AWARDS HEADLINES
Awards 2016: He Said/She Said: Suggestions For Voters To Keep In Mind Before Friday’s Deadline
SSN Senior Editors Neil Turitz and Dina Gachman have some thoughts to share as the voting for Academy Awards nominations nears its Friday deadline. As per usual, the two disagree on plenty, but they do actually find themselves being of one mind about a few key categories. For instance, Brie Larson has nothing to worry about, if they have anything to say in the matter. (SSN)
Awards 2016: Not Your Standard Villain: How Tom Hardy Turned Real-Life Trapper John Fitzgerald Into a Multi-Faceted Character For ‘The Revenant’
At first glance, there is a very real, very evil antagonist in The Revenant, a man who resents his fellow trapper and is quick to dispose of him at the first opportunity. John Fitzgerald, as played by Tom Hardy in a performance being touted by many as Oscar-worthy, was a real person who actually did murder fellow trapper Hugh Glass’s son, bury Glass alive and leave him for dead. All the things you expect from the standard, one-note villain. But wait! There’s more. (SSN)
Writers Guild Announces Its Nominations, and It’s a Big Day For ‘The Martian’ and “Straight Outta Compton’
While a host of scripts were not nominated because they weren’t eligible — Quentin Tarantino, for instance, is not actually a member of the Writers Guild — both Joy and The Revenant were both passed over. Meanwhile, it’s also a big day for Amy Schumer, who earned a nod for Trainwreck. Winners will be announced at a bi-coastal ceremony on February 13th. (IC)
Meanwhile, the American Society Of Cinematographers Announces Its Nominees, and the List Should Surprise No One
In perhaps the least stunning announcement of the awards season, the five nominees are Roger Deakins, Janusz Kaminsky, Ed Lachman, Emmanuel Lubezki and John Seale, all of whom have been considered the frontrunners for Oscar nominations throughout the fall. (COL)
OTHER HEADLINES
Film & TV Deals For 1/6/16: Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Expand Pact, Robert Redford Inks HBO Deal, Wanda Acquires Majority Stake In Legendary
Among the other announcements today is that Netflix has launched in 130 new countries, AMC has a new carriage agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative, a new management company launched by Jennifer Gabler, and a new deal with Lionsgate for a big time reality TV producer. Click the link to read all the details. (SSN)
Comedy Central Is Keeping The Talented Women On the Air, Renews ‘Amy Schumer’ For One Season, ‘Broad City’ For Two
Cable network has also ordered the limited series Time Traveling Bong, from the minds of Broad City co-creator and star Ilana Glazer and writers Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello. The three-episode series focuses on two cousins, Glazer and Downs, who get high and travel through time after finding a — you guessed it — time-traveling bong. (HP)
Jake Gyllenhaal Is Putting On His Producer Hat, Will Oversee a New Cult Anthology Series For A+E
Actor-producer and his Nine Stories Productions is teaming with the cable net to develop an anthology that each season explores a different American cult persona as well as the provocative nature of belief. Season one of the untitled drama will focus on Jim Jones, the leader of the cult Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, and the infamous Jonestown commune where in 1978 more than 900 people died in a mass murder/suicide. (LF)
Billy Bob Thornton Gets Some Mad Company For ‘Bad Santa 2’, as Christina Hendricks Joins the Cast
The Mad Men star will play the love interest opposite Thornton in the sequel to the 2003 dark comedy. Mark Waters is directing the movie, which is being produced by Andrew Gunn and Geyer Kosinski. Broad Green and Miramax are co-financing and co-producing the comedy that also has Kathy Bates in the cast and begins shooting Montreal next week. (THR)
Netflix’s 2016 Agenda: Spend Money Now, to Make Money Later. For Real This Time
Company has ambitious plans for this year so it can produce something new next year: serious profits. Investors have been fine with very little of those because Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings has said things would change after the company completed its global expansion. That’s supposed to happen in 2016, with the introduction of the online video service to more than 100 new markets, including China, India and Indonesia. (AA)
Trailer Buzz: ‘The Get Down’
Netflix has released the first look at the new series from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, starring Shameik Moore, Justice Smith, Herizen Guardiola, Jaden Smith, Skylan Brooks, Tremaine Browne, Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jimmy Smits and Giancarlo Esposito. No premiere date has been announced, but it will hit the streaming service later this year. (IW)