• Yvonne Villarreal reports from Thursday's 10th annual Latin Grammys held at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and aired on Univision: Puerto Rican alt-hip-hop duo Calle 13 went five-for-five at the awards, winning both album of the year for their politically charged third offering, "Los De Atrás Vienen Conmigo," as well as record of the year for "No Hay Nadie Como Tú." The duo -- René Pérez, who raps as Residente, and stepbrother Eduardo José Cabra Martínez, who performs under the name Visitante -- led this year's nominations. They also won best urban music album, best short-form music video for “La Perla" featuring Panamanian salsa singer Ruben Blades and best alternative song for "No Hay Nadie Como Tú," a collaboration with Mexico City rockers Cafe Tacuba. This brings their Latin Grammy total to 10. Other notable winners included Laura Pausini, who took home best female pop vocal album for "Primavera Anticipada"; Vicente Fernández, who won best ranchero album for "Primera Fila"; Luis Enrique, who won best salsa album for "Ciclos"; and Wisin y Yandel, who left with best urban song for "Abusadora." POP & HISS

• Steve Pond delivers a compelling read on the secret road to qualifying for the Oscars. Says Steve: "For filmmakers who want to be in the Oscar race and don’t have the clout of a big studio behind them, a handful of out-of-the-way multiplexes run by Laemmle Theaters and scattered across Los Angeles County may be the gates to the promised land." As he notes, "When director Raul Garcia and Kandor Moon wanted to get their film 'The Missing Lynx' into the Oscar feature-animation race, they ran it for a week at Laemmle’s Town Center 5 complex in Encino. When the makers of another animated feature, 'A Town Called Panic,' sidestepped a balky distributor to enter the same race, they did so by booking a week at the Claremont 5 complex in the San Gabriel Valley." THE ODDS

• Beyonce won over both the crowd and the voters at Thursday's MTV Europe Music Awards, wowing with a performance of "Sweet Dreams" and winning three trophies -- best song ("Halo"), best video ("Single Ladies") and best female. For the latter award, she edged out Leona Lewis, Lady Gaga, Shakira and the show's host, Katy Perry. While Perry may have lost her two bids, Veronica Schmidt says she made for a winning emcee, "making 12 costume changes, including a revealing red and black outfit, which her new boyfriend, British comedian and West Ham fan Russell Brand immediately claimed, via Twitter, was a nod to his beloved club." Perry skewered no-show Kanye West during the announcement for best urban act by interrupting his video clip to say she had one of the best nomination interruptions of all time. West went on to lose the award to Jay-Z. THE TIMES OF LONDON

• Richard Rushfield makes merry with the news that Oscar-winning helmer Danny Boyle is following up "Slumdog Millionaire" with "127 Hours" -- the story of Aron Ralston, "the hiker who spent five days trapped under a boulder until he amputated his own arm to escape." As Richard observes, "That pitch may not be the sort of thing people generally think of when looking for thrilling real-life stories brought to life on the big screen, but if Hollywood is now open to the great moments of tedium or mundanity of human experience, we thought we'd take a look around and find what other gems are sitting out there today, just ready for their close-ups." Among his saucy suggestions: "Hands Down" which he deftly describes as: "In a time of influenza, a former public health commissioner dares to speak the truth about people who don't cover their mouths when they sneeze." GAWKER

• Pete Hammond weighs in on the double act of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin to emcee this year's Oscarcast, as well as the Globes going with a host for the first time in a long time: "I think Ricky Gervais is an inspired choice for the fun, looser atmosphere of the Globes, and my take on Martin/Baldwin is totally positive. Martin has proved to be one of Oscar's wittiest and most urbane hosts in the two times he's been at bat, and Baldwin is a hoot. I did a Q&A with Baldwin last spring at the Landmark for his indie film, 'Lymelife,' and he had the place roaring. As he has proved many times as host of 'SNL,' he's a natural. By going to a two-host format for the first time in over half a century, Oscar producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman have tapped into a concept that's fresh but still within the Academy's DNA. NOTES ON A SEASON

• Dave Karger thinks the last-minute entry of "Crazy Heart" -- "starring Jeff Bridges in what’s said to be a career-best performance" -- into the Oscar derby could shake up the best actor race. As Dave observes: "'Up in the Air’s" George Clooney and "A Single Man’s" Colin Firth are the closest things we’ve got to locks at this point, while Morgan Freeman’s role as Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s "Invictus" seems quite promising as well. If Bridges is as much of a shoo-in as I’m hearing, then that leaves only one slot for the taking, meaning that most of the other top contenders -- "Nine’s" Daniel Day-Lewis, "The Hurt Locker’s" Jeremy Renner, "A Serious Man’s" Michael Stuhlbarg and "The Informant’s" Matt Damon -- could very well end up without an invite to the big show." ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

• DVD screeners of "Trucker" -- starring best actress contender Michelle Monaghan -- were shipped to the acting branch of the academy this week. Screeners have also gone out to the SAG nominating committee as well as the HFPA and the various critics groups.

• Jeff Welles adds his voice to the debate about the merits of a late entry into the best actress race: "While I have concerns about aspects of Michael Hoffman's 'The Last Station,' I certainly understand and agree with the Helen Mirren-for-best-actress thing. Her performance as Sofya Tolstoy is a little florid and breathless, but I think that's appropriate given who she is, what she is and what she's up against. The role isn't the equal of Queen Elizabeth, but Mirren's spirit has a way of nourishing the moment. She's enormous fun to hang with, as well as the one to hang on to and believe in." HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE

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