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Golden Globes ceremony canceled

HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- "The 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards" NBC telecast and champagne dinner in Beverly Hills, Calif., has officially been canceled.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Monday the winners of Golden Globe Awards in 25 categories will be revealed Sunday during an hour-long HFPA press conference at The Beverly Hilton.

It is slated to be covered live by NBC News beginning at 6 p.m. PST.

"We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007's outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television," HFPA president Jorge Camara said in a statement posted on the HFPA Web site.

"We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year's Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled."

The HFPA, which hands out the awards, had been working with NBC to find a way to orchestrate the event, so stars could attend.

The Screen Actors Guild announced last week its members would not cross a Writers Guild of America picket line to get into the gala.

The WGA, which has been on strike since Nov. 5, threatened to picket the ceremony if it is televised by NBC, a struck network.

'Country' wins Choice award for best film

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- "No Country for Old Men" was named best picture of 2007 at the 13th annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony in Santa Monica, Calif., Monday night.

The film's Javier Bardem won best supporting actor, and brothers Ethan and Joel Coen shared the best director honor.

"Juno" earned the awards for best comedy and best writer for Diablo Cody, while "Hairspray" grabbed the prizes for best ensemble and best young actress Nikki Blonksy.

Daniel Day-Lewis picked up a best actor statuette for his performance in "There Will Be Blood," Julie Christie won the best actress award for her work in "Away From Her" and Amy Ryan won the best supporting actress honor for her role in "Gone Baby Gone."

"Sicko" was named best documentary, "Ratatouille" won the award for best animated film and "Enchanted" earned the prize for best family flick.

The striking Writers Guild of America did not picket the event, which was presided over by comedian and actor D.L. Hughley.

The gala, which took place shortly after it was announced Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony had been canceled, drew stars such as George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, among others.

Kidman, Urban expecting first child

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Australian actress Nicole Kidman and her country music star husband Keith Urban are expecting their first child, People.com reported Monday.

"The couple are thrilled," Kidman's representative Catherine Olim said in a statement.

Kidman and Urban married at a candlelit ceremony in Sydney, Australia on June 25, 2006, after a yearlong courtship.

Kidman and her former husband, Tom Cruise, adopted two children during their marriage: Isabella, who is now 15, and Connor, 12.

'Diary of Anne Frank' to be stage musical

MADRID , Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A stage musical version of "The Diary of Anne Frank" is set to open at Madrid's Calderon Theatre in February, the BBC reported.

The show, which has been described by its director Rafael Alvero as a tragic opera, will feature a 22-member cast, including 13-year-old Isabella Castillo in the title role.

Millions of people around the world have read the journal Anne Frank wrote while she and her family hid from the Nazis in an attic in Amsterdam during World War II.

The Franks were ultimately betrayed and arrested in 1944, with Anne dying in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

Although the Anne Frank Museum has endorsed the project, Alvero told the BBC not everyone thought the saga would make a good stage musical.

"When I first came here, they had this doubt about how somebody can do a musical of a story like this," he said. "Of course this is emotional. The thing we want to do is through the music, to understand the story better."