The one-hour holiday special A Very Grammy Christmas has just added singer/songwriter Sam Smith to the list of performers taking the stage during the show. Smith joins previously announced performers Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Tim McGraw, and Pharrell Williams, and CBS also announced today that hip hop artist Big Jean will be performing with Grande during the special.
LL Cool J will be handling the hosting duties on the December 5, 2014 show airing at 9pm ET/PT on CBS, with A Very Grammy Christmas set to feature current hits as well as holiday favorites.
The 57th Annual Grammy Award nominations will be announced the morning of the show with the exception of the Album of the Year category. Nominees in that particular category will be revealed during the A Very Grammy Christmas special. The 2015 Grammy Awards will take place on February 8th live from Staples Center in downtown LA.
Frozen‘s coming back to the big screen but this time around it’ll be in the form of a short film. Walt Disney Animation Studios says Frozen Fever will play in front of the live-action fairy tale movie Cinderella beginning on March 13, 2015. The new short film will include Frozen characters Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf.
Frozen Fever will feature a new song from Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and is directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck (the filmmaking team from Frozen).
The Plot: “In Frozen Fever, it’s Anna’s birthday and Elsa and Kristoff are determined to give her the best celebration ever, but Elsa’s icy powers may put more than just the party at risk.”
Kevin Costner’s extremely proud of Black or White (hear him talk about it during our interview earlier this year) and it could put him back on the awards circuit. Relativity Studios has just released the official trailer for the film, which is getting an awards-qualifying run in Los Angeles before launching in full release on January 30, 2015, so you can judge for yourself whether Costner’s right about this being something special.
Written and directed by Mike Binder, Black or White also stars Octavia Spencer, Jillian Estell, Bill Burr, Jennifer Ehle, André Holland, Gillian Jacobs, and Anthony Mackie.
The Plot:
Black or White is the story of a grandfather (Costner) who is suddenly left to care for his beloved granddaughter. When the little girl’s paternal grandmother (Spencer) seeks custody, a legal battle ensues that forces the families to confront their true feelings on race, forgiveness and understanding. Anchored by an all-star cast and based on real events, the movie is a look at two seemingly different worlds, in which nothing is as simple as black or white.
Jimmy Fallon and Brian Williams “Slow Jam the News” (Photo by: Douglas Gorenstein / NBC)
NBC Nightly News‘ Brian Williams joined The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon along with The Roots to bring back the slow jam. Together, Fallon, Williams, and The Roots sang about President Obama’s stand on immigration. Williams also put in a plug for Peter Pan Live! starring his daughter, Allison, and joked with Fallon about the length of time both have been sitting behind desks.
The bizarre story behind the ‘Big Eyes’ paintings plays out on the screen in Big Eyes, a dramatic film directed by Tim Burton and starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz as Margaret and Walter Keane. Lana Del Rey performs the film’s title tune and The Weinstein Company has just released a one-minute lyric video spotlighting the song.
TWC will be releasing Big Eyes in theaters on December 25th.
The Plot:
From the whimsical mind of director Tim Burton, Big Eyes tells the outrageous true story of one of the most epic art frauds in history. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, painter Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz) had reached success beyond belief, revolutionizing the commercialization of popular art with his enigmatic paintings of waifs with big eyes. The bizarre and shocking truth would eventually be discovered though: Walter’s works were actually not created by him at all, but by his wife Margaret (Amy Adams).
The Keanes, it seemed, had been living a colossal lie that had fooled the entire world. A tale too incredible to be fiction, Big Eyes centers on Margaret’s awakening as an artist, the phenomenal success of her paintings, and her tumultuous relationship with her husband, who was catapulted to international fame while taking credit for her work.
Reese Witherspoon stars in ‘Wild’ (Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Reese Witherspoon’s back in top form with Wild, the emotionally moving adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Witherspoon not only stars in but produces the film, and her dedication to faithfully bringing Strayed’s story to the screen is evident in every frame. Tackling the physically demanding role, and putting vanity and comfort aside, Witherspoon delivers a performance that should have her back in the Oscar spotlight.
Directed by Dallas Buyers Club‘s Jean-Marc Vallée, Wild focuses on one women’s very personal search for answers following the death of her mother. Cheryl dissolved into an abyss of degradation, losing herself in sex with random men and turning to drugs to forget the pain of the death of her mother at age 45. Cheryl’s bad decisions ultimately led to the collapse of her marriage and her decision to set out alone (and not completely prepared) to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, a 1,000+ mile, three month journey of self-discovery that offered her the opportunity to get in touch with her feelings and to cleanse her mind and body.
The difference in age between the real Cheryl Strayed at the time of her quest to complete the Pacific Crest Trail and actress Witherspoon is 10 years, however Witherspoon’s youthful appearance makes it easy to forget the woman at the heart of the story was in her 20s when she tackled the grueling trek. Nearly every scene is Witherspoon’s to carry and she does an excellent job of capturing the emotional roller coaster Cheryl was on immediately prior to and throughout the course of the arduous hike.
Wild‘s beautifully shot by Yves Belanger, and director Vallée – working from a script by Nick Hornby (About a Boy, An Education) – makes Strayed’s intensely personal journey accessible to the audience. Even if we can’t relate to the events and wouldn’t make the same life choices (and can’t picture ourselves walking 1,000 miles in Cheryl’s shoes), Wild is an emotionally engaging film and one that conveys the pain, heartbreak, and ultimately the redemption of Cheryl’s incredible journey.
GRADE: A-
Wild is rated R for sexual content, nudity, drug use, and language.
Angelina Jolie and Louis Zamperini (Photo Courtesy of Universal Pictures)
Universal Pictures has released a new behind the scenes video from the upcoming dramatic thriller Unbroken featuring director Angelina Jolie and the incredible man whose life inspired the film, Louis Zamperini. Jolie talks about Zamperini and what she learned about the WWII hero and Olympian who, unfortunately, passed away before the movie was complete.
Universal Pictures is releasing Unbroken in theaters on December 25, 2014. The cast is led by Jack O’Connell as Louis Zamperini and features Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, and American Horror Story: Freak Show‘s Finn Wittrock.
The Plot:
Unbroken is an epic drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII—only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.
Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand’s enormously popular book, Unbroken brings to the big screen Zamperini’s unbelievable and inspiring true story about the resilient power of the human spirit.
Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Harry Styles of One Direction (Photo by: Jeff Daly / NBC)
NBC has a special holiday treat in store for fans of One Direction. The popular boy band will headline their first U.S. network special with One Direction: The TV Special airing on December 23, 2014 at 8pm ET/PT. The one hour show will feature musical performances by Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson filmed in Orlando and in South America.
“We’re really proud of our first TV Special. We had a great time filming the different parts both in Orlando and on the road in South America. We can’t wait for our fans to see it” – One Direction.
Here’s the details on the special, courtesy of NBC:
One Direction’s first U.S. network special will offer a rare inside look at the wildly popular band through a combination of documentary material, comical stunts and musical performances. The special features exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the South American leg of their 2014 Where We Are Tour and follows the band as they recorded their new #1 album, Four, on the road. Viewers will also experience One Direction’s music as they stage a special intimate concert for lucky fans at Universal Orlando Resort, where the band performs a selection of songs from Four as well as some of the biggest hits off their three previous albums. The hour-long telecast also finds the boys giving unsuspecting fans the shock of their lives by introducing themselves in disguise at the theme parks, as well as the bandmates interviewing each other aboard a high-speed roller coaster.
Tom Hardy at the Moet British Independent Film Awards (Photo by Ben A. Pruchnie / Getty Images for The Moet British Independent Film Awards)
After months of speculation and rumors, Warner Bros Pictures has confirmed the cast of Suicide Squad as well as revealing exactly who each actor will be playing. Per WB’s official announcement, Will Smith will play Deadshot, Tom Hardy is Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie will tackle the role of Harley Quinn, and Jared Leto will play the Joker.
David Ayer (Fury) will be directing the action film based on the DC Comics. Ayer also penned the script.
The cast also includes Jai Courtney as Boomerang and Cara Delevingne as Enchantress.
“The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one. David Ayer returns to the studio where he wrote Training Day and brings his incredible ability to craft multidimensional villains to this iconic DC property with a cast of longtime Warner collaborators Will Smith and Tom Hardy, and other new and returning favorites: Margot, Jared, Jai and Cara. We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero,” stated Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.
Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson, and Geoff Johns are on board as executive producers.
Warner Bros Pictures is aiming for an August 5, 2016 theatrical release.
Barry is thrilled when Oliver, Felicity and Diggle come to Central City to investigate a case involving a deadly boomerang. Excited about teaming up with his friend, Barry asks Oliver if he’d like to help him stop Ray Bivolo (guest star Paul Anthony), the meta-human Barry is currently tracking. Bivolo causes people to lose control of their emotions and has been using that skill to rob banks.
Unfortunately, the superhero partnership doesn’t go as smoothly as Barry expected. When Oliver tells Barry he still has a lot to learn, Barry sets out to prove him wrong by attempting to stop Bivolo alone. However, when Bivolo infects Barry and sets him on a rage rampage, everyone is in danger, and the only one who can stop him is the Arrow. Meanwhile, Iris (Candice Patton) is furious when Eddie (Rick Cosnett) tries to get a task force to stop The Flash, Joe and Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh) agree the Arrow is a bad influence on Barry, and Caitlin and Cisco deal with a new team in S.T.A.R. Labs.
And then on the Wednesday, December 3rd episode of Arrow, the story continues in “The Brave and the Bold.”
The Plot:
Oliver, Arsenal (Colton Haynes) and Diggle track down the location of a boomerang-wielding killer named Digger Harkness (guest star Nick E. Tarabay) but are surprised when they come face to face with an A.R.G.U.S. team. Diggle asks Lyla (guest star Audrey Marie Anderson) why A.R.G.U.S. is involved, but she defers until Harkness attacks the building, killing several agents and targeting Lyla. The Arrow joins the fight and gets help from an old friend – The Flash. Harkness manages to get away and Oliver teams up with Barry again to find him before he can get to Lyla. When Harkness plants five bombs in the city that are timed to explode at the same time, both teams must come together to save the city.
