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Birdman and
The Grand Budapest Hotel lead with nine nominations each (
Boyhood had the expected six) and Bradley Cooper earns his third straight nomination, but perhaps the bigger news is that
The LEGO Movie did not get an Animated Feature nod, Jennifer Aniston did not get a Best Actress nom, and
Selma only earned two, for Best Picture and Best Song, meaning both director Ava DuVernay and actor David Oyelowo were snubbed.
(THR)
If the movie wins Best Picture, then Cinetic Media’s John Sloss and IFC topper Jonathan Sehring will not be able to take the stage, as they have been denied producer credits. Much like the PGA, the Academy is ignoring the fact that both men have been involved in the production from the very start and were, indeed, integral to the process.
(CB)
Senator John Thune (R -S.D.) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) plan to introduce legislation that they say will offer net neutrality protections such as prohibiting broadband providers from blocking and throttling content or charging for premium delivery to consumers.
(VAR)
Warner Bros. has moved the film from March 13th to December 11th, which would lead one to believe that the studio sees a potential awards contender in the project. In its place, the studio is moving the Liam Neeson thriller
Run All Night into the vacated March slot.
(COL)
The actor best known for playing Jim on
The Office is up for a role as a Navy SEAL in Bay’s Benghazi tentpole project,
13 Hours. Chuck Hogan's script will detail the events leading up to and during the attack on the U.S.'s Special Mission Compound in Libya on the 11th anniversary of the notorious September 11 terrorist attacks.
(VUL)
The duo will work together on
Mena, the true tale of Barry Seal, who was a pilot for TWA in the 1970s who lost his job when he was caught flying plastic explosives from Miami to Mexico for an anti-Castro group. He subsequently went solo as an aviation consultant, and began a lucrative second career smuggling cannabis and cocaine between South and North America.
(SF)
Jeffrey Tambor, who just won the Globe for Best Actor In a Comedy Series for his work in
Transparent, joins the Warner Bros. project, along with John Lithgow, Anna Kendrick and Jon Bernthal. Gavin O’Connor will direct a script by Bill Dubuque.
(EMP)
Michael Keaton, who just won his Globe for his work in
Birdman, would play Ray Kroc in
the dark story of the rise of the McDonald's fast food empire. John Lee Hancock will direct the film, which was written by Robert Siegel and is being produced by FilmNation and The Combine, the shingle run by Jeremy Renner and Don Handfield.
(THR)
Relative newcomer Ross Marquand has been added as a series regular for the second half of this season and possibly season six. While Marquand's role was not revealed, many are speculating whether he plays the "very prominent" gay character teased by comic creator Robert Kirkman on
Talking Dead.
(MF)
Creating characters that are believable takes time and discipline. Creating dynamically real individuals and not imposing your own thoughts and impressions upon them is not easy to do, and is often the difference between screenplay that sits in a closet and one that finds its way around town and into the hands of audiences.
(MO)
