Hollywood Today
‘Manchester by the Sea’ leads Gotham Awards nominations
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kenneth Lonergan's family drama "Manchester by the Sea" has picked up a leading four Gotham Independent Film Awards nominations, including best feature and best actor for star Casey Affleck.
The Independent Filmmaker Project announced nominations Thursday for its 26th annual awards Nov. 28 in New York. The Gothams honor independent films and mark one of the first galas in the film industry's lengthy awards season.
"Manchester by the Sea" is facing off in the best feature category against Jim Jarmusch's "Paterson," Richard Linklater's "Everybody Wants Some!!," Kelly Reichardt's "Certain Women," and Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight."
The acclaimed coming-of-age story "Moonlight," which opens this week, also was singled out for a special jury award celebrating its ensemble cast, including Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and Janelle Monáe.
Laura Osnes hopes people will swing to ‘Bandstand’
NEW YORK (AP) — That rarest of sounds — a new American musical not based on an existing book or film — is heading to Broadway with Tony Award-nominee Laura Osnes — and it's got quite a swing.
"Bandstand," the story of six World War II veterans who join together in Cleveland to compete in a radio contest with dreams of stardom, has secured a Shubert theater and has an opening night of April 26.
It will co-star Osnes, who has been attached to the show since a reading 2½ years ago. "To stay with something this long, it better be worth the wait and I think it is with this show. It's such a beautiful piece," she said.
Andy Blankenbuehler, a Tony winner whose other Broadway credits include choreographing "Hamilton" and directing and choreographing "Bring It On," will direct. Osnes will star opposite another rising star, Corey Cott.
Osnes was last on Broadway in "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella" and "Bonnie and Clyde," while Cott was in "Newsies" and "Gigi" opposite Vanessa Hudgens. The exact theater, the rest of the cast and other details will be announced later.
The new musical features a book and lyrics by Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor, and music by Oberacker. It made its world premiere at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey last year and drew interest for its frank handling of veterans dealing with PTSD and a culture in denial.
"It's an original story and that's sometimes a hard sell on Broadway these days. People want to see something they know. They want to hear songs they know. They want to see people who are acting in it who are famous," Osnes said.
"To have a completely original score, that's based on nothing and has an original score should be the most ideal thing." She added: "People just have to give it a chance. And I hope they will."
Jay Z, Madonna nominated for Songwriters Hall
NEW YORK (AP) — Jay Z, one of contemporary music's most celebrated lyricists and entertainers, is one of the nominees for the 2017 Songwriters Hall of Fame, and if inducted he would become the first rapper to enter the prestigious music organization.
Jay Z is the first rapper to be nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The Songwriters Hall gave The Associated Press the list of nominees Thursday, a day ahead of its official announcement. Other nominees that could be inducted next year are George Michael, Madonna, Bryan Adams, Vince Gill, Babyface, Max Martin, Kool & the Gang and more.
Eligible members can vote for three non-performing songwriters and two performing songwriters until Dec. 16. Five songwriters, or songwriting groups, will be officially inducted at a gala in New York on June 15, 2017.
Other performing nominees include Cat Stevens, Sly Stone, Chicago, Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lynne and David Gates. Non-performing nominees are Kenny Nolan, Randy Goodrum, Tony Macaulay, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Allee Willis, Maury Yeston, Paul Overstreet and the songwriting duos Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, and Steve Barri and the late P.F. Sloan, who died last year.