News for 12/21/2004


Hughley, Comedy Central Talk the Talk


LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) D.L. Hughley may yet be a talk-show host. Hughley, who was one of four finalists for the CBS "Late Late Show" hosting job that ultimately went to Craig Ferguson, is talking with Comedy Central about developing a chat show that would incorporate some of his comedy.

The comedian would shoot two pilot episodes of the show, which would feature a Hughley monologue and comedy sketches along with the usual famous guests, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Robert Morton, David Letterman's former "Late Night" and "Late Show" producer, would fill the same role for Hughley.

Should a deal go through, Morton and Hughley would serve as executive producers of the show along with Hughley's managers, Michael Rotenberg and Dave Becky.

Hughley has worked with Comedy Central in the past, hosting the cable network's stand-up showcase "Premium Blend." He also recently taped a stand-up special for the network called "Shocked and Appalled" that's set to debut in February.

It's unclear whether Hughley's show would be paired with "The Daily Show" or find a home elsewhere on Comedy Central's schedule. The network has struggled to find a compatible show for its fake newscast, most recently sending "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn" into what's likely an eternal hiatus.



Chestnut Boasting in NBC Sitcom Pilot


LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) NBC has greenlit production of a pilot based on the egotistical athlete Leon of beer-commercial fame.

The show, called "Dante," has signed Morris Chestnut ("Boyz N the Hood," "Ladder 49") to star as the title character, a pro football player whose outsized sense of entitlement often puts him out of touch with reality, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Tony Cox ("Bad Santa") has also signed on to the cast, playing Chestnut's uncle.

"Just Shoot Me" creator Steven Levitan and John Immeseote, a former ad executive who created the Leon character (played by Nigel Thatch in the Budweiser ads), wrote the pilot script. Levitan is also executive producing, with Immeseote getting a co-exec producer credit. The show received a put pilot commitment -- meaning NBC would have had to pay a penalty if the pilot hadn't been produced -- in October.

Chestnut, a former high school football player, began his acting career playing the doomed athlete Ricky Baker in "Boyz N the Hood." His other movie credits include "Breakin' All the Rules," "Anacondas" and "The Best Man." He also has two TV series to his credit: the early-90s NBC comedy "Out All Night" and the ABC drama "C-16: FBI," which aired in the 1997-98 season.

Cox had a recurring part on FX's "Rescue Me" this season and has also appeared in "Me, Myself & Irene."



Weekend Boxoffice


'Lemony Snicket' Takes Box Office Top Spot


LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," a family flick with Jim Carrey as a dastardly villain out to defraud orphans, debuted as the weekend's top movie by taking in $30.1 million.

Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni's comic drama "Spanglish" had a so-so opening, placing No. 3 with $8.8 million. Dennis Quaid's plane-crash remake "Flight of the Phoenix" flopped, premiering at No. 8 with just $5 million.

The top 20 movies at North American theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. and Nielsen EDI Inc.:

1. "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," Paramount, $30,061,756, 3,620 locations, $8,304 average, $30,061,756, one week.

2. "Ocean's Twelve," Warner Bros., $18,124,149, 3,290 locations, $5,509 average, $68,524,528, two weeks.

3. "Spanglish," Sony, $8,817,853, 2,438 locations, $3,617 average, $8,817,853, one week.

4. "The Polar Express," Warner Bros., $8,411,135, 2,868 locations, $2,933 average, $123,430,336, six weeks.

5. "Blade: Trinity," New Line, $6,817,584, 2,912 locations, $2,341 average, $35,628,693, two weeks.

6. "National Treasure," Disney, $6,022,564, 2,772 locations, $2,173 average, $132,748,249, five weeks.

7. "Christmas With the Kranks," Sony, $5,366,072, 2,941 locations, $1,825 average, $61,972,118, four weeks.

8. "The Flight of the Phoenix," Fox, $5,019,430, 2,604 locations, $1,928 average, $5,019,430, one week.

9. "Closer," Sony, $3,351,014, 1,090 locations, $3,074 average, $18,803,296, three weeks.

10. "The Incredibles," Disney, $3,120,541, 1,930 locations, $1,617 average, $236,978,426, seven weeks.

11. "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," Paramount, $2,002,903, 2,115 locations, $947 average, $76,362,402, five weeks.

12. "Finding Neverland," Miramax, $1,960,122, 985 locations, $1,990 average, $16,908,196, six weeks.

13. "Sideways," Fox Searchlight, $1,502,800, 420 locations, $3,578 average, $16,511,317, nine weeks.

14. "The Aviator," Miramax, $858,021, 40 locations, $21,451 average, $858,021, one week.

15. "House of Flying Daggers," Sony Pictures Classic, $812,764, 145 locations, $5,605 average, $1,620,434, three weeks.

16. "Ray," Universal, $550,015, 618 locations, $890 average, $70,247,805, eight weeks.

17. "Kinsey," Fox Searchlight, $506,039, 191 locations, $2,649 average, $5,140,595, six weeks.

18. "Swades," UTV, $424,804, 74 locations, $5,741 average, $424,804, one week.

19. "Alexander," Warner Bros., $374,890, 622 locations, $603 average, $33,649,513, four weeks.

20. "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," Universal, $331,500, 514 locations, $645 average, $39,314,970, six weeks.



News for 12/16/2004


Black Viewership Mystery Deepens

By John Consoli
Mediaweek.com


Black women viewers are popping up in the oddest of places across the TV landscape, and sometimes missing from the very places they historically have been found (namely, UPN).

And it’s perplexing many executives in the industry, especially those at UPN. Making matters worse for the Viacom-owned network, though, is the growing pile of makegood obligations that have resulted from the drop in black female viewers (Mediaweek, Oct. 25). Media agency executives say UPN owes several million dollars in makegoods for the shortfalls in its Monday- and Tuesday-night sitcoms.

While UPN does not guarantee ratings based on ethnicity, black viewers make up such a large proportion of those sitcoms’ viewership that their disappearance has affected the net’s overall adults 18-34 and 18-49 guarantees.

UPN brought the matter to Nielsen Media Research in October when it first noticed the dropoff, but executives say they’ve gotten few answers. “We see some things that are troubling within the sample, but we don’t want to jump to conclusions,” said Dave Poltrack, executive vp, research and planning for CBS, who also oversees research for sister network UPN. “We have asked Nielsen for a lot of analysis on African American viewing patterns across all the networks, not just UPN. They have provided some things, but we are still waiting for further response.”

Matt Tatham, senior communications analyst for Nielsen, which like Mediaweek, is owned by VNU, said a comparison of October 2004 to October 2003 data showed that black viewers increased on other broadcast networks on Monday and Tuesday nights when they decreased on UPN. “It seems like it could be just a change in viewing patterns,” said Tatham.

He also said that while black viewers as a group traditionally have watched more TV than white viewers, TV usage among black viewers has declined over the past few years. “Right now we do not have a definitive answer for UPN, but we are continuing to work on it,” Tatham said.

Although UPN is the network most affected, one Viacom exec, who did not want to speak for attribution, said, “This situation doesn’t seem to be confined to just UPN, and not just confined to prime time. How broad it is, we don’t know, but it does affect other networks and other dayparts.”

Media agency MPG, which is doing some numbers crunching of its own, has isolated a few examples of how it is impacting other networks. Boon Yap, television insights manager at MPG, said ABC sitcom My Wife and Kids, which has been one of the most-watched shows among blacks since it premiered three years ago, is down a whopping 67 percent among black women 18-34, October to October.

On the WB, ratings for Steve Harvey’s Big Time are down 25 percent among black women 18-34; and on NBC, Law & Order is down 17 percent in the demo and Will & Grace is down 16 percent. On the WB, One Tree Hill is down 6 percent among black women 18-34, but up 82 percent among all women 18-34.

And, most perplexing of all, while UPN’s two Tuesday 8-9 p.m. sitcoms, All of Us and Eve, are down double-digit percentages among black women 18-34, the WB’s Gilmore Girls, not historically a popular show among black audiences, is up 19 percent among black women 18-34.

Even more bizarre, ratings for black women 18-34 watching UPN sci-fi drama Enterprise—not traditionally a popular show among blacks—is up 8 percent season-to-date.

Outside of prime time, another oddity is that one of the shows recording the largest percentage loss of black women 18-34 is the Kids WB cartoon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, down 68 percent. And with each of the Big Three nets showing double-digit declines among female soap opera viewers, part of that is attributable to a 6 percent decline among black women 18-49.

Nor is the problem confined to broadcast networks. BET, which is also owned by UPN parent Viacom, is showing hefty season-to-date ratings declines. BET is down 14 percent in total viewers, down 25 percent in adults 18-34 ratings, 20 percent among women 18-34 and 25 percent among women 18-49.

“Something is going on among African American viewers, but what it is is not clear to us,” MPG’s Yap said. “It is clear that all networks are being impacted in some regard, but there is no clear pattern. We’re baffled.”

One possible answer might involve “fault rates,” which have been particularly high among black, Hispanic and large households (five or more people), in the newer local people meter panels. For example, it takes only one person in a five-member household to not punch in to the system for Nielsen to exclude all data from that household, leading to a fault.

Since early summer, Nielsen has been adding local people meter homes to the previous national sample of 5,100. LPM homes have been added in Boston (600), Los Angeles (800), Chicago (800) and most recently New York (800), which was just added last week.

Many broadcasters—especially those that own networks—and station groups are concerned about the addition of LPM homes at a time when questions remain about Nielsen’s ability to adequately field people meters in local markets. Nielsen only has full accreditation for its LPMs in Boston. In L.A., Chicago and New York, Nielsen only has “conditional accreditation” from the Media Rating Council.

Among the things the MRC wants Nielsen to correct by the end of the year, in particular, are fault rates. Right now, whatever fault-rate problems exist with the LPMs in those markets are being transferred to the national sample.



Critics Choice Awards Pour 8 Noms on 'Sideways'

By Gregg Kilday


LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Sideways" charmed even more critics on Wednesday by scoring a leading eight nominations, including best picture, for the 10th annual Critics' Choice Awards, an event with a good track record of foreshadowing the Academy Awards.

A day earlier, the Fox Searchlight comedy led the pack when the Golden Globe nominations were announced, picking up seven mentions.

Its closest competition among the Critics Choice contenders was Miramax Films' "Finding Neverland," a portrait of "Peter Pan" creator J.M. Barrie, with seven nominations, followed by Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic, "The Aviator," which Miramax will open on Christmas Day. It scored six nominations.

The Critics Choice Awards are organized by the Broadcast Film Critics Assn., a group composed of 194 critics from around the country. Earlier this year, its picks for picture, director and the four main acting categories all won Oscars too.

Winners will be announced during a Jan. 10 ceremony at the Wiltern Theatre. The WB will broadcast the ceremony, hosted by Eric McCormack, live at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The group nominated 10 films for best picture, with "Collateral," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Hotel Rwanda," "Kinsey," "Million Dollar Baby," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Ray" rounding out the list.

In the acting categories, Jamie Foxx picked up two nominations -- a best actor mention for his work as Ray Charles in "Ray" and a best supporting actor nomination for his taxi driver in "Collateral." On the distaff side, Kate Winslet also emerged as a double nominee. She was nominated as best actress for her romantic turn in "Eternal Sunshine" and as best supporting actress for her consumptive mother in "Finding Neverland."

In addition to Foxx, the best actor lineup consisted of Javier Bardem ("The Sea Inside"), Don Cheadle ("Hotel Rwanda"), Johnny Depp ("Finding Neverland"), Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Aviator") and Paul Giamatti ("Sideways").

Winslet was joined in the best actress race by Annette Bening ("Being Julia"), Catalina Sandino Moreno ("Maria Full of Grace"), Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake"), Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby") and Uma Thurman ("Kill Bill-Vol. 2").

The five nominations for director went to Clint Eastwood for "Million Dollar Baby," Marc Forster for "Finding Neverland," Taylor Hackford for "Ray," Alexander Payne for "Sideways" and Scorsese for "The Aviator."

Payne and his writing partner Jim Taylor also figured in the best writer category. They will face off against Bill Condon for "Kinsey," Charlie Kaufman for "Eternal Sunshine," John Logan for "The Aviator" and David Magee for "Finding Neverland."

The Broadcast Film Critics, which announced nominations in 19 categories, also introduced some categories unique to its own balloting.

It set aside one category for best popular movie, for which it nominated "The Bourne Supremacy," "The Incredibles," "Napoleon Dynamite," "The Passion of the Christ" and "Spider-Man 2." It was one of the first appearances by Mel Gibson's "Passion" on a year-end nominations list.

The critics also nominated as best family film (live action) "Finding Neverland," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," "Miracle" and "Spider-Man 2," while for best animated film, it singled out "The Incredibles," "The Polar Express" and "Shrek 2."

As best documentary feature, the group cited "Control Room," "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" and "Super Size Me."

As part of the ceremonies, Tom Cruise will be presented with the inaugural Distinguished Career Achievement in Performing Arts Award.

The BFCA's other nominations were:


Best supporting actor: Thomas Haden Church, "Sideways"; Morgan Freeman, "Million Dollar Baby"; Clive Owen, "Closer" and Peter Sarsgaard, "Kinsey."

Best supporting actress: Cate Blanchett, "The Aviator"; Laura Linney, "Kinsey"; Virginia Madsen, "Sideways"; Natalie Portman, "Closer."

Best acting ensemble: "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," "Ocean's Twelve" and "Sideways."

Best young actor: Liam Aiken, "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events"; Cameron Bright, "Birth"; Freddie Highmore, "Finding Neverland"; Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"; and William Ullrich, "Beyond the Sea."

Best young actress: Emily Browning, "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events"; Dakota Fanning, "Man on Fire"; Lindsay Lohan, "Mean Girls"; Emmy Rossum, "The Phantom of the Opera"; and Emma Watson, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."

Best foreign-language film: "House of Flying Daggers," "Maria Full of Grace," "The Motorcycle Diaries," "The Sea Inside" and "A Very Long Engagement."

Best song: "Accidentally in Love" by the Counting Crows, from "Shrek 2"; "Believe" by Josh Groban, from "The Polar Express"; and "Old Habits Die Hard" by Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart, from "Alfie."

Best soundtrack: "Alfie," "Beyond the Sea," "De-Lovely," "Garden State" and "Ray."

Best composer: Michael Giacchino, "The Incredibles"; Rolfe Kent, "Sideways"; and Howard Shore, "The Aviator."


Click here to visit the Broadcast Film Critics Association website.



News for 12/13/2004


Foxx a Triple Threat at Golden Globes

By DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer


LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Golden Globes are shaping up as a reprise of "The Jamie Foxx Show." Foxx, star of the sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001, earned a record three Globe nominations Monday, including one for best musical or comedy actor for his uncanny portrayal of singer Ray Charles in "Ray."

Also contending in that category: Paul Giamatti for his road-trip flick "Sideways," which earned a leading seven nominations, among them best musical or comedy. The Howard Hughes film biography "The Aviator" was next with six nominations, including best drama, actor and director.

The Globe honors help position those movies and other leading nominees for Hollywood's big party, the Academy Awards. (Those nominations come out Jan. 25.)

Along with "The Aviator," best-drama contenders were the caustic sex tale "Closer"; "Finding Neverland," exploring the inspirations of "Peter Pan" creator J.M. Barrie; "Hotel Rwanda," set against the 1990s genocide in that country; "Kinsey," a film biography of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey; and the boxing drama "Million Dollar Baby."

Besides "Ray" and "Sideways," best musical or comedy nominees were the romance "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"; the animated superhero tale "The Incredibles"; and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "The Phantom of the Opera."

Foxx, considered a best-actor favorite at the Oscars, also earned nominations for supporting film actor as a cabbie taken hostage by a hit man in "Collateral" and as best TV movie or miniseries actor for the prison drama "Redemption."

The nominations came on Foxx's 37th birthday.

"What a great way to start the day with three birthday gifts," Foxx said. "I am honored to be mentioned in the same categories with such tremendously talented actors."

Joining Foxx and Giamatti in the musical or comedy actor field: Jim Carrey as a man trying to erase memories of his ex-girlfriend in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"; Kevin Kline as composer Cole Porter in "De-Lovely"; and Kevin Spacey as singer Bobby Darin in "Beyond the Sea."

Character actor Giamatti has managed to break into lead roles playing two back-to-back curmudgeons _ "Sideways" follows his 2003 turn as comic-book grouch Harvey Pekar in "American Splendor." His "Sideways" character is such a loser he steals money from his mother, yet audiences end up rooting for him to find love and happiness.

"He's kind of an unlikable guy," Giamatti said. "I say that he's unlikable but I suppose he has an essential decency about him."

Carrey's "Eternal Sunshine" co-star Kate Winslet, playing his former girlfriend, and Kline's "De-Lovely" cast mate Ashley Judd, as Porter's wife, were among musical or comedy actress nominees. The others: Annette Bening as a London stage diva in "Being Julia"; Emmy Rossum as a theater ingenue in "Phantom of the Opera"; and Renee Zellweger as the title character in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason."

All five dramatic actor nominees played real-life characters: Javier Bardem in "The Sea Inside," as Ramon Sampedro, who fought for his right to die after a paralyzing accident; Don Cheadle as innkeeper Paul Rusesabagina, who shelters refugees in "Hotel Rwanda"; Johnny Depp as playwright Barrie in "Finding Neverland"; Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes in "The Aviator"; and Liam Neeson as the sex researcher in "Kinsey."

Dramatic lead actress nominees were Scarlett Johansson in "A Love Song for Bobby Long," playing a teen who finds an unlikely extended family; Nicole Kidman as a woman visited by a boy claiming to be her dead husband in "Birth"; Imelda Staunton as the title character in the abortion drama "Vera Drake"; Hilary Swank as a boxer in "Million Dollar Baby"; and Uma Thurman as a vengeful former assassin in "Kill Bill _ Vol. 2."

Swank, a Golden Globe and Oscar winner for "Boys Don't Cry," trained six days a week for three months for "Million Dollar Baby," eating 210 grams of protein a day and gaining 19 pounds of muscle.

"It's amazing what a machine the body is, how it can adapt. I have a whole new respect for what my body can do," said Swank, also nominated for best actress in a TV movie or miniseries for the suffrage drama "Iron Jawed Angels."

Swank's co-star and director, Clint Eastwood, also received two Globe nominations, for directing and his "Million Dollar Baby" musical score.

Along with Eastwood, Globe directing nominees were Martin Scorsese, "The Aviator"; Marc Forster, "Finding Neverland"; Mike Nichols, "Closer"; and Alexander Payne," "Sideways."

An art-house favorite, "Sideways" is proving to be the year's critical darling. On Monday, the New York Film Critics Circle named it 2004's best picture. Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Online did the same.

Still, comedies tend to fare poorly at the Oscars, which favor sober drama. The six nominations for "The Aviator" solidify that film's prospects as a potential best-picture front-runner for the Oscars.

"The Aviator" has the epic historical scope that often catches academy voters' fancy, and it focuses heavily on Hughes' years as a movie producer, subject matter dear to Hollywood.

"It's the type of movie that really doesn't get made anymore," DiCaprio said. "It's not just the epic scope of the film, but to have a picture with this type of attention put into it. The backdrop, the setting of the time period, the lavish sets and characters."

And Scorsese may be a sentimental favorite, a beloved filmmaker whose movies have never won the best-picture or director Oscars.

For TV, the drama series picks were "24," "Deadwood," "Lost," "Nip/Tuck" and "The Sopranos," while the comedy nominees were "Arrested Development," "Desperate Housewives," "Entourage," "Sex and the City" and "Will & Grace."

Golden Globes are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a comparatively small group of about 90 reporters for overseas news outlets. The Globe ceremony Jan. 16 will be televised live on NBC.

While the Globes boost Oscar chances for big-budget films, they also draw academy attention to smaller movies such as "A Love Song for Bobby Long," starring John Travolta as a hard-luck case who becomes father figure for nominee Johansson's character.

Johansson, a double Globe nominee last year for "Lost in Translation" and "Girl With a Pearl Earring," subsequently was invited into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, so she can vote on the upcoming Oscars.

"I'm certainly going to cast a vote for John, because it's one of the best performances of his whole career, and certainly for `A Love Song for Bobby Long,' because I think it's one of the best films of the year," Johansson said. "As far as nominating myself, I probably won't. However, my mother will probably check the box for me."


List of Nominees


(AP) - Picture, Drama: "The Aviator," "Closer," "Finding Neverland," "Hotel Rwanda," "Kinsey," "Million Dollar Baby."

Actress, Drama: Scarlett Johansson, "A Love Song for Bobby Long"; Nicole Kidman, "Birth," Imelda Staunton, "Vera Drake"; Hilary Swank, "Million Dollar Baby"; Uma Thurman, "Kill Bill: Vol. 2."

Actor, Drama: Javier Bardem, "The Sea Inside"; Don Cheadle, "Hotel Rwanda"; Johnny Depp, "Finding Neverland"; Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Aviator"; Liam Neeson, "Kinsey."

Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "The Incredibles," "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera," "Ray," "Sideways."

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Annette Bening, "Being Julia"; Ashley Judd, "De-Lovely"; Emmy Rossum, "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera," Kate Winslet, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," Renee Zellweger, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason."

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jim Carrey, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"; Jamie Foxx, "Ray"; Paul Giamatti, "Sideways"; Kevin Kline, "De-Lovely"; Kevin Spacey, "Beyond the Sea."

Foreign Language: "The Chorus," France; "House of Flying Daggers," China; "The Motorcycle Diaries," Brazil; "The Sea Inside," Spain; "A Very Long Engagement," France.

Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "The Aviator"; Laura Linney, "Kinsey"; Virginia Madsen, "Sideways"; Natalie Portman, "Closer"; Meryl Streep, "The Manchurian Candidate."

Supporting Actor: David Carradine, "Kill Bill: Vol. 2"; Thomas Haden Church, "Sideways"; Jamie Foxx, "Collateral"; Morgan Freeman, "Million Dollar Baby"; Clive Owen, "Closer."

Director: Clint Eastwood, "Million Dollar Baby"; Marc Forster, "Finding Neverland"; Mike Nichols, "Closer"; Alexander Payne, "Sideways"; Martin Scorsese, "The Aviator."

Screenplay: Charlie Kaufman, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"; John Logan, "The Aviator"; David Magee, "Finding Neverland"; Patrick Marber, "Closer"; Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, "Sideways."

Original Score: Clint Eastwood, "Million Dollar Baby"; Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, "Finding Neverland"; Rolfe Kent, "Sideways"; Howard Shore, "The Aviator"; Hans Zimmer, "Spanglish."

Original Song: "Accidentally in Love" from "Shrek 2"; "Believe" from "The Polar Express"; "Learn to be Lonely" from "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera"; "Million Voices" from "Hotel Rwanda"; "Old Habits Die Hard" from "Alfie."


TELEVISION:


Drama Series: "24," Fox; "Deadwood," HBO; "Lost," ABC; "Nip/Tuck," FX; "The Sopranos," HBO.

Actress, Drama Series: Edie Falco, "The Sopranos"; Jennifer Garner, "Alias"; Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"; Christine Lahti, "Jack & Bobby"; Joely Richardson, "Nip/Tuck."

Actor, Drama Series: Michael Chiklis, "The Shield"; Denis Leary, "Rescue Me"; Julian McMahon, "Nip/Tuck"; Ian McShane, "Deadwood"; James Spader, "Boston Legal."

Series, Musical or Comedy: "Arrested Development," Fox; "Desperate Housewives," ABC; "Entourage, HBO; "Sex and the City," HBO; "Will & Grace," NBC.

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Marcia Cross, "Desperate Housewives"; Teri Hatcher, "Desperate Housewives"; Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives"; Debra Messing, "Will & Grace"; Sarah Jessica Parker, "Sex and the City."

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jason Bateman, "Arrested Development"; Zach Braff, "Scrubs"; Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"; Matt LeBlanc, "Joey"; Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"; Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men."

Miniseries or Movie: "American Family: Journey of Dreams," PBS; "Iron Jawed Angels," HBO; "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," HBO; "The Lion in Winter," Showtime; "Something the Lord Made," HBO.

Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Glenn Close, "The Lion in Winter"; Blythe Danner, "Back When We Were Grown Ups"; Julianna Margulies, "The Grid"; Miranda Richardson, "The Lost Prince"; Hilary Swank, "Iron Jawed Angels."

Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Mos Def, "Something the Lord Made"; Jamie Foxx, "Redemption"; William H. Macy, "The Wool Cap"; Geoffrey Rush, "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"; Patrick Stewart, "The Lion in Winter."

Supporting Actress, Miniseries, Movie or Series: Drea de Matteo, "The Sopranos"; Anjelica Huston, "Iron Jawed Angels"; Nicollette Sheridan, "Desperate Housewives"; Charlize Theron, "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"; Emily Watson, "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers."

Supporting Actor, Miniseries, Movie or Series: Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace"; Michael Imperioli, "The Sopranos"; Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"; Oliver Platt, "Huff"; William Shatner, "Boston Legal."



News for 12/12/2004


Weekend Boxoffice


'Ocean's Twelve' Bests 'Treasure' in Debut

By DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer


LOS ANGELES (AP) - Movie audiences have gone from one robbery flick to another. "Ocean's Twelve," the star-driven sequel to the theft caper "Ocean's Eleven," debuted with $40.9 million, stealing the top box office slot from the heist hit "National Treasure," which slipped to third place with $10 million, studio estimates showed Sunday.

"National Treasure," which held the No. 1 spot the three previous weekends, lifted its domestic total to $124.2 million.

"Blade: Trinity," the third in Wesley Snipes' vampire series, opened at No. 2 with $16.1 million. The franchise had lost much of its bite since "Blade II," which debuted with more than twice the revenue, $32.5 million, and opened as the No. 1 movie in March 2002.

Playing in 3,290 theaters, "Ocean's Twelve" averaged a robust $12,426 per cinema, compared with $5,537 in 2,912 movie houses for "Blade: Trinity."

In limited release, Bill Murray's quirky oceanography tale "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" opened strongly, taking in $114,000 at just two theaters in New York City and Los Angeles. The film expands on Christmas Day.

Hollywood revenues rose solidly, with the top 12 movies taking in $102.8 million, up 28 percent from the same weekend in 2003, when "Something's Gotta Give" opened as the No. 1 movie with $16.1 million.

"Ocean's Twelve" reunites director Steven Soderbergh with a dream cast led by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia. Joining them this time was Catherine Zeta-Jones, adding to the sequel's star power.

"Movie-goers like their movie stars all in one place," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "It's like one-stop shopping for all the top stars in Hollywood."

The follow-up sends the gang to Europe, where they must pull off a virtually impossible heist to win a bet with a rival and pay off the Vegas casino owner they robbed in "Ocean's Eleven."

Given the movie's marquee-name roster and the success of the first movie, which grossed $183.4 million domestically, some industry analysts thought "Ocean's Twelve" might do even better than it did.

Still, its debut came in higher than the $38.1 million opening weekend of "Ocean's Eleven" in December 2001. Factoring in today's higher admission prices, "Ocean's Twelve" sold slightly fewer tickets than the original.

Distributor Warner Bros. and producer Jerry Weintraub already are mulling a second "Ocean's" sequel, said Dan Fellman, the studio's head of distribution.

"Blade: Trinity" features Snipes returning as the half-human, half-vampire action hero, this time battling the lord of the bloodsuckers, Dracula.

Distributor New Line hopes "Blade: Trinity" will hold up well during an onslaught of comedies, dramas and family flicks through year's end.

"Everybody always wants their numbers to be better," said David Tuckerman, head of distribution for New Line. "Still, we're basically the only movie like it. There's nothing else like it in the marketplace, a sci-fi, horror type of movie."

1. "Ocean's Twelve," $40.9 million.
2. "Blade: Trinity," $16.1 million.
3. "National Treasure," $10 million.
4. "The Polar Express," $9.8 million.
5. "Christmas With the Kranks," $7.6 million.
6. "The Incredibles," $5.05 million.
7. "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," $4.4 million.
8. "Closer," $3.75 million.
9. "Finding Neverland," $1.7 million.
10. "Alexander," $1.4 million.



'Sideways' Wins Top N.Y. Online Honors


NEW YORK (AP) - "Sideways" has taken another step forward with critics, winning top honors from the New York Film Critics Online.

The group named the comedy, about mismatched best friends on a wine-tasting road trip, as the year's best film Saturday. Two of the movie's stars, Thomas Haden Church and Virginia Madsen, won the supporting acting categories.

Jamie Foxx was named best actor for his uncanny portrayal of Ray Charles in "Ray," and Imelda Staunton won the best-actress award for playing a housekeeper who secretly performs abortions in 1950s England in "Vera Drake."

Martin Scorsese was named the top director for the Howard Hughes epic "The Aviator," and Charlie Kaufman won screenplay honors for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," about a lovelorn man who wants to erase his ex-girlfriend from his memory.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association also chose "Sideways" as the year's best film on Saturday, and earlier this month the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures listed it among the top 10 movies of the year.

Other 2004 picks from the New York Film Critics Online, composed of writers who are either exclusively online or who are broadcast or print critics with a strong online presence:

Cinematography: "Hero," Christopher Doyle.

Animated film: "The Incredibles."

Foreign-language film: "The Motorcycle Diaries."

Documentary: (tie) "Broadway: The Golden Age" and "Super Size Me."

Breakthrough performance: Topher Grace ("p.s." and "In Good Company.")

Debut director: Joshua Marston "Maria Full of Grace."



ABC Worships Oprah's 'God' in March


LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Normally networks tend to set their biggest television events for the November, February or May sweeps periods. However, fresh off the post-sweeps success of "Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven," ABC has scheduled "Oprah Winfrey Presents Their Eyes Were Watching God" for a March premiere.

Based on the classic novel by Zora Neale Hurston (whose name, apparently, isn't commercial enough to be title-worthy), "God" will air on Sunday, March 6 in the somewhat atypical 9-11 p.m. ET time period.

In addition to finding its basis in a respected piece of literature and carrying Winfrey's name and promotional power, the telefilm stars Oscar winner and "Catwoman" star Halle Berry in a rare network television appearance.

Emmy winner Ruby Dee and Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson co-star in the project about an African-American woman's quest for independence, love and spiritual fulfillment in the 1920s.

Darnell Martin directs an adaptation by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks ("Topdog/Underdog"). Winfrey executive produces along with Quincy Jones.

Airing last Sunday (Dec. 5), "Five People You Meet in Heaven" drew an impressive 18.6 million viewers, making it television's fifth most watched show for the week.



Brady Heads to Court with NBC


LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Actor/comedian/all-around showman Wayne Brady is headed back to television with a pilot deal at NBC.

Brady will star in a comedy about personal injury lawyers from writer Saladin Patterson ("Frasier," "The Bernie Mac Show"). Patterson will also executive produce with Bernie Brillstein; Brady will serve as a co-exec producer.

The performer says the lack of workplace comedies, and the potential for silliness in personal-injury cases, were what drew him and Patterson to the idea.

We were trying to find a workplace that hasn't been tapped yet," Brady tells The Hollywood Reporter. "... It seems like a world that would be full of great characters and great cases that can be really, really funny."

Brady made a name for himself as an improv performer on ABC's "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," winning an Emmy in 2003 for his work on the show. He also won two Daytime Emmys for outstanding talk show host for his self-titled talk-variety show, which aired for two seasons.

Brad Grey TV and 20th Century Fox TV are producing the pilot.



News for 12/5/2004


Weekend Boxoffice


'Treasure' Retains Box-Office Booty

By DAVID GERMAIN

AP Movie Writer


LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Founding Fathers keep earning interest on their loot. Nicolas Cage's "National Treasure," about a race to find a fortune hidden by the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was the top movie for a third straight weekend with $17.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The action flick lifted its total to $110.2 million after 17 days in release, dominating a quiet post-Thanksgiving weekend with no new movies debuting in wide release.

Mike Nichols' caustic sex drama "Closer" _ starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen _ opened strongly in narrower release, taking in $7.7 million. Playing in 476 theaters, "Closer" had a healthy average of $16,176 a cinema, compared to a $5,286 average in 3,243 theaters for "National Treasure."

The martial-arts epic "House of Flying Daggers," a strong contender for the foreign-language Academy Award, premiered well in limited release. Directed by Zhang Yimou ("Hero"), the film grossed $417,020 in 15 theaters for a $27,801 average.

The overall box office declined after three straight weekends of rising revenue. The top 12 movies grossed $80.3 million, down 10 percent from the same weekend last year.

"National Treasure," a reunion between Cage and producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("The Rock"), surprised box-office analysts with its staying power.

"Nicolas Cage and Jerry Bruckheimer are always a force to be reckoned with, but to have this film at No. 1 for three weeks, I don't think anyone saw that coming," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

The movie's box-office reign will end next weekend with the debut of the star-studded heist sequel "Ocean's Twelve," whose cast includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Roberts.

Distributor Sony is rolling "Closer" out slowly to build buzz through Hollywood's upcoming awards season. "Closer" placed third behind "Finding Neverland" and "The Aviator" on the National Board of Review's list released last week of best 2004 films, and the group honored the movie's cast for best ensemble performance.

"It is a very adult film, and it does seem that a slower rollout is the appropriate thing to do with it," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution.

Oliver Stone's historical epic "Alexander," which opened to poor reviews, grossed $4.7 million, down 65 percent from its debut the previous weekend. "Alexander," which reportedly cost $150 million to make, took in just $29.7 million in its first 12 days.

1. "National Treasure," $17.1 million.
2. "Christmas With the Kranks," $11.7 million.
3. "The Polar Express," $11 million.
4. "The Incredibles," $9.2 million.
5. "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," $7.8 million.
6. "Closer," $7.7 million.
7. "Alexander," $4.7 million.
8. "Finding Neverland," $2.9 million.
9. "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," $2.8 million.
10. "Ray," $1.9 million.