The most well-known faces of television and movies will be walking down the red carpet on January 13 for one of the biggest award shows in Hollywood. Robert Pattinson, Taylor Swift and Adele are only a few names who will be attending this star-studded evening.

It seems like barely any time has passed since this year’s “People’s Choice Awards” took place at the Nokia Theatre in LA. The beautiful Kaley Cuoco (Penny from the “Big Bang Theory”) hosted the “PCAs” where the most popular artists, actors, and actresses were chosen by the public. ‘Hunger Games’ was the overall winners of the night with 5 awards including Favorite Movie, and leading actress Jennifer Lawrence won Favorite Movie Actress.

Tina Fey (“30 Rock”) and Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”) take over for Ricky Gervais hosting the evening. Known to be two of the funniest women on the screen, their instinct for humor is bound to make for an entertaining evening. And they are no newbies to the “Golden Globes:” Fey has won two of her own and Poehler was nominated for one last year. The duo will be sharing the stage with other famous faces who will be presenting. They include Robert Pattinson, Kerry Washington and Jeremy Renner.

There are 25 categories in the “Golden Globes,” and for each there are 5 nominations. Adele’s ‘Skyfall’ goes head to head against Taylor Swift’s ‘Safe and Sound’ and ‘Les Misérables’ for Best Original Song- Motion Picture. Even the hosts are going up against each other for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series- Comedy or Musical.

Meryl Streep is back this year with her movie ‘Hope Springs’. She is nominated in the category for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical. Streep has won the most individual awards in the history of the Golden Globes, having 8 to her name. She has also had the most individual nominations, amounting to 27.

This year’s show will be particularly special because afterwards, on January 15, a musical theme composed and performed by internationally renowned musician Yoshiki will be available on iTunes in 111 countries. The money raised will be donated to various charities that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) choose.

The “Golden Globes” will be held at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, CA on January 13 5PT/ 8ET.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing and who are you hoping to win this year?

Image Courtesy : Beacon Radio

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Emmy-nominated comedy series ‘Parks and Recreation’ ended its fourth season on Thursday May 10, with an episode which revealed the long-awaited result in main character Leslie Knope’s election bid for city council.

The episode, titled “Win, Lose, or Draw”, was written and directed by series co-creator Michael Schur. The episode featured Leslie, played by Amy Poehler, waiting to hear if she had beat rival Bobby Newport, played by Paul Rudd, in an election storyline which had been running all season. The initial result showed that Bobby had won by a margin of 21 votes, however, after Leslie’s campaign manager – and love interest – Ben Wyatt, played by Adam Scott, demanded a recount, it was revealed that it was in fact Leslie who had won by 21 votes.

The result of the election had been top-secret since production wrapped on ‘Parks & Recreation’ several months ago. At a Paley Center event in March, Schur revealed that multiple endings had been filmed for the episode so that he could wait until the last moment to decide which ending to air. Poehler admitted to being a fan of both endings, telling the audience:

“It was really touching and moving to do both the acceptance and the concession speeches. Concession and acceptance speeches are about the same until the end. They thank everybody and talk a lot and say congratulations to the other guy … Having to talk to the cast, which were all my friends, and say thank you for this election year. I couldn’t do it without you, cue the waterworks factory.”

Leslie’s win in the season finale means several changes for the series in its fifth season. Until this season, the series had revolved primarily around Leslie’s duties as the Deputy Director of the Pawnee City Department of Parks and Recreation, whereas now the series is expected to feature more storylines involving Leslie’s burgeoning political career.

Also undergoing some changes is Ben Wyatt, who accepted a job offer in the finale to run a congressional campaign in Washington for six months, effectively forcing Leslie and himself to attempt a long-distance relationship for at least some of next season, assuming that it does not skip entirely over those six months.

For the season, ‘Parks & Recreation’ averaged between 3-4 million viewers per week, but strong critical acclaim and consistent Emmy nominations have ensured its survival on the struggling NBC network. Earlier this month, both the series and Poehler won at The Comedy Awards for Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Actress in TV, respectively, while the series was recently named as the recipient of the prestigious Peabody Award.

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New York, U.S.A. – “The Comedy Awards” (#comedyawards) are back and better than, well, last year, when the second annual event airs on COMEDY CENTRAL on Sunday, May 6 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Some of the biggest names in comedy, including Chris Rock, Kristen Wiig, Ty Burrell,Tracy Morgan, Will Arnett, Hannibal Buress, Chevy Chase, Louis C.K., Tina Fey, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Annie Mumolo, Chris Parnell, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Adam Scott, and Jon Stewart joined the night’s big honorees Don Rickles and Robin Williams to honor and celebrate the world of comedy.

Highlights from the show include:

• Robert De Niro and Jon Stewart presenting Don Rickles with the “Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence”
• Patton Oswalt presenting Robin Williams with the “Stand-Up Icon Award”
• Politically-themed fun as Tracy Morgan contemplates joining the Secret Service and Key & Peele bring out President Obama’s Anger Translator Luther
• Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo (literally) wrestling over their award for “Best Comedy Film”
• The night’s big winner Louis C.K. wondering if four awards is maybe a few too many
• Chris Rock riffing on whether or not the nominees are actually funny
• And much more…

Fans are encouraged to visit www.thecomedyawards.com to vote for their digital favorites in categories including Best Comedy App, Best Comedy Podcast, Best Remix, Mash-up or Supercut and  Funniest Person on Twitter.  Voting for these categories will be open through Sunday, May 6, when “The Comedy Awards” premieres on COMEDY CENTRAL

“The Comedy Awards” is led by its Board of Directors which include such luminaries as: Carol Burnett,James Burrows, Greg Cavic, Stephen Colbert, James Dixon, Budd Friedman, Jim Gosnell, Rick Greenstein, Brad Grey, Caroline Hirsch, Sharon Jackson, Blair Kohan, Martin Lesak, Steve Levine, Jamie Masada, Adam McKay, Jimmy Miller, Conan O’Brien, Peter Principato, Joan Rivers, Jay Roach, Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Rory Rosegarten, Michael Rotenberg, George Schlatter, Mitzi Shore, David Steinberg, Jon Stewart, Lily Tomlin, Sandy Wernick and Geof Wills.

The Board of Directors is responsible for the selection of the nominees.  The nominees are then sent out to over 1500 working members of the comedy community to determine the winners.

“The Comedy Awards” has once again joined forces with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) to endow The American Comedy Fund.  Without a union or other protection, many comedians face unique challenges to succeed and survive.

The Fund provides much-needed financial assistance, health benefits and other resources for comedians across the country during times of need, crisis or transition.  The American Comedy Fund is administered by EIF in collaboration with the Motion Picture & Television Fund and The Actors Fund.

Don Mischer, Casey Patterson, EVP, Event Production, Viacom Entertainment Group and Charlie Haykelare the Executive Producers.  Juliane Hare is Producer.  Beth McCarthy Miller, the Peabody and DGA Award-winning and Emmy-nominated Director, directed “The Comedy Awards.”  “The American Comedy Awards” was created by George Schlatter.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.comedycentral.com

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The NBC “Parks and Recreation” star Amy Poehler has proudly endorsed Planned Parenthood on Monday. Amy Poehler wrote a fundraising email for the non-profit organization is featured on the Planned Parenthood homepage. Poehler is defending the woman’s health care center from Republican attacks. Four states have passed legislation to de-fund the organization.

“You know who is awesome? Cecile Richards. She’s the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America,” Poehler says. “Every single doctor and nurse and receptionist and volunteer who shows up at a Planned Parenthood health center to make sure that every person who walks through their door gets the care they need,” Amy wrote in her email.

“Think about your friends, or your sister, or your daughter, son, niece, or nephew. Think about every person out there who has nowhere else to go, nobody else to count on, nobody but Planned Parenthood,” writes Poehler to supporters of the organization. “It’s up to us to make sure Planned Parenthood is strong enough to protect their rights and their health. Especially because we are having a moment right now when people are trying to come up with new ways to make the lives of all the folks who rely on Planned Parenthood pretty difficult.”She concludes her letter by asking readers to join her in “saying that Planned Parenthood is awesome.”

Meanwhile, red states across the country are viciously attacking Planned Parenthood, falsely claiming that the non-profit somehow profits off of providing abortions. In Indiana, a judge sided with Planned Parenthood last week and ordered an injunction preventing the law that would have block Planned Parenthood from accepting Medicaid in the state from taking effect. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services already denounced the defunding law in a letter issued earlier this month because the proposed change violates federal Medicaid rules by denying Medicaid patients the freedom to choose a qualified provider. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt stated that the federal government’s statement was a factor in her decision.

“Denying the injunction could pit the federal government against the State of Indiana in a high-stakes political impasse,” she told the court. “And if dogma trumps pragmatism and neither side budges, Indiana’s most vulnerable citizens could end up paying the price as the collateral damage of a partisan battle. With this backdrop in mind, along with the reasons discussed above, the Court believes the most prudent course of action is to enjoin the defunding provision while the judicial process runs its course.”

As a result of the injunction, PPIN will immediately resume serving its Medicaid patients, many of whom had been using it as their primary health provider.  “This decision will have immediate, positive consequences for our patients and our organization,” Planned Parenthood of Indiana President and CEO Betty Cockrum said in a statement. “This ruling allows us to resume providing Pap tests, breast exams, STD testing and treatment and birth control to both existing and new Medicaid patients.”

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubenstein_/

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