Media Morsels 12.20.13


(Scroll down for House of Cards news!)

Welcome back! Immediately below is news from this week, with some news from last week folded in; below that is a round up of miscellaneous items from last week. Please note that this is the last Media Morsels of the year. Next week, look for my Year in Review post.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Class of 2014
Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens and Linda Ronstadt will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. They join the E Street Band (Award for Musical Excellence) and Beatles manager Brian Epstein and Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham (Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers) to make up the class of 2014. The induction ceremony will take place on April 10 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center; HBO will air an abridged version of the ceremony in May. Tickets for the event go on sale in January. Rolling Stone has more. Fun fact: Nirvana has been selected in its first year of eligibility.

Working Out with Robert Fairchild
Fresh off his stint in a workshop of Christopher Wheeldon's An American in Paris and back in New York for The Nutcracker, New York City Ballet principal dancer Robert Fairchild recently spoke with The New York Times about his workout routine and the physical demands of a dancer. Particularly at City Ballet, it's easy to see the dancers are athletes. In the interview, Fairchild noted a difference between what dancers do and what athletes do. He said, "The thing about sports is that you can push yourself to your limits, but you can grunt, you can scream and you can yell to get yourself fired up. We have to go out there and do the same amount of physical activity while [making it look like] the easiest thing you've ever done." For more and for video of Fairchild working out (with his fiance and fellow dancer Tiler Peck) visit the Times site. 

Award Season Updates
Last week, the nominees for both the SAG Awards and Golden Globes were announced. Never a fan of the Globes, Rolling Stone movie critic Peter Travers reacts to the nominations, including his bewilderment (which matches mine) at the seemingly haphazard assignation of comedy and drama. Rolling Stone also has the first promo for the Globes, featuring hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Oscars—The Academy announced the 75 original songs that are eligible for Best Song Oscar nominations, including multiple songs from the sweet The Way Way Back; the rocking documentary Sound City; 12 Years a Slave; and The Great Gatsby, but yet nothing from Inside Llewyn Davis, a veritable folk musical. (A New York Times blog suggests that the film's most original song was not original enough.) See the full list on the Oscars website. (Related: The Oscars website also has the list of the 289 films eligible for Oscar consideration.)

In other Oscars news, The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg analyzes who among the Academy's 6,028 members will vote for the Oscar winners, while The Wrap's Steve Pond wonders how many votes it takes to get a nomination.

Feinberg Forecast—Here are some highlights from this week's Feinberg Forecast, in which The Hollywood Reporter's awards guru, Scott Feinberg, analyzes the week's happenings and what impact they have on the Oscar race (read last week's Forecast here):
  • Feinberg recaps the SAG Award and Golden Globes nominations, as well as the announcements by different branches of the Academy of eligible contenders (see above for some)

  • Julie Andrews hosted a screening of Saving Mr. Banks, the film about the making of Mary Poppins

  • Inside Llewyn Davis was celebrated at several soirees, as was fellow contender American Hustle

  • No doubt as part of his awards campaign, Barkhad Abdi, who stars alongside Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips, went on Conan

  • The Producers Guild of America announced plans to honor Fruitvale Station director/writer Ryan Coogler with its Stanley Kramer Award

  • Feinberg updates his Oscar nomination predictions, along with awards and nominations the films and contributors has already received

An Oscar hopeful and Golden Globe nominee for The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio spoke to Extra about the role. He says of the debauched Jordan Belfort (upon whose memoirs the film is based), "I felt like Belfor kind of represented everything that's wrong in America today." Having read Belfort's first memoir, I have to agree with DiCaprio. Visit The Hollywood Reporter to check out the interview, and then head to the theater on December 25 to watch the flick.

Here's the first commercial for the Oscars, featuring host Ellen DeGeneres, who is dancing, as usual. The commercial was directed by Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks):



Critics' Choice Movie Awards—Nominees for these awards were announced this week. 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle lead the pack with 13 nominations each. Nominees include several familiar faces and movies, including 12 Years a Slave and its actors, director and writer; Tracy Letts (for his adaptation of his play, August: Osage County); the ensemble, director and writer of American Hustle; and actors from Dallas Buyers Club. Some notable inclusions are Brie Larson for Short Term 12;  and multiple nominations for The Way Way Back. Visit criticschoice.com for the full list of nominees, and tune into the CW on January 16, 2014, to find out who has won.

The London Critics' Circle Film Awards nominations have been announced, and include several of the contenders in other awards. Visit The Hollywood Reporter for the full list of nominees.

Lick it Up, Heather!
The stage musical adaptation of the awesome '80s flick Heathers is coming to off-Broadway in 2014! (You'll recall that the movie starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.) The musical has been gestating for a while, having readings in California and a concert in NY (I attended the latter). It recently completed a sold-out run in Los Angeles and is headed to off-Broadway's New World Stages. Previews begin March 17, 2014, with opening night set for March 31. Check back for casting details!

Broadway Casting News
Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth (The Addams Family) will return to the long-running revival of Chicago, which she opened in 1996. Neuwirth won a Tony for playing Velma, but when she returns on January 14, 2014, she'll be playing Matron Mama Morton. Broadway.com has more.

Mr. Walsh goes to Broadway! James Eckhouse, who played Brandon and Brenda's dad on the original Beverly Hills, 90210, has joined the cast of the Broadway-bound, All the Way, the Robert Schenkkan play about LBJ. Eckhouse will appear as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, joining Bryan Cranston (as President Johnson) and Michael McKean (as J. Edgar Hoover). All the Way will play the Neil Simon Theatre. Previews begin February 10, 2014, with opening night set for March 6. Broadway.com has more.

Additional casting has been announced for the Broadway bow of Terrence McNally's Mothers and Sons, which will debut in the spring. Bobby Steggert (Big Fish, Assistance) and Frederick Weller will join the previously announced Tyne Daly in the new play. Mothers and Sons begins previews on February 23, 2014, with opening night set for March 24. It will run at the Golden Theatre. Broadway.com has more.

Year End Lists
It's that time of the year—everyone has a "Best of the Year" list. I'll post my Year in Review on December 27, but in the meantime, check out these end of year lists:


New Films Added to Library of Congress
25 films have been added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Among those added to the registry are Mary Poppins, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore's 1989 breakthrough work, Roger and Me. Playbill has the full list of the 25 films, and you can visit LOC.gov/film to learn more about the registry.

Sutton Foster: Violet
When the two-time Tony Award winner (who won her second Tony for Anything Goes) returns to Broadway in the spring in Violet, it will be in the retooled, one-act version of the musical that was presented this summer at City Center Encores! Off-Center. The musical features music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by Brian Crawley. It's set to play Roundabout's American Airlines Theatre beginning March 28, 2014; opening night is set for April 20. Playbill has more. (In other Foster news: the star has been cast in a pilot from Sex and the City creator Darren Star.)

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