Tag Archives: award show

2012 Golden Globe winners: ‘Homeland’, ‘Modern Family’, ‘The Descendants’ & ‘The Artist’ big winners

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The Golden Globes came and went last Sunday, so let’s take a quick look at the big winners. On the TV side of things, premium cable channels dominated the field. Showtime’s Homeland won Best TV Series Drama and Claire Danes took home the Best Actress (Drama) award for her role in that show. Kelsey Grammer won the Best Actor (Drama) award for his role in the Starz series Boss and the great Peter Dinklage was crowned Best Supporting Actor (TV Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie) for his portrayal as Tyrion Lannister in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. Matt LeBlanc won the Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) award for his lead role in another Showtime series Episodes. Enlightened‘s Laura Dern took home the Best Actress (Comedy or Musical) award for her work in the new HBO dark comedy. The PBS Masterpiece series Downton Abbey won Best Miniseries or TV Movie. Also of note, Jessica Lange (American Horror Story) rightfully accepted the award for Best Supporting Actress. And then there was Modern Family, the only show from the big networks (read: CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC) to win a Globe. Modern Family beat out FOX’s Glee and New Girl and Episodes and Enlightened for Best TV Series (Comedy).

In the movie categories, The Descendants and The Artist were named Best Picture in the Drama and Comedy or Musical sections, respectively. George Clooney (The Descendants) and Jean Dujardin (The Artist) won Best Actor Globes, and The Artist‘s Ludovic Bource was also recognized for his original score. Other notable wins include… Meryl Streep won Best Actress for her turn as Margret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, Octavia Spencer (The Help) nabbed Best Supporting Actress, Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) won Best Supporting Actress, Christopher Plummer won Best Supporting Actor (Beginners), Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris won Best Screenplay,  Martin Scorsese won Best Director for Hugo, and The Adventures of Tintin was named Best Animated Film.

Click here for the full list of winners.

Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel hunt for Billy Crystal in star-studded Oscars promo

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As you wait for the nominations to break, sit back and take in this premiere promo for the 2012 Oscars. It stars Transformers stars Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel searching for this year’s host Billy Crystal. William Fichtner (Prison Break, Entourage), Vinnie Jones (The Cape), and Robin Williams make cameos throughout. If the February 26 telecast is anything like this bizarrely entertaining clip, that’d be really great. Because last year’s snoozefest hosted by an overly excited Anne Hathaway and drugged James Franco is but a blip in my conscious memory.

2012 Golden Globe nods are in!

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The Golden Globe Awards celebrates the best in television and film, and this year’s nominees have been announced. We start with the television categories, as is tradition. The five best drama nominees are American Horror Story, Boardwalk Empire, Boss, Game of Thrones, and Homeland. Jessica Lange (American Horror Story), Steve Buschemi and Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire), Kelsey Grammer (Boss), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Claire Danes and Damien Lewis (Homeland) were all recognized for their performances in those aforementioned best drama series. The five best comedy nominees are Enlightened, Episodes, Glee, Modern Family, and New Girl. Laura Dern (Enlightened), Matt LeBlanc (Episodes) Sofia Vergara and Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family), and Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) were recognized for their performances in those best comedy series. Snubs? Parks and Recreation, Community, Raising Hope, Happy Endings, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Louie in the comedy categories (though Amy Poehler was nominated for best actress) and The Walking Dead, Dexter, and Fringe in the drama categories (will the HFPA ever show love for TV’s finest John Noble?).

And then there’s the film categories. The five best motion picture drama contenders are The Descendants, The Help, Hugo, The Ides of March, Moneyball, and War Horse. George Clooney and Shailene Woodley (The Descendants), Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer (The Help), Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March), Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill (Moneyball) were all recognized for their performances in those aforementioned best drama films. Also The Descendants (Alexander Payne), Hugo (Martin Scorcese), and The Ides of March (George Clooney) snagged best director nominations. The Descendants, The Ides of March, and Moneyball received best screenplay nods. Hugo and War Horse are up for best original score, along with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). The five best motion picture comedy contenders are 50/50, The Artist, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris, and My Week with Marilyn. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50), Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris), Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn) were recognized for their performances in those best comedy films. Also The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius) and Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen) snagged best director and best screenplay nominations. The Artist, which topped the nominations list with a total of six nods, was also recognized for its original score. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s The Adventures of Tintin is pitted against Arthur Christmas, Cars 2, Puss in Boots, and Rango for best animated feature film. Snubs? The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (though Rooney Mara was nominated for best actress), Shame and Michael Fassbender, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Gary Oldman and Melissa McCarthy’s performance in Bridesmaids.

Comedian Ricky Gervais hosts for a third time in a row when the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards airs live Sunday January 15, 2012 at 8PM on NBC. Jump after the break to see all the nominees. Continue reading 2012 Golden Globe nods are in! →

2011 Video Game Awards winners and exclusive trailers

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This past weekend Spike TV played host to the ninth annual Video Game Awards. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took home the Vector Monkey trophy for Game of the Year, besting Portal 2, Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Throughout the night, host Zachary Levi (Chuck) interacted with neat in-show augmented reality animations from the aforementioned nominees. Skyrim also won Best RPG and helped Bethesda get crowned Studio of the Year. Portal 2 was recognized multiple times throughout the night; it won Best PC Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Performance by Male and Female, and Best DLC. Arkham City also won multiple awards for Character of the Year (The Joker), Best Xbox 360 Game, Best Action Adventure Game, and Best Adapted Video Game. This year the Gamer God Award went to Blizzard Entertainment, and Shigeru Miyamoto was on hand to accept the first ever Video Game Hall of Fame Award for The Legend of Zelda. After the break you’ll find a list of all the night’s winners and losers.

Though the awards play a big part of the VGAs every year, it’s the world premiere footage from upcoming games that really gets gamers amped. Among the most celebrated were Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, Command and Conquer: Generals 2 from Bioware, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Fortnite from Epic Games (introduced by Cliffy B. himself), Irrational Games’ Bioshock Infinite, and Blizzard’s introductory cinematic for Diablo III. And then were was the VGAs epic finale. Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima stepped on stage to unveil the latest pulse-pounding trailer for Metal Gear Rising. This one took my breath away; it’s a must-see. Jump after the break to watch all of the world premiere trailers screened at the VGAs.

[Via Spike 1, 2] Continue reading 2011 Video Game Awards winners and exclusive trailers →

Kanye West leads 2012 Grammy nominations

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On December 1 the 2012 Grammy nominations were announced and rapper Kanye West leads the pack with seven nominations. Though this may sound like great news, of the seven nods only one falls in a major category. And that nod is for “All of the Lights”, a cut off West’s 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy which competes against Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave”, Bruno Mars’ “Grenade”, Bon Iver’s “Holocene”, and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” for Song of the Year. Twisted Fantasy and his latest effort Watch The Throne were snubbed and didn’t find a seat at the Album of the Year category. Instead, West’s albums will be competing against one another for Best Rap Album, along with Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV, Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers, and Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday. West also landed nominations in the following categories: Best Rap Performance (with Jay-Z on”Otis”), Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (with Rihanna, Kid Cudi, and Fergie on “All of the Lights”), Best Rap Song (“All of the Lights” & “Otis”), and Best Recording Package (Watch The Throne). Following close behind ‘Ye’s seven nods is Adele, Foo Fighters, and Bruno Mars with six each. Rapper Lil Wayne and newcomer Skrillex landed five a piece.

Click here to view the full 2012 Grammy nominees list. The 54th Grammys airs Sunday, February 12 at 8PM on CBS.

2011 Emmy results: ‘Modern Family’ is king

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Last night Jane Lynch hosted the 63rd Primetime Emmys. Overall, Lynch proved to be a fun host. Her opening musical number featuring numerous TV celebs (Leonard Nimoy came out of retirement again to serve as “the President of TV”) tickled viewers’ funny bones and started things off right. Her zingers throughout the night (especially the one acknowledging her lesbianism) were downright hilarious. Her only fault has to be the New Jersey spoof she took part in; it was terribly boring and nearly all the jokes fell flat. Besides that, though, Lynch rocked it and the telecast went by smoothly and uncharacteristically speedy (except for maybe the mini-series/movies categories; that part tends to always drag on). Other exciting and fun moments from the night include: the two Jimmys of late night TV getting in a faux-fight; Ricky Gervais’ prerecorded bit about censorship; Charlie Sheen apologizing to the entire TV industry; The Office bit was outrageously funny in so many ways; and Amy Poehler pouncing onto the stage when her name was listed before the other Best Actresses in a Comedy nominees was priceless. Things that didn’t come across so well: the Emmy-Tones (Zacahary Levi, Cobie Smulders, Taraji P. Henson, Kate Flannery, Wilmer Valderrama, and Joel McHale seemed so stiff and the lyrics weren’t all that amusing); the Canadian Tenors rendition of “Hallelujah” was so-so; and that masked announcer was more of an annoyance than anything else as Emmy winners made their way to the stage.

Speaking of Emmy winners, let’s move on to those. Modern Family and Mad Men took home the top prizes for outstanding comedy and drama series, respectively, just as they did last year. And for those of you keeping count, Modern Family is 2 for 2 and Mad Men is an impressive 4 for 4. Other non-surprises of the night include The Daily Show with Jon Stewart winning Outstanding variety, music or comedy series for the ninth consecutive year and The Amazing Race winning Outstanding reality competition for the eighth time in nine years.

As spoiled in the post title, Modern Family walked away as this year’s Emmy victors. The ABC sitcom took home five statues for Outstanding supporting actor (Ty Burell), Outstanding supporting actress (Julie Bowen), Outstanding director (Michael Alan Spiller for the “Halloween” episode), Outstanding writing (Steve Levitan & Jeffrey Richman for the “Caught in the Act” episode), and of course Outstanding comedy series as mentioned above. Other notable comedy winners include… Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) stole the Outstanding lead actor award from Steve Carrell (The Office) and Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly) beat out Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) for Outstanding lead actress.

In the drama categories, Mad Men interestingly did not take home any other awards in addition to their Outstanding drama series win. Friday Night Lights faded to black with two big wins: star Kyle Chandler was named Outstanding lead actor and creator Jason Katims was acknowledged for his writing. Other notable drama winners include…  Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) won Outstanding lead actress and Margo Martindale (Justified) nabbed the award for Outstanding supporting actress. And yes I’ve saved the best for last: Peter Dinklage was awarded Outstanding supporting actor for his phenomenal portrayal as Tyrion “The Imp” Lannister in HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Look after the break for the full list of winners. Continue reading 2011 Emmy results: ‘Modern Family’ is king →

2011 MTV VMAs: Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Adele big winners

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Last night the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards was underwhelming without a host, and yet it seemed to get the job done anyhow. Lady Gaga opened the show as her male alter ego Jo Calderone. After a dizzying monologue she finally showed off her mega-pipes and belted out a memorable rendition of “You and I” on the piano with assistance from Queen’s Brian May. Kudos must be handed out to Gaga for managing to keep herself in one dress (and personality) for the entire duration of the show. She totally stole the spotlight away from Britney Spears when the pop queen was presented the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award. Other highlights from the night include… Kanye West and Jay-Z performed a low-key version of their Watch The Throne single “Otis” in front of a cheering crowd; Russell Brand’s tribute to Amy Winehouse was heartfelt in all the right ways, Tony Bennett’s prerecorded duet with the late jazz singer was uplifting, and Bruno Mars’ “Valerie” was full of retro flair and fitting to close out the tribute; Adele’s “Someone Like You” performance was only rivaled by Beyonce’s “Love On Top.” During the pre-show Beyonce announced that she is pregnant with first child; rap king Jay-Z is the baby daddy. Immediately following the entrancing performance (you can’t help but get lost in Beyonce’s glowing face and rockin’ bod), she dropped the mic, unbuttoned her shirt and showed off her slight baby bump. Now that’s a way to walk off the stage. Speaking of walking off the stage, that’s exactly what Lil Wayne should have done before opening his mouth to rap (if you even want to call it that). Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Weezy’s music, but man was that a lousy way to close the VMAs. Over the top auto-tune doesn’t work live, especially if you can’t sing and it hurts when your song contains so many expletives that viewers only hear half the lyrics. Chris Brown’s medley didn’t do it for me either; the crooner can move (hell, he can even fly), but I was expecting him to sing a bit and wearing that headset was just redundant.

But I don’t want to wrap things up on such a sour note. Overall, yes, the show was underwhelming (there was no hostful opening monologue, acceptance speeches were kept to a minimum, the telecast was controversy-free), but it worked because for the most part the performances were solid (I’m thinking about Gaga, The Throne, Adele, Bruno Mars, Beyonce) and the show never felt like it was dragging along (expect maybe the part when Jonah Hill proved that he’s not funny when he’s skinny). Kevin Hart could have made a great host; his mini-monologue and commercial break segments were enjoyable. Maybe next year.

And now let’s turn to the night’s big winners. A geometry-influenced Katy Perry took home the coveted Video of the Year award for “Firework.” (I still can’t believe that beat out the Beastie Boys’ “Make Some Noise”; oh well.) She also scooped up Best Collaboration and Best Visual Effects for “E.T.” Kanye West was on hand and kept cool to accept the award with Perry. Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” won two awards for Best Female Video and Best Video with a Message. Adele won the most awards (4), but they are all in the technical categories so unfortunately she never made it on stage to make an acceptance speech. Other notable winners include: Tyler, The Creator is Best New Artist, Justin Bieber’s “U Smile” somehow nabbed Best Male Video, Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” was Best Hip-Hop Video, Foo Fighters won Best Rock Video with “Walk”, and “Till the World Ends” gave Britney Spears the award for Best Pop Video. Jump after the break for the full list of winners.

Update: The numbers are in. This year’s Video Music Awards drew 12.4 million total viewers, making it MTV’s most-watched telecast ever. That’s up 8% from last year’s show which attracted 11.4 viewers. See what happens when MTV airs music-related content? Craziness!

Continue reading 2011 MTV VMAs: Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Adele big winners →

2011 MTV VMA nominees announced, Katy Perry leads the way with 9 nods

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With the MTV Video Music Awards airing exactly one month from today, now’s the best time to read up the 2011 nominees list. As revealed in the post title, Katy Perry leads the pack with nine nominations. Perry’s sensational single “E.T.” is up for Best SFX, Best Editing, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Collaboration (with Kanye West). “Teenage Dream” is up for Best Cinematography, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)” might be the Best Female Video, and “Firework” is vying against Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” Beastie Boys’ “Make Some Noise,”Bruno Mars, “Grenade,” and Tyler, The Creator’s “Yonkers” for the coveted Video of the Year. Adele and Kanye West managed to score seven nominations each; “Rolling in the Deep” and “All of the Lights” are fan favorites. West’s “Power” scored two nominations for Best Art Direction and Best SFX. Check out the full breakdown of nominees organized by category after the break. MTV announced that Adele, Lil Wayne, and Chris Brown will perform at the ceremony this year; expect more artists to make the cut before the show airs live on Sunday, August 28 at 9PM.

[Via EW-MusicMix 1, 2] Continue reading 2011 MTV VMA nominees announced, Katy Perry leads the way with 9 nods →

2011 Emmy nominations: Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Modern Family, Game of Thrones score big

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On Thursday Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly) and Joshua Jackson (Fringe) announced the nominees for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. HBO’s miniseries Mildred Pierce was the most recognized program scoring 21 nominations total; Mad Men (19), Boardwalk Empire (18), Modern Family (17), and Game of Thrones (13) were not too far behind.  Let us begin with the drama categories, as is tradition. Outstanding drama series include Mad Men, Dexter, The Good Wife, HBO newcomers Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, and Friday Night Lights finally gets recognized in its fifth and final season. Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Michael C. Hall, (Dexter),  Hugh Laurie (House), Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), and Timothy Olyphant (Justified) all received Outstanding actor in a drama nominations. Game of Thrones‘ Peter Dinklage (Tyrion “The Imp” Lannister) stands tall above the competition for Outstanding supporting actor in a drama amongst Josh Charles (The Good Wife), Alan Cumming (The Good Wife), Walton Goggins (Justified), John Slattery (Mad Men), and Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age). The following are contending for Outstanding actress in a drama: Kathy Bates (Harry’s Law), Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Mireille Enos (The Killing), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men). Lastly, the Outstanding supporting actress in a drama bunch includes Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife), Christine Baranski (The Good Wife), Margo Martindale (Justified), Michelle Forbes (The Killing), and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men).

Next let us move onto the comedy categories. Modern Family, 30 Rock, The Office, and at long last Parks and Recreation and The Big Bang Theory all received nominations for Outstanding comedy. Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory), Matt LeBlanc (Episodes), Louis C.K. (Louie), and Steve Carell (The Office) were handed Outstanding actor in a comedy nominations. After departing The Office, it’s surely Michael Scott’s time to shine. The Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy category is dominated Modern Family actors: Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell, Ed O’Neill, Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), and Chris Colfer (Glee). Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) and Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope) headline the Outstanding actress in a comedy category which also includes Tina Fey (30 Rock), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Laura Linney (The Big C), and Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly). The Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy bunch includes Modern Family‘s Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara, Jane Lynch (Glee), Jane Krakowski (30 Rock), Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live), and the talented Betty White (Hot In Cleveland). Notable guest actors and actresses in comedies include Zach Galifianakis, Justin Timberlake, and Tina Fey for their SNL hosting duties, Glee‘s Kristin Chenoweth, Dot-Marie Jones, and Gwyneth Paltrow, and Raising Hope‘s Cloris Leachman.

And now it’s time to talk snubs. Community and Fringe were not recognized in the slightest. The comedy will eventually receive a nod, as Parks and Rec had to wait a few years too; as for the sci-fi drama, John Noble will always be recognized in my heart as a phenomenal actor and season 2’s “Peter” a brilliantly written episode. Speaking of Parks and Rec, where’s the recognition for Nick Offerman? The man who plays Ron freakin’ Swanson deserves Emmy love; he’s bound to receive it soon. And why The Walking Dead didn’t receive a top nod for Outstanding drama is beyond me; the zombie show managed to pick up nods for special visual effects and sound editing for the spectacularly creepy pilot “Days Gone By.”

The 63nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Jane Lynch, airs live Sunday, September 18 on FOX at 8PM.  Look after the break to see the nominees in list form. Continue reading 2011 Emmy nominations: Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Modern Family, Game of Thrones score big →

Oscar winners: ‘The King’s Speech’ receives top honors

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Hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco failed to bring excitement to this year’s Academy Awards. Despite all the hype leading up to the film industry’s biggest night, the young pair did not leave up to the promise of injecting the show with a younger, hip vibe. Hathaway tried too hard (so much giddy giggling) while Franco didn’t try hard enough (was the soap actor high as a kite or what?). Most jokes fell flat, including the opening Inception-y dream sequence. The auto-tuned bit was quite enjoyable, however. But let the numbers speak for themselves: In the 18-49 demo, ratings dropped twelve percent from last year (11.7 rating vs. 13.3); this year’s ceremony attracted 37.6 million viewers compared to last year’s Alec Baldwin/Steve Martin treat which garnered 41.7 million. Since the show itself really wasn’t all that memorable, let’s just skip right past it and onto the winners.

The King’s Speech ruled the night with wins in the major categories including Best Picture, Best Actor (Colin Firth), and Best Director (Tom Hooper), and Best Original Screenplay (David Seidler). The Social Network took home three wins; Aaron Sorkin was recognized again for Best Adapted Screenplay, as was Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Best Original Score. The film also received Best Achievement in Film Editing. Though it’s still a damn shame that Christopher Nolan was not nominated for his directing, Inception did managed to snag four awards including Best Achievement in Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was not ignored; it won Best Achievement in Art Direction and Costume Design.

Other notable winners include Natalie Portman as Best Actress (Black Swan), Christian Bale and Melissa Leo as Best Supporting Actors in The Fighter, and Best Animated Feature was Toy Story 3. The animated flick was also recognized for Randy Newman’s “We Belong Together” original song. Sadly Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop did not receive Best Documentary. Look after the break for the rest of the Oscar winners. Continue reading Oscar winners: ‘The King’s Speech’ receives top honors →

2011 Grammy winners: Lady Antebellum rules the night, Arcade Fire takes home top prize

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Last night’s Grammy Awards proved to be an exciting night filled with some stellar performances and surprise wins. The most memorable performances include the opening ode to Aretha Franklin (performed by Florence Welch, Christina Aguilera, Martina McBride, Yolanda Adams, and Jennifer Hudson), Lady Gaga’s high energy rendition of her new single “Born This Way,” Muse’s flashy “Uprising” performance (what a fantastic song, they deserved the win), the unofficial rap group comprised of Bruno Mars, B.o.B., and Janelle Monae, Mumford and Sons with the Avett Bros., Eminem and newcomer Skylar Grey welcoming back Dr. Dre, Mick Jagger (he’s still got it), and Arcade Fire not one but two performances. In the end, though, my favorite performance of the night has to go to Cee-Lo’s “Forget You” duet with Gwyneth Paltrow and a whole bunch of muppets. The man was dressed as a colorful armored peacock, props! From egg hatching to peacocking, all in all it was an entertaining show to say the least. It also happened to be the highest rated Grammy broadcast since 2004 attracting 26.7 million viewers with a 10.0 adults 18-49 rating.

Now let’s cover the night’s big winners. Lady Antebellum took home five Grammys including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Country Album; “Need You Now” was all over the place. Though Eminem headed into the show with a whopping 10 nominations, Recovery only nabbed him two wins (Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance for “Not Afraid”). Lady Gaga, John Legend, and Jay-Z each took him three trophies, while Esperanza Spalding pulled off the night’s biggest upset to steal Best New Artist from Justin Bieber, Mumford & Sons, Florence & the Machine, and Drake. Alt. rock band Arcade Fire also surprised many by taking home Album of the Year against big names like Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and the night’s shiner Lady Antebellum. Their encore performance at the end of the telecast solidified their highly deserved win.

Jump after the break to view more winners, or simply head over to the official Grammy site to see them all. Continue reading 2011 Grammy winners: Lady Antebellum rules the night, Arcade Fire takes home top prize →

2011 Oscar nods are in!

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Today the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards show.  Leading the pack is The King’s Speech with 12 nominations, followed by True Grit with 10.  In addition for being up for Best Picture, The King’s Speech is also being recognized for its actors (Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter are up for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, respectively) director (Tom Hooper), and screenwriter (David Seidler).  True Grit is also up for Best Picture, Best Director (Joel & Ethan Coen), and Best Adapted Screenplay (the Coens).  Actors Jeff Bridges and the young but brilliantly talented Hailee Steinfeld nabbed Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nods, respectively.  127 Hours, Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, and Winter’s Bone round out the coveted Best Picture category.

Time to talk snubs.  First up: Christopher Nolan, the man behind Inception.  Though the fantastical mind trip nabbed 8 nods (including Best Picture and Screenplay), Nolan was not recognized for his superb direction.  Next: Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) and Mila Kunis (Black Swan) are noticeably absent from the Best Supporting Actor/Actress category.  Then there’s the Best Animated Feature category; though Toy Story 3 is locked for the win, Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me deserves a spot there amongst TS3 and How to Train Your Dragon.  As critically acclaimed as Ben Affleck’s The Town was this past year, the flick only picked up a nod for Best Supporting Actor (Jeremy Renner).  And finally there’s Tron: Legacy; it’s one thing not to nominate Daft Punk’s wonderfully electric score, but it’s quite laughable that the Academy did not nominate the movie for Best Visual Effects.

Look after the break to see the full rundown of all 24 award categories.  The 83rd Annual Academy Awards, hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway, airs live Sunday February 27 at 8PM on ABC.

[Via EW] Continue reading 2011 Oscar nods are in! →