PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Directors Guild nominates Gerwig, Nolan, Scorsese
Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig and Martin Scorsese have been nominated by the Directors Guild for its top award. The nominations to the 76th DGA Awards, which followed those by the Screen Actors Guild earlier Wednesday, went as expected. The other two nominees for the guild's top award, for outstanding directorial achievement, are Alexander Payne for “The Holdovers” and Yorgos Lanthimos for “Poor Things.”
Nolan's nomination, for “Oppenheimer,” is his fifth DGA nod though he's never won before. Gerwig, nominated for “Barbie,” was previously nominated for 2017's “Lady Bird.” Scorsese's nomination for “Killers of the Flower Moon” is his 13th DGA nod; he has previously won for 2006's “The Departed” and for the series “Boardwalk Empire.”
The Directors Guild nominees often closely align with those of the Academy Awards. Over the past two decades, the winner of the DGA award has nearly always also triumphed at the Oscars. Last year, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won both awards for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
76th annual DGA Awards will be held Feb. 10.
Jimmy Buffett Highway getting closer to reality
Looking to waste away with a cheeseburger in paradise? You could soon do so while driving down Jimmy Buffett Highway with a Margaritaville license plate.
Buffett, the iconic Florida singer who died last year, wrote songs that drove tourists to the Florida Keys looking for sun, sand and relaxation.
Now the Florida Legislature wants to return the favor. A state Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously approved two bills to honor Buffett after watching a short video tribute to him.
“Margaritaville is just what Florida is all about. Jimmy Buffett is the icon of Florida. No one represents the open sun, beaches, music more than Jimmy Buffett and Margaritaville,” said Republican state Sen. Gayle Harrell, who sponsored one of the bills.
State Road A1A, the historic scenic highway that winds about 340 miles along Florida's Atlantic Coast, would become Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway under one bill. The other bill would create a specialty license plate with the word “Margaritaville” – a Buffett song that has become a nickname for Key West.
Finalists for $20K short story prize named
Short fiction by Yiyun Li, Bennett Sims and Paul Yoon are finalists for the 20th annual Story Prize, given for the year's outstanding short story collection.
Prize officials announced Tuesday that the nominees are Li's “Wednesday's Child,” Sims' “Other Minds and Other Stories” and Yoon's “The Hive and the Honey.” The Story Prize was founded in 2004 by editor Larry Dark and philanthropist Julie Lindsey, who pick the finalists. Three outside judges then choose the winners. The top prize is $20,000 and the runnersup get $5,000 each.
“Even after reading more than 20,000 short story collections over the twenty years this award has existed, we're still encountering short story collections unlike any we've read before. These three books expand the form and offer profound observations about the human condition,” Dark said in a statement.
The winner will be announced March 26. Previous recipients include Anthony Doerr, George Saunders and Edwidge Danticat.