Golden Globes: The morning after
Watching the Golden Globe winner special Sunday night one thing became
clear, the Globes are nothing without stars. Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell is a
total pro and Billy Bush, who cracked me up during our pre-Globes
interview, did as good a job as anyone could, but the show was deadly.
I have to respectfully disagree with my awards guru friend and Goldderby maestro Tom O'Neil,
though he WAS in the room and I was not, who called it "the best Golden
Globes ever" because it was only about the awards. Sorry Tom, I think it's much
more fun to hear the winners called and see them rush to the stage in
their designer dresses to pick up their statues. What did you think? Did you like the faster pace, tne reading of nominees and announcement of the winners without the stars? Or did you long for the celeb-filled room, the prancing up the red carpet? Post below and tell me what you think.
(photo by Jack Guy/NBC)
January 10, 2008
My Golden Globes update
When my special magazine report on the Golden Globe awards arrives in newspapers around the country this weekend, readers will find one bit in error - the fact that the award ceremony was to be broadcast on NBC Sunday night. As Blog readers know, that ceremony was cancelled earlier this week because the Writers Guild of America would not provide a waiver for members to work and promised to picket the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where the Globes take place. NBC plans to replace it with a press conference where winners will be announced, but that is information that was impossible to include in my Globes report because the magazine had been printed and shipped to our client newspapers weeks ago.
The cancellation of the Globes makes me all the happier that we partnered with the Screen Actors Guild Awards again this year to bring readers insider coverage of that ceremony. The SAG Awards already have a waiver from the Writers' Guild, so there is no question that show will go on January 27, and I'll be blogging live from Los Angeles in the days leading up to the event and from the event itself.
In fact, you can participate in the SAG Awards auction online even now. There are plenty of goodies to choose from on the site but don't look for a presenter's bag, which I wrongly included in one writing. The SAG Awards stopped giving presenter goody bags some years ago.
January 08, 2008
The Globes are gone
It's official. There will be no lavish Golden Globes show on NBC this weekend. Because of the writers strike, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has canceled the big show that would've been broadcast Sunday night. The show will be replaced with a press conference to begin at 6 p.m. PT where the winners in 25 categories will be announced. NBC will televise the press conference.
The Writers Guild of America planned to picket the show and actors, who are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, would not cross the picket line to attend.
It's looking more and more like the Screen Actors Guild Awards, set for Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and TBS, will be the one award show to watch this season. Producers already have a waiver from the WGA to go on with the show so there is no danger of cancellation. I'll be there blogging live from the red carpet and backstage.
The Academy Awards, set for Feb. 24, still do not have a WGA waiver.
January 07, 2008
Awards shows in crisis
Will the Golden Globes go on? That's the question of the week and it may be answered today. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which awards the Globes, and NBC, which airs the award ceremony, have been going back and forth about what to do given that they have been told by PR firms for the biggest stars in Hollywood that their clients - and we're talking all the biggest names - won't cross the Writers Guild of America picket lines. Among the ideas floated are rescheduling the Globes for a time after the strike is settled, but no one can predict how long the strike will go, or going ahead with the ceremony on Sunday without televising it, a move with which the WGA has said it won't interfere but NBC has balked at.
The Screen Actors Guild awards, coming up on January 27, already has a waiver from the Writers Guild so we know THAT show will go on. It will air on TNT and TBS. However, producers of the Oscars, scheduled for February 24, do not yet have a waiver so the Oscars are in jeopardy too.
December 20, 2007
Angelina Jolie, Christina Applegate get SAG nods
Actors always tell me that winning a Screen Actors Guild award means as much as an Oscar because it is actors judging the performances of other actors. Often the SAG award voters will reward otherwise overlooked performances, like the year the Actor statue went to Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean. This morning's nominations, however, were all over the map and, to my mind, that makes this awards season much more fun for movie and television mavens, although I will say it's unfortunate that Atonement and Charlie Wilson's War, both worthy movies, did not get a nod.
Among the interesting nominees today: Angelina Jolie, for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role, as Marianne Pearl in A Mighty Heart (at right); Emile HIrsch for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for Into the Wild; Hal Holbrook, for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role, for Into the Wild; and the lovely Ruby Dee, for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role, for American Gangster.
The SAG Awards show and party, from which I'll be blogging live come Jan. 27, will be great for star-watching. Among the others nominated for individual roles or ensembles in both movies and TV were George Clooney, Viggo Mortensen, Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Christian Bale, Josh Brolin, John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Christina Applegate, Patrick Dempsey, well - you get the picture.
Here's a complete list of the SAG Award nominations. If you'd like to be among the guests, go to sagwards.org/auction, where you'll find a VIP package that gives you seats in the house and entrance to the gala. That package is only open for bidding until Sunday, however, so act fast.
(photo by Peter Mountain/ © 2007 by Paramount Vantage)
December 19, 2007
Win tickets to the SAG Awards
Want to get two tickets to the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 27? With access to the post-awards gala, too? Here's your chance. The Screen Actors Guild Foundation's annual online fundraising auction begins tomorrow with the hottest item — those tickets and the VIP package deal with them — available only through Dec. 23.
If I were not already going to the awards — to work, no cushy inside seats for me — I'd definitely be urging my secret Santa to bid on this package, and not just because of our USA WEEKEND-SAG Awards partnership. The winners get to attend the SAG Awards and see the stars from inside the Shrine Auditorium, as well as attend the post-Awards Gala. Though we won't know until Thursday morning which actors will be nominated, I can tell you they will be A-list names and at the SAG Awards it's only actors. No suits. The package also includes a backstage tour during rehearsals for the awards show, a walk down the red carpet and a framed photo of the VIP guests.
Bidding begins tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pacific time and closes Sunday at 10:00 am PT. Go to sagawards.org/auction to bid and to see other items like movie memoribilia, bleacher seats for the SAG Award arrivals, and more. The auction continues for six weeks with lots of new items coming up weekly so it will be worth keeping tabs on. Most important, the money goes to fund children's literacy programs and to fund relief programs for SAG members in distress.
December 03, 2007
Steve Carell, Cameron Diaz at KenCen Honors
The Kennedy Center Honors bring a touch of Hollywood to Washington every year and last night Kathy Rowings attended the 30th annual awards, which will be broadcast on CBS later this month. It started with some red-carpet watching, where Steve Martin stopped to take pictures of everyone taking pictures of him. The night just kept getting better. Here's Kathy's report:
I made my way into the theater and, much to my delight, discovered that my seat was immediately in front of the stage -- I could reach out to touch it. One of the podiums was directly above me, and the man sitting next to me, who happened to be the son of pianist and honoree Leon Fleisher, joked that if anyone fell off stage, they were coming my way. Also nearby were Ted Kennedy and Aretha Franklin. No, not together. I got an up-close-and-personal look at Caroline Kennedy, who looked stunning in a gold beaded dress, and Francis Ford Coppola, who told a hilarious tale about cooking with Martin Scorsese and how they once rigged an old movie projecter to stir spaghetti sauce so they could go watch a movie.
Cameron Diaz was also on hand, gorgeous as always in a white strapless dress with yellow and black accents, to honor Scorsese, though her giggly admission that she asks him, 'You have such a big brain. Is it heavy?' fell a little flat. Steve Carell paid tribute to Steve Martin, joking that 'I am in awe of Steve Martin. I admire his career. I respect him more than anyone, with the possible exception of Martin Scorsese.' Smokey Robinson and Terrence Howard spoke about their love of Diana Ross, while Jordin Sparks, Vanessa Williams, Ciara (in a shiny silver unitard) and Yolanda Adams each performed songs of Ross'. Yo-Yo Ma feted Fleischer, and the last tribute of the night was for Beach Boy Brian Wilson, who Art Garfunkel described as "in a world of his own vibrations." Lyle Lovett performed a low-key God Only Knows (What I'd Be Without You), but Hootie and the Blowfish got the normally staid Washington crowd onto its feet with a fun medley of Beach Boys songs. Even President Bush and the First Lady were up and clapping along.
Then it was onto the dinner, where Diana Ross caused quite a stir every time she got up from her table where she was sitting with Vanessa Williams. She posed for photos with Scorsese and Martin, De Niro and Scorsese chatted like the old pals they are, and Kristin Chenoweth fawned over Steve Martin. All the stars were gracious and willing to pose for picture after picture, particularly for each other: Jordin Sparks was seated at the table next to me, and, just like everyone else who'd snapped a shot of a celeb, she kept checking the picture she'd gotten of her and Diana Ross on her own digital camera.
November 07, 2007
It's high school musical for Brad Paisley
The latest from Dennis on the streets of Nashville:
"I went to get my credentials for the show and, outside the arena, everyone on the street was doing double takes as a school bus pulled up and unloaded an entire high school marching band! ‘Ummmm, hey kids, did you show up at the wrong place? There’s no high school football game going on at the Sommet Center tonight …’ Well, they
were in the right place, because they’ll be onstage tonight to perform Online with Brad Paisley. It’s a funny, quirky song, so the marching band from nearby Brentwood High fits right in. Check out the photo. The tuba player, Alex Levy, 18, says, unlike other country music stars tonight, it only took him a minute to get properly ‘styled’ for the event. But that doesn’t make him any less excited. 'It’s definitely THE musical highlight of my career,' he told me. 'So far, at least.' His folks will be TiVo-ing from home. With Alex, to the left, is Nicole Negrete and, center, Daniel Bradley.
Brad Paisley could be CMA big winner
Who are favorites for the big CMA Awards tonight? Before he left, I asked Dennis for his picks, which he happily supplied with the caveat that they aren't based on anything but his own gut. His gut is better than mine, so here is a look at what may happen on stage tonight:
SONG OF THE YEAR: Everyone loves a recovering somebody, which makes Keith Urban’s Stupid Boy a strong pick here. But don’t count out Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats because those who counted her out last year for female vocalist were making funny faces and getting posted on YouTube in a non-flattering way.
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR: The Dixie Chicks are nominated after getting snubbed in recent years. Funny how both the Chicks and Toby Keith have fallen out of favor with CMA voters, when they’re on opposite sides of the same feud, huh? Anyway, Rascal Flatts is the flavor of the year; they’ll win this one.
HORIZON AWARD: Go with Rodney Atkins here. Watching You is a throat-choker.
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Brad Paisley has a Hollywood wife and knows his way around the camera. 'Nuff said.
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR: George Strait, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett for Hey Good Lookin’
C’mon. Strait, Jackson AND Buffett? Just getting them together is worth an award. George doesn’t really do incessant hookups with other stars. Really, like, does he have to?
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: King George (Strait) will step aside for Brad Paisley's 5th Gear, as a Paisley train will continue rolling on.
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR: Brooks & Dunn will continue winning this award until they officially retire it.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Martina McBride is going for a record here, so why not pick her? Carrie 
Underwood got her award last year (too soon for a certain star’s taste, clearly). Miranda Lambert’s got a lot of spunk, and who doesn’t like her "Hell YEAH!" shout-out? But it’s too early, and she lacks a diverse portfolio (musically, that is … dunno what she’s doing with all of her money). So Martina is the pick here.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Josh Turner is a first-time nominee and the "just-happy-to-be-here" guy. The others are stiff competition, but it’s Brad Paisley's night.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR: Thanks to Ticks, great songwriting and very under-appreciated guitar skills, Brad Paisley will take this, too, and make it a night to remember.
Want to check out some other predictions? Here are the best guesses from TV Guide, USA TODAY, The Seattle Times and Country Universe. What do you think of their picks and ours? Who do you think will go home a winner? Let us know in the comments below.
(Martina McBride photo by Rick Diamond/courtesy frontpagepublicity.com)
Big & Rich do GMA
While I was bleary-eyed and writing our daily Over Coffee round-up at 7 a.m. this morning, our Dennis was already bright-eyed and working on the streets of Nashville, checking out the free mini-concert by Big & RIch for Good Morning America. Here's what he found.
"Some folks apparently turned out for the concert at 3:30 a.m. 'Man, I wouldn’t get up this early to see Elvis,' one groggy band member groused. There were lots of handwritten signs expressing props for the band. My favorite was one being held up by a family of four that said, 'We Are Skipping School for Big & Rich.' 'Big' Kenny Alphin and John Rich showed up just before 7:30 a.m., to the crowd’s
delight. From GMA, Robin and Diane were MIA, but weatherman Sam Champion was there to officially bring out the band. Big Kenny had a lot of fun with this. 'I’ve just been informed that the new lyrics to our first song will be Save a Horse/Ride a Weatherman,’ he told the crowd. Sam loved it. (Kenny is the designated character of the group.) With that, they launched into their signature hit, Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy), followed by Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace. In between songs, Champion asked the fellas about their style, which is pretty outlandish and eclectic, mixing barstool-kicking country with classic rock — they do AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long on their new album — and even hip-hop. Rich gave the weather guy a quick lesson in music history, about how blending rap with country is nothing new, that legends like Johnny Cash did it all the time. 'They called it recitation back then,' Rich said, 'when you’d talk in the middle of a song, like in A Boy Named Sue.' Well, enough of that, because the crowd wanted music, and Big & Rich gave them a great concert-kicker with Radio. 'Now, y’all can take a nap,' Big Kenny said before leaving. Sounded good to me. The red carpet thing starts in late afternoon, and I’ll need to have my A game on."
(photo by Marina Chavez)
The fun continues in Nashville
Dennis was still out and about into Tuesday evening, and things only got more fun. Here's his report:
"By dinnertime, downtown Nashville was really quite a scene! The main drag is Broadway, and there was a live, free concert going on right in front of the Sommet Center there, where the CMAs will be held. Emerson Drive and Phil Vassar were the headliners, and a the biggest buzz was about special ‘surprise’ guest Sara Evans — even if you don’t dig country, you know her from Dancing With the Stars. Phil was great, too, with a bouncy take on Stay (Just a Little Bit Longer) and a soulful rendition of America the Beautiful. Everybody loved it, especially two guys in the crowd who were apparently trying to out-‘man crush’ each other:
'I LOVE YOU, PHIL!' one screamed.
'I LOVE YOU MORE, PHIL!!' the other said.
Phil was clearly amused. 'Hey, even if you don’t think much of the music here,' he said, 'you can’t beat the price.'
On to a media-only party at Rippy's on Broadway that the nice publicity folks at the CMAs were hosting. Boy, let me just say that I’m totally lame-o for even THINKING about being tired, because the CMA folks start the day at 6 a.m. and end at midnight. The excitement of the show clearly was fueling them, because they were all abuzz about the day's rehearsals and events. There were 50 radio stations from across the country in to do live remotes. There were videotaped interviews with performing stars to send out to TV stations everywhere, a
nd, for the first time that CMA publicist Scott Stem could remember, George Strait actually agreed to do one. (That's Scott with some friends, pictured at left.) Strait, as anyone who loves country music knows, rarely gives interviews. (I hounded him for two years to get ours. Maybe he thought that the easiest way to get rid of me for good was to finally give the damn interview already …) Scott was thrilled. 'He was terrific!' Scott said. 'He talked about how much he loves doing the awards, especially last year, when he was inducted into the Country Music
Hall of Fame at the CMAs.'
DVR alert: During rehearsals, Brad Paisley apparently did a killer version of Online, with Kellie Pickler and even members of the Brentwood High marching band. That said, even this late in the game, much of the fine details of this evening are still TBD. 'We know Kid Rock, who is a presenter, will do the red carpet,' Scott told me, 'but we’re still awaiting word on Jessica Simpson. Will she or won’t she? We’ll know soon enough.' Meanwhile, Scott thinks Taylor Swift is going to be huge. She’s only 17, but she’s a Horizon nominee and knocked people dead at rehearsals. 'And she really is quite the Internet star, on MySpace and all,' Scott said. 'She'll sit on the tour bus and e-mail all of these fans individually, answering all of their questions. Watch out for her …' OK, Scott, you convinced me. I will.
Ahhh, that’s the beauty of the CMAs. So many established stars want to make the party (Strait, Paisley, Evans, Simpson, Kid Rock), and so many other, newer stars (Pickler, Swift) are promising to make a grand entrance as well. And we'll be on top of covering them all."
The mood in Nashville is festive
Dennis McCafferty knows country music better than anyone on our staff. He's our go-to guy when it comes to interviews with country stars. He even got the ever-elusive George Strait for the magazine's cover earlier this year. He started soaking up the atmosphere in the country music capital the minute he got off the plane Tuesday. Let's let Dennis tell you all about it:
"Even if you didn’t know where you were, you’d know this was Nashville. (Waitaminute. My first sentence of the CMA blog coverage starts with a Yogi Berra-ism?) Anyway, as soon as you exit the terminal, there was a nice, small band with the singer doing fine justice to Merle Haggard’s If We Make it Through December. Considering the festive mood here, it’s a fairly depressing song. (It’s about a family where the dad gets laid off from the factory, and they need to get through the cold winter, and he doesn’t know how he’s going to face his little girl without being able to put presents under the tree … OK, I’m getting a bit of a catch in my throat.)
Anyway, the singer did a great Merle, with all the appropriate inflections, and it got me right into the spirit of this week’s events.
Later I stopped by the offices of Country Music Television (CMT). In the last year, USA WEEKEND launched a partnership with the big kahuna of country music cable networks to make sure we get our readers the very best stars in Nashville today. CMT's on-camera pros Katie Cook and Lance Smith contribute covers and inside features for us. This past weekend, Katie and Lance scored a coup by landing our cover subjects: superhot Martina McBride –- going for a record fifth win in Female Vocalist of the Year –- and Josh Turner, who is nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year for the first time ever. CMT wanted no less than 65 copies of last weekend’s issue because their entire sales team was coming to town and, armed with our Katie/Lance tag-teaming of Martina/Josh, execs think this could be a big feather in CMT’s cap to promote. Of course, I agreed wholeheartedly, so lugged all of those magazines to CMT’s offices for the dropoff.
The highlight of my visit? Seeing the really cool CMT "beer" billboard stripped across the hallway. It used to be proudly displayed on Times Square. I had to get my picture with it. Check it out, at right.
Folks at CMT seemed pretty calm, given that this is the biggest week for Nashville and CMT live coverage. They tell me that Lance and Katie will be busy all night tonight, starting at 4 p.m. ET on the red carpet and then going right on to post-speech interviews. The red-carpet coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET on CMT. I’ll be doing the red carpet thing, too, after either a late lunch or an early dinner. So if you see me on TV, let me know if I spilled rib sauce or something on my blue blazer."
November 01, 2007
Awards season approaches
It's getting to that time of year when people start exclaiming, "It's not even Thanksgiving! I can't believe there are already Christmas decorations up!" But here at the magazine, it's "I can't believe it's already time to get awards show credentials!" We're starting preparations for our SAG Awards coverage, and it looks like it'll be an exciting year. I'm hoping we'll get to see The Office repeat as outstanding comedy ensemble, but who are you hoping to see this year?
(photo by Mark Hill / ©2005 Screen Actors Guild)
October 12, 2007
Billy Crystal's big night
As I mentioned earlier, the ceremony for Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center was great last night. It was my first time there, and it certainly didn't disappoint. The show was entertaining from start to finish, so I'll just pick out some highlights.
— Rob Reiner revealed that Billy Crystal was actually the mastermind behind the unforgettable "I'll have what she's having" line from When Harry Met Sally — and Reiner's own mother was the actor who said it.
— Joe Torre, of whom Billy is a massive fan, got the second-biggest ovation of the night, second only to Billy himself.
— Of course, some of the best moments were the unscripted ones. Jimmy Fallon flubbed his lines not once, not twice, but three times. But he was both amusing and apologetic about it, so we forgave him. Then Jon Lovitz flubbed, too, which he joked was his "impression of Jimmy Fallon," and after his second mess-up, Lovitz mused about "how many takes De Niro is going to need."
— As suspected, Robin Williams is always on (at least when there's an audience). All the stars gathered onstage when the ceremony was over, and Billy made his way down the line, hugging and thanking everyone. And there was Robin in the background, dancing wildly and grabbing Billy's, how shall I say it, haunches at one point.
— The crowd stood around after the end of the show, just watching the collective comics on stage, until Billy finally yelled, "Go home!" We didn't want to, but we obeyed. It was his night, after all.
September 14, 2007
Experts' Emmy picks
The Emmys begin in just about 48 hours, so the stars are all out in L.A. getting red-carpet ready. Those of us watching from home don't need to worry about looking glamorous, so we can focus our efforts on correctly predicting the winners. Emmy voting is a fairly cryptic process, so it's really anyone's guess as to who'll walk away with the statuettes (though everyone seems to be in agreement about one thing: The Sopranos taking Best Drama). To help with your own personal predictions, here are links to five experts' picks:
September 10, 2007
Joan Didion to be honored
News of the day in the world of books: Author Joan Didion will receive the National Book Foundation's 2007 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at the National Book Awards ceremony in November. Terry Gross, who does those engaging interviews on NPR's Fresh Air, will get the Literian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. It's not the Emmys or the Oscars, but isn't it nice to know that awards come to those who care about books, too?...Speaking of authors and awards, John Grogan, the journalist who wrote the best-selling book Marley & Me about his ill-behaved Labrador, will be inducted into Central Michigan University's Journalism Hall of Fame in November, along with yours truly. We both earned our journalism degrees in the fine program there though we didn't know each other because one of us (I'm not saying who) is younger than the other. John sold his work to Hollywood. I just write about it.
September 06, 2007
Oscar seating available
Oscar mavens, I'm giving you early heads up on how to get a red-carpet seat. Beginning on Monday, Sept. 17, at noon PST, and continuing until Sept. 24, at noon PST, you can apply online to win seats along the red carpet. There are 300 seats available along the 500-foot-long carpet that leads into the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. We are not talking glamour seats here. They are bleachers. But with binoculars you'll get a good look at the passing stars. Here's how to do it. Go to www.oscars.org/bleachers and fill out the application. Submit it online (that's the only way they take them.) That goes into a lottery, and they'll announce lottery winners in October. That gives you plenty of time to call your stylist for the February 24, 2008, ceremony.
(photo courtesy oscars.org)
August 22, 2007
Emmy presenters
Fox just announced the first confirmed Emmy presenters, and there are some doozies. I'll just go ahead and list them, because there are so many great ones: Steve Carrell, Katherine Heigl, Jon Stewart, Kelsey Grammer, Hayden Panettiere, Kiefer Sutherland, the cast of Entourage (Jeremy Piven, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara), Kate Walsh, Kyle Chandler, Patricia Heaton and Jimmy Smits. Whew. And, just because, here's a clip from Emmy-nominated Grey's Anatomy, which is also providing two of the aforementioned presenters.
August 21, 2007
Emmys info
The Emmys are in a few short weeks (and hopefully Lorrie and I will be there), and things are starting to ramp up for the awards show. Ryan Seacrest was finally announced as the host yesterday, and now we've got word about the episode submissions for Comedy and Drama series. My eyes initially glazed over everything but The Office's entries (yay for "Benihana Christmas), but 30 Rock has some awesome episodes, too. I've been watching season one of Heroes on DVD (one of the perks of my job -- I got the DVD a few weeks early) and it's growing on me, but I'm still pulling for House on the drama front. And in news about the actual awards, there is talk of what I think could be the most awesome Emmy performance ever: Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg performing D- - - in a Box. Live. At the Emmys. Be still my beating heart...
(photo courtesy nbcumv.com)
