“Trying to handicap the Oscars didn’t get any easier Thursday with the release of the 14th annual Screen Actors Guild Award nominations: The top nominee was Into the Wild, which had been shut out in the acting categories of the Golden Globe nominations last week, while two Golden Globe favorites, Atonement and Sweeney Todd, got nothing.”
Tag: 12.21.07
Russian Art Loan On Again, With Caveats
Russia will reverse course and permit paintings from its museums to travel to London once newly proposed legislation in the UK is in force. Russian officials “would not say whether the exhibition would open on schedule in London, saying it will be up to organizers to decide whether they could ship the paintings quickly enough.”
Behind The Booker Judges’ Curtain
“One of the pleasant aspects of judging the Man Booker, I have realised, is that bonding between judges is considered a serious part of the process, presumably because when our decisions are announced and the brickbats start flying, we will be able to console ourselves that we still have some mates left.”
Stewart, Colbert Coming Back (Under Duress?)
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central’s pair of late night satirists whose shows have been in reruns since the writers’ strike began, have announced that they will resume production, sans writers, in January. Both hosts are members of the Writers’ Guild, and are therefore crossing their own picket line.
It’s Not Just Baseball Players Popping Pills
Scandals over the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports always provoke outrage and disgust from fans. But take a look at plenty of professionals working outside sports, and you’ll find a seemingly endless parade of “performance-enhancing” drug use. From musicians popping beta blockers to poker players swallowing attention deficit drugs, artificial enhancement is everywhere.
Violinist Arrested For Fraud
Joseph Hokai Tang was taken into custody just after a performance in Eugene, Oregon, and charged with “bilking Bay Area violin collectors and dealers out of thousands of dollars in the sale of fine instruments.”