In the news

Guild honors 'Chicago' director

Freshman moviemaker Rob Marshall razzle-dazzled the Directors Guild of America with his musical Chicago, claiming the group's top honor and defeating veteran directors Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski on Saturday night.

In the 55 years since the guild began presenting its best-director honor, the winner has gone on to receive the Academy Award for best director all but five times.

Marshall, 42, a Tony-winning Broadway director and choreographer, appeared shaken and grateful. "This is something I didn't quite expect," he said backstage. After directing the TV movies Cinderella and Annie, Marshall broke into features with an approach to the jazz musical Chicago that blends a Vaudeville-style fantasy world with the story about starstruck female prisoners trying to beat murder raps and gain fame. The film leads this year's Oscar contenders with 13 nominations, including best picture.

Although his work on Gangs of New York lost to Marshall, Scorsese came away with a lifetime achievement honor from the guild.

Musicians set strike deadline

The union representing Broadway musicians set a strike deadline of midnight Thursday in its battle with theater producers over the thorny issue of minimums -- the number of orchestra players required for Broadway shows.

"The parties continue to be very far apart, and there's not going to be a settlement tonight," Bill Dennison, an assistant to union president Bill Moriarity, said Sunday. He said producers proposed the number of musicians required for large theaters be reduced to seven from the current minimum range of 24 to 26.

Representatives of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians and the League of American Theatres and Producers met throughout the weekend in an effort to solve the impasse. The contract between the two groups was to expire at midnight Sunday.

'Cradle' to the top

Cradle 2 The Grave, an action-adventure film featuring rapper DMX and martial arts star Jet Li, debuted in first place, taking in $17.1-million in its opening weekend, studios estimated Sunday. Old School held onto second with $13.9-million. Daredevil dropped to third with $11-million.

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