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EYE ON THE OSCARS: MUSIC/GRAMMY AWARDS
2/8/06
Early next week, when presentations, performances and Sly Stone are memories, the Recording Academy will start to think anniversary. Specifically, gold.

WRITERS GUILD AWARDS
2/1/06
2006 has been a relatively calm year for the Writers Guild of America, but give it time. Even without a contract negotiation or strike threat, the WGAWGA managed to draw far more attention than normal in 2005, thanks to a far tougher attitude than in the past.

NATPE
1/24/06-1/26/06
The three-day extravaganza (Jan. 24-26) has morphed into a variegated event in which high-tech demos and high-minded gab have largely replaced the hijinx of the old-style domestic syndication biz.

SUNDANCE FILM FEST
1/19/06-1/29/06
Fest brass may characterize this year's Sundance lineup as going "back to its roots," emphasizing fewer star vehicles and more films from newbie helmers, but that's not what some industryites see -- or want, necessarily.

EYE ON THE OSCARS: NOMINEES FINISH LINE
1/16/06
It wouldn't be an Oscar race if no one complained about the foreign-language prize. In what has become something of a tradition, a handful of the year's highest-profile international pics won't be competing for a nomination, having been stymied by either the politics of their national film boards or the much-maligned Academy qualifying rules.

EYE ON THE OSCARS: NOMINATIONS WRAP
1/13/06
Each year, eager publicists seek the one truly brilliant idea that will make their nominees break out of the pack, dazzle the award voters and win for their clients prestigious awards.

Leon Lucev and Mirjana Karanovic co-star in Jasmita Zbanic's pic 'Grbavica.'

Berlin pays homage to Penn
Festival to give U.S. director Golden Bear
By Ed Meza 12/15/06 6:03am

The Berlin Film Festival is honoring Arthur Penn in its annual homage and will present the American helmer with a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming event.

Four Windows
Eddie Cockrell 4/3/06 6:48pm

It's curtains for "Four Windows," a strongly thesped but determinedly opaque family drama that reps a dour slice of Teuton angst. Navel-gazing fests may respond to long takes of the cast by celebrated d.p. Juergen Juerges (Michael Haneke's "Funny Games"), but commercial outlook is cloudy.

Many PR shops find the calming beige rooms of the Mandala a small antidote to stress

You are where you sleep
What does your hotel say about you? During a fest, your choice of hotel says just as much about you as your car does at home. For example, the Hyatt is the equivalent of a lean, mean driving machine for people who are prepared to pay.

Adventurous Berlin visitors can make like the Beatles (circa 1961) and play in Hamburg.

Daytrippers buy train ticket to ride
High-speed trains and new highways have been reconnecting Berlin to the countryside since the Berlin Wall fell. But recent upgrades have helped rebuild links to important places in the region.

UNESCO has designated Museuminsel a World Cultural Heritage site.

City island: Where Ishtar is a big hit
Berlin is a treasure-trove of ancient relics, cultural artifacts and priceless art, boasting more than 175 museums, but its main attractions are housed on the breathtaking Museuminsel.