The prima donna

8:48 AM 5/18/12 -- Donna's memorial is scheduled for next Wednesday in Nashville . TMZ has learned ... Donna died from lung cancer . Several sources are telling us Donna believed she contracted it by inhaling toxic particles after the 9/11 attack in New York City. Donna's family just released a statement, claiming, they "are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy." Donna Summer -- the Queen of Disco -- died this morning after a battle with cancer ... TMZ has learned. We're told Summer was in Florida at the time of her death. She was 63 years old. Sources close to Summer tell us ... the singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness under wraps. We spoke to someone who was with Summer a couple of weeks ago ... who says she didn't seem too bad. In fact, we're told she was focused on trying to finish up an album she had been working on. Summer was a 5-time Grammy winner who shot to superstardom in the … [Read more...] about Donna Summer Dead — Disco Legend Died After Battle with Lung Cancer

Donna Summer 's family has scheduled a memorial for the Disco Queen -- and TMZ has learned, it will take place next Wednesday in Nashville . It is not a public memorial. The memorial will only be attended by close friends and family. Donna and her family moved to Nashville in 1994 -- and sources tell TMZ, Donna's family chose the city specifically because it was her home and was always extremely close to her heart. Nashville's also a cultural epicenter in the music world, so it just makes sense. TMZ broke the story ... Donna passed away today in Florida due to complications from lung cancer. She was 63. … [Read more...] about Donna Summer — Music City Memorial

Oscar winner and Academy member Roger Ross Williams is saying publicly what many in the documentary community have stewed over privately – that the sums of money being spent on Oscar documentary campaigns has “gotten insane.” And Williams, a former Academy Governor representing the Doc Branch, says something may be done about it. “We in the Academy, in the Doc Branch, have a campaign finance reform committee… to sort of try to work through that and figure out solutions to that. It’s gotten insane. It’s gazillions of dollars to get seen and heard,” he said, “and that’s so troubling because it should be on the merit of the films.” His remarks, less than two weeks after the Academy Awards, came in a discussion with documentary programmer and Pure Nonfiction podcaster Thom Powers at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. Powers asked the filmmaker about “the escalating attention that awards season sucks up in our industry,” and Williams didn’t hold back. “We know it’s awards, it’s the … [Read more...] about Oscar Winner Roger Ross Williams: Spending On Oscar Doc Campaigns Has “Gotten Insane” — CPH:DOX

Naming a young Black man’s story after a transport stop gives off strong Fruitvale vibes, but Aristotle Torres ’ feature debut reaches back further to the hip-hop morality tales of the early ’90s, like Boaz Yakin’s Fresh or Ernest Dickerson’s Juice — the wave that immediately followed John Singleton’s influential Boyz n the Hood . Surprisingly, given Torres’ history of videos for the likes of Ludacris and Nas, the soundtrack is light on rap, using unexpected needle drops like Pavarotti’s version of “La Donna e Mobile” to score scenes of spray-can anarchy on the New York subway. In all other ways, however, Story Ave is very much a ’hood movie, in the sense that its young protagonist is both constrained and defined by the place where he lives, in this case the Bronx. That person is Kadir ( Asante Blackk ), a talented young artist tormented by the recent death of his disabled little brother. Kadir runs with a graffiti crew called Outside the Lines, headed up by … [Read more...] about ‘Story Ave’ Review: Asante Blackk Stands Out In An Old-School N.Y. ’Hood Drama – SXSW

This morning’s Tony Award nominations favored the familiar, with Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants leading the field with 12 nods apiece. The American debut of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child paced new plays with 10 nominations, and the revival of Angels in America had a strong showing with 11 nominations, most in Tony history for a play. (See the full list below.) Other shows posting impressive tallies included The Band’s Visit , with 11 nominations going to the original musical based on a 2007 Israeli film. An acclaimed revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel also scored 11 nominations, including one for Renée Fleming, who is better known for her career as one of the opera world’s most venerable stars. Lincoln Center’s posh reboot of My Fair Lady garnered 10 nominations, and the Denzel Washington-starring revival of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh received eight. Frozen , the latest Disney adaptation to head to Broadway , joining The … [Read more...] about Tony Award Nominations: ‘Mean Girls,’ ‘SpongeBob’ And ‘Harry Potter’ Lead New Crop; ‘Angels,’ ‘Carousel’ Top Revivals

I suspect we’ll be seeing more than one silly and misleading “frozen out” reference in coverage of this year’s Tony Awards nominations – starting with that one – but the absence of Frozen in the leading actress categories (Patti Murin and Caissie Levy), and director (Michael Grandage) from the 2018 nominations roster has gotta be a sting for Disney, even with major consolations like nods for Best musical, book and original score. Though critical praise for Frozen was hardly unanimous, I’d have thought Levy’s performance of “Let It Go” would have provided safe passage. Same for Murin’s charming, barely-leaves-the-stage performance as the underdog Princess Anna, and I’d have nominated either over…But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Here’s a closer, first-reaction look at some of the categories. Just my opinions, of course, and I might very well be fine-tuning and re-thinking right up until the trophies are handed out June 10. Best Performance by an Actor in a … [Read more...] about Tonys 2018: Snubs, Surprises & Analysis From ‘Harry Potter’ Magic To “Let It Go”

Imagine Entertainment co-founders, Oscar winners and USC School of Cinematic Arts alums Brian Grazer and Ron Howard will deliver the school’s commencement address in May, the university said Thursday. Grazer, who also serves on the School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors, received a BA in Psychology at USC in 1974. Howard attended courses at the School of Cinematic Arts. Both received honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from USC in 2022. The pair, who have teamed on the likes of Oscar Best Picture winner A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 , 8 Mile and 24, Parenthood and Friday Night Lights among other hits join a list of previous commencement addressees that includes Matt Reeves last year along with Ryan Coogler, Jon M. Chu, Donna Langley, Ron Meyer, Paul Feig and more. The ceremony, to be held Friday, May 12 at the Shrine Auditorium, will also see producer-writer-director Tracy Oliver honored with the Mary Pickford Alumni Award, an award Grazer also has … [Read more...] about Imagine That: Ron Howard And Brian Grazer To Give This Year’s USC School Of Cinematic Arts’ Commencement Address