Category: Awards

Disney’s Big 2019 Awards Campaign Promotes 5 Movies: Endgame Is In, Here’s Who Was Left Out

Awards season is upon us! After Disney spent the majority of the year racking up astronomical box office numbers with its MCU installments, live-action remakes, and tear-jerky animated films, you best bet the studio is going to campaign for some gold trophies too! Walt Disney Studios has just launched its “For Your Consideration” website with five films to boast about.

The House of Mouse has set up campaigns for Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, Toy Story 4, The Lion King, and Frozen II. So far, special award voters screenings have been set up for Endgame and Toy Story 4 in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and London, per the official website, but Disney has not announced the specific awards the films will be lobbying for.

However, this leaves Captain Marvel, Dumbo, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker without awards campaigns. Considering the franchise set in a galaxy far, far away has previously scored big during awards season, Rise of Skywalker may still come in later? Or is Disney is gunning for Avengers: Endgame to clear the big categories without competition of Star Wars this year? A John Williams score nomination is in order in the least, right?

Following the success of Black Panther last year at the Oscars, including three wins and contending for Best Picture, Disney will likely give similar treatment to Endgame. The MCU culmination may be campaigning for Best Visual Effects, Best Director, Best Picture, and even a Best Actor nomination for Robert Downey Jr, after a decade of playing Tony Stark.

If the Academy nominates Endgame in categories besides comic book movies’ frequent Visual Effects attention, they’d be honoring Marvel’s masterful universe-buiding and the highest-grossing movie of all time. How Endgame does during award season will make clear if Black Panther was an exception to the rule or a sign of changing tides toward the genre.

In the “Best Animated Movie” category, Toy Story 4 and Frozen II will likely score a nomination. Both Frozen and Toy Story 3 won the award in their respective years. However, Disney’s two sequels last year resulted in the studio losing its six year streak in the category to Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Additionally, Frozen II’s new songs may score a “Best Original Song” category, following in the footsteps of “Let It Go.”

Disney may be competing against itself for “Best Original Song” with the Aladdin new song “Speechless” also in contention. Oscar-winning La La Land lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote the song with Alan Menken. Beyoncé’s new The Lion King song “Spirit” could also join the category.

Aladdin could also score nominations for the Costume Design and Production Design categories as the people behind them are past Oscar nominees. The Lion King could go up against Endgame for Best Visual Effects considering the photo-realistic animation the Jon Favreau film achieved.

There’s certainly a lot in the mix for Walt Disney Studios this year!

Fleabag wins big, Billy Porter makes history at Emmy Awards

Fleabag leaped over formidable competition at Sunday’s Emmy Awards with multiple wins, including the best comedy actress award and a writing trophy for series star and creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Waller-Bridge and her dark comedy about a dysfunctional woman, which also won a directing award, blocked Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus from setting a record as the most-honoured performer in Emmy history.

“Nooooo!” said a shocked-looking Waller Bridge. “Oh, my God, no. Thank you. I find acting really hard and really painful. But it’s all about this,” she said, her acting trophy firmly in hand.

In accepting the writing award earlier, she called the recognition proof that “a dirty, pervy, messed-up woman can make it to the Emmys.”

Bill Hader won his second consecutive best comedy actor award for the hitman comedy Barry.

Billy Porter made history in the best drama actor category, becoming the first openly gay man to win for his role in Prose.

“God bless you all. The category is love, you all, love. I’m so overjoyed and so overwhelmed to have lived to see this day,” said an exuberant Porter, resplendent in a sequined suit and swooping hat.

Quoting the late writer James Baldwin, Porter said it took him many years to believe he has the right to exist. “I have the right, you have the right, we all have the right,” he said.

Peter Dinklage, named best supporting actor for Game of Thrones, set a record for most wins for the same role, four, breaking a tie with Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad.

“I count myself so fortunate to be a member of a community that is about nothing but tolerance and diversity, because in no other place I could be standing on a stage like this,” said Dinklage, a little person.

Ozark star Julia Garner won the best supporting drama actress trophy against a field including four actresses from Game of Thrones.

The auditorium erupted in cheers when Jharrel Jerome of When They See Us, about the Central Park Five case, won the best actor award for a limited series movie.

“Most important, this is for the men that we know as the Exonerated Five,” said Jerome, naming the five wrongly convicted men who were in the audience. They stood and saluted the actor as the crowd applauded them.

It was the only honour for the acclaimed Netflix series of the evening; Chernobyl won the best limited series honour.

Streaming hit new Emmy heights, powered by Amazon Prime winners Fleabag, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and a Very English Scandal, and Netflix’s Bandersnatch (Black Mirror), honoured as best movie. But HBO again showed its strength, including with the trophies for Chernobyl, Barry and John Oliver’s best variety-talk win.

Michelle Williams, honoured as best actress for her portrayal of dancer Gwen Verdon in FX’s limited series Fosse/Verdon, issued a call to arms for gender and ethnic equality.

She thanked the network and studio behind the project for “supporting me completely and paying me equally because they understood … when you put value into a person, it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value. And where do they put that value, they put it into their work.”

“And so the next time a woman and, especially a woman of colour, because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white male counterpart, tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her,” Williams said.

Patricia Arquette won the trophy best supporting limited-series or movie actress for The Act. She paid emotional tribute to her late trans sister, Alexis Arquette, and called for an end to prejudice against trans people, including in the workplace.

Ben Whishaw took the category’s supporting actor trophy for A Very English Scandal, admitting in charming British fashion to a hangover.

Alex Borstein and Tony Shalhoub of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won best supporting acting awards at the ceremony, which included early and varied messages of female empowerment after the host-less ceremony kicked off with Homer Simpson.

“I want to dedicate this to the strength of a woman, to [series creator] Amy Sherman-Palladino, to every woman on the Maisel cast and crew,” Borstein said, and to her mother and grandmother. Her grandmother survived because she was courageous enough to step out of a line that, Borstein intimated, would have led to her death at the hands of Nazi Germany.

“She stepped out of line. And for that, I am here and my children are here, so step out of line, ladies. Step out of line,” said Borstein, who won the award last year.

Shalhoub added to his three Emmys which he earned for his signature series in Monk.

The awards opened without a host as promised Sunday, with an early exchange pitting Ben Stiller against Bob Newhart.

“I’m still alive,” Newhart told Stiller, who introduced him as part of a wax museum comedy hall of fame that included Lucille Ball and other late legends.

Kim Kardashian West and Kendall Jenner drew some mocking laughter in the audience when they presented their award after Kardashian West said their family “knows firsthand how truly compelling television comes from real people just being themselves.”

An animated Homer made a brief appearance on stage until he was abruptly crushed, with Anderson of black-ish rushing in to, as he vowed, rescue the evening. He called Breaking Bad star Cranston on stage to tout the power of television from its beginning to the current golden age.

“Television has never been bigger. Television has never mattered more. And television has never been this damn good,” Cranston said.

Emmys: The Biggest Snubs and Surprises

Although HBO juggernaut series “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” both came to an end this year and therefore were seeing their final chances to be celebrated at the Emmys, the voting members of the Television Academy did not just tick all of the boxes for those two behemoths and call it a night. In fact, far from it.

At Sunday’s ceremony, “Game of Thrones” won the drama series trophy and supporting drama actor for Peter Dinklage, while “Veep” was shut out.

There were some other repeat names called this year, including lead comedy actor winner Bill Hader (“Barry”) and supporting comedy actress winner Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), but the 71st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were chock-full of new names accepting onstage at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live — including first-ever Emmy winners Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”), Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”), triple-winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”) and Jharrel Jerome (“When They See Us”).

Here are the biggest snubs and surprises of the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards.

SNUB: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
The titular star of HBO’s “Veep” who beat cancer last year was a frontrunner going into nominations at this year’s Emmys — but at the end of the day she didn’t get enough votes to win her seventh statue for the role. If she had won she also would have become the most-decorated performer by the Television Academy.

SURPRISE: Jodie Comer
The “Killing Eve” star topped some tough competition in the lead drama actress category, including her own costar Sandra Oh, who had been nominated last year and was seen as a frontrunner this year. But Comer’s seductive assassin Villanelle proved too good to pass up for Academy members, giving Jodie Comer her first-ever Emmy.

SNUB: Ava DuVernay
The Oscar nominee and previous Emmy winner (“13th”) wrote and directed all four episodes of “When They See Us,” the dramatized telling of the real-life 1989 Central Park jogger case that saw five teenage boys wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for an assault. It was an emotional tale that had everyone talking when it dropped on Netflix, but ultimately she lost the limited series/TV movie writing and directing awards to players from HBO’s limited series, “Chernobyl.”

SURPRISE: Phoebe Waller-Bridge and “Fleabag”
Many pundits were anticipating the “Fleabag” auteur would take the comedy writing trophy (and she did), but she also won the lead comedy actress Emmy — over long-time favorite Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who was nominated for the last time for her titular role on HBO’s “Veep”), as well as last year’s incumbent winner Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), to name a few — and the coveted comedy series trophy.

SNUB: “Schitt’s Creek”
The little Canadian comedy that could pushed onto the Emmy ballot with four total noms this year, including comedy series and lead comedy actor and actress, proving the voters didn’t mind being a little late to celebrate a long-running series. But not even the star power of Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy was enough to topple “Fleabag.”

SURPRISE: Jharrel Jerome
The young actor who played the real-life Korey Wise during both parts of his story (in his teenage years when he was first falsely arrested in the 1989 Central Park jogger case and then more than a decade later as he literally grew up in prison) was the youngest in his category and also the freshest face when it came to his resume, but the power of his performance in “When They See Us” prevailed over the bigger names.

SURPRISE: Julia Garner
Garner won her first-ever Emmy for the second season of “Ozark” after being on the ballot alongside four powerful players from “Game of Thrones” and Fiona Shaw of “Killing Eve.”

SURPRISE: Jason Bateman
The “Ozark” actor-producer-director took the drama directing trophy in a tightly-packed category that included multiple entries from the final season of “Game of Thrones.”

SURPRISE: Jesse Armstrong
The second season of “Succession” has been lighting up social media, and that added buzz undoubtedly helped scribe Jesse Armstrong go all the way for the win for drama writing over the series finale of “Game of Thrones,” as well as a hanging second season episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and the fourth season finale of “Better Call Saul,” among others.

Bradley Whitford Wins 2019 Guest Drama Actor Emmy

Bradley Whitford won the 2019 guest drama actor Emmy for his role of Commander Joseph Lawrence on Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Whitford joined the cast of the streaming dystopian series at the end of its second season, in episodes that were released after the close of the 2018 Emmy eligibility window. The Television Academy agreed they could be submitted this year, and that decision now sees him picking up his third total trophy from the group. He previously won the supporting drama actor statue in 2001 for his work on “The West Wing” and the guest comedy actor one in 2015 for his turn on “Transparent.”

He was nominated alongside Michael McKean (“Better Call Saul”), Kumail Nanjiani (“The Twilight Zone”), Glynn Turman (“How To Get Away With Murder”) and both Michael Angarano and Ron Cephas Jones from “This Is Us.”

Whitford also made Emmy history by becoming the first performer to have won the guest actor Emmy for both comedy and drama, having previously won in comedy for “Transparent.” “It’s an honor to do that, it means a lot,” he said backstage.

Whitford gave off a long-list of thank yous and noted: “Award shows are not arenas of justice. We know that because the Hot Priest did not get nominated,” he said, citing the popular “Fleabag” character.

“I want to thank Margaret Atwood for giving us perspective in this disorienting moment as we are inundated and undermined by a misogynistic, radical, right-wing ideology.

“Despair is not an option. Our children can’t afford it. Action is the antidote to despair. Our future is an act of our creation.”

Creative Arts Emmys: ‘Free Solo,’ ‘Queer Eye’ Among Big Winners on Night One

“Free Solo,” “Queer Eye,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Saturday Night Live” were among the big winners Saturday after the first night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

“Free Solo,” the National Geographic feature documentary that already claimed the Oscar earlier this year, lead the field on the night largely devoted to unscripted programming with seven big wins. On Sunday, the remaining Creative Arts Emmys will be handed out for shows largely in the scripted genre.

RuPaul earned his fourth consecutive trophy as reality host for his work out front on VH1’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Netflix’s “Queer Eye” nabbed four wins, including its second consecutive trophy for structured reality program. “The Simpsons” added more hardware to its trophy case with the win for animated program. And the late Anthony Bourdain earned two more Emmys for his CNN series “Parts Unknown,” which won for informational series and also for writing.

TV legend Norman Lear picked up another Emmy, a win that makes him the oldest person to win an Emmy (at 97) in the variety special (live) category for ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” special featuring new stagings of episodes from “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” produced by Jimmy Kimmel. Lear wasn’t the only nonagenarian to pick up a win on Saturday; Sir David Attenborough, 93, won for narration for Netflix’s “Our Planet.”

When pressed backstage about the live special connected with such a large audience, Lear said that the family and relationship subjects that he probed in the 1970s are still relevant today. “The shows reflect our common humanity. And that hasn’t changed. We are as misguided today as we were then in certain ways,” Lear said.

“Carpool Karaoke” had a good night, winning short form variety series for the Apple incarnation of the franchise that began on CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” Last year, Corden delivered a special extra-long edition with Paul McCartney” that became an hourlong CBS primetime special “Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool,” which took home the win for variety special (recorded).

Corden was effusive backstage about the privilege of working in American television in a big way, as he has since landing on “Late Late Show” in 2015. “We just want to be a place people go to have a really nice time before or, let’s be honest, while they fall asleep,” Corden said of the show.

CNN’s “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell” prevailed once again for unstructured reality program, picking up its third consecutive trophy. Bell used his moment on stage to call on the industry to embrace diversity and inclusion at every level of the industry.

“I’ve thanked my wife and my kids and the people I work with enough,” Bell told reporters backstage. “I not only have to call my team out, but I have to call the industry out. I feel like if I’m going to be about it I have to talk about it.”

Fox’s staging of “Rent” earned two trophies, for lighting design and production design.

HBO’s “Leaving Neverland” documentary was recognized for documentary special. CNN’s “RBG” and HBO’s “The Sentence” earned exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking honors.

Among networks, Netflix emerged with 15 wins (including a number of animation wins that were previously announced), followed by National Geographic with eight; CNN and NBC with five apiece; and Fox, HBO and YouTube with four apiece.

Saturday’s full list of winners:

Variety special (live): “Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All In The Family’ And ‘The Jeffersons’” (ABC)

Variety special (pre-recorded): “Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool” (CBS)

Choreography for variety or reality programming: Tessandra Chavez, “World of Dance” (NBC)

Production design for a variety special: “Rent” (Fox)

Production design for a variety, reality or competition series: “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Structured reality program: “Queer Eye” (Netflix)

Short form variety series: “Carpool Karaoke: the Series” (Apple)

Short form animated program: “Love, Death & Robots” (Netflix)

Picture editing for a nonfiction program: Bob Eisenhardt, “Free Solo” (National Geographic)

Narrator: Sir David Attenborough, “Our Planet” (Netflix)

Music composition for a documentary series or special (original dramatic score): Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts, “Free Solo” (National Geographic)

Music direction: Alex Lacamoire, “Fosse/Verdon” (FX)

Original music and lyrics: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen, “Antidepressants Are So Not a Big Deal,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (CW)

Creative achievement in interactive media within an unscripted program: “Free Solo” (National Geographic)

Interactive program: “NASA and SpaceX: The Interactive Demo-1 Launch” (YouTube)

Technical direction, camerawork, video control for a special: “Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2019” (CBS)

Technical direction, camerawork, video control for a series: “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)

Short form nonfiction or reality series: “Creating Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Writing for a variety special: Hannah Gadsby, “Nanette” (Netflix)

Writing for a nonfiction program: Anthony Bourdain, “Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown” (CNN)

Motion design: “Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj” (Netflix)

Exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking: (tie) “RBG” (CNN); “The Sentence” (HBO)

Informational series or special: “Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown” (CNN)

Documentary or nonfiction special: “Leaving Neverland” (HBO)

Documentary or nonfiction series: “Our Planet” (Netflix)

Makeup for a multi-camera series or special (non-prosthetic): “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Hairstyling for a multi-camera series or special: Hector Pocasangre, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)

Costumes for variety, nonfiction or reality programming: Zaldy Goco, Art Conn, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)

Directing for a reality program: Hisham Abed, “Queer Eye” (Netflix)

Casting for a reality program: “Queer Eye” (Netflix)

Directing for a documentary/nonfiction program: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, “Free Solo” (National Geographic)

Directing for a variety special: Thom Zimny, “Springsteen on Broadway” (Netflix)

Animated program: “The Simpsons” (Fox)

Character voice-over performance: Seth MacFarlane, “Family Guy” (Fox)

Picture editing for variety programming: “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)

PIcture editing for an unstructured reality program: “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell” (CNN)

Picture editing for a structured reality or competition program: “Queer Eye” (Netflix)

Sound mixing for a variety series or special: “Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul” (CBS)

Sound mixing for a nonfiction program (single or multi-camera): “Free Solo” (National Geographic)

Sound editing for a nonfiction program (single or multi-camera): “Free Solo” (National Geographic)

Lighting design/direction for a variety special: “Rent” (Fox)

Lighting design/direction for a variety series: “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Host for a reality or competition program: RuPaul, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)

Unstructured reality program: “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell” (CNN)

Cinematography for a nonfiction program: “Free Solo” (National Geographic TV)

Cinematography for a reality program: “Life Below Zero” (National Geographic TV)

Saturday’s award categories are primarily for unscripted programs: reality, variety special, documentaries, animated program and short form animation, choreography for variety or reality programs, and interactive program.

Sunday’s awards will focus on scripted programs: short form drama and comedy series, casting, cinematography, and guest performers in comedy and drama series.

Norman Lear Breaks an Emmy Record, Becomes the Oldest Winner Ever

Norman Lear was already one of the most-honored people in television history, but now he has another distinction to add to his long career: At 97 years and 49 days, he’s the oldest person ever to win an Emmy Award.

Asked about the achievement, he said backstage at the Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday: “I don’t think about it a lot,” and quipped, “I like waking up in the morning.”

Lear set the record on Saturday as one of the producers of “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons.’” The ABC program, which included live performances of episodes from two of Lear’s seminal 1970s comedies, won in the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category.

Jimmy Kimmel, who produced the show with Lear, was asked what it was like to make a show with the TV legend.

“It’s the greatest thing you could ever imagine. It’s like dancing with Fred Astaire,” Kimmel said.

“That makes me Ginger Rogers,” Lear quipped.

Lear and Kimmel also announced that they are planning another live special later in the year, but declined to provide details.

Lear was also asked how he had written to many African American characters embraced by black viewers, especially on “The Jeffersons.” He had another quick joke: “Evidently you haven’t noticed that I’m black.”

He went on to add that he tries to focus on the universal similarities between all people.

The previous record-holder as the oldest winner was David Attenborough, who set a new record on Saturday night about half an hour before Lear won. Attenborough, who is 93, won for narrating “Our Planet.”

With his nomination for “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” Lear had already topped Carl Reiner to become the oldest Emmy nominee ever.

Lear’s win comes 48 years after he won the Emmy in the Outstanding Series – Comedy category for “All in the Family.” He would go on to win four Emmys for that show, and to be inducted into the Emmy Hall of Fame in 1984. He has also won two Peabody Awards, the Kennedy Center Honor, the Woody Guthrie Prize and the National Medal of Arts.

The award was announced at Saturday’s Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony, the first of two non-televised ceremonies that will precede the Sept. 22 Primetime Emmy Awards telecast. The ceremony took place at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

MTV to remove Michael Jackson’s name from award: Report

MTV is reportedly set to rename the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award following the string of allegations made against the late pop star in the controversial Leaving Neverland documentary.

The HBO feature focused on disturbing sexual abuse claims by two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who alleged Jackson groomed them when they were children.

The King of Pop’s estate denied the allegations and subsequently filed a US$100 million lawsuit against the U.S. network.

According to the New York Post’s Page Six gossip column, MTV is considering cutting ties with the Smooth Criminal hitmaker’s name for its annual Video Music Awards, which are set to take place in August.

The outlet claimed there are “heated discussions” between network bosses over how to handle the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, with concerns over who would present it, and who would accept it with Jackson’s name still on the prize.

The late pop star received the Vanguard Award in 1988, and MTV renamed it in his honour in 1991.

Some of the music stars to be honoured with the prestigious gong include Rihanna, Beyonce, Kanye West, Britney Spears, U2 and Jennifer Lopez, who took home the trophy last year.

Dwayne Johnson to Receive ‘Generation’ Award at 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards

MTV has announced that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be honored with the “Generation” Award during the “2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards.”

Johnson previously hosted the show in 2016 with “Central Intelligence” co-star Kevin Hart. The “Generation” Award celebrates “beloved actors whose diverse contributions to both film and television have turned them into household names in the industry,” according to MTV. Past recipients include Chris Pratt, Will Smith, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Wahlberg, Sandra Bullock, Jamie Foxx, Johnny Depp, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey and the entire “Fast & Furious” franchise.

“Johnson is an icon on both film and TV who has become one of the most beloved actors of our generation,” said Amy Doyle, general manager, MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo. “Throughout his career, Johnson has proven to be the ultimate badass – an action star with a flair for comedy, one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time and a true family man. He continues to captivate his audience worldwide and we are thrilled to celebrate him with the Generation Award.”

MTV revealed earlier this week that Jada Pinkett Smith will be honored with the “Trailblazer” Award at the ceremony hosted by “Shazam!” star Zachary Levi.

“RBG,” “Game of Thrones” and “Avengers: Endgame” received the most nominations this year, with four apiece. New categories which will feature at the 2019 awards include Reality Royalty, Most Meme-able Moment, and Best Real-Life Hero. In terms of musical performances, so far MTV has revealed that Lizzo will be taking to the stage, as well as singer, songwriter and producer Bazzi, who will perform his song “Paradise.”

The 2019 “MTV Movie & TV Awards” will air Monday, June 17 at 9:00 PM ET/PT.

Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks call for more women at Rock Hall of Fame induction

Stevie Nicks, who became the first woman inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Janet Jackson, the latest member of the Jackson clan to enter the hall, called for other women to join them in music immortality on a night they were honoured with five all-male British bands.

Jackson issued her challenge just before leaving the stage of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” she said, “in 2020, induct more women.”

Neither Jackson or Nicks were around at the end of the evening when another Brit, Ian Hunter, led an all-star jam at the end to All the Young Dudes. The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs was the only woman onstage.

During the five-hour ceremony, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music thanked multiple bass players and album cover designers, the Cure’s Robert Smith proudly wore his mascara and red lipstick a month shy of his 60th birthday and two of Radiohead’s five members showed up for trophies.

During Def Leppard’s induction, Rick Allen was moved to tears by the audience’s standing ovation when singer Joe Elliott recalled the drummer’s perseverance following a 1985 accident that cost him an arm.

Jackson followed her brothers Michael and the Jackson 5 as inductees. She said she wanted to go to college and become a lawyer growing up, but her late father Joe had other ideas for her.

“As the youngest in my family, I was determined to make it on my own,” she said. “I was determined to stand on my own two feet. But never in a million years did I expect to follow in their footsteps.”

She encouraged Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, producers of her breakthrough “Control” album and most of her vast catalog, to stand in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for recognition, as well as booster Questlove. She thanked Dick Clark of “American Bandstand” and Don Cornelius of “Soul Train,” along with her choreographers including Paula Abdul.

There was some potential for awkward vibes Friday, since the event was being filmed to air on HBO on April 27. HBO angered the Jackson family this winter for showing the documentary Leaving Neverland, about two men who alleged Michael Jackson abused them when they were boys. Jackson never mentioned Michael specifically in her remarks but thanked her brothers, and he was shown on screen with the rest of the family.

Jackson was inducted by an enthusiastic Janelle Monae, whose black hat and black leather recalled some of her hero’s past stage looks. She said Jackson had been her phone’s screen-saver for years as a reminder to be focused and fearless in how she approached art.

Nicks was the night’s first induction. She is already a member of the hall as a member of Fleetwood Mac, but only the first woman to join 22 men — including all four Beatles members — to have been honoured twice by the rock hall for the different stages of their career.

Nicks offered women a blueprint for success, telling them her trepidation in first recording a solo album while a member of Fleetwood Mac and encouraging others to match her feat.

“I know there is somebody out there who will be able to do it,” she said, promising to talk often of how she built her solo career. “What I am doing is opening up the door for other women.”

During her four-song set, she brought onstage a cape she bought in 1983 to prove to her “very frugal” late mother that it was still in good shape, and worth its $3,000 US price tag. Don Henley joined her to sing Leather and Lace, while Harry Styles filled in for the late Tom Petty on Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.

David Byrne inducted Radiohead, noting he was flattered the band named itself after one of his songs. He said their album Kid A was the one that really hooked him, and he was impressed Radiohead could be experimental in both their music and how they conduct business.

“They’re creative and smart in both areas, which was kind of a rare combination for artists, not just now but anytime,” he said.

With only drummer Philip Selway and guitarist Ed O’Brien on hand, Radiohead didn’t perform; there was a question of whether any of them would show up given the group’s past ambivalence about the hall. But both men spoke highly of the honour.

“This is such a beautifully surreal evening for us,” said O’Brien. “It’s a big (expletive) deal and it feels like it … I wish the others could be here because they would be feeling it.”

The Cure’s Smith has been a constant in a band of shifting personnel, and he stood onstage for induction Friday with 11 past and current members. Despite their goth look, the Cure has a legacy of pop hits, and performed three of them at Barclays, Lovesong, Just Like Heaven and Boys Don’t Cry.

Visibly nervous, Smith called his induction a “very nice surprise” and shyly acknowledged the crowd’s cheers.

“It’s been a fantastic thing, it really has,” he said. “We love you, too.”

His inductee, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, recalled ridiculing the rock hall in past years because he couldn’t believe the Cure wasn’t in. When he got the call that the band was in, he said “I was never so happy eating my words as I was that day.”

Def Leppard sold tons of records, back when musicians used to do that, with a heavy metal sound sheened to pop perfection on songs like Photograph and Pour Some Sugar on Me. They performed them in a set that climaxed the annual ceremony.

Singer Joe Elliott stressed the band’s working-class roots, thanking his parents and recalling how his father gave them 150 pounds to make their first recording in 1978.

Besides Allen’s accident, the band survived the 1991 death of guitarist Steve Clark. Elliott said there always seemed to be a looming sense of tragedy around the corner for the band, but “we wouldn’t let it in.”

“If alcoholism, car crashes and cancer couldn’t kill us, the ’90s had no (expletive) chance,” said Elliott, referring to his band mates as the closest thing to brothers that an only child could have.

Roxy Music, led by the stylish Ferry, performed a five-song set that included hits Love is the Drug, More Than This and Avalon. (Brian Eno didn’t show for the event).

Simon LeBon and John Taylor of Duran Duran inducted them, with Taylor saying that hearing Roxy Music in concert at age 14 showed him what he wanted to do with his life.

“Without Roxy Music, there really would be no Duran Duran,” he said.

The soft-spoken Ferry thanked everyone from a succession of bass players to album cover designers. “We’d like to thank everyone for this unexpected honour,” he said.

The Zombies, from rock ‘n’ roll’s original British invasion, were the veterans of the night. They made it despite being passed over in the past, but were gracious in their thanks of the rock hall. They performed hits Time of the Season, Tell Her No and She’s Not There.

Zombies lead singer Rod Argent noted that the group had been eligible for the hall for 30 years but the honour had eluded them.

“To have finally passed the winning post this time — fantastic!”

Shawn Mendes the biggest winner as bulk of Juno Awards handed out

He wasn’t actually in the room, but it was all about Shawn Mendes at the Junos gala Saturday night in London, Ont.

The pop star — nominated for the most awards this year — was also the night’s biggest winner, picking up four prizes: artist, songwriter and pop album of the year, plus single of the year for In My Blood.

And he’s still up for two more Sunday: fan choice and album.

His wins made for a predictable pattern on what gala host Ben Kowalewicz called “music’s longest night.” (The actual runtime was just over three hours.)

Thirty-eight prizes, the bulk of the Junos hardware, were handed out, given to a healthy mix of industry veterans like Michael Bublé (adult contemporary album) and Colin James (blues album) and newcomers like Oshawa, Ont.’s Dizzy (alternative album) and London’s own Loud Luxury (dance recording).

The DJ duo, who now live in Los Angeles, met at Western University and will perform on Sunday’s big show. The group’s Joe Depace talked about being born at a hospital not far from the gala site.

“This is an extremely crazy full-circle moment for us,” he told reporters.

“We wouldn’t be able to do it if we didn’t have such a beautiful and incredible scene [here] available to us. That’s what pushed us forward,” added Andrew Fedyk, the duo’s other half.

Bublé made a surprise appearance to present David Foster with the humanitarian award for his foundation’s charitable efforts. The two goofed around and laid on the love for each other, with Foster retelling reporters how the two met while Bublé was singing at the wedding of Ontario MPP Caroline Mulroney.

Foster seemed to be genuinely humbled by the honour.

“It’s like a funeral when I’m alive.”

In one of the evening’s most passionate speeches, winner Jeremy Dutcher honoured his fellow Indigenous album nominees and scolded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He told music industry members gathered in the room they could do better when it comes to reconciliation.

“Our music is not niche, our music is saying something,” he said.

Those thoughts were then cut-off by his own music. Dutcher was allowed to finish his speech an hour later after a chance run-in with Arkells, who won best rock album for Rally Cry.

As the band mounted the stage to accept the night’s final prize, they brought along Dutcher, who capped off the evening.

“This is what holding space looks like,” he told the band.

Frontman Max Kerman explained backstage how it happened. He was going to the washroom and ran into Dutcher, who told him what table he was sitting at.

“When our name was called, I found him and I just grabbed him. He was a little startled,” he said. “He said something that we could only dream of relaying.”

The night’s other prominent winners included:

Breakthrough group: The Washboard Union.
Adult alternative album: Bahamas, Earthtones.
Metal/hard music album: Voivod, The Wake.
Rap recording: Tory Lanez, LoVE me NOw.
Electronic album: Milk & Bone, Deception Bay.
Producer of the year: Eric Ratz for Arkells’ Rally Cry.
Video of the year: Ali Eisner for Bahamas’ No Depression.
The return of Corey Hart
The gala set the stage for the Sunday’s Juno Awards, the week’s marquee event at London’s sold-out Budweiser Gardens.

With the bulk of the awards already handed out, Sunday’s show largely consists of musical performances, including the return of Corey Hart, who has not performed on television in more than 20 years. He will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

It marks a monumental moment for the ’80s heartthrob, who met his wife while presenting together at a previous Junos. She will be in the audience Sunday.

Host Sarah McLachlan, Dutcher, Arkells, Bahamas, Coeur de Pirate and The Reklaws will also perform, though Canada’s most popular talent, such as Mendes, The Weeknd and Alessia Cara — all nominated multiple times this year — are not expected to attend. Mendes will perform via video from Europe, where he’s on tour.

And then, there’s the six remaining awards to hand out: group, album, breakthrough artist, R&B/soul recording, country album and fan choice.