Octavia Spencer News

The 'Movies That Matter with Hal Conklin' film series continues with Hidden Figures, on Monday, February 19th, at 7:00 pm at The Granada Theatre. The Jurkowitz Center for Community Engagement is pleased to partner with the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara for the screening of this next film in the beloved "Movies that Matter" series. Series moderator Hal Conklin will be joined by E. Onja Brown-Lawson, President of the Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara, for a pre-screening discussion with special guest First Lieutenant Victoria Foster of Vandenberg Air Force Base. Tickets for the film screening are $10 or $20 and are available online at GranadaSB.org. The Granada Theatre is offering a special discounted family ticket package of four tickets for $25 to this screening. 

According to Variety, Jim Parsons has signed on to star and co-produce a film adaptation of Matthew Lopez's 2015 play, The Legend of Georgia McBride. Parsons will play veteran drag queen Tracey Mills- played off Broadway by Matt McGrath.

On April 8, Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine will take over NYCPodfest (Abrons Arts Center, Underground Theater), with a live conversation with John Slattery. Proceeds from the special event will benefit the Trevor Project. For tickets, visit http://nycpodfest.com/.

13-Time Academy Award Nominee and Golden Globe Winner THE SHAPE OF WATER will be available on DVD February 27th. From master storyteller, Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER, an otherworldly fairy tale set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America circa 1962. In the hidden, high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa's life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Doug Jones.

BroadwayWorld has teamed up with Broadway alum Ilana Levine, who makes her entrance onto the podcast stage with her new show Little Known Facts. Ilana's unique brand of celebrity interview, 'Podcast Verite,' is unfiltered, raw, honest and uniquely funny.

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Honors is excited to announce that Lena Waithe (The CHI, Ready Player One) is confirmed to present at the annual ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 25th, hosted by comedian and actor Cedric the Entertainer.

The Movies That Matter with Hal Conklin film series continues with Hidden Figures, on Monday February 19th, at 7:00 pm at The Granada Theatre. The Jurkowitz Center for Community Engagement is pleased to partner with the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara for the screening of this next film in the beloved "Movies that Matter" series, featuring films that teach about forgiveness, compassion, and grace. Series moderator Hal Conklin will be joined by E. Onja Brown-Lawson, President of the Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara for a pre-screening Q & A with the audience. 

Celebration, under the artistic direction of Michael Matthews & Michael A. Shepperd in Association with Beard/Collins/Shores Productions, present a very special event, the West Coast premiere of Del Shores first new play since his critically acclaimed Yellow, SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF A PLAY, written and performed by Del Shores and directed by Emerson Collins.  SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF A PLAY will preview on Sunday, February 25 at 2pm; will open on Monday, February 26 at 8pm and perform through Sunday, March 25 at Celebration Theatre @ the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. in Los Angeles.

After 10 days and 123 feature films, the 2018 Sundance Film Festival's Awards Ceremony took place last night, with host Jason Mantzoukas emceeing and jurors presenting 28 prizes for feature filmmaking in Park City, Utah.

The Ink Factory, BBC ONE and AMC announced today that Academy Award Nominated Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water, Nocturnal Animals) will join BAFTA Award nominated Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth) and Emmy and Golden Globe Award-Winner Alexander Skarsg rd ('Big Little Lies', 'True Blood') in Park Chan-wook's (Old Boy, The Handmaiden, Stoker) television debut 'The Little Drummer Girl', based on the best-selling novel of the same name by John le Carr . Global sales on the six-part mini-series are handled by Endeavor Content/IM

Tim Meadows, Bryan Callen, Nia Long, Rachel Crow and Summer Parker will star in ABC's THE GOLDBERGS spinoff pilot THE GOLDBERGS: 1990 SOMETHING. The show will premiere today, January 24th.

The nominations for the 90th Annual ACADEMY AWARDS were announced this morning on a global live stream. Find out which of your favorite theater stars received a nomination!

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, announces Golden Globe nominated actress, MILA KUNIS, as the recipient of its 2018 Woman of the Year Award. The Pudding is excited to honor a talented actress, whose career has taken her from television to film and now to producing as well.

Offscreen at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival: Panels and Events

THE HELP co-stars Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer will re-team for a currently untitled Christmas comedy from Universal Studios. Chastain penned the treatment for the movie alongside Kelly Carmichael. Peter Chiarelli will write into the full script.

Apple has acquired a 10-episode comedy series executive produced by and starring SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE alum Krisen Wiig. Inspired by Curtis Sittenfeld's upcoming short story collection YOU THINK IT, I'LL SAY IT, the project will be produced by Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine banner.

Sundance Film Festival: Juries, Awards Night Host Announced

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States,announces Golden Globe nominated actress, MILA KUNIS, as the recipient of its 2018 Woman of the Year Award. The Pudding is excited to honor a talented actress, whose career has taken her from television to film and now to producing as well.

The nominations for the 90th Annual ACADEMY AWARDS were announced this morning.The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT.