Veteran music executive Charlie Walk has been dropped from Fox’s singing competition “The Four: Battle for Stardom” after two women who used to work with him have come forward to accuse him of sexual harassment, according to a Deadline report published on January 31, 2018. In addition, Walk has also been placed on leave by the Republic Group, where he served as president. He joined the company in 2013 as executive vice president of Republic Records. Universal Music Group, the owner and distributor of Republic, issued a statement that it is investigating the allegations and will make a decision about Walk’s employment status when the investigation is completed. Walk, who is married with children, has denied all the allegations.
Walk was one of four judges on “The Four,” a talent contest in which the winner gets a record deal with Republic. Sean “Diddy” Combs, Meghan Trainor and DJ Khaled are the show’s other judges. Former Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie is the show’s host.
“The Four” (which is produced by ITV Entertainment and Armoza Formats) premiered on January 4, 2018. Walk already taped the episode that airs on February 1, 2018, but sources told Deadline that Walk will not be on the show’s season finale that airs on February 8, 2018. “The Four” has had bad reviews and mediocre ratings, averaging a little more than 3 million U.S. viewers per episode.
Pictured from left to right: “The Four” host Fergie with “The Four” judges DJ Khaled, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Meghan Trainor and Charlie Walk. (Photo by Brian Bowen Smith/Fox)
One of Walk’s accusers is Life Lab founder Tristan Coopersmith, who went on the Internet on January 29, 2018, to describe Walk as a “scumbag” boss who repeatedly harassed her with lewd comments, unwanted groping and sexually inappropriate text messages. In a lengthy open letter to Walk, she also described an incident in which a drunken Walk allegedly forced her onto a bed at his home with his unknowing wife in the next room. Coopersmith said she rejected Walk’s sexual advances but his alleged harassment left her traumatized. In her letter, Coopersmith did not give specific dates on when these incidents allegedly occurred, but she said that she worked for Walk for a year in the early 2000s, starting when she was 27, while he was an executive at Sony Music’s Columbia Records. She also said that she reported the harassment at the time to a senior executive at the company, who allegedly told her that there was nothing she could do about it. She later accepted a payment to leave the company. Coopersmith has not worked in the music industry since 2010, and she says that Walk was one of the main reasons why she left the industry.
The second woman accusing Walk of harassment has chosen to remain anonymous, but she has been described in reports as a former Republic employee who is currently working in the music industry as a marketing executive. She also told similar stories of Walk making lewd comments to her, sending her sexually inappropriate texts and videos, and trying to lure her into having a sexual tryst with him. After she was laid off from the company, she tried to keep in touch with Walk because she considered him to be an powerful person who could still help her career, but she cut off contact with him after he continued to make sexual advances toward her. The anonymous accuser says she rejected Walk’s advances.
At Republic, Walk had been instrumental in shaping the music careers of DNCE, Hailee Steinfeld, Julia Michaels, The Weeknd, Lorde and Ariana Grande. He also led promotion partnerships for Big Machine Label Group (Taylor Swift), Cash Money Records (Drake, Nicki Minaj) and Island Records (Shawn Mendes, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas).
Before joining Republic, Walk was co-founder of the marketing company RJW Collective, later known as JWALK, from 2009 to 2014. He was previously president of Sony Music’s Epic Records from 2005 to 2009. At Epic, he worked with such artists as Shakira, Sean Kingston, The Fray and Sara Bareilles.. From 1990 to 2005, Walk was a marketing and promotion executive at Sony’s Columbia Records, where he helped shape the careers of artists such as Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé, John Mayer, New Kids on the Block, the Fugees and John Legend.
February 8, 2018 UPDATE: “The Four” has been renewed for a second season, which will air in the summer of 2018 on dates to be announced , according to a press release issued by Fox. Evvie McKinney was the winner of the show’s first season. Fox has announced that for Season 2 of “The Four,” Combs, DJ Khaled and Trainor will continue their roles as judges, while Fergie will continue to host the show. It has not yet been announced who will replace Walk.
March 28, 2018 UPDATE: Republic Records has announced that it has reached a mutual agreement with Charlie Walk to leave the company, effective immediately. Republic said it would have no further comment on the matter. The announcement came one month after Rolling Stone published a report in which several other women came forward to tell stories about Walk harassing them while he was their boss or work colleague.
April 16, 2018 UPDATE: Fox has announced that the second season of “The Four” will premiere on June 7, 2018. Combs, DJ Khaled and Trainor are the show’s only judges for Season 2. Walk will not be replaced on the judges’ panel.
The complete lineup of films has been announced for the 25th Annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals, which will take place in Austin, Texas, from March 9 to March 18, 2018. Some of the more high-profile films having their SXSW premieres include the apocalyptic thriller “A Quiet Place,” directed and co-written by John Krasinski and starring real-life spouses Krasisnki and Emily Blunt; “Boundaries,” written and directed by Shana Feste and starring Vera Farmiga and Christopher Plummer; “Paradox’, written and directed by Daryl Hannah and starring Neil Young;; and “Final Portrait,” directed by Stanley Tucci and starring Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer. “A Quiet Place” will be the opening-night film for the 2018 SXSW Film Festival.
In addition, the festival has announced Melinda Gates as the keynote speaker. She is the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and recently launched Pivotal Ventures.
Other keynote speakers at the event include Darren Aronofsky (Film Keynote), Ta-Nehisi Coates (Convergence Keynote), Lyor Cohen (Music Keynote), Barry Jenkins (Film Keynote), Sadiq Khan (Convergence Keynote), Esther Perel (Interactive Keynote), and whurley (Convergence Keynote).
SXSW 2018’s featured speakers include filmmaker Olivier Assayas, Dell Technologies founder/CEO Michael Dell,; “Elvis Presley: The Searcger” executive producer Priscilla Presley and director Thom Zimny; Oscar-nominated filmmaker Richard Linklater; futurist Ray Kurzweil; former U.S. Chief Technology Officer and shift7 founder Megan Smith;”Westworld” showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, fashion entrepreneur Rachel Zoe.
SXSW Conference programming is organized into 24 Tracks divided between Interactive, Film, Music, and Convergence, presented in a variety of session formats. Continuing last year’s initiative, SXSW is offering expanded access to events for all registrants. Attendees will receive primary access to programming associated with their badge type but now also enjoy secondary entry to most other SXSW events.
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Kate McKinnon and Taylor Schilling in “Family”
Family
Director/Screenwriter: Laura Steinel
When an emotionally stunted 30-year-old woman is tasked with watching her awkward and bullied 12-year-old niece for the week, she finds her life unfurling when the girl runs away to be a juggalo. Cast: Taylor Schilling, Bryn Vale, Brian Tyree Henry, Jessie Ennis, Blair Beeken, Matt Walsh, Allison Tolman, Eric Edelstein, Kate McKinnon, Fabrizio Guido (World Premiere)
First Match
Director/Screenwriter: Olivia Newman
Hardened by years in foster care, a teenage girl from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood decides that wrestling boys is the only way back to her estranged father. Cast: Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome, Jared Kemp (World Premiere)
Jinn
Director/Screenwriter: Nijla Mu’min
A shape-shifting, pepperoni-loving, black teenage Instagram celebrity explores her identity and sexuality in the midst of her mother’s conversion to Islam. Cast: Zoe Renee, Simone Missick, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Hisham Tawfiq, Kelly Jenrette, Dorian Missick, Ashlei Foushee, Maya Morales, Damien D. Smith (World Premiere)
The New Romantic (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Carly Stone
Frustrated with the lack of chivalrous guys her own age, a college senior gives up on dating for love to date an older man in exchange for gifts instead. Cast: Jessica Barden, Hayley Law, Brett Dier, Timm Sharp, Avan Jogia, Camila Mendes (World Premiere)
Sadie
Director/Screenwriter: Megan Griffiths
While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie battles to preserve his place on the home front when her mother takes an interest in a new man. Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Sophia Mitri Schloss, John Gallagher Jr., Danielle Brooks, Tony Hale, Keith Williams, Tee Dennard (World Premiere)
Shotgun
Directors/Screenwriters: Hannah Marks, Joey Power
A young couple’s relationship develops quickly when one of them is diagnosed with a life-changing illness. Cast: Maika Monroe, Jeremy Allen White, DeRon Horton, Marisa Tomei, Sasha Lane, Joe Keery, Gina Gershon, Dean Winters, Olivia Luccardi (World Premiere)
Summer ’03
Director/Screenwriter: Becca Gleason
On her deathbed, Jamie’s grandmother leaves her with two pieces of information: one involves a baptism, the other a blowjob. This sets Jamie and her family on an emotional roller coaster ride while she falls for the wrong guy at the wrong time. Cast: Joey King, Andrea Savage, Paul Scheer, Jack Kilmer, Erin Darke, Stephen Ruffin, Kelly Lamor Wilson, Logan Medina, June Squibb (World Premiere)
Thunder Road
Director/Screenwriter: Jim Cummings
Officer Arnaud loved his Mom. Cast: Kendal Farr, Jim Cummings, Nican Robinson, Jocelyn DeBoer, Macon Blair, Bill Wise, Jordan Fox, Chelsea Edmondson (World Premiere)
The Unicorn
Director: Robert Schwartzman, Screenwriters: Nick Rutherford, Kirk C. Johnson, Will Elliott
Facing the fourth year of their engagement, an indecisive couple is thrust into the most uncomfortable night of their lives by intentionally and unintentionally involving a third party in their relationship. Cast: Lauren Lapkus, Nick Rutherford, Lucy Hale, Beck Bennett, Dree Hemingway, Beverly D’Angelo, John Kapelos, Maya Kazan, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Kyle Mooney (World Premiere)
Write When You Get Work
Director/Screenwriter: Stacy Cochran
Write When You Get Work is a comedy of money and access, a NY love story set in the Bronx and at a pricey school for girls on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Years after they’ve parted ways, Jonny Collins pursues Ruth Duffy for love — and profit. Cast: Emily Mortimer, Finn Wittrock, Rachel Keller, Scott Cohen, Jessica Hecht, James Ransone, Andrew Schulz, Tess Frazer, Afton Williamson, Zarif Kabier (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
“Chi-Town” (Photo by Keifer Sykes)
Chi-Town
Director: Nick Budabin
An underdog basketball player from Chicago goes on a meteoric rise to become one of the best college point guards in the nation. But while he pursues dreams of the NBA, his success contrasts with the effects of gun violence on his friends back home. (World Premiere)
Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable
Director: Sasha Waters
Freyer Artist. Iconoclast. Man of his time. All Things are Photographable is a revealing documentary portrait of the life and work of acclaimed photographer Garry Winogrand – the epic storyteller in pictures of America across three turbulent decades. (World Premiere)
The Gospel of Eureka
Directors: Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher, Screenwriter: Donal Mosher
Faith, love and civil rights collide on voting day in a small Southern town that hosts a famous performance of the last days of Christ and an infamous gospel drag show. The new documentary by the award winning directors of October Country. (World Premiere)
¡Las Sandinistas! (Nicaragua, United States)
Director: Jenny Murray
¡Las Sandinistas! uncovers the disappearing stories of women who shattered barriers to lead combat and social reform during Nicaragua’s 1979 Sandinista Revolution, and who continue to lead Nicaragua’s current struggle for democracy and equality. (World Premiere)
People’s Republic of Desire (China)
Director: Hao Wu
In China’s popular live-streaming showrooms, three millennials – a karaoke singer, a migrant worker and a rags-to-riches comedian – seek fame, fortune and human connection, ultimately finding the same promises and perils online as in their real lives. (World Premiere)
Social Animals
Director: Jonathan Green, Screenwriters: Carol Martori, Jonathan Green, Peter Garriott
A daredevil photographer, an aspiring swimsuit model, and a midwest girl next door are all looking for the same things from their Instagram accounts––a little love, acceptance and, of course, fame––and they’ll do just about anything to get it. (World Premiere)
This One’s For The Ladies
Director: Gene Graham
This One’s For The Ladies explores the sexual and social identity of contemporary black America through intimate, eye opening and often hilarious accounts from women and men who find love and community in the underground world of exotic dancing. (World Premiere)
TransMilitary
Directors: Gabriel Silverman, Fiona Dawson, Screenwriters: Jamie Coughlin, Gabriel Silverman
At a time when transgender people are banned from serving in the U.S. military, four of the thousands of transgender troops risking discharge fight to attain the freedom they so fiercely protect. (World Premiere)
Weed The People
Director: Abby Epstein
Weed the People captures the uplifting and heart-wrenching struggles of families who treat their cancer-stricken children with marijuana, some with astonishing results. (World Premiere)
The World Before Your Feet
Director: Jeremy Workman
For over 6 years, Matt Green, 37, has been walking every street in New York City – a total of more than 8000 miles. The World Before Your Feet tells the
story of one man’s unusual quest and the journey of discovery, humanity, and wonder that ensues. (World Premiere)
HEADLINERS
John Krasinski and Noah Jupe in “A Quiet Place” (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures).
A Quiet Place
Director: John Krasinski, Screenwriters: Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski, Producers: Platinum Dunes
If they can’t hear you, they can’t hunt you. Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds (World Premiere)
Blockers
Director: Kay Cannon, Screenwriters: Brian Kehoe, Jim Kehoe, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Eben Russell
When three parents discover their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity at prom, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal. Cast: Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, John Cena, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Indira Viswanathan, Gideon Adlon (World Premiere)
Boundaries
Director/Screenwriter: Shana Feste
Laura and her troubled son Henry are forced to drive her estranged, pot-dealing, carefree father Jack across country after being kicked out of a nursing home. Cast: Vera Farmiga, Christopher Plummer, Lewis MacDougall, Bobby Cannavale, Kristen Schaal, Dolly Wells, Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Fonda (World Premiere)
Paradox
Director/Screenwriter: Daryl Hannah
A loud Poem. A whimsical western tale of music and love. Cast: Neil Young, Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson, Corey McCormick, Anthony LoGerfo, Tato Melgar, Willie Nelson, Charris Ford, Dulcie Clarkson Ford (World Premiere)
Final Portrait (United Kingdom, United States)
Director/Screenwriter: Stanley Tucci
Final Portrait is the story of the touching and offbeat friendship between world renowned artist Alberto Giacometti and American writer and art-lover James Lord, based on Lord’s memoir. Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, Clémence Poésy, Tony Shalhoub, Sylvie Testud (North American Premiere)
NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Abbi Jacobson in “6 Balloons” (Photo courtesy of Netflix)
6 Balloons
Director/Screenwriter: Marja Lewis Ryan
Over the course of one night, a woman drives across LA with her heroin addict brother in search of a detox center, with his two year old daughter in tow. Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Dave Franco, Charlotte Carel, Madison Carel, Jane Kaczmarek, Dewan Owens, Tim Matheson, Jen Tullock, Maya Erskine, Heidi Sulzman (World Premiere)
All Square
Director: John Hyams, Screenwriter: Timothy Brady
A down-on-his-luck bookie befriends an ex-girlfriend’s son and gets the bright idea to take bets on his youth league baseball games; only to realize he’s killed what’s pure about the sport as the games turn ugly when money is on the line. Cast: Michael Kelly, Josh Lucas, Pamela Adlon, Tom Everett Scott, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Harris Yulin, Yeardley Smith, Jesse Ray Sheps, Jay Larson, Craig Walker (World Premiere)
Anchor and Hope (Spain)
Director/Screenwriter: Carlos Marques-Marcet
When the best friend of a bohemian lesbian couple agrees to be their surrogate, the three friends set out on an unconventional journey to start a family. Cast: Natalia Tena, Oona Chaplin, David Verdaguer, Geraldine Chaplin (North American Premiere)
A Bluebird in My Heart (Belgium, France)
Director/Screenwriter: Jérémie Guez
Attempting to lead a quiet reformed life, an ex-con finds refuge in a motel run by a single mother and her daughter Clara. The peace and freedom he has found in this safe haven disappears when Clara is assaulted, forcing him to face his old demons. Cast: Roland Moller, Veerle Baetens, Lola Le Lann, Lubna Azabal (World Premiere)
The Breaker Upperers (New Zealand)
Directors/Screenwriters: Jackie van Beek, Madeleine Sami
Two women run a business breaking up couples for cash but when one develops a conscience their friendship unravels. Cast: Jackie van Beek, Madeleine Sami, Celia Pacquola, James Rolleston, Ana Scotney
(World Premiere)
Fast Color
Director: Julia Hart, Screenwriters: Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz
In this genre-bending supernatural drama, a woman is forced to go on the run when her extraordinary abilities are discovered. Years after having abandoned her family, the only place she has left to hide is home. Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, Saniyya Sidney, Christopher Denham, David Strathairn (World Premiere)
First Light (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Stone
A close encounter with mysterious lights sends two teens on the run after one discovers she has extraordinary but dangerous powers. Cast: Stefanie Scott, Theodore Pelerine, Said Taghmaoui
(World Premiere)
The Legacy of the Whitetail Deer Hunter
Director: Jody Hill
The great hunter Buck Ferguson and his trusted cameraman Don set out for an epic weekend adventure to reconnect with Buck’s young son. Cast: Josh Brolin, Danny McBride, Scoot McNairy, Montana Jordan (World Premiere)
Neurotic Quest for Serenity (Brazil)
Directors/Screenwriters: Paulinho Caruso, Teodoro Poppovic
Kika is going through a lot. She’s a famous actress. She has millions of fans. She’s about to star in a post apocalyptic soap opera. And she has obsessive compulsive disorder. Cast: Tatá Werneck, Vera Holtz, Bruno Gagliasso, Daniel Furlan (North American Premiere)
Outside In
Director: Lynn Shelton, Screenwriters: Lynn Shelton, Jay Duplass
An ex-con struggling to readjust to life in his small town forms an intense bond with his former high-school teacher. Cast: Jay Duplass, Edie Falco, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben Schwartz
(U.S. Premiere)
Support The Girls
Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski
The general manager at a highway-side ‘breastaurant’ has her incurable optimism and faith–in her girls, her customers, and herself–tested over the course of a long, strange day. Cast: Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Shayna McHale, James LeGros, Dylan Gelula, AJ Michalka, Brooklyn Decker, Lea DeLaria, Jana Kramer, John Elvis (World Premiere)
Unlovable
Director: Suzi Yoonessi, Screenwriters: Mark Duplass, Sarah Adina Smith, Charlene deGuzman
A sex- and love-addicted woman learns what real intimacy is when she starts making music with a reclusive man. Cast: Charlene deGuzman, John Hawkes, Melissa Leo, Paul James, Ellen Geer, Gigette Reyes (World Premiere)
A Vigilante
Director/Screenwriter: Sarah Daggar Nickson
A once abused woman, Sadie (Olivia Wilde), devotes herself to ridding victims of their domestic abusers while hunting down the husband she must kill to truly be free. Cast: Olivia Wilde, Morgan Spector, Kyle Catlett, CJ Wilson, Tonye Patano, Chuck Cooper, Betsy Aidem, Jusy Marte (World Premiere)
Who We Are Now
Director/Screenwriter: Matthew Newton
Beth, recently released from prison, tries to get custody of her son again and find her way back into the outside world, along the way realizing who she is isn’t about where she’s been, it’s about where she’s going. Cast: Julianne Nicholson, Emma Roberts, Zachary Quinto, Jess Weixler, Jimmy Smits, Jason Biggs, Lea Thompson, Scott Cohen, Octavia Chavez-Richmond, J. Mallory McCree (U.S. Premiere)
Wild Nights With Emily
Director/Screenwriter: Madeleine Olnek
Molly Shannon plays Emily Dickinson in Wild Nights With Emily, a humorous drama. This independent film explores her vivacious, irreverent side that was covered up for years — most notably Emily’s lifelong romantic relationship with another woman. Cast: Molly Shannon, Amy Seimetz, Susan Ziegler, Brett Gelman, Jackie Monahan, Kevin Seal, Dana Melanie, Sasha Frolova, Lisa Haas, Al Sutton (World Premiere)
Wildling
Director: Fritz Bohm, Screenwriters: Fritz Bohm, Florian Eder
A blossoming teenager uncovers the dark secret behind her traumatic childhood. Cast: Bel Powley, Brad Dourif, Liv Tyler, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, James Le Gros, Troy Ruptash, Arlo Mertz, Aviva Winick (World Premiere)
You Can Choose Your Family
Director: Miranda Bailey, Screenwriter: Glen Lakin
A seventeen-year-old boy blackmails his father after discovering his secret second family. Cast: Jim Gaffigan, Logan Miller, Anna Gunn, Samantha Mathis, Alex Karpovsky, Hayes MacArthur, Michelle Hurd (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
“Agave: Spirit of a Nation” (Photo by Nate Pesce)
Agave: The Spirit of a Nation (Mexico, United States)
Directors: Nicholas Kovacic, Matthew Riggieri, Screenwriter: Chantal Martineau
In Mexico, families have passed down the tradition of distilling agave for generations and now, this once obscure Mexican drink is everywhere. Discover, how one delicate plant has carried the weight of a nation and the people trying to protect it. (World Premiere)
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes
Director: Robert Bader, Screenwriters: Robert S. Bader, Dick Cavett
The life and times of Muhammed Ali shown through the lens of his numerous appearances on The Dick Cavett Show. The film features new interviews with Dick Cavett, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Larry Merchant, as well as archival material from the Cavett Show. (World Premiere)
Alt-Right: Age of Rage
Director/Screenwriter: Adam Bhala Lough
In the first year of Trump’s Presidency, Daryle Lamont Jenkins, an Antifa activist, combats the rise of the Alt-Right movement, while Richard Spencer, an Alt-Right leader, fights to gain ground, culminating in a tragic showdown in Charlottesville. (World Premiere)
The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From A Mythical Man
Director: Tommy Avallone, Screenwriters: Tommy Avallone, Max Paolucci
One man’s journey to find meaning in Bill Murray’s many unexpected adventures with everyday people, rare and never-before seen footage of the comedic icon participating in stories previously presumed to be urban legend. (World Premiere)
Brewmaster
Director/Screenwriter: Douglas Tirola
Brewmaster follows a young ambitious New York lawyer who struggles to chase his American dream of becoming a brewmaster and a Milwaukee-based professional beer educator, as he attempts to become a Master Cicerone. (World Premiere)
Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Director: Dana Adam Shapiro
Daughters of the Sexual Revolution is the never-before-told story of Suzanne Mitchell, the fiercely-loyal den mother of the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. (World Premiere)
The Dawn Wall (Austria, United States)
Directors: Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer
Legendary free climber Tommy Caldwell tries to get over heartbreak by scaling 3000ft of an impossible rock face: the Dawn Wall of El Capitan. (North American Premiere)
From All Corners (Japan)
Director: Ryusuke Okajima
Fuyuki Shimazu, the cardboard picker and artist, creates wallets made from used cardboard which he picks up from 25 countries. His wallets travel around the world to advocate the concept of “upcycling” which is the mind beyond recycling or re-use. (World Premiere)
Getting Over
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Charnick
A man discovers a box of interviews with his father, a lifelong heroin addict who died of AIDS in 1997. What he finds will uncover generations of family secrets, forcing him to redefine his own past, doubt his present, and question his future. (World Premiere)
Nossa Chape (Brazil, Colombia, United States)
Directors/Screenwriters: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist
Nossa Chape tracks the rebuilding of the Chapecoense football club in Brazil after an airplane carrying the team crashed on November 28th, 2016, and left all but three of the players dead. (World Premiere)
Operation Odessa
Director: Tiller Russell
The stranger-than-fiction true story of a Russian mobster, a Miami playboy, and a Cuban spy who teamed up in the early 90’s to sell a Soviet submarine to the Cali Carte. (World Premiere)
Take Your Pills
Director: Alison Klayman
Every era gets the drug it deserves. In America today, where competition is ceaseless from school to the workforce and everyone wants a performance edge, Adderall and other prescription stimulants are the defining drugs of this generation. (World Premiere)
Time Trial (United Kingdom)
Director: Finlay Pretsell
Time Trial takes us into the final races of cyclist David Millar’s career, leading to his last encounter with the Tour de France. The film reveals how the human spirit is driven by forces deeper than success and glory. (North American Premiere)
VISIONS
Cory Michael Smith in “1985” (Photo by Dutch Rall)
1985
Director/Screenwriter: Yen Tan
A young man goes home for the holidays and struggles to reveal a distressing secret to his loved ones. Cast: Cory Michael Smith, Virginia Madsen, Michael Chiklis, Jamie Chung, Aidan Langford, Ryan Piers Williams (World Premiere)
Don’t Leave Home
Director/Screenwriter: Michael Tully
An American artist’s obsession with a disturbing urban legend leads her to an investigation of the story’s origins at the crumbling estate of a reclusive painter in Ireland. Cast: Anna Margaret Hollyman, Lalor Roddy, Helena Bereen, David McSavage, Karrie Cox (World Premiere)
Elizabeth Harvest (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Sebastian Gutierrez
Elizabeth Harvest is a science fiction reimagining of the French folktale of Bluebeard, in which a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives is confronted by a new wife trying to avoid the fate of her predecessors. Cast: Abbey Lee, Ciaran Hinds, Carla Gugino, Matthew Beard, Dylan Baker (World Premiere)
Friday’s Child
Director/Screenwriter: A.J. Edwards
Fresh out of foster care at age 18, a young drifter turns to petty crime to survive, and discovers an impossible love in an unlikely friend. Cast: Tye Sheridan, Imogen Poots, Jeffrey Wright, Caleb Landry Jones (World Premiere)
Meow Wolf: Origin Story
Directors: Morgan Capps, Jilann Spitzmiller, Screenwriters: Jilann Spitzmiller, Morgan Capps, Christina Procter
A group of artists, punks, and weirdos create a subversive DIY collective to disrupt the art establishment in Santa Fe, NM, which in the face of internal turmoil evolves into a cultural phenomenon on the path to becoming a global creative empire. (World Premiere)
More Human Than Human (Netherlands, United States)
Directors: Tommy Pallotta, Femke Wolting
More Human Than Human explores what it means to live in the age of intelligent machines. During this quest, the filmmaker finds out how much of his creativity and human values are at stake as he builds his own robot to replace himself as a filmmaker. (World Premiere)
Perfect
Director: Eddie Alcazar, Screenwriter: Ted Kupper
A young man with a violent past enters a mysterious clinic where the patients wildly transform their bodies and minds using genetic engineering. Cast: Garrett Wareing, Courtney Eaton, Tao Okamoto, Maurice Compte, Abbie Cornish, Martin Sensmeier, Sarah McDaniel, Chris Santos, Leonardo Nam, Regan ‘Busdriver’ Farquhar (World Premiere)
Pet Names
Director: Carol Brandt, Screenwriter: Meredith Johnston
When her ill mother urges her to take a vacation from her caretaking, grad-school-dropout Leigh invites her ex along on the camping trip. The two soon find that confronting old wounds during a weekend in the woods is anything but restful. Cast: Meredith Johnston, Rene Cruz, Stacy Parish, Chelsea Norment, Jake Bradley, Lilliana Winkworth, Christina Seo (World Premiere)
Profile
Director: Timur Bekmambetov, Screenwriters: Britt Poulton, Timur Bekmambetov, Olga Kharina
Looking to investigate recruitment techniques of ISIS to lure women into Syria, Amy Whitaker, a journalist, creates a Facebook profile of a Muslim convert. When an ISIS recruiter contacts her online character, she experiences the process first hand. Cast: Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Morgan Watkins, Amir Rahimzadeh (North American Premiere)
Prospect (Canada, United States)
Directors/Screenwriters: Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell
A teenage girl and her father travel to a remote moon on the hunt for elusive riches. But there are others roving the moon’s toxic forest and the job quickly devolves into a desperate fight to escape. Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Pedro Pascal, Jay Duplass, Andre Royo, Sheila Vand, Anwan Glover (World Premiere)
Relaxer (Netherlands, United States)
Director/Screenwriter: Joel Potrykus
Y2K is approaching fast, but Abbie can’t get off the couch until he beats an unbeatable level on Pac-Man. Cast List: Joshua Burge, David Dastmalchian, Andre Hyland, Adina Howard, Amari Cheatom (World Premiere)
Rukus
Director: Brett Hanover, Screenwriters: Brett Hanover, Alanna Stewart, Rukus
A hybrid of documentary and fiction, Rukus is a queer coming-of-age story set in the liminal spaces of furry conventions, southern punk houses, and virtual worlds.
Thy Kingdom Come
Director: Eugene Richards
A cancer patient mad at God; a Klansman seeking redemption; a mother blamed for her baby’s death; an elderly woman never not in love; a priest who doesn’t pass judgment, who listens: Interwoven, unscripted stories of life in a small mid-America town. Cast: Javier Bardem, Callie Eldred, Tasia Moore, Joshua Collins, Adam Watters, Samantha Jo Chism Watters, Melvin Kemp, Melvin Cook, Kathryn Von Glahn, Eric Eudy (World Premiere)
Wild Honey Pie! (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Jamie Adams
Gillian and Oliver have reached the Seven Year Itch moment in their Marriage, being of the melodramatic persuasion they itch till their relationship bleeds! Cast: Jemima Kirke, Alice Lowe, Sarah Solemani, Brett Goldstein, Joanna Scanlon, Richard Elis, Dan Clark, William Thomas (World Premiere)
Wobble Palace
Director: Eugene Kotlyarenko, Screenwriters: Story by Dasha Nekrasova, Eugene Kotlyarenko
A week before the 2016 election, a couple on the verge of a nervous break-up decide to split their home over the weekend and test the waters of independence. Cast: Dasha Nekrasova, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Jack Kilmer, Paige Elkington, Caroline Hebert, Casey Jane Ellison, Vishwam Velandy, Janiva Ellis, Kim Ye, Elisha Drons (World Premiere)
EPISODIC
Henry Winkler and Bill Hader in “Barry” (Photo by John P. Johnson/HBO)
Barry
Director: Bill Hader, Screenwriters: Alec Berg, Bill Hader
Barry features Bill Hader as a low-rent hitman from the Midwest. Lonely and dissatisfied in his life he begrudgingly travels to Los Angeles to kill someone and ends up finding an accepting community in a group of eager hopefuls within the LA theater scene. Cast: Bill Hader, Henry Winkler, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Glenn Fleshler, Anthony Carrigan (World Premiere)
Condor
Directors: Lawrence Trilling, Andrew McCarthy, Screenwriters: Jason Smilovic, Todd Katzberg
Inspired by Paramount’s Sydney Pollack 1975 political thriller Three Days of the Condor. Condor follows Joe Turner (Max Irons), a young CIA analyst whose idealism is tested when he stumbles onto a terrible plan that threatens millions of lives. Cast: Max Irons, William Hurt, Leem Lubany, Mira Sorvino, Brendan Fraser, Bob Balaban, Angel Bonnani, Katherine Cunningham, Christina Moses, Kristen Hager
(World Premiere)
Krypton
Directors: Colm McCarthy, Ciaran Donnelly, Screenwriters: Cameron Welsh, Damian Kindler and David S. Goyer, Story by David S. Goyer, Ian Goldberg
What if Superman had never existed? Seg-El, Superman’s grandfather, is faced with a conflict: Save Krypton? Or let it be destroyed in order to secure the future of his grandson-to-be?
Cast: Cameron Cuffe, Georgina Campbell, Elliot Cowan, Ann Ogbomo, Aaron Pierre, Rasmus Hardiker, Wallis Day, Blake Ritson, Ian McElhinney, Shaun Sipos, Colin Salmon (World Premiere)
The Last O.G.
Director: Jordan Peele, Screenwriters: Jordan Peele, John Carcieri
The Last O.G. is a show about humanity, second chances and redemption. Morgan plays Tray an ex-con who is shocked to see just how much the world has changed when he returns to the free world after 15 years in prison. Cast: Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Allen Maldonado, Tiffany Haddish, Joel Marsh Garland, Gino Vento, Natalie Carter, Taylor Mosby, Ryan Gaul (World Premiere)
Vida
Directors: Alonso Ruizpalacios, So Yong Kim
Vida is about two estranged Mexican-American sisters from the Eastside of Los Angeles who couldn’t be more different. Circumstances force them to return home where they are confronted by the past and surprising truth about their mother’s identity. Cast: Melissa Barrera, Mishel Prada, Ser Anzoategui, Chelsea Rendon, Carlos Miranda, Maria Elena Laas (World Premiere)
Warriors of Liberty City
Directors: Evan Rosenfeld, Andrew Cohn
Warriors of Liberty City from showrunner Evan Rosenfeld follows a season with the Liberty City Warriors, a youth football program founded by an unlikely mentor: Luther Campbell, better known as Uncle Luke from 2 Live Crew. Cast: Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Lavalrick Lucas, Jr., Lavalrick “Dread” Lucas, Sr. , George Harris, Jr. , George Harris, Sr., Barry Jenkins, Herbert Ritchie, Chatarius “Tutu” Atwell, Jr., Robert “Lamont” Beneby, Jr. (World Premiere)
24 BEATS PER SECOND
Benjamin Dickey and Alia Shawkat in “BLAZE” (Photo by Steve Cosens)
BLAZE
Director: Ethan Hawke, Screenwriters: Ethan Hawke, Sybil Rosen
The story of an unsung country music legend who gave up paradise for the sake of a song.
Cast: Benjamin Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Charlie Sexton, Josh Hamilton, Wyatt Russell, Jenn Lyon, Kris Kristofferson, Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, Richard Linklater
Elvis Presley The Searcher (Film 1 and 2)
Director: Thom Zimny
The documentary focuses on Elvis Presley as a musical artist. It explores how he accumulated his influences, deconstructs why his sound and his style were so revolutionary and examines the creative and personal struggles that preceded his death. (World Premiere)
Heavy Trip (Finland)
Directors: Jukka Vidgren, Juuso Laatio, Screenwriters: Jukka Vidgren, Juuso Laatio, Aleksi Puranen, Jari Olavi Rantala
A young man is trying to overcome his fears by leading the most unknown heavy metal band in to the hottest metal festival of Norway. The journey includes heavy metal, grave robbing, Viking heaven and an armed conflict between Finland and Norway. Cast: Johannes Holopainen, Minka Kuustonen, Max Ovaska, Antti Heikkinen, Samuli Jaskio, Chike Ohanwe, Ville Tiihonen (World Premiere)
If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd
Director: Stephen Kijak
The story of Lynyrd Skynyrd; The Greatest American Rock Band Ever. We fly beyond Free Bird to celebrate the life & times of leader Ronnie Van Zant, from boogie-woogie beginnings in Jacksonville’s Shantytown to a tragic end in a Mississippi swamp. (World Premiere)
Making the Grade (Ireland)
Director: Ken Wardrop
A feel-good musical journey of piano playing from absolute beginner through to accomplished pianist. (North American Premiere)
Milford Graves Full Mantis
Directors: Jake Meginsky, Neil Young (Co-Director)
Milford Graves Full Mantis weaves blistering performance footage from Europe, Japan, and the U.S. with a sublimely restrained, intimate glimpse into a world-renowned jazz percussionist’s singular voice and complex cosmology. (World Premiere)
The Potential of Noise – Conny Plank (Germany)
Directors: Stephan Plank, Reto Caduff, Screenwriters: Stephan Plank, Reto Caduff, Zisak Riemann
Movie about Conny Plank, the famous German music producer. (North American Premiere)
Rapture
Directors: Sacha Jenkins, Ben Selkow, Geeta Gandbhir, Steven Caple Jr., Marcus A. Clarke, Gabriel Noble
Rapture showcases the definitive impact of hip hop on global culture. Over 8 episodes featuring Nas, Dave East, T.I., Rapsody, Logic, G-Eazy, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, 2 Chainz and Just Blaze. (World Premiere)
Ruben Blades Is Not My Name (Panama)
Director/Screenwriter: Abner Benaim
Ruben Blades Is Not My Name portrays one of Latin America´s most beloved singer-songwriters in a journey across his 50-year career. In an intimate way, the film gives us a chance to get to know the artist, his music, and the stories behind them. (World Premiere)
A Tuba To Cuba
Directors: T.G Herrington, Danny Clinch, Screenwriter: T.G Herrington
A son seeking to fulfill his late father’s dream takes his band from the storied city of New Orleans to the shores of Cuba; Where, through the universal language of music, dark and ancient connections between our people will be reveal the roots of jazz. (World Premiere)
GLOBAL
Hopakuli in “A Little Wisdom”
A Little Wisdom (Nepal)
Director: Yuqi Kang
See he world through the eyes of five-year-old Tibetan novice monk Hopakuli and share in his joys and sorrows as he endures the rigors of monastic life. A Little Wisdom endeavors to tell a story of children who find happiness through religious life. (North American Premiere)
Martyr (Lebanon)
Director/Screenwriter: Mazen Khaled
A young man’s tragic death at Beirut’s seaside causes his friends to grapple with loss and to partake in his community’s rites and ceremonies, exposing the city’s schisms and its society’s fault lines. Cast: Carol Abboud, Hamza Mekdad, Mostafa Fahs, Hady Bou Ayash, Rachad Nassereddine, Rabih el Zaher, Raneem Mourad (North American Premiere)
Number 37 (South Africa)
Director/Screenwriter: Nosioho Dumisa
Number 37 is the story of Randall, wheelchair bound, playing a cat and mouse game blackmailing a powerful criminal whilst evading a sadistic loan shark who will kill him and his girlfriend if his loan is not paid back by the end of the week. Cast: Irshaad Ally, Monique Rockman, Ephraim Gordon, David Manuel, Sandy Schultz, Deon Lotz, Danny Ross, Amrain Essop, Elton Landrew, Jeff Moss (World Premiere)
Rush Hour (Mexico, Turkey, United States)
Director: Luciana Kaplan
Rush Hour is an intimate approach to personal stories of three commuters who spend hours of their lives going from home to work and back, reflection a common reality shared by billions of people. (U.S. Premiere)
Team Hurricane (Denmark)
Director/Screenwriter: Annika Berg
Team Hurricane – Radical Girls in an Ordinary World is a punk chick flick that mixes documentary material with highly stylized fiction. Cast: Eja Penelope Roepstorff, Ida Glitre, Ira Rønnenfelt, Maja Leth Bang, Mathilde Linnea Daugaard Jensen, Mia My Elise Pedersen, Sara Morling, Zara Munch Bjarnum (U.S. Premiere)
Theatre of War (Argentina)
Director/Screenwriter: Lola Arias
Theatre of War is an essay on how to represent war, performed by former enemies. British and Argentinian veterans of the Falklands war come together to discuss, rehearse and re-enact their memories 35 years after the conflict. (U.S. Premiere)
Virus Tropical (Colombia)
Director: Santiago Caicedo
Born in a not-so-conventional family, Paola grows up between Ecuador and Colombia and finds herself unable to fit in any mold. With a unique feminine vision of the world, she will have to fight against prejudice and struggle for her independence. Cast: María Cecilia Sánchez, Alejandra Borrero, Diego León Hoyos, Martina Toro, Mara Gutiérrez, Camila Valenzuela, María Parada
FESTIVAL FAVORITES
“American Animals” (Photo courtesy of The Orchard)
American Animals (United States, United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Bart Layton
The unbelievable but true story of four young men who mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious art heists in US history. Cast: Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, Ann Dowd, Udo Kier
Chef Flynn
Director: Cameron Yates
Chef Flynn captures the coming of age of a prodigy chef, as he navigates a sea of sudden fame, bullying, and his mother’s camera.
Constructing Albert (Estonia)
Directors: Laura Collado, Jim Loomis, Screenwriter: Laura Collado
In the world of haute cuisine, the name Adrià is synonymous with creativity. Constructing Albert is a portrait of the younger brother Albert as he strives to establish his own reputation in the world of international haute cuisine after elBulli.
Damsel
Directors/Screenwriters: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
An affluent pioneer ventures deep into the wilderness of the American West to join his fiancée. Cast: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Robert Forster, Joe Billingiere
Eighth Grade
Director/Screenwriter: Bo Burnham
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school—the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year—before she begins high school. Cast: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson, Jake Ryan
First Reformed
Director/Screenwriter: Paul Schrader
The pastor of a small New England church (Ethan Hawke) spirals out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife (Amanda Seyfried) in this taut, chilling thriller. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles, Michael Gaston, Philip Ettinger, Victoria Hill
Generation Wealth
Director/Screenwriter: Lauren Greenfield
Simultaneously personal journey and historical essay, Lauren Greenfield’s latest documentary bears witness to the global boom–bust economy, the corrupted American Dream, and the human costs of late stage capitalism, narcissism, and greed.
Half the Picture
Director/Screenwriter: Amy Adrion
Half the Picture is a feature length documentary about the dismal number of women directors working in Hollywood, featuring top female directors sharing their experiences in the industry.
Lean on Pete
Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Haigh
From acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Haigh (Weekend; 45 Years), and based on the beloved novel by Willy Vlautin, comes Lean on Pete—a deeply moving story about love, loneliness, family, and friendship, told through the unique prism of one boy’s connection to a very special racehorse. Cast: Charlie Plummer, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Travis Fimmel
Narcissister Organ Player
Director/Screenwriter: Narcissister
This hybrid performance/documentary film explores how the artist’s complex family history, in particular her relationship with her mother, compelled her to create the masked, erotic performance character Narcissister.
Never Goin’ Back
Director/Screenwriter: Augustine Frizzell
Jessie and Angela, high school dropouts, are taking a week off to chill at the beach. Too bad their house got robbed, rent’s due, they’re about to get fired and they’re broke. Now to avoid eviction and get to the beach, no matter what! Cast: Maia Mitchell, Cami Morrone, Kyle Mooney, Joel Allen, Kendal Smith, Matthew Holcomb, Atheena Frizzell, Spencer Rayshon, Marcus Mauldin, Liz Cardenas
On Her Shoulders
Director: Alexandria Bombach
Nadia Murad is a 23-year-old Yazidi survivor of genocide and sexual slavery by ISIS. Repeating her horrific story to politicians, the media, and the United Nations, she must navigate bureaucracy, politics and sudden fame to get the world to listen.
Pass Over
Director: Spike Lee, Screenwriter: Antoinette Nwandu
Academy Award nominee and Honorary Oscar winner Spike Lee captures the poetry, humor and humanity of this urgent and timely play about two young black men talking trash, passing the time, and dreaming of the promised land. A provocative riff on Waiting for Godot, Pass Over is written by newcomer Antoinette Nwandu. Cast: Jon Michael Hill, Julian Parker, Ryan Hallahan, Blake DeLong
The Rider
Director/Screenwriter: Chloé Zhao
After a tragic riding accident, a young cowboy, once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, is warned that his competition days are over. Back home, he struggles to find himself when he can no longer do what what gives him a sense of purpose. Cast: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Lane Scott, Cat Clifford
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Director: Morgan Neville
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? looks at children’s television host Mr. Rogers’ hard-fought campaign to influence generations of kids and adults in the ways of kindness.
SPECIAL EVENTS
“The Atomic Café” (Photo by Pierce Rafferty, Kevin Rafferty and Jayne Loader in Rolling Stone, 6/10/82)
The Atomic Café
Director: Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, Pierce Rafferty
The Atomic Cafe is a cult classic documentary from 1982. This is the 4K digital restoration. (World Premiere)
This Is Us
Director: Various
Everyone has a family. And every family has a story. This grounded, life-affirming dramedy reveals how the tiniest events in our lives impact who we become, and how the connections we share with each other can transcend time, distance and even death. Cast: Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley (World Premiere)
Super Bowl LLII will take place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, where the Philadelphia Eagles will face off against the New England Patriots. Surrounding the Super Bowl are the numerous celebrity parties that often feature live performances. ESPN, which usually hosts a Super Bowl Party, has opted not to have one this year. However, Maxim, Rolling Stone, Playboy and DirecTV are continuing the tradition of having their big Super Bowl bashes. Celebrities who will be performing at Super Bowl parties this year include Jennifer Lopez, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, the Chainsmokers, Florida Georgia Line, Pink, Imagine Dragons, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Dave Matthews Band, Future, Paul Oakenfold and Gwen Stefani. And there a some artists (such as DJ Khaled, Migos, Gucci Mane and Cardi B) who are performing at more than one Super Bowl party. Here’s a list of this year’s celebrity Super Bowl parties featuring live performances:
Monday, January 29
Morris Day of The Time Photo by Monty Brinton/CBS)
Sheila E., Morris Day, The Revolution — Verizon Up Stage (Super Bowl Live) at 8th and Nicollet, 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Tuesday, January 30
DJ Matty Matt, Socaholix, International Reggae All Stars, 8 Ipso Facto — Verizon Up Stage (Super Bowl Live), 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Wednesday, January 31
DJ Brother Jules , Stokley Williams, Dessa, Mint Condition and Stokley Williams, New Power Generation with Andre Cymone — Verizon Up Stage (Super Bowl Live), 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Plies, Trina — Prive Minneapolis, 10 p.m.
Thursday, February 1
The Chainsmokers (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images via ABC)
Cardi B — Prive, 10 p.m.
The Chainsmokers — Mystic Lake Center, 9 p.m.
Fabolous & Friends Day Party — Prive, 2 p.m.
Gucci Mane & Rallo — Muse Event Center, 10 p.m.
Kimuel Hailey, Les Stroud, Jakubi, fDeluxe (aka The Family), New Power Soul. Andre Cymone, Rae Sremmurd — Verizon Up Stage (Super Bowl Live), 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Imagine Dragons, Machine Gun Kelly, Mura Masa — The Armory (EA Sports Bowl 2018), 9 p.m.
Naughty by Nature — Fine Line Music Cafe (The Big Game’s “Thursday Night Football” Old School Edition), 9 p.m.
Rick Ross, Lil Jon, IRIE — The Lumber Exchange Building, 10 p.m.
Friday, February 2
Gucci Mane (Photo courtesy of Pandora)
DJ Howard Kessler, Zuluzuluu, Cobi, The Jets, KING, Skylar Grey — Verizon Up Stage (Super Bowl Live), 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Fabolous, Kevin Hart — Aqua, 10 p.m.
Jamie Foxx, DJ Diesel, RL Grime, Kaskade, VICE — The Lumber Exchange Building, 10 p.m.
Flo Rida — Rouge at The Lounge (Leather and Laces event), 9:30 p.m.
Future, Cardi B — Twin City Live, 9 p.m.
Kygo — Mystic Lake Center, 9 p.m.
Gucci Mane, Young Thug, Blac Chyna — Prive, 9 p.m.
Migos, 21 Savage, T-Pain — The International Market Square (Rolling Stone party), 11 p.m.
New Power Generation — Dakota Jazz Club, 7 p.m.
Pink — The Armory, 9 p.m.
Saturday, February 3
Jennifer Lopez (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/Telemundo)
Busta Rhymes — Rouge at the Lounge, 9 p.m.
Cardi B, Marshmello, Post Malone — The 360 Super Dome (Maxim party), 8 p.m.
Dave Mathews Band — Xcel Energy Center (CBS Radio’s The Night Before), 7:30 p.m.
DJ Dudley D, Kris Wu, Bob Mould, The Suburbs, The Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, X Ambassadors — Verizon Up Stage (Super Bowl Live), 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
DJ Khaled — Aqua, 10 p.m.
Florida Georgia Line — Mystic Lake Center, 9 p.m.
G-Eazy, Afrojack, Nick Cannon — The Lumber Exchange Building, 10 p.m.
Jennifer Lopez — The Armory (Super Saturday Night), 9 p.m.
Migos — Muse Event Center, 9 p.m.
O.A.R. — St. Paul RiverCentre (Taste of the NFL’s Party with a Purpose), 7 p.m.
Travis Scott — Twin City Live, 9 p.m.
Snoop Dogg — The Playboy Club Minneapolis (Playboy party), 9 p.m.
Sunday, February 4
DJ Khaled (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Maxim)
Diddy, DJ Khaled, French Montana, Cardi B, G-Eazy, Busta Rhymes — The Armory (Players Ball), 12 a.m.
DJ Dudley D, 13 Crowns — Verizon Up Stage (Super Bowl Live), 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Bruno Mars at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in New York City, on January 28, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
With seven awards for his “24K Magic” album and “That’s What I Like” song, Bruno Mars was the top winner at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, which took place at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018. He became one of the few artists in Grammy history (including Adele, 2017’s biggest Grammy winner) to sweep the top three prizes in one year: Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Mars also won all the other Grammys for which he was nominated this year: Best R&B Album, Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song. “24K Magic” also took the prize for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, an award that went to engineers Serban Ghenea, John Hanes and Charles Moniz and mastering engineer Tom Coyne.
Performers included Jon Batiste, Brothers Osborne, Alessia Cara, Cardi B, Childish Gambino, Eric Church, Gary Clark Jr., Miley Cyrus, Daddy Yankee, DJ Khaled, Luis Fonsi, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Kesha, Khalid, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Little Big Town, Logic, Patti LuPone, Bruno Mars, Maren Morris, Pink, Ben Platt, Rihanna, Zuleyka Rivera, Sam Smith, Chris Stapleton, Sting, SZA, Bryson Tiller and U2.
Presenters included Tony Bennett, Dave Chappelle, Kelly Clarkson, Victor Cruz, Eve, Jim Gaffigan, Katie Holmes, Nick Jonas, Anna Kendrick, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Shemar Moore, Trevor Noah, Sarah Silverman, Hailee Steinfeld, Donnie Wahlberg and U2 members Bono and the Edge.
The award show had several artists speaking out on stage against racism and sexism, including Lamar, Janelle Monáe and Logic. Many celebrities who wanted to show their support of the Times Up and #MeToo movement wore or carried white roses at this year’s Grammy Awards.
Grammy Awards host James Corden delivered an uneven performance that was a lot less inspired than his hosting at the 2017 Grammys. Many of his jokes fell flat, and a prerecorded skit of Corden, Sting and Shaggy doing a New York subway version of Corden’s famous Carpool Karaoke was truly cringeworthy and dragged on for too long. A skit that was much-better received by the audience at the arena was a mock prediction of potential winners for the spoken-word Grammy. The skit showed celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Cardi B and Hillary Clinton reading excerpts from “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which has several unflattering stories about President Donald Trump. Throughout the evening, Corden, “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah and other celebrities on the Grammy stage made direct and indirect criticisms and jokes about Trump and his administration’s policies.
The Grammy Awards are voted on by the Recording Academy’s membership body of music makers, who represent all genres and creative disciplines, including recording artists, songwriters, producers, mixers, and engineers.
The following is a sampling of nominations from the Grammy Awards’ 30 fields and 84 categories. For a complete list of winners and nominations, visit www.grammy.com.
*=winner
Album of the Year
“Awaken, My Love!” — Childish Gambino
4:44 — JAY-Z
DAMN. — Kendrick Lamar
Melodrama — Lorde
24K Magic — Bruno Mars*
Record of the Year – given to the artist(s) and producer(s)
“Redbone” — Childish Gambino
“Despacito” — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
“The Story Of O.J.” — JAY-Z
“HUMBLE.” — Kendrick Lamar
“24K Magic” — Bruno Mars*
Song of the Year – given to the songwriter(s)
“Despacito” — Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)
“4:44” — Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)
“Issues” — Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)
“1-800-273-8255” — Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury, Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)
“That’s What I Like” — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)*
Best New Artist
Alessia Cara*
Khalid
Lil Uzi Vert
Julia Michaels
SZA
Best Pop Solo Performance
“Love So Soft” — Kelly Clarkson
“Praying” — Kesha
“Million Reasons” — Lady Gaga
“What About Us” — P!nk
“Shape Of You” — Ed Sheeran*
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Something Just Like This” — The Chainsmokers & Coldplay
“Despacito” — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
“Thunder” — Imagine Dragons
“Feel It Still” — Portugal. The Man*
“Stay” — Zedd & Alessia Cara
Best Dance/Electronic Album
Migration — Bonobo
3-D The Catalogue — Kraftwerk*
Mura Masa — Mura Masa
A Moment Apart — Odesza
What Now — Sylvan Esso
Best Rock Performance
“You Want It Darker” — Leonard Cohen
“The Promise” — Chris Cornell
“Run” — Foo Fighters*
“No Good” — Kaleo
“Go To War” — Nothing More
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Free 6lack — 6lack
Awaken, My Love! — Childish Gambino
American Teen — Khalid
Ctrl — SZA
Starboy — The Weeknd*
Best Rap Album
4:44 — JAY-Z
DAMN. — Kendrick Lamar*
Culture — Migos
Laila’s Wisdom — Rapsody
Flower Boy — Tyler, The Creator
Best Country Album
Cosmic Hallelujah — Kenny Chesney
Heart Break — Lady Antebellum
The Breaker — Little Big Town
Life Changes — Thomas Rhett
From A Room: Volume 1 — Chris Stapleton*
Best Jazz Vocal Album
The Journey — The Baylor Project
A Social Call — Jazzmeia Horn
Bad Ass And Blind — Raul Midón
Porter Plays Porter — Randy Porter Trio With Nancy King
Dreams and Daggers – Cécile McLorin Salvant*
Best Gospel Album
Crossover — Travis Greene
Bigger Than Me — Le’Andria
Close — Marvin Sapp
Sunday Song — Anita Wilson
Let Them Fall In Love — Cece Winans*
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Rise — Danny Gokey
Echoes (Deluxe Edition) — Matt Maher
Lifer — MercyMe
Hills And Valleys — Tauren Wells
Chain Breaker — Zach Williams*
Best Latin Pop Album
Lo Único Constante — Alex Cuba
Mis Planes Son Amarte — Juanes
Amar Y Vivir En Vivo Desde La Cuidad De México, 2017 — La Santa Cecilia
Musas (Un Homenaje Al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos) — Natalia Lafourcade
El Dorado — Shakira*
Best Americana Album
Southern Blood — Gregg Allman
Shine On Rainy Day — Brent Cobb
Beast Epic — Iron & Wine
The Nashville Sound — Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit*
Brand New Day — The Mavericks
Best Comedy Album
The Age Of Spin & Deep In The Heart Of Texas — Dave Chappelle*
Cinco — Jim Gaffigan
Jerry Before Seinfeld — Jerry Seinfeld
A Speck Of Dust — Sarah Silverman
What Now? — Kevin Hart
Best Song Written For Visual Media
“City Of Stars” — Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone), Track from La La Land
“How Far I’ll Go” — Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli’i Cravalho), Track from Moana: The Songs*
“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker) — Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (ZAYN & Taylor Swift), Track from Fifty Shades Darker
“Never Give Up” — Sia Furler & Gregg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia), Track from Lion
“Stand Up For Something” — Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day Featuring Common), Track from Marshall
The winners of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival were announced at a ceremony hosted by Jason Manzoutkas on January 27 in Park City, Utah. The annual festival, which is presented by the Sundance Institute in Park City, runs from January 18 to January 28 this year.
Here is the complete list of winners:
Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane and Chloë Grace Moretz in “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” (Photo by Jeong Park)
U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: “The Miseducation of Cameron Post”
U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize: “Kailash”
World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: “Butterflies”
World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize: “Of Fathers and Sons”
U.S. Dramatic Directing Award: Sara Colangelo, “The Kindergarten Teacher”
U.S. Documentary Directing Award: Alexandria Bombach, “On Her Shoulders”
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Achievement in Acting: Benjamin Dickey, “Blaze”
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Excellence in Filmmaking: “I Think We’re Alone Now”
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Outstanding First Feature: Reinaldo Marco Green, “Monsters and Men”
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling: “Three Identical Strangers”
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking: “Minding the Gap”
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: “Hale County This Morning, This Evening”
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking: “Crime + Punishment”
World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award: Isold Uggadottir, “And Breathe Normally”
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Acting: “Dead Pigs”
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Screenwriting: “Time Share”
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting: Valeria Bertuccelli, “The Queen of Fear”
World Cinema Documentary Directing Award: Sandi Tan, “Shirkers”
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing: “Our New President”
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography: “Genesis 2.0”
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.”
U.S. Dramatic Audience Award: “Burden”
U.S. Documentary Audience Award: “The Sentence”
World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award: “The Guilty”
World Cinema Documentary Audience Award: “This Is Home”
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Christina Choe, “NANCY”
NEXT Audience Award: “Search”
NEXT Innovator Award: “Night Comes On” and “We the Animals” (TIE)
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize: Alfred P. Sloan Prize: “Search” (previously announced)
Tony Bennett at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on September 15, 2016 (Photo by Peter Kramer/NBC)
Kelly Clarkson at the “Watch What Happens Live” studio in New York City on October 6, 2016. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Bravo)
The following is a press release from the Recording Academy:
An eclectic all-star lineup of artists, musicians, actors, and comedians will take the stage as presenters at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. This year’s presenters include 18-time GRAMMY® winner Tony Bennett, current GRAMMYnominee Dave Chappelle, three-time GRAMMY winner and current nominee Kelly Clarkson, professional football player Victor Cruz, GRAMMY winner Eve, current GRAMMY nominee Jim Gaffigan, actress Katie Holmes, previous GRAMMY nominee Nick Jonas, actress Anna Kendrick, 15-time GRAMMY winner Alicia Keys, 10-time GRAMMY winner John Legend, actor Shemar Moore, comedian and television host Trevor Noah, current GRAMMY nominee Sarah Silverman, actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld, and GRAMMY nominee Donnie Wahlberg.
Previously announced GRAMMY performers include Jon Batiste, Brothers Osborne, Alessia Cara, Cardi B, Childish Gambino, Eric Church, Gary Clark Jr., Miley Cyrus, Daddy Yankee, DJ Khaled, Luis Fonsi, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Kesha, Khalid, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Little Big Town, Logic, Patti LuPone, Bruno Mars, Maren Morris, P!nk, Ben Platt, Rihanna, Zuleyka Rivera, Sam Smith, Chris Stapleton, Sting, SZA, Bryson Tiller, and U2.
Live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, and hosted by award-winning television personality and performer James Corden, the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast live in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.
The 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards are produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures for the Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich is executive producer, Louis J. Horvitz is director, Ben Winston is a producer, Chantel Sausedo is the talent producer, and David Wild and Ehrlich are the writers.
ABOUT THE RECORDING ACADEMY
The Recording Academy represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum®, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares®, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards—music’s only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world’s leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.
For more information about the Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @RecordingAcad on Twitter, “like” Recording Academy on Facebook, and join the Recording Academy’s social communities onInstagram, Tumblr, and YouTube.
Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer in “The Shape of Water” (Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures)
With 13 nominations, the fantasy drama “The Shape of Water” leads the list of contenders for the 90th Annual Academy Awards, which will be presented at the Dolby Theatre on March 4, 2018. “Dunkirk” was the second-leading nominee, with eight nods. The nominations were announced by actors Tiffany Haddish and Andy Serkis on January 23, 2018. ABC will have a live telecast of the 2018 Academy Awards, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the second year in a row.
Snubs and Surprises
“The Shape of Water” was expected to be the leading nominee, but many people were not expecting the strong showing from the period drama “Phantom Thread,” which received six nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (for Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Director (for Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Supporting Actress (for Lesley Manville), Best Original Score (for Jonny Greenwood) and Best Costume Design (for Mark Bridges). Another big surprise was the nomination that superhero movie “Logan” received for Best Adapted Screenplay. The movie was critically acclaimed but superhero movies usually do not get screenplay nominations at the Oscars.
James Franco was shut out of the Best Actor race, even though he had been racking up several nominations and a few wins at all the previous movie-related awards for his starring role in “The Disaster Artist,” a movie he also directed. During the week that voting for Oscar nominations took place, Franco was accused of sexual misconduct by several women (most of whom were former students in his acting school), and it appears the scandal affected Oscar votes for Franco. However, “The Disaster Artist” did score one Oscar nomination: for Best Adapted Screenplay, for screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. The critically acclaimed “Wonder Woman” was also snubbed; it received no Oscar nominations.
The Diversity Issue
Diversity among Oscar nominees has become a big issue, especially since the #OscarsSoWhite controversies of 2015 and 2016, when all of the actors and actresses nominated for Oscars were white. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the group behind the Oscars) also received a lot of backlash when the media revealed that the majority of Academy voters were white males over the age of 50. Since then, the Academy has made a concerted effort to invite hundreds of new members that represented more diversity, in terms of race, gender, age and country of origin.
This year’s list includes many nominees who are women and people of color in categories that are typically dominated by white males. For example, there were female nominees this year for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. Oscar winners Denzel Washington, Octavia Spencer and Common received nominations again this year, but there were also several first-time nominees such as “Lady Bird” writer/director Greta Gerwig, “Get Out” writer/director/producer “Jordan Peele,” “Get Out” actor Daniel Kaluuya, “The Big Sick” co-writers (and real-life spouses) Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, “Dear Basketball” writer Kobe Bryant, “Mudbound” actress/songwriter Mary J. Blige and “Mudbound” co-writers Dee Rees (who also directed the movie) and Virgil Williams.
Latinos were represented with nominations for “The Shape of Water” writer/director/producer Guillermo del Toro, “Coco” songwriter Robert Lopez and “Ferdinand” director Carlos Saldanha. Despite the noticeable changes in diversity among Oscar nominees in several categories, there are two categories that usually have all-male nominees that continued that lack of diversity again this year: Best Original Score and Best Visual Effects.
Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2018 Academy Awards:
Best Picture
“Call Me by Your Name” (Producers: Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges and Marco Morabito)
“Darkest Hour” (Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten and Douglas Urbanski)
“Dunkirk” (Producers: Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan)
“Get Out” (Producers: Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr. and Jordan Peele)
“Lady Bird” (Producers: Scott Rudin, Eli Bush and Evelyn O’Neill)
“Phantom Thread” (Producers: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison and Daniel Lupi)
“The Post” (Producers: Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger)
“The Shape of Water” (Producers: Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale)
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh)
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”
Best Actress
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Meryl Streep, “The Post”
Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best Supporting Actress
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Phantom Thread”
Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Great Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”
Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory
“The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber
“Logan,” Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green
“Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin
“Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
Best Original Screenplay
“The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh
Best Animated Feature
“The Boss Baby,” Tom McGrath and Ramsey Naito
“The Breadwinner,” Nora Twomey and Anthony Leo
“Coco,” Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson
“Ferdinand,” Carlos Saldanha
“Loving Vincent,” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman and Ivan Mactaggart
Best Animated Short
“Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant
“Garden Party,”Victor Caire and Gabriel Grapperon
“Lou,” Dave Mullins and Dana Murray
“Negative Space,” Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata
“Revolting Rhymes,” Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer
Best Cinematography
“Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins
“Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel
“Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema
“Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison
“The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen
Best Documentary Feature
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” Steve James, Mark Mitten and Julie Goldman
“Faces Places,” Agnès Varda, JR and Rosalie Varda
“Icarus,” Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan
“Last Men in Aleppo,” Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed and Søren Steen Jespersen
“Strong Island,” Yance Ford and Joslyn Barnes
Best Documentary Short Subject
“Edith+Eddie,” Laura Checkoway and Thomas Lee Wright
“Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405,” Frank Stiefel
“Heroin(e),” Elaine McMillion Sheldon and Kerrin Sheldon
“Knife Skills,” Thomas Lennon
“Traffic Stop,” Kate Davis and David Heilbroner
Best Live Action Short Film
“DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk
“The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale and Josh Lawson
“My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson Jr.
“The Silent Child,” Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton
“Watu Wote/All of Us,” Katja Benrath and Tobias Rosen
Best Foreign Language Film
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile)
“The Insult” (Lebanon)
“Loveless” (Russia)
“On Body and Soul (Hungary)
“The Square” (Sweden)
Best Film Editing
“Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
“Dunkirk,” Lee Smith
“I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel
“The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory
Best Sound Editing
“Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King
“Baby Driver,” Julian Slater
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green
“The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood
Best Sound Mixing
“Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill
“Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
“The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick
Best Production Design
“Beauty and the Beast” Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“Blade Runner 2049″ Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Alessandra Querzola
“Darkest Hour” Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“Dunkirk” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“The Shape of Water” Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin
Best Original Score
“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer
“Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood
“The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell
Best Original Song
“Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige
“Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens
“Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
“Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common
“This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Best Makeup and Hair
“Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick
“Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips, Lou Sheppard
“Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten
Best Costume Design
“Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran
“Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran
“Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges
“The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira
“Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle
Best Visual Effects
“Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick
“Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlon
“War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist
Here’s a look at the movies that received more than one nomination for the 2018 Academy Awards:
Richard Jenkins and Sally Hawkins in “The Shape of Water”
(Photo by Kerry Hayes)
Daniel Kaluuya in “Get Out” (Photo by courtesy of Universal Pictures)
Sam Rockwell and Frances McDormand in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (Photo by Merrick Morton)
Ryan Gosling in “Blade Runner 2049” (Photo by Stephen Vaughan)
Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf in “Lady Bird” (Photo by Merie Wallace)
Gary Oldman in “Darkest Hour” (Photo courtesy of Focus Features)
Kenneth Branagh in “Dunkirk” (Photo by Melinda Sue Gordon)
Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in “The Post”
(Photo by Niko Tavernise)
Daniel Day-Lewis and Lesley Manville in “Phantom Thread” (Photo by Laurie Sparham/Focus Features)
John Boyega and Gwendoline Christie in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm)
Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer in “Call Me by Your Name” (Photo by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom/Sony Pictures Classics)
A still from “Coco” (Photo courtesy of Disney•Pixar.)
Mary J. Blige in “Mudbound” (Photo courtesy of Netflix)
Judi Dench and Ali Fazal in “Victoria and Abdul” (Photo by Peter Mountain/Focus Features)
Margot Robbie in “I, Tonya” (Photo courtesy of Neon)
Lily James and Ansel Elgort in “Baby Driver” (Photo by Wilson Webb)
Emma Watson and Dan Stevens in “Beauty and the Beast” (Photo courtesy of Disney Enterprises)
Two-Tone Jones in “Kitten Bowl V” (Photo courtesy of Hallmark Channel)
The following is a press release from Hallmark Channel:
Hallmark Channel, America’s favorite family-friendly cable television network, is recreating Kitten Bowl live in the Dayton Building of Nicollet Mall as part of the 10-day Super Bowl Live experience in Minneapolis, MN. Nearly 100 furry “cat-letes” will take the field over a 10-day period to see which team will be crowned Feline Football League champions and take home the coveted Hissman Trophy. This year’s show is truly unique as is it includes back stories about the rescues of some of the Cat-letes – including many from the devastation of Hurricane Irma. Viewers will also see some of kittens find their forever homes, on-set, at the end of the show. Kitten Bowl is part of Super Bowl Live from Friday, January 26 at 4 p.m. Central Time and through Sunday, February 4 at 3 p.m.
Fans coming to Kitten Bowl Live Presented by Hallmark Channel will be greeted by a life-like version of Rodney Peete, former NFL great and current Kitten Bowl play-by-play announcer, in the broadcast booth.
Rodney Peete and his wife, Holly Robinson Peete, stars of Hallmark Channel’s new family reality series “Meet the Peets” will make appearances on NFL Radio Row, January 31 (2-6 p.m.), February 1 (8 a.m.Noon), and February 2 (8 a.m.-Noon), and host media at Kitten Bowl Presented by Hallmark Channel at Nicollet Mall, January 31 (8 a.m. -Noon), February 1 (2-6 p.m.), February 2 (2-6 p.m.).
Fans will tour the Purr-king Lot for pre-game tailgating and the locker room where kittens chill before hitting the field.
Next, it’s on to Hallmark Channel Stadium to see kittens claw out a victory as the felines show off their best Stefon Diggs catches and leaps through the goal posts for extra points.
Fans will memorialize the experience at the Paws of Fame Trophy Room and capture a photo worthy of social sharing in front of the MVK (“Most Valuable Kitten”) Wall. Snap a photo with former greats of the game: Tomcat Brady, Tabby Romo, Mew Brees, Joe Montuna, and more.
Kitten Bowl is an entertainment program produced by Hallmark Channel to bring awareness to the plight of homeless animals and to show the most beautiful animals in the world are available for adoption from your own local shelter.
The final stop on the tour is the Adoption Ever After room which features shelter pets from Minneapolis and surrounding areas who need a loving and forever home. A simple act of adoption helps to clear the shelters. Kittens on the field are provided by North Shore Animal League America and all furry players are available to be adopted.
For those who cannot make it to Minnesota there are 500 Kitten Bowl parties at local shelters all across the country. To find a Kitten Bowl Party near you go to www.hallmarkchannel/kitten-bowl. Have fun and do good! Come to the Kitten Bowl Presented by Hallmark Channel, January 26 – February 4. You just might bring home the love of your life.
“Kitten Bowl V,” a three-hour original special premieres on Hallmark Channel, Sunday, February 4 (Noon and 3 p.m. ET/PT).
“Kitten Bowl” host Beth Stern (Photo courtesy of Hallmark Channel)
The following is a press release from Hallmark Channel:
January 13, 2018
Hallmark Channel brings “Kitten Bowl V” on the road to Super Bowl LII as a major activation hosted in Minneapolis, Minnesota for ten days leading up to the day of the big game. The announcement was made today as part of Crown Media Family Networks’ TV Critics Association Winter Press Tour. Beginning Friday, January 26th through Sunday, February 4th, guests taking part in all the excitement surrounding the Super Bowl can celebrate Kitten Bowl, the nation’s most beloved rescue pet adoption event of the year. Fans who visit will see kittens compete on the field at Hallmark Channel Stadium, tailgate in the purr-king lot, tour the Paws of Fame trophy room, take a photo with the Hissman trophy and share their memories via social media. Guests will even be able to take home a souvenir: an official pack of “Kitten Bowl” trading cards. The major component of the activation is to support Hallmark Channel’s Adoption Ever After campaign and, with the help of North Shore Animal League America, kittens will be available for adoption on site.
“Bringing ‘Kitten Bowl’ to the Super Bowl is a dream come true. We have seen the franchise grow tremendously in support of animal adoption over time, evolving from entertainment into America’s most beloved national rescue pet adoption event,” said Bill Abbott, President and CEO, Crown Media Family Networks. “This is the first time Hallmark Channel will have a major media presence at the Super Bowl and the activation of ‘Kitten Bowl V’ will help elevate the network’s Adoption Ever After initiative of finding all animals forever homes.” The presence among the NFL and Super Bowl LII leads in to the kick-off of “Kitten Bowl V” premiering exclusively on the network, Sunday, February 4 (12 p.m. Eastern Time/Pacific Time). The 2018 version of “Kitten Bowl” features countless displaced kittens rescued from some of the country’s recent natural disasters of 2017, all of whom will be vying for the National Championship of Feline Football trophy – and a loving, forever home in which to display it.
TV personality, author and animal advocate Beth Stern hosts this year’s television event. Stern embodies the spirit of adoption in her everyday life, having fostered countless animals in need. Stern’s tireless, year-round efforts to find homes for animals makes her a synergistic fit to lead the charge for “Kitten Bowl V,” truly a super day of adorable pets. On the day of the big game, four-time Pro Bowl quarterback and Feline Football League Commissioner Boomer Esiason calls the play-by-play action making “Kitten Bowl V” super Sunday’s MUST-SEE viewing party. Hallmark Channel’s Dean Cain, Alison Sweeney and former NFL star Rodney Peete, animal lovers and adoption advocates, provide commentary throughout the event, in addition to heartwarming adoption stories.
North Shore Animal League America and Last Hope Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation rescued the 2018 team. “Kitten Bowl” is part of Hallmark Channel’s Adoption Ever After pet initiative, which highlights the plight of homeless animals and the joys rescued and adopted pets bring into our lives.
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” co-stars Sam Rockwell, Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
With three awards, the crime drama “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” was the top winner of the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. The ceremony took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018. TBS and TNT had the live U.S. telecast of the show (at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT), which was hosted by Kristen Bell. It was the first time that the SAG Awards had a host.
“Three Billboards” won the prizes for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture; Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (for Frances McDormand); and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (for Sam Rockwell).
TV shows that won two awards each were “This Is Us,” “Big Little Lies” and “Veep.” Morgan Freeman received the Life Achievement Award at the show. He received the award from his former “Electric Company” co-star Rita Moreno, who was presented the same award by Freeman in 2014.
For the first time in SAG Awards history, all of the presenters who handed out the awards at the show were female. However, men weren’t left completely out, since individual cast members of both sexes from SAG-nominated movie introduced their films. Presenters at the award show included Halle Berry, Mandy Moore, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, Brie Larson, Niecy Nash, Olivia Munn, Rosanna Arquette, Gabrielle Carteris, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Dakota Fanning, Lupita Nyong’o, Gina Rodriguez, Emma Stone, Laura Linney, Marisa Tomei, Connie Britton, Megan Mullally, Leslie Mann, Sarah Silverman, Kelly Marie Tran.
From SAG-nominated movie casts, the presenters were McDormand, Rockwell and Woody Harrelson from “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”; Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf from “Lady Bird”; Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams from “Get Out”; Mary J. Blige and Jason Clarke from “Mudbound”; and Kumail Nanjiani, Holly Hunter and Ray Romano from “The Big Sick.”
Prior to the televised ceremony, the honorees for outstanding action performances by film and television stunt ensembles were announced during the SAG Awards Red Carpet Pre-Show webcast.
Two nominating panels—one for television and one for film—each composed of 2,500 randomly selected SAG-AFTRA union members from across the United States chose this year’s nominees.
The SAG Awards and Golden Globe Awards are considered the best predictors of who and what will get nominated for Oscars and Emmys. Both award shows tend to have many of the same nominees, especially in the movie categories. However, the SAG Awards (which are voted for by SAG-AFTRA members) and Golden Globe Awards (which are voted for the by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) can still have enough differences in their respective nominations to set them apart from each other.
The cast of “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
The cast of “This Is Us” at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Halle Berry at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
“Darkest Hour” winner Gary Oldman at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
:This Is Us” winner Sterling K. Brown at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
2018 SAG Awards host Kristen Bell at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
“Lady Bird” co-stars Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
“Black-sh” co-stars Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
“I, Tonya” winner Allison Janney at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
“Stranger Things” co-stars Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder and David Harbour at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
“The Big Sick” team members Kumail Nanjiani, Judd Apatow and Emily V. Gordon at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
James Franco at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
“Big Little Lies” co-stars Reese Withersppoon and Nicole Kidman at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
“Big Little Lies” winner Alexander Skarsgard at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 21, 2018.
(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2018 SAG Awards:
*=winner
THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
“The Big Sick”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Mudbound” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”*
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Timothee Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out” Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”*
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Steve Carell, “Battle of the Sexes”
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Woody Harrelson,”Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water” Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”*
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Hong Chau, “Downsizing”
Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick” Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”*
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
TELEVISION
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
“The Crown”
“Game of Thrones”
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
“Stranger Things” “This Is Us”*
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, “Ozark” Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”*
Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
David Harbour, “Stranger Things”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Millie Bobby Brown, “Stranger Things” Claire Foy, “The Crown”*
Laura Linney, “Ozark”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
“Black-ish”
“Curb Your Enthusiasm”
“GLOW”
“Orange Is the New Black” “Veep”*
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”
Larry David, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Sean Hayes, “Will & Grace” William H. Macy, “Shameless”*
Marc Maron, “GLOW”
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Uzo Aduba, “Orange Is the New Black”
Alison Brie, “GLOW”
Jane Fonda, “Grace and Frankie” Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”*
Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Benedict Cumberbatch, “Sherlock”
Jeff Daniels, “Godless”
Robert De Niro, “The Wizard of Lies”
Geoffrey Rush, “Genius” Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”*
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies” Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”*
Jessica Lange, “Feud: Bette & Joan”
Susan Sarandon, “Feud: Bette & Joan”
Reese Witherspoon, “Big Little Lies”
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
“Game of Thrones”*
“GLOW”
“Homeland”
“Stranger Things”
“The Walking Dead”
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
“Baby Driver”
“Dunkirk”
“Logan”
“War for The Planet of the Apes” “Wonder Woman”*
Gerard Butler and 50 Cent at the New York City press junket for “Den of Thieves” (Photo by Carla Hay)
In the gritty crime drama “Den of Thieves” (written and directed by Christian Gudegast), an elite unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department named the Regulators is on a mission to bust an elusive gang of bank robbers called the Outlaws. Gerard Butler plays “Big” Nick O’Brien, the leader of the Regulators, whose rule-bending ways to get what he wants blur the lines between who are the “good guys” and who are the “bad guys.” Pablo Schreiber plays Ray Merriman, the leader of the Outlaws, whose crew members include Enson Levoux (played by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson), Bosco Ostroman (played by Evan Jones) and Donnie Wilson, played by O’Shea Jackson Jr. Here is what Butler and 50 Cent had to say during a roundtable interview with me and other journalists at the New York City press junket for “Den of Thieves.”
When did you first hear about “Den of Thieves” and how were you cast?
50 Cent: I read the script for the first time six years ago. I met Christian [Gudegast] … and he had an idea of what he wanted the film to look like already. Remember “Smokin’ Aces,” with the bright colors. That was the initial look of the [“Den of Thieves”]. I wanted to be in that because I wanted to be in “Smokin’ Aces” too.
When I got a chance to read the [“Den of Thieves”] script, I thought it wasn’t predictable. I can appreciate a heist film, particularly the action excites me. And then it had a whole feel where there was more to the characters. A lot of times in a heist film, it’s just the film.
Butler: I read the script way back then as well. I was good friends with Christian, and we were already working on a few projects, some of which he had already written. In the middle of this, he said, “I have this script I want you to read called ‘Den of Thieves.’” It was actually back in 2012.
It was at time when I think I had just finished “Olympus Has Fallen,” and I was being very lazy with scripts. I let it sit there for three months. I had two scripts. My agent kept asking me, “Have you read ‘Den of Thieves’ and have you read this other movie?” I said, “No, I haven’t read it.” And I finally read it, and So I called my him and said, “This is so good! Why didn’t you tell me?” He said, “I have been telling you for three months to read the script!”
Even though I was good friends with Christian, I found myself being nervous when I went to see him. Originally, he wanted me to play Merriman. I love the role of Merriman. [He’s like] Steve McQueen, as he doesn’t say much, but he’s so captivating. But “Big” Nick was my guy, and I knew that was the role that I had to try and score and really get my head into. So I went, and I found myself getting nervous and stuttering. And so, from that day, he said, “You want ‘Big’ Nick? ‘Big’ Nick is yours.”
But the problem after that was that it took a while for the movie to get made. It was with a certain company, and they weren’t doing particularly well. The second they got out of the picture, we were ready to make the movie. And it all just unfolded, and we got a chance to tell this incredible story.
Gerard, you mentioned that you were nervous about meeting with Christian to talk about the script, but people have seen you do a lot of badass action films before. Why were you nervous? Was it because the character was hard to read?
Butler: No, it was just complete immaturity on my part. The second I like something, I get nervous. Human nature. I just really wanted to do it. And suddenly, the negative part of my head starts saying, “Oh, I’m sure Christian probably has somebody else in mind for the role.
But what it literally turned out to be was six years of us talking about. When you try to make a movie, it doesn’t mean that you’re trying to make it every day; it comes back around every few months Christian and I had so many dinners where we would sit and talk about this movie and what “Big” Nick and what he meant.
And I remember Tucker Tooley, who’s one of our producers, said, “You and Christian have talked this movie to death.” I said, “I don’t remember! It’s been six years of these discussions!” But sure enough, I did remember. I would get so amped up.
He’s made such a great movie. Christian’s such a fantastic director. He explains things to you because he understands. That’s one of the reasons why the script is so great, because the way he describes things in the script, you’re there. It’s actually very easy to perform because he leads you so beautifully.
One time, he was explaining to me this particular part of the story about “Big” Nick, and we were in Benihana, sitting and talking. [Christian] said to me, “See the way you’re holding that glass? That’s ‘Big’ Nick.” The more I would talk to him, the more I would start to get into ‘Big’ Nick. I then started eating what I thought was raw fish, and I’m eating the whole plate.
I’m chewing and thinking, “This is quite chewy for raw fish.” I’ve been doing it for about 40 minutes, and when I’m on my second plate, he said, “What the fuck are you doing? That’s chicken.” I had eaten two plates of raw chicken, which was supposed to be cooked [at the table]. When the chef came to start cooking it, he was like, “Where’s the chicken?” I had eaten it all, being “Big” Nick!
How do you prefer to be prompted in your scenes by directors?
50 Cent: I like for them to know what they’re asking me to do. Sometimes, the director will give notes, or they’ll explain it, and it won’t be as informative as you’d like them to be. Make an adjustment, fine. But please let me know exactly what the adjustment is. The guys get into the roles so well … We trained ahead for two weeks. The physicalities and movements were all down pat by the time we got there …
I’d sit at the monitor and watch … So I was watching the movie instead of being in it. I was having so much fun at the same time. I appear to be a workaholic because I’m enjoying myself. We made it fun. We were enjoying ourselves the entire time, but it is still technically work.
Butler: What was amazing was that every single person who was cast in this film is the ultimate alpha male. If you look at this man here [he gestures to 50 Cent] and me, Pablo, O’Shea—we’re all big guys with a lot to say. And yet, you couldn’t see guys bond more in this movie, and everybody having a great time together, and treating each other with a lot of respect, and giving their all. So it was a lot of fun.
Then you had Christian, who—even though it was his first time directing a movie—the guy’s a master. It was like he had done it a thousand times. What I loved about him is that he loved to see people experiment—anything we did that was different.
I was actually the boring one, in a way. I was like, “We already have a long script. We already have a phenomenal script. Sometimes, let’s not have people experiment too much, and get too far away from I know works great on the page.” But I love that he had the confidence to encourage us to do that.
50 Cent: A lot of times, writer/directors, especially on their first time, they fall in love with their words because they spend so much time on it. For six years, we kept going over it. When you write a song, it has your instincts involved … and it could be done in 30 minutes and ready for the world to listen to it.
With a film project, they write it over and over … until they try to make it perfect. When you actually start doing it, your performance choices allow you to make more adjustments … That’s what Christian did really well—he actually watched and listened and gave directions at different points that allowed us to make it great.
How important do you think it is to make your characters more likeable?
50 Cent: I think that it’s important to this story, how the characters have been developed and how you perceive the character. Sometimes I’ll play a guy who is so nasty. Like in the “Power” series, I play Kanan. Less is more. If you don’t see him love anything, you don’t have compassion for him; he’s a monster. If [audiences] don’t see things they can relate to, they don’t accept the character.
Butler: I think that a lot of the most memorable characters are the ones who are messed up. They’re discolored or a bit lost; they can be venomous or bullies. There are a million different colors you can have. I think you can judge that and put it against an audience but make sure you don’t judge and step too far, because there are certain things a character can do where you can lose an audience, and you don’t want to do that. And that was the danger with my [“Big” Nick] character with his unfaithfulness and coming home late in the house. He’s still the lead character and the protagonist and you want to be on his side somewhat
But you can also give truthful assertion of who he is. He’s a cop, and at the end of the day, he’s trying to bring down the bad guys, but that involves some low-life activity. And he’s made the decision that “If I’ve got to beat the worst, I’ve got to be the worst. I’ve got to be worse than them. I’ve got to eat those guys up.”
And that takes a toll on your life, you know? That’s what comes out. A lot of Nick is just playing at being a bad guy. At the end of the day, he’s kind of a big kid. And sometimes, in those moments alone, you realize that he really finds it hard.
Is he a classic definition of what it means to be a man? He’s not a man. He’s a terrible father. He’s a terrible husband. He’s not necessarily a man of his word. However, he’s good at his job, he’s loyal amongst his friends. But other than that, he’s an addict, he’s full of fear, and he’s such a damaged human being. And then at times, it comes up and bites him in the ass. And in the end., he’s just a scared kid.
Pablo Schreiber, Curtis Jackson, Evan Jones and O’Shea Jackson in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Gerard Butler and writer/director Christian Gudegast on the set of “Den Of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Gerard Butler in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Pablo Schreiber in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Gerard Butler in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Gerard Butler in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Gerard Butler and Maurice Compte in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Gerard Butler in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Gerard Butler in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Gerard Butler and Kaiwi Lyman in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Writer/director Christian Gudegast on the set of “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
O’Shea Jackson Jr. in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Pablo Schreiber and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Pablo Schreiber, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Evan Jones in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Mo McRae in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
Brian Van Holt in “Den of Thieves” (Photo courtesy of STX)
