Ellen DeGeneres signs a deal to continue her show through 2020 on NBC stations. Matthew McConaughey gushes about New Orleans, right down to its potholes, in Garden & Gun magazine. The New Orleans-shot "The Big Short" scores five Oscar nominations. Find those stories and more in "This Week in Hollywood South," an ICYMI collection of recent headlines about the local film and TV industry.
NBC stations renew "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" through 2020. New Orleans native DeGeneres' previous deal with NBC's owned-and-operated stations ran through 2017. The early renewal, according to Variety, reflects the importance of the show to the stations, which cover New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Miami, San Diego and Hartford, Conn. "Day in and day out Ellen delivers the best show on television. Ellen and her team produce a completely unique and exciting hour, which is appointment television for viewers everywhere," said Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, which distrubtes the show. (Read the full story at Variety.com.)[1]
Why Matthew McConaughey loves New Orleans' potholes. "Part of me hopes that they don't fix the potholes," McConaughey recently told Garden & Gun magazine in discussing the appealing pace of life in kudzu country, as compared to that of Everywhere Else. "In the South, it's actually built in -- you have to take your time. As for the roads in New Orleans, you go too fast, and you'll burn your lap with coffee and your shocks will be gone. You know what I mean? Just take your time." (Read more of McConaughey's Garden & Gun interview at NOLA.com[2].)
NOLA-shot "The Big Short" and "Trumbo" are in that number as Oscar nominations are revealed. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "The Revenant" led the field with 12 nominations, but Hollywood South was represented as well. Director Adam McKay's "The Big Short," based on local author Michael Lewis' Wall Street expose, was nominated for five awards: best picture, best director, best supporting actor (for Christian Bale), best adapted screenplay and best film editing. Meanwhile, the locally shot period biopic "Trumbo" earned a lead-actor nod for Bryan Cranston. (Read more, including the full list of 2016 Oscar nominees, at NOLA.com[3].)
This week on 'NCIS: New Orleans': 'That's not Scott Bakula!,' and other things to know about this week's episode[4]
Louisiana-made "Big Short," "Pitch Perfect 2," "Scream Queens" and "Astronaut Wives Club" among nominees for Make Up and Hair Stylists Guild awards. Both "The Big Short" (shot in New Orleans) and "Pitch Perfect 2" (Baton Rouge) earned nods in the guild's contemporary makeup category. "Pitch Perfect 2" also earned a nod in the contemporary hair styling category. On the TV side, the nomination for "Scream Queens" (New Orleans) came in the contemporary miniseries category, while "Astronaut Wives Club" (also shot in New Orleans) was nominated in the period miniseries or movie-of-the week category. The guild will announce its winners on Feb. 20, a week before the Academy Awards are handed out. (Read the full story at Variety.com[5].)
Baton Rouge-shot "Fantastic Four" and New Orleans-shot "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" earn Golden Raspberry Award nominations. While other local films were eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Oscar nominations this week, "Fantastic Four" and "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" were at the other end of the spectrum, earning Razzie nominations, which annually "celebrate" the worst of the past movie year. "Fantastic Four" earned nods for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Director (for Josh Trank), Worst Screen Combo (for "All four 'Fantastics'"), and Worst Remake/Rip-off/Sequel. "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" was nominated for worst supporting actor (for Chevy Chase, whose nomination also covers his role in this year's "Vacation" reboot). (Read more, including the full list of nominees, at NOLA.co m[6].)
Jamie Kennedy joins New Orleans cast of indie drama "Heart Baby." Angela Shelton is directing, the film, a biopic on prison boxer George Lee Martin, who refused an opportunity to join the 1984 U.S. Olympic team in exchange for his freedom. Kennedy will play a fellow inmate. Production was scheduled to start this week in New Orleans. Kennedy previously shot the 2010 crime comedy "Bending the Rules" in town. (Read the full story at Yahoo[7].)
'The Free State of Jones' movie trailer: First look at Matthew McConaughey's La.-shot Civil War action film[8]
Jada Pinkett Smith, Kathryn Hahn join cast of New Orleans-shot "mom comedy." They join Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Christina Applegate in the STX Entertainment film, formerly titled "Bad Moms." Written and directed by "Hangover" scribes Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, it will tell the story of a group of overstressed moms who decide to cut loose for a day. Principal photography started this week in New Orleans, with a release planned for Aug. 19. (Read the full story at Deadline.com[9].)
NOLA-shot "Keanu" gets a new release date. Warner Bros. has pushed the release of the forthcoming comedy back one week. Now, it will arrive in theaters on April 29. Starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of "Key & Peele," the film tells the story of two friends who go undercover as drug dealers to rescue their stolen kitten, named Keanu. Peter Atencio directed the film, which shot in town last year. (Read the full story at Deadline[10].)
Ben Mendelsohn reportedly circling role in Steven Spielberg's "Ready Player One." The "Mississippi Grind" star is in talks to play a villainous executive at an Internet corporation in Spielberg's film, which is planning to shoot in New Orleans for eight days in late 2016. He would join Olivia Cooke, who is the only confirmed member of the cast. (Read the full story at The Hollywood Reporter[11]. Read more about "Ready Player One" at NOLA.com[12].)
And 'Duck Dynasty' patriarch Phil Robertson's presidential endorsement goes to ...[13]
References
- ^ Read the full story at Variety.com (variety.com)
- ^ Read more of McConaughey's Garden & Gun interview at NOLA.com (www.nola.com)
- ^ Read more, including the full list of 2 016 Oscar nominees, at NOLA.com (www.nola.com)
- ^ This week on 'NCIS: New Orleans': 'That's not Scott Bakula!,' and other things to know about this week's episode (www.nola.com)
- ^ Read the full story at Variety.com (deadline.com)
- ^ Read more, including the full list of nominees, at NOLA.com (www.nola.com)
- ^ Read the full story at Yahoo (www.yahoo.com)
- ^ 'The Free State of Jones' movie trailer: First look at Matthew McConaughey's La.-shot Civil War action film (www.nola.com)
- ^ Read the full story at Deadline.com (deadline.com)
- ^ Read the full story at Deadline (deadline.com)
- ^ Read the full story at The Hollywood Reporter (www.hollywoodreporter.com)
- ^ more about "Ready Player One" at NOLA.com (www.nola.com)
- ^ And 'Duck Dynasty' patriarch Phil Robertson's presidential endorsement goes to ... (www.nola.com)
