MUMBAI: The 17th Annual Critics? Choice Movie Awards will be showcased live from the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Zee Studio at 6:30 am on 13 January.

Films nominated for best picture are ?The Artist?, ?The Descendants?, ?Drive?, ?Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close?, ?The Help?, ?Hugo?, ?Midnight in Paris?, ?Moneyball?, ?The Tree of Life? and ?War Horse?.

200 film critics make up the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the largest film critics organisation in the US and Canada.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, commonly called the Critics? Choice Awards, are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honour cinematic achievement. Nominees are selected by written ballots in a week-long voting period, and were announced in December.

Actor/comedians Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer will host the 17th annual Critics? Choice Movie Awards. Fitz and The Tantrums will also participate in the Critics? Choice Movie Awards, taking the stage as the evening?s house band, performing between awards and commercials.

Sean Penn will receive the 2012 Joel Siegel Award at the 17th Annual Critics Choice Movie Awards. Sean Penn has been chosen to receive the Joel Siegel Award at the 17th Annual Critics? Choice Movie Awards, with Oscar winner George Clooney tapped to present the award. Previous winners of the Joel Siegel Award include Matt Damon, Kevin Bacon, Richard Gere, and Don Cheadle.

The Joel Siegel Award honours the memory of the Good Morning America critic who lost his battle to cancer in 2007. It?s awarded each year in recognition of a celebrity who uses their fame to do good work for others.

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zeel) is gearing up to live telecast the 60th annual Miss Universe pageant, a property that was with Star World last year, on 13 September.

Zeel will simulcast the event on Zee Cafe, Zee Studio and Zee Trendz.

The competetion will see contestants from 89 countries and territories fighting for the title, surpassing the previous record of 86 contestants in 2006.

Zee Cafe has roped in Aaj Tak, Radio City, 160by2, Fun Cinemas and Whats on India as partners for promotion of the beauty pageant.

Miss Universe 2011, the 60th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, will be held at the Credicard Hall, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Ximena Navarrete of Mexico will crown her successor.

 
In the first of its kind initiative, Zee Caf? has created a special on-air prequel as a lead on to the main event, called Diaries of a Diva. The segment will start off with Indian representative for Miss Universe last year Ushoshi interviewing Sushmita Sen and sharing her experiences.

The segment will also cover a day in the life of Vasuki, India?s representative for Miss Universe this year. It will focus on her daily grooming before the event.

Zee Cafe is also running an on air contest. The website hosts a microsite for Miss Universe where people could send in their pictures. The winner will get a chance to be groomed by the experts.

Zee Cafe business head Anurag Bedi said, "It‘s a proud moment for us to be associated with Miss Universe 2011. We are associated with many prestigious awards and Miss Universe is another feather on our hat. We have always ensured that we provide our viewers with content that our audience demands; Miss Universe 2011 is another step in that direction."

The show will be presented by Natalie Morales, Andy Cohen, Jeannie Mai and Shandi Finnessey.

For the first time in the pageant?s history, candidates‘ supporters 16 years of age or older "may vote online up to 10 times per e-mail address per day."

Online voting began last 19 August and will end on 11 September. The winner of the online voting will gain an automatic spot into the semifinals of the pageant.

The contestants will compete in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview.

MUMBAI: Zee Studio aims to reinforce its connect with its Mumbai viewers through two of its latest initiatives- Studio Karaoke Nights and the Shut-up And Watch (SAW) Film Club. This initiative will be extended across other metros in the country soon.

Movie buffs can watch quality cinema for free in the SAW screening. The Karaoke nights invite the patrons of the club to sing popular movie soundtracks with RJ ?Musicman Mihir? and win prizes from Zee Studio. The channel has partnered with the Oxford Bookstore and Soul Fry with the purpose of connecting with the right segment of the target audience.

he upcoming events on the Zee Studio calendar are the SAW screening of Madame Bovary at Oxford Bookstore on 8th March at 5 PM and the Studio Karaoke Night at Soul Fry, Bandra on 9th March, 9 PM onwards.

"The SAW film club and the Studio Karaoke Nights are initiatives aimed at giving our viewers a direct interface with the channel. Both the initiatives are platforms for celebrating our shared passion for quality cinema with the audience", said Zee Studio business head Sujay Kutty.