GRAMMY AWARD WINNING DREAM THEATER GUITARIST JOHN PETRUCCI ANNOUNCES FIRST HEADLINING SOLO TOUR WITH DAVE LARUE ON BASS AND MIKE PORTNOY

October Performances in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. With More Dates To Be Announced Soon On-Sale This Week At: https://johnpetrucci.com

Recently Reunited Meanstreak Set To Open Entire Tour

John Petrucci – Photo Credit: Rayon Richards

For over three decades, GRAMMY Award winning guitarist John Petrucci has been known for his work in the ground-breaking and influential prog-metal band Dream Theater. Now, John is adding another career milestone to his resume as he is embarking on his first headlining solo tour performing material from his recently released solo album, Terminal Velocity, as well as songs from his widely acclaimed debut release, Suspended Animation. Terminal Velocity marked the first time that John and former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy recorded together since Mike left the band in 2010. Now, John will take his instrumental trio on the road performing live with Mike Portnoy, and legendary bassist Dave LaRue in an on-stage reunion that has been 12 years in the making.

The historic tour will run through October and November and promises to be an unforgettable night of live musicianship. The first three shows are scheduled for Boston, MA (October 7th); New York, NY (October 13th) and Washington, DC (October 15th). The recently reunited all-female Meanstreak will be the special guest openers for the tour. Meanstreak is comprised of guitarists Marlene Portnoy and Rena Sands, vocalist Bettina France, bassist Martens Myung and drummer Yael. More shows will be announced in the near future and tickets for the announced shows will be on sale to the general public on Friday, July 15th. For more information on all shows and to purchase tickets, fans can head over to https://johnpetrucci.com.

John Petrucci Solo Tour Dates with Dave LaRue and Mike Portnoy featuring special guests Meanstreak *

October 7th – Boston, MA – Berklee Performance Center
October 13th – New York, NY – Town Hall
October 15th – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theater

* More dates to be announced

About John Petrucci:
John Petrucci is best known as guitarist and co-founder of the GRAMMY Award winning progressive metal band, Dream Theater. A Guitar World Hall of Fame member and recipient of the SENA Performer’s European Guitar Award, John has been named multiple times as the #1 Guitarist, Guitarist of The Year and Best Metal Guitarist by Prog magazine, Total Guitar, Guitar Player, Guitar World, Music Radar and BURRN! Magazine. His first solo album, Suspended Animation, has long been the benchmark of instrumental guitar performance. The even-longer-anticipated 2020 sequel, Terminal Velocity, features former Dream Theater bandmate Mike Portnoy on drums, and the legendary Dave LaRue on bass. The instrumental trio hits the road this Fall in support of both albums, in what will surely be an unforgettable evening. This tour marks John Petrucci’s first headline tour as a solo artist, and the first time in 12 years that John and Mike will perform live together.

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GRAMMY® Award Winning Musician Mark Tremonti Announces ‘Tremonti Sings Sinatra’ To Support NDSS

FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE BANDS ALTER BRIDGE/ CREED/TREMONTI – PARTNERS WITH NATIONAL DOWN SYNDROME SOCIETY (NDSS) FOR NEW CHARITY INITIATIVE INSPIRED BY HIS DAUGHTER STELLA

Album Tremonti Sings Sinatra – Scheduled for Release On May 27th Through Mark’s New Charity Organization
Take A Chance For Charity – Now Available For Pre-Order: https://linktr.ee/marktremonti

Album Features Mark’s Interpretations of Selections From Frank Sinatra’s Catalog Backed by Members of Sinatra’s Touring Band –
Video For “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” Can Be Seen Here: https://youtu.be/vSqQ7Bdpxn0

GRAMMY® Award Winning musician, producer, author as well as founding member of hard rock bands Alter Bridge, Creed and Tremonti, Mark Tremonti is “stepping out” with his most-ambitious and challenging project to date. Mark has partnered with National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) as he releases an album of Frank Sinatra covers entitled Tremonti Sings Sinatra. The album of selections from Frank Sinatra’s catalog is being released as part of a new charity initiative created by Tremonti called Take A Chance For Charity. Proceeds from the album – scheduled for release on May 27th – will go to support NDSS and the work they do to advocate for and support individuals with Down syndrome and their families. Mark and his family were blessed to welcome their first daughter Stella last March – who was born with Down syndrome – and the idea for the project was born. A video sharing the story of Take A Chance For Charity can be seen here: https://youtu.be/7FroQm-63RI.

“For years, I’ve loved singing along to Frank’s songs,” Mark explains. “One night, I found an old video of him performing ‘The Song Is You’ from 1944. It made me want to dive into his vocal approach. I was all in and I wanted to do something with it. When we found out about our daughter Stella’s Down syndrome diagnosis, the stars aligned. My obsession with Sinatra had its reason. Frank Sinatra raised more than a billion dollars for charity and that is a fact I wish the public the public knew more about. Beneath his cool and calm persona, he had a big heart. Doing this charity in his name was another way the stars had aligned. I decided to do this record to raise funds for families and individuals with Down syndrome. This project is the start of a new purpose that I will have for the rest of my life.”

Mark Tremonti has come together with surviving members of Frank Sinatra’s orchestra, creating new takes on some of the classics and some deeper cuts from Frank’s catalog. From the opening horns and piano of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” to final vocal outro of “All Or Nothing At All,” Mark Tremonti showcases the signature vocal approach and exemplary musicianship that made Sinatra’s work timeless. To see his vision through, Mark reached out to Frank Sinatra’s musical director Mike Smith who collected as many remaining members as possible of Frank’s touring band to record the music for Tremonti Sings Sinatra. Popular standards like “I’ve Got The World On A String,” “My Way” and “That’s Life” find new life in the hands of these incredible musicians. Mark Tremonti – known for his guitar work that has won him countless accolades – leaves the instrument behind and just sings on the 14-track album. The artwork on the album cover is an original painting that Tremonti created especially for this project. A video for the first track “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” can be seen here: https://youtu.be/vSqQ7Bdpxn0.

Tremonti Sings Sinatra is now available for pre-order at: https://linktr.ee/marktremonti.

The track listing for Tremonti Sings Sinatra is:
1. I’ve Got You Under My Skin
2. I’ve Got The World On A String
3. I Fall In Love Too Easily
4. Wave
5. Fly Me To The Moon
6. Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
7. My Way
8. You Make Me Feel So Young
9. Luck Be A Lady
10. That’s Life
11. Come Fly With Me
12. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
13. The Song Is You
14. All Or Nothing At All

Mark Tremonti in Frank Sinatra’s Dressing Room
Photo Credit: Chuck Brueckmann

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It’s No Joke – “Joker” nabs 11 Academy Award nominations!

“Joker,” director Todd Phillips’ “origin” tale about Batman’s greatest foe scored a total of 11 Academy Award nominations today, leading all films this year.  The film earned nods in several major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director (for Phillips) and Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix.  “1917” and “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” tied for second place with 10 nominations each.

This year saw an amazing batch of first time nominees, many who have done award-worthy work in the past and have never been recognized.  They include Antonio Bandares (“Pain and Glory”) and Jonathan Pryce (“The Two Popes”) for Best Actor and Florence Pugh (“Little Women”) for Best Supporting Actress.  Scarlett Johansson earned her first two nominations this year, scoring nods for Best Actress (“Marriage Story”) and Best Supporting Actress (“Jo Jo Rabbit”).  But no less than eight of the acting nominees have Oscars already on their mantle while others, like Brad Pitt and Phoenix, have been nominated several times in the past.   The South Korean film “Parasite” also did well, earning six nominations, including Best Picture and Best International Feature Film (formerly Best Foreign Film).

Composer John Williams received his 52nd nomination for his score the “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”  Here are the nominees in the major categories:

BEST PICTURE

FORD v FERRARI

THE IRISHMAN

JOJO RABBIT

JOKER

LITTLE WOMEN

MARRIAGE STORY

1917

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

PARASITE

BEST DIRECTOR

Martin Scorsese – THE IRISHMAN

Todd Phillips – JOKER

Sam Mendes – 1917

Quentin Tarantino – ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

Bong Joo Ho – PARASITE

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Antonio Banderas – PAIN AND GLORY

Leonardo DiCaprio – ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

Adam Driver – MARRIAGE STORY

Joaquin Phoenix – JOKER

Jonathan Pryce – THE TWO POPES

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Cynthia Erivo – HARRIET

Scarlett Johansson – MARRIAGE STORY

Saoirse Ronan – LITTLE WOMEN

Charlize Theron – BOMBSHELL

Renee’ Zellwegger – JUDY

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tom Hanks – A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Anthony Hopkins – THE TWO POPES

Al Pacino – THE IRISHMAN

Joe Pesci – THE IRISHMAN

Brad Pitt – ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Kathy Bates – RICHARD JEWELL

Laura Dern – MARRIAGE STORY

Scarlett Johansson – JOJO RABBIT

Florence Pugh – LITTLE WOMEN

Margot Robbie – BOMBSHELL

This year ushers in a few things that you may be able to use when you play Trivia in a few years.  Should Phoenix win, he would become the second actor, following the late Heath Ledger, to win an Oscar by portraying the Joker.  This achievement has only been done once before, when both Marlon Brando (“The Godfather”) and Robert DeNiro (“The Godfather Part II”) each won Academy Awards for portraying Vito Corleone.  Also, this year marks the first time that a husband and wife were both nominated separately in writing categories.  Noah Baumbach is nominated for his original screenplay for “Marriage Story” while his wife, Greta Gerwig, is nominated for her adaptation of “Little Women.”

For a complete list of nominees, click HERE.

The Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 9th.

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“Jaws 2: The Making of the Hollywood Sequel” book nominated for Rondo Hatton Award


“Jaws 2: The Making of the Hollywood Sequel,” a book written by Media Mikes co-founder Michael A. Smith, with Louis R. Pisano, has been nominated in the category BOOK OF THE YEAR for the 17th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards.

The Rondo Awards have recognized, since 2002, the very best in film, television and publishing in the field of Classic Horror.

“Jaws 2: The Making of the Hollywood Sequel,” was initially published in 2015. However, Smith spent two years after its publication finding more behind the scenes photos and tracking down more members of the crew to tell their story about working on the Hollywood Sequel that launched the constant stream of films we have today.

The nominated book is a limited (to 1000 copies) signed and numbered edition, with the majority of the photos and images posted in color.

If you would like to vote for the book, send an email HERE and tell them you’d like to vote for the JAWS 2 book for Book of the Year. If you would like to order a copy, please click HERE.

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THE SHAPE OF WATER Dominates 90th Annual Academy Award Nominations

 

The Shape of Water, director Guillermo det Toro’s “fish out of water” love story, led all nominees when the nominations for the 90th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning, receiving thirteen, including Best Picture and both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for del Toro.

 

Other films with many nominations include Dunkirk (8),  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (7), Phantom Thread (6) and Lady Bird (5).  All of those films were nominated in the
Best Picture category.  Other Best Picture nominees:  Call Me by Your Name, Darkest Hour, Get Out and The Post.

 

Director Christopher Nolan finally earned his first nomination in the Best Director category for his work on Dunkirk.  Joining him are del Toro, Jordan Peele (Get Out), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird)
and Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread).

 

Best Actor nominees are Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name), Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) and Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq).  Missing from this list, in my opinion, is James Franco, whose work in The Disaster Artist, was nothing short of brilliant.

 

For Best Supporting Actor, the nominees are Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project), Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards), Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water), Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World) and Sam
Rockwell (Three Billboards).  This is Rockwell’s first nomination.  All of the other actors in this category have been nominated before, with Plummer winning the award for Beginners.  If he wins, I’m curious if Plummer will thank Kevin Spacey, who he replaced in the film.

 

Best Actress nods went to Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Frances McDormand (Three Billboards), Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) and Meryl Streep (The Post). Amazingly, this is Streep’s 20th Academy Award nomination, giving her eight more than 2nd place legends Katherine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson.

 

Best Supporting Actress nominees are Mary J. Blige (Mudbound), Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird) and Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water). Again, in my opinion, this list is missing Holly Hunter, who was so good in The Big Sick.

 

Speaking of multiple nominations, congratulations to composer John Williams, who earned his 51st nomination for his score for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

 

For a complete list of nominations, click HERE

 

The 90th Annual Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, March 4th

OSCAR images copyright AMPAAS

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The Journeys Alternative Press Music Awards Fueled by Monster Energy Announces 2016 Award Show Categories & Nominees

THE JOURNEYS ALTERNATIVE PRESS MUSIC AWARDS
FUELED BY MONSTER ENERGY

ANNOUNCES 2016 AWARD SHOW CATEGORIES & NOMINEES

EARLY BIRD TICKETS ON SALE NOW – ALL TICKETS ON SALE APRIL 4th
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS NOW!

2016 APMAS * JULY 18, 2016 * COLUMBUS, OH
LIVE FROM SCHOTTENSTEIN CENTER

Honorees, Presenters, Performers and More Coming Soon:
WWW.ALTPRESS.COM/APMAS

As announced last month, the 2016 Journeys Alternative Press Music Awards, Fueled by Monster Energy will air live on TV and social media on the evening of July 18th from Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH (555 Borror Dr., www.schottensteincenter.com). Displaced due to the Republican National Convention taking over its hometown of Cleveland, Alternative Press will stage their own Punk Rock Convention, hosted by Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat of eight-time AP cover stars All Time Low.

Although many of Alternative Press’ young readers may not be able to vote in the upcoming U.S. election, those same readers (in addition to music fans all around the globe) can let their voices be heard by voting for their favorite artists at the Alternative Press Music Awards! Voting is open now – in fact, during the past 16 hours, over 50,000 votes have been cast from 113 different countries around the world (including all 50 U.S. states). This is more than double the first round voting numbers within the first 24 hours from 2015.

See below for the official list of newly announced award categories and nominees, and visit the Vans Voting Site at www.altpress.com/apmas to cast your vote.

Best Vocalist:
1. Alex Gaskarth – All Time Low
2. Patrick Stump – Fall Out Boy
3. Kellin Quinn – Sleeping With Sirens
4. Lzzy Hale – Halestorm
5. Corey Taylor – Slipknot
6. Caleb Shomo – Beartooth

Best Drummer Presented By DW Drums:
1. Maxx Danziger – Set It Off
2. Loni Robinson – letlive.
3. Dani Washington – Neck Deep
4. Aaron Gillespie – Underoath
5. Jerod Boyd – Miss May I
6. Christian Coma – Black Veil Brides

Best Bassist Presented By Razor & Tie:
1. Skyler Acord – Issues
2. Ryan Neff – Miss May I
3. Matthew Taylor – Motion City Soundtrack
4. Ralph Sica – Being As An Ocean
5. Ahren Stringer – The Amity Affliction
6. Kelen Capener – The Story So Far

Best Guitarist:
1. Jack Fowler – Sleeping With Sirens
2. Kevin Skaff – A Day To Remember
3. Chad Gilbert – New Found Glory
4. Misha Mansoor – Periphery
5. JB Brubaker – August Burns Red
6. Kellen McGregor – Memphis May Fire

Artist Philanthropic Presented By Hopeless Records and Sub City:
1. Jake Luhrs – HeartSupport
2. Andrew McMahon – Dear Jack Foundation
3. The Used – Living the Dream
4. You Me At Six – Passport Back To The Bars, The Ghost Inside U.K. Fundraiser, PETA
5. The Wonder Years – Puppies Behind Bars, After School All-Stars, The Herren Project, Futures Without Violence
6. This Wild Life – National Breast Cancer Foundation

Most Dedicated Fanbase Presented By Fearless Records:
1. The Ghost Inside
2. New Years Day
3. Issues
4. PVRIS
5. The Maine
6. Mayday Parade

Song Of The Year Presented by Epitaph Records:
1. Pierce The Veil – “The Divine Zero”
2. Panic! At The Disco – “Hallelujah”
3. Of Mice & Men – “Would You Still Be There”
4. State Champs – “Secrets”
5. Falling in Reverse – “Just Like You”
6. Never Shout Never – “Hey! We OK”

Best International Band:
1. Babymetal [Japan]
2. Marianas Trench [Canada]
3. Parkway Drive [Australia]
4. One OK Rock [Japan]
5. As It Is [United Kingdom]
6. You Me At Six [United Kingdom]

Best Underground Band:
1. Moose Blood
2. Tiny Moving Parts
3. Creeper
4. Too Close To Touch
5. ROAM
6. Cane Hill

Breakthrough Band:
1. State Champs
2. Set It Off
3. Knuckle Puck
4. I Prevail
5. New Years Day
6. Neck Deep

Best Live Band:
1. Slipknot
2. Issues
3. Neck Deep
4. Beartooth
5. Motionless In White
6. Attila

Best Music Video Presented By Journeys:
1. Twenty One Pilots – “Stressed Out”
2. Panic! At The Disco – “Emperor’s New Clothes”
3. August Burns Red – “Identity”
4. State Champs – “If I’m Lucky”
5. The Wonder Years – “Cardinals”
6. All Time Low – “Something’s Gotta Give”

Artist Of The Year Presented By Monster Energy:
1. Real Friends
2. PVRIS
3. Fall Out Boy
4. Twenty One Pilots
5. Beartooth
6. All Time Low
7. Motionless In White
8. Slipknot
9. Panic! At The Disco
10. Sleeping With Sirens

Album Of The Year Presented By Journeys:
1. Bring Me The Horizon – That’s the Spirit
2. All Time Low – Future Hearts
3. Twenty One Pilots – Blurryface
4. Knuckle Puck – Copacetic
5. The Maine – American Candy
6. Sleeping With Sirens – Madness
7. State Champs – Around The World And Back
8. August Burns Red – Found In Far Away Places
9. Marilyn Manson – The Pale Emperor
10. Neck Deep – Life’s Not Out To Get You

Watch all of the exclusive Journeys Alternative Press Music Awards nominee announcement videos here, hosted by Tonight Alive’s Jenna McDougall and Set It Off’s Cody Carson.

Alternative Press Music Awards Early Bird tickets are on sale now – visit THIS LINKto grab yours! General sale tickets will be available through Ticketmaster beginning April 4th. In addition, the APMAs is partnering with PromoWest Fest (www.promowestfest.com, Columbus, OH, July 15-17), so tickets will also be available via their box office through Ticketmaster.

“Columbus is a huge music city, so we’re excited to host the APMAs this year. The date aligned perfectly with PromoWest Fest and we are working with the APMAs to leverage our two events to create a 4-day weekend that showcases top artists and music industry professionals. Stay tuned for some surprises,” states Becky Long, Vice President of Sales & Brand Marketing at PromoWest Fest.

Details regarding tickets and VIP packages, honorees, presenters, performers, pre-show parties, red carpet appearances, and more will be available soon via www.altpress.com/apmas.

Each Alternative Press Music Awards show has featured some of the greatest artists in modern music, ranging from today’s biggest rock stars such as Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! At The Disco and Weezer, to musical legends such as Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Slash, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Smashing Pumpkins and Ice-T. Countless renowned artists such as Rob Zombie, Blink-182, Twenty One Pilots, Taking Back Sunday, All Time Low, Motionless In White, Run of RUN DMC, Bring Me The Horizon, and beyond have appeared at the APMA’s, with spectacular performances from artists including (but not limited to) New Found Glory, Yellowcard, A Day To Remember, Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace, Motion City Soundtrack and more. Additionally, the APMA’s is recognized for presenting collaborative cover performances unlike music fans have ever seen before, like Joan Jett and Slash teaming up to perform “Star Star” by the Rolling Stones, Asking Alexandria performing Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like The Wolf” with Jonathan Davis of Korn, Halestorm and Slipknot/Stone Sour vocalist Corey Taylor covering Temple Of The Dog’s “Hunger Strike”, and many more.

Last year’s event – which took place July 22, 2015 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland – was a massive victory for the music community, garnering unprecedented support demonstrated by a staggering 15.7 billion total media impressions (over seven times the impressions of the 2014 show). Last year’s event also earned the title of “The GRAMMYs of Alternative Music” by TIME Magazine. The 2015 Alternative Press Music Awards achieved over 1 million views on AXS TV, and over 3 million views on YouTube. Re-live 2015’s best moments via the highlight reel here.

Building upon the success of last year’s event, the APMAs is thrilled to once again be supported by returning title sponsor Journeys, a leader in the teen specialty retail scene focused on lifestyle-driven branded footwear and accessories in over 800 stores across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. In addition to Journeys, the APMAs also welcomes fellow sponsors Monster Energy, CreativeLive, DW Drums, CD Baby, Disc Makers, Rise Records, Eleven Seven Music, Better Noise Records, Musician’s Institute, Earthquaker Devices, Razor & Tie, Hopeless Records, Sub City, Ernie Ball, Epitaph Records, Equal Vision Records, Merch Now, Vans and Fearless Records.

Don’t miss the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards and your chance to cast your vote for your favorite bands! Check www.altpress.com/apmas over the coming weeks for new announcements and information.

The APMAs are produced by Mike Shea, Joe Scarpelli, Josh Bernstein, Kevin Lyman and Marc Grant.

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“Birdman”, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Lead 87th Academy Award Nominations

“Birdman,” the film that triumphantly put Michael Keaton back on the map and “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wes Anderson’s fanciful comedy, led all films this morning when the nominations for the 87th Annual Academy Awards were announced, with each film garnering (9) nominations, including Best Picture.  Other films with multiple nominations include “The Imitation Game” (8), “American Sniper” and “Boyhood” (6) each, and “Interstellar,” “The Theory of Everything” and “Whiplash” with (5).  All of these films, with the exception of “Interstellar,” earned Best Picture nods.  The last film in the Best Picture race is “Selma,” which surprised many by only earning (2) nods.  Due to the revised voting system, only (8) films qualified for Best Picture nominations – a maximum of (10) are allowed.

In the race for Best Director, the nominees are Alejandro G. Inarritu (“Birdman”), Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”), Bennet Miller (“Foxcatcher”), Wes Anderson (“The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Morten Tyldum (“The Imitation Game”).

Bradley Cooper earned his third consecutive Oscar nomination, this one for Best Actor, for his role as real life soldier Chris Kyle in “American Sniper.”  Other nominees for Best Actor include Steve Carell (“Foxcatcher”), Bennedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game”), Michael Keaton (“Birdman”) and Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”).  Best Actress nominees are Marion Cotillard (“Two Days, One Night”), Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”), Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”), Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”) and Reese Witherspoon (“Wild”)

In the Supporting Actor category, the nominees are Robert Duvall (“The Judge”) Ethan Hawke (“Boyhood”), Edward Norton (“Birdman”), Mark Ruffalo (“Foxcatcher”) and J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”).  Supporting Actress nods went to Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”), Laura Dern (“Wild”), Keira Knightley (“The Imitation Game”), Emma Stone (“Birdman”) and Meryl Streep (“Into the Woods”).  This is Meryl Streep’s NINETEENTH acting nomination, an incredible achievement.

Nods for Best Animated Film went to “Big Hero 6,” “The Boxtrolls,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “Song of the Sea” and “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.”

The winners will be announced on February 22, 2015.  Mark you ballots now!

 

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“American Hustle” and “Gravity” Lead This Yeas Academy Award Nominations

“Gravity,” Alfonso Cuaron’s space masterpiece and “American Hustle,” David O’ Russell’s look back at the ABSCAM scandal of the 1970s, led all films nominated today for the upcoming 86th Annual Academy Awards. Both films received a total of 10 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

A total of 9 films were nominated for Best Picture this year, and those films nominated earned the lion’s share of other nominations. Right on the trail of “Gravity” and “American Hustle” comes “12 Years a Slave,” which earned 9 nominations. Three other Best Picture nominees earned 6 nominations each: “Captain Phillips,” “Dallas Buyer’s Club” and “Nebraska.” Two very difrerent films, Martin Scorsese’s tale of excess, “The Wolf of Wall Street” and Spike Jonze’s technical romance “Her” each had 5 nominations. Bringing up the rear is surprise nominee “Philomena,” which takes home 4 nods. Surprisingly missing from the list is the box office and critical favorite from earlier last year, “Lee Daniels The Butler,” which was shut out of every category it was eligible for.

“American Hustle” becomes the 15th film in Oscar history to receive nominations in all four acting categories. Ironically, director Russell’s previous film, “Silver Lining Playbook,” also duplicated that feat. “Silver Lining Playbook” was the first film to achieve this record since Warren Beatty’s “Reds” did it in 1981. Two of the “American Hustle” actors – Best Supporting Actor nominee Bradley Cooper and Best Supporting Actress nominee Jennifer Lawrence – were nominated in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories last year, with Lawrence taking home the Oscar. They are joined this year by Best Actor and Best Actress nominees Christian Bale and Amy Adams.

“Gravity”‘s only other major nomination was for Sandra Bullock as Best Actress. The majority of the film’s nomination are for technical achievements, including film editing and production design.

Bullock is among four previous Oscar winners in the Best Actress category which includes Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”, Judi Dench (“Philomena) and three time winner Meryl Streep (“August: Osage County”). Only Amy Adams of “American Hustle” is currently Oscar-less.

Best Actor is a contest between both Hollywood veterans and newcomers. Former Best Supporting Actor winner Christian Bale is nominated for “American Hustle,” while Bruce Dern earns his first Academy Award nomination since 1979’s “Coming Home” for “Nebraska.” Leonardo DiCaprio earns his fourth nomination for his work in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” These three are joined by Oscar newcomers Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club” and Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”).

Best Supporting Actor nominees include newcomer Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”), Cooper, Michael Fassbender (“12 Years a Slave’), Jonah Hill (“The Wolf of Wall Street”) and Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”). Best Supporting Actress noms went to Sally Hawkins (“Blue Jasmine”), Lawrence, Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”), previous Best Actress winner Julia Roberts (“August: Osage County”) and June Squibb (“Nebraska’).

Joining Cuaron and Russell in the Best Director category are Alexander Payne (“Nebraska”), Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) and previous winner Martin Scorsese (“The Wolf of Wall Street”).

“Frozen” leads the nominees for Best Animated Feature, which also includes “The Croods,” “Despicable Me 2,” “Ernest and Celestine” and “The Wind Rises.”

The 86th Annual Academy Awards will be presented live on March 2, 2014 on ABC Television.

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James Gandolfini, award winning star of “The Sopranos,” dead at 51

James Gandolfini, whose performance as mob boss Tony Soprano in HBO’s seminal series “The Sopranos” earned him multiple Emmy Awards, has passed away in Rome after an apparent heart attack. He was 51.

The New Jersey born actor first made an impression when he made his Broadway debut in the revival of “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1992. I was fortunate to see the show during it’s limited run and Gandolfini more than held his own against top billed stars Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange. Film fans will remember him as the hit man assigned to kill Patricia Arquette in Tony Scott’s adaptation of Quentin Tarantino’s “True Romance.”

Memorable supporting performances in films like “Get Shorty,” “A Civil Action” and “Fallen” led him to what would be the role he will most be associated with, Tony Soprano. His work earned him six Emmy nominations (and three awards) as well as four Golden Globe nods (with one win). He took advantage of his new popularity by getting lead roles in such films as “The Last Castle,” “The Taking of Pelham One, Two Three” and last year’s Best Picture nominee “Zero Dark Thirty.” He also gave an amazing performance (my words) giving voice to the character of Carol in the film adaptation of “Where the Wild Things Are.” He also returned to Broadway in 2009, earning a Best Actor in a Play Tony Award nomination for “Gods of Carnage.”

He was seen on screen earlier this year in the Steve Carell comedy “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” and, according to the Internet Movie Data Base, has two more film projects being released posthumously.

 

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Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: 51, award, dead, gandolfini, james, sopranos, ...

Coach Bill Courtney talks about football and Academy Award Winning Documentary "Undefeated"

You may not know the name Bill Courtney but if you’re lucky you know, or knew, someone like him. Courtney was the volunteer head coach for the Manassas (Tennessee) High School football team for seven years. Even though he has his own business and a large family of his own, Courtney takes time out every day to make sure that the boys at Manassas that want to play football can. “Football doesn’t build character,” the coach believes, “it reveals it.” During what would be his final season at Manassas, the coach and his team were followed around by a camera crew highlighting O.C. Brown, a player who, reminiscent of the story of Michael Oher which was told in “The Blind Side,” was being helped along by a local family to ensure he studied hard so that he could go to college. But the camera captured much more. The resulting film, “Undefeated,” went on to win last year’s Academy Award as the year’s Best Documentary. While preparing for the film’s release this week on DVD, Coach Courtney took time out to talk with Media Mikes about football, his players and why people in Tennessee are so giving.

Mike Smith: I have to ask – The Touhy family took in Michael Oher. The Finley family took in Patrick Willis. (NOTE: Willis, from Bruceton, Tennessee, was taken in by his high school basketball coach and his family. What’s incredible about these stories is that earlier this year Oher and Willis squared off against each other in the Super Bowl). Yourself and your coaches at Manassas. Is there something in the water in Tennessee that gives people such great hearts?
Bill Courtney: (laughs) I’ve done about 100,000 interviews and that’s the first time that question has been asked. I don’t know! In the South we still teach civility and humility…love for your common man. Maybe that translates to this. I haven’t really thought about it. There are people all over this country that do wonderful things for kids in all kinds of communities. The truth is I think we just happened to have our stories told. I think we’re just representatives of a whole community of people from all over the country that do lots of things to help the neediest. We were just the lucky ones to have our stories told.

MS: What was the initial idea pitched to you from the filmmakers when they approached you about filming you and the team?
BC: The local Memphis newspaper, “The Commercial Appeal,” and their sportswriter, Jason Smith, wrote a story about one of our players, O.C. Brown, living with Mike Ray, one of our offensive line coaches, and his family and me driving him back and forth from school in order for him to get tutoring so that he could get qualified to go to college. The producer of the film read the story on line while he was surfing through some recruiting websites. He’s a big University of Tennessee fan and Tennessee was recruiting O.C.. When he saw the story he thought it might make an interesting, small documentary. He called me and we met so he could hear more about that story. When they got here they found out the greater story of Manassas…of the coaches and all the kids…and decided that there was a bigger story to tell. He told me he was going back to L.A. to get funding to make a movie. Of course, when he left we all thought that was the last time we’d see him but four weeks later, after closing up their apartments and selling off their belongings the filmmakers moved to Memphis on a shoe-string budget and started making a movie that nobody thought anybody would ever see. And lo and behold…here we are!

MS: How did the team react with the cameras constantly following them around? Was it an intrusion or did they get used to it?
BC: It would be pretty disingenuous to say that at first the kids and the coaches weren’t aware. But also, you just had two guys with two small cameras. There were no boom mikes…no lighting…no sound. It was two guys with what looked like camcorders. That’s what the entire movie was shot on. So it really wasn’t this big production, which made it less intrusive. I don’t know if I’d believe this if I hadn’t gone through the experience but, honestly, after three or four days…after a week…you kind of get used to it. They worked so hard to know the players and the coaches and the teachers that, when they weren’t around, people were more cognoscente of it. “Hey coach, where’s the film guys?” “I don’t know.” The days they didn’t show were stranger then the days they did because they were there almost every day for a year. You honestly eventually just get used to it.

MS: I see that O.C. transferred this year to Austin Peay. How is he doing, both as a student and as an athlete? (NOTE: At the end of “Undefeated” O.C. is admitted to Southern Mississippi University).
BC: I just saw him at Christmas break and talked to him last week. I still talk to all the guys regularly. O. C. had some struggles with his grades and Southern Miss had a coaching change. The coaches that were there were really fond of O.C. and worked with him really hard to keep him where he needed to be academically. But I think after the coaching change O.C. was uncomfortable. He transferred to Austin Peay and started nine games this season. He hurt his knee and missed the last two games and now he’ll be starting next year. I’ll have three former players starting on the offensive side of the ball at Austin Peay next year. I suspect I’ll be making some travels up to Clarksville to watch those guys play.

MS: When we announced we were going to interview you the question we were asked most to ask you was if you still keep in touch with Money and Chavis? And if so, how are they doing? (NOTE: Chavis Daniels and Montrail “Money” Brown are two of the young men whose stories feature prominently in the film)
BC: Absolutely! You have to remember I was a coach at Manassas for seven years. I’ve known most of these boys since they were in sixth or seventh grade. I’m still very, very fond of them and am probably still their biggest supporters. Chavis is doing well. He goes to Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He’s playing football – outside linebacker – and is still In school. He’s doing very well. Money…when O.C. left Southern Miss he left Southern Miss as well and is enrolled in community college here in Memphis. Most importantly he just got back from North Carolina where he was trained as a Young Life educator and is now setting up Young Life chapters in the inner-city schools all over Memphis to do devotionals and mentorships with inner city kids. I actually spoke to Money yesterday and he’s got as many as fifteen kids in different chapters in the Memphis city schools and he goes in the mornings and talks with them and helps mentor them. Money has found a calling to give back in the way he was helped and he’s still in school. The guys are doing really well. I couldn’t be more proud of them.

MS: When the film ends, you’ve left Manassas to coach your son’s team. Your first game was against Manassas. What did it feel like to be on the opposite sideline? BC: It was terrible. There was enormous trepidation leading up to that game personally, obviously. I mean those are like my sons over there, you know? I love them. And to have to go coach against them was really a very difficult thing for me. It was difficult for them as well. I was so glad when it was over with. It was tough. Very tough!

MS: Can I ask who won?
BC: We did.

MS: Thank you so much for your time, coach. I have to tell you, when I watched the film, it made me think back to my high school days. I owe a lot to my coaches for keeping me on the straight and narrow.
BC: I appreciate that. I honestly think that’s why so many people across all kinds of cultures and racial divides identify with this movie because they either remember a coach that did something for them that impacted their life in a positive way or are coaches doing that very thing. I think this film brings out the humanity in that. I appreciate you saying that…thanks for the kind words.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: academy, award, bill, coach, courtney, documentary, ...

The 2012 Grammy Award Winners & Wrap-up

The 2012 Grammys were held on Sunday, February 12th 2012 at the Staple center in Los Angeles California. Though the night may have been overshadowed by the death of Whitney Houston the show continued on. Performances by Bruce Springsteen, the reformed Beach Boys, The Foo Fighters, and a touching rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” performed by Jennifer Hudson were definite highlights of the night. A heavily religious themed performance by Niky Minaj left people either scratching their heads or highly disturbed. LL Cool J did an ok job as the host for the event however his segues were kept very brief. Chris Brown made several appearances over the course of the evening as he has seemed to have earned his way back into the good graces of the music community. The big winners of the night were Adele who brought home 5 Grammy’s including one for Record of the Year and Album of the Year. The Foo Fighters also took home 5 Grammy’s which included Best Rock performance and Best Rock Album. Other noted winners were Bon Iver who beat out the likes of Skrillex and The Band Perry for Best new Artist while Lady Antebellum took home the award for Best Country Album beating out the likes of Jason Aldean and country staple George Strait. As with any awards show there will be high points and low points. Sadly I think the 2012 Grammy’s had more lows than highs but to end on a positive there are some really big releases slated for this year that will hopefully catch the attention of the right people.

2012 Grammy Award Winners

Record of the Year- “Rolling In the Deep” – Adele

Album of the Year- “21” – Adele

Song of the Year- “Rolling in the Deep” – Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)

Best New Artist- Bon Iver

Best Pop Solo Performance- “Someone Like You” – Adele

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance- “Body And Soul” – Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse

Best Pop Instrumental Album- “The Road From Memphis” – Booker T. Jones

Best Pop Vocal Album- “21” – Adele

Best Dance Recording- “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites” – Skrillex

Best Dance/Electronica Album- “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites” – Skrillex

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album- “Duets II” – Tony Bennett & Various Artists

Best Rock Performance- “Walk” – Foo Fighters

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance- “White Limo” – Foo Fighters

Best Rock Song- “Walk” – Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters)

Best Rock Album- “Wasting Light” – Foo Fighters

Best Alternative Music Album- “Bon Iver” – Bon Iver

Best R&B Performance- “Is This Love” – Corinne Bailey Rae

Best Traditional R&B Performance- “Fool For You” – Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona

Best R&B Song- “Fool For You” – Cee Lo Green & Jack Splash, songwriters (Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona)

Best R&B Album- “F.A.M.E.” – Chris Brown

Best Rap Performance- “Otis” – Jay-Z & Kanye West

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration- “All Of The Lights” – Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie

Best Rap Song- “All Of The Lights” – Jeff Bhasker, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)

Best Rap Album- “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” – Kanye West

Best Country Solo Performance- “Mean” – Taylor Swift

Best Country Duo/Group Performance- “Barton Hollow” – The Civil Wars

Best Country Song- “Mean” – Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)

Best Country Album- “Own The Night” – Lady Antebellum

Best New Age Album- “What’s It All About” – Pat Metheny “Instrumental Oasis, Vol. 6” – Zamora

Best Improvised Jazz Solo- “500 Miles High” – Chick Corea, soloist

Best Jazz Vocal Album- “The Mosaic Project” – Terry Lyne Carrington & Various Artists

Best Jazz Instrumental Album- “Forever” – Corea, Clarke & White

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album- “The Good Feeling” – Christian McBride Big Band

Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance- “Jesus” – Le’Andria Johnson

Best Gospel Song- “Hello Fear” – Kirk Franklin, songwriter (Kirk Franklin)

Best Contemporary Christian Music Song- “Blessings” – Laura Story, songwriter (Laura Story)

Best Gospel Album- “Hello Fear” – Kirk Franklin

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album- “And If Our God Is For Us…” – Chris Tomlin

Best Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album- “Drama Y Luz” – Maná

Best Regional Mexican or Tejano Album- “Bicentenario” – Pepe Aguilar

Best Banda or Norteño Album- “Los Tigres Del Norte And Friends” – Los Tigres Del Norte

Best Tropical Latin Album- “The Last Mambo” – Cachao

Best Americana Album- “Ramble At The Ryman” – Levon Helm

Best Bluegrass Album- “Paper Airplane” – Alison Krauss & Union Station

Best Blues Album- “Revelator” – Tedeschi Trucks Band

Best Folk Album- “Barton Hollow” – The Civil Wars

Best Regional Roots Music Album- “Rebirth Of New Orleans” – Rebirth Brass Band

Best Reggae Album- “Revelation Pt 1: The Root Of Life” – Stephen Marley

Best World Music Album- “Tassili” – Tinariwen

Best Children’s Album- “All About Bullies… Big And Small” – (Various Artists) James Cravero, Gloria Domina, Kevin Mackie, Steve Pullara & Patrick Robinson, producers

Best Spoken Word Album- “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t)” – Betty White

Best Comedy Album- “Hilarious” – Louis C.K.

Best Musical Theater Album- “The Book Of Mormon” – Josh Gad & Andrew Rannells, principal soloists; Anne Garefino, Robert Lopez, Stephen Oremus, Trey Parker, Scott Rudin & Matt Stone, producers; Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media– “Boardwalk Empire: Volume 1” – (Various Artists)

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media- “The King’s Speech” – Alexandre Desplat, composer

Best Song Written For Visual Media- “I See The Light” (From “Tangled”) – Alan Menken & Glenn Slater, songwriters (Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi)

Best Instrumental Composition- “Life In Eleven” – Béla Fleck & Howard Levy, composers (Béla Fleck & The Flecktones)

Best Instrumental Arrangement- “Rhapsody In Blue” – Gordon Goodwin, arranger (Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist (s)- “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)” – Jorge Calandrelli, arranger (Tony Bennett & Queen Latifah)

Best Recording Packaging- “The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story” – Dave Bett & Michelle Holme, art directors (Bruce Springsteen) “25th Anniversary Music Box” – Matt Taylor & Ellen Wakayama, art directors (Danny Elfman & Tim Burton)

Best Album Notes- “Hear Me Howling!: Blues, Ballads & Beyond As Recorded By The San Francisco Bay By Chris Strachwitz In The 1960s” – Adam Machado, album notes writer (Various Artists)

Best Historical Album- “Band On The Run (Paul McCartney Archive Collection – Deluxe Edition)” – Paul McCartney, compilation producer; Sam Okell & Steve Rooke, mastering engineers (Paul McCartney & Wings)

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical- “Paper Airplane” – Mike Shipley, engineer; Brad Blackwood, mastering engineer (Alison Krauss & Union Station)

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical- Paul Epworth – “Call It What You Want” (Foster The People) (T); “I Would Do Anything For You” (Foster The People) (T); “I’ll Be Waiting” (Adele) (T); “Life On The Nickel” (Foster The People) (T); “No One’s Gonna Love You” (Cee-Lo Green) (S); “Rolling In The Deep” (Adele)(T)

Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical- “Cinema” (Skrillex Remix) – Sonny Moore, remixer (Benny Benassi)

Best Surround Sound Album- “Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs (Super Deluxe Edition)” – Elliot Scheiner, surround mix engineer; Bob Ludwig, surround mastering engineer; Bill Levenson & Elliot Scheiner, surround producers (Derek & The Dominos)

Best Engineered Album, Classical- “Aldridge: Elmer Gantry” – Byeong-Joon Hwang & John Newton, engineers; Jesse Lewis, mastering engineer (William Boggs, Keith Phares, Patricia Risley, Vale Rideout, Frank Kelley, Heather Buck, Florentine Opera Chorus & Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)

Producer Of The Year, Classical- Judith Sherman – “Adams: Son Of Chamber Symphony; String Quartet” (John Adams, St. Lawrence String Quartet & International Contemporary Ensemble); “Capricho Latino” (Rachel Barton Pine); “85th Birthday Celebration” (Claude Frank); “Insects & Paper Airplanes – Chamber Music Of Lawrence Dillon” (Daedalus Quartet & Benjamin Hochman); “Midnight Frolic – The Broadway Theater Music Of Louis A.

Best Orchestral Performance- “Brahms: Symphony No. 4” – Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Best Opera Recording- “Adams: Doctor Atomic” – Alan Gilbert, conductor; Meredith Arwady, Sasha Cooke, Richard Paul Fink, Gerald Finley, Thomas Glenn & Eric Owens; Jay David Saks, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)

Best Choral Performance-“Light & Gold” – Eric Whitacre, conductor (Christopher Glynn & Hila Plitmann; The King’s Singers, Laudibus, Pavão Quartet & The Eric Whitacre Singers)

Best Small Ensemble Performance- “Mackey: Lonely Motel – Music From Slide” – Rinde Eckert & Steven Mackey; Eighth Blackbird

Best Classical Instrumental Solo- “Schwantner: Concerto For Percussion & Orchestra” – Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Christopher Lamb (Nashville Symphony); Track from:

Best Classical Vocal Solo- “Diva Divo” – Joyce DiDonato (Kazushi Ono; Orchestre De L’Opéra National De Lyon; Choeur De L’Opéra National De Lyon)

Best Contemporary Classical Composition- “Aldridge, Robert: Elmer Gantry” – Robert Aldridge & Herschel Garfein “Crumb, George: The Ghosts Of Alhambra” – George Crumb; Track from:

Best Short Form Music Video- “Rolling In The Deep” – Adele; Sam Brown, video director; Hannah Chandler, video producer

Best Long Form Music Video- “Foo Fighters: Back And Forth” – Foo Fighters; James Moll, video director; James Moll & Nigel Sinclair, video producers

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Filed Under: Music Headlines Tagged With: 2012, award, grammy, winners, wrapup

Demian Bichir Receives Nomination for 2012 Film Independent Spirit Award

DEMIÁN BICHIR RECEIVES NOMINATION

FOR 2012 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD

Mexican Actor Up For Best Male Lead In “A Better Life”

LOS ANGELES, CA –   Mexican Actor Demián Bichir has been nominated for Best Male Lead for his role in “A Better Life” at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards. This is the first nomination for a Spirit Award for the actor.

“A Better Life”,  from Oscar nominated director Chris Weitz (“About a Boy”), tells the story of an undocumented immigrant and hardworking single dad Carlos Galindo (Demián Bichir), who embarks on a physical and spiritual journey in order to reconnect with his teenage son and keep him from getting pulled into the local gang life.  “A Better Life” is a touching, poignant, multi-generational story that critics call “compelling”, “intelligent” and “heartfelt”.

The film was written by Eric Eason based on a story by Roger L. Simon.  Set in a Hispanic community and shot entirely in Los Angeles, the film features an almost entirely Hispanic cast and explores the culture and geography of Los Angeles.  “I feel honored to be a part of this movie, and to be nominated for this award. I am in debt to Chris Weitz, for having trusted me with this amazing character.  Nothing that is on the screen could have been done without Chris’s direction”, stated Demián Bichir.

Chris Weitz, also known for directing “Twilight: New Moon”, and “American Pie”, stated “Demián gave his heart and soul to give a voice to the voiceless, and I am delighted that the independent film community is recognizing his performance for this film.”

Winners will be announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 25, 2012.  The 27th annual awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, and the premiere broadcast will air later that evening at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on IMedia.

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“Sailcloth” starring Oscar nominee John Hurt, selected for 2012 Academy Short Film Award consideration

“Sailcloth” starring Oscar® nominee John Hurt, selected for 2012 Academy Short Film Award consideration
SAILCLOTH – starring world-renowned actor John Hurt – is a heartfelt story of an elderly gentleman who disappears from a nursing home. The 18-minute non-dialogue film, written and directed by Elfar Adalsteins, is already an award winning film having picked up the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Rhode Island International Film Festival to a standing ovation. Subsequently, the film has gone on to get a recommendation for the 2012 Academy Short Film Awards.

Sailcloth shares the poignant story of an elderly widower, played by Hurt, as he sets in motion a series of events to hide his disappearance from a nursing home. After gathering necessities he heads to the local pier where a beloved companion awaits him – ready to take their last great journey.

John Hurt, one of the UK’s most legendary actors, stars in this emotional film portraying the widower with a natural ease that effortlessly pulls you into. Hurt, a two time Academy® Award Nominee, has won countless accolades during his extensive career, including three BAFTA’s and a Golden Globe.

This Oscar worthy film is written and directed by Elfar Adalsteins (www.elfaradalsteins.com) and produced by his company Berserk Films. Elfar’s began his career as a producer, working on feature films such as ‘Country Wedding’, the Oscar® longlisted ‘Mamma Gógó’ and ‘Black Rabbit Summer’ he developed in collaboration with Ruby Films. Elfar’s directorial feature film debut is currently in the final stages of development and is scheduled to move into production in 2012.

With John’s wonderful portrayal of the widower and Elfar’s expertly realized vision, it is no wonder that this emotional story of love and courage is causing such an Oscar Buzz.

 

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Filed Under: Film Headlines Tagged With: 2012, academy, award, consideration, film, hurt, ...

Oscar Worthy Award Winning Film “The Sea Is All I Know” starring Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo

Oscar worthy Award winning film ‘The Sea Is All I Know’ starring Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo

‘The Sea Is All I Know’ stars Oscar Winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter) and Peter Gerety (The Wire) and encompasses the controversial subject of assisted suicide.  Through this extraordinary journey the film shares a story of love in the face of death.

This wonderful picture has already won awards from Palm Springs International Film Festival ‘Best of Festival’ and the Rhode Island International Film Festival where Melissa won the ‘Grand Prize for Best Actress’.  Not surprisingly ‘The Sea Is All I Know’ is already receiving rave reviews; Darryl MacDonald, Executive Director of Palms Springs International ShortFest calls it “An Oscar Best Bet” and an “incredibly moving tale of family and faith” while praising the performances “Melissa Leo gives a heart-wrenching, typically brilliant performance.”   Jessica Gardner from BackStage praises the director Jordan Bayne saying she “allows the viewer to get pulled into the     characters’ inner conflict” as well as the stand out performance from Melissa “Leo’s raw, jaw-dropping performance can take an audience’s breath away” and Peter “Gerety is so perfectly cast, he turns in an outstanding and multilayered performance”.

‘The Sea Is All I Know’ is an honest portrait of a family coming to terms with their relationship to death. When estranged couple, Sara [Melissa Leo] and Sonny [Peter Gerety], come to the aid of their dying daughter, the experience sends them spiraling into spiritual crisis and brutal heartbreak. In the end, an act of selfless love, renews their lives, transcends their loss of faith, even death itself.

Jordan Bayne wrote, directed and produced this heartfelt film. Through excellent casting and classic story telling she has created an Oscar worthy unconventional love story  ‘The Sea Is All I Know’.

Official Website: www.seathefilm.com

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Filed Under: Film Headlines Tagged With: academy, award, film, leo, melissa, oscar, ...

Mary Tyler Moore Honored With 2011 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award

Mary Tyler Moore Honored With 2011 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award

48th Annual Accolade to be Presented During the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® Simulcast Live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, January 29, 2012

LOS ANGELES (September 8, 2011) – Renowned actress, producer and humanitarian Mary Tyler Moore will receive Screen Actors Guild (SAG)’s most prestigious accolade – the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. Moore created a new paradigm for female leads in television, won top honors for her courageous performances in film, television and on stage, produced some of the most lauded television programs of all time, and for thirty years, has served as a tireless advocate giving hope to all those afflicted with Type 1 diabetes.

Moore will be presented the Award, given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, which premieres live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, at 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT, 6 p.m. MT and 5 p.m. PT.

In making today’s announcement, Screen Actors Guild National President Ken Howard said, “Mary Tyler Moore won our hearts as Laura Petrie and Mary Richards, our respect as her production company became synonymous with quality television, our awe as she tackled difficult subject matter in film and on Broadway, and our admiration she turned her public recognition into a catalyst to draw attention to critical and deeply personal health and social issues. She truly embodies the spirit behind SAG’s Life Achievement Award, and we are honored to proclaim her as its 48th recipient.”

Holder of seven Emmys®, a Tony® and an Academy Award® nomination, among numerous industry and philanthropic accolades, Mary Tyler Moore first rose to prominence when she was cast at 23 as Dick Van Dyke’s wife in his eponymous sitcom, based loosely on the experiences of comedy writer Carl Reiner. Smart, feisty and down-to-earth in capri pants and fashionable tops, Moore’s Laura Petrie was new kind of television wife and mother. The audiences loved her and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded her two Emmys and a nomination during the show’s five-year run.

Following “The Dick Van Dyke Show’s” successful run, Moore combined her acting, singing and dancing talents in 1967 as Julie Andrew’s co-star in the 1920’s film musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” She was Elvis Presley’s final leading lady in 1969’s “Change of Habit” and the same year made her television movie debut in the drama “Run A Crooked Mile.”

When CBS beckoned with the offer to develop her own television series, Moore formed a production company, MTM, with her then husband Grant Tinker. Their groundbreaking comedy “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” premiered on September 19, 1970. While other comedies had been set in the workplace, Moore’s chronicled the career, friendships and dating life of a single, thirtyish, spunky, independent, career woman, in the unseen world of local TV news. With a brilliant cast, the character-driven series redefined the meaning of ensemble comedy and of family. In its seven-year run garnered 29 Emmys, including four for its star. Nearly 25 years later Moore was present as TV Land dedicated a statue in downtown Minneapolis depicting the iconic moment in the show’s opening credit’s when a hopeful Mary Richards tosses her hat in the air.

Moore and Tinker’s MTM Enterprises continued to produce an impressive list of landmark comedies and dramas including “The Bob Newhart Show”, “Newhart, “WKRP in Cincinnati,” “Hill Street Blues” “The White Shadow” (starring current SAG president Ken Howard) and “St. Elsewhere,” Characters from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” became the focus for several successful spin-offs in the 1970s: “Rhoda,” starring Valerie Harper; “Phyllis,” starring Cloris Leachman; and “Lou Grant,” starring Ed Asner (SAG’s 38th Life Achievement recipient), which significantly took Asner’s gruff but soft-hearted journalist from TV newsroom comedy into a hard-hitting newspaper-set drama.

Moore showcased her dramatic talent in her Emmy-nominated depiction of TV correspondent Betty Rollin’s battle with breast cancer in the 1978 CBS telefilm “First You Cry.” In 1980 Moore was nominated for an Oscar® for her riveting portrayal of Beth Jarrett, a bitter mother coping with the death of one son and the attempted suicide of another in the Robert Redford-directed drama “Ordinary People.” The same year she continued to explore painful subject matter onstage in the hit Broadway play “Whose Life Is It, Anyway?” which earned her a Tony for playing a quadriplegic sculptor fighting to determine her own destiny, a role originated by Tom Conti and rewritten for its female star in her Broadway debut.

Other feature films include: “Six Weeks,” opposite Dudley Moore; David O, Russell’s “Flirting with Disaster”; and Peter Calahan’s dark comedy Against The Current, opposite Joseph Fiennes and Justin Kirk, which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Moore’s success in telefilms has continued across decades: In 1984, she delivered an Emmy-nominated performance in the ABC television movie “Heartsounds” opposite James Garner (SAG’s 41st Life Achievement recipient),; received a Cable Ace nomination for HBO’s “Finnegan Begin Again” opposite Robert Preston and Sam Waterson; delivered a stunning portrayal of disturbed first lady Mary Todd Lincoln in the 1988 NBC miniseries “Gore Vidal’s Lincoln;” and won her seventh Emmy in 1993 for her performance as a spinster trafficking in illegal adoption in Lifetime’s “Stolen Babies.”

Other telefilm credits include TNT’s “Miss Lettie and Me” and the CBS television films “Like Mother, Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes”; “Snow Wonder”; and “Blessings” based on the Anna Quindlan novel. She and Dick Van Dyke showcased their old spark in a PBS version of D. L. Coburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning nursing home-set stage play “The Gin Game,” then reunited with a large number of their former cast mates in TV Land’s nostalgic “The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited.”

Moore’s television guest roles include: a recurring run as Tea Leoni’s mother “The Naked Truth,” an appearance as Ellen DeGeneres’s Aunt Mary in a Christmas episode of “Ellen,” a recurring stint as a high-strung TV host on “That 70’s Show” and a multi-episode arc in NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle.” This year, on the season premiere of “Hot in Cleveland,” Moore reunited onscreen with Betty White for the first time since “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” sharing a jail cell with White’s character, Elka, who was arrested in the season one cliffhanger.
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Moore returned to the stage in 1987 to star opposite Lynn Redgrave in A. R. Gurney Jr.’s “Sweet Sue” and has performed numerous benefit readings of Gurney’s two-person “Love Letters,” starring opposite James Earl Jones to benefit, the Poughkeepsie Day School, Patrick Stewart to benefit the Ethical Culture School and Gene Wilder for the North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center Association, as well as opposite Gurney himself.

Moore’s first autobiography, “After All,” published in 1995, was a frank exploration of her childhood, personal challenges and career. Her second book, “Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes” is a candid, humorous and illuminating detailing of her battles with the disease since she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (then called “juvenile diabetes” for its prevalence among children) in 1970 at age 33. The book includes conversations with remarkable people who live with the disease and those who work on the frontiers of medical research. Moore donated all her profits from “Growing Up Again” to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the world’s leading funder and advocate for Type 1 diabetes science.

Moore has been JDRF’s International Chairman since 1984. She has also chaired JDRF’s biennial Children’s Congress since its inception in 1999, leading up to 200 children with Type 1 diabetes to Washington, D.C. to meet face-to-face with congressional representatives. Moore has been at the vanguard of JDRF’s visit on Capitol Hill, testifying before the House and Senate on behalf of increased National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for Type 1 diabetes, which affects as many as 3 million children and adults. Moore and her husband, Dr. S Robert Levine, have been generous supporters of JDRF’s research programs and in 2003 established JDRF’s “Excellence in Clinical Research Award” in recognition of outstanding diabetes researchers. She herself was honored by JDRF in 2007 with its Humanitarian of the Year Award.

Among many other accolades, Moore received the 1984 Women in Film Crystal Award, was immortalized in 1992 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was presented with the American Screenwriters Association first David Angell Humanitarian Award in 2002 and in 2009 was honored with the National Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award.

Moore co-founded Broadway Barks with Bernadette Peters in 1999. The annual event held in Broadway’s Shubert Alley promotes the adoption of shelter animals, seeks to end euthanasia of dogs and cats in New York City and fosters a spirit of community among the number shelters and rescue groups working throughout the city. New York Major Michael Bloomberg proclaimed this year’s July 9, 2011, event as “Broadway Barks Day.”

The Brooklyn-born daughter of George Tyler Moore and Marjorie Hackett, Moore, Moore had moved with her family to California at 8 and aspired to be a dancer. After graduating Immaculate Heart High School, she broke into commercials, then gained acting credentials in television, first as the only partially-glimpsed switchboard operator on “Richard Diamond, Private Eye” and in guest roles in more than a dozen popular series, such as ““Hawaiian Eye,” “77 Sunset Strip,” and “Wanted: Dead or Alive.”

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with Screen Actors Guild Awards®, LLC. Jeff Margolis is the executive producer and director. Kathy Connell is the producer. JoBeth Williams, Daryl Anderson, Scott Bakula, Shelley Fabares and Paul Napier are producers for SAG. Gloria Fujita O’Brien and Mick McCullough are supervising producers. Benn Fleishman is executive in charge of production. Rosalind Jarrett is the Executive in Charge of Publicity. Jon Brockett is the Awards Coordinating Producer.

Screen Actors Guild is the nation’s largest labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists’ rights amid the digital revolution sweeping the entertainment industry in the 21st century. With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents more than 125,000 actors who work in film and digital theatrical motion pictures and television programs, commercials, video games, corporate/educational, Internet and all new media formats. The Guild exists to enhance actors’ working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists’ rights. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama. Seen in 100.5 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Emmy® winner Kyra Sedgwick; Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Falling Skies, starring Noah Wyle; Franklin & Bash, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; Southland, from Emmy-winning producer John Wells; and Memphis Beat, starring Jason Lee and Alfre Woodard, as well as the upcoming series Major Crimes, Dallas and Perception. TNT also presents compelling original movies, including a slate of thrillers set to premiere this fall in The TNT Mystery Movie Night showcase. TNT is the cable home to powerful dramas like The Mentalist, Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and, starting next year, Castle; primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; blockbuster movies; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. TNT is available in high-definition.

TBS, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television’s top-rated comedy network and is available in 100.8 million households. It serves as home to such original comedy series as “Are We There Yet?” Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne,” Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” and the upcoming Tyler Perry’s “For Better or Worse; the Emmy®-nominated late-night series “CONAN,” starring Conan O’Brien; hot contemporary comedies like “Family Guy,” “The Office,” and “The Big Bang Theory,” which begins later this year; special events, including star-studded comedy festivals in Chicago; blockbuster movies; hosted movie showcases and championship sports.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

 

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