Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane proved to be a very entertaining host for the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday night. This year’s Oscars also shined the spotlight on musicals and even featured the First Lady announcing the winner of Best Picture which went to Argo. In addition to taking home the most coveted prize of the night, the Ben Affleck directed film also won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. The movie that won the most golden statues was Life of Pi with four; Ang Lee was named Best Director and the visually stunning movie also won Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects. Les Miserables racked up three Oscars for Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Anne Hathaway was named Best Supporting Actress. Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for his uncanny portrayal of Lincoln and Steven Spielberg’s period piece also won Best Production Design. Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained also took home two awards for Best Original Screenplay and the incomparable Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor. Elsewhere, Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in Silver Linings Playbook crowned her Best Actress, Pixar’s Brave was named Best Animated Feature, and Adele’s “Skyfall” deservedly won Best Original Song.

For the full list of winners, jump after the break. (Click here for more…)

There really wasn’t a single solitary winner at this year’s Grammys, which happened to feature some really great live performances. Gotye won the coveted Record of the Year award with his catchy ubiquitous tune “Somebody That I Used To Know”; Gotye and his featured artist Kimbra also won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for this song. Mumford & Sons took home Album of the Year for their sophomore effort Babel; the group also won Best Long Form Music Video for “Big Easy Express.” Fun. also got some recognition as they beat out Frank Ocean to be named Best New Artist and their song “We Are Young” was crowned Song of the Year. An honorable mention goes to Skrillex who managed to scoop up three Grammys; his EP Bangarang was named Best Dance/Electronica Album, the track “Bangarang” won Best Dance Recording, and “Promises (Skrillex and Nero Remix)” won Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.

To view the full list of winners, click here.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler proved to be phenomenal hosts of the 70th Annual Golden Globe awards. If you missed it, you can watch their laugh-out-loud opening monologue at YouTube. The only disappoint was that they weren’t on stage doing their schtick long enough. The most entertaining presenters (by a long shot) had to be Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig; you can tell they are both from the same SNL family. Watch their banter at YouTube, too.

Now let’s get to what you came here for: the night’s big winners. Let’s switch things up and look at the movie categories first. Argo, which took home two statues, won Best Motion Picture Drama and Ben Affleck was named Best Director. (Surprisingly he was not nominated for an Oscar so it’s nice to see him being recognized here.) Django Unchained also collected two trophies; Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor (beating castmate Leonardo DiCaprio who also wasn’t nominated for an Oscar) and Quentin Tarantino nabbed a Globe for Best Screenplay. Les Misérables was the winningest film of the bunch taking home three Globes for Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical, Best Actor (Hugh Jackman), and Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway). As expected Daniel Day-Lewis and Jessica Chastain won Best Actor and Actress for the roles in Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty, respectively. And to round things out Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) won Best Actress Comedy/Musical, Michael Danna won for Best Original Score for his in work in Life of Pi, Adele’s “Skyfall” was named Best Original Song, and, Brave was crowned Best Animated Film.

Moving on to the television categories next. HBO movie Game Change and Showtime’s Homeland swept gathering three Globes each. Game Change took home Best Miniseries/Motion Picture for TV, Best Actress (Julianne Moore), and Best Supporting Actor (Ed Harris). Homeland beat Breaking Bad to be named Best Drama and stars Damian Lewis and Claire Danes were recognized for their lead acting roles. Another HBO program Girls fared well winning two Globes for Best Comedy/Musical and star Lena Dunham won Best Actress. Elsewhere Kevin Costnerwon Best Actor in a Miniseries for his turn in Hatfields and McCoys, Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) won Best Supporting Actress, and Don Cheadle (House of Lies) surprised almost everyone and beat Louis C.K. and Jim Parsons to nab the Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series Comedy/Musical.

Jump after the break to view a more digestible list of all the night’s winners. (Click here for more…)

As we inch closer to the 85th Academy Awards the nominations tallied by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were announced today. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln received the most nominations, 12 of them in fact. The period piece is up for Best Picture, Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones), Best Supporting Actress (Sally Field), Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Adapted Screenplay (Tony Kushner), Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Production Design, and Sound Mixing. Life of Pi is close behind with 11 nods including Best Picture, Best Director (Ang Lee), and Best Adapted Screenplay (David Magee). The remaining Best Picture contenders are Amour (5 nods total), Argo (7), Beasts of the Southern Wild (4), Django Unchained (5), Les Miserables (8), Silver Linings Playbook (8), and Zero Dark Thirty (5). Daniel Day-Lewis is up against Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), and Denzel Washington (Flight) for Best Actor. Clawing for Best Actress are Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), and Naomi Watts (The Impossible). The movies up for Best Animated Feature are Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates!, Band of Misfits, and Wreck-It Ralph.

Who got snubbed? The biggest shockers are those who were not nominated for Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained), Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master), and Ben Affleck (Argo; he also wasn’t nominated for Best Actor). Big acting snubs include Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained) and John Hawkes (The Sessions). No technical nominations for Flight or Prometheus. Not a single nod for Rian Johnson’s Looper, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, and the Wachowskis’ Cloud Atlas. And blockbuster The Avengers only managed to land a single nod for Visual Effects.

Jump after the break to see all the nominations. The 85th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Family Guy‘s Seth MacFarlane, airs live Sunday, February 24 on ABC. Watch some of MacFarlane’s latest promos below.
(Click here for more…)

Today the nominations were announced for the Golden Globe Awards, a show that celebrates the best in television and film. Like we always do at this time, let’s talk up the crop of nominees in the major TV categories. The program with the most nods this year is the HBO miniseries Game Change with 5, followed closely by Showtime’s Homeland with 4. Best Drama Series contenders are Breaking Bad (it’s back!), Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey, Homeland (of course), and newbie The Newsroom. Best Drama Actors include Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), and Damian Lewis (Homeland). Hamm is the only thing representing Mad Men at this year; the fact that the show wasn’t nominated for Best Drama Series is our very first snub! Best Drama Actresses include Connie Britton (Nashville), Glenn Close (Damages), Claire Danes (Homeland), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), and Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife). Best Comedy/Musical Series contenders are The Big Bang Theory, Episodes, Girls, Modern Family, and (big pleasant surprise) Smash. Best Comedy/Musical Actors include Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Don Cheadle (House of Lies) Louis C.K. (Louis), Matt LeBlanc (Episodes), and Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory). Best Comedy/Musical Actresses include Zooey Deschanel (New Girl), Lena Dunham (Girls), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), and Amy Poehler (Parks And Recreation). Best Supporting Actors include Max Greenfield (New Girl), Ed Harris (Game Change), Danny Huston (Magic City), Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), and Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family). Best Supporting Actresses include Hayden Panettiere (Nashville), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife), Sarah Paulson (Game Change) Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), and Sofia Vergara (Modern Family).

Snubs? Mad Men, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, and Game of Thrones are absent in the Best Drama Series category. In fact, Thrones is completely shut out here; even the great Peter Dinklage isn’t recognized in the Best Supporting Actor category. AHS only managed to land a Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actress nod for Jessica Lange’s top notch performance. Though Sarah Paulson’s incredible portrayal of Lana in Asylum wasn’t recognized, she was nominated for Best TV Movie/Miniseries Supporting Actress for her role in Game Change. Sherlock should be able to break into Best Drama Series, too. But alas we’ll have to live with Benedict Cumberbatch landing a nod for Best TV Movie/Miniseries Actor. And another thorn in my side: John Noble of Fringe fame will never get an Emmy for his performance. But he knows he always deserved one, so that’s OK. On the comedy side, notable snubs include Parks And Recreation, Community, New Girl, Raising Hope, and Happy Endings not landing Best Comedy/Musical Series nods. (Click here for more…)

On December 7 an energetic (is he ever not) Samuel L. Jackson hosted the 2012 Video Game Awards, this year celebrating its 10th anniversary. The game that won the most Vector Monkey trophies this year was The Walking Dead: The Game from Telltale Games. In addition to being crowned Game of the Year (besting Assassin’s Creed III, Dishonored, Journey, and Mass Effect 3), it also won Best Adapted Video Game, Best Performance by a Human Female (Melissa Hutchison as Clementine), and Best Downloadable Game. Developer Telltale Games was named Studio of the Year for making the title. Borderlands 2 came in close second taking home four Monkeys for Best Shooter, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Performance by a Human Male (Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack), and Character of the Year (Clap Trap). Journey followed by winning Best PS3 Game, Best Independent Game, and Best Original Score (fun fact: the indie game’s composer Austin Wintory landed a Grammy nomination in the Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media category).

For the full list of winners, jump after the break.

Now in addition to handing out awards, game developers use the show as a platform to introduce gamers to upcoming titles and this year’s bunch was exciting and exhilarating as ever. The following games debuted never-before-seen world premiere trailers: South Park: The Stick of Truth (Obsidian Entertainment), The Phantom Pain (Moby Dick Studios), “The Last of Us” (Naughty Dog, coming out May 7, 2013), Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (Konami), Dark Souls II (From Software), Assassin’s Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington (Ubisoft), Gears of War: Judgment (Epic Games), Tomb Raider (Square Enix), Halo 4: Spartan Ops (Microsoft Studios), and BioShock Infinite (2K Games).

Watch all the VGA exclusive trailers after the break. (Click here for more…)

On December 6 the 2013 Grammy nominations were announced and instead of one artist leading the pack (last year it was Kanye West), a grand total of five separate artists landed six nods each and they are Frank Ocean, Fun., Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, and Kanye West. Newcomer Frank Ocean and his debut album Channel Orange deservedly owns a giant chunk of the spotlight: Channel Orange is up for Album of the Year (against The Black Keys’ El Camino, Fun.’s Some Nights, Mumford & Sons’ Babel, and Jack White’s Blunderbuss); Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You” is vying for Record of the Year with “Lonely Boy” (The Black Keys), “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” (Kelly Clarkson), “We Are Young” (Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe), “Somebody That I Used To Know” (Gotye featuring Kimbra), and  ”We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (Taylor Swift); he’s also up for Best New Artist with Alabama Shakes, Fun., Hunter Hayes, and The Lumineers; he’s also in the Best Urban Contemporary Album category; and his contribution to Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “No Church in the Wild” grabbed him two more nods. He did not, however, break into Song of the Year; those that did include Ed Sheeran (“The A Team”), Miguel (“Adorn”), Carly Rae Jepsen (“Call Me Maybe”), Kelly Clarkson (“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”), and Fun. (“We Are Young).

Click here to view the full 2013 Grammy nominees list. The 55th Annual Grammy Awards airs Sunday, February 10 at 8PM on CBS.

If you could pick any two people to co-host the Golden Globe Awards who would they be? Well guess what, it’s happening. Today it was announced that dynamic duo Tina Fey & Amy Poehler will be hosting the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards. And as we already know the two have chemistry; they served as co-anchors of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live for years and they starred in the 2008 comedy Baby Mama together. Today they each have their own show on NBC–Fey’s readying to bow out of 30 Rock and Poehler is in her prime as Leslie Knope in Parks And Recreation–so the Peacock is making a smart move by teaming these ladies together to celebrate the best in TV.

NBC president of alternative and late night Paul Telegdy released the following statement: “Having both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on board to host this year’s festivities is a major coup. Tina and Amy have a proven chemistry and comedic timing from their many years together on SNL to their successful co-starring roles in Baby Mama.”

The award show’s executive producers Allen Shapiro, Orly Adelson, and Barry Adelman said: “It’s exciting to have two of the most respected names in comedy. Amy and Tina’s well known chemistry along with their spontaneity and glamour makes them a perfect fit for the Golden Globes.”

The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards airs January 13, 2013.

[Via EW]

On Sunday night, Modern Family and Homeland scored big wins at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards. The ABC comedy was awarded a total of four Emmys: Eric Stonestreet for Outstanding Supporting Actor; Julie Bowen for Outstanding Supporting Actress; Steven Levitan for Outstanding Director; and the show was named Outstanding Comedy. Elsewhere in comedy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) managed to beat Amy Poehler for Outstanding Actress; Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) rock his category to surpass Jim Parsons, Louis C.K., Larry David, and Alec Baldwin to win Outstanding Actor. Speaking of Louie, the comedian took home two Emmys–one for Outstanding Writing for the Louie episode “Pregnant” and another writing achievement for his standup special Live at the Beacon Theatre.

The Showtime political drama Homeland was awarded five Emmys: Claire Danes for Outstanding Actress; Damian Lewis for Outstanding Actor; Outstanding Writing for the “Pilot” epiosde by Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, and Gideon Raff; at the Creative Emmys the show picked up Best Casting; and lastly it broke Mad Men‘s impressive streak and won Outstanding Drama. Elsewhere in drama, Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) was crowned Outstanding Supporting Actress; Aaron Paul triumphed over his Breaking Bad co-star Giancarlo Esposito to win Outstanding Supporting Actor; and Tim Van Patten nabbed Outstanding Director for his work on Boardwalk Empire.

Other notable wins… the HBO movie Game Change swept the Miniseries/Movie category with five wins including Outstanding Actress (Julianne Moore), Outstanding Writing (Danny Strong), Outstanding Directing (Jay Roach), Best Casting, and it took home Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. The highly rated History channel miniseries Hatfields and McCoys won two Emmys and Jessica Lange nabbed Outstanding Supporting Actress for her role in FX’s American Horror Story. And like clockwork Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Jon Stewart won Outstanding Variety Series for the tenth year in a row.

Jump after the break to see all the night’s winners. (Click here for more…)

Last night MTV Video Music Awards was a total bore and the ratings reflect that. Only 6.1 million viewers tuned into the Thursday night telecast; that’s down over a whopping 50% from last year’s show when a record-breaking 12.4 million people watched. Was it host Kevin Hart’s mediocre monologue or the unmemorable performances and acceptance speeches that caused the viewership plunge? Or maybe airing it on a school/work night wasn’t the best idea. No matter the case, it was dull so let’s just skip to the winners.

Rihanna took home the top prize Video of the Year for her Calvin Harris-produced dance track “We Found Love,” but UK boy band One Direction came out most successful with three Moonmen for Best New Artist, and their hit single “What Makes You Beautiful” scored them Best Pop Video and Most Share-Worthy Video. Other notable winners include Chris Brown (“Turn Up the Music” won Best Male Video), Nicki Minaj (“Starships” won Best Female Video), and Drake (“HYFR” won Best Hip-Hop Video).

Click here to view the full list of winners.

MTV has announced the nominees for a Moonman this year and frequent collaborators Drake and Rihanna lead the pack with five nominations each. Rihanna’s video for her hit single”We Found Love” is up for Video of the Year, along with Drake’s “Take Care” (featuring Rihanna), Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake,” Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” and M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls.” Speaking of Katy Perry, she’s on the heels of Drizzy and RiRi banking four nods. Following with three nods are artists such as Beyoncé, Coldplay, newcomer Frank Ocean, M.I.A., and The Throne (aka Kanye West and Jay-Z). Thankfully ‘Ye’s clip for “Mercy” was nominated twice for Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Editing–well deserved. I know you want to see all the nominees, so go on and skip after the break for the full rundown.

The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards airs live September 6 at 8PM (ET) and will feature performances from the talented Alicia Keys and UK boy band One Direction.

Update: Host Kevin Hart jokes with lovebirds Kanye West and Kim Kardashian in a promo after the break.

[Via MTV] (Click here for more…)

The nominees for the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this past Thursday, so let’s take a look. Mad Men and American Horror Story dominated this year with seventeen nominations each. Mad Men, in the outstanding drama category, will be battling Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and newcomer Homeland for the top prize. If Mad Men wins, it will break a record claiming the most outstanding drama wins (5). Ryan Murphy’s thriller, however, was placed in the outstanding TV miniseries or movie category and will face off against HBO’s political movie Game Change, the History channel’s ratings monster Hatfields & McCoys, the PBS Sherlock episode “A Scandal in Belgravia,” and also Hemingway and Gellhorn and Luther.

Let’s take a look at the drama categories first. Outstanding actors include Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), and Damian Lewis (Homeland). Outstanding supporting actors include Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), and Jared Harris (Mad Men). Outstanding actresses include Kathy Bates (Harry’s Law), Glenn Close (Damages), Claire Danes (Homeland), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men). Outstanding supporting actresses include Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife), Christine Baranski (The Good Wife), and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men). For American Horror Story fans, Connie Britton, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, and Denis O’Hare were all recognized for their acting chops in the miniseries categories. Sherlock fans, the phenomenal Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman were nominated, too.

The theme here is that the Academy loves Mad Men (hot off its five year in a row winning streak), Downton Abbey (hot off its best miniseries win last year), and Homeland (hot off its critically adored first season). So what shows were overlooked? The Academy is known for passing over genre shows like The Walking Dead and Fringe, so their lack of a presence is a shame but not surprising. Other snubs include the Academy not recognizing the final season of House and nominating Hugh Laurie for his turn as the iconic doc and Mad Men‘s John Slattery for his much talked about performance in the trippy episode “Far Away Places.” I want to make a case for NBC’s shortlived series Awake. I understand how the low-rated drama was not nominated, but if Kathy Bates can be nominated for outstanding actress for the recently cancelled Harry’s Law, I am dumbfounded as to how Jason Issacs’ performance was not accounted for. Heck, even Missing‘s Ashley Judd was nominated for lead actress in a miniseries; NBC should’ve sold Awake as a miniseries and perhaps Issacs would’ve been recognized. Also, no love for Revenge? It’s plain to see that the cable is king this year as the big four networks were shut out in the outstanding drama category, a place where they once dominated.

Moving on to the comedy categories, (Click here for more…)

Billy Crystal played host tonight at the 84th Annual Academy Awards and two movies came out big on top. The silent French film The Artist and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo took home five Oscars each. The Artist won the coveted Best Picture Oscar, as well as Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius) and Actor (Jean Dujardin), Costume Design, and Original Score. Hugo, on the other hand, won many of the technical awards including Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects. Other notable winners include queen of award shows Meryl Streep, who was recognized for her leading role in The Iron Lady; Octavia Spencer’s supporting role in The Help; Christopher Plummer at 82 became the oldest actor to receive an (acting-related) Oscar for his supporting role in Beginners; The Descendants won Best Adapted Screenplay and Midnight in Paris won Best Original Screenplay; Rango was named Best Animated Feature; and Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords grabbed a well deserved Oscar for his Best Original Song from The Muppets, “Man or Muppet.”

For the full list of winners, jump after the break. (Click here for more…)

Singer songwriter Adele came out on top at this year’s Grammys with six wins in the following major categories: Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album (21), Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video (“Rolling in the Deep”), and Best Pop Solo Performance (“Someone Like You”). Other notable winners include Kanye West with four trophies for Best Rap Album (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy), Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (“All of the Lights”), and Best Rap Performance (“Otis”); Foo Fighters took home five Grammys for Best Rock Album (Wasting Light), Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song (“Walk”), Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance (“White Limo”), and Best Long Form Music Video (“Foo Fighters: Back and Forth”); Lady Antebellum won Best Country Album (Own the Night), Chris Brown’s F.A.M.E. won Best R&B Album, and Bon Iver was crowned Best New Artist and also won Best Alternative Music Album (Bon Iver, Bon Iver).

To view the full list of winners, click here.

A few days back the Golden Globes celebrated the best in the TV and film, bestowing the highest of honors to movies like The Descendants, The Artist, and Hugo. Following the Globes is the Academy Awards and just last week the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees. Martin Scorsese’ss Hugo is the most celebrated film going into the Oscars leading the pack with 11 nods. The family friendly 3D flick is up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Music, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Special Effects. A mouthful, I know. The Artist is close behind with 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius), Best Actor (Jean Dujardin), and Best Supporting Actress (Bérénice Bejo). The remaining Best Picture contenders are The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, and War Horse. Dujardin is pitted against Demián Bichir (A Better Life), George Clooney (The Descendants), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), and Brad Pitt (Moneyball) for Best Actor. And the following ladies are duking it out for Best Actress: Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Viola Davis (The Help), Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), and Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn). Major snubs include Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part II for Best Picture (it only landed the usual technical nods for Art Direction, Makeup, and Special Effects); Leonardo DiCaprio (J Edgar) and Michael Fassbender (Shame) for Best Actor; Andy Serkis (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes) for Best Supporting Actor; The Adventures Of Tintin for Best Animated Film; and Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross’ major contribution to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo with their Original Score.

Hop after the break to see all the nominations. The 84th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, airs live Sunday, February 26 at 7PM on ABC. (Click here for more…)

The Golden Globes came and went last Sunday, so let’s take a quick look at the big winners. On the TV side of things, premium cable channels dominated the field. Showtime’s Homeland won Best TV Series Drama and Claire Danes took home the Best Actress (Drama) award for her role in that show. Kelsey Grammer won the Best Actor (Drama) award for his role in the Starz series Boss and the great Peter Dinklage was crowned Best Supporting Actor (TV Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie) for his portrayal as Tyrion Lannister in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. Matt LeBlanc won the Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) award for his lead role in another Showtime series Episodes. Enlightened‘s Laura Dern took home the Best Actress (Comedy or Musical) award for her work in the new HBO dark comedy. The PBS Masterpiece series Downton Abbey won Best Miniseries or TV Movie. Also of note, Jessica Lange (American Horror Story) rightfully accepted the award for Best Supporting Actress. And then there was Modern Family, the only show from the big networks (read: CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC) to win a Globe. Modern Family beat out FOX’s Glee and New Girl and Episodes and Enlightened for Best TV Series (Comedy).

In the movie categories, The Descendants and The Artist were named Best Picture in the Drama and Comedy or Musical sections, respectively. George Clooney (The Descendants) and Jean Dujardin (The Artist) won Best Actor Globes, and The Artist‘s Ludovic Bource was also recognized for his original score. Other notable wins include… Meryl Streep won Best Actress for her turn as Margret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, Octavia Spencer (The Help) nabbed Best Supporting Actress, Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) won Best Supporting Actress, Christopher Plummer won Best Supporting Actor (Beginners), Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris won Best Screenplay,  Martin Scorsese won Best Director for Hugo, and The Adventures of Tintin was named Best Animated Film.

Click here for the full list of winners.

As you wait for the nominations to break, sit back and take in this premiere promo for the 2012 Oscars. It stars Transformers stars Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel searching for this year’s host Billy Crystal. William Fichtner (Prison Break, Entourage), Vinnie Jones (The Cape), and Robin Williams make cameos throughout. If the February 26 telecast is anything like this bizarrely entertaining clip, that’d be really great. Because last year’s snoozefest hosted by an overly excited Anne Hathaway and drugged James Franco is but a blip in my conscious memory.

The Golden Globe Awards celebrates the best in television and film, and this year’s nominees have been announced. We start with the television categories, as is tradition. The five best drama nominees are American Horror Story, Boardwalk Empire, Boss, Game of Thrones, and Homeland. Jessica Lange (American Horror Story), Steve Buschemi and Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire), Kelsey Grammer (Boss), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Claire Danes and Damien Lewis (Homeland) were all recognized for their performances in those aforementioned best drama series. The five best comedy nominees are Enlightened, Episodes, Glee, Modern Family, and New Girl. Laura Dern (Enlightened), Matt LeBlanc (Episodes) Sofia Vergara and Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family), and Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) were recognized for their performances in those best comedy series. Snubs? Parks and Recreation, Community, Raising Hope, Happy Endings, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Louie in the comedy categories (though Amy Poehler was nominated for best actress) and The Walking Dead, Dexter, and Fringe in the drama categories (will the HFPA ever show love for TV’s finest John Noble?).

And then there’s the film categories. The five best motion picture drama contenders are The Descendants, The Help, Hugo, The Ides of March, Moneyball, and War Horse. George Clooney and Shailene Woodley (The Descendants), Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer (The Help), Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March), Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill (Moneyball) were all recognized for their performances in those aforementioned best drama films. Also The Descendants (Alexander Payne), Hugo (Martin Scorcese), and The Ides of March (George Clooney) snagged best director nominations. The Descendants, The Ides of March, and Moneyball received best screenplay nods. Hugo and War Horse are up for best original score, along with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). The five best motion picture comedy contenders are 50/50, The Artist, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris, and My Week with Marilyn. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50), Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris), Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn) were recognized for their performances in those best comedy films. Also The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius) and Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen) snagged best director and best screenplay nominations. The Artist, which topped the nominations list with a total of six nods, was also recognized for its original score. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s The Adventures of Tintin is pitted against Arthur Christmas, Cars 2, Puss in Boots, and Rango for best animated feature film. Snubs? The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (though Rooney Mara was nominated for best actress), Shame and Michael Fassbender, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Gary Oldman and Melissa McCarthy’s performance in Bridesmaids.

Comedian Ricky Gervais hosts for a third time in a row when the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards airs live Sunday January 15, 2012 at 8PM on NBC. Jump after the break to see all the nominees. (Click here for more…)

This past weekend Spike TV played host to the ninth annual Video Game Awards. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took home the Vector Monkey trophy for Game of the Year, besting Portal 2, Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Throughout the night, host Zachary Levi (Chuck) interacted with neat in-show augmented reality animations from the aforementioned nominees. Skyrim also won Best RPG and helped Bethesda get crowned Studio of the Year. Portal 2 was recognized multiple times throughout the night; it won Best PC Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Performance by Male and Female, and Best DLC. Arkham City also won multiple awards for Character of the Year (The Joker), Best Xbox 360 Game, Best Action Adventure Game, and Best Adapted Video Game. This year the Gamer God Award went to Blizzard Entertainment, and Shigeru Miyamoto was on hand to accept the first ever Video Game Hall of Fame Award for The Legend of Zelda. After the break you’ll find a list of all the night’s winners and losers.

Though the awards play a big part of the VGAs every year, it’s the world premiere footage from upcoming games that really gets gamers amped. Among the most celebrated were Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, Command and Conquer: Generals 2 from Bioware, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Fortnite from Epic Games (introduced by Cliffy B. himself), Irrational Games’ Bioshock Infinite, and Blizzard’s introductory cinematic for Diablo III. And then were was the VGAs epic finale. Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima stepped on stage to unveil the latest pulse-pounding trailer for Metal Gear Rising. This one took my breath away; it’s a must-see. Jump after the break to watch all of the world premiere trailers screened at the VGAs.

[Via Spike 1, 2] (Click here for more…)

On December 1 the 2012 Grammy nominations were announced and rapper Kanye West leads the pack with seven nominations. Though this may sound like great news, of the seven nods only one falls in a major category. And that nod is for “All of the Lights”, a cut off West’s 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy which competes against Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave”, Bruno Mars’ “Grenade”, Bon Iver’s “Holocene”, and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” for Song of the Year. Twisted Fantasy and his latest effort Watch The Throne were snubbed and didn’t find a seat at the Album of the Year category. Instead, West’s albums will be competing against one another for Best Rap Album, along with Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV, Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers, and Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday. West also landed nominations in the following categories: Best Rap Performance (with Jay-Z on”Otis”), Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (with Rihanna, Kid Cudi, and Fergie on “All of the Lights”), Best Rap Song (“All of the Lights” & ”Otis”), and Best Recording Package (Watch The Throne). Following close behind ‘Ye’s seven nods is Adele, Foo Fighters, and Bruno Mars with six each. Rapper Lil Wayne and newcomer Skrillex landed five a piece.

Click here to view the full 2012 Grammy nominees list. The 54th Grammys airs Sunday, February 12 at 8PM on CBS.