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STUDY FINDS 2019 WAS A ‘BANNER YEAR’ FOR FEMALE FILMMAKERS
NEW YORK (AP) — Women directed more of the most popular movies in 2019 than in any year before. A study released Thursday by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reports that 12 of 2019’s top 100-grossing films were helmed by women. That number is greater than researchers have recorded before. The findings suggest that some measure of change is finally coming to a film industry where inequality behind the camera has remained stubbornly persistent. The previous high in USC’s annual study was 8%, in 2008. In 2018, only 4.5% of the year’s top films were directed by women. Among the films that led the way in 2019 were “The Farewell,” “Frozen II,” “Hustlers” and “Little Women.”
CHARLIZE THERON, DANIEL CRAIG AMONG GOLDEN GLOBE PRESENTERS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charlize Theron, Octavia Spencer and Daniel Craig are among the first presenters announced for Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association also announced Thursday that other presenters will include Sofia Vergara, Kerry Washington, Tiffany Haddish, Glenn Close and Will Ferrell. Ricky Gervais will host the 77th annual awards that will air live on NBC beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. on the West Coast. The evening will see Tom Hanks presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award and Ellen DeGeneres accept the Carol Burnett Award, accolades that honor their impacts on film and television, respectively.
GOLDEN GLOBES WILL SERVE PLANT-BASED MEAL AT AWARDS CEREMONY
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Golden Globes will serve a 100 percent plant-based menu for its 77th annual awards show. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association says it wants to raise environmental awareness about food consumption and waste. HFPA president Lorenzo Soria says the Golden Globes could also “draw attention to the issue of climate change." The meatless menu will include king oyster mushrooms scallops and wild mushroom risotto. The menu changed just about two weeks before the show. Matthew Morgan, executive chef at The Beverly Hilton, says the sudden change was initially surprising, but he ultimately understood that it would send a positive message. The awards show, known as the “party of the year,'' airs Sunday on NBC.
BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN'S EX-PARTNER NICK GORDON DIES AT 30
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say the ex-partner of singer Whitney Houston's late daughter was found unresponsive in a central Florida hotel room and later died. The Maitland Police Department says paramedics were called to Nick Gordon's hotel room in a suburb of Orlando on Wednesday to check on an unresponsive man. Gordon was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Authorities have not released details about his cause of death. Gordon's ex-partner, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was the daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. She was found unresponsive in a bathtub in 2015 and died after months in a coma.
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100856-v-326:64-(Margie Szaroleta (zar-oh-LEH'-tah), AP entertainment correspondent)-"I'm Margie Szaroleta"-Nick Gordon died after being found unresponsive in hotel (2 Jan 2020)
¤¤CUT ´100856 (01/02/20)££ 326:64 "I'm Margie Szaroleta"
SON OF 'WEEDS' TV SHOW CREATOR DIES IN UTAH SKI ACCIDENT
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Police say the son of television producer Jenji Kohan has died after a ski accident in Utah. Authorities said Thursday that 20-year-old Charlie Noxon was pronounced dead after the accident on an intermediate trail at Park City Mountain resort on New Year's Eve. His family says in a statement that he was a native of Los Angeles and a junior at Columbia University, studying philosophy, economics and Chinese. His father is a journalist and his mother is known for creating the Netflix show “Orange Is The New Black” and the Showtime series “Weeds.”
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