Pat Cerasaro - Page 183

Surprise recent Brit hit THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL is getting a sequel and screenwriter Ol Parker has confirmed that it is more than merely likely that multi-award-winning acting icon Maggie Smith will return in her role of Muriel Donnelly for the next chapter.

Emmy Award-winning WILL & GRACE star Sean Hayes returns to the small screen next week - on an NBC series starring Debra Messing, no less - on Tuesday night's new episode of the musical series SMASH, playing a neurotic star stage actor headlining the new Season Two musical-within-the-series to follow last year's BOMBSHELL, this one titled LIAISONS!

In an brand new exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, iconic Green Day frontman and AMERICAN IDIOT composer Billie Joe Artmstrong opens up about his battle with addiction and the the road to recovery.

Frequent stage star Hamish Linklater - most recently seen on Broadway in Theresa Rebeck's SEMINAR last year and previously in the star-studded Shakespeare In The Park production of AS YOU LIKE IT in 2009 - has just joined the cast of the new David E. Kelley pilot THE CRAZY ONES, co-starring Robin Williams, Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Wolk.

Genre-redefining movie musical PITCH PERFECT may already have been released in movie theaters and is now out on DVD and Blu-ray, but the momentum for the Cult hit is growing still - a radio single from the soundtrack is on the way, featuring breakout star Anna Kendrick!

Academy Award-winning actress Tilda Swinton lends her effotlessly erudite and ethereal Style to a major role in the new music video for David Bowie's first single in a decade, 'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)'.

The long-awaited trailer for the third season of HBO's massively successful fantasy series Game of Thrones has in two short days become the most-viewed trailer for any show in HBO history.

Promises, promises - those made, broken, surpassed and a few prolonged. Last night's Academy Awards telecast was one of the most entertaining and exceptionally glamorous in many a year and executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron made good - hell, great - on their promise to deliver a true blue tribute to music in the movies as well as a whole lot more. And deliver they did - it was absolutely excellent in almost every conceivable way. Really. What more could you want?! Especially for fans of Hollywood and Broadway, it was an unforgettable awards show to cherish, with a sleek, witty and delightful presentation - snappy, smart and precisely planned (extended running time notwithstanding). As Seth MacFarlane said prior to Meryl Streep's presentation of Best Actor, “Ladies and gentlemen, our next presenter needs no introduction,” and, so, we real movie musical fans should have assumed this would be a jubilant joy - and so it was. A triptych of movie musical showstoppers thanks to Catherine Zeta Jones & CHICAGO, Jennifer Hudson & DREAMGIRLS and Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway (and company) & LES MISERABLES, as well as Shirley Bassey and Adele setting the stupefyingly gorgeously designed (sets by Derek McLane), lensed and presented show alight with “Goldfinger” and “Skyfall” as part of a James Bond 50th Anniversary showcase all the way to a refined and resplendent Barbra Streisand/Marvin Hamlisch memory for us to let linger lovingly in our memories - and, with relish - last night's Oscars was a Broadway baby's dream and an awards show junkie's delight as well as much, much more. Was it long? Yes. Was it overlong? Perhaps. Was it worth it and then some? Yes, yes, yes - oh, yes. Oh, and as far as heretofore question-mark host Seth MacFarlane and making the most of his unenviable duties? F*** yeah, man! Ted, too. And, oh, yeah - Jennifer Lawrence tripped on her gown on the way to the stage! But, so what?! Like the rest of the night, it was a refreshing slap in the face and a reminder of how wonderful awards shows can be.

Today we are shifting our focus from the stages of Broadway and beyond to the stages of the previous 84 Academy Awards telecasts that have transpired to date, in anticipation of Sunday night's big, big, big show. After all, this year's Academy Awards is of particular interest and excitement to theatre fans around the globe, especially because super-producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are behind it - the men responsible for the hit stage-to-screen adaptations of CHICAGO and HAIRSPRAY, as well as the small-screen successes GYPSY, LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME & MY SHADOWS, ANNIE, and, most recently, NBC's musical series SMASH, to name a few of their many marvelous musical-friendly credits. They told me themselves earlier this week that this year's telecast would be the most music-packed Academy Awards show to date, and, just judging from the announced tributes, performers and presenters thus far it is clear to see that they were not kidding - reunions of the casts of the film versions of CHICAGO and LES MISERABLES live onstage, singing their film's most famous songs to Jennifer Hudson leading a DREAMGIRLS tribute all the way to a James Bond 50th anniversary celebration featuring Adele and Shirley Bassey on some famous Bond themes, as well as Barbra Streisand herself singing 'The Way We Were' in memory of friend and collaborator, three-time Oscar-winner Marvin Hamlisch.

The first image of indie screen darling and frequent TV presence Rose McGowan appearing in a new role on ABC's fairy tale-themed series Once Upon a Time has been revealed.

NEWSIES and SMASH star Jeremy Jordan has just Tweeted that he is indeed going to be portraying the lead male role of Jamie in the new feature film adaptation of THE LAST FIVE YEARS by Jason Robert Brown.

The vaunted NY Philharmonic is in the process of porting over a stupefying collection of sheet music, conductor's scores and other musical memorabilia according to new report.

Largely responsible for the movie musical revolution of the 21st century, setting the stage first with their mega-successful work on TV in the 1990s like GYPSY, CINDERELLA and ANNIE, then, with their feature film entries since - beginning with CHICAGO and continuing with HAIRSPRAY and many more - executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have bridged the gap between Broadway and Hollywood like no other producers - and, all the while, on their own terms. Opening up about a vast array of projects, ranging from the aforementioned modern classic TV musicals all the way through to the films and stage shows - successful revivals of PROMISES, PROMISES and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING included - and their affiliation with NBC's musical drama series SMASH, Zadan and Meron paint a vivid portrait displaying their fierce dedication to the performing arts and desire for excellence in all of their many, many endeavors. Plus, most importantly, Zadan and Meron clue us in on what we can anticipate from this Sunday's Academy Awards telecast, which they are producing - such as their experiences collaborating with controversial triple-threat host Seth MacFarlane, amassing the starriest assortment of musical performers in Oscar history (Barbra Streisand, Adele, Shirley Bassey, Norah Jones, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jennifer Hudson among the performers announced so far), creating spectacular tributes to both James Bond in his fiftieth year on film and the modern movie musical revolution (showcasing no less than the reunions of cast members from CHICAGO, DREAMGIRLS and this year's multi-nominated hit LES MISERABLES) as well as what will make this show truly unique. Additionally, Zadan and Meron shed some light on their current and future plans and productions, among them: a BONNIE & CLYDE miniseries for the History Channel starring Emile Hirsch; the currently-running second season of NBC's musical drama series SMASH; two original movie musicals in development and original stage projects, too. All of that, memories of the remarkable LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME & MY SHADOWS, Lifetime's record-breaking broadcast of a new STEEL MAGNOLIAS, comments on DROP DEAD DIVA's recent cancellation, news on the upcoming e-book edition of Zadan's peerless SONDHEIM & CO. biography, the NBC TV version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC starring Carrie Underwood and much, much more!

Grammy Award-winning rising R&B/rap superstar Frank Ocean is set to defy expectations yet again with his follow-up to the best-selling CHANNEL ORANGE, according to a recent interview.

International hit recording artist Susan Boyle along with former 'N Sync boy-bander Lance Bass, country superstar Wynonna Judd, The Village People and more join together in the recently released 'Open Your Mouth' Miracle Whip extended music video.

SHERLOCK star Benedict Cumberbatch - who has a spate of enticing upcoming projects following his Oliver Award-winning work onstage in Danny Boyle's FRANKENSTEIN, opposite Johnny Lee Miller - joins a slew of exiting notables in the new audio miniseries NEVERWHERE, based on the book by Neil Gaiman.

NEWSIES star Jeremy Jordan sings a new SMASH song appearing in next week's episode - appropriately titled 'The Song' - in this brand new clip.

Esteemed music mogul, Sony Music chief and soon-to-be Broadway producer Clive Davis has revealed that he is a late-in-life bisexual according to a revelation in his new autobiography, THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE, out today.

Tony Award-winning scenic designer Derek McLane has discussed the inspiration behind his remarkable set design for the 2013 Academy Awards in an interview with the LA Times.