Bill Condon and Lisa Cholodenko are among new members of the Motion Picture Academy’s Board of Governors: “Six first-time members were elected to the board, along with three former governors returning to the board, and seven sitting governors retaining their seats. The unusually large list of first-time governors includes directors Condon and Cholodenko, cinematographer [Dante Spinotti], executive Dick Cook, visual effects technician John Knoll and sound mixer Scott Millan. The returning former governors are producer Kathleen Kennedy, director Michael Mann and composer Arthur Hamilton.” THE WRAP
AfterElton names eight unlikely Emmy contenders who deserve nominations: “Tomorrow morning we learn which TV stars will face off for Emmys in September, and this is exciting to me for one reason: Of all the gala award shows, the Emmys most often get the winners right. Alec Baldwin and Bryan Cranston deserve all their Emmys, ‘Modern Family‘s’ supporting cast is righteously honored, and ‘Mad Men‘s’ multiple wins are damn justified. The problem is that plenty of people are justified winners, and not all of them get invited to the dais. Today, we isolate eight underdogs who deserve a shot at Emmy glory. I’ll seriously squawk with joy if any one of these entities nets a nomination.” AFTER ELTON
“Girl,” “Girls,” and “Girls” could all be recognized by the Emmys: “The reverberations of last year’s hit movie ‘Bridesmaids‘ carried over to the small screen. The 2011-12 season launched a batch of foul-mouthed, sharp-edged comedies with female characters at the center and women at the helm … Among the XX chromosomes floating around in prime time, three new series scored with critics, audiences or both — all of them sharing a common word: Fox’s ‘New Girl, CBS’ ‘2 Broke Girls‘ and HBO’s ‘Girls.’ Since the shine is off Emmy staples such as ‘Glee,’ ‘The Office‘ and ‘30 Rock,’ could the year of the girl be solidified with Emmy nominations on Thursday?” LOS ANGELES TIMES
The Eisner Awards honor the best in comic books: “The Eisner Awards, held every year during San Diego Comic-Con, are the highest honor anyone in the comic book industry can receive. Not only are the best works of the year honored, but the ceremony also gives out lifetime achievement and posthumous awards. (For example, Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of ‘Akira’ received Hall of Fame recognition this year.) The awards are named for late cartoonist Will Eisner. This year’s ceremony was a showcase for the wide variety of recent comic book work. It included a few tearful speeches, a few awards presented by ‘Game of Thrones‘ creator George R.R. Martin, and a Russell Brand-esque turn by Jonathan Ross at one point during the evening.” CNN
Hilary Swank will star in BBC film alongside Brenda Blethyn: Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank is to star in a new BBC1 film written by Richard Curtis. The ‘Million Dollar Baby’ star will appear alongside Bafta-winner Brenda Blethyn in ‘Mary & Martha,’ a tale of an American and an English woman brought together by the shared tragedy of losing sons to malaria. The film will be directed by Australian Phillip Noyce, who drew acclaim for ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’ and more recently directed Angelina Jolie in ‘Salt.’ ‘Mary & Martha’ is being made by Working Title and will be shown by HBO in America as well as the BBC in the UK.” THE GUARDIAN
There could be a changing of the guard at this year’s Emmys: “But this year’s crop of prospective nominees presents intriguing changing-of-the-guard possibilities, starting with scripted series … Put it this way: Even if you declared all 2011 nominees ineligible to repeat, you could still have an eyecatching Emmy drama roster that included AMC’s ‘Breaking Bad,’ PBS’ ‘Downton Abbey,’ Showtime’s ‘Homeland,’ ABC’s ‘Once Upon a Time,’ FX’s ‘Sons of Anarchy‘ and TNT’s ‘Southland.’ An abundance of choices paves the way for change.” VARIETY
