Award / Grant News

ASCAP Kudo Shows Heart

Source: All About Jazz
February 28, 2009

Wilson's to receive Founders Award

Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson will receive the ASCAP Founders Award during performing rights org's 26th annual Pop Music Awards on April 22 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. The songwriters and publishers of ASCAP's most performed pop songs of 2008 will also be honored at the ceremony.

ASCAP Founders Award is among the most prestigious honors that ASCAP gives to songwriters who have made pioneering contributions to music.

“Their success and influence helped pave the ...

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Clint Eastwood Gets Lifetime Palme D’Or

Source: All About Jazz
February 26, 2009

PARIS - Clint Eastwood on Wednesday became only the second person to receive a lifetime achievement honor from the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival.

The actor/director received the honorary Palme d’Or during an intimate news conference and cocktail party at a restaurant.

“I’m very, very flattered that you’ve chosen me for this,” Eastwood said. “French cineastes have always been very supportive of me along the way. When I directed my first movie, French cineastes and critics encouraged me, while ...

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Obamas Honor Stevie Wonder at White House

Source: All About Jazz
February 26, 2009

Singer-songwriter is praised for creating ‘a style that’s uniquely American’ Legendary entertainer Stevie Wonder got a presidential welcome from the Obamas, who honored him with the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday thanked musician Stevie Wonder for creating “a style that’s uniquely American” as he presented the singer- songwriter the nation’s highest award for pop music.

Obama, who called Wonder the soundtrack of his youth, gave the star the Library of ...

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81st Academy Award Winners

Source: All About Jazz
February 23, 2009

2009 Oscar Winners Winners in bold

BEST PICTURE “Slumdog Millionaire" “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" “Frost/Nixon" “Milk" “The Reader"

BEST ACTRESS Kate Winslet, “The Reader" Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married" Angelina Jolie, “Changeling" Melissa Leo, “Frozen River" Meryl Streep, “Doubt"

BEST ACTOR Sean Penn, “Milk" Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon" Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler" Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona" Amy Adams, “Doubt" Viola Davis, ...

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A.R. Rahman Takes Oscar for Slumdog Original Score, Best Song

Source: Michael Ricci
February 23, 2009

Original score: 'Slumdog Millionaire's' A.R. Rahman

Rahman, composer of countless Bollywood scores, won for his transporting soundscape in Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle's crowd-pleaser that is part potboiler, part fairy tale.

Rahman started writing music for Indian TV ads in the early '90s, eventually switching to film and composing dozens of soundtracks a year. In 2002, Andrew Lloyd Webber commissioned him to write the music for the play “Bombay Dreams," which ran in London's West End. Rahman also collaborated with London ...

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Complete List of Nominees for the 81st Annual Academy Awards

Source: All About Jazz
February 22, 2009

2009 Oscar scorecard The Envelope Winner --->

BEST PICTURE “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" “Frost/Nixon" “Milk" “The Reader" “Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST ACTRESS Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married" Angelina Jolie, “Changeling" Melissa Leo, “Frozen River" Meryl Streep, “Doubt" Kate Winslet, “The Reader"

BEST ACTOR Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon" Sean Penn, “Milk" Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler" Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Amy Adams, “Doubt" Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona" Viola ...

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Live Blogging the Oscars

Source: Michael Ricci
February 22, 2009

Make this blog item your home page for the rest of Oscar day. Tom O'Neil and Paul Sheehan are blogging live continuously all day. Keep hitting “refresh" for constant updates about what's happening at the Kodak Theatre.

1:30 p.m. — Our forums moderator Chris “Boomer" Beachum has compiled this list of who we believe will be among the performers, presenters and participants on tonight's show. Over at Cinemascopian.com, he found an unofficial rundown of how the program reportedly will go ...

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I'm with the Band! Oscars Stage Design Revealed

Source: All About Jazz
February 21, 2009

Architect going for ‘immersive environment evocative of an intimate club.

Now when the Oscars musicians play winners offstage, they might get the chance to glare a little bit, too.

Renderings of this year’s Academy Awards set show an onstage bandstand, situated behind a circular ministage that juts into the audience. The whole thing is surrounded by a glittering circle of cascading white lights and flanked by enormous chandeliers.

The images were released by the firm of architect David Rockwell, the ...

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