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14 articles
News Nuggets: Women in film greatly underrepresented, according to study
17 May 2013 1:38 PM, PDT
Female representation in films at a five-year low: "But for a while, things were looking up. 'Bridesmaids,' a movie written by, for and about women, did well at the box office. 'The Hunger Games' had a female heroine. Disney’s 'Brave' won Oscars with a strong female protagonist. But don’t be fooled: women are still extremely underrepresented in Hollywood." Smithsonian Ranking the best and worst "Star Trek" films as "Star Trek Into Darkness" opens in theaters. In Contention Tom Hanks may reprise his Tony-nominated "Lucky Guy" role in London in 2014. Broadway World Actors' Equity honors actors Annaleigh Ashford, Michael Urie, Kristine Nielsen, and Lewis J. Stadlen: "Annaleigh Ashford and Michael Urie are the two recipients of the Derwent Award, given to the New York theater season's most promising female and male performers ... Kristine Nielsen and Lewis J. Stadlen are this year&# »
'Vanya and Sonia,' 'Kinky Boots' get Tonys boosts with Drama League wins
17 May 2013 1:24 PM, PDT
While the Drama League does not distinguish between Broadway and off-Broadway when doling out honors, all five of its prizes went to Tony Awards contenders this year. "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" won Best Play over, among others, its three Tony rivals: "The Assembled Parties," "Lucky Guy" and "The Testament of Mary." Also in contention were two other Broadway plays -- "I'll Eat You Last" and "The Nance" -- as well as off-Broadway productions "Old Hats" and "The Whale." Last year, "Other Desert Cities" won here but was bested by "Clybourne Park" at the Tonys. Two years ago, "War Horse" took both prizes. "Kinky Boots" was named Best Musical over Tonys rival "Matilda" as well as the Tony-snubbed "Motown" and four off-Broadway hits: "Dogfight,&quo »
Poll: Can red-hot 'Scandal' break into Drama Series race at Emmys?
17 May 2013 12:06 PM, PDT
The finale of "Scandal" was watched by over 9 million people on Thursday. That marks a huge jump from the start of the second season last fall when just 6 million were tuning in to watch this political drama on ABC. Indeed, the show now rivals lead-in "Grey's Anatomy" for the top slot among the coveted demo of viewers 18 to 49. Credit this rise in ratings to a combo of compelling storytelling by "Grey's" creator Shonda Rhimes and heightened interest in star Kerry Washington. She saw her profile rise big-time with her turn in last winter's Oscar-winning "Django Unchained." She plays political fixer Olivia Pope who is involved both professionally and personally with the president (Tony Goldwyn). The show has just that right blend of bedroom and boardroom scenes to generate a lot of water cooler talk. Washington sits in seventh place among those vying for the six »
Will adding public vote make Kennedy Centers Honors more diverse?
17 May 2013 10:58 AM, PDT
The Kennedy Centers Honors is expanding the selection process by welcoming suggestions from the public. Last year, various advocacy groups pointed out that only two Hispanics -- Placido Domingo (2000) and Chita Rivera (2002) -- numbered among the 185 people feted to date. Rivera is to be part of a new committee that will winnow down the list of potential recipients from 20 to 10. Joining her are 2011 honoree Yo Yo Ma; opera singer Harolyn Blackwell and ballet dancer Damian Woetzel who sit on the Artist Committee; and board members Cappy McGarr and Elaine Wynn. The Artist Committee, which comes up with the original list of 20, is to be expanded as well to ensure the broadest of representation. And the public can petition the committee with their choices. However, even with these new mechanisms in place, the five honorees still will be determined by the executive committee of the Kennedy Center board of trustees. They »
News Nuggets: Joss Whedon's 'Much Ado' to open Oscars Outdoors series
16 May 2013 12:45 PM, PDT
Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing" to open Oscars Outdoors screening series: "The screening series launched by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last year is returning to Los Angeles this summer, along with some New York screenings in partnership with Rooftop Films Summer Series ... Another early screening treat follows on June 6 with 'Twenty Feet from Stardom,' a documentary about backup singers in popular music that premiered at Sundance in January. A Q&A with director Morgan Neville will follow the June 6 L.A. screening, and New York City audiences will get to see the film on June 8 at the Rooftop series. Twenty Feet opens in theaters on June 14." Entertainment Weekly Tony-nominated plays "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," "Lucky Guy," and "The Nance" extend their runs. New York Times Glenn Whipp says the Emmys should honor Nick Offerman ("Parks and Recreation"), Kerry Washin. »
'The Great Gatsby' faces uphill battle at the Oscars according to readers
15 May 2013 4:44 PM, PDT
Originally scheduled for release last December, Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" finally opened on May 10, but its Best Picture hopes may be as doomed as Gatsby himself. More than 50-percent of readers polled think the film will be snubbed in top Oscar categories and contend only in technical races. The lavish production boasts elaborate costumes and sets that could be contenders at next year's awards; both were designed by Catherine Martin, Luhrmann's wife, who won both categories for Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" in 2001. And three of the last four Best Cinematography winners – "Avatar," "Hugo," and "Life of Pi" – have also been technically audacious 3D productions. Only 30-percent of readers think the film will be nominated for Best Picture, however, with just 12-percent expecting the film to win. Another 13-percent predict nominations in major categories, b »
'Game of Thrones' destined to rule Emmys according to readers
15 May 2013 3:43 PM, PDT
"Game of Thrones" will snatch the Emmy crown from its rivals according to a poll of our readers. 37-percent agree with our expert Matt Roush (TV Guide Magazine), who boldly proclaims that the popular HBO series will be the rare fantasy to win Best Drama Series, following in the footsteps of "The Lord of the Rings," which finally win the Best Picture Oscar on its third try back in 2003. Another 30-percent of readers believe a win is possible, but no guarantee. In an especially crowded field, "Game of Thrones" faces last year's Best Drama winner "Homeland" as well as four-time winner "Mad Men." "Downton Abbey" received its first nomination in the category last year, after sweeping the movie/miniseries prizes in 2011. Also with the potential to return to this year's race: "Boardwalk Empire," "Breaking Bad," and "The Good Wife." Freshman shows with a shot at a »
News Nuggets: Gay characters hit hard by network cancellations
14 May 2013 2:34 PM, PDT
Broadcast network cancellations hit gay characters and showrunners especially hard, with shows like "Smash" and "The New Normal" among the victims. Hollywood Reporter Playbill looks back at some of the most notorious Tony snubs in the award's history, including Chita Rivera, who won two Tonys in her career but wasn't even nominated for her performance in the stage version of "West Side Story," which would later win her an Oscar on film. Coldplay will be awarded with a Silver Clef Award for Best British Act: "The annual Silver Clef awards honour artists from across the music industry, while raising money for the music therapy charity." BBC Tony-winning musical "South Pacific" could be on its way to the big screen starring Michelle Williams. Playbill Who might be among this year's crop of Best Actress Oscar contenders? What Culture lists 10 potential performance to watch, including Meryl Streep and Juli »
Watch: Rich Licata reveals how to win an Emmy
13 May 2013 11:30 PM, PDT
Rich Licata is the wizard behind the Emmy curtain. As Evp of Communications at NBC Entertainment, he pulls the campaign levers to get golden statuettes for top TV stars, producers, directors and writers, but he's more than that. He's one of the creators of the art form. He invented many of the magic tricks back in the good ole days of HBO's early, aggressive Emmy campaigns, the ones that started it all. Related: How Rich Licata Drives Emmy Town Crazy . Below: Listen to the audio podcast version. »
Poll: Can 'Game of Thrones' really steal Emmy crown?
13 May 2013 2:15 PM, PDT
The battle for the iron throne will ascend the Emmys' golden stage this year, according to expert Matt Roush. He thinks HBO's "Game of Thrones" will be the rare fantasy series to win Best Drama, explaining, "’Game of Thrones’ has to win some year, much like ‘Lord of the Rings,’ and this is its best since year one and ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Homeland’ are both vulnerable." He stands alone among our experts and editors in predicting a win for "Thrones," which has been nominated for the last two years. Four experts and six editors expect a repeat win for last year's surprise champ "Homeland." Two experts are betting on "Downton Abbey." One expert thinks "Breaking Bad" will take top honors, while one editor gives "House of Cards" the edge. Not all of our predictors agree that "Thrones" will even be nominated this year. Only »
See the renegade predictions of our latest Emmy experts
13 May 2013 12:25 PM, PDT
Four more experts have chimed in with their picks in this year's top Emmy races, but they can't agree on the frontrunners. Robert Bianco (USA Today), who led our pundits in last year's Emmy predictions, is betting on "Homeland" to win Best Drama Series again after 2012's upset win. He also predicts "Breaking Bad," "Downton Abbey," and "Game of Thrones" will be back in the race this year, though he is expects a snub for "Mad Men," which lost the category for the first time last year after a record-tying four consecutive wins. Instead, he thinks "Justified" will get the nod, which would be its first in four seasons. Mike Cidoni (Associated Press) agrees that "Homeland" will repeat, but according to his picks two new shows will break into the lineup: "The Newsroom" and "House of Cards," replacing last year's nominees "Boardwalk Empire&quo »
Grammys move forward to Jan. 26 due to Super Bowl
13 May 2013 7:26 AM, PDT
Just like the Oscars had to get out of the way of the Winter Olympics next year, the Grammys too are seeing a shift in the calendar due to the scheduling of the biggest sports event of all -- the Super Bowl. The next edition of music's top awards will air on CBS on Jan. 26, 2014. That falls one week before Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 2). This year's Grammys were held on Feb. 10. However, the middle weeks of next February will be dominated by coverage of the Olympicfest, which run from Feb. 7 to 23. The Oscars went the other way, with a move to March 2. However, that change is a temporary one as the academy also announced that the 2015 awards will be back in the shortest month with a date of Feb. 25. Likewise, the Grammys confirmedthat this shift into January is a one-off as it revealed a 2015 date of Feb. 8. »
What are best Oscars prospects for 'The Great Gatsby'? [Poll]
13 May 2013 5:40 AM, PDT
In “The Great Gatsby,” Leonardo DiCaprio portrays a man for whom money can’t buy the one thing he really wants. It’s a role that must be close to the actor’s heart. Despite being one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, Di Caprio has yet to claim that elusive Oscar statuette, losing his bids for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), “The Aviator” (2004), and “Blood Diamond” (2006). Many thought his villainous supporting turn in “Django Unchained” last year would finally do the trick, but it was costar Christoph Waltz who emerged victorious from that film. Now it looks like Leo fans will have to wait until “The Wolf of Wall Street” to start banging the drum for another Best Actor campaign: with a middling 48% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 55 on Metacritic, any serious Oscar hopes for Di Caprio’s performance in Baz Luhrmann’s frenetic reimagining of the F »
'Pippin' wins seven Outer Critics Circle awards
13 May 2013 4:58 AM, PDT
The Outer Critics Circle Awards announced their winners Monday. These precursor prizes offer only a limited amount of insight into next month's Tony Awards as some of their categories combine Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. See complete list of winners here. "Pippin" won seven of its leading 11 bids, including Best Musical Revival and three of the four musical performance prizes for lead Patina Miller and featured players Andrea Martin and Terrence Mann. Lead actor went to Billy Porter who stars in Best Broadway Musical champ "Kinky Boots." That show also won for first-time Broadway tunesmith Cyndi Lauper while its main Tonys rival "Matilda" took Book and Set Design. "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" was named Best Broadway Play and scene-stealer Kristine Nielsen claimed the supporting actress award. She contends in lead at the Tonys where her fiercest competition »
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