Day: January 11, 2017

Categories
Awards

Congrats to them all!!

Producers Guild picks the usual suspects for best picture…plus Deadpool

The Producers Guild of America named its picks for best movie of the year on Tuesday, choosing awards season’s favourites such as La La Land, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea but also snarky underdog Deadpool.

The comic-book superhero comedy starring Ryan Reynolds is carving an unusual path through awards territory with nominations by the Writers Guild for best screenplay and two nominations for Golden Globes.

Canadian-born Reynolds is one of the producers of the foul-mouthed hit, which was his pet project for more than a decade. He penned an awards season campaign letter to Hollywood, in character as Deadpool, to advance the movie’s chances.

An unlikely R-rated box office hit, Deadpool was shot in Vancouver.

Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s alien contact movie Arrival also made the PGA list.

The PGA nominations are considered solid indicators of Oscar potential, because of strong influence of producers in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as a similar voting system.

Its full list of nominees:

Arrival
Deadpool
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester By the Sea
Moonlight

While the PGA and the Academy often agree on the best movie, last year the producers picked The Big Short, while the Oscar went to Spotlight.

In the animated category, the PGA’s nominations are:

Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Secret Life of Pets
Zootopia.
The PGA winners will be announced Jan. 28.

Categories
Television

He could be good, awful or great. I’m betting on great!!

Aziz Ansari to host Saturday Night Live for first time

Aziz Ansari is set become the master of Saturday Night Live.

The Master of None star and co-creator has been tapped to host the Jan. 21 episode of SNL, which will serve as the Parks and Recreation alum’s first time hosting.

Ansari’s Netflix series was nominated for four Emmy Awards in 2016, including Ansari for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Master of None won Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. The show is expected to return sometime this year.

Joining Ansari for the episode is fellow SNL first-timer and musical guest Big Sean. The Grammy-nominated rapper’s latest album, I Decided, will be released on Feb. 3.

“I’m super excited to announce that I’ll be performing on @nbcSNL for the first time ever, January 21st. This one is for Detroit 🙏🏾 #IDecided,” Big Sean tweeted Tuesday.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star Felicity Jones and musical guest Sturgill Simpson were previously announced for SNL‘s first episode of 2017.

Categories
Bruuuuuuuuce!!

I Want To Go To There!!

Bruce Springsteen Archives Headed to Monmouth University

Bruce Springsteen’s archives will be housed at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, The New York Times reports.

The rocker’s personal collection of written works, photographs, magazines and other artifacts from throughout his career will make up the new Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. Monmouth is fittingly located near the Jersey Shore, not far from Springsteen’s hometown of Freehold and even closer to Asbury Park, the beach town where his career began.

“The establishment of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music celebrates and reinforces the Jersey Shore’s legacy in the history of American music, while providing a truly transformative experience for our students,” said University President, Paul R. Brown.

While Springsteen’s collection will be the primary focus, the Center will reportedly also promote other legendary American musicians such as Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams and Frank Sinatra. The materials will be available to classes throughout the University, especially its music business program.

Prior to gaining Springsteen’s personal archives, Monmouth established the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection in 2011. The collection began at the Asbury Park Public Library and now boasts nearly 35,000 items, many of them donated by fans. Robert Santelli, the executive director of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and a Monmouth alum, helped his alma mater secure that collection and was reportedly involved in bringing Springsteen’s archives to the University as well. Santelli is expected to take on a leadership position at the new Springsteen Center

Monmouth did not disclose any financial details about the new Springsteen Center, though both the interest in and price of rock archives has grown. Last March, the George Kaiser Family Foundation purchased a trove of 6,000 artifacts from Bob Dylan’s private collection for an estimated $15 to $20 million.