BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 1/14

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:30:01 -0800

USA Today reports that Paula Abdul's new video will premiere during the Super Bowl pregame show, and it's possible Abdul will also perform the song live.
American Idol's major sponsors - Ford, Coke, and AT&T - are all back for this season, Variety reports.
American Gladiators will fight on for NBC: The network has ordered an unspecified number of new episodes for another season of the show, TV Week reports.
MTV is spinning off My Super Sweet 16 into a show called Exiled, following former party princesses as they live with indigenous tribes around the world, Broadcasting & Cable reports.

Billboard has news that Amy Macdonald's debut album has bumped Radiohead's In Rainbows for the No. 1 spot on the U.K. album chart.
Joyce Carol Oates has received two National Book Critics Circle Awards nominations, the Associated Press reports.
The writers' strike goes on, but at least the Directors Guild of America and producers are negotiating in an effort to avert a directors' strike, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
According to Variety, No Country for Old Men was the big winner at the Ohio Film Critics Association Awards, nabbing Best Picture, among others.

Photo courtesy of Fox

Directors Guild of America Nominees Cast New Light on Oscar Race

BuzzSugar — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:29:23 -0800

The Directors Guild of America has announced their nominees for the best director of 2007. The choices are interestingly different from the Golden Globe nominees, casting some doubt on whether the Globes will actually predict the Oscars in this category. DGA president Michael Apted points out that the race this year is wider than last year's: "There’s no big studio blockbuster among them, the way The Departed was last year. It’s a very open year." Check out the competition for DGA's big honor:

Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The most surprising absences here are Joe Wright for Atonement and Ridley Scott for American Gangster, as both are in the running to win the Best Director Golden Globe for two of the most talked-about films of 2007.

Not having seen The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, I can't speak to how deserving Julian Schnabel would be of this award, though I must say I'm slightly surprised to see Gilroy and Penn there in place of Wright and Scott. I also personally think Tim Burton continues to be shafted from these award nominations.

What do you think about the DGA's shortlist? Who should win the prize for best director of 2007?

Scorcese Scores at the 2006 Directors Guild Awards

BuzzSugar — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:35:44 -0800

Last night, the Directors Guild of America announced the winners of its 2006 awards, which recognize everything from daytime dramas to TV commercials. The big news was a big win for Martin Scorsese, who earned the DGA's honor for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film for The Departed.

Not only do I think that honor is totally deserved, but it also bodes well for Scorsese's chances of finally taking home an Oscar this year. I was also glad to see some of my favorite TV shows recognized for their directing achievements. To see the rest of the 2006 DGA winners, read more

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television
Walter Hill, "Broken Trail" (AMC)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series Night
Jon Cassar, "24" episode "7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m." (Fox)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series
Richard Shepard, "Ugly Betty" Pilot (ABC)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical Variety
Rob Marshall, "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" (NBC)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs
Tony Sacco, "Treasure Hunters" episode "Episode #101" (NBC)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Daytime Serials
Jill Mitwell, "One Life To Live" Episode #9779 (ABC)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
Arunas Matelis, Before Flying Back to the Earth (Studio Nominum, Tag/Traum)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials
Dante Ariola, Production Company: MJZ

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs
Kenny Ortega, "High School Musical" (Disney Channel)