Thursday, January 19, 2017

La La Land's record breaking win at the Golden Globes

Riley Brennan
Features and A&E editor

In the aftermath of the Golden Globes, everyone is reporting on Meryl Streep’s speech, which was in directed towards President-Elect Donald Trump; however, La La Land won all seven awards it was nominated for, a record breaking achievement.
 The film, which is a musical set in present day Los Angeles, follows Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone playing a struggling musician and actress whose paths cross. La La Land was released worldwide on Dec. 25, 2016, though the production received eight Critic’s Choice Awards, at the Critic’s Choice Awards, over a week before it was released.
 Expectations for La La Land were high prior to the Golden Globes, and it did not disappoint. The film won awards for best motion picture, musical or comedy, best screenplay, best director, best score, and best song. Emma Stone won best actress in a motion picture-musical or comedy, and Ryan Gosling won best actor in a motion picture-musical or comedy. Through winning seven awards, La La Land surpassed the previous records of sixth golden globes held by the films “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and “Midnight Express,” both of which respectively have six awards. Damien Chazelle won for directing and writing the screenplay for the movie. He originally made his debut with the musical “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench.”
 Jimmy Fallon hosted the award show, making his entrance with a five-minute musical number, most of which was a parody of La La Land, including some of the most popular scenes from the movie. His opening number featured many celebrities, such as; Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams, Evan Rachel Wood, Sarah Paulson , Ryan Reynolds, Justin Timberlake, and the children from the Netflix original series, Stranger Things.

Remembering an Iconic Woman: Debbie Reynolds

Amanda Horak, Parker Miele, and Isaac Zucker
Staff Writers

Debbie Reynolds, an incredible actress and singer, died on Dec. 26, 2016 due to a “broken heart.” This was said to have caused a stroke after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, passed away. She was born April 1, 1932 in El Paso, Texas. She was discovered later by Warner Brothers Studio while she was working in beauty pageants. Reynolds made her first cinematic debut in the 1948’s film June Bride.
 After June Bride, she started to excel and leave her mark in Hollywood. At the young age of 19, Debbie Reynolds sang along with Gene Kelly and Donald O’conner in the 1952’s Singing in the Rain. She then had a number one hit in 1957 in singing the emotional ballad “Tammy” from the film Tammy and the Bachelor. Reynolds continued her acting in comedies, romances, and westerns, a few of the most notable being The Rat Race, Pleasure of His Company, and How the West was Won. She was nominated for an Academy Award in 1964 for her lead role in The Unsinkable.
 Reynolds decided to take on a new role with starting on television and performing on stage. She starred in a short sitcom in 1969 on The Debbie Reynolds Show and later on What’s the Matter Helen? in 1971. After a few years in television, she started doing stage work. Reynolds spent the next several years performing in Las Vegas and on Broadway. She received a Tony Award nomination for her role in Irene in 1976.
 In her later life, she returned to films in The Bodyguard and then Heaven and Earth in 1993. In 1996, Reynolds performed in Mother, followed by In & Out. She also started out on a recurring show on NBC called Will & Grace. In November of 2015, she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award.
 In her personal life, Reynolds went against Frank Sinatra’s advice not to marry a singer and married crooner Eddie Fisher, who later left Reynolds for actress Elizabeth Taylor. Before their divorce in 1959, the couple had two children, Carrie and Todd. The year after her first divorce Reynolds married another man, Harry Karl, but they later got divorced in 1973 because of his gambling addiction. After 12 years Reynolds got married again to a real estate developer Richard Hamlett and the couple again had problems with money so they divorced in 1996.
 Debbie Reynolds did amazing things in her life, which she will always be remembered for.