News

Nicholas Pryor, the busy character actor who portrayed Tom Cruise’s father in Risky Business and Kathleen Robertson’s dad on Beverly Hills, 90210 during a career that spanned seven decades, has died. He was 89.

Pryor died Monday of cancer at his home in Wilmington, North Carolina, his wife, actress Christine Belford, told The Hollywood Reporter.

In a note to be delivered to THR after his death, he wrote: “Nicholas Pryor was enormously grateful to have been, for nearly 70 years, a working actor.”

From 1997-2002, Pryor played the former spy Victor Collins on the General Hospital spinoff Port Charles, culminating a long career in daytime soap operas that included stints on The Secret Storm, The Edge of Night, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, All My Children and Another World.

Pryor recurred on Fox’s Beverly Hills, 90210 as A. Milton Arnold, the chancellor of California University and father of Robertson’s Claire Arnold,...

Michael J. Fox, who became a cinematic icon as Marty McFly in the hit sci-fi franchise Back to the Future, saw his star rise dramatically alongside the release of Teen Wolf in the same year, establishing him as a cultural icon.

A still from the Back to the Future film series | Credit: Universal Pictures

However, behind the scenes, Fox’s life mirrored the chaos of his on-screen characters. The actor nearly missed out on the iconic role due to his commitment to the sitcom Family Ties, which later caused him to huddle a hectic schedule to balance both, the movie and the show.

Michael J. Fox Almost Lost Back to the Future Due to Family Ties

Starting his acting career with TV roles in the late 1970s, Michael J. Fox initially gained recognition for his role as Alex P. Keaton in the NBC sitcom, Family Ties.

Michael J. Fox in...

Not every actor is a Samuel L. Jackson, gladly signing an extensive superhero movie contract to play Nick Fury as many times as Marvel Studios wants him. Some are more like James Bond actor George Lazenby, securing an iconic part and then instantly worrying it'll cause typecasting. Meanwhile, some stars can't get along with the studio, while others, unfortunately, die before the role has run its course. No property or individual movie is immune to the possibility of recasting. It's just that some do it a lot better than others.

In the sci-fi realm, long-running franchises often pose unique casting challenges, but others are simply so difficult or so weird that they necessitated unexpected changes. The multiverse offers more recasting possibilities than most, as "Doctor Who" and its endless regenerations -- a sci-fi solution to a real-world problem -- regularly demonstrates. How the fans, the actors, and the studio react cannot always be predicted,...

Doug Sheehan, who portrayed the reporter Ben Gibson for four seasons of Knots Landing and the father of Cher Horowitz on the ABC adaptation of Clueless for two more, has died. He was 75.

Sheehan died June 29 at his home in Big Horn, Wyoming, a local funeral home announced. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Sheehan first came to viewers’ attention with his 1979-82 stint as Joe Kelly on the ABC daytime soap General Hospital. A member of the Baldwin & Baldwin law firm, his character had rocky romances with Heather Webber (Robin Mattson) and Bobbie Spencer (Jacklyn Zeman).

After receiving a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1982, Sheehan departed for the CBS primetime soap Knots Landing for the start of its fifth season in 1983. Ben winds up marrying Val Ewing (Joan Van Ark) and leads everyone in town to believe that her twins are his, when in reality they were...

Doug Sheehan, known for his breakout role as Joe Kelly on General Hospital and as Ben Gibson on Knots Landing, among many other credits, has died. Sheehan “passed away peacefully” June 29 at his home in Big Horn, Wyoming, with his wife his side, according to a Kane Funeral Home announcement. He was 75. A cause of death was not revealed.

Born on April 27, 1949, in Santa Monica, Sheehan’s first screen role came in a 1978 episode of Charlie’s Angels. He went on to join the cast of daytime soap General Hospital as a series regular in his first major role, appearing in 205 episodes as lawyer Joe Kelly from 1979-82. He earned a supporting actor Daytime Emmy nomination for his work.

He segued from General Hospital to the role of reporter Ben Gibson on Knots Landing, appearing in 115 episodes from 1983 to 1988.

He also starred as Brian Harper on comedy series Day by Day,...

It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s memorable — a supporting character in a TV series breaks out to such a degree that he changes the entire direction of the series. Fonzie on “Happy Days” is one example; “J.J.” on “Good Times” another. But few have had the cultural impact of cocky conservative teen Alex P. Keaton whose dynamism completely upended the direction of the 1980s NBC sitcom “Family Ties.” Designed as a “hip parents/square kids” show with an emphasis on the parents, Alex wound up becoming the character who popped with audiences, largely thanks to sharp writing by series creator Gary David Goldberg and the comic skill of young Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. Critics, audiences and the Television Academy responded strongly to Fox’s work, rewarding the actor with five Emmy nominations for the role in the 1980s, including three consecutive wins as Best Comedy Actor.

It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s memorable — a supporting character in a TV series breaks out to such a degree that he changes the entire direction of the series. Fonzie on “Happy Days” is one example; “J.J.” on “Good Times” another. But few have had the cultural impact of cocky conservative teen Alex P. Keaton whose dynamism completely upended the direction of the 1980s NBC sitcom “Family Ties.” Designed as a “hip parents/square kids” show with an emphasis on the parents, Alex wound up becoming the character who popped with audiences, largely thanks to sharp writing by series creator Gary David Goldberg and the comic skill of young Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. Critics, audiences and the Television Academy responded strongly to Fox’s work, rewarding the actor with five Emmy nominations for the role in the 1980s, including three consecutive wins as Best Comedy Actor.

Everyone’s favorite Marty McFly could never believe the ridiculous amount of fame he achieved. Michael J Fox was best popular among the ’80s kids who loved him in the Back to the Future series. However, before his career took a turn with the time-traveling film trilogy, he starred in a role that would make him believe in his acting ability.

Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future II

Fox’s earliest role in a Canadian sitcom was so terrible that he believed himself to be a bad actor. The Teen Wolf actor proved otherwise and starred in several projects before he officially retired in 2020 owing to his Parkinson’s condition.

Michael J Fox Believed His One Role Built His Hollywood Career Michael J Fox as Alex Keaton in Family Ties

At the beginning of his career, Michael J Fox acted in several small productions as a child actor.

History was made 10 years ago at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards held Sept. 22, 2013. It was the first time in history that a streaming service took home a trophy. Three Netflix series — the “Arrested Development” reboot, “Hemlock Grove” and the lauded “House of Cards” — earned a total of 14 nominations. “House of Cards” helmer David Fincher won an Emmy for the pilot episode. Netflix had earlier received two Creative Arts Emmys,

The TV landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade. When the 75th Primetime Emmy nominations were announced July 12rh, several streaming service programming scored multiple nominations. Apple TV +’s “Ted Lasso” leads the streaming service nominations with 21, followed by Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” with 14, Netflix’s “Beef” and “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” with 13 and “Wednesday” with 12; followed by Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” with 11.

And several of the nominees and winners from a decade ago...

Mia Hansen-Løve’s bittersweet 2022 release, starring Léa Seydoux as a woman coping with the failing mind of her father, joins a select group of films exploring this most tender of ​life ​role reversals, from The Savages to Eat Drink Man Woman

French director Mia Hansen-Løve has a knack for making unimpeachably delicate films about emotionally clobbering rites of passage. She has navigated death, divorce and traumatic adolescence with a softness that never quite turns to mush. Her most recent film, One Fine Morning – now available to stream on Mubi – takes the same approach to that strangest and most tender of life reversals, when children become their parents’ carers. Following a Parisian single mother (a never-better Léa Seydoux) as she reckons with the complications of steering her elderly, partially sighted father through the national care home system, from grappling with his dementia to redistributing his book collection, it’s quietly devastating,...

Julia Louis-Dreyfus had a steady career in the 1980s, working for Woody Allen, serving as a cast member on some ill-fated seasons of Saturday Night Live and headlining sitcoms. But it was Seinfeld that was her true breakout…and it may not have happened had she not stood up to one of the most powerful studios in the business, Warner Bros.

As it turns out, the studio had a firm hold on Julia Louis-Dreyfus through a deal that would have stopped her from working with any other game in town, including a little project that would come to be known as Seinfeld. Despite urging from industry friends that she not ruffle Warner Bros. and give any money back that she may or may not have owed from “bow[ing] out” of the deal, she stood her ground.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ next move was to call Gary David Goldberg, the TV stalwart behind Family Ties,...

“Inconvenient Truth” Oscar-winner Davis Guggenheim, like many creatives at the top of their game, always worries about staying there. When he read Michael J. Fox’s 2002 “Lucky Man: A Memoir” three years ago, he knew he wanted to produce a movie about the plucky star. But when he met with the actor, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at age 29 and is now 61, Guggenheim began to see what he could do with this moving drama.

“I was like, ‘wow,'” said Guggenheim. “Because I’m 59. Well, he’s a few years older than me. My kids are getting out of the house. I feel older, more fragile. I spent a lot of time going ‘poor me, poor me. The glory days of my family are over. My best films are behind me.’ You get in a rut. You convince yourself that life is shit. And then I’m like,...

Bill Lawrence has lost count of how many episodes of television he’s made at this point. There were 145 episodes of Spin City, he tallies, and another 182 of Scrubs. Before he co-created Ted Lasso (34 episodes) or Shrinking (10 and counting), he made one season of Clone High, three seasons of Undateable and six seasons of Cougar Town, with several other series mixed in. “So, it’s got to be close to a thousand by now,” he reasons.

The real marker of career longevity, however, is the fact that the prolific showrunner can be watching a sitcom now and if any one of his three children are to hit pause after a joke setup, Lawrence can, nine times out of 10, deliver the punchline. “It’s like my magic trick for my kids,” he says. “They’re like, ‘Oh, well, you’ve read this script,’ and I’ll be like, ‘I definitely didn...

I love the title of Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth documentarian Davis Guggenheim’s wonderful new docu on the life and times of Michael J. Fox. It is called Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie. The Sundance website has a colon where you might expect it to be, right after Still, but the press notes leave it out which is how I hope Apple Studios — which has the film for an unspecified future release date and is world premiering it Friday at the Sundance Film Festival — would officially call it. That’s because what Guggenheim, and importantly his editor MIchael Harte, have made is simply that, A Michael J. Fox Movie from start to finish and all that implies.

With the spirit of the kind of 1980s movies that helped make Fox a very big star on both big and small screens, this hybrid uses docu techniques — most notably a talking-head...

For the season 5 season finale, Writer/Director/Producer Adam McKay returns to the podcast to discuss movies from his favorite year of cinema… 1987.

The Movies That Made Me will return with Season 6 in January. Happy Holidays! Thank you for listening!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Tin Men (1987)

Billy Jack (1971)

The Menu (2022)

Boyz N The Hood (1991) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Menace II Society (1991)

Straight Out Of Brooklyn (1991)

Do The Right Thing (1989) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

School Daze (1988)

The Swarm (1978) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Squeeze (1987)

Squeeze Play (1979) – Lloyd Kaufman’s trailer commentary

Diner (1982)

Robocop (1987) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray reviews

The Evil Dead (1983) – Fede Alvarez’s trailer commentary

Evil Dead II (1987) – Mike Mendez’s trailer commentary, Alex Kirschenbaum’s review

Broadcast News (1987)

Raising Arizona (1987)

The Princess Bride (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

This Is Spinal Tap (1984) – John Landis’s...

If you consider yourself “obsessed” with television, you’re not alone. Five of TV’s top showrunners recently spoke with Gold Derby (watch above) about their early careers and when they knew they wanted to work in Hollywood: Eric Kripke (“The Boys”), Billy Ray (“The Comey Rule”), Liz Feldman (“Dead to Me”), Prentice Penny (“Insecure”) and Lee Eisenberg (“Little America”). Click each name above to watch their individual interviews separate from our Meet the Btl Experts: TV Showrunners group panel.

“I am one of those people who have always known what I wanted to do,” Feldman readily admits. “I was absolutely obsessed with TV from the first moment I ever saw it.” She cites children’s series “Romper Room” and sitcom “Family Ties” as big inspirations when she was growing up. “I read an article about Gary David Goldberg in People magazine … and it talked about what a showrunner was,...

In today’s film news roundup, Jesse Eisenberg is starring and exec producing “Wild Indian”; Jason Bateman is directing “Shut In”; “Saturday Night Live” veteran Paula Pell is honored; and the Palm Springs Film Festival sets its opening and closing films.

Casting

Jesse Eisenberg is starring in and executive producing the independent thriller “Wild Indian,” Variety has learned exclusively.

“Wild Indian,” written and directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., also stars Michael Greyeyes, Chaske Spencer, Kate Bosworth and Scott Haze (“Venom”). The film, shooting in Oklahoma City, was developed as part of the Sundance Institute Writers and Directors Lab as well as Sundance Catalyst.

The story follows two Anishinaabe men who are inextricably bound together after covering up the savage murder of a schoolmate. After years of separation following wildly divergent paths, they must finally confront how their traumatic secret has irrevocably shaped their lives. Greyeyes plays a character who...

Paula Pell will receive the WGA East’s Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence at the 72nd annual WGA Awards, which will be held February 1. The award will be presented by her longtime friend and former SNL colleague Amy Poehler.

The honor will be bestowed in New York at the Edison Ballroom; the WGA Awards ceremonies will be held concurrently in New York and at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

“I am truly thrilled and honored to receive the WGA Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence,” Pell said. “I heard many stories of Herb’s legendary work when I joined SNL in 1953,” she joked. “I will proudly put this next to my lifetime achievement award from Clever Matron Magazine.”

The Sargent Award is presented to writers who embody “the spirit, commitment and comic genius of Mr. Sargent, as well as his dedication to mentoring new writers,” the guild said.

Jack Beresford Aug 6, 2019

Some of the big screen's most memorable performances came from actors who were cast just before the cameras started rolling...

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

Good casting makes all the difference in the movie business. You can have a great script, a big budget, and the best director but without the right actors, everything can fall a little flat.

Yet even good casting can go wrong every now and then. Someone who once seemed perfect for a particular role suddenly falls flat once the cameras start rolling, unable to bring to life what they once successfully conveyed during an audition and initial screen test. Other times injuries, contractual obligations, or other unforeseen personal circumstances can put paid to the best-laid plans.

Then there are the dreaded “creative differences” where conflicts between actors and directors end with one of the injured parties exiting a project...

It was a year ago last week that ABC swiftly canceled its hugely successful “Roseanne” reboot, following racist comments on Twitter by star Roseanne Barr. Out of the ashes came “The Conners,” which has been renewed for a second season after strong reviews and solid ratings.

A year later, the decision to keep going made sense. But star and executive producer Sara Gilbert admits she and the rest of the show’s cast and producers weren’t so sure it was a good idea at first, after those shocking turn of events.

“We were all scared,” Gilbert told Variety‘s “My Favorite Episode” podcast. “It was definitely a risk to come back. And we didn’t know how it was going to go. We didn’t know how the reviews were going to go.”

Then came the positive reviews for the first episode, which revealed the death of Roseanne Conner.

As the star of Family Ties for its 1982 to 1989 run, Michael Gross became a member of a rare club: one of TV’s favorite dads. And fans will be happy to know that he’s still close with his on-screen wife and one of TV’s favorite moms, Meredith Baxter. "We’re both 71 now and met when we were [around] 35, so we’ve known each other half our lives," Michael exclusively marveled to Closer Weekly in the magazine's latest issue, on newsstands now. "We’ve maintained a good relationship and never lost touch." Now audiences can witness their chemistry in person as they star in the A. R. Gurney play Love Letters, currently touring select cities around the country. Michael is also back on TV this holiday season playing a loving father in the Lifetime movie Christmas Pen Pals. We caught up with the actor on the set of his new...

The 1980s were a long time ago, and while Michael J. Fox is still so well known around the world, it may be difficult to remember just how big he really was. Think about it this way: his Classic TV sitcom Family Ties made its debut in 1982. Two years later, NBC introduced The Cosby Show, which became an absolute ratings sensation. Then the network placed Family Ties right behind that series, resulting in it becoming the second highest rated show on TV. Michael's comic brilliance caught the attention of producer Steven Spielberg and director Robert Zemeckis, and he was given permission from the show's creator, Gary David Goldberg, to shoot Family Ties during the day and the feature film Back to the Future at night. That film became the biggest moneymaker of 1985, turned the low budget Teen Wolf (shot earlier but released after Bttf) into a hit, and elevated the...

Alex P. Keaton and his sharp suits are coming to the stage. Variety reports Family Ties is being adapted for the theater.Created by Gary David Goldberg, the classic '80s sitcom followed an American family with liberal parents and a Republican son. The cast included Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter-Birney, Justine Bateman, and Tina Yothers. The NBC series lasted for seven seasons before ending in 1989.Read More…...

Simon Brew Sep 2, 2016

Premiere magazine highlighted 10 movie executives to watch in 1990. So what happened to them?

In its May 1990 issue, the sadly-missed Us version of Premiere magazine published an article, highlighting ten young movie executives, and suggesting that these were people with very big futures ahead of them in the industry.

Given that much is written about movie executives, without actually digging much deeper to find out who they actually are, I thought it was worth tracing what happened to these ten, and – 26 years later – whether Premiere was correct in saluting them as the future of the industry. So, er, I did...

Lance Young

Senior production VP, Paramount Pictures

Pictured in the article on an office swivel chair with some snazzy purple socks, Lance Young, Premiere wrote, had been “groomed for big things since joining Paramount at the age of 23”. He was 30 at the time the article was published, and...

Grr, argh. Sit, Ubu, sit. I made this! What’s the story behind the production company tags added onto our favourite TV shows?

Closing logos have evolved into a TV production company’s tiny stamp of individuality. They’re a single snippet of screen time not at the mercy of network notes, audience feedback or sponsorship concerns.

A closing tag doesn’t need to sell a show, tell a story, or lasso an audience back for the next episode. It’s simply a signature, a few seconds entirely belonging to the creatives, to do with what they will.

As such, closing logos are as self-indulgent or esoteric as the production company wills them. They’re perhaps the only place in television production where in-jokes, family photos, personal homages (or extended rants in the case of one comedy producer) and kid-drawn scribbles usually found taped to the fridge door are entirely welcome.

Women In Film is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting equal opportunities for women, encouraging creative projects by women, and expanding and enhancing portrayals of women in all forms of global media. Given that women comprise fifty percent of the population, Wif's ultimate goal is to see the same gender parity reflected on and off screen. Founded in 1973, Wif focuses on advocacy and education, provides scholarships, grants and film finishing funds and works to preserve the legacies of all women working in the entertainment community.

Since 1977, Women In Film, Los Angeles has annually honored outstanding women in the entertainment industry – women who lead by example, who are creative, groundbreaking, and who excel at their chosen fields. This year’s Crystal + Lucy Awards® fundraising dinner, in support of Wif La’s educational and philanthropic programs and its advocacy for gender parity for women throughout the industry, is being held on Tuesday, June 16 in the Los Angeles Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City. The 2015 Crystal + Lucy Awards is sponsored by Max Mara, BMW of North America, and Tiffany & Co.

This year’s Crystal + Lucy Award honorees are:

2015 Crystal Award for Excellence in Film – Nicole Kidman 2015 Lucy Award for Excellence in Television – Jill Soloway 2015 Dorothy Arzner Directors Award® – Ava DuVernay The Women In Film Max Mara “Face of the Future®” 2015 – Kate Mara Presented by Nicola Maramotti Global Brand Ambassador for Max Mara

2015 Tiffany & Co. / Bruce Paltrow Mentorship Award – Sue Kroll 2015 Sue Mengers Award – Toni Howard

Cathy Schulman , President of Women In Film, Los Angeles, said in making the announcement, “We are proud to celebrate an extraordinary line-up of honorees this year. Each one of these women has made extraordinary contributions to the media art, and as a group they have forged sustainable careers that are emblematic of the positive and long overdue change that is taking root for women in Hollywood.”

Iris Grossman, President Emerita of Women In Film, Los Angeles, returning this year as Chair of the Awards, said “This year’s honorees are all women who have helped change the face of the business. Through their insight, determination, resilience and talent, they add substance and depth to their creative endeavors and to the entertainment industry as a whole.”

About the Honorees

Nicole Kidman / Crystal Award for Excellence in Film

The Crystal Awards were established in 1977 to honor outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry. Past recipients include Cate Blanchett, Laura Linney, Viola Davis, Annette Bening, Donna Langley, Jennifer Aniston, Diane English and the cast of The Women, Renée Zellweger, Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock, Gwyneth Paltrow, Diane Lane, Halle Berry, Laura Ziskin, Jessica Lange, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Angela Bassett, Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alfre Woodard, Polly Platt, Lauren Shuler Donner, Diane Warren, Amy Heckerling, Paula Weinstein, Martha Coolidge, Buffy Shutt and Kathy Jones, Gale Anne Hurd, Nancy Malone, Maya Angelou, Lily Tomlin, Ruby Dee, Penny Marshall, Jessica Tandy, Barbara Boyle, Nikki Rocco, Jean Firstenberg, Lee Remick, Lina Wertmuller, Bette Davis, Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, Sherry Lansing, Nora Ephron, Dawn Steel, Fay Kanin, Lillian Gish, Whoopi Goldberg, Glenn Close and Amy Pascal.

Academy Award winning actress Nicole Kidman is internationally-recognized for her range and versatility. In 2002, Kidman was honored with her first Oscar nomination for her performance in the innovative musical, "Moulin Rouge!" For that role, and her performance in the psychological thriller "The Others," she received dual 2002 Golden Globe nominations, winning for Best Actress in a Musical. In 2003, Kidman won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award and a Berlin Silver Bear for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in Stephen Daldry’s "The Hours." In 2010 Kidman starred in "Rabbit Hole," for which she received Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best Actress. The film was developed by Kidman’s production company, Blossom Films. In October 2012 Kidman starred in Lee Daniel’s "The Paperboy." Her performance earned her an Aacta, Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nomination.

Upcoming films include "Strangerland," "The Family Fang" and "Genius." Kidman is currently in production on "The Secret in Their Eyes." Next up, she will being shooting The Weinstein Company’s "Lion."

In January of 2006, Kidman was awarded Australia’s highest honor, the Companion in the Order of Australia. She was also named, and continues to serve, as Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, Un Women, whose goals are to foster women’s empowerment and gender equality, to raise awareness of the infringement on women’s human rights around the world and to end violence against women. Along with her husband, Keith Urban, she has helped raise millions over the years for the Women’s Cancer Program which is a world-renowned center for research into the causes, treatment, prevention, and eventual cure of women’s cancer.

Jill Soloway / Lucy Award for Excellence in Television

The Lucy Awards were founded in 1994 by Joanna Kerns, Bonny Dore and Loreen Arbus and are presented in association with the Lucille Ball Estate. They were named for Lucille Ball, who was not only a legendary actress and comedienne, but also a producer, studio owner, creator and director. They are given to recognize women and men and their creative works that exemplify the extraordinary accomplishments she embodied; whose excellence and innovation have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television. Past recipients include: Kerry Washington, The Women Of "Mad Men" (Christina Hendricks, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Jessica Paré, Kiernan Shipka), Bonnie Hammer, Nina Tassler, Courteney Cox, Holly Hunter, Salma Hayek, Shonda Rhimes and the women of "Grey’s Anatomy," Geena Davis, Debra Messing and Megan Mullally, Blythe Danner, Lily Tomlin, Rosie O’Donnell, Amy Brenneman, Tyne Daley, Phyllis Diller, Marcy Carsey, Carol Burnett, Barbara Walters, Shari Lewis, Garry Marshall, Angela Lansbury, Marlo Thomas, Gary David Goldberg, Diahann Carroll, Tracey Ullman, Fred Silverman, Imogene Coca, Camryn Manheim, Norman Lear, Bud Yorkin and the casts of "Sex and the City," " If These Walls Could Talk" and "If These Walls Could Talk 2."

Jill Soloway is the creator of Amazon Studios' Golden Globe-winning, "Transparent," a dark, deep, silly family series about boundaries, love and secrets.

Soloway won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival for her first feature, "Afternoon Delight." She recently founded WifeyTv, an internet brand producing and curating content to ignite the feminist revolution. Soloway is a three-time Emmy nominee for her work writing and producing "Six Feet Under."

She co-created the theater experiences, "Real Live Brady Bunch," "Miss Vagina Pageant," "Hollywood Hellhouse" and "Sit N Spin," and co-founded the community organization East Side Jews. Soloway lives with her family in Silver Lake.

Ava DuVernay / Dorothy Arzner Directors Award

Dorothy Arzner was the first female member of the Directors Guild of America. In her honor, the Dorothy Arzner Directors Award® was established to recognize the important role women directors play in the film and television industries. Past recipients include: Jennifer Lee, Sofia Coppola, Pamela Fryman, Lisa Cholodenko, Catherine Hardwicke, Nancy Meyers, Barbra Streisand, Mimi Leder, Barbara Kopple, Gillian Armstrong, Lian Lunson, Joey Lauren Adams and Nicole Holofcener.

Nominated for two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, five Critics Choice awards, eight NAACP Image Awards and five Independent Spirit Awards, writer/director Ava DuVernay's most recent film "Selma" chronicles the historic 1965 voting rights campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

She won the Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012 for her acclaimed feature "Middle of Nowhere." Her previous narrative and documentary work includes the feature film "I Will Follow" and the documentaries Venus Vs.," "My Mic Sounds Nice" and "This is The Life."

In 2010, DuVernay founded the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (Affrm), a grassroots collective that distributes work from filmmakers of color. Prior to her directorial career, she worked as a film marketer and publicist for more than 14 years through her company, The DuVernay Agency.

Kate Mara / The Women In Film Max Mara “Face of the Future” Award

The Women In Film Max Mara “Face of the Future” Award® was inaugurated at Women In Film’s 2006 Crystal + Lucy Awards®. As the 13th year as presenting sponsor and longstanding Women In Film partner, Max Mara identifies an actress who is experiencing a turning point in her career through her work in the film and television industries with focus on her contributions to the community at large and recognizes her outstanding personal achievements and embodiment of style and grace. Past recipients include: Rose Byrne, Hailee Steinfeld, Chloë Grace Moretz, Katie Holmes, Zoë Saldana, Elizabeth Banks, Ginnifer Goodwin, Emily Blunt and Maria Bello.

Kate Mara made her feature film debut in "Random Hearts" for director Sydney Pollack. She then co-starred in Ang Lee’s "Brokeback Mountain" in which she portrayed Heath Ledger’s daughter. She also appeared in the Academy Award nominated film "127 Hours" with James Franco for director Danny Boyle and she co-starred in "Transcendence" alongside Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman, which marked the directorial debut of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister.

Mara recently completed filming on location in Budapest director Ridley Scott’s outer space action film The Martian alongside Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain. Last fall, she completed filming the psychological thriller "Man Down" in which she plays the wife of a war veteran, played by Shia Labeouf and "Captive" in which she stars with David Oyelowo as a single mother struggling with meth addiction in the adaptation of the best-selling book An Unlikely Angel. This summer she will film "Morgan" for director Luke Scott, son of Ridley Scott, who will produce. Audiences will next see her star in "Fantastic Four" alongside Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell.

She received an Emmy Award® nomination for her role in David Fincher’s critically acclaimed television series, "House of Cards" in which she co-starred alongside Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.

Sue Kroll/ Tiffany & Co. / Bruce Paltrow Mentorship Award

The Tiffany & Co. / Bruce Paltrow Mentorship Award was created to honor the late director and great mentor Bruce Paltrow. This year, Wif Presenting Sponsor Tiffany & Co. has joined the Paltrow family in recognizing an entertainment industry professional who has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to mentoring and supporting the next generation of filmmakers and executives. Past honorees include Kathleen Kennedy and Sherry Lansing.

Sue Kroll is President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution for Warner Bros. Pictures. As marketing chief, she oversees the strategic creation and implementation of marketing campaigns for the Studio’s global releases and collaborates closely with the Studio’s principals on the strategic development of its slate of films.

Her leadership of global marketing has propelled the studio’s releases to record-breaking box office and myriad awards. Most recently, the Best Picture Oscar nominee "American Sniper" became the top-grossing domestic film release of 2014 and has grossed more than $500 million worldwide. Other recent successes include the "Harry Potter," "Dark Knight," and "The Hobbit" film series, as well as such award-winning pictures as "Gravity," "Argo" and "The Departed."

Kroll joined Warner Bros. in 1994 and headed International Marketing from 2000 to 2008, when she was named to her current role at the studio. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Film Independent, the Los Angeles-based non-profit that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, and is one of the inaugural members of Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program.

Toni Howard / Sue Mengers Award

The Sue Mengers Award , named for the legendary agent and given for the first time in 2015, will be presented annually to a representative who is, and has been, instrumental in guiding careers. Sue Mengers was an icon in the entertainment industry. She was one of the most influential talent agents of her time, when women were not the norm, and she was devoted to her clients.

Toni Howard is a partner at ICM Partners. Toni joined the agency’s talent department in 1991 and quickly became a leader in the division, having served as its department head for the better part of a decade. She oversees a celebrated and eclectic group of actors who appear in film, television and on stage and have garnered an astonishing 46 Academy Award® nominations, 148 Emmy® nominations, and 125 Golden Globe® nominations. Among her award-winning clients are Alan Alda, Candice Bergen, Michael Caine, Bobby Cannavale, Edie Falco, Samuel L. Jackson, Topher Grace, Holly Hunter, Michael Keaton, Nathan Lane, Spike Lee, Laura Linney, Catherine O’Hara, Lily Rabe, Christina Ricci, Tim Robbins, Michael Sheen, Maggie Smith, James Spader, Julia Stiles, and Christopher Walken. Throughout her career at ICM Partners, Toni has mentored many young agents to incredibly successful careers of their own.

Prior to joining ICM, Toni was an agent at the William Morris Agency for seven years. She began her entertainment industry career as a casting director, working on such iconic projects as "Tootsie," "Superman," "The Right Stuff" and "Something About Amelia."

Recognized by her distinctive voice, Toni was cast by director Alexander Payne as the voice of agent ‘Evelyn Berman-Silverman’ in the film "Sideways."...

When it comes to behind-the-scenes figures in the world of television, there aren't many as gregarious as Bill Lawrence. Since the 1996 premiere of "Spin City," which he co-created with the late Gary David Goldberg, Lawrence's series have been a fixture on the small screen landscape, having also created "Scrubs" and co-created "Clone High," "Cougar Town," "Ground Floor," and "Surviving Jack."  His most recent endeavor, "Undateable," is -- like the aforementioned "Ground Floor" -- a multi-cam sitcom, a breed of comedy which he believes doesn't get nearly as much love from viewers as it should. Lawrence spoke with Indiewire about the origins of the series, the importance of proper casting, the likelihood of a "Clone High" movie, and whether or not he was responsible for naming Cory Matthews' wife.So what's the secret origin of "Undateable"?"Undateable" is... a picture book. [Laughs.] No, it is! It's this book by these two ladies [Ellen Rakieten and Anne Coyle] that's just basically.

Bette Midler serenaded the crowd during the 86th Annual Academy Awards In Memoriam tribute this evening with an emotional performance of "Wind Beneath My Wings." Many famous faces, those both behind and in front of the big screen, were included in the list of stars that were honored. But it seems as though there were still a few names that didn't make their way onto the live telecast's list, including Glee star Cory Monteith, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor James Avery and Tom Clancy among others. Other noteworthy people who were not named include: Marcia Wallace, Lisa Robin Kelly, Lee Thompson Young, Phil Everly, Phil Ramone, Lou Reed, Pete Seeger, Dennis Farina, Gary David Goldberg, Alicia...

The year now ending marks another 12-month period of losing talents who have given television viewers entertainment or information ... and some of those passings, even more sadly, came as major and untimely shocks. Zap2it remembers:

Paul Walker: The actor best-known for the "Fast & Furious" movies had career roots in such TV shows as "Who's the Boss?" "Highway to Heaven" and "Touched by an Angel."

James Gandolfini: He projected so much older as mobster Tony Soprano, many were surprised to learn the three-time Emmy winner only was in his 30s and 40s when he played the part.

Cory Monteith: As Finn Hudson on "Glee," the Canadian-born performer touched fans of all ages both in life and afterward.

Jean Stapleton: Forever TV's top "dingbat," the "All in the Family" actress earned three Emmys as lovably daffy Edith Bunker.

Jonathan Winters: The improvisation genius who inspired his...

We’re in Week Two of group therapy on Addicts Anonymous, and we’re getting to know more about the various addictive personalities, especially leader Gary Goldberg. A few observations:

Gary’s ring tone is “Memory” from Cats. I’m serious

What is this “incident” that Gary so desperately doesn’t want brought up? Hopefully it involves some kind of graphic public nudity.

Will we ever get to see Gary’s much-discussed dad Dr. Dan Christian?

“Lean With Me” needs to be on iTunes … now.

Take a look at Episode Two.

The post Freddie Smith Has Daddy Issues (And Sings) In Episode Two Of “Addicts Anonymous” appeared first on thebacklot.com.

As his newest series continues, Michael J. Fox has a loyal supporter in Bill Lawrence.

The executive producer of "Scrubs," "Cougar Town" and TBS' new "Ground Floor" -- premiering Thursday, Nov. 14 -- teamed with "Family Ties" mentor Gary David Goldberg to create "Spin City" for Fox, who starred in the first four seasons of the mayor's-office sitcom. Now, Lawrence is rooting for "The Michael J. Fox Show" in the early weeks of its Thursday run on NBC.

"Look, I'm a biased guy" toward Fox, Lawrence allows to Zap2it. "He made my career, and I want nothing but great things for that guy. Anytime I turn that show on, and I've watched each episode, I watch it with a smile because he makes me happy. It's like a guy rooting for his favorite baseball team."

Lawrence is watching something else closely, too: Fox's primetime lineup. He's also executive-producing the network's midseason sitcom "Surviving Jack,...

Bill Lawrence and Jeff Ingold are in a family way with CBS. “Scrubs” creator Lawrence and “Grounded for Life” executive producer Ingold have landed a family comedy, “Middlescence,” with CBS. Also read: ‘Cougar Town’ Boss Bill Lawrence Remembers ‘Family Ties’ Creator Gary David Goldberg The half-hour, multi-camera project, which has received a put-pilot commitment from the network, revolves around a married couple that’s struggling to raise four “adolescents”: their two kids, along with the wife’s older brother and the husband’s mother. Lawrence and Ingold are executive producing, with Ingold writing. Also read: Shonda Rhimes, Bill Lawrence,...

While Cory Monteith, James Gandolfini, Jean Stapleton, Jonathan Winters and Gary David Goldberg were memorialized with individual segments during the 2013 Emmys, the late Dallas star Larry Hagman was seen for only a few brief seconds during the show's In Memoriam slide show. "How I felt last night watching [the Emmys] was not anger, it was disappointment," Hagman's son, Preston Hagman, told Entertainment Tonight. Photos; Larry Hagman: Remembering TV's Iconic Villain "I think my dad was a trailblazer in the industry," he said, while carefully keeping his remarks as diplomatic as possible. "I think if they're gonna do

read more...

Death became the Primetime Emmy Awards last night, which enjoyed the franchise’s biggest crowd in eight years with a major show of mourning. With the Emmy Awards now almost completely morphed into the old CableAce Awards, the broadcast networks that take turns airing it are constantly on the prowl for ways to include more broadcast-tv moments in the ceremony — you may have noticed presenter Allison Janney plugging her new CBS sitcom’s debut. This year’s Emmycast cleverly focused on one industry category that broadcast TV still completely dominates: death. A good chunk of last night’s Emmycast was devoted to it. In addition to the traditional In Memoriam segment, five Very Important Dead People were singled out for individual tributes. And four of them were best, or entirely, known for their work on broadcast — Gary David Goldberg, Jonathan Winters, Jean Stapleton and the controversial Cory Monteith. CBS execs...

Sunday night's Emmy Awards telecast tried to do something a little different by singling out five stars who had recently passed away and independently eulogizing them with anecdotes from their respective former co-stars and friends. The choice courted controversy from the start, especially with Glee's Cory Monteith being one of the stars chosen to be remembered, since many believed that more established stars -- such as Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie favorite Larry Hagman -- were passed over. Et exclusively sat down with Hagman's son, Preston Hagman, to get his take on the matter, and he declared, "If you're going to respect and recognize them, then do it correctly."

Pics: Hit or Miss Fashions of the Emmys

The stars remembered with a special moment on last night's telecast were James Gandolfini, Jonathan Winters, Jean Stapleton, Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg, and Monteith. Other stars fondly remembered in the In Memoriam montage included Hagman, [link...

If you weren't watching the Emmy Awards Sunday night, we don't know what you were doing. (Actually, we do because we almost flipped the channel to Breaking Bad, too.) Sure, we were disappointed when host Neil Patrick Harris chose tap over twerk, but there was plenty of action (and lots of dance) packed into the three-hour show. We're breaking down the five things you missed: 1. The dance that brought us all out of our seats var brightcovevideoid = '2685567855001'; On a night decidedly validating the couch potatoes in us all, we immediately dropped our popcorn bowls when this year's nominees...

The Emmys tried something new with the standard In Memoriam tribute Sunday. It may or may not have worked. In addition to the usual tribute montage to those who died over the last year, five individuals were celebrated separately. Gary David Goldberg, Jonathan Winters, James Gandolfini, Monteith and Jean Stapleton who received solo tributes from their famous friends and colleagues in the industry.They were spoken about briefly onstage by Michael J. Fox, Robin Williams, Edie Falco, Jane Lynch and Rob Reiner, respectively. To many, the choices felt a little too much like a popularity contest. One was Jack Klugman’s son,...

From the moment it was announced that this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards would handle the annual In Memoriam segment differently, by singling out certain fallen stars for special remembrance, many cried foul.

And in its actual execution, the new approach didn’t earn many fans either.

Related | Ratings: Emmys Eye a Possible Seven-Year High

Sprinkled throughout Sunday night’s CBS telecast, James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), Jean Stapleton (All in the Family), sitcom scion Gary David Goldberg, comedy icon Jonathan Winters and Glee‘s young Cory Monteith each were paid distinct tribute by individuals who had worked alongside them. But...

It was an Emmy Awards filled with unexpected wins, needless musical numbers and death. Lots of death -- some of it woven into the ceremony and some just part of the year, all of it coming together to offer the impression that the business of television is a very dangerous one indeed. Between the remembrances offered to Jean Stapleton, Jonathan Winters, Gary David Goldberg, Cory Monteith and, most tearfully, James Gandolfini, the actual "In Memoriam" section and the tributes to the late "Homeland" writer Henry Bromell, who passed away in March and whose wife accepted the award on his behalf, the ceremony was shot through with a sense of seriousness and mourning, as if all of the dark dramas that have led to television becoming such an interesting medium right now have bled through into the awards. And that's not even getting to the whole JFK assassination/Beatles sequence. Read More: 'Breaking Bad,...

Honoring her late friend/co-star James Gandolfini, Edie Falco took to the Emmy Awards earlier this evening (September 22).

The entertainment world was put on hold back in June when the actor passed away from a sudden heart attack while vacationing in Italy with his family.

Miss Falco spent many years working with James on the hit mob series and tearfully paid tribute to the talented and humble actor.

"You can ask anybody who knew him, if you needed anything at all ever, Jim was there to take care of it before you even had a chance to ask," she recalled.

"You all knew James Gandolfini the actor. I was lucky enough to know Jim the man — for 10 years as his close colleague and pretend life partner, and for many more years as his friend. And it's Jim the man, the very dear man, that I will miss most of all.

Two words that best sum up Emmys 2013: “Breaking Sad.” It was three hours filled with tributes to fallen stars, odd reminders of 50-year-old national tragedies and a victory lap for AMC’s much-loved but little-awarded drama Breaking Bad. Neil Patrick Harris acknowledged his propensity for hosting gigs with a cute sketch involving his How I Met Your Mother costars, and decided to insert a mid-show musical number that probably played a lot better in rehearsal. In addition to the much-discussed extended tributes to James Gandolfini, with Edie Falco presenting, Jean Stapleton (Rob Reiner), Jonathan Winters (Robin Williams), Gary David Goldberg [...]

The post Emmys 2013 winners, losers: “Breaking Bad,” “Modern Family” win top awards appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

There was an outcry when the Emmy producers announced that they were paying special tribute during Sunday's telecast to five people who the industry had lost over the past year. The rumblings were so loud about what some saw as favoritism that even Emmys host Neil Patrick Harris stepped into the fray to explain the reasoning. "I always find the In Memoriam is just really interesting because sometimes it seems weird that they keep the audio on in the house, so some people get applause and some people don't, and it turns it into this weird moment," he told Access Hollywood.

Michael J. Fox is about to start a new chapter in his television career, but he paused at the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards to recall the man who largely made that career.

The title star of "The Michael J. Fox Show" -- premiering Thursday (Sept. 26) on NBC -- remembered Gary David Goldberg, the writer-producer who created the hit 1980s sitcom "Family Ties," at Sunday's (Sept. 22) event.

"He was my mentor, benefactor, second father, beloved friend," Fox said of Goldberg, who initially turned him down for the role of politically minded teen Alex P. Keaton before Fox auditioned a second time.

The "generous spirit" and "great laugh" of Goldberg -- whose shows ended with a production-company logo featuring his dog and the line, "Sit, Ubu, sit! Good dog!"-- were among the qualities cited by Fox.

In fact, many others also heard Goldberg's laugh, even if they didn't know it at the time.

In a year that found a lot of unexpected upsets, Breaking Bad, Modern Family and Behind the Candelabra were the big winners at The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday night, airing live from the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Read on for the recap…

Click Here for the complete list of winners!

Pics: Hit or Miss Fashions of the Emmys

The Drama

A true victory for a series in its final season, AMC's Breaking Bad was named Outstanding Drama over Mad Men, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, Homeland and Downton Abbey. Show creator Vince Gilligan gasped, "I did not see this coming. I thought it was going to be House of Cards..." Meanwhile, HBO's Behind the Candelabra was named Outstanding Movie or Miniseries. The Liberace biopic earned its star Michael Douglas his first Emmy in the title role and also gave director Steven Soderbergh his first shiny lady. Upon winning...

It's Emmy time, y'all!

7:45 pm Est: Welcome everyone to this year's live-blog for the Primtetime Emmy Awards. We'll be here all night long breaking down the action in real time, so be sure to refresh often throughout the night. We'll be analyzing trends, celebrating the winners, and trying to detect voting patterns. Since this is a live-blog, there will be typos here and there (and probably over there as well). So we beg your patience as we try to keep up with this hour-long event. Wait...it's How long? Hmm. Maybe this live-blog wasn't such a good idea. Come back at the top of the show and stick around with us all night long!

7:55 pm Est: My thoughts on the red carpet are as follows: I'm rocking a football jersey, some shorts, and what little dignity I have left after seeing dozens of gorgeous people parade past me...

Pass the tissues. The 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards changed up the standard In Memoriam segment this year at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Sunday, Sept. 22 in L.A. Close friends and costars of five late stars shared emotional, personal remembrances on stage interspersed throughout the show. The five stars who received special recognition included: actor Cory Monteith (remembered by Glee costar Jane Lynch), actor James Gandolfini (remembered by Sopranos costar Edie Falco), producer Gary David Goldberg (remembered by Family Ties star Michael J. Fox), actress Jean Stapleton [...]...

While ‘Glee’ fans are looking forward to what will be a touching tribute to Cory Monteith at the 65th Annual Emmy Awards, not everyone is so happy.

Cory Monteith will be one of five stars being highlighted during the Memoriam segment of the the Emmys. However Jack Klugman, the star of The Odd Couple who passed away in December, is not being singled out — and his son is not happy about it.

Adam Klugman: My Father Should Get Recognized Over Cory Monteith

Seems a little harsh, don’t you think?

Adam Klugman, the son of the late Jack Klugman has spoken out saying that if anyone’s going to get recognized and honored at the Emmy Awards, it should be his father — not Cory, who passed away from heroin and alcohol poisoning in July at the age of 31.

“They’re celebrating this self-inflicted tragedy instead of celebrating the life of my father,...

The suits who run the Emmys had to make a hard choice in deciding which dead actor to honor-- a TV icon who has won multiple Emmys, or a young actor with no Emmys who is now as famous for being a drug addict as a TV star.  They chose door number 2. It's interesting.  We've spoken with several people who have won Emmys who are upset with the decision to give a special honor to...

“You Oughta Know” is about Dave Coulier, Jack Klugman’s sons think their father is more important than Cory Monteith, Matthew Dave Lewis drenched and giggling

Maggie Gallagher thinks the Pope and his new ideas are exhilarating, and perhaps gay rights activists should practice what he preaches. “What I find most exhilarating about Pope Francis, is the possibility that we can reach out to those with whom we disagree without surrendering principle. I will say I have not found that true generally. I have found the gay rights community — the activists anyway, not the ordinary folk — is mostly asking for one thing: Agree, or be judged a hateful bigot. But when you are in the fray of battle, it is easy to become fragile and to lose sight of possibilities. Maybe the pope can do things I cannot imagine. Imagine that!” But not her. No.

Jack Klugman’s sons are...

The exclusion of Jack Klugman from an Emmy Awards tribute that includes Cory Monteith is an insult to the memory of the late TV veteran and three-time Emmy winner who starred in The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E., Klugman’s son says.

“I think it’s criminal,” said Adam Klugman in an interview with The Associated Press. “My dad was at the inception of television and helped build it in the early days.”

Ceremony producers announced this week that five individual salutes would be included on Sunday night’s Emmy show in addition to the traditional “in memoriam” segment that...