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May 19 2013 | 09:51 am
Female representation in films at a five-year low: "But for a while, things were looking up. 'Bridesmaids,' a movie written by, for and about women, did well at the box office. 'The Hunger Games' had a female heroine. Disney’s 'Brave' won Oscars with a strong female protagonist. But don’t be fooled: women are still extremely underrepresented in Hollywood." Smithsonian
Ranking the best and worst "Star Trek" films as "Star Trek Into Darkness" opens in theaters. In Contention
Tom Hanks may reprise his Tony-nominated "Lucky Guy" role in London in 2014. Broadway World
Actors' Equity honors actors Annaleigh Ashford, Michael Urie, Kristine Nielsen, and Lewis J. Stadlen: "Annaleigh Ashford and Michael Urie are the two recipients of the Derwent Award, given to the New York theater season's most promising female and male performers ... Kristine Nielsen and Lewis J. Stadlen are this year's recipients of the Actors' Equity Richard Seff Award, honoring a veteran female and male character actor for the best performance in a supporting role in a Broadway or off-Broadway production." Theater Mania
Three new musicals driving Broadway box office: "Kinky Boots," "Motown," and "Matilda." New York Times
Chopard Jewellers designs the Cannes Film Festival's Pale d'Or for the 13th year in a row. Haute Living
"Pippin" national tour will begin in Denver in September 2014. Theater Mania
While the Drama League does not distinguish between Broadway and off-Broadway when doling out honors, all five of its prizes went to Tony Awards contenders this year.
"Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" won Best Play over, among others, its three Tony rivals: "The Assembled Parties," "Lucky Guy" and "The Testament of Mary." Also in contention were two other Broadway plays -- "I'll Eat You Last" and "The Nance" -- as well as off-Broadway productions "Old Hats" and "The Whale."
Last year, "Other Desert Cities" won here but was bested by "Clybourne Park" at the Tonys. Two years ago, "War Horse" took both prizes.
"Kinky Boots" was named Best Musical over Tonys rival "Matilda" as well as the Tony-snubbed "Motown" and four off-Broadway hits: "Dogfight," "Here Lies Love," "Murder Ballad" and "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812."
Last year, "Once" won here before pulling off an upset at the Tonys. Two years ago, "The Book of Mormon" claimed this prize before sweeping the Tonys.
While the League gives prizes for best play and musical as well as revivals of each genre, it is unique among the theater kudos in that it hands out only one award for distinguished performance. And once won, the performer cannot contend again.
This year's winner was Nathan Lane for his performance in "The Nance." He beat 59 other performers ranging from B (Alec Baldwin, "Orphans") to W (Vanessa Williams, "The Trip to Bountiful") for a prize first given to Katharine Cornell in 1935.
The finale of "Scandal" was watched by over 9 million people on Thursday. That marks a huge jump from the start of the second season last fall when just 6 million were tuning in to watch this political drama on ABC. Indeed, the show now rivals lead-in "Grey's Anatomy" for the top slot among the coveted demo of viewers 18 to 49.
Credit this rise in ratings to a combo of compelling storytelling by "Grey's" creator Shonda Rhimes and heightened interest in star Kerry Washington. She saw her profile rise big-time with her turn in last winter's Oscar-winning "Django Unchained."
She plays political fixer Olivia Pope who is involved both professionally and personally with the president (Tony Goldwyn). The show has just that right blend of bedroom and boardroom scenes to generate a lot of water cooler talk.
Washington sits in seventh place among those vying for the six slots in the Best Drama Actress race. Only four African American women have even contended for this award and none has won.
Debbie Allen cracked this glass celling for her role on the syndicated musical drama “Fame” with a bid in 1982 and contended three more times. In 1986, Emmy darling Alfre Woodard was nominated for “St. Elsewhere”. Six years later, Regina Taylor received the first of two consecutive bids for her work on the family drama “I’ll Fly Away”. And in 1995, Cicely Tyson was cited for the short-lived legal drama “Sweet Justice”.
While Emmy voters may make history with Washington, they are less likely to nominate her show. As of today, "Scandal" is ranked 13th among likely contenders for Best Drama Series.
Do you think it can reap a bid? Vote in our poll below.
The Kennedy Centers Honors is expanding the selection process by welcoming suggestions from the public. Last year, various advocacy groups pointed out that only two Hispanics -- Placido Domingo (2000) and Chita Rivera (2002) -- numbered among the 185 people feted to date.
Rivera is to be part of a new committee that will winnow down the list of potential recipients from 20 to 10. Joining her are 2011 honoree Yo Yo Ma; opera singer Harolyn Blackwell and ballet dancer Damian Woetzel who sit on the Artist Committee; and board members Cappy McGarr and Elaine Wynn.
The Artist Committee, which comes up with the original list of 20, is to be expanded as well to ensure the broadest of representation. And the public can petition the committee with their choices.
However, even with these new mechanisms in place, the five honorees still will be determined by the executive committee of the Kennedy Center board of trustees. They will act on the recommendations of the Center chair, president and the producers of the kudocast who willl cull from this list of 10 possibilities.
Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing" to open Oscars Outdoors screening series: "The screening series launched by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last year is returning to Los Angeles this summer, along with some New York screenings in partnership with Rooftop Films Summer Series ... Another early screening treat follows on June 6 with 'Twenty Feet from Stardom,' a documentary about backup singers in popular music that premiered at Sundance in January. A Q&A with director Morgan Neville will follow the June 6 L.A. screening, and New York City audiences will get to see the film on June 8 at the Rooftop series. Twenty Feet opens in theaters on June 14." Entertainment Weekly
Tony-nominated plays "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," "Lucky Guy," and "The Nance" extend their runs. New York Times
Glenn Whipp says the Emmys should honor Nick Offerman ("Parks and Recreation"), Kerry Washington ("Scandal"), Andrew Lincoln ("The Walking Dead"), and Adam Driver ("Girls"), and move on from a diminished "Modern Family." Los Angeles Times
Originally scheduled for release last December, Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" finally opened on May 10, but its Best Picture hopes may be as doomed as Gatsby himself. More than 50-percent of readers polled think the film will be snubbed in top Oscar categories and contend only in technical races.
The lavish production boasts elaborate costumes and sets that could be contenders at next year's awards; both were designed by Catherine Martin, Luhrmann's wife, who won both categories for Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" in 2001. And three of the last four Best Cinematography winners – "Avatar," "Hugo," and "Life of Pi" – have also been technically audacious 3D productions.
Only 30-percent of readers think the film will be nominated for Best Picture, however, with just 12-percent expecting the film to win. Another 13-percent predict nominations in major categories, but not Best Picture.
Reviews for the film were mixed, scoring 55 on MetaCritic and 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, but that alone may not be a deal-breaker. A handful of films with similarly mixed reviews – "The Reader," "The Blind Side," and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" – have managed Best Picture nominations in recent years. And last year, "Les Miserables," which also met with strong criticism, still managed to earn a Best Picture nod and win three Oscars.
"The Great Gatsby," like "Les Mis," has the benefit of strong box office. It opened with a better-than-expected $50 million domestic haul; "Les Mis" had a softer opening – $27 million – but nevertheless reached $148 million domestically and almost half a billion dollars worldwide. If "Gatsby" continues to perform well, it could minimize the sting of some of its negative notices when it comes to its awards prospects.
Its last major hurdle will be its release date. Oscar voters often have short memories and typically vote for fall and winter films over long-gone summer fare, but several early releases have prevailed at the Oscars, including "Gladiator" and "Crash," both May releases, and "The Hurt Locker," which opened in June.
Fortunately for "The Great Gatsby," only seven-percent of readers think it will be snubbed entirely, so even if its Best Picture hopes are dashed, it may not leave the Oscars empty-handed.
Currently, the film ranks 9th in our overall Best Picture odds. What do you think of its chances? Continue responding in our poll below, and discuss the film in our forums.
"Game of Thrones" will snatch the Emmy crown from its rivals according to a poll of our readers. 37-percent agree with our expert Matt Roush (TV Guide Magazine), who boldly proclaims that the popular HBO series will be the rare fantasy to win Best Drama Series, following in the footsteps of "The Lord of the Rings," which finally win the Best Picture Oscar on its third try back in 2003.
Another 30-percent of readers believe a win is possible, but no guarantee. In an especially crowded field, "Game of Thrones" faces last year's Best Drama winner "Homeland" as well as four-time winner "Mad Men." "Downton Abbey" received its first nomination in the category last year, after sweeping the movie/miniseries prizes in 2011. Also with the potential to return to this year's race: "Boardwalk Empire," "Breaking Bad," and "The Good Wife." Freshman shows with a shot at a nomination include "House of Cards," "The Newsroom," and "The Americans."
In the face of such stiff competition, 25-percent of readers consider victory a long-shot for "Thrones," which would be only the second sci-fi or fantasy series to win the prize, following "Lost" in 2005. The Emmys have a fickle history with genre programming; TV classics like "Star Trek," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Quantum Leap," and "The X-Files" all received nominations in the top category, but never won. Other fan-favorites, like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Fringe," have been shut out of the top races entirely.
But luckily for "Thrones," only eight-percent of readers believe it has no chance at all. It has won eight Emmys to date, including Best Drama Supporting Actor for Peter Dinklage in 2011, and it improved its Emmy haul from its first season (two wins) to its second (six wins), so if it continues its ascent, a Best Drama victory may very well be in the cards.
Currently, the series ranks sixth in our Best Drama Series predictions with 8/1 odds of winning; 19 users place it out front. Do you agree with them the show is destined to win? Continue responding in our poll below and discuss "Game of Thrones" in our forums.
Broadcast network cancellations hit gay characters and showrunners especially hard, with shows like "Smash" and "The New Normal" among the victims. Hollywood Reporter
Playbill looks back at some of the most notorious Tony snubs in the award's history, including Chita Rivera, who won two Tonys in her career but wasn't even nominated for her performance in the stage version of "West Side Story," which would later win her an Oscar on film.
Coldplay will be awarded with a Silver Clef Award for Best British Act: "The annual Silver Clef awards honour artists from across the music industry, while raising money for the music therapy charity." BBC
Tony-winning musical "South Pacific" could be on its way to the big screen starring Michelle Williams. Playbill
Who might be among this year's crop of Best Actress Oscar contenders? What Culture lists 10 potential performance to watch, including Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts ("August: Osage County"), Sandra Bullock ("Gravity"), and Rooney Mara ("Ain't Them Bodies Saints").
ABC entertainment chief Paul Lee explains the reasoning for cancelling fan favorite "Happy Endings": "'I do think "Happy Endings" is absolutely on brand,' Lee said after the network unveiled its new fall schedule Tuesday. 'What we found was it was just too narrow. It was a very hard decisions because, as you know, I love that show and I found it very hard to make that decision ... 'Too narrow' is, of course, network-speak for 'low ratings.'" Entertainment Weekly
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Despite denials from producers and Steve Carell himself, the one-time star of "The Office," will be returning for an appearance in the upcoming series finale. The long-running laffer signs off with a super-sized 75-minute finale on May 16.
Carell contended six consecutive times in the Comedy Actor category for his portrayal of the now-iconic Michael Scott, the rude, yet sensitive, often inappropriate regional manager of the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company.
He went home empty-handed every year, losing first to Tony Shalhoub ("Monk") in 2006, then in the ultimate irony to "Office" creator Ricky Gervais ("Extras") in 2007 before being bested by a pair of back-to-back champs -- Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock"; 2008, 2009) and Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory"; 2010, 2011).
But could Carell now prevail in the Comedy Guest Actor race?
After all, guesting proved to be the Emmy charm for John Goodman who lost a record seven Comedy Actor bids for "Roseanne" from 1989 to 1995 before winning Guest Drama Actor for an apperance on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" in 2007. Goodman tied the dubious achievement of Hal Linden who contended unsuccessfully for all seven full seasons of "Barney Miller" from 1976 to 1982. Linden has never been nominated for another primetime Emmy but has won three Daytime Emmys for hosting "FYI" in 1983 and 1984 and performing on the CBS after school special "The Writing on the Wall" in 1995.
The current frontrunner for Guest Comedy Actor this year is Justin Timberlake ("Saturday Night Live"), who has gone two-for-two in this category for the late-night laffer. Will Arnett ("30 Rock") follows with 5/1 odds for a role that has reaped him four bids but no win. This high-profile appearance by Carell could shift the race in his favor.
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News Nuggets: Women in film greatly underrepresented, according to study
'Vanya and Sonia,' 'Kinky Boots' get Tonys boosts with Drama League wins
Poll: Can red-hot 'Scandal' break into Drama Series race at Emmys?
Will adding public vote make Kennedy Centers Honors more diverse?
News Nuggets: Joss Whedon's 'Much Ado' to open Oscars Outdoors series
'The Great Gatsby' faces uphill battle at the Oscars according to readers
'Game of Thrones' destined to rule Emmys according to readers
News Nuggets: Gay characters hit hard by network cancellations
Will Steve Carell finally win Emmy for guesting on 'The Office' finale?
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