ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.
ENTERTAINMENT
British Academy’s Picks: Golden Globe-winner “Gladiator” and Ang Lee’s critical favorite “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” scored a whopping 14 nominations each Wednesday for Britain’s equivalent of the Academy Awards, with the British-made “Billy Elliot” garnering 11 nods. The three films will vie for best picture against “Almost Famous” and “Erin Brockovich.” The awards, previously known as the Baftas, were renamed this year as the Orange British Academy Film Awards and have also undergone a timing change, with winners to be announced Feb. 25--the first time they will precede America’s Oscars. As with the Golden Globe and Directors Guild nominations, Steven Soderbergh picked up double directing nods for “Traffic” and “Brockovich,” with the British pool rounded out by Lee, “Billy Elliot’s” Stephen Daldry and “Gladiator’s” Ridley Scott. In a deviation from other nominations, the British group named “Almost Famous” star Kate Hudson, a Golden Globe-winner for supporting actress, in the lead actress category. Hudson, meanwhile, was announced Wednesday as a presenter for the March 25 Oscars.
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Strike Ripples in Berlin: The threat of a Hollywood actors’ strike is casting uncertainty on the guest list for the 51st Berlin International Film Festival, to be held Wednesday to Feb. 18. Moritz de Hadeln, the event’s director, spoke this week of “contradictory signals” over the effect that contract negotiations may have on the stars’ appearances. The cast of Hollywood stars could well change “from day to day,” de Hadeln said. Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Pierce Brosnan and Juliette Binoche are among those scheduled to attend. In addition, Kirk Douglas, 84, is to receive the Golden Bear prize for his life’s work.
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Showbiz Reports: CNN has canceled the afternoon “Showbiz Today” and co-anchor Jim Moret has departed, but entertainment news isn’t leaving the network. Beginning Monday, reports anchored by “Showbiz Today” co-host Laurin Sydney will show four times each weekday at 7:35 a.m., 8:35 a.m., 11:35 a.m. and 1:35 p.m. Meanwhile, “Showbiz This Weekend” will be seen Sundays at noon in addition to Saturdays at 7 a.m., and “Showbiz Today’s” “He Said, She Said” film reviews are being developed into a half-hour show that will also cover TV and theater.
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Eminem Protest: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has firmed up its plans for a Grammy-day protest against the four nominations for controversial rapper Eminem, whose lyrics are viewed by many as misogynistic and anti-gay. The group said it will be joined by about a dozen other organizations, including the National Organization for Women, the Matthew Shepard Foundation, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center in a “Rally Against Hate” set to begin at 3 p.m. Feb. 21 outside of Staples Center, where the Grammys will be held. “Our coalition’s presence . . . will send a powerful message that hate in any medium will not go unchallenged,” GLAAD said.
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Quick Takes: Los Angeles’ 18-month-old Staples Center broke Madison Square Garden’s six-year winning streak when it was named Tuesday night as arena of the year at the annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards in Las Vegas. West Hollywood’s House of Blues was pronounced nightclub venue of the year. . . . L.A.-based upstart magazine Bold is offering a $50,000 reward for the identity of the person whose call to police led to the arrest of Robert Downey Jr. on drug charges in a Palm Springs hotel Thanksgiving weekend.