Showbiz Sandbox 216: Last Year’s Unknowns May Be Next Year’s Grammy Winners
December 9, 2013
When the Grammy Award nominations for 2014 were announced last week, they were filled with names of artists and musicians who at this time last year few had ever heard of. One hasn’t even graduated from high school yet. Lorde, country singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves and the rapper-producer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis rose to stardom on a wave of self-distribution, YouTube and social media.
Accolades are also being handed out for some of the year’s best movies. There’s only one problem; nobody can agree on which films to award. One critics group was so divided over Best Picture that it led to a tie for two different movies.
Meanwhile, producer Jerry Bruckhiemer’s year will be ending on an up note. Though he might be on the outs with Disney after the disappointing performance of “The Lone Ranger”, the mega-producer announced a new first-look deal with Paramount Pictures.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including Indiana Jones heads to Disney for a reboot, Billy Joel takes up residency at Madison Square Garden and television audiences tune-in en masse for a live performance of “The Sound of Music”.
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Disney’s ‘Frozen’ Leads Wintry Weekend Box Office
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/disneys-frozen-leads-wintry-weekend-box-office/
China Box Office: Revenue Surges Past $3 Billion So Far in 2013, Local Movies Dominate
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-revenue-surges-661355
‘American Hustle’ Named Best Picture by New York Film Critics Circle
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-york-film-critics-circle-661319
‘Gravity’ and ‘Her’ Win L.A. Film Critics Assn. Best Film of 2013
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-gravity-her-win-la-film-critics-assn.-best-film-20131208,0,897037.story
‘Her’ Named Best Film by National Board of Review
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/national-board-review-awards-announced-661763
Ten Films Shortlisted for Visual Effects Oscar
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/award-season-focus/ten-films-selected-for-visual-effects-oscar-shortlist-91959.html
European Film Awards: ‘The Great Beauty’ Takes Top Prize
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/european-film-awards-great-beauty-663905
Grammys: New Artists With Simple Messages Shake Up Nominations
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/music/la-et-ms-grammy-predictions-nominations-2014-20131206,0,4616420.story
Grammy Awards 2014: Full Nominations List
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5819883/grammy-awards-2014-full-nominations-list-complete-nominees
‘Late Night With Seth Meyers’ Taps ‘Piers Morgan’ Alum as Top Booker
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/late-night-seth-meyers-taps-662018
MPAA Will Collect $80 Million Settlement in Big Lawsuit Against Hotfile
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/mpaa-will-collect-80-million-661668
Phil Collins Mulling a Musical Comeback
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/phil-collins-mulling-a-musical-comeback-20131203
Rolling Stone To Launch Country Music Site
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/12/-rolling-stone-to-launch-country-music-site.html
Billy Joel Announces Historic Madison Square Garden Residency
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/billy-joel-announces-historic-madison-square-garden-residency-20131203
Billy Joel To Play Hollywood Bowl For First Time
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-billy-joel-to-play-hollywood-bowl-for-first-time-in-may-20131206,0,6763069.story
NBC’s ‘Sound of Music Live’ Sings With 18.5 Million Viewers
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-nbcs-sound-music-663369
Disney Takes Control of ‘Indiana Jones’ Franchise for Future Films
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-takes-control-indiana-jones-663704
Spotify Steps Up With Free Analytics For Artists, Concert Ticketing and Merch Sales
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/12/spotify-steps-up-with-free-analytics-for-artists-concert-ticketing-and-merch-sales.html
Amazon Reveals Quarter of Kindle E-book Sales in US Were for Indie Publishers
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/04/amazon-kindle-ebook-sales-indie-publishers
Jerry Bruckheimer Looks at Paramount Reboot
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-et-ct-bruckheimer-paramount-deal-20131207,0,130045.story#ixzz2mxL8IW1r
Check out our latest free entertainment podcast! The Grammys have really improved their nomination process. No knee-jerk slots for aging veterans (Pear Jam, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartny) just because they’re vets. Bonus for the show: since these acts are new, they won’t seem old news when the Grammys air in January. Too often, they’re honoring albums that came out over a year earlier!