People's Choice Awards air in new format
LOS ANGELES , Jan. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. stars Drew Barrymore and Joaquin Phoenix were among the first to earn People's Choice Awards during CBS' newsmagazine re-boot of the program Tuesday night.
The show was given a new format because most stars have said they will not cross a Writers Guild of America picket line to collect or present prizes at a traditional awards gala.
Queen Latifah, elegantly dressed in a black gown, presided over the special program, introducing highlights from past live telecasts, clips of nominated performances and taped acceptance speeches.
Barrymore won the award for favorite leading lady for her work in the romantic comedy "Music and Lyrics."
Phoenix, who won the prize for favorite leading man for his performance in "We Own the Night," held up cards that read: "Hi. I'm Joaquin. I'm speechless without the writers. Seriously. But in my own quiet way, I want to thank the millions of fans that voted for me for favorite leading man."
He then smiled and said aloud: "What is wrong with you people? Thank you."
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" earned the honors for favorite movie and favorite "threequel," while the saga's star, Johnny Depp, was named favorite male movie star and his leading lady, Keira Knightley, won the award for favorite female action star.
Reese Witherspoon was declared favorite female movie star, Matt Damon was named favorite male action star and his film, "The Bourne Ultimatum," won for favorite action movie.
"Knocked Up" won the prize for best comedy movie and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" grabbed the statuette for best drama movie.
The period romance "Becoming Jane" won the award for favorite independent film and "Shrek the Third" grabbed the prize for favorite family movie.
An estimated 10 million fans helped pick the People's Choice winners.
Film production up in LA since strike
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Since the Writers Guild of America strike began Nov. 5, feature film production in Los Angeles is up 52 percent compared to the same period last year.
Most movie studios stockpiled projects in anticipation of the strike.
TV production, however, is at a virtual standstill with all but one scripted series shut down because of the strike, creating a direct economic impact of $160 million per week, Variety.com reported Wednesday.
Warner Bros. has notified more than 1,000 employees in its studio facilities operations that an unspecified number of people will soon be let go.
"It now appears that the WGA's strike will continue for the foreseeable future and we must begin to scale back our operations due to the decline in production activity," Warner Senior Vice President Joann Black said in a letter.
While representatives for Disney, Sony, DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox told Variety.com no film-related layoffs are in the works, the Anschutz Film Group production companies -- Walden Media and Bristol Bay -- have closed most of their creative departments and laid off much of its physical production staff, the trade paper said.
Walden is, however, expected to retain the key players on its "Chronicles of Narnia" team.
Noyce to direct 'Mary Queen of Scots'
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Australian filmmaker Phillip Noyce has been tapped to direct the period epic "Mary Queen of Scots," starring Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson.
Noyce earned accolades for directing the films "Dead Calm," "Rabbit-Proof Fence" and "The Quiet American," as well as helming episodes of the Showtime series "Brotherhood."
Noyce's new movie is about the historical figure who became Scotland's Roman Catholic queen as a child in 1542 and who was later imprisoned for years, then beheaded for allegedly plotting to kill Elizabeth I.
Set to start production in April, the film will be shot in London and Scotland, Variety.com reported Wednesday.
Johansson, who won raves for playing Vermeer's muse in "Girl with a Pearl Earring," has also starred in the films "Match Point," "Scoop" and "Lost in Translation." She will soon be seen playing Mary Boleyn in another period film "The Other Boleyn Girl."
Radiohead CD tops U.S. album chart
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Radiohead's latest CD "In Rainbows" is No. 1 on the U.S. album charts, Billboard.com said Wednesday.
Coming in at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 was Alicia Keys' "As I Am," followed by last week's chart-topping album Mary J. Blige's "Growing Pains" at No. 3, the compilation CD "NOW 26" at No. 4 and Taylor Swift's self-titled debut at No. 5.
Rounding out the top tier are Chris Brown's "Exclusive" at No. 6, Garth Brooks' "The Ultimate Hits" at No. 7, the soundtrack to the film "Juno" at No. 8, Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" at No. 9 and the Eagles' "Long Road Out of Eden" at No. 10.
Sales this week are down 37.5 percent from last week, but are only 3.7 percent lower than the same week in 2007, Billboard.com said.
