Thursday, December 24, 2009

* fun fact > DOES ANYBODY HERE REMEMBER VERA LYNN?

"Vera" is a song by Pink Floyd on the album The Wall. Vera Lynn is an English singer whose career flourished during World War II. She was nicknamed "The Forces' Sweetheart" and the song she is most known for is "We'll Meet Again" - one of the most famous songs of the Second World War era. The assertion that "we'll meet again" is optimistic, as many soldiers did not survive to see their loved ones again. The meeting place, at some unspecified time in the future, would have been seen by many who lost loved ones to be heaven.

The lyric "Vera, what has become of you?" suggests that Vera Lynn herself, like her promise, vanished. It suggests a loss of innocence and hope.

Vera Lynn also had a hit with "The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot", a song about a boy — like Roger Waters — without a father. The reference is ironic, as Roger Waters, or his fictional character Pink, would not meet his father who was lost in the war. Her recording of "The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot" is the opening music that we hear at the beginning of the movie version of The Wall and aptly sets the theme of the film.

I can only hope that wars can be ended, families reunited and every little boy can have a Christmas with a Santa Claus.

Friday, December 18, 2009

* fun fact > WISH YOU WERE HERE

The album WISH YOU WERE HERE is a concept album centered around the breakdown and departure of Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd. It was mostly written by Roger Waters who had been childhood friends with Barrett.

During the recording of SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND Syd showed up at the Abbey Road studio with a shaved head and eyebrows. He had gained so much weight that he was unrecognizable to members of the band who thought he was an EMI employee. When Waters realized who the visitor was he started to cry, upset at how his friend had deteriorated. Syd offered his services to help on the album, but when listening to the track SHINE ON he failed to make any connection to the song that was ironically about him – Syd Barrett is the crazy diamond.

When he left the studio that day it was the last time any of his band mates saw him until his death in 2006.

* fun fact > CORTEZ THE KILLER

The song CORTEZ THE KILLER is a lingering melodic piece that clocks in at around 7 ½ minutes, it’s fully 3 ½ minutes into the track before we even get lyrics. It is widely regarded as containing some of Neil’s best guitar work.

What’s interesting about this song is that it’s not complete.

During the recording an electrical problem caused the console to go out and the third verse to the song was never recorded. When Neil was told of the issue he replied “I never liked that verse anyway” and the track was left as it had been recorded. The third verse has never since been recorded or performed.

* fun fact > JIM MORRISON VS. BUICK

In 1968 after completing a European tour The Doors were approached by Buick to use their song LIGHT MY FIRE in a commercial, changing the words to “Come on, Buick, light my fire” - the band agreed, but was unable to contact Jim Morrison. Buick went ahead and produced the commercial. When Morrison found out he called Buick and threatened to smash a Buick, with a sledgehammer, on live TV if the commercial aired.


It never aired.

The Doors (after Morrison’s death) were later offered 15 million by Cadillac for the rights to use "Break on Through (to the Other Side)." John Densmore later wrote about this saying “People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music. I've had people say kids died in Vietnam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music.... On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent.”

Thursday, December 17, 2009

* fun fact > WHO IS ZIGGY STARDUST?


The name Ziggy Stardust comes from two places, Ziggy’s – a tailor’s shop in London and a country singer, Norman Carl Odam, aka, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy. But who is the character of Ziggy Stardust based on? Many have speculated that it was Jimi Hendrix based on the lines in the song, “He played it left hand.” and “jiving us that we were voodoo.” However, Bowie says that the inspiration was Vince Taylor.
Who is Vince Taylor?

Taylor was the front man for the band “The Playboys” and was successful primarily in France and the England during the late 1950s and early 1960’s. Vince suffered from drug and alcohol abuse and his erratic behavior made it difficult for him to continue with the Playboys or have a solo career. ... See More

The title “Leper Messiah” comes from an incidence in 1965 when Vince opened for the Rolling Stones in Paris, and then returned to London where at a party with Bob Dylan he tried LSD for the first time. When he returned to Paris he was filthy, unshaven and out of his head. Going on stage wearing only a sheet and clutching a bottle of wine he insisted that his name was Mateus, the Son of God. He persuaded his audience to follow him and together they paraded across Paris, preaching all the way.

After that, things went downhill for Vince, for a while he was hiding in Switzerland and he attempted many comebacks during the years, none successful. In the early 80’s Vince became increasingly paranoid, telling people that the Duke of Windsor was out to kill him. After a spell in a mental hospital he finally moved to Switzerland where he worked as an airplane mechanic. He said it was the happiest time of his life. Vince died in 1991 from lung cancer.

* news > 2010 SAG NOMINATIONS ARE HERE

SAG nominations are in, here’s your list!

MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep, "Julie and Julia"

MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Diane Kruger, "Inglourious Basterds"
Mo'nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
"An Education"
Dominic Cooper
Alfred Molina
Carey Mulligan
Rosamund Pike
Peter Sarsgaard
Emma Thompson
Olivia Williams

"The Hurt Locker"
Christian Camargo
Brian Geraghty
Evangeline Lilly
Anthony Mackie
Jeremy Renner

"Inglourious Basterds"
Daniel Bruehl
August Diehl
Julie Dreyfus
Michael Fassbender
Sylvester Groth
Jacky Ido
Diane Kruger
Melanie Laurent
Denis Menochet
Mike Myers
Brad Pitt
Eli Roth
Til Schweiger
Rod Taylor
Christoph Waltz
Martin Wuttke

"Nine"
Marion Cotillard
Penelope Cruz
Daniel Day-Lewis
Judi Dench
Fergie
Kate Hudson
Nicole Kidman
Sophia Loren

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Mariah Carey
Lenny Kravitz
Mo'nique
Paula Patton
Sherri Shepherd
Gabourey Sidibe

PRIMETIME TELEVISION
MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance"
Cuba Gooding, Jr., "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story"
Jeremy Irons, "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Kevin Kline, "Great Performances: Cyrano De Bergerac"
Tom Wilkinson, "A Number"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Joan Allen, "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens"
Ruby Dee, "America"
Jessica Lange, "Grey Gardens"
Sigourney Weaver, "Prayers for Bobby"

MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette, "Medium"
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"

FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"
Toni Collette, "United States of Tara"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"

ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
"The Closer"
G.W. Bailey
Michael Paul Chan
Raymond Cruz
Tony Denison
Robert Gossett
Phillip P. Keene
Corey Reynolds
Kyra Sedgwick
J.K. Simmons
Jon Tenney

"Dexter"
Preston Bailey
Julie Benz
Jennifer Carpenter
Courtney Ford
Michael C. Hall
Desmond Harrington
C.S. Lee
John Lithgow
Rick Peters
James Remar
Christina Robinson
Lauren Velez
David Zayas

"The Good Wife"
Christine Baranski
Josh Charles
Matt Czuchry
Julianna Margulies
Archie Panjabi
Graham Phillips
MacKenzie Vega

"Mad Men"
Alexa Alemanni
Bryan Batt
Jared S. Gilmore
Michael Gladis
Jon Hamm
Jared Harris
Christina Hendricks
January Jones
Vincent Kartheiser
Robert Morse
Elisabeth Moss
Kiernan Shipka
John Slattery
Rich Sommer
Christopher Stanley
Aaron Staton

"True Blood"
Chris Bauer
Mehcad Brooks
Anna Camp
Nelsan Ellis
Michelle Forbes
Mariana Klaveno
Ryan Kwanten
Todd Lowe
Michael McMillian
Stephen Moyer
Anna Paquin
Jim Parrack
Carrie Preston
William Sanderson
Alexander Skarsgard
Sam Trammell
Rutina Wesley
Deborah Ann Woll

ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
"30 Rock"
Scott Adsit
Alec Baldwin
Katrina Bowden
Kevin Brown
Grizz Chapman
Tina Fey
Judah Friedlander
Jane Krakowski
John Lutz
Jack McBrayer
Tracy Morgan
Keith Powell

"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Larry David
Susie Essman
Jeff Garlin
Cheryl Hines

"Glee"
Diana Agron
Chris Colfer
Patrick Gallagher
Jessalyn Gilsig
Jane Lynch
Jayma Mays
Kevin McHale
Lea Michele
Cory Monteith
Heather Morris
Matthew Morrison
Amber Riley
Naya Rivera
Mark Salling
Harry Shum Jr.
Josh Sussman
Dijon Talton
Iqbal Theba
Jenna Ushkowitz

"Modern Family"
Julie Bowen
Ty Burrell
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Nolan Gould
Sarah Hyland
Ed O'Neill
Rico Rodriguez
Eric Stonestreet
Sofia Vergara
Ariel Winter

"The Office"
Leslie David Baker
Brian Baumgartner
Creed Bratton
Steve Carell
Jenna Fischer
Kate Flannery
Ed Helms
Mindy Kaling
Ellie Kemper
Angela Kinsey
John Krasinski
Paul Lieberstein
B.J. Novak
Oscar Nunez
Craig Robinson
Phyllis Smith
Rainn Wilson

STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
"Public Enemies"
"Star Trek"
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"

STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A TELEVISION SERIES
"24"
"The Closer"
"Dexter"
"Heroes"
"The Unit"

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Betty White

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

* review > JUST LIKE YOU - ALLISON IRAHETA

It’s no secret that The Dogg is fan of all things American Idol. It’s one of those television talent shows that helps us believe that there are talented people in the world who if given the opportunity can shine. People like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry who in the span of a year can go from waiting tables to superstar status. Allison Iraheta is no exception to this rule. Allison unexpectedly finished fourth in Season 8 of American Idol, much to early for many including her mentor Slash, who thought that gravely voiced rocker would be in the final round. The problem with Allison and American Idol is that it’s a show for pop music and it’s never been kind to rock singers.

Jive Records (Sony) and 19 Entertainment have taken Allison and are really pushing her as a pop artist. The first single from Allison’s debut album, “Just Like You” is “Friday I’ll be Over U” a track obviously aimed at the teen pop market. And why wouldn’t they, after all she is only seventeen years old and with all the success of a Mylie Cyrus and Taylor Swift it’s obvious that the record labels want to capitalize on this. So, it’s no surprise that the thirteen tracks on her album had eleven different producers and a virtual smorgasbord of songwriters including American Idol judge Kara Dioguardi.

But Allison isn’t a pop singer, she’s a rocker with a voice beyond her years and despite the production and the songwriting it’s Allison’s voice that shines through on tracks like “Scars” and eventually makes this album something worth listening to. She has that Janis Joplin / Joan Jet vibe and can take a song and sing it with the intensity of a Pat Benatar so that despite the fact that the song was obviously written for the pop market it hits you with emotion rarely found in rock and roll today. Of the thirteen tracks on the album I found nine of them to be solid winners and in this age where most albums have only one hit I’d say any album with this many good songs is worth giving a try.

“Just Like You” may not have the commercial success of other American Idols debuts like that of Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry, but it has something that pop music is lacking, an old soul with modern day relevance and for that I give it 4 paws.

* fun facts > WHO WAS THAT GUITARIST?

Rolling Stone magazine lists the Kinks song "You Really Got Me" at number 82 on their list of list of the 500 greatest songs of all time and at number 4 on their list of the 100 greatest guitar songs of all time and for many years the story has circulated that the guitar solo was played by Jimmy Page while working as a session musician prior to joining The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin and not Dave Davies. Page has always denied playing the song's guitar solo, going so far as to state in an interview that "I didn't play on 'You Really Got Me' and that's what pisses him (Ray Davies) off."

Page was hired by Kinks producer Shel Talmy as a session rhythm guitarist on a handful of tracks on the Kinks' first album, but those sessions took place several weeks after "You Really Got Me" was recorded. Several session musicians did play on the track. The piano was recorded by Jon Lord of Deep Purple, session drummer Bobby Graham played drums on the recording.

Interestingly, both Jon Lord and producer Shel Talmy claim Jimmy Page did play on "You Really Got Me." Talmy credits him for the rhythm guitar and Lord for the solo.

*fun facts > THANKSGIVING DAY 1976

The Last Waltz was a concert by The Band, on Thanksgiving Day 1976 in San Francisco. The Last Waltz was advertised as the end of The Band's touring career. The concert saw The Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood and Neil Young. The concert was filmed by director Martin Scorsese and made into a documentary of the same name, released in 1978.

The cameras were operated by some of the most respected cinematographers in the film industry, including Michael Chapman (Raging Bull), Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and László Kovács (Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces). The stage and lighting were designed by Boris Leven, who had been the production designer on such musical films as West Side Story and The Sound of Music.

While Bob Dylan had agreed to perform in concert, he did not want his appearance filmed because he feared it would detract from his own film project Renaldo and Clara. Warner Bros. had agreed to finance the filming of The Last Waltz with the understanding that Dylan would be involved in the film and soundtrack. Backstage negotiations took place during an intermission. Robertson assured Dylan that the concert film's release would be delayed until after his film, and with that Dylan relented and agreed to be filmed.

The Last Waltz is hailed as one of the greatest concert films ever made.

* news > ROGER WATERS TO REVIVE THE WALL FOR A 2010 TOUR?

Here's the news The Dogg has been waiting for, Roger Waters’ manager has confirmed that Roger is looking at touring The Wall in 2010 & 2011. Currently eight cities are penciled in, but going by past experience this could well be expanded at a later date.

Nick Mason has not ruled out playing on the possible tour and when specifically asked about Roger's plans to tour The Wall next year he said he has not been officially approached to play and ruled out playing the entire tour, but he did not rule out guest appearances.

The last time that The Wall was performed was at the Berlin Wall. Roger Waters had previously stated in July 1989 that the only way he was to resurrect a live performance of The Wall was "if the Berlin Wall came down.”

Four months later the wall came down.

The resulting show had a sell-out crowd of over 250,000 people and before the performance started the gates were opened which enabled another 100,000 people to watch. The concert was broadcast to fifty-two countries as well as being released on CD and video.

Here is a recent David Frost interview with Roger Waters where he talks about The Wall, Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, his possible tour plans and making The Wall relevant to today.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

*fun fact > PURPLE IS FOR TERRORISTS


The band Shinedown has continued the tradition of the contract rider! Among the demands made by the band; grape flavored Pedialite and pulp-free orange juice, but beware - their contract stipulates NO pink cups. What else? Well Shinedown likes Skittles, but no purple Skittles, in the words of the band, “absolutely no purple Skittles. Purple is for terrorists.”

While the contract rider has often been described as an example of rock excess, it is usually included to make sure that promoters have actually read the contract. If the trivial demands of the contract rider are not met then the band can assume that more important aspects of a performance - lighting, staging, security, ticketing may have been overlooked by the promoter.

Probably the most famous of the contract riders is the 1982 Van Halen World Tour contract that included the infamous Brown M&M’s stipulation. The 53-page contract also included the following stipulations; herring in sour cream, four cases of Schlitz Malt Liquor beer (16 ounce cans), eight bottles of wine and liquor and "One (1) large tube KY Jelly."

*fun fact > IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN


“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” is the 17 minute epic song by Iron Butterfly and is generally considered to be one of the songs that later influenced and helped shape heavy metal. But where did the title “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” come from?

The song was actually supposed to be titled “In The Garden of Eden” and there are a couple of different stories about how the name was changed. The first was that singer Doug Ingle was so drunk during the recording and slurring the lyrics so badly that the line “in the garden of Eden” sounded like “in-a-gadda-da-vida” and the band went with that as the title. The other story is that Doug Ingle was (again) either drunk or high when Ron Bushy, the drummer asked him the title. Ingle, slurring his words, said “in-a-gadda-da-vida” and that’s what Bushy wrote down. Bushy showed what he had written to Ingle and they went with that as the title.

Either way you look at it Doug Ingle must have been pretty intoxicated when the song was recorded.

*news > 67th Golden Globe Nominations Announced

Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning; here is your list of nominees:

FILM

BEST FEATURE - DRAMA
"Avatar"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious"
"Up in the Air"

BEST FEATURE - COMEDY
"(500) Days of Summer"
"The Hangover"
"It's Complicated"
"Julie & Julia"
"Nine"

ACTOR - DRAMA
Jeff Bridges - "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney - "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth - "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman - "Invictus"
Tobey Maguire - "Brothers"

ACTRESS - DRAMA
Emily Blunt - "The Young Victoria"
Sandra Bullock - "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren - "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan - "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe - "Precious"

ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Matt Damon - "The Informant!"
Daniel Day-Lewis - "Nine"
Robert Downey Jr. - "Sherlock Holmes"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - "500 Days of Summer"
Michael Stuhlbarg - "A Serious Man"

ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Sandra Bullock - "The Proposal"
Marion Cotillard - "Nine"
Julia Roberts,"Duplicity"
Meryl Streep - "It's Complicated"
Meryl Streep - "Julie & Julia"

DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Kathryn Bigelow - "The Hurt Locker"
James Cameron - "Avatar"
Clint Eastwood - "Invictus"
Jason Reitman - "Up in the Air"
Quentin Tarantino - "Inglourious Basterds"

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon - "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson - "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer - "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci - "The Lovely Bones"
Christopher Waltz - "Inglourious Basterds"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz - "Nine"
Vera Farmiga - "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick - "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique - "Precious"
Julianne Moore - "A Single Man"

SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell - "District 9"
Mark Boal - "The Hurt Locker"
Nancy Meyers - "It's Complicated"
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner - "Up In The Air"
Quentin Tarantino - "Inglourious Basterds"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Baaria" (Italy) - Medusa Film; Summit Entertainment
"Broken Embraces" (Spain) - El Deseo SA; Sony Pictures Classics
"The Maid" (Chile) - Forastero; Elephant Eye Films
"A Prophet" (France) - Chic Films; Sony Pictures Classics
"The White Ribbon" (Germany) - Wega Films; Sony Pictures Classics

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"
"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"Up"

BEST SCORE
Michael Giacchino - "Up"
Marvin Hamlisch - "The Informant!"
James Horner - "Avatar"
Abel Korzeniowski - "A Single Man"
Karen O, Carter Burwell - "Where The Wild Things Are"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Cinema Italiano" from "Nine" - Music & Lyrics by: Maury Yeston
"I Want to Come Home" from "Everybody's Fine" - Music & Lyrics by: Paul McCartney
"I Will See You" from "Avatar" - Music by: James Horner, Simon Franglen; Lyrics by: James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell
"The Weary Kind" from "Crazy Heart" - Music & Lyrics by: Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett
"Winter" from "Brothers" - Music by: U2; Lyrics by: Bono

TELEVISION

TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
"Big Love"
"Dexter"
"House"
"Mad Men"
"True Blood"

TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
"30 Rock"
"Entourage"
"Glee"
"Modern Family"
"The Office"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Simon Baker - "The Mentalist"
Michael C. Hall - "Dexter"
Jon Hamm - "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie - "House"
Bill Paxton - "Big Love"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Glenn Close - "Damages"
January Jones - "Mad Men"
Juliana Margulies - "The Good Wife"
Anna Paquin - "True Blood"
Kyra Sedgwick - "The Closer"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Toni Collette - "United States of Tara"
Courtney Cox - "Cougar Town"
Edie Falco - "Nurse Jackie"
Tine Fey - "30 Rock"
Lea Michele - "Glee"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"
Steve Carell - "The Office"
David Duchovny - "Californication"
Thomas Jane - "Hung"
Matthew Morrison - "Glee"

MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
"George O'Keeffe"
"Grey Gardens"
"Into the Storm"
"Little Dorrit"
"Taking Chance"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Kevin Bacon - "Taking Chance"
Kenneth Branagh - "Wallander: One Step Behind"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "Endgame"
Brendan Gleeson - "Into The Storm"
Jeremy Irons - "Georgia O'Keeffe"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Joan Allen - "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Drew Barrymore - "Grey Gardens"
Jessica Lange - "Grey Gardens"
Anna Paquin - "The Courageous Heart Of Irena Sendler"
Sigourney Weaver - "Prayers For Bobby"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jane Adams - "Hung"
Rose Byrne - "Damages"
Jane Lynch - "Glee"
Janet Mcteer - "Into The Storm"
Chloë Sevigny - "Big Love"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Michael Emerson - "Lost"
Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother"
William Hurt - "Damages"
John Lithgow - "Dexter"
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage"