Lorne Michaels News

'Saturday Night Live' rings in the holiday season with original shows on three consecutive weekends, beginning December 5 with Blake Lively and Rihanna both taking the stage in studio 8H for the first time.

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today named music legend Paul McCartney as the recipient of the third Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. An all-star tribute concert is planned for spring 2010.

NBC gives the gift of holiday-themed series episodes and specials throughout late November and December with a multitude of festivities, a special military audience for 'The Jay Leno Show' airing Thanksgiving evening and a night of holiday-themed Thursday night comedies from 'Community,' 'Parks and Recreation,' 'The Office' and '30 Rock' on December 10.

Bill Cosby has been awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The Kennedy Center will present the comedian with this award on October 26th at the Center's concert hall. Along with the accompanying festivities, the award ceremony will be filmed for later broadcast on PBS.

Making her 'SNL' debut as the season premiere host, Megan Fox is one of Hollywood's most popular young actresses. Fox stars in the upcoming comedic/horror thriller film, 'Jennifer's Body.' Fox is well known for her break out role in the box-office hit and Steven Spielberg-produced action film, 'Transformers' and the second-installment, 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.'

NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' has added a pair of featured players, Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate. Pedrad trained with The Groundlings, a Los Angeles based improv comedy troupe, as well as at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Slate, also an alumnus of the UCB, was previously seen in 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon's' parody sketch, '7th Floor West.'

'Alice in Wonderland' has never been more magical than in the world premiere musical kicking off the performance season at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre in September. Appearing for the first time at Kelsey, Twenty Minutes to Curtain Productions, under the wing of legendary costume designer and show producer Arthur Gerold, presents this professional production of a literary and family classic.

'Alice in Wonderland' has never been more magical than in the world premiere musical kicking off the performance season at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre in September. Appearing for the first time at Kelsey, Twenty Minutes to Curtain Productions, under the wing of legendary costume designer and show producer Arthur Gerold, presents this professional production of a literary and family classic.

'30 Rock' will add a new address in 2011 as COMEDY CENTRAL has reached a multi-year deal with NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution to license the Emmy(R) Award-winning comedy series '30 Rock,' it was announced today by Frances Manfredi, executive vice president/general sales manager, cable and non-theatrical sales for NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution and David Bernath, senior vice president, program strategy & microwave programming for COMEDY CENTRAL.

When it comes to acting, beyond the confines of sketch comedy, only one woman has displayed serious dramatic talent, of late. Out of the most recent SNL ensemble, Maya Rudolph, now starring in the film Away We Go, surpasses her late-night cohorts, including Fey and Amy Poehler, with an inspired and often touching performance...

Bill Cosby has been awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The Kennedy Center will present the comedian with this award on October 26th at the Center's concert hall. Along with the accompanying festivities, the award ceremony will be filmed for later broadcast on PBS.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced the winners of the 2009 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, and videogame writing at simultaneous ceremonies at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

The Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East today announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2008 season to be honored at the upcoming 2009 Writers Guild Awards on February 7, 2009, in Los Angeles and New York.

Will Ferrell's new one-man show You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush opened on Broadway last night, Thursday February 5th, 2009. BroadwayWorld was there as the big screen comic made his mark on the Great White Way!

Broadway, film, and television stars including - Alec Baldwin '94 (30 Rock), Broadway legend Elaine Stritch (At Liberty), Rainn Wilson '89 (The Office) and Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) - were all on hand at Tisch on Stage, the annual gala benefiting NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Baldwin, along with philanthropist and patron of the arts Iris Cantor; inventor, philanthropist, and patron of Tisch's Kanbar Institute of Film and Television Maurice Kanbar; and 'architect of American regional theater' Zelda Fichandler were honored at the gala on November 17th at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East today announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2008 season to be honored at the upcoming 2009 Writers Guild Awards on February 7, 2009, in Los Angeles and New York.

Broadway In Chicago is thrilled to present Broadway's surprise hit musical XANADU at Chicago's Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place beginning Friday, January 16, 2009. The press opening is Wednesday, January 28, 2009. Individual and group tickets are currently on sale for this fabulously fun, out-of-this-world musical confection.

Broadway, film, and television stars ? Alec Baldwin '94 (30 Rock), Broadway legend Elaine Stritch (At Liberty), Filmmaker Joel Coen '78 (No Country for Old Men), Rainn Wilson '89 (The Office), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), Laura Benanti (Gypsy), and Ra?l Esparza '92 (Company) ? will be on hand at Tisch on Stage, the annual gala benefiting NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Baldwin, along with philanthropist and patron of the arts Iris Cantor; inventor, philanthropist, and patron of Tisch's Kanbar Institute of Film and Television Maurice Kanbar; and 'architect of American regional theater' Zelda Fichandler will be honored at the gala on November 17th at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The New York Public Library honored playwright Edward Albee, children's author and illustrator Ashley Bryan, screenwriter and essayist Nora Ephron, and novelist Salman Rushdie at its annual Library Lions black-tie benefit on Monday, November 3, 2008, at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.

Shubert Organization President Philip J. Smith and Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, both major figures in the entertainment industry, will be honored by St. Malachy's Church, a.k.a. the Actors Chapel, at the Father George Moore Benefit Dinner at Sardi's, 234 West 44th Street, on Monday, October 27, at 6:00pm.