Hollywood stars vie for London amphitheater awards

LONDON – Hollywood heavyweights affection acerb in the chase for Britain's 2010 Laurence Olivier amphitheater awards, with Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, James Earl Jones and Keira Knightley amid the nominees appear Monday.

Jones is shortlisted for best amateur for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," alongside Law for "Hamlet," James McAvoy for "Three Days of Rain," Mark Rylance for "Jerusalem," Ken Stott for "A View from the Bridge" and Samuel West for "Enron."

Weisz accustomed a best-actress choice for her achievement as achromatic belle Blanche Dubois in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Her competitors are Gillian Anderson for "A Doll's House," Lorraine Burroughs for "The Mountaintop," Imelda Staunton for "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" and Juliet Stevenson for "Duet for One."

"Pirates of the Caribbean" brilliant Knightley is nominated in the acknowledging extra class for her about-face as a artful cine starlet in "The Misanthrope."

Melanie Chisholm — bigger accepted as Mel C of the Spice Girls — is nominated for best extra in a musical, for "Blood Brothers." "Mr. Bean" brilliant Rowan Atkinson is up for best amateur for arena Fagin in "Oliver!"

The Olivier awards, Britain's agnate of Broadway's Tonys, account achievements in London theater, musicals, ball and opera.

Sexy account ball "Spring Awakening" accustomed seven nominations, including best new musical. Lucy Prebble's "Enron," about the collapse of the Texas activity giant, and Jez Butterworth's absonant state-of-England ball "Jerusalem" advance the ball acreage with six nominations each, including best new play.

Along with "Enron" and "Jerusalem," the new ball contenders are Katori Hall's Martin Luther King ball "The Mountaintop" and John Logan's "Red," about artisan Mark Rothko.

The best new ball nominees are Tim Firth's blur adjustment "Calendar Girls," Richard Bean's immigrant account "England People Very Nice," burghal adventure "Parlour Song" — a additional choice for author Butterworth — and Michael Wynne's party-from-hell ball "The Priory."

New-musical contenders are "Spring Awakening," "Dreamboats and Petticoats," "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "Sister Act."

The nods for "Enron" and "Jerusalem" are a accomplishment for the baby Royal Court Theatre, which gave them their aboriginal London run. Both plays accept transferred to bigger West End playhouses, and "Enron" is affective to Broadway in April.

The Royal Court has 15 nominations in all, followed by the Donmar Warehouse with 10 and the National Theatre with nine.

The winners will be appear at a commemoration in London on March 21.