DECEMBER 2008; Volume 3, Issue 10 
"My Street: December 24"
"Natal Scene"
(Untitled)
"On Top With The Snowboys"
"SnowJoy"
"Scrooge & Marley"Bryan Awards To Be Re-Vamped In 2009
In 2009, there will be changes made to the Bryan Awards.
"We feel that certain changes to the awards are necessary, so that people will find them more attractive, and would like to see who won," said the President of the Bryan Awards.
The first ever Bryan Awards were given out in 2001.
"I came up with the idea of my own personal awards the summer before my junior year of high school," Bryan Curtiss said.
The Bryan Awards honor the achievements of the past year in television and in movies.
The changes will be noticed right away, starting with how the winners are announced.
"The award winners for the major awards will be announced first, and then we will blog the winners online," said Bryan Awards Creator Bryan Curtiss. "It will save a lot of time and a lot of energy."
Next year’s Awards will be a big one.
"We will be celebrating the best shows on television in this decade," The President said. "We will pick and choose the best nominees/winners from the first eight years and they will collectively be nominated next year at the awards."
For the 2010 Silver Garbage Awards, they will be doing the "Worst of the Decade", and to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of both awards, there will "The Best of the First 10 Years" Celebration of the Bryan Awards and "The Worst of the First 10 Years" at both the Bryan Movie Awards and the Silver Garbage Awards.
For more information on the changes and the milestone celebrations, log on to http://thebryanawards.bravehost.com/.
Could Guiding Light Be Cancelled in 2009?
It appears that the longest-running show in broadcast history, Guiding Light, could be just television history, by this time next year, according to sources within the soap opera industry.
According to a recent Advertising Age article it was reported that the oldest show on TV lost 21 per cent of its audience since actress-turned-executive producer Ellen Wheeler implemented her "vision and innovative production model."
Legendary soap opera writer Agnes Nixon told the journal, "I think soaps lose viewers because the stories aren’t good or because they don’t have good actors. I don’t think anyone leaves the theatre humming the sets; it’s the story and actors."
According to soap opera journalist Nelson Branco’s blog, The Suds Report, a handful of industry insiders have told Branco that they doubt GL will live to see 2010.
"Although no one wants to be remembered for killing the oldest TV series ever, there’s no way a network will allow a series to air on their channel with a 1.4 rating — especially in this economic recession. Yes, Grant Aleksander is returning, but let’s face it…he’s no Vanessa Marcil," says one source.
The show debuted on the radio in 1937, and made a splash on television in 1952. The show ended its run on radio in 1956, but the show was very popular in the ratings in the 1960s and 1970s. The show reached # 1 in the summer of 1984, competing neck and neck with ABC soap General Hospital. For the last decade, the show has been near the bottom of the ratings, and with the cancellation of Passions, Guiding Light is now the lowest rated soap on television.
The show was the career launchpad for actors such as Billy Dee Williams, Melina Kanakaredes, Kevin Bacon, and many others.
CBS and Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced the Irna Phillips creation was renewed into its 72nd season through September 2009, with an option for September 2010.
Cavemen and Surfers 'Hang 10' At Silver Garbage Awards
It appears now these days, if you come up with a really crappy premise for a television series, it is sure going to fall flat on its face.
Last season, if you loved Vegas singers, GEICO cavemen, Cuban sugar cane families, singing detectives, or an ensemble surfer drama, then the 8th Annual Silver Garbage Awards were for you.
The big winner for all laugh-ers was ABC’s critically panned Cavemen, a sitcom based off of the GEICO cavemen commercials, which won six SGA’s, including Worst Comedy Series.
Also winning six Silver Garbage Awards, was the Worst New Series winner ‘Viva Laughlin’, CBS’s musical skein about detectives in a Nevada town, which lasted only a mere two weeks in mid-October, before the Tiffany network put it out of its misery.
The show swept the acting awards, winning for Worst Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress for Hugh Jackman, Melanie Griffith, D.B. Woodside, and Madchen Amick.
The show lost out on the ensemble prize to a rare dud for the HBO network, ‘John from Cincinnati’, which led all shows with 13 nominations, but took home two that mattered most- Worst Cast and Worst Drama Series.
Amy Sherman-Palladino’s return to television, ‘The Return of Jezebel James’ won for Worst Lead Actress, Parker Posey, and Worst Supporting Actress for three-time Bryan Award winning actress Lauren Ambrose.
Early contenders for next year include NBC’s "My Own Worst Enemy" and "Rosie Live!", CBS’s "The Ex-List", and Fox’s "Do Not Disturb", all of which have met their early demises due to low ratings.
‘Men’, ‘Adams’, ‘Rock’ Dominate At The Emmys
In September, Hollywood gathered around at the Kodak Theatre to celebrate six decades of television excellence at the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
‘John Adams’, HBO’s epic miniseries about the second president of the United States, based off the best-seller by David McCullough, won a record 13 Emmys, including Outstanding Miniseries. The seven-part epic also won Lead Acting honors for stars Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney, and Supporting Actor honors for Tom Wilkinson.
Defending Comedy Series champion ‘30 Rock’ returned to reprise its win from last year. The show won six other Emmys, including Guest Actor for Tim Conway (the show had four of the five slots in that category), and sweeping the Lead Acting races with wins for Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. The Lead Acting win would be one of three wins for the latter on Emmy night, as Fey would also win for Writing, as well as for Comedy Series. 30 Rock had set a record with 17 nominations, the most ever for a Comedy Series in a single season.
‘Mad Men’ made Emmy history by being the first basic-cable series to win the Drama Series Emmy. The show, set in the backdrop of the advertising industry in early 1960s New York led all series, except for 30 Rock, with 16 nominations.
Outstanding Made for Television movie went to ‘Recount’, an HBO film based off the events of the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election.
Outstanding Reality/Competition Program went to CBS’s ‘The Amazing Race’ for the sixth straight year, and Outstanding Variety, Music, and Comedy Series went to Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’, also for the sixth straight year. Both wins set a new record for most consecutive series wins for a television series.
Pop star Josh Groban performed a medley of television themes during the evening, and there were tributes to classics, such as ‘M*A*S*H’, ‘Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In’, and ‘Taxi’.
What Are This Year's Big Movie Contenders for Oscars?
The 81st Annual Academy Awards will take place in February. Before then, it will be tough to pinpoint who the final nominees for the film industry’s top honors will be, as the calendar year winds down.
In the forums for the Envelope, a lot of posters had their predictions. Here is what a consensus of posters predicted:
Best Picture:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Revolutionary Road
Best Director:
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Baz Luhrmann, Australia
Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Best Lead Actor:
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Lead Actress:
Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
Best Supporting Actor:
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropical Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday January 22 at 8:30 A.M. EST. The 81st Annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday February 22 at 8 P.M. EST at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, and will be broadcast live on ABC.
What Are The BC’s 100 Favorite Holiday Programs and Tunes of All-Time?
Christmas CD-Copia: When December rolls around, people pull out their Christmas CD’s and December is also the time for holiday programming on television. Photo by Bryan Curtiss
It is December. It is time to trim the tree, go to the office party and get your ‘party gameface’ on, and to sit back and listen to your favorite Christmas songs while you watch your favorite holiday specials. But what are the greatest holiday programs of all-time? What are the greatest holiday songs of all-time?
In 2005, I made a list of both.
For television, I looked at both individual episodes of continuing shows, and at specials that are re-run year after year after year.
The episodes chosen also include Thanksgiving and New Year’s themed episodes as well.
Here are the Top Ten holiday programs as chosen by BC:
1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
4. A Bing Crosby Christmas-- "Peace On Earth" with David Bowie (1977)
5. All in the Family, "The Draft Dodger" (1976)
6. The West Wing, "In Excelsis Deo" (1999)
7. The Perry Como Christmas Specials
8. The Bob Hope Christmas Specials
9. Cheers, "Thanksgiving Orphans" (1986)
10. The Andy Griffith Show, "Christmas Story" (1960)
Other episodes and specials in the Top 100 list include:
11. WKRP in Cincinnati, "Turkey’s Away" (1978)
12. South Park, "Christmas in Canada" (2003)
14. The Andy Williams Christmas Specials
16. The I Love Lucy Christmas Special (1956 & 1989)
20. The Waltons, "The Thanksgiving Story" (1973)
31. Santa Claus is Coming to Town (1970)
32. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
33. Frosty the Snowman (1969)
47. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
73. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (1950s-present)
74. The Honeymooners, "The Lost Christmas" (1995)
75. The Little Drummer Boy (1977)
77. Seinfeld, "Festivus" (1997)
82. Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas (1977)
101. TNT’s 24-hour marathon of "A Christmas Story"
Here are the Top Ten holiday songs, as chosen by BC:
1. White Christmas
2. Jingle Bells
3. Silent Night
4. Adeste Fideles/O Come All Ye Faithful
5. The Christmas Song/Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
6. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
7. Winter Wonderland
8. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
9. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
10. The Twelve Days of Christmas
Other Holiday Songs in the Top 100 list include:
11. O Holy Night
12. Deck The Halls
13. O Christmas Tree/O Tannenbaum
19. Joy To the World
20. Sleigh Ride
21. Up On The Housetop
22. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
25. Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth
27. Carol of the Bells
28. The Nutcracker Suite
32. Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
34. Christmas Time is Here
42. Santa Baby
46. We Need A Little Christmas
50. You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch
55. Auld Lang Syne
57. Silver Bells
66. Last Christmas
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
Christmas wouldn't be complete without books about the holiday season, and the staff of the BC Bulletin have compiled a short list of their favorite books about Christmas. In fact, when Bryan Curtiss researched for his holiday play The Real Story About Christmas (which will be finished just in time for next Christmas), he used a few of these books below.
The Everything Christmas Book (Unknown)- As the bottom of the front cover says, Stories, Songs, Food, Traditions, Revelry, and More. It's a basically "what you need to know" about the season, with some historic facts, a couple of stories, and a few recipes. Also included are a handful of Christmas Carols.
The Christmas Lover's Handbook (Lasley F. Gober)- It's a simple book, but Gober gives some good ideas in this book.
Swell Holiday (Cynthia Rowley & Ilene Rosenzweig)- Rowley and Rosenzweig, aka, The Swell Girls are in the holiday spirit with this book. So, if you're a trendy person, you'll love this book.
The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Holidays (Joshua Piven & David Borgenicht)- The Worst Case series is a hidden gem of the families (...For Dummies, Complete Idiot's Guide, and The Everything) of books. There are Worst Case books on College, Work, and this one is about The Holidays, and it is a really great book.
Two books by artist Thomas Kinkade: I'll Be Home for Christmas and A Village Christmas. These two books are full of Thomas Kinkade's beautiful paintings, which remind us of the nostalgic Christmas of yesteryear. If you love beautiful art, 1) Go to the gallery hop, and 2) check out these books, because these paintings do not disappoint.
Holiday Theme Parties: Entertaining Ideas, Decorations & Recipes for Nine Unique Parties (The Editors of Creative Publishing International). This book is great if you are stumped on how to decorate your house or what to make for that annual Christmas gathering.
Reader's Digest Celebration of Christmas: Stories, Crafts and Recipes (Reader's Digest). This book is literally what it is. If you're a Christmas nut, you won't be disappointed.
Rick Steves' European Christmas (Rick Steves). Rick Steves takes us to Europe and the different European yuletide customs. So, if you're inquiring about Christmas in Germany, England, or France, this book is a good read.
How To Be Santa Claus (Nick Kelsh). This is a quaint, but interesting book on the # 1 person around Christmas time-- Santa Claus. And yes, you must kiss the girl/woman under the mistletoe.
Of course, there are plenty of other books.
Here are our ten favorite holiday stories of all-time.
10) The Nutcracker (Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
9) The Polar Express (Chris Van Allsburg)
8] The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Barbara Robinson)
7) A Child's Christmas in Wales (Dylan Thomas)
6) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Dr. Seuss)
5) Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
4) The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry)
3) Twas the Night Before Christmas (plagiarized by Clement Moore)
2) A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)
1) The Nativity (The Gospel of Luke)
RECOMMENDED YULETIDE WEBSITES:
Like with books, there are a lot of holiday websites out there. In the age of computers and internet, you'd be lost without websites tracking Santa's sleigh ride, or where to find the LaserJet action hero for little Tommy. Here are some holiday-themed pages that were found.MySpace Holiday Guide
Claus
The North Pole
NORAD
Write a Letter to Santa
NBC4i Holiday Guide
The History of Santa Claus
The Legend of Mistletoe
Expert Rating Christmas Quiz
World Path Christmas Trivia
The Story of Christmas (Gospel of Luke)
Noir Dame's Wonderful Life Essay
Koziar's Christmas Village
Thomas Kinkade Holiday Art
The Meaning Behind the 12 Days of Christmas
Merry Christmas!
And to close out this December BC Bulletin, here is Merry Christmas in these languages:
Merry Christmas (English)
Feliz Navidad (Spanish)
Joyeux Noel (French)
Frohliche Weinachten (German)
Buon Natale (Italian)
Glaedelig Jul (Danish)
Nollaig Shona Dhuit/Nodlaig mhaith chugnat (Irish)
Feliz Natal/Boas Festas (Portuguese)
Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan (Mandarin)
Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun (Cantonese)
Kala Christouyenna (Greek)
Kurisumasu Omedeto (Japanese)
God Jul (Norwegian/Swedish)
Gledelig Jul (Norwegian)
Nadolig Llawen (Welsh)
Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova (Hebrew)
Natale hilare (Latin)
Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom (Russian)
Boze Narodzenie (Polish)
Merry Keshmish (Navajo)
Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian)
Melkin Yelidet Beaal (Ethiopian/Amharic)
Gesëende Kersfees (Afrikaans)
If you are looking to say Merry Christmas is other languages, check out these websites: http://www.debwebonline.com/Mercy_in_Jesus/merry.html
http://www.santas.net/howmerrychristmasissaid.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment