South Bank Show Awards 2008

ITV's flagship arts programme, The South Bank Show, held their annual awards last night. Harry Potter author, JK Rowling was given the Outstanding Achievement Award and below are the other winners, which acknowledges achievement across the arts in the UK:

• Film - This Is England
• Comedy - Gavin and Stacey (BBC Three)
• TV Drama - The Mark of Cain (Channel 4)
• Theatre - Saint Joan at the National Theatre
• Pop - Arctic Monkeys: Favourite Worst Nightmare
• Literature - Mohsin Hamid: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
• Classical Music - Traced Overhead: The Musical World of Thomas Ades at the Barbican
• Visual Arts - Andy Goldsworthy at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
• Opera- The Turn of The Screw at the ENO
• Dance -Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company: Programmes 1 and 2 at Sadler’s Wells
• Literature - Mohsin Hamid: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
• Arts Council England - decibel Award - Daljit Nagra: Look We Have Coming To Dover
• Outstanding Achievement Award - JK Rowling

Best and worst high street shops

The latest servery on customer satisfaction by Which?, the consumer watchdog, has revealed the best and worst stores on the high street. Interestingly Waitrose, normally the most expensive of all the supermarkets, was named the best shopping experience (none of the "big four", Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons supermarkets made the grade). Having said that, budget "pile 'em high sell 'em cheap" supermarkets Lidl and Aldi also ranked in the top ten best. Independent shops fared well and shows the muscling in on the bog names isn't a good thing for the shopper.

At the other end of the scale the "worst of" lists has some of the biggest names on the high street, with Curry's, Curry's.digital and PC World all owned by the same company, DSG International.

The top 10 stores overall

1. Waitrose - 87%
2. John Lewis - 78%
3. Independent DVD and book shops - 77%
4. Independent electrical shops - 71%
5. Waterstone’s - 70%
6. Marks & Spencer - 69%
= Lidl
= Independent sports shops
10. Aldi - 68%
= Borders

The bottom 10 stores

1. JD Sports - 33
2. Woolworths - 39
= JJB Sports
4. Currys.digital - 40
5. Somerfield - 41
= PC World
7. Focus - 43
= Currys
= Phones 4U
10. Sportsworld - 44
= Topshop/Topman

This season's sacked managers. Plus Strachan Quotes

Last week Kevin Keegan returned to Newcastle United. He never won a major trophy last time he was there and he's been out of a managing job for three years, so Toon knows what he's been choosen as the mesiah this time. One thing for sure, Newcastle need to keep him for longer than Big Sam who was only in the job for 7 months. The most successful Premiership manager took 4 years to win anything.

The Toon Army have had 7 managers in the past 7 years. They really need to get behind Keegan and be patient and let him build a team rather than expecting miracles in months.

These are the managers that have already parted company with their Premier League teams this season:

1. Sept 20: Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
2. 0ct 17: Sammy Lee (Bolton)
3. Oct 25: Martin Jol (Tottenham)
4. Nov 5: Chris Hutchings (Wigan)
5. Nov 19: Steve Bruce (Birmingham)
6. Nov 26: Billy Davies (Derby)
7. Dec 21: Lawrie Sanchez (Fulham)
8. Jan 9: Sam Allerdyce (Newcastle)

George Burley has also left Chamionship side Southampton to manage the Scottish National team today. Now, I meant to do this list last week but was reminded about it by Burley's departure and a list The Times Online published today, some great quotes from Gordon Strachan, Celtic manager (and former Southampton manager whilst I was working for ITV, I'm not sure if any of these quotes are from when we interviewed him!).

Top ten Gordon Strachan ripostes

1. On Wayne Rooney : It's an incredible rise to stardom, at 17 you’re more
likely to get a call from Michael Jackson than Sven Goran Eriksson.

2. Reporter: Can I ask you about Augustin Delgado [an underperforming player Strachan had
purchased for Southampton] Strachan: I've got more important things to think
about. I've got a yogurt to finish by today, the expiry date is today. That can
be my priority rather than Augstin Delgado.

3. Reporter: Welcome to Southampton Football Club. Do you think you are
the right man to turn things around? Strachan: No. I was asked if I thought I was the
right an for the job and I said, "No, I think they should have got George Graham
because I’m useless."

4. Reporter: Gordon, you must be delighted with that result? Strachan: You’re spot on!
You can read me like a book.

5. Reporter: This might sound like a daft question, but you'll be happy
to get your first win under your belt, won't you? Strachan: You're right. It
is a daft question. I'm not even going to bother answering that one. It is a
daft question, you’re spot on there.

6. Reporter: Bang, there goes your unbeaten run. Can you take it? Strachan: No, I'm just
going to crumble like a wreck. I'll go home, become an alcoholic and maybe jump
off a bridge. Umm, I
think I can take it, yeah.

7. Reporter: where will Marion Pahars fit into the team line-up? Strachan: Not telling you!
It's a secret.

8. Reporter: Gordon, Do you think James Beattie [one of Strachan's players] deserves to be in the England
squad? Strachan: I don't care, I'm
Scottish

9. Reporter: You don't
take losing lightly, do you Gordon? Strachan: I don't take
stupid comments lightly either.

10. Reporter: So, Gordon, in what areas do you think Middlesbrough were better
than you today? Strachan: What areas? Mainly that big green one out
there….

Above quotes from The Times

The 2008 Academy Awards nominations

It's my 100th post!

So, the big one. The 80th Academy Awards nominations were announced today. Disappointment for Golden Globe winner Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, losing out acting nods for Atonement (and means I can't really justify another pic of Keira!). Sweeney Todd missed out on the big two too.

The Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood lead the number of nominations with eight apiece, whilst Atonement managed five, the same as George Clooney starrer Michael Clayton. It's nice to see Once get a Best Song nomination too, for it's, er, best song. Stands a good chance too with Enchanted spreading it's bets three ways.

Winners will be posted on The Blog of Lists when they re announced on the 24 February.

Best Picture

• Atonement
• Juno
• Michael Clayton
• No Country For Old Men
• There Will Be Blood

Best Director

• Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
• Jason Reitman - Juno
• Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
• Joel & Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men
• Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

Best Actor

• George Clooney - Michael Clayton
• Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
• Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Tommy Lee Jones - In The Valley Of Elah
• Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Best Spporting Actor

• Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
• Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
• Hal Holbrook - Into The Wild
• Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• Julie Christie - Away From Her
• Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose
• Laura Linney - The SavagesEllen Page - Juno

Best Supporting Actress

• Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
• Rudy Dee - American Gangster
• Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
• Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
• Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Best Animated Feature

• Persepolis
• Ratatouille
• Surf's Up

Art Direction

• American Gangster
• Atonement
• The Golden Compass
• Sweeney Todd
• There Will Be Blood

Cinematography

• The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
• Atonement
• The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
• No Country For Old Men
• There Will Be Blood

Costume Design

• Across The Universe
• Atonemen
• tElizabeth: The Golden Age
• La Vie En Rose
• Sweeney Todd

Best Documentary Feature

• No End In Sight
• Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience
• Sicko
• Taxi To The Dark Side
• War/Dance

Best Docmentary Short Subject

• Freeheld
• La Corona (The Crown)
• Salim Baba
• Sari's Mother

Best Editing

• The Bourne Ultimatum
• The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
• Into The Wild
• No Country For Old Men
• There Will Be Blood

Best Foreign Language Film

• Beaufort
• The Counterfeiters
• Katyn
• Mongol
• 12

Best Makeup

• La Vie En Rose
• Norbit
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Best Music Original Score

• Atonement
• The Kite Runner
• Michael Clayton
• Ratatouille
• 3:10 To Yuma
  

Best Music - Original Song

• Once - Falling Slowly
• Enchanted - Happy Working Song
• August Rush -
• Enchanted -So Close
• Enchanted - That's How You Know

Best Animated Short Film

• I Met The Walrus
• Madame Tutli-Putli
• Même Les Pigeons vont Au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
• My Love (Moya Lyubov)
• Peter & The Wolf

Best Live Action Short Film

• At NightIl Supplente (The Substitute)
• Le Mozart Des Pickpokets
• Tanghi Argentini
• The Tonto Woman

Best Sound Editing

• The Bourne Ultimatum
• No Country For Old Men
• Ratatouille
• There Will Be Blood
• Transformers

Best Sound Mixin

• The Bourne Ultimatum
• No Country For Old Men
• Ratatouille
• 3:10 To Yuma
• Transformers

Best Visual Effects

• The Golden Compass
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
• Transformers

Adapted Screenplay

• Atonement
• Away From Her
• The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
• No Country For Old Men
• There Will Be Blood

Original Screenplay

• Juno
• Lars and the Real Girl
• Michael Clayton
• Ratatouille
• The Savages

Battle of the Greatest Movie Weapons

A new survey of 2000 film goers, by 20th Century Fox, has come up with the greatest weapons in the movies has revealed that the lightsaber, described by Obi_wan as "a more elegant weapon from a more civilized era" to be the greatest. The results are a list of icon weapons from movies, the home of violence and killing, often a major critisism of the industry: it's kind of strange Fox would even commision the survey.

1. Star Wars - Jedi Lightsaber
2. Dirty Harry's .44 Magnum
3. Indiana Jones's bullwhip
4. The Hanzo samurai sword used in Kill Bill
5. The chainsaw from Texas Chainsaw Massacre
6. Scaramanga's golden gun (The Man With the Golden Gun)
7. Robin Hood's bow and arrow
8. Scarface's M4A1 rifle with undermounted M203 grenade launcher
9. Star Wars - The Death Star
10. Oddjob's razor-edged bowler hat as used in Goldfinger

Here's a few more personal favourites:

Bugsy Malone - The slurge gun - the moppet gangsters in this kids musical couldn't use bullets so their gattling guns fired marshmallow. Cool!

Toys - toys - scary stuff, Robin Williams spends the film trying to prevent his brother, Joss Ackland from turning their inherited toy factory in to a weapons facility, creating minicule weapons of war remote controlled by computer games. I'm sure the military are looking into similar schemes.

Men in Black - Lil' Cricket - size isn't everything

Existenz - Organic pistol, - Cronenberg takes his body-cinema to extremes with this gun made from flesh and bone and firing teeth: you could easily get it through airport security

Ghostbusters - plasma weapons - don't cross the streams!

Evil Dead trilogy - Ash loses a hand but still has to fight off the monsters, the solution? tie a chainsaw to your stump.

Taxi Driver - Travis Bickle's wrist contraption is more of a snazzy holster than a weapon but completely iconic. Are you talkin' to me?

The Matrix - more a mass of weapons that a single iconic one, but guns, lts of guns. Cool.

Goodfellas - Joe Pesci's pen - improvised and truely nasty, I bet Mr Biro (or was it Mr Bic?) never envisioned this psychotic attack with his "harmless his invention. (also see Gross Point Blank)

ANd for the life of me I can't remember the film where there was a sword that could slice through abosolutely anything so I'll give a special mention to Excalibur instead.

The Worst SIngles by Great Artists

Well, I've thought my posts haven't been personal enough recently. And they all seem to be "best of's". So I thought maybe it was time to change that. The following list is a personal view of tracks by some of my favourite (or just very famous) acts that I don't think live up to rest of their high standard of work.

I've kept it to singles to make it more accessable. These are obviously my opinions and I can only answer the brief with songs that I know (the artists in question may have done even worse records that I haven't heard!). There are a couple here that I love all of their work but must pick my least favourite.

Feel free to comment and tell me I'm wrong.

I will come back to this list and add to it as I think of new ones

REM - Shiny Happy People
U2 - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
Madonna - American Pie
The Police - Invisible Sun (Sting - Demolition Man)
The Beatles - Free as a Bird (Paul McCartney - The Frog Chorus
David Bowie - The Laughing Gnome
The Cure - High
Coldplay - God Put a Smile on my Face
Stevie Wonder _ I Just Called to Say I Love You
Diana Ross - Chain Reaction

I will come back to this list and add to it as I think of new ones

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time

Now Sally bought me an acoustic guitar as a present and my New Year's aim (better than a resolution which no one ever keeps!) is to know how to play a handful of songs by the end of 2008. So my list is partly inspired by that

American music magazine Rolling Stone published a list of it's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Now it contains all of the obvious axe-wielders but in a strange order (in some cases) and includes a few surprises. A few people are a lot further down than I'd have guessed ( David Gilmour of Pink Floyd at 85 anyone? Below Joni Mitchell !?).

Also a few omissions. No Slash? How about someone as influential an innovative (at the time) like Hank Williams. I'd have put in Ezio and Booga (though Rolling Stone have sadly probably never heard of them). And I love John Denver's guitar playing (search out his song "This Old Guitar") but the less said about that the better. Not that he would have ever got on the list.

OK, here's their list:

1Jimi Hendrix

2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band

3 B.B. King

4 Eric Clapton

5 Robert Johnson

6 Chuck Berry

7 Stevie Ray Vaughan

8 Ry Cooder

9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin

10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones

11Kirk Hammett of Metallica

12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana

13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead

14 Jeff Beck

15 Carlos Santana

16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones

17 Jack White of the White Stripes

18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

19 Richard Thompson

20 James Burton

21 George Harrison

22 Mike Bloomfield

23 Warren Haynes

24 The Edge of U2

25 Freddy King

26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave

27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits

28 Stephen Stills

29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges

30 Buddy Guy

31 Dick Dale

32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service

33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth

35 John Fahey

36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's

37 Bo Diddley

38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac

39 Brian May of Queen

40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival

41 Clarence White of the Byrds

42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson

43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic

44 Scotty Moore

45 Frank Zappa

46 Les Paul

47 T-Bone Walker

48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith

49 John McLaughlin

50 Pete Townshend

51 Paul Kossoff of Free

52 Lou Reed

53 Mickey Baker

54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane

55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple

56 Tom Verlaine of Television

57 Roy Buchanan

58 Dickey Betts

59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead

61 Ike Turner

62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band

63 Danny Gatton

64 Mick Ronson

65 Hubert Sumlin

66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour

67 Link Wray

68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape

69 Steve Howe of Yes

70 Eddie Van Halen

71 Lightnin' Hopkins

72 Joni Mitchell

73 Trey Anastasio of Phish

74 Johnny Winter

75 Adam Jones of Tool

76 Ali Farka Toure

77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat

78 Robbie Robertson of the Band

79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)

80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids

81 Derek Trucks

82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd

83 Neil Young

84 Eddie Cochran

85 Randy Rhoads

86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath

87 Joan Jett

88 Dave Davies of the Kinks

89 D. Boon of the Minutemen

90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper

91 Robby Krieger of the Doors

92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5

94 Bert Jansch

95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine

96 Angus Young of AC/DC

97 Robert Randolph

98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer

99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag

100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

BAFTA Nominations 2008

More awards nominations, this time the BAFTA's. Atonment seems to be the film of the moment, picking up 14 nominations. Which gives me an excuse to post another picture of Keira Knightley! It does bring up the queation of what a "Bristish" film is though, with The Bourne Ultimatum's nod for Best British Movie.

Obviously when the winners are announced I'll post the winners. At least with the British film industry not having the same problems with the writer's strike there should actually be a ceremony, unlike the Golden Globes. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the Hollywood flagship awards, the Oscars (which the Glabes and BAFTAs are seen as a pre-cursor for, when predicting the winners).

Gratuitous image of Keira Knightley, nominated for Atonement

Best Film

• American Gangster - Brian Grazer/Ridley Scott
• Atonement - Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster
• The Lives Of Others - Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann
• No Country For Old Men - Scott Rudin/Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
• There Will Be Blood - Joanne Sellar/Paul Thomas Anderson/Daniel Lupi
  

Best British Film

• Atonement - Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster/Joe Wright/Christopher Hampton
• The Bourne Ultimatum - Frank Marshall/Patrick Crowley/Paul L Sandberg/Paul Greengrass/Tony Gilroy/Scott Z Burns/George Nolfi
• Control - Orian Williams/ Todd Eckert/Anton Corbijn/Matt Greenhalgh Eastern Promises - Paul Webster/Robert Lantos/David Cronenberg/Steve Knight
• This Is England - Mark Herbert/Shane Meadows

The Carl Foreman Award For Special Achievement By A British Director, Writer Or Producer In Their First Feature Film

• Chris Atkins (Director/Writer) - Taking Liberties
• Mia Bays (Producer) - Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
• Sarah Gavron (Director) - Brick Lane
• Matt Greenhalgh (Writer) - Control
• Andrew Piddington (Director/Writer) - The Killing Of John Lennon

Best Director

Atonement - Joe Wright

The Bourne Ultimatum - Paul Greengrass

The Lives Of Others - Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck

No Country For Old Men - Joel Coen/Ethan Coen

There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson

Original Screenplay

• American Gangster - Steven Zaillian
• Juno - Diablo Cody
• The Lives Of Others - Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
• Michael Clayton - Tony Gilroy
• This Is England - Shane Meadows

Adapted Screenplay

• Atonement - Christopher Hampton
• The Diving Bell And The Butterfly - Ronald Harwood
• The Kite Runner - David Benioff
• No Country For Old Men - Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
• There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson

Film Not In The English Language

• The Diving Bell And The Butterfly - Kathleen Kennedy/Jon Kilik/Julian Schnabel
• The Kite Runner - William Horberg/Walter Parkes/Rebecca Yeldham/Marc Foster
• The Lives Of Others - Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann/Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
• Lust, Caution - Bill Kong/James Schamus/Ang Lee
• La Vie En Rose - Alain Goldman/Olivier Dahan

Animated Film

Ratatouille - Brad Bird

Shrek The Third - Chris Miller

The Simpsons Movie - Matt Groening/James L Brooks

Leading Actor

• George Clooney - Michael Clayton
• Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
• James Mcavoy - Atonement
• Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
• Ulrich Mühe - The Lives Of Others

Leading Actress

• Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• Julie Christie - Away From Her
• Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose
• Keira Knightley - Atonement
• Ellen Page - Juno

Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men

Paul Dano - There Will Be Blood

Tommy Lee Jones - No Country For Old Men

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War

Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

Supporting Actress

• Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
• Kelly Macdonald - No Country For Old Men
• Samantha Morton - Control
• Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
• Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Music

American Gangster - Marc Streitenfeld

Atonement - Dario Marianelli

The Kite Runner - Alberto Iglesias

There Will Be Blood - Jonny Greenwood

La Vie En Rose - Christopher Gunning

Cinematography

• American Gangster - Harris Savides
• Atonement - Seamus Mcgarvey
• The Bourne Ultimatum - Oliver Wood
• No Country For Old Men - Roger Deakins
• There Will Be Blood - Robert Elswit

Editing

• American Gangster - Pietro Scalia
• Atonement - Paul Tothill
• The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse
• Michael Clayton - John Gilroy
• No Country For Old Men - Roderick Jaynes

Production Design

• Atonement - Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer
• Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Guy Hendrix Dyas/Richard Roberts
• Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix - Stuart Craig/Stephenie Mcmillan
• There Will Be Blood - Jack Fisk/Jim Erickson La Vie En Rose - Olivier Raoux

Costume Design

• Atonement - Jacqueline Durran
• Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Alexandra Byrne
• Lust, Caution - Pan Lai Sweeney Todd:
• The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street - Colleen Atwood
• La Vie En Rose - Marit Allen

Sound

• Atonement - Danny Hambrook/Paul Hamblin/Catherine Hodgson
• The Bourne Ultimatum - Kirk Francis/Scott Millan/Dave Parker/Karen Baker Landers/Per Hallberg
• No Country For Old Men - Peter Kurland/Skip Lievsay/Craig Berkey/Greg Orloff
• There Will Be Blood - Christopher Scarabosio/Matthew Wood/John Pritchett/Michael Semanick/Tom Johnson
• La Vie En Rose - Laurent Zeilig/Pascal Villard/Jean-Paul Hurier/Marc Doisne

Special Visual Effects

• The Bourne Ultimatum - Peter Chiang/Charlie Noble/Mattias Lindahl/Joss Williams
• The Golden Compass - Michael Fink/Bill Westenhofer/Ben Morris/Trevor Woods
• Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix - Tim Burke/John Richardson/Emma Norton/Chris Shaw
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End - John Knoll/Charles Gibson/Hal Hickel/John Frazier
• Spider-Man 3 - Scott Stokdyk/Peter Nofz/Kee-Suk Ken Hahn/Spencer Cook

Make Up & Hair

• Atonement - Ivana Primorac
• Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Jenny Shircore
• Hairspray - Nominees tbc
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street - Ivana Primorac
• La Vie En Rose - Jan Archibald/Didier Lavergne

Short Animation

• The Pearce Sisters - Jo Allen/Luis Cook
• Head Over Heels - Osbert Parker/Fiona Pitkin/Ian Gouldstone
• The Crumblegiant - Pearse Moore/John Mccloskey

Short Film

• Dog Altogether - Diarmid Scrimshaw/Paddy Considine
• Hesitation - Julien Berlan/Michelle Eastwood/Virginia Gilbert
• The One And Only Herb Mcgwyer Plays Wallis Island - Charlie Henderson/James Griffiths/Tim Key/Tom Basden
• Soft - Jane Hooks/Simon Ellis
• The Stronger - Dan Mcculloch/Lia Williams/Frank Mcguinness
  

The Orange Rising Star Award

• Shia Labeouf
• Sienna Miller
• Ellen Page
• Sam Riley Tang Wei

update: the winners can be found here

Brit Award Nomination 2008

More awards, this time the nominations for this year's Brit Awards, announced last night. The awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. And they have a very "pop" feel this year, guitar/indie bands light on the ground. In fact, I think it's quite a poor list. Ah well, what do I know, maybe it's the record industry trying to push their new artists on a day when EMI have announced major staff cuts worldwide (2000-ish positions are going), apparently due to the rise in people downloading music. They seriously need to change their business model.

My opinion? Well, I think Mika has far too many and I can't stand his annoying "me me me, please love me, I'm a victim". Take That have made a stunning comeback and all their singles have been top notch, Spice Girls could have taken pointers on how to relaunch themselves. The strongest categories are best group (British and International) but where are the crop of great new indie bands - The Enemy anyone? The singles are far from being the best selection of the past 12 months. And I can't believe Macca hasn't had a lifetime achievement before - thumbs aloft!

The shortlist for the Brit Awards 2008, to be held at Earls Court, London on 20 February.

British male solo artist:

• Jamie T
• Mark Ronson
• Mika
• Newton Faulkner*
• Richard Hawley

British female solo artist:

• Bat For Lashes
• Kate Nash
• KT Tunstall*
• Leona Lewis
• PJ Harvey

British group:

• Arctic Monkeys*
• Editors
• Girls Aloud
• Kaiser Chiefs
• Take That

British album:

• Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare*
• Leona Lewis - Spirit
• Mark Ronson - Version
• Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion
• Take That - Beautiful World

British breakthrough act:

• Bat For Lashes
• Kate Nash
• Klaxons*
• Leona Lewis
• Mika.
• (Winner chosen by BBC Radio 1 listeners)

British live act:

• Arctic Monkeys
• Kaiser Chiefs#
• Klaxons
• Muse
• Take That
• (Winner chosen by BBC Radio 2 listeners)

British single:

• Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love
• Mika - Grace Kelly
• Take That - Shine
• Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby*
• Sugababes - About You Now
• Mark Ronson Ft Amy Winehouse - Valerie
• Kate Nash - Foundations
• The Hoosiers - Worried About Ray
• James Blunt - 1973
• Mutya Buena - Real Girl.
• (Winner decided by a live public vote on the night)

International male solo artist

• Bruce Springsteen
• Kanye West
• Michael Buble
• Rufus Wainwright*
• Timbaland.

nternational female solo artist:

• Alicia Keys
• Bjork*
• Feist
• Kylie Minogue
• Rihanna.

International group

• Arcade Fire
• Eagles
• Foo Fighters*
• Kings of Leon
• White Stripes.

International album:

• Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
• Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden
• Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace*
• Kings of Leon - Because Of The Times
• Kylie Minogue - X.

Winners already decided

Critics' Choice Award (newcomer most likely to succeed in 2008):

• Adele

Outstanding contribution to music:

• Sir Paul McCartney

* my choices of the nominated, for what it's worth!

# Ive only seen the Kaisers and Klaxons so I voted the former (and they were superb). I would REALLY love to see Muse though.

Golden Globes 2008

Oops, it's been a while, Christmas, New Year and all that. SO, I must get into the swing of things for 2008 and what better way the the Golden Globes, the first of the big American entertainments awards season. The Golden Globe Awards are awarded for the best motion pictures and television programmes and normally run as a fundraiser by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Well, it wasn't so big this year. Due to the continuing writers strike in the US, none of the stars nominated would cross the picket lines, so instead of the usual glamorous Hollywood red carpet ceremony, the winners were announced in an extended telecast in Los Angeles. Still, there were some well deserved winners and plenty of British interest.

The gorgeous Keira Knightly in the best film, Atonement

Movie awards:

• Best film (drama) - Atonement
  Also nominated: American Gangster; Eastern Promises; The Great Debaters; Michael Clayton; No Country for Old Men; There Will Be Blood
• Best film (musical or comedy) - Sweeney Todd
  Also nominated: Across the Universe; Charlie Wilson's War; Hairspray; Juno
• Best director - Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  Also nominated: Tim Burton - Sweeney Todd; Ethan Coen and Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men; Ridley Scott - American Gangster; Joe Wright - Atonement
• Best actor (drama) - Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood
  Also nominated: George Clooney - Michael Clayton; James McAvoy - Atonement; Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises; Denzel Washington - American Gangster
• Best actress (drama) - Julie Christie - Away from Her
  Also nominated: Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age; Jodie Foster - The Brave One; Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart; Keira Knightley - Atonement
• Best actor (musical or comedy) - Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
  Also nominated: Ryan Gosling - Lars and the Real Girl; Tom Hanks - Charlie Wilson's War; Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Savages; John C Reilly - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
• Best actress (musical or comedy) - Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
  Also nominated: Amy Adams - Enchanted; Nikki Blonsky - Hairspray; Helena Bonham Carter - Sweeney Todd; Ellen Page - Juno
• Best supporting actor - Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
  Also nominated: Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War; John Travolta - Hairspray; Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton
• Best supporting actress - Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
  Also nominated: Julia Roberts - Charlie Wilson's War; Saoirse Ronan - Atonement; Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone; Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
• Best foreign language film - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France and US)
  Also nominated: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania); The Kite Runner (US);Lust, Caution (Taiwan); Persepolis (France)
• Best animated feature film - Ratatouille
  Also nominated: Bee Movie; The Simpsons Movie
• Best screenplay - Ethan Coen and Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men
  Also nominated: Diablo Cody - Juno; Christopher Hampton - Atonement; Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; Aaron Sorkin - Charlie Wilson's War
• Best original song - Guaranteed - Into the Wild
  Also nominated: Despedida - Love in the Time of Cholera; Grace is Gone - Grace is Gone; That's How You Know - Enchanted; Walk Hard - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
• Best original score - Dario Marianelli - Atonement
  Also nominated: Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild; Clint Eastwood - Grace is Gone; Alberto Iglesias - The Kite Runner; Howard Shore - Eastern Promises

Ricky Gervais and a few guest stars in Extras

Television awards

• Television series - drama - Mad Men
• Performance by an actress in a television series - drama - Glenn Close - Damages
• Performance by an actor in a television series - drama - Jon Hamm - Mad Men
• Television series - comedy or musical - Extras
• Performance by an actress in a television series - comedy or musical -Tina Fey - 30 Rock
• Performance by an actor in a television series - comedy or musical - David Duchovny - Californication
• Miniseries or motion picture made for television - Longford
• Performance by an actress in a miniseries or motion picture made for television - Queen Latifah - Life Support
• Performance by an actor in a miniseries or motion picture made for television - Jim Broadbent - Longford
• Performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, miniseries or motion picture made for television - Samantha Morton - Longford
• Performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, miniseries or motion picture made for television - Jeremy Piven - Entourage