The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Modern Family’ to defend Emmy wins Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:42 AM PDT LOS ANGELES, July 14 — Stylish 1960s advertising drama "Mad Men" and mockumentary comedy "Modern Family" will vie again for the top prizes at the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards in a field packed with newcomers and veteran actors in new roles. "Mad Men," the three-time Emmy winner for best dramatic show, scored 19 nominations today for TV's highest honors, including best drama series and acting nods for its stars Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss. ABC's "Modern Family," which took the top comedy prize last year, earned a total of 17 nominations, including mentions for stars Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara. Other contenders in the best drama series race were HBO's new prohibition era series "Boardwalk Empire" with a total of 18 nods, CBS legal program "The Good Wife," freshman fantasy "Game of Thrones," "Dexter" and "Friday Night Lights." Among comedy series, "Modern Family" will face off for best program against veteran "30 Rock," first time nominee "Parks and Recreation," "The Big Bang Theory" and "The Office." Fox's quirky musical comedy "Glee", which dominated last year's Emmy nominations, got just 12 mentions this year, including best comedy and supporting acting nods for Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch. But it failed to grab any spots in the lead acting categories. HBO's miniseries "Mildred Pierce" had the largest number of nominations with a total of 21, including nods for its stars Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood. First time nominees Five of the 12 nominated comedy and drama series are first time nominees. The acting categories featured a slew of Emmy rookies including Melissa McCarthy in freshman comedy "Mike & Molly," Martha Plimpton for "Raising Hope," Mireille Enos in the AMC crime drama "The Killing" and Timothy Olyphant in the modern Western drama "Justified" on FX. "It is great that we are recognising the spectrum of television. We are here to celebrate television and let our audience around the world know how great TV is," said John Shaffner, chairman of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Emmys will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on September 18, hosted by "Glee" star Jane Lynch. HBO was again the most nominated network, despite a controversial decision this year to merge the miniseries and TV movie categories, which the cable channel has traditionally dominated. HBO garnered 104 nominations overall, followed by CBS with 50, NBC with 46, Fox 42, and ABC with 40. Some of TV's favorite stars were recognised today in new roles. They included former "Friends" actor Matt LeBlanc, who plays a version of himself in the Showtime satire "Episodes," and Betty White, age 89, who earned her 17th Emmy nomination for a supporting role in comedy "Hot in Cleveland." Cloris Leachman, age 85, notched her 22nd nod for a supporting role as the ditzy grandmother in Fox show "Raising Hope," while veteran Kathy Bates scored a lead actress nomination for playing a cranky lawyer in the new NBC drama "Harry's Law." — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Montreux fetes Miles Davis with ‘soundtrack’ to his life Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:09 AM PDT  Jazz bassist Marcus Miller (right) performs onstage with saxophonist Wayne Shorter (left) and trumpeter Sean Jones during the tribute to Miles Davis evening at the 45th Montreux Jazz Festival onJuly 13, 2011. — Reuters pic The two-hour concert, which stretched into the early hours of today, was a highlight of the annual Montreux Jazz Festival, where Davis is still remembered for driving along Lake Geneva in a red Ferrari. The jazz great, whose statue stands proudly in a park next to Miles Davis Hall, performed 10 times at Montreux, the last time just two months before his death at age 65 in 1991. "It doesn't feel like 20 years, it feels like 4 or 5. Miles's music is everywhere. This is dedicated to the spirit of Miles Davis, the most beautiful thing he gave us," said Marcus Miller, the gifted bassist who directed the homage at a sold-out Stravinski Auditorium. Miller said it was very difficult to hold a retrospective concert for an artist who never looked back, but that when he had the idea for a tribute to Davis this year he immediately decided to call Hancock and Shorter. At the first rehearsal the three ended up not playing a single note, instead talking about Davis and what they might do to honour him properly. "Wayne said 'what we don't want to do is play in the style in which it was originally done because we figured Miles would hate that. Let's make it like a soundtrack to Miles's life'," said Miller, wearing his trademark black hat. "If there were a movie of Miles's life, perhaps this would be the score to that movie." Hancock, Shorter and Miller all played with Davis, who had a keen eye for new African American talent. Sean Jones on trumpet and Sean Rickman on drums rounded out the quintet. They opened with "Walkin", the title track of Davis's 1954 album, with Hancock alternating on piano and keyboards, and Shorter and Jones playing mournfully on their instruments. "Someday My Prince Will Come", from the 1961 album recorded with John Coltrane, and "Tutu" were other crowd favourites, but some were disappointed not to hear the classic "Round Midnight". After a standing ovation, Hancock strapped on a synthesiser keyboard for an encore of "Time After Time" and "So What". "Marcus produced a great concert," said Claude Nobs, founder of the Swiss festival now in its 45th year. Young talent Quincy Jones, the producer and former co-director of Montreux, hosted a second show billed as "A Night of Global Gumbo", bringing young talent to the famed Montreux stage. Cuban jazz pianist Alfredo Fernandez, a 24-year-old who defected several years ago, played "El Guije" with his trio. "He practices 14 hours a day, he's as serious as they come. His future is so bright it scorches my eyes," said Jones, who produced Michael Jackson's "Thriller", the best-selling album of all time. Emily Bear, a 9-year-old piano prodigy from Illinois, joined Fernandez for "Four Hands", stretching across the keyboard to hit the notes. She also played her own "Bumble Boogie" medley. "Do you believe that?" quipped Jones as the crowd cheered. South Korea's M Plex Band and strong male vocalist Seung-Won Jeong teamed up with Patti Austin for her hit "Baby Come To Me". Esperanza Spalding, the American bass player who won the Grammy for Best New Artist this year, Jordan's Diana Karazon and Canada's Nikki Yanofsky also performed solos. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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