ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Polar Music Winners: Violinist Isaac Stern and singer-composer Bob Dylan will share this year’s Polar Music Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music said Wednesday. Stern, 79, is president of Carnegie Hall and credited with saving it from the wrecking ball in the 1960s. Dylan has “demonstrated an impressive ability to question the most determined political forces, to fight all forms of prejudice, and to offer unflinching support for the less fortunate,” committee member Roger Wallis said. Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf will present the awards May 15; each recipient receives $119,000. The prize is endowed by the late Stikkan Anderson, whose record company released the songs of the Swedish group ABBA.

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Indie Spirit Nominees: Nominees for the 15th annual Independent Spirit Awards were announced Wednesday. Best feature nominees are “Election,” “The Limey,” “The Straight Story,” “Sugar Town” and “Cookie’s Fortune.” Best first feature under $500,000 nominees are “The Blair Witch Project,” “La Ciudad,” “Compensation,” “Judy Berlin” and “Treasure Island.” Best female lead nominees: Diane Lane for “A Walk on the Moon,” Janet McTeer for “Tumbleweeds,” Hilary Swank for “Boys Don’t Cry,” Susan Traylor for “Valerie Flake” and Reese Witherspoon for “Election.” Best male lead nominees: John Cusack for “Being John Malkovich,” Richard Farnsworth for “The Straight Story,” Terence Stamp for “The Limey,” David Strathairn for “Limbo” and Noble Willingham for “The Corndog Man.” Winners will be announced March 25.

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‘Supernatural’ Tops Grammy Nominees: Santana’s “Supernatural” has scored its first Grammy victory. The awards show is still more than a month away, but the 10 nominations announced last week for the music from “Supernatural” were enough to catapult the collection to the top of the nation’s album chart with 204,000 copies sold last week. The album, which last hit No. 1 in November, has now sold more than 4.7 million copies. Jay-Z, DMX, Celine Dion and “Now 3” (a compilation of recent hits) round out the Top 5 for the week.

QUICK TAKES

The return of “NYPD Blue” collared more than 19 million viewers Tuesday, the ABC police drama’s most-watched season premiere since 1996. With more than 28 million people watching “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” to lead off the night, ABC also enjoyed record tune-in for both “Dharma & Greg” and “Sports Night.” . . . UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology has canceled appearances by Ladysmith Black Mambazo leader Joseph Shabalala that were scheduled for Friday, and Jan. 22 and 23. . . . Country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus and his wife, Tish, are the parents of a baby girl, Noah Lindsay Cyrus, delivered Saturday at Nashville Baptist Hospital.