20th Century Fox is releasing the epic adventure film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in theaters on December 25, 2013 and in support of its upcoming Christmas Day release, the studio is showing off six minutes of footage from the PG-rated film. Directed by Ben Stiller, the cast includes Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, and Sean Penn.
The Plot:
Ben Stiller directs and stars in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, James Thurber’s classic story of a daydreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job, along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world, embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.
Poster for 'The Blacklist' (Photo by: NBCUniversal)
NBC’s most-watched new drama series, The Blacklist, has just been renewed for a second season. According to the network, The Blacklist, starring James Spader, is the number one new drama among the major networks for viewers in the 18-49 age group. Its popularity has earned the series a 22-episode second season order.
“The success of The Blacklist demonstrates that inspired storytelling is alive and well in broadcast television, and I’m impressed on a daily basis by this creative team’s imagination and the extent to which they will go to capture this grand vision on film,” said NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt. “With gratitude to both our partners at Sony Pictures Television and our NBC development executives who took a great script and shepherded it into a great series, I hope that Red Reddington never runs out of names to bring down on his list!”
“We are very proud of the creative achievements of The Blacklist, starting with creator Jon Bokenkamp and his incredible producing partners John Eisendrath, John Davis, John Fox, and Michael Watkins,” added NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke. “Our hats are off to them and to everyone in our dream cast — starting with the incomparable James Spader and Megan Boone — and our maverick pilot director, Joe Carnahan, and all of the gifted writers, producers, and directors who bring this cinematic show to life each week.”
The Plot: The series stars Emmy Award winner James Spader as “Red” Reddington, a world-renown terrorist on the FBI’s Most Wanted List who is helping the U.S. government catch international criminals, but for unknown reasons.
Roadside Attractions has unveiled the official trailer for In Secret starring Elizabeth Olsen (Silent House), Tom Felton (the Harry Potter films), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), and Jessica Lange. The R-rated drama was directed by Charlie Stratton and will open in theaters on February 21, 2014.
The Plot:
Based on Émile Zola’s scandalous novel, Thérèse Raquin, In Secret is a tale of obsessive love, adultery and revenge set in the lower depths of 1860s Paris. Therese (Olsen), a sexually repressed beautiful young woman, is trapped into a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille (Felton), by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin (Lange). Therese spends her days confined behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominos with an eclectic group.
After she meets her husband’s alluring childhood friend, Laurent (Isaac), she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences.
Inside Llewyn Davis is the latest movie from the acclaimed filmmaking team of siblings Ethan and Joel Coen and is set in the world of folk music. Starring Oscar Isaac as Llewyn Davis, the dramatic music-filled movie has been picking up momentum as the award season progresses, earning a Best Feature nomination from the Spirit Awards and picking up the Best Film trophy at the Gotham Awards.
This new clip from the CBS Films production features Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake, and Adam Driver singing “Please Mr. Kennedy” written by Ed Rush, George Cromarty, T Bone Burnett, Justin Timberlake, Joel Coen, and Ethan Coen.
Oscar Isaac and Justin Timberlake star in ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ (Photo Courtesy of CBS Films)
The Plot:
Llewyn Davis (Isaac) is at a crossroads. Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles—some of them of his own making. Living at the mercy of both friends and strangers, scaring up what work he can find, Llewyn’s misadventures take him from the baskethouses of the Village to an empty Chicago club—on an odyssey to audition for a music mogul — and back again.
In support of the three-hour live production of The Sound of Music, Sony Masterworks has released the soundtrack to the TV movie starring Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp and Stephen Moyer as Captain Georg von Trapp. Airing on December 5 on NBC, The Sound of Music is based on the stage musical and is directed by Rob Ashford (Evita) and Beth McCarthy-Miller (30 Rock).
In addition to Underwood and Moyer, the cast includes Audra McDonald, Christian Borle, and Laura Benanti.
The Sound of Music, set in the 1930s before and during “Anschluss” when the Nazi’s annexed Austria, is based on the romantic true story of Maria von Trapp, an aspiring nun who leaves the abbey to become a governess for the widower Capt. von Trapp’s seven children. She soon finds herself falling in love with her employer and questioning her religious calling.
The Sound of Music — Music From the NBC Television Event Track List
1. Preludium
2. The Sound of Music
3. Maria
4. My Favorite Things
5. Do-Re-Mi
6. Sixteen Going On Seventeen
7. The Lonely Goatherd
8. How Can Love Survive?
9. Reprise: The Sound of Music
10. The Grand Waltz
11. Landler
12. So Long, Farewell
13. Climb Ev’ry Mountain
14. No Way To Stop It
15. Something Good
16. Processional & Maria (The Wedding)
17. Reprise: Sixteen Going On Seventeen
18. Reprise: Do-Re-Mi (The Concert)
19. Edelweiss (The Concert)
20. Reprise: So Long, Farewell (The Concert)
21. Finale Ultimo: Climb Ev’ry Mountain
22. End Credits
The Act of Killing The Armstrong Lie Blackfish The Crash Reel Cutie and the Boxer Dirty Wars First Cousin Once Removed God Loves Uganda Life According to Sam Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer The Square Stories We Tell Tim’s Vermeer 20 Feet from Stardom Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington
Source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Recording Academy will be adding 27 recordings to the Grammy Hall of Fame, upping the total to 960 recordings included in the collection. The new recordings continue the Recording Academy’s mission to preserve and celebrate recordings at least 25 years old that are of “qualitative or historical significance.”
“Spanning the 1930s to the 1980s, this year’s GRAMMY Hall Of Fame entries represent a diverse collection of influential and historically significant recordings,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. “Memorable and inspiring, these recordings are proudly added to our growing catalog — knowing that they have become a part of our musical, social, and cultural history.”
2014 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inductees
(Songwriters of singles in parentheses)
AFTER THE GOLD RUSH
Neil Young
Reprise (1970)
Album
ALL THINGS MUST PASS
George Harrison
Apple (1970)
Album
THE CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY
Chicago
Columbia (1969)
Album
COSMO’S FACTORY
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Fantasy (1970)
Album
DOC WATSON
Doc Watson
Vanguard (1964)
Album
“FORTUNATE SON”
Creedence Clearwater Revival
(John Fogerty)
Fantasy (1969)
Single
“GEORGIA (ON MY MIND)”
Hoagy Carmichael And His Orchestra
(Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell)
Victor (1930)
Single
“GET UP — I FEEL LIKE BEING LIKE A SEX MACHINE”
James Brown
(James Brown)
King (1970)
Single
“HONKY TONK WOMEN”
The Rolling Stones
(Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)
London (1969)
Single
“JOLENE”
Dolly Parton
(Dolly Parton)
RCA (1973)
Single
THE JOSHUA TREE
U2
Island (1987)
Album
KRISTOFFERSON
Kris Kristofferson
Monuent (1970)
Album
“LOW RIDER”
War
(Allen, Brown, Dickerson, Goldstein, Jordan, Miller, Oskar & Scott)
United Artists (1975)
Single
MARY POPPINS — ORGINAL CAST SOUND TRACK
Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke & Various Artists
Buena Vista (1964)
Album
“NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I’VE SEEN”
Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
(Spiritual Arranged by Henry “Harry” Thacker Burleigh)
Decca (1938)
Single
“RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN’ ON MY HEAD”
B.J. Thomas
(Burt Bacharach, Hal David)
Scepter (1969)
Single
“RAPPER’S DELIGHT”
Sugarhill Gang
(Bernard Edwards, Nile Rogers)
Sugar Hill (1979)
Single
RELAXIN’ WITH THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET
Miles Davis
Prestige (1958)
Album
“THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED”
Gil Scott-Heron
(Gil Scott-Heron)
Flying Dutchman (1970)
Single
“STRANGE THINGS HAPPENING EVERY DAY”
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
(Rosetta Tharpe)
Decca (1945)
Single
“SWEET HOME CHICAGO”
Robert Johnson
(Robert Johnson)
Vocalion (1937)
Single
“3 O’CLOCK BLUES”
B.B. King
(Lowell Fulson, B.B. King)
RPM (1952)
Single
“UNDER THE BOARDWALK”
The Drifters
(Artie Resnick, Kenny Young)
Atlantic (1964)
Single
“WALK THIS WAY”
Run-D.M.C.
(Joe Perry, Steven Tyler)
Profile (1986)
Single
“WONDERFUL WORLD”
Sam Cooke
(Sam Cook, Herb Albert & Lou Adler)
Keen (1960)
Single
WOODSTOCK — MUSIC FROM THE ORGINAL SOUND TRACK AND MORE
Various Artists
Cotillion (1970)
Album
“YARDBIRD SUITE”
Charlie Parker Septet
(Charlie Parker)
Dial (1946)
Single
“Duck Dynasty”’s Robertson Family celebrates the holidays. (Photo Credit: Eric Adkins)
It’s nearly impossible to turn on the television or visit any Walmart, Books-A-Million or Bass Pro Shop without encountering images of the bearded Robertson clan from A&E’s Duck Dynasty. It’s the No. 1 nonfiction show in the history of cable television.
Where could they possibly go from here? To Nashville, of course, to make their recording debut.
On Oct. 29, EMI Records Nashville released Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas. The album features members of the Robertson family singing classic holiday tunes as well as originals, including “Ragin’ Cajun Redneck Christmas,” written by Dallas Davidson and Willie Robertson, the CEO of Duck Commander, the duck-call business that has made them multimillionaires.
“Nothing says Christmas more than big hairy men in Santa hats,” joked Willie.
Thanks to the popularity of any product associated with Duck Dynasty, a number of labels wanted to land Duck the Halls. “We felt really awesome to be able to sit down with every company, talk to them and get a feel for who they are and decide who we wanted to go with,” said Korie. “It’s a real honor to us to be able to do that. We’re people with heart, and we go where it leads us. We sat down with Universal and it just felt right. It felt like they were speaking our language. We all looked at each other — it was Willie and I and Jase and Missy went up there — and at the end of the day said, ‘That’s who we feel gets us and gets who we are.’”
Because the Robertsons were busy filming the next season of their show, most of Duck the Halls was recorded at Music City Studios in their hometown, West Monroe, La. Missy helped corral the family and taught them their parts for the group sing-alongs. It helped that they’ve always sung in their local church and were used to singing harmony.
“It was so much fun,” Missy remembered. “That’s my element. I’ve taught kids for so long. The first song we did together was ‘Silent Night.’ We wanted four-part harmony, so I said, ‘I’ll try to get everyone started, and then we can all sing like we do at church.’ I ended up standing in front of them and directing them, like a choral director. They couldn’t all see me, so they brought me a chair. I was like, ‘This is definitely working for me. I’m standing on a chair in front of my family and they are having to watch and listen to me.’ That was a pretty wonderful experience.”
“Missy is obviously a really good singer,” said producer Buddy Cannon. “I leaned on her a lot because the whole family respects her singing ability and her knowledge, so I relied on her to help me coordinate with different people as far as who was going to be in the studio at what time and who would do which parts the best.
“Willie was a bit nervous at first when he came in to do his vocals,” the producer continued. “But once he got in there and sang it a few times and realized I wasn’t going to kill him or make it difficult for him, he got into it and started having fun. I was the same way with all of them. They didn’t know what to expect. Those guys never dreamed of being singers and making a record. Phil kept coming up and he’d say, ‘You really believe you are going to make Country singers out of us?’”
Cannon’s goal was to represent the Robertsons the same way the hit TV show does. “What I decided I needed to do was not to try to make a perfect record, but to try to make it believable to all their fans,” he said. “When we were working, it was like I was sitting in the middle of one of their shows the whole time. No matter who, no matter which of the characters, was in the studio, it was like it was transported into one of their shows. It was a hoot.”
Everyone involved knows that some skeptics question whether a hit TV show can spawn a hit album, but Jase believes they’re in for a surprise. “Hopefully, they’ll listen to it and say, ‘They can actually sing too,’” he said, with a laugh. “We’re just like we are on TV. We don’t consider ourselves celebrities or stars. That’s just not the way we roll.”
DreamWorks Animation's Turbo FAST to launch on December 24 as Netflix first original series for kids. (PRNewsFoto/Netflix, Inc.)
Netflix will debut their first original series for kids on December 24, 2013 with the launch of DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo FAST. The new series featuring the voices of Reid Scott as Turbo and Ken Jeong as home shopping icon Kim Ly will premiere five episodes on Christmas Eve, with more episodes to come in 2014.
“We’ve long said that Netflix is revolutionizing the television industry and now we are thrilled to officially be a part of it,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation. “They have been fantastic partners whose vision has given our characters an amazing platform to be enjoyed by families around the world.”
“We are excited to be working with the gifted storytellers at DreamWorks Animation to deliver Turbo FAST, our first original kids series, to families around the world this holiday season,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix. “With new episodes on their way in the coming months, kids will have something to look forward to all year.”
The Plot:
DreamWorks’ Turbo FAST is a high-octane ensemble comedy that amps everything up to the extreme as Turbo and his adrenaline-fueled crew go on daring new adventures, race on the coolest tracks, and take on the craziest challengers. No matter how wild things get, these snails always have each other’s backs.
Stunt Team members — Turbo, Whiplash, Burn, Smoove Move, White Shadow, Skidmark and Chet — already have legions of fans from their appearance in the DreamWorks Animation’s feature film Turbo, which opened in theaters around the globe earlier this year and has already grossed more than $280 million. The all new television show digs deeper into the crazy personalities of the snail crew and features 2D design to create a stylized look reflective of the Stunt Team’s fast-paced, souped-up world.
LADY GAGA'S artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball (PRNewsFoto/Live Nation Entertainment)Tickets go on sale beginning December 9, 2013 for Lady Gaga’s artRave: The ARTPOP Ball. The 2014 North American tour in support of her new album kicks off on May 4th in Ft. Lauderdale and includes cities she couldn’t make it to after her hip injury forced her to cancel scheduled concerts.
Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters will have the first shot at purchasing advance tickets beginning December 3 and continuing through December 5. For more info on the fan club, visit Littlemonsters.com.
Lady Gaga artRave: The ARTPOP Ball Tour Dates
May 4 Ft. Lauderdale, FL BB&T Center
May 6 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
May 8 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
May 10 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun
May 12 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
May 13 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
May 15 Washington, DC Verizon Center
May 18 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
May 20 St. Paul, MN Xcel Entergy Center
May 22 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
May 25 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
May 26 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
May 28 Seattle, WA Key Arena
May 30 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
June 2 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena
June 3 San Jose, CA SAP Center at San Jose
June 30 Boston, MA TD Garden
July 2 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
July 9 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
July 11 Chicago, IL United Center
July 14 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
July 16 Houston, TX Toyota Center
July 17 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
July 19 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
July 21 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
In support of the three-hour live production of The Sound of Music, Sony Masterworks has released the soundtrack to the TV movie starring Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp and Stephen Moyer as Captain Georg von Trapp. Airing on December 5 on NBC, The Sound of Music is based on the stage musical and is directed by Rob Ashford (Evita) and Beth McCarthy-Miller (30 Rock).
Stumble It! 
The Recording Academy will be adding 27 recordings to the Grammy Hall of Fame, upping the total to 960 recordings included in the collection. The new recordings continue the Recording Academy’s mission to preserve and celebrate recordings at least 25 years old that are of “qualitative or historical significance.”
