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Kooky “Melancholia” Gets Nod from National Film Critics

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This has NOTHING to do with the Oscars or reality, but the National Society of Film Critics picked their winners for 2011 today. The two films they liked best were the weirdest and most frustrating of the year– Lars von Trier‘s “Melancholia” and Terrence Malick‘s “The Tree of Life.” It’s a kooky list that includes the hilarious not always remembered Jeannie Berlin, actress daughter of Elaine May and one time star of my favorite films, “The Heartbreak Kid” (1972), a runner up as Best Supporting Actress in Ken Lonergan’s unwieldy, five years-on-the-shelf “Margaret.” http://www.imdb.com/video/demo_reel/vi50699801/

Was the punch spiked, were the brownies remixed, or just the air very thin? Who knows? But everyone gets something this year. It’s all good! And unlike with “Melancholia,” it’s not the end of the world. Think of this as the anti-National Board of Review.

BEST PICTURE

*1. Melancholia  – 29 (Lars von Trier)

2. The Tree of Life – 28 (Terrence Malick)

3.  A Separation  – 20 (Asghar Farhadi)

BEST ACTOR

*1. Brad Pitt – 35  (Moneyball, The Tree of Life)

2. Gary Oldman – 22 (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

3. Jean Dujardin – 19 (The Artist)

BEST ACTRESS

*1. Kirsten Dunst – 39 (Melancholia)

2. Yun Jung-hee – 25 (Poetry)

3. Meryl Streep – 20 (The Iron Lady)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

*1.  Albert Brooks – 38 (Drive)

2. Christopher Plummer – 24 (Beginners)

3. Patton Oswalt – 19 (Young Adult)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

*1. Jessica Chastain – 30 (The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Help)

2. Jeannie Berlin – 19 (Margaret)

3. Shailene Woodley – 17 (The Descendants)

BEST DIRECTOR

*1. Terrence Malick – 31 (The Tree of Life)

2. Martin Scorsese – 29 (Hugo)

3. Lars von Trier – 23 (Melancholia)

BEST NONFICTION

*1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 35 (Werner Herzog)

2. The Interrupters – 26 (Steve James)

3. Into the Abyss – 18 (Werner Herzog)

BEST SCREENPLAY

*1. A Separation – 39  (Asghar Farhadi)

2. Moneyball – 22 (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin)

3. Midnight in Paris – 16 (Woody Allen)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

*1. A Separation – 67 (Asghar Farhadi)

2. Mysteries of Lisbon – 28 (Raoul Ruiz)

3. Le Havre – 22 (Aki Kaurismäki)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

*1. The Tree of Life – 76 (Emmanuel Lubezki)

2. Melancholia – 41 (Manuel Alberto Claro)

3.  Hugo – 33 (Robert Richardson)

EXPERIMENTAL
Ken Jacobs, for “Seeking the Monkey King.”

Larry King Sets New Dates for Previously Cancelled Stand Up Shows

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For about a year Larry King has been promising to bring his stand up show to theaters. From what I can tell, announcements from February 2010 resulted mostly in cancellations. (One one bill it looks like he was paired, oddly, with Todd Rundgren. Cancellation may have been due to lack of psychedelic drugs.)

I’m not sure if this was from low ticket sales or Larry’s inability to perform. However, I was told he’s booked two new shows in the New york Area:February 2nd  at the Palace Theater in Stamford and February 4th at Whitman Hall in the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts. I sure hope he makes it. According to various online ticket brokers, he’s got some dates in Florida this winter, too–I’m sorry I’ll miss him on January 22nd in Naples, Florida, but maybe my mom and dad will go and report back.

If Larry really wanted some good material, he could talk about how his show is bring produced. His father in law, Karl Engemann, who has a long history in the music business (original A&R man for the Beach Boys at Capitol Records) and former manager of Marie Osmond, is producing Larry’s show. You may recall Larry’s wife, Shawn, nearly divorcing him a couple of years ago because she said Larry was having an affair with her sister. So, Larry, please, no more cancellations. And Larry can also tell audiences about his upcoming movie starring Shawn, himself, and 11 year old Paris Jackson.

 

 

Van Halen Plays Famous Greenwich Village Club Once Owned by David Lee Roth’s Uncle

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Jimmy Fallon, John McEnroe and Patty Smythe, and about 200 other lucky rock fans got a chance to see Van Halen, the 1980s rockers, perform for the first time in eons, last night. The place was Cafe Wha?, the famed tiny Greenwich Village club on MacDougal Street once owned by singer David Lee Roth’s uncle, Manny Roth. And so, 92 year old Manny Roth made the trip from his home in Ojai, California for the promotional show, with his daughter. David Lee Roth’s two sisters came as well, making the table where I managed to find a sliver of a seat the official Roth family table.

“I’m 92 and I’m still in the game,” Manny Roth yelled to the audience after his nephew introduced him. But the singer could not hear his uncle over the crowd. Roth said, “He’s 92 and he says he’s having the best time of his life.”

Manny Roth opened Cafe Wha? in 1960. It’s much the same as it was then: a narrow bunker under the Players’ Theater, with low ceilings and a marble floor Manny hand-laid 52 years ago. (He sold it a a while ago.) “David woke me up the other day and said Uncle Manny, I’m finally playing Cafe Wha?!” From the stage, nephew David admitted: “I carved my name on one of the bannisters down here when I was seven years old.”

Roth and another family, the Van Halens, took the stage after a bodyguard walked them in from the front door and parted the sea of old rockers who’d come to see them, pushing aside waitresses who carried trays above their heads. By the time Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen and David Lee Roth took the small stage, and played the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” the temperature in the bunker had risen considerably. There wasn’t much available air for breathing either.

“Welcome to Occupy Van Halen,” announced Roth, who sported a tweedy newsboy cap. After the Kinks song, the group–which hasn’t played together with this lineup really ever–ran through mostly hits like “Hot for Teacher,” “Panama,” “Dance the Night Away,” “Running withe Devil,” and “Jump.” Bassist Michael Anthony has been replaced by Wolfgang, Eddie’s son with Valerie Bertinelli. Roth has not sung with Eddie and Alex in more than 20 years. There have been plenty of failed attempts to put Van Halen back together, all ending in acrimony. A 2007 tour ended in rehab and reproach. But time and finances will always produce detente in a classic rock band.

As I reported last week, Van Halen has recorrded a new album that will be released on February 7th. It’s called “A Different Kind of Truth.” Trhe first single is “Tattoo,” but they didn’t play it last night. Instead they played “She’s the Woman,” which will be on the album. An ardent fan said it’s an unreleased track circa 1978.

Roth, opening the show, spoke for the group. He talked about all the media in the room. “Which one of you guys from the press knows Lady Gaga. I gotta meet her.”Roth said he’d been living on the Lower East Side a few years ago in the building above the club where Lady Gaga got her start. Small world.

He also talked about being an EMS ambulance. “It was an eye into New York City that most people don’t have,” he said.

 

All photos c2012 Ann Lawlor

Rupert Murdoch Former Editor Writes: “He Lies With Consummate Ease”

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Rupert Murdoch’s greatest frenemy, Sir Harold Evans, has finally spoken up about the hacking scandal. In a new preface just added to his much admired memoir “Good Times, Bad Times,” (available on Amazon and Kindle) Evans—whom Murdoch fired in 1981 as editor of London’s Sunday Times—gives a scathing take on Murdoch, son James, and their testimony in front of Parliament.

“Murdoch was a good witness, more direct than his son James who sported a buzz cut unnervingly reminiscent of Nixon’s chief of staff Bob Haldeman….Murdoch senior’s bluntness had the effect of rendering James’s testimony inconsequential.” He suggests that Murdoch’s various mistakes during the Parliamentary testimony, and that his early appearance of a doddering old man was interpreted by some as his version of “Uncle Junior” from The Sopranos.

Nevertheless, Evans isn’t too surprised by the deterioration of British journalism and Murdoch’s reign of terror after Evans was ousted in 1981. At the time he was the 12th editor of the Times in 200 years. There have been 18 more in the last 30 years.

“In the decade that followed my year at the Times, the inside rot was matched only by the menace that came to represent the civil discourse and the whole political establishment. Prime Ministers, Tory and Labour alike, were so scared of blackmail by headline they gave him whatever he [Murdoch] asked.”

Evan’s decimation of Murdoch is thorough, recounting all his moves, good or bad through the 1990s and up to today. He recalls Murdoch’s failed efforts to buy Warner Bros., his actual purchase and sale of the Chicago Sun Times, his failures with TV Guide, Premiere and New York magazine (not to mention the now moribund Village Voice), and his “coming to terms” with Ted Kennedy. He calls Murdoch the “Houdini of agreements.”

Evans observes: “He makes solemn promises, then breaks them when it suits him. He pledges loyalty to people, then double-crosses them. He commits a wrong, but then disguises his motives in a smoke trail of disinformation.”

Summing up his experiences with Murdoch, Evans concludes: “He lies with consummate ease and conviction, but he is also remarkably prescient about how politicians will swallow the most gigantic fiction with barely a gulp.”

“Bridesmaids” Is Fun, But it’s Not Really an Oscar Movie

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January ennui has set in, and some Oscar prognosticators are talking up “Bridesmaids” as a possible Best Picture nominee for the Academy Awards. “Bridesmaids” is a lot of fun, and very smart, but really, it isn’t an Oscar nominee. Golden Globes? Yes. But “Bridesmaids,” directed by Paul Feig and co-written by its star, Kristin Wiig, is like a series of great sketches that rise and fall on their own merit. Taken together, they really don’t add up to much. And some of it, we’ve seen before. Wiig and co-star Melissa McCarthy are terrific throughout, of course. But “Bridesmaids” is like “The Hangover,” a really smart gross-out movie that’s a little too gross for the Oscars. Still, an original screenplay nomination is definitely right, since some of those isolated bits are genius. I’m thinking of the toast scene, where Wiig and Rose Byrne keep trying to top each other; the Farrelly Brothers-like food poison set up in the bathroom; all of Wiig’s work on the plane to Las Vegas–which seems inspired by the famous “Seinfeld” piece about Jerry in first class and Elaine in coach. I loved Melissa McCarthy with all her puppies and costumes, and her delivery is priceless. But she’s swimming against the tide in Best Supporting Actress with Octavia Spencer from “The Help,” Berenice Bejo from “The Artist,” Jessica Chastain from like five movies, as well as Janet McTeer from “Albert Nobbs,” and Shailene Woodley from “The Descendants.” At best, McCarthy is 7th on the list. But that’s not bad in a field of 200 movies. Wiig and McCarthy are already on to new projects, and long careers. And “Bridesmaids” reward is the pot of gold it produced at the box office.

2011 Album Sales Were Up! Beatles Had the #1 Vinyl Record! CD Still Rules!

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Who had the number 1 selling vinyl album–a record, you know–for 2011? Why The Beatles, with “Abbey Road.” They sold 41,000 copies, and beat contemporary acts Adele, Bon Iver, Mumford and Sons, and the Black Keys. And oh yes, Adele: without her, there would not have been a record industry in 2011. She sold 5.8 million copies of “21,” and finished first in almost every category that Nielsen Sound Scan offers except for Holiday Album sales.

Adele was followed on the top 10 best selling albums list by Michael Buble, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Mumford and Sons, Lady Antebellum, Drake, the Glee cast, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, and Jay Z and Kanye West.(Forty years ago that list would have been Carole King, Rod Stewart, Marvin Gaye, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Santana, the Eagles, Elton John, the score to “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Just sayin’.)

Here’s something on the SoundScan totals: on digital sales, catalog downloads were up 11% over last year and beat downloads of current music. And for everyone who says digital downloading has knocked off the physical CD, they are wrong: Adele’s total included 1.8 million digital. She sold 4 million shiny silver discs. The CD is still very much alive and kicking, no matter what your IPod says.

 

Hugh Jackman, Broadway Houdini: I Told Readers Three Years Ago

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Wow. Big announcement today that Hugh Jackman will play Harry Houdini on Broadway in 2013/2014. However: I broke that story THREE YEARS ago. Yes, here is the link. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,457159,00.html#3 I feel like I’m in the waaaay back machine. Now it seems that Kurt Andersen has been replaced by Aaron Sorkin for the book, and Danny Elfman has been scuttled for Stephen Schwartz. That’s entertainment! Jackman, coming off a record shattering Broadway run, has been working on “Houdini” for over three years. He’s planning on doing Houdini’s famous tricks himself, so it’s taken some time to get it all right. When I broke the story, it got picked up, too: http://itricks.com/news/2008/11/hugh-jackman-is-the-singing-houdini-in-new-broadway-musical/ So three years have passed. Some shows take long to come to fruition, frankly.

James Franco Sells First Novel, Compared to Work of W.E. Sebald

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Multi-tasking, multi-hyphenate actor- director-writer-artist-curator-producer-hypnotist James Franco has sold his first novel, to Amazon. The New York Observer got the scoop of the sale, but I’ll tell you a little bit more. “Actors Anonymous” is said to be in the style of late German novelist, W.E. Sebald, who mixed memoir with fiction and punctuated with black and white photographs. Ed Park, who’s a happening novelist, is editing the book at Amazon. (His novel, “Personal Days,” was a cult favorite last year from Random House.)

If you haven’t followed this story so far, Amazon’s actual physical books are distributed by Houghton Mifflin. But there’s a hitch: Barnes & Noble has threatened not to stock Amazon books or include them for Kindle. (This is so ridiculous, it’s hard to discuss. This is the same Barnes & Noble that killed off small bookstores 30 years ago in favor of their “supermarkets.” )

Anyway, Franco’s collection of short stories, called “Palo Alto,” was published a year and a half ago by Nan Graham at Scribner’s. (Note to Gawker: “Palo Alto” was pretty damn good.) But Franco made friends with Park while doing some of his graduate work at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. “Ed is really into making the book a big deal,” agent Richard Abate, who made the deal at Franco’s behest. Franco, studying at Warren Wilson, Yale, and the Rhode Island School of Design, has no publication date in mind yet.

While You Were Away: Madonna, Lady Gaga, Star-less Star Trek and More

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Just getting back from the endless vacation? Even today it seemed like the Christmas-New Years truce was still in effect. Well, you missed a few things you could have learned here first and exclusively.

For example: we reported that Madonna is still giving buckets of money to Kabbalah.

http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/12/21/madonna-gives-another-830k-to-cultish-kabbalah-center-causes.

and that the new “Star Trek” movie will not have any of the actors from the original “Star Trek.”

http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/12/20/next-star-trek-adventure-no-original-cast-members

Lady Gaga released a nice new Xmas song to her fans with the F word in the title and the word whore in the verses:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/12/26/lady-gagas-f-word-christmas-song-present-to-fans

and Paul McCartney has chosen legendary producer Tommy LiPuma to oversee his MusiCares Person of the Year show in February. LiPuma also produced Paul’s new album, due in February

http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/12/20/paul-mccartney-new-album-some-song-titles-musicians-info-etc

 

 

Producers Guild Goes For Artist, Moneyball, Descendants, War Horse, Etc.

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Here is the press release following from the Producers Guild of America. They chose The Artist, War Horse, The Descendants, Moneyball, Hugo, The Ides of March, Midnight in Paris, The Help, Bridesmaids, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--ten  live features as Best Picture nominees.That ten is likely the Oscar group. Just wait and see. Among their documentary nominees, “The Union,” Cameron Crowe’s pic about Elton John and Leon Russell. Ironically, the Grammy Awards ignored this album–it’s a shonda–but nice to see the PGA liked it.

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 3, 2012) – The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were already announced by the Guild in December 2011.

All 2012 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 21, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild will also award special honors to Leslie Moonves (Milestone Award), Steven Spielberg (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Don Mischer (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Stan Lee (Vanguard Award), and IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY (The Stanley Kramer Award). The 2012 Producers Guild Awards co-chairs are Paula Wagner and Michael Manheim.

The 2012 Producers Guild nominated films and television programs are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers’ names listed for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and are not necessarily the proper order of credits.

The theatrical motion picture nominees are:

Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures:

THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann

BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend

THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin

THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green

HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese

THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

CARS 2
Producer: Denise Ream

KUNG FU PANDA 2
Producer: Melissa Cobb

PUSS IN BOOTS
Producers: Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou

RANGO
Producers: John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski

The television nominees are:

The David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television:

“Cinema Verite” (HBO)
Producers: Zanne Devine, Karyn McCarthy

“Downton Abbey” (Masterpiece) (PBS)
Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame

“The Kennedys” (ReelzChannel)
Producers: Jon Cassar, Jonathan Koch, Stephen Kronish, Steve Michaels, Michael Prupas, Jamie Paul Rock, Joel Surnow

“Mildred Pierce” (HBO)
Producers: Todd Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Ilene S. Landress, Christine Vachon

“Too Big To Fail” (HBO)
Producers: Carol Fenelon, Jeffrey Levine, Paula Weinstein

*The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.

In December 2011, the Producers Guild of America announced the Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture, Television Series and Non-Fiction Television Nominations; the following list includes complete producer credits.

The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:

BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

Producers: Michael Rapaport, Edward Parks (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)

BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK

Producer: Philip Gefter

PROJECT NIM

Producer: Simon Chinn

SENNA

Producer: James Gay-Rees

THE UNION

Producers: Cameron Crowe, Michelle Panek

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

“30 Rock” (NBC)

Producers: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, John Riggi, Don Scardino

“The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)

Producers:  Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima, Bill Prady

“Glee” (FOX)

Producers: Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Kenneth Silverstein

“Modern Family” (ABC)

Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

“Parks and Recreation” (NBC)

Producers: Greg Daniels, Dan Goor, Howard Klein, Amy Poehler, Morgan Sackett, Michael Schur

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)

Producers: Eugene Kelly, Howard Korder, Stephen Levinson, Martin Scorsese, Rudd Simmons, Tim Van Patten, Terence Winter

“Dexter” (Showtime)

Producers: Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn, Chip Johannessen, Robert Lloyd Lewis

“Game of Thrones” (HBO)

Producers: David Benioff, Frank Doelger, Mark Huffam, Carolyn Strauss, D.B. Weiss

“The Good Wife” (CBS)

Producers: Brooke Kennedy, Michelle King, Robert King, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David W. Zucker

“Mad Men” (AMC)

Producers: Jonathan Abrahams, Scott Hornbacher, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Blake McCormick, Dwayne Shattuck, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:

“The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)

Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (Syndicated)

Producers: Mary Connelly, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Geiger Schrift, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, Kevin A. Leman II, Jonathan Norman, Derek Westervelt

“Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO)

Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin

“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Producers: Ken Aymong, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney

“The 64th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)

Producers: Ricky Kirshner, Glenn Weiss

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:

“The Amazing Race” (CBS)

Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo

“American Idol” (FOX)

Producers: Charles Boyd, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Simon Fuller, Patrick Lynn, Nigel Lythgoe, Megan Michaels, Ken Warwick

“Dancing with the Stars” (ABC)

Producers: Ashley Edens Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur, Rob Wade

“Project Runway” (Lifetime)

Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Colleen Sands

“Top Chef” (Bravo)

Producers: Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Dan Murphy, Nan Strait

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:

“30 for 30” (ESPN)

Producers: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons

“American Masters” (PBS)

Producers: Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks

“Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” (Travel Channel)

Producers: Christopher Collins, Julie Lei, Lydia Tenaglia, Tom Vitale

“Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel)

Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Ethan Prochnik, Bill Pruitt, Matt Renner

“Undercover Boss” (CBS)

Producers: Chris Carlson, Susan Hoenig, Eli Holzman, Sandi Johnson, Stephen Lambert, Allison Schermerhorn

**Below are new categories for the 2012 Producers Guild Awards; three television categories and one web category. As such, these programs were not vetted for producer eligibility this year but winners in these categories will be announced at the official ceremony on January 21st:

News Programs:

“Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)

“BBC World News America” (BBC)

“NBC News with Brian Williams” (NBC)

“The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)

“60 Minutes” (CBS)

Sports Programs: (*There was a tie, which is why there are six nominees.)

“Monday Night Football” (ESPN)

“Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” (HBO)

“Sports Center” (ESPN)

“30 for 30” (ESPN)

“2010 FIFA World Cup” (ABC / ESPN / ESPN2)

“U.S. Open Tennis Championship” (CBS / ESPN2 / Tennis Channel)

Children’s Programs:

“Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon)

“iCarly” (Nickelodeon)

“Phineas and Ferb” (Disney Channel)

“Sesame Street” (PBS)

“SpongeBob Squarepants” (Nickelodeon)

Web Series:

“Ask a Ninja” (blip.tv)

“The Guild” (WatchTheGuild.com)

“Parks and Recreation Presents: ‘April & Andy’s Road Trip’” (NBC.com)

“30 Rock Presents Jack Donaghy, Executive Superhero” (NBC.com)

“Web Therapy” (LStudio.com)

About the Producers Guild of America

The Producers Guild of America is the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media. The PGA has over 4,750 members who work together to protect and improve their careers, the industry and community by providing members with health benefits, employment opportunities, the creation of fair and impartial standards for the awarding of producing credits, as well as other education and advocacy efforts such as promoting sustainable production practices. Visit www.producersguild.org and www.pgagreen.org for more information.