Art Directors Guild Final Ballots Due

February 9, 2006

ART DIRECTORS GUILD - final ballots due to CPA by 5:00 p.m. The 10th Annual ART DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS will be held this Friday, January 11 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. More details about the event will be posted tomorrow.

Official Grammy Party

GRAMMY Night Never Ends

Los Angeles - The 2006 GRAMMY® Celebration Party, an exclusive invitation-only, star-studded event, takes place for the second consecutive year at the Los Angeles Convention Center following the 48th Annual GRAMMY Awards. The gala - the largest produced by The Academy - attracts GRAMMY winners and nominees, music industry executives and a number of celebrities.

The GRAMMY Celebration Party is one of the entertainment industry's biggest, most lavish events and a post-GRAMMY telecast highlight, with an all-star lineup of live entertainment, including current GRAMMY nominee Earth, Wind & Fire with special guests Sleepy Brown, GRAMMY nominee Floetry, Brian McKnight, GRAMMY nominee Kelly Rowland, Raphael Saadiq and GRAMMY nominee Will.I.Am (The Black Eyed Peas); GRAMMY nominee Big & Rich, featuring Cowboy Troy; contemporary rock group String Theory (playing 60-foot-long harp strings suspended from the ceiling); and DJ Splyce. Additionally, the GRAMMY Celebration Jazz Lounge will feature Kermit Ruffins And The Barbeque Swingers; Dave Koz and special guests Patti Austin, Jonathan Butler, Wayman Tisdale and Kirk Whalum; and the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles.

"Music's Biggest Night is an international extravaganza that celebrates the year in music, but the festivities don't end there," said Neil Portnow, President of The Recording Academy. "The evening continues with winners, nominees, VIPs, Academy members and enthusiastic music lovers at our GRAMMY Celebration, an elegant soiree where contemporary cuisine, distinctive design and top-notch entertainment are the best way to top off a spectacular day. We never want GRAMMY night to end."

The Recording Academy once again will partner with highly regarded event producers Along Came Mary (ACM) to produce the post-telecast GRAMMY Celebration Party, overseeing all of the event entertainment, decor, menu and other logistics. ACM and its design and lighting team will take the vast convention space and transform it into a modernist Midsummer Night's Dream theme, complete with an eclectic mix of live exotic flora and performance art. A mainstay in the entertainment industry, ACM has masterfully orchestrated many of Hollywood's most distinguished events and has been named top caterer in the nation by numerous publications. The Recording Academy has hired ACM to co-produce the GRAMMY Celebration Party seven times, as well as both the 1st, 3rd and 5th Annual Latin GRAMMY post-parties.

The event's menu will feature more than 70 buffets with fare that includes American bistro (with roasted sirloin, onion rings and a steakhouse chopped salad), Caribbean (Jamaican jerk chicken ceviche shooters and cornbread-yam pudding), Asian (mirin-lacquered salmon, potstickers and spring rolls), French (lamb bourguignon, mascarpone polenta cakes and a roasted Provencal ratatouille) and Italian (Tuscan vegetable lasagna and an assortment of antipasti). And desserts will feature ACM's signature miniatures, including turtle bars, mini-banana cream pies, apple galette, winter sundaes, crispy rice pudding and an assortment of ACM's famous cookies.

The 2006 GRAMMY Celebration Party, presented by Heineken, also will feature wines and spirits provided by Patron Tequila, Belvedere Vodka, Pyrat Rum, Forest Glen Wines and Domaine Laurier Champagne.

This year's GRAMMY Celebration will again approach the traditional "gifting" of party guests in a whole new way. The Recording Academy has partnered once again with gifting company Distinctive Assets to create a specially designed area where guests will be able to preview luxury products such as a Privia digital piano package provided by Casio; his and her Oceanus and G-Shock watches; a nine.com gift certificate; a his and her set of Lancel luggage; free Lasik surgery from Dr. Kerry Assil; a spring purse collection from Elliott Lucca; two tickets to the PAC 10 basketball finals in March, courtesy of Dr Pepper; Hilton "Competitive Advantage" (including a bed, a hotel stay, an alarm clock and other items); a House of Blues Gold Membership; a U.S. Racing School package; Lukie jewelry; ski accessories featuring Fendi goggles, a Samora cashmere scarf and hat, a women's Escada ski jacket and a men's Napapijiri jacket; and a Verizon package, including a Gateway laptop computer and an Olympus Stylus 800 digital camera and P-11 photo printer pack. These companies will be showcasing special surprises that will delight party guests while redefining the traditional celebrity party gift bag. Additionally, every guest in attendance will receive a parting gift courtesy of S Factor.

Source: The Recording Academy®

Oscar®-Nominated "Shorts" to Screen in NYC

Beverly Hills - On Saturday, February 25, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present two public screenings of the ten Oscar-nominated films in the Animated Short and Live Action Short categories. The screenings will feature the five films from each category, providing a rare opportunity for New York moviegoers to see the nominees prior to the 78th Academy Awards® telecast on Sunday, March 5.

The screenings will be held at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International in New York City. Film historian and television host Robert Osborne will serve as the host for both screenings.

The following ten Oscar-nominated short films will be shown at the New York screenings:

Short Film (Animated)
"Badgered," Sharon Colman, director
"The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation," John Canemaker, director; Peggy Stern, producer
"The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello," Anthony Lucas, director
"9," Shane Acker, director
"One Man Band," Andrew Jimenez and Mark Andrews, directors

Short Film (Live Action)
"Ausreisser" (The Runaway), Ulrike Grote, director
"Cashback," Sean Ellis, director; Lene Bausager, producer
"The Last Farm," Rúnar Rúnarsson, director; Thor S. Sigurjónsson, producer
"Our Time Is Up," Rob Pearlstein, director; Pia Clemente, producer
"Six Shooter," Martin McDonagh, director

Tickets for the screenings are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid I.D. Advanced tickets may be reserved by calling 888-778-7575. The Academy's Theater at Lighthouse International is located at 111 East 59th Street between Park and Lexington avenues. All orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. To be added to the Academy Foundation mailing list, please visit the Academy's website at www.oscars.org/events.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements for 2005 will be presented on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PST. A one-hour red carpet arrivals show will precede the telecast at 4 p.m. PST.

©A.M.P.A.S.®

Sexy Star Fiennes Suddenly Single

We don't know if we feel happy or sad about this bit of celebrity news. Handsome actor Ralph Fiennes has split from his partner of 11 years, Francesca Annis. According to Britains' Mail on Sunday tabloid, Fiennes admitted to having a fling with 31 year old Romanian singer Cornelia Crisan, after they met at a party two years ago. However, other reports state that Fiennes, 43, denies ever being unfaithful to 62 year old Annis.

Fiennes and Annis' relationship began in 1995 when they co-starred in the stage production of Hamlet. Fiennes played the title role and Annis played his mother. He previously exchanged wedding vows with ER star Alex Kingston in September 1993. Their divorce was finalized October 28, 1997. Annis left her long time love of more than 20 years, photographer Patrick Wiseman, with whom she had three children, to be with Fiennes.

Fiennes is nominated for a BAFTA Award in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for The Constant Gardener, which received a total of 10 BAFTA nominations. The awards will be presented in London on February 19. He has already earned the British Independent Film Award for his performance as Justin Quayle in the film.

Fiennes was also nominated for an Annie Award this year for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production in the Academy Award nominated animated feature Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were Rabbit. He was overlooked by the Academy Awards for his role in The Constant Gardener, which garnered 4 nods, including one for best supporting actress Rachel Weisz. Fiennes previously received Academy Award nominations for his roles in Schindler's List and The English Patient.

Fiennes and Constant Gardener co-star Rachel Weisz made a long term commitment to the people who inhabit the Kenyan locations where the movie was filmed.