Olivier Awards

Sunday, February 26, 2006:

Laurence Olivier Awards

Theater buffs will appreciate the 2006 Laurence Olivier Awards, presented annually by the Society of London Theatre. This year's award winners will be announced Sunday night at the London Hilton on Park Lane, London. Nominations were announced January 18, 2006 and include such film and theater notables as Brian Dennehy for "Death of a Salesman", Ewan McGregor and Jane Krakowski for "Guys and Dolls", and Stephen Daldry for "Billy Elliot - The Musical". According to it's website, the Laurence Olivier Awards are the UK's most prestigious theatre awards and the highlight of the West End calendar. The Awards were established in 1976 to recognize excellence in London theatre; Lord Olivier agreed to have his name associated with them in 1984. Visit the official website for exclusive, live, interactive coverage of the event as the drama unfolds on the big night.

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Image Awards

Saturday, February 25, 2006:

NAACP Image Awards

Celebrities including presenters Toni Braxton, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Nick Cannon, Vin Diesel, Kimberly Elise, Donald Faison, Omar Gooding, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Star Jones-Reynolds, Kerry Washington and Lynn Whitfield will join host Cuba Gooding, Jr. at the 37th Annual NAACP Image Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles this weekend. Nominations for this year's Image Awards were announced January 10, 2006. The evening's special honorees include Carlos Santana, who will receive the Hall of Fame Award, and The Neville Brothers, receiving the Chairman's Award. All of the Image Award nominees will celebrate at a pre-show gala at 7:30 p.m. Friday evening and a pre-show brunch Saturday morning, before re-grouping at the Shrine that afternoon for the network taping, to be broadcast March 3 on FOX. A post show gala will also be held immediately after the main event. For more info and tickets, visit the NAACP Image Awards website.

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CDG Awards

Saturday, February 25, 2006:

Costume Designers Awards

Costume designers and other theatrical professionals will gather at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills Saturday night for the 8th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards, hosted by actress Angelica Huston. The Guild announced its' nominees on January 11, 2006. In addition to the usual slate of awards, the guild has lined up several special honorees. Actress Joan Allen will be honored with CDG's Distinguished Actor designation. Acclaimed costume designer Colleen Atwood has been selected to receive the Lacoste Spotlight in Film Award. Other honorees include Thomas C. Short, who is to receive the Swarovski President's Award, and Star Trek designer Robert Blackman, who will get the Spotlight in Television Award. Anna Hill Johnstone will be inducted into the Edith Head Hall of Fame, and the guild will present Michael Woulfe, Grady Hunt and Moss Mabry with a Gold Card for their years of service to Local 892. This year's ceremony will be topped off with a tribute to the work of legendary 1950's designers Bill Thomas, (William) Travilla and Renie (Conley), who each created hundreds of the glamorous gowns and wardrobes seen in the classic movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The Costume Designers Guild was founded in 1953 by a group of 30 motion picture costume designers. As of 1999, its membership includes motion picture, television, commercial, and stage costume designers throughout the world and totals some 470 members. The award given by the Costume Designers Guild is made by renowned Italian jeweler Bvlgari and was created by costume designer David Le Vey. The Bvlgari award stands 37 centimeters high and is made from sterling silver. A total of seven artisans are involved in the making of the statuette including the sculptor, the artisan, the silversmith, the shiner, the goldsmith, the engraver and the casemaker. Each of the seven statuettes entail about 50 hours of work and are flown in from directly from Italy (information courtesy CDG).

Films are recognized for Excellence in Costume Design by the CDG in three genres: Contemporary, Period and Fantasy. Nominees in the Contemporary category are "Hustle & Flow," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "Shopgirl," "Syriana," and "Transamerica." The Period category includes "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Rent," "Walk the Line," while the Fantasy film category includes "Batman Begins," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Chronicles of Narnia," and "Stars Wars, Episode III."

For comparison, the five films competing for Best Achievement in Costume Design at the 78th Annual Academy Awards® are "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Mrs. Henderson Presents," "Pride & Prejudice," and "Walk the Line."

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Cesar Awards

Saturday, February 25, 2006:

French Film Awards

The 2006 César Awards, sponsored by L'Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, the Gallic equivalent of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will be presented at the Theatre Du Chatelet in Paris this Saturday night. The gala evening will be hosted by Carole Bouquet, president of the French Academy for Cinema Arts and Techniques, and French actress Valérie Lemercier. The nominations for Best Foreign Film, announced January 27, 2006, include "A History of Violence," "Match Point," "Million Dollar Baby," "Mar adentro", and "Walk on Water."

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