Kerry Washington stars as Olivia Pope in ‘Scandal’ (Photo Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin) Scandal star Kerry Washington has been chosen as The Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 2016 Woman of the Year. Washington will receive the honor during a special ceremony on January 28th that kicks off with a parade through the streets of Cambridge followed by a “celebratory roast.” Following the roast, Washington will be presented with her Pudding Pot at Farkas Hall in Harvard Square.
“We are so excited to honor Kerry Washington as the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year and welcome her to Cambridge to celebrate her many achievements. Kerry is an amazing actress with many fans in the company, and the perfect choice for this honor… But we also feel a bit nervous as we set out to coordinate a perfect event for legendary PR whiz Olivia Pope!” said Kennedy Edmonds ’17, HPT168 Producer.
“If Kerry is anything like her on-screen character, she may turn the tables on us during her roast!” added Bobby Fitzpatrick ’16, President of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
Previous honorees include Meryl Streep, Katharine Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Hathaway, Claire Danes, Dame Helen Mirren, and Amy Poehler. Per The Hasty Pudding Theatricals’, the Woman of the Year Award “is the Hasty Pudding Theatricals oldest honor, bestowed annually on performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.”
Washington has been nominated for Golden Globe, Emmy, and SAG awards, and Time magazine included her on its 100 Most Influential People in the World list in 2014. She’s also been honored with the GLAAD Media Vanguard Award and the ACLU Bill of Rights Award.
Lisa Rubin (Photo Courtesy of Netflix)Netflix announced it’s moving forward on a new original scripted series from writer Lisa Rubin. Gypsy, described as a psychological thriller, will be executive produced by Rubin, Liza Chasin, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner, with Universal Television and Working Title producing.
Season one will air in 2017 and will consist of 10 one-hour episodes.
The Gypsy Plot: “Gypsy follows the journey of Jean Holloway – a therapist who begins to develop dangerous and intimate relationships with the people in her patients’ lives.”
Gypsy joins the expanding list of original Netflix series that includes Orange is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Marvel’s Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Love.
Walt Disney Pictures has a full slate of films heading to theaters this year, with new Marvel releases Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange as well as Pixar’s Finding Nemo follow-up Finding Dory among Disney’s batch of upcoming theatrical releases. However, it’s the studio’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that has generated the most buzz of all Disney’s 2016 movies. The Star Wars: A New Hope prequel has earned Fandango’s top spot on the list of 2016’s most anticipated movies and should provide another huge end-of-the-year box office take for the Mouse House and Lucasfilm.
2016 Disney Movies Preview
The Finest Hours (January 29, 2016) – A heroic action-thriller, The Finest Hours is the remarkable true story of the most daring rescue mission in the history of the Coast Guard. Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, the film will transport audiences to the heart of the action, creating a fully-immersive cinematic experience on an epic scale. On February 18, 1952, a massive nor’easter struck New England, pummeling towns along the Eastern seaboard and wreaking havoc on the ships caught in its deadly path, including the SS Pendleton, a T-2 oil tanker bound for Boston, which was literally ripped in half, trapping more than 30 sailors inside its rapidly-sinking stern. As the senior officer on board, first assistant engineer Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) soon realizes it is up to him to take charge of the frightened crew and inspire the men to set aside their differences and work together to ride out one of the worst storms to ever hit the East Coast. Meanwhile, as word of the disaster reaches the U.S. Coast Guard station in Chatham, Massachusetts, Warrant Officer Daniel Cluff (Eric Bana) orders a daring operation to rescue the stranded men. Despite overwhelming odds, four men, led by Coast Guard Captain Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), set out in a wooden lifeboat with an ill-equipped engine and little, if any, means of navigation, facing frigid temperatures, 60-foot high waves and hurricane-force winds.
Zootopia (March 4, 2016) – The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when rookie Officer Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman), to solve the mystery.
The Jungle Book (April 15, 2016) – The Jungle Book is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray). Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (voice of Scarlett Johansson), a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (voice of Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
Captain America: Civil War (May 6, 2016) – Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.
Alice Through the Looking Glass (May 27, 2016) – Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following in her father’s footsteps and sailing the high seas. Upon her return to London, she comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland and her friends the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), Absolem (Alan Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), who is not himself. The Hatter has lost his Muchness, so Mirana (Anne Hathaway) sends Alice on a quest to borrow the Chronosphere, a metallic globe inside the chamber of the Grand Clock which powers all time. Returning to the past, she comes across friends – and enemies – at different points in their lives, and embarks on a perilous race to save the Hatter before time runs out.
Finding Dory (June 17, 2016) – Disney•Pixar’s Finding Dory reunites everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, Dory, with her friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale?
Ruby Barnhill stars as Sophie in Disney’s fantasy-adventure ‘The BFG,’ directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the beloved novel by Roald Dahl.
The BFG (July 1, 2016) – The BFG (Mark Rylance), while a giant himself, is a Big Friendly Giant and nothing like the other inhabitants of Giant Country. Standing 24-feet tall with enormous ears and a keen sense of smell, he is endearingly dim-witted and keeps to himself for the most part. Giants like Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) on the other hand, are twice as big and at least twice as scary and have been known to eat humans, while the BFG prefers Snozzcumber and Frobscottle. Upon her arrival in Giant Country, Sophie, a precocious 10-year-old girl from London, is initially frightened of the mysterious giant who has brought her to his cave, but soon comes to realize that the BFG is actually quite gentle and charming, and, having never met a giant before, has many questions. The BFG brings Sophie to Dream Country where he collects dreams and sends them to children, teaching her all about the magic and mystery of dreams.
Having both been on their own in the world up until now, their affection for one another quickly grows. But Sophie’s presence in Giant Country has attracted the unwanted attention of the other giants, who have become increasingly more bothersome. Says Spielberg, “It’s a story about friendship, it’s a story about loyalty and protecting your friends and it’s a story that shows that even a little girl can help a big giant solve his biggest problems.” Sophie and the BFG soon depart for London to see Queen Victoria (Penelope Wilton) and warn her of the precarious giant situation, but they must first convince the Queen and her maid, Mary (Rebecca Hall), that giants do indeed exist. Together, they come up with a plan to get rid of the giants once and for all.
Country music star Blake Shelton will be providing the voice of a pig named Earl in Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation’s The Angry Birds Movie and the studio’s just unveiled what Earl will look like in the animated comedy based on the popular game. Earl is described as a “cowboy pig” however how he’s involved in the actual plot has not been revealed.
Shelton will also be lending his voice to the soundtrack of the 2016 film, singing the original song “Friends” on the soundtrack. Directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly, the voice cast includes Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Peter Dinklage, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Keegan-Michael Key, Tony Hale, Ike Barinholtz, Hannibal Buress, Jillian Bell, Danielle Brooks, and Romeo Santos.
The Angry Birds Movie opens in theaters on May 20, 2016.
The Angry Birds Movie Plot:
In the 3D animated comedy, The Angry Birds Movie, we’ll finally find out why the birds are so angry.
The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds – or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis, We’re the Millers, Horrible Bosses), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad in his first animated role since Frozen), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride, This is the End, Eastbound and Down) have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.
Imagine Dragons, Elle King, and Fall Out Boy are among the artists featured on NOW That’s What I Call Rock! heading to stores on January 22, 2016. The NOW Rock album includes 18 tracks from established artists along with the ‘What’s Next’ section spotlighting three up-and-coming artists.
William Moseley, Elizabeth Hurley, Tom Austen and Alexandra Park star in ‘The Royals’ (Photo by: Charley Gallay/E! Entertainment)
The Royals will be sticking around for a third season as just announced by E! Entertainment. The dramatic series is the network’s first original scripted show and stars Elizabeth Hurley, William Moseley, Alexandra Park, and Jake Maskall as a fictional dysfunctional Royal family. The Royals, created, written, and directed by Mark Schwahn, will have a 10 episode season three.
Season two is currently airing on Sunday nights at 10pm ET/PT and will finish up on January 17th.
“We are incredibly proud of the success of The Royals,” stated Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Development, E! “The series has captured fans and brought them into a regal world of sexy, fun drama. We can’t wait to see what season three will bring and what surprises are still in store as we enter the second half of season two.”
“We are delighted by today’s pick-up announcement for season three of The Royals,” added Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate Television Group Chairman. “The Royals reflects the kind of original, noisy and provocative series that is a Lionsgate signature. We look forward to an all-new season of palace intrigue and badly behaved royals with our partners at E! and Universal Cable Productions.”
The Royals Plot:
The second season picked up eight weeks after the tragic murder of King Simon (Vincent Regan) by an unknown assailant. Cyrus, Simon’s arrogant brother, has taken the throne after deeming the Prince and Princess illegitimate, with the help of the Queen to fabricate the paternity results. While Cyrus, who is also secretly battling cancer, is convinced the Queen is on his side, her majesty has her own agenda in mind: change the succession of the Royal Family and make the power shift to the Queen if anything should happen to yet another King. Meanwhile, Liam vows to bring his father’s murderer to justice and teams up with an unlikely ally to do so, the duplicitous bodyguard Jasper who had been relieved from his duties after sleeping with both the Princess and the Queen, and had once been considered a prime suspect in the King’s attack that led to his death. However, the two young men, who are both working to mend their respective broken hearts, have bonded over their mutual concern for the Princess’ wellbeing as she falls further down the rabbit hole.
The stellar cast is led by Elizabeth Hurley as the calculating Queen Helena, and she is joined by William Moseley as the vengeful Prince Liam, Alexandra Park as an uncontrollable Princess Eleanor, Tom Austen as the Prince’s devious bodyguard Jasper Frost, Oliver Milburn as the troubled head of the Royal security, and Jake Maskall as the newly-crowned and universally despised King Cyrus. Lydia Rose Bewley, Andrew Bicknell, Victoria Ekanoye, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Simon Thomas, and Scott Maslen co-star along with Joan Collins as the Grand Duchess of Oxford.
If you’re on the bubble as to whether to tune in to watch Ricky Gervais (hopefully) skewer the Hollywood Foreign Press Association when he hosts the 2016 Golden Globes, here’s the first confirmed list of celebrities who’ll be joining him on stage for the annual awards show. Any of the following could wind up being targets of Gervais’ jokes:
Amy Adams (two-time Golden Globe Award winner and six-time award nominee), Jaimie Alexander, Patricia Arquette (Golden Globe Award winner and four-time award nominee), Jim Carrey (two-time Golden Globe Award winner and six-time award nominee), Jamie Foxx (Golden Globe Award winner and three-time award nominee), Mel Gibson (Golden Globe Award winner and three-time award nominee), Amber Heard, Bryce Dallas Howard (Golden Globe Award nominee), Kate Hudson (Golden Globe Award winner), Helen Mirren (three-time Golden Globe Award winner and fourteen-time award nominee, including 2016 nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture), Julianne Moore (two-time Golden Globe Award winner and nine-time award nominee), Eddie Redmayne (Golden Globe Award winner and two-time award nominee, including 2016 nominee for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama), Kurt Russell (Golden Globe Award nominee), J.K. Simmons (Golden Globe Award winner), Channing Tatum, and Olivia Wilde.
The 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards will air live on NBC on January 10, 2016 at 5pm PT/8pm ET. The Globes will be honoring the best in film and television from 2015, with Carol, Fargo, Outlander, Mr. Robot, Transparent, and Wolf Hall topping the list of nominees.
Adam Driver (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Disney)NBC’s announced the schedule for the first Saturday Night Live shows of 2016 and Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be well represented when Adam Driver hosts the late night show for the first time on January 16th. Driver, who plays Star Wars villain Kylo Ren, will be joined by Grammy winner Chris Stapleton for the first episode of SNL in 2016. First-time musical guest Stapleton’s Traveller recently hit the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart.
UFC fighter/occasional actress Ronda Rousey will also be making her debut as SNL host this month when she handles hosting duties on January 23rd. Also set to make musical guest debut is recording artist/actress Selena Gomez who’ll join Rousey for the January 23rd episode. Gomez’ latest album Revival has launched the hit singles “Same Old Love” and “Good for You.”
Don’t look for Jimmy Fallon to be bringing back the Kid Dictionary game any time soon. Grandfathered star John Stamos visited The Tonight Show and although he obviously would rather have been playing any game other than Kid Dictionary, Stamos sort of helped Fallon figure out what word kids were attempting to describe, ending the bit with plea for a people to tune in and watch his half-hour comedy.
And speaking of his half-hour comedy series, Grandfathered airs on Tuesday nights at 8pm ET/PT. The series was created and written by Daniel Chun and stars Stamos, Josh Peck, Paget Brewster, Christina Milian, Kelly Jenrette, and Ravi Patel.
The Grandfathered Plot: Successful restaurateur and man-about-town JIMMY MARTINO (Stamos) is used to being the most suave, most handsome and most single person in the room. All that changes with the surprise appearance of Jimmy’s adult son, GERALD (Peck), and his baby daughter, EDIE. Now Jimmy has to unlearn a lifetime of blissful selfishness and grapple with the fact that he went straight from single to grandfather in six seconds flat. Keeping tabs on Jimmy is Gerald’s mother and Jimmy’s former girlfriend, rocker chick-turned-mother SARA (Brewster). Equally concerned about how Jimmy will manage these new developments is Jimmy’s restaurant family, especially assistant manager ANNELISE (Jenrette) and chef RAVI (Patel).
Can Jimmy teach Gerald to be a little more like him in order to win the affection of Edie’s hot mess of a mom, VANESSA (Milian)? Will Jimmy and Sara fall for each other all over again, even though she’s the one thing he never dates – a woman his own age? And who’s higher maintenance, Jimmy or the baby?
AMBERLE (Poppy Drayton), WIL (Austin Butler), and ERETRIA (Ivana Baquero) in ‘The Shannara Chronicles’
MTV’s The Shannara Chronicles will introduce viewers to the world of author Terry Brooks, if they weren’t already avid readers themselves. It begins with Poppy Drayton as Amberle Elessedil competing to be among The Chosen in a blind obstacle race. When fellow Chosen are murdered, Amberle, an elf, teams up with a mostly human Wil (Austin Butler) and Eretria (Ivana Baquero), a forest Rover whose father (James Remar) wants to get his hands on the elf stones.
We spoke with Drayton by phone about her role on the show, including some questions from the fans on Twitter. The Shannara Chronicles premieres Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT on MTV.
Poppy Drayton The Shannara Chronicles Interview:
How hard was it running blindfolded?
Poppy Drayton: “Good question. I haven’t been asked that yet. It was quite challenging, as you can imagine. We had variations of blindfold. So we had some that were full blindfolds that you could kind of see through a little bit and then we had some that had holes with perspex, but the perspex used to get all fogged up. So actually I preferred just going full blindfolded and hoping for the best. It was definitely a challenge. Lucky I wasn’t injured in that part of it.”
What are perspex?
Poppy Drayton: “Like clear plastic lenses. Nifty little trick if you ever need to run blindfolded.”
What do you like most about Amberle?
Poppy Drayton: “Oh my gosh, what I like most is I love her compassion. I think she has a wonderful compassion that transcends everything. She loves creatures and plants and flowers and living things in the same capacity. She just has this wonderful love of life. That’s something that I’ve definitely learned from playing her and I hope other people love too.”
What don’t you like about Amberle?
Poppy Drayton: “I don’t know if there’s anything I don’t like about her. I don’t think you can not like your character. I love her. I can’t think of one thing.”
How does Shannara differ from anything else you’ve done?
Poppy Drayton: “Gosh, for one, there’s a lot more leather than any show I’ve done. It’s not every day you’re on horseback with a sword charging around these pine forests and stuff. It’s quite full on and high action adventure. I’ve done a lot of period stuff in the past. I mean, the most action you get is just sitting around drinking tea. It’s quite nice to wield a sword around for a change.”
How close together was your guest spot on Downton Abbey to doing Shannara?
Poppy Drayton: “I think it was about a year.” Poppy Drayton behind the scenes on ‘The Shannara Chronicles’
What’s involved in putting on the elf ears, the hair, and all the other aspects of your costume?
Poppy Drayton: “It was quite a full-on operation every morning. It took two hours to get me all rigged up. The elf ears alone take about 45 minutes to put on because you’ve got to put the ear pieces on and then you’ve got to glue them on. They’re sort of disposable so you end up using a pair every day. That process is quite long and it obviously has to be colored. The artists who worked on us were absolutely incredible and were the best of the best. They worked on The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. They really know their stuff. They knew elf ears like the back of their hand. The rest of it took heaps of time too. It’s quite a big rig every morning, and then trying to squeeze into a nice leather corset and another pair of leather pans every morning. That’s an ordeal in itself really.”
Did the ears ever come off under the waterfall?
Poppy Drayton: [Laughs] “They didn’t with me. My ears luckily stayed on but I think Austin had a bit of a touch and go moment when he had to fall into his river. I think he came back up but I don’t think the elf ears did. We had a couple of funny ear moments.”
What special training did you have to do for all the things you do on Shannara?
Poppy Drayton: “We had to do quite a lot, actually. We arrived in New Zealand about three weeks before we started shooting to do some sword training and to work with a personal trainer to get us all fit and in shape. And then also had horse riding lessons on top of that too. So by the end of those three weeks you just felt like you could take on the world. You just felt wonderful. It really helped to have that as sort of a foundation so when you did come to film, you had that to fall back on and your training to act as a base. It was invaluable.”
So horse riding was new for you?
Poppy Drayton: “Yes, it was. I think I’d been on a horse all of about three times before we started filming. It’s definitely given me a love of it. You do start to feel really relaxed up there and you do just fall in love with it. It’s such an amazing, beautiful thing to be on the back of a horse and to be riding through this beautiful countryside.”
Had you read the books before getting the part?
Poppy Drayton: “I wasn’t aware of Terry Brooks’s novels before getting the job, but then once I did, I immersed myself in his world. I listened to audio books and was also reading it, and was doing everything I could to completely understand the world that he created. Which is such a fantastic world to get invested in. It has everything. It’s so rich in texture and creativity. It was hugely exciting to immerse myself into it and I’m so glad I got the job and was able to.”
How close to the books does it ultimately stay?
Poppy Drayton: “Well, you’ll have to watch and see, but I think what Terry Brooks has been amazing about is the fact that he completely appreciates that they’re two separate mediums. The books will always be the books and they’ll never go away. Our TV show is different in some respects and in some aspects it’s really similar. He totally understands and appreciates that we are two separate things. If they do branch off in certain directions that differs from the novels he wrote, he’s totally supportive of that which is wonderful.”
How do you like New Zealand?
Poppy Drayton: “I love New Zealand. It’s such a beautiful country. You sort of walk around and you feel like you’re on a film set and you think it’s green screen everywhere you look because it’s just unbelievably beautiful. They sort of have everything. They have black sand beaches and they have golden beaches and they have pine forests and they have huge, glorious mountains. It never ceases to amaze. It’s quite breathtaking.”
Do you have any special spots that are personal to you?
Poppy Drayton: “For filming, we were based in Auckland and around Auckland. So at the end of the job, I was really keen to carry on exploring. I’ve actually just come back from there again just because I wanted to do more exploring. So I’ve now done the South Island which is absolutely spectacular. There’s a place called Arthur’s Pass which is this road that crosses from the west to the east of the South Island and it’s just glorious. I can’t even find words to explain it because it’s just inexplicably beautiful. So I advise everyone to go if they can.”
When you started out in acting, was action heroine something you always wanted to do?
Poppy Drayton: “Yeah, definitely. I think one of the most exciting things at the moment especially is that women are getting a chance to play these really strong female roles. It’s just so encouraging and great to see because with all the feminism and stuff that’s in the media at the moment, it’s nice to have something that proves that hopefully the social stigma that has been prevalent in the last however many years, is hopefully starting to break down even more. And I think there’s still further we can go with that but at least it’s a start. To have the chance to play such a strong power young girl is hugely humbling and I’m really excited. I hope it just encourages young girls to realize that they shouldn’t ever feel inadequate because of their sex. If they are feeling that way then they should really try and fight against it because we can do everything that men can do, if not better.” [Laughs]
And there’s two on Shannara, you and Ivana Baquero.
