B13 Peer Review

Kanye West performs at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles February 8, 2015. ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images       Ratings were down 13 percent from 2014, but Sunday's unexpectedly serious Grammy Awards had no shortage of water-cooler moments. Below are the ones that piqued viewers' interest, according to Nielsen, Twitter, Facebook and more. 2015 Grammy Awards Overall, there were 24.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen's TV ratings for the P2+ (total viewers) demographic, down 13 percent from 2014's 28.5 million -- the lowest since 2009. On Twitter, there were more than 13.4 million tweets referencing the Grammys sent between Nielsen's monitoring period of 5 p.m. Feb. 8 and 2:30 a.m. ET the next day, down 2.8 percent from 2014.  

Are police officers racist? Depending on who you ask, you will get very different answers. But now the FBI has weighed in, and the answer they gave may surprise a lot of people. In an unusually blunt admission, FBI Director James B. Comey addressed what he called the “hard truths” about policing. He openly acknowledged the racial bias that exists among police officers across the nation. Director Comey said, with serious dismay, that there is a “disconnect” between police and non-white communities. “We are at a crossroads,” Comey explained. “As a society, we can choose to live our lives every day, raising our families, going to work and hoping someone, somewhere will do something to ease the tension, to smooth over the conflict… Or we can choose instead to have an open and honest discussion about what our relationship is today.” Comey was addressing students at Georgetown University. His words might not have made waves if they had come out of anyone else’s mouth. But they w...

Transformed Have you gone through an extreme physical transformation? If so casting directors for a major cable network may want to hear your story for possible casting in a new TV series. Location: Nationwide Type: Docu-series CASTING FOR A NEW SERIES: “TRANSFORMED” We are currently casting for a BRAND NEW SERIES for a MAJOR CABLE NETWORK and are searching nationwide for people who have been through a physical transformation so extreme and profound that they are unrecognizable to the people who knew them before their metamorphosis. If you have gone through a massive physical change of any kind in recent years we will travel back in time with you to reveal your “new” self to key people who only know the “old” you. Maybe there is someone you want to thank for always being on your side and seeing you through the tough times; or someone to whom you never revealed a deep secret. Let us capture the celebration of your new life chapter, and help your long...

Hypsteria!   Location: Denver, CO Type: Film Auditions for 5-6 min short film. Needed are 2 Females and 1 Male Saturday, February 14th and Sunday, February 15th 7:00pm – 8:30pm Synopsis: Hoping for a successful first date with a girl out of his league, Miles, a successful computer programmer, hires Tabatha Ridley, a razor-sharp personality coach, to transform him into a hipster. During the process, an unexpected connection forms between him and Tabatha’s oppressed model assistant, Cassie. Their bond challenges both Tabatha’s militant process of transformation as well as Miles’ intention of being someone other than himself. Must be available Saturday, February 21st from 8am-2pm and Sunday, February 22nd from 8am-12pm to shoot. To schedule an audition and for audition location, please e-mail Will Treat at wctreat@gmail.com Please come prepared with a comedic or dramatic monologue (30 sec. or longer). These are non-paid positions. Meals will be ...

Location: Chicago Type: Film We are currently casting for an independent feature length comedy called “Wife’s Away,” shooting this summer in the midwest. Our director is from Chicago and is looking for a talented local unknown for a small featured role to be used as a running bit throughout the film. We are open to males of any age or ethnicity…the line could go many different ways, so we want to try out some different types to see who can really make something special out of it. Please respond with headshot and resume if interested, no cover letter required. If we’re interested in seeing more, we’ll have you put the line on tape, as we’re based in Los Angeles and will not be doing local casting. Non-union talent only. E-mail with any questions. Payment: Paid City or Location of call: Chicago Please submit to: stonethrowcasting@gmail.com by 2015-02-15 This casting notice was posted by: Stone Throw Casting Please Remember t...

Evolution Theatre Company in Columbus announces auditions for YANK! ALL ROLES ARE PAID! YANK! (Musical Serio-Comedy) Music by Joseph Zellnik, Book & Lyrics by David Zellnik Performances: May 27 – June 6, 2015 Directed by Jimmy Bohr Musical direction by Michael Medvidik Choreography by Edward Carignan Yank! is a love song to Hollywood’s “it takes one of every kind” platoon flicks and to 1940′s Broadway. It’s the kind of old-fashioned musical that makes you feel as if you’re watching an amalgam of World War II movies and listening to some old long playing records of swing music by the Glenn Miller band and the Andrew sisters. Thus, if all the characters seem a little like stereotypes of the G.I. Joes who were thrown together in a war fought by an across-the-board draft rather than a volunteer service corps, that’s part of this show’s charm and intent. It’s a memory piece triggered by a diary found in a junk shop. It’s a typically bittersweet wartime l...

Gordon’s Quest Location: New York City Type: Film CASTING CALL  FOR THE FILM Gordon’s Quest Due to film JUNE thru SEPTEMBER 2015. The story follows a rich celebrity playboy who finds himself on the run from an occult secret entity in which the journey leads him on an epic adventure in another realm. Project website: www.gordonsquest.net Searching LEADS and SUPPORTING roles. We are not looking for “names” - We are looking for Magical, Gifted, Professional Actors and Personas. Please email headshots and resume to: info@gordonsquest.net WRITE IN SUBJECT LINE: “GDQ (name of character/s you apply for)” Auditions will be held this month, 2/21 in NYC. Further details will be given only to actors who will be called to audition. BREAKDOWN: (Lead) Riviairra Skyscraper Male Ages 22-30 Ethnicity: Caucasian (preferred Brown Hair, Blue Eyes; but not required) Description: A rich, wild, confident celebrity playboy, has been distant from his family since his...

AGT auditions are coming to Los Angeles this week. Location: Los Angeles, CA Type: Reality TV America’s Got Talent is coming to Los Angeles to find America’s next super star! Date: Saturday, February 14th & Sunday, February 15th, 2015. Location: Los Angeles Convention Center. 1201 S. Figueroa, Los Angeles, CA, 90015 Details: America’s Got Talent is looking for the latest and greatest acts, of all ages and any group size, for its landmark tenth season. This will be a great opportunity for people to showcase their talent, gain national exposure and compete for the $1 Million Dollar prize! AGT Dance Scout and top choreographer, Cris Judd, will be on site to check out all the top dance acts! Those interested in auditioning should pre-register at our website: www.agtauditions.com Look forward to seeing you! Payment: Non Paid City or Location of call: Los Angeles, CA Please submit to: by 2015-02-11 This casting notice was posted by: Anhie Nguyen, America...

"Hip Hop can only take you so far," Mannie said of Wayne’s potential. Mannie Fresh believes that Lil Wayne has outgrown Cash Money Records, and not just because of the recent turmoil between Weezy and the label . At the end of January, Wayne filed a lawsuit seeking $8 million and the nullification of his remaining contractual ties to Cash Money. "I just think Wayne is growing as an artist," Fresh said in an interview with the Associated Press . "Wayne has given us some great albums, but he has never given us that album with like a Justin Timberlake on it...with features...we expect from an artist of your caliber.” One potentially-limiting factor that Fresh points to Cash Money ’s tendency to almost exclusively pair their artists together, restricting features and collaborations with outside artists and producers. "I think he's going — real talk — 'I could probably use Drake and Nicki, but I've done that so many times. Let...

The 57th annual awards show was "a sobering moment in music and couldn’t have come at a worse time." 2015 was quite possibly the most whitewashed Grammy award show ceremony in years. Even from the beginning, AC/DC opened, Taylor Swift was the first presenter, Sam Smith swept the wins Adele -style, Beck had some modest success (even snatching Album of the Year from Beyoncé ) — the list goes on. All while rapper LL Cool J played fair-weathered host and managed to cough up a few bars of his classic “Going Back to Cali” for posterity’s sake at the show’s start to remind everyone that in between acting he likes to rap. It was a sobering moment in music and couldn’t have come at a worse time. 2015 is still licking the wounds of 2014, where racial tension was at an all time high and hashtag campaigns like #DontShoot and #BlackLivesMatter were created to defend the lives of young Black men who were the casualties of a race war. It was an opportunity on behal...

"Empire" press photo - FOX   Every once in a while, a television show comes along and actually lives up to its hype. It has a star-studded cast, a few big names in the credits, and it has everyone, everywhere buzzing about it, before anyone even bears witness to a single episode. When it premieres, audiences and critics go wild with delight. The performances, the script, and the tone are all pitch-perfect and powerful. We watch it, and we simply cannot wait to experience it again, and again in the following weeks. This is not the way Empire is unfolding. Although the series has broken major TV ratings records , many of us tuned in to the premiere, prepared to do some light-to-heavy eye-rolling, and, suffice it to say, got what we came for. But some of us who continued to watch, despite a problematic first episode, and the trope-heavy plot and characters we met, have found a few compelling reasons to keep hope alive. Underneath all of the leopard p...

Early life and education Born in Itta Bena, Mississippi , Bevel grew up and worked on a cotton plantation, received schooling in Mississippi and Cleveland, Ohio , and served in the U.S. Navy for a time. He attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee , from 1957 to 1961, and while attending college re-read Leo Tolstoy 's The Kingdom of God is Within You (he'd first read it while in the Navy, where the book led directly to Bevel's decision to leave the military). Bevel also read several of Mohandas Gandhi 's books and newspapers while taking workshops on Gandhi's philosophy and nonviolent techniques taught off-campus by Rev. James Lawson of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Bevel also had attended workshops at the Highlander Folk School taught by its founder, Myles Horton . Nashville Student Movement, SNCC In 1960, along with several of James Lawson's and Myles Horton's other students — B...