger’’ by Kanye West
34. Favorite Pop Song: ‘‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’’ by Fergie; ‘‘Irreplaceable’’ by Beyonce; ‘‘What Goes Around...Comes Around’’ by Justin Timberlake
35. Favorite Song from a Soundtrack: ‘‘Read My Mind’’ by The Killers from ‘‘Friday Night Lights;’’ ‘‘What I’ve Done’’ by Linkin Park from Transformers; ‘‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’’ by the Cast of Hairspray from Hairspray
36. Favorite Reunion Tour: Genesis; The Police; Van Halen
37. Favorite New TV Comedy: Aliens in America; Back to You; The Big Bang Theory; Carpoolers; Cavemen; Chuck; Reaper; Samantha Who?
38. Favorite New TV Drama: Big Shots; Bionic Woman; Cane; Dirty Sexy Money; Gossip Girl; Journeyman; K-Ville; Life; Life Is Wild; Moonlight; Private Practice; Pushing Daisies; Women’s Murder Club
A complete list of winners at Thursday’s eightth annual Latin Grammy Awards ...
Record of the year: ‘‘La Llave De Mi Corazon,’’ Juan Luis Guerra y 440.
Song of the year: ‘‘La Llave De Mi Corazon,’’ Juan Luis Guerra, (Juan Luis Guerra y 440).
Album of the year: ‘‘La Llave De Mi Corazon,’’ Juan Luis Guerra y 440.
New artist: Jesse & Joy.
Female pop vocal album: ‘‘Yo Canto,’’ Laura Pausini.
Male pop vocal album: ‘‘MTV Unplugged,’’ Ricky Martin.
Pop album by a duo or group with vocal: ‘‘El Mundo Se Equivoca,’’ La Quinta Estacion.
Producer of the year: Sebastian Krys.
Urban music album: ‘‘Residente O Visitante,’’ Calle 13.
Urban song: ‘‘Pal Norte,’’ Panasuyo and Calle 13, songwriters (Calle 13 featuring Orishas).
Rock solo vocal album: ‘‘El Mundo Cabe En Una Cancion,’’ Fito Paez.
Rock album by a duo or group with vocal: ‘‘Kamikaze,’’ Rabanes.
Rock song: ‘‘La Excepcion,’’ Gustavo Cerati.
Alternative music album: ‘‘Oye,’’ Aterciopelados.
Alternative song: ‘‘Me Llaman Calle,’’ Manu Chao, (Manu Chao).
Salsa album: ‘‘Arroz Con Habichuela,’’ El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico.
Merengue album: Juan Luis Guerra y 440.
Cumbia/Vallenato album: ‘‘Son ... Para El Mundo,’’ Jorge Celedon and Jimmy Zambrano.
Contemporary tropical album: ‘‘Fuzionando,’’ Oscar D’Leon.
Traditional tropical album: ‘‘Romanticos De Ayer, Hoy y Siempre,’’ Bobby Cruz.
Tropical song: ‘‘La Llave De Mi Corazon,’’ Juan Luis Guerra, (Juan Luis Guerra y 440).
Singer-songwriter album: ‘‘Ce,’’ Caetano Veloso.’’
Ranchero album: ‘‘Enamorado,’’ Pepe Aguilar.
Banda album: ‘‘Desatados,’’ Los Horoscopos De Durango.
Grupero album: ‘‘Solo Pienso En Ti,’’ Grupo Bryndis.
Tejano album: ‘‘Evoluciones,’’ Los Palominos.
Norteno album: ‘‘En Vivo,’’ Michael Salgado.
Regional Mexican Song: ‘‘A Las Escondidas,’’ Freddie Martinez Sr., (Joe Lopez with Jimmy Gonzalez and Grupo Mazz).
Christian album: ‘‘Caminho De Milagres,’’ Aline Barros.
Brazilian contemporary pop album: ‘‘Acustico MTV,’’ Lenine.
Brazilian rock album: ‘‘Acustico MTV,’’ Lobao.
Samba/Pagode album: ‘‘Acustico MTV 2 Gafieira,’’ Zeca Pagodinho.
MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) album: ‘‘Ao Vivo,’’ Leny Andrade & Cesar Camargo Mariano.
Romantic music album: ‘‘Eternamente Cauby Peixoto 55 Anos De Carreira,’’ Cauby Peixoto.
Brazilian Roots/Regional album: ‘‘Bale Mulato Ao Vivo,’’ Daniela Mercury.
Brazilian song (Portuguese language): ‘‘Nao Me Arrependo,’’ Caetano Veloso (Caetano Veloso).
Instrumental album: ‘‘The Enchantment,’’ Chick Corea and Bela Fleck.
Folk album: ‘‘Un Fuego De Sangre Pura,’’ Los Gaiteros De San Jacinto From Colombia.
Tango album: ‘‘Te Amo Tango,’’ Raul Jaurena.
Flamenco album: ‘‘Techari,’’ Ojos De Brujo.
Latin jazz album: ‘‘Rumba Palace,’’ Arturo Sandoval.
Christian album (Spanish Language): ‘‘Alegria,’’ Marcos Witt.
Latin children’s album: ‘‘Como Se Llega A Belen,’’ Voz Veis.
Classical album: (tie) ‘‘Beethoven Abertura Consagra Ecao Da Casa Sinfonia No. 6,’’ John Neschling, conductor, John Neschling, producer. ‘‘La Cancion Romantica Espanola,’’ Montserrat Caballe, Carlos Caballe, producer.
Short form music video: ‘‘Ven A Mi Casa Esta Navidad,’’ Voz Veis.
Long form music video: ‘‘MTV Unplugged,’’ Ricky Martin.
Recording package: ‘‘Los Vallenatos De Andres,’’ Catalina Diez, art director (Various Artists).
Engineered album: ‘‘La Llave De Mi Corazon,’’ Allan Leschhorn, Luis Mansilla and Ronnie Torres, engineers, Adam Ayan, mastering engineer, (Juan Luis Guerra y 440).
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.
The list includes Robert Zemeckis’ epic ‘‘Beowulf,’’ quelling, at least for the moment, questions about whether the film will be in the running for an ani Oscar.
The Academy also reserved the right to revise the list for movies that have yet to have their qualifying run, which in addition to ‘‘Beowulf’’ includes ‘‘Persepolis’’ and ‘‘Alvin and the Chipmunks.’’
Still, the Academy has revoked eligibility if a movie is later deemed not to meet all criteria, a fate that befell Luc Besson’s ‘‘Arthur and the Invisibles’’ last year. And it’s not clear if the eligibility committee has seen all the films yet; the deadline for studios to submit prints isn’t until later in the month.
The other nine titles to make the list are ‘‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force,’’ ‘‘Bee Movie,’’ ‘‘Meet the Robinsons,’’ ‘‘Ratatouille,’’ ‘‘Shrek the Third,’’ ‘‘The Simpsons Movie,’’ ‘‘Surf’s Up,’’ ‘‘Tekkonkinkreet’’ and ‘‘TMNT.’’
The total of 12 eligible movies means that only three pictures will be nominated; had 16 films been eligible, the Academy would have had the option to up the number of nom slots to five.
In what is regarded as a fiercely competitive year for animation, some contenders had been hoping for the extra two slots. In the seven-year history of the category, the Academy has nominated five films only one time.
The least-known film on the list is ‘‘Tekkonkinkreet,’’ a Japanese fable from U.S.-born director Michael Arias. Two animated films released in the U.S. this year, ‘‘Happily N’Ever After’’ and ‘‘The Ten Commandments,’’ were not on the eligibility list.
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. ...
A master of songcraft known for taking traditional genres and making them his own, Guerra bested a roster of Latin music’s new order, including Ricky Martin, Shakira and reggaeton stars Calle 13.
That is no small feat at a time when reggaeton, pop and even alternative rock in Spanish are increasingly capturing favor with young fans of Latin music.
‘‘I have a lot of confidence in tropical music, the genres I work in — salsa, merengue and bachata,’’ Guerra told reporters backstage. ‘‘Merengue will never go out of style, nor will salsa or bachata, they are established genres.’’
For a while it looked as if Martin and Calle 13 might spoil Guerra’s chances. Each had four nominations going into the awards. Both picked up two trophies.
