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The Emmy Awards will be going bicoastal, adding a broadcast from a NBC studio in New York for nominees who do not want to travel to California for the Oct. 7 ceremony. TV academy chairman Bryce Zabel told the Associated Press. “We’re reaching out to our friends in New York to give them as much comfort and security as possible.”
Birthdays
Rocker John Mellencamp will celebrate his 50th birthday on Oct. 7 at a three-day musical tribute in the singer’s home state of Indiana. Even though Mellencamp is not scheduled to perform, more than 20 other bands, including some members of Mellencamp’s band will get onstage at the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts in Seymour, Indiana. Proceeds will go to the Farm Aid and the New York Red Cross disaster fund.
In General
Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver have donated $1 million to the Twin Towers Fund, founded by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, to aid victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. “We were inspired by the incredible team of rescue workers, firefighters, police officers and emergency service officials who are the true action heroes in this tragedy.” Schwarzenegger, who will join the fund’s board of directors, told Associated Press.
MGM has decided to postpone the release of the Nicolas Cage WWII drama Windtalkers from Nov. 9 until June 2002. “We feel certain this great film will be enjoyed by the broadest possible audience during the strong summer play period,” Robert Levin, president of worldwide theatrical marketing and distribution, said in the MGM statement. MGM also stated they didn’t want to risk a bad showing at the box office when ticket sales are down due to the nation’s mood after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Talk show host/comedian Jay Leno performed in Las Vegas to a packed house Saturday, urging tourists to return to the city. Since the attacks, the casinos have been down nearly 40 percent, forcing the casinos to lay off thousands. Leno, whose routine touched on the tragedy briefly, had a solution to eliminating terrorist Osama bin Laden, “Send over (former Playboy pinup) Anna Nicole Smith. She’ll get his money. He’ll be gone in a week.”
David Lynch‘s Mulholland Drive will top the 39th annual New York Film Festival which opens Friday. Festival chairman Richard Peña told BBC.com: “This year’s program is a chance to celebrate the great achievements of some of world cinema’s most senior and influential and outstanding emerging talents.” Other films will include Wes Anderson‘s The Royal Tenenbaums, starring Anjelica Huston and Gene Hackman, and Jean-Luc Godard‘s In Praise of Love.
