December 6, 2018: Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg to Host Golden Globes, How a Digital Video Game Award Show Is Upending Trends, Tokyo's Heatwave Leads to Time Changes for Future Olympic Events

1. SANDRA OH AND ANDY SAMBERG TO HOST GOLDEN GLOBES: Killing Eve star Sandra Oh and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg will host the 76th Golden Globes, which will air January 6 on NBC. CNN: "It will mark Oh and Samberg's first time co-hosting together, but it will not be their first time appearing on a big stage side by side. Oh and Samberg presented an award together at the Emmy Awards in September, executing a well-timed banter that earned their short appearance praise. Apparently, it was enough to earn them an even bigger gig. Samberg previously served as sole host of the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2015 and the Film Independent Spirit Awards in 2013. 'Sandra and Andy are the perfect choices to host this world-class event,' Paul Telegdy and George Cheeks, co-chairmen, NBC Entertainment, said in a joint statement. 'They bring wit, charm, and style to a room filled with the very best of film and television. It's sure to be another unforgettable fun-filled night.' Mike Mahan, executive producer and C.E.O. of Dick Clark Productions, added: 'This innovative pairing sets the perfect tone for the most entertaining awards celebration of the year.' The two have big shoes to fill as far as co-hosts go. The last duo to share hosting duties for the Globes were Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, a pairing so popular they hosted three years in a row from 2013-2015." https://cnn.it/2rp2n3D

2. HOW A DIGITAL VIDEO GAME AWARD SHOW IS UPENDING TRENDS: Major award shows like the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys haven't had the best year. Each event achieved all-time low ratings in 2018. But the Game Awards, a digitally broadcast event honoring video games, increased its streaming viewers from 3.8 million in 2016 to 11.5 million in 2017. Created by Geoff Keighley, the fifth edition of the event will take place this evening at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter: "'I think what’s unique about our show is that it’s all digital,' Keighley tells The Hollywood Reporter. The Game Awards is held in the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, the same venue that has hosted recent Emmys and ESPYs award shows. 'It’s done on a grand scale like a TV show, but it’s exclusively distributed on digital, which means that it’s free to watch for anyone around the world,' Keighley explains. The show's pedigree goes beyond just its venue. This year's set was designed by LeRoy Bennett, who handled Lady Gaga's 2017 Super Bowl Halftime Show. The Game Awards also features a score composed by Lorne Balfe, who worked on this year's Mission Impossible—Fallout and Oscar winner Hans Zimmer will sit in with the orchestra. The night's awards themselves are designed by Weta Workshop, the effects house behind such films as James Cameron's Avatar, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok. Fans eager to watch this year's show will have a number of platforms on which to do so as the Game Awards will be streamed on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Live, and Steam, as well as through gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The show is also streamed internationally in major markets such as China, Japan, Korea, Europe, Brazil, and Russia. Going completely digital was an idea Keighley had back when he worked on the Game Awards predecessor, the Video Game Awards, which aired on the now-defunct Spike TV. ... Keighley believes his new model for broadcast is "future-proof" and insists digital streaming is where the entertainment industry is headed. And looking forward is not only something Keighley applies to where his show is distributed but also the content that it showcases. The Game Awards has become a major platform for the video game industry to debut new titles." https://bit.ly/2rodOIX

3. TOKYO'S HEATWAVE LEADS TO TIME CHANGES FOR FUTURE OLYMPIC EVENTS: The marathon and race walks at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will start at dawn, organizers of the games announced Wednesday. The start time changes were made following a deadly summer heat wave in Japan and an appeal by Japan’s Medical Association in October that expressed concern about how the heat could affect athletes and spectators. Washington Post: "John Coates, chairman of the coordination commission for the games, said an Olympic expert medical and scientific committee has recommended that the marathon begin at 5:30 or 6 a.m., although a final decision still needs to be confirmed with the International Association of Athletics Federations. Morning rugby matches will now start at 9 a.m., 90 minutes earlier than first planned, while mountain biking events have been shifted an hour later to start at 3 p.m. to reflect concerns about the heat, Yoshiro Mori, president of Tokyo 2020, said at a news conference. It was the second shift in the scheduling to combat the heat, only five months after Tokyo announced in July that the marathon start time would be brought forward to 7 a.m. and triathlons to 8 a.m., with race walking events to start between 6 and 7 a.m. Tokyo weather in July and August has shot to the top of the agenda since a summer heat wave killed at least 138 people in Japan, sent more than 70,000 people to hospitals, and was declared a national emergency. Temperatures peaked above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in parts of Tokyo, while humidity exceeded 80 percent." https://wapo.st/2G0fYsh

* LOCAL NEWS *

CHICAGO:  Chicago Shakespeare Theater will host the Chicago Shakespeare Slam on December 10 at the Yard. The event will bring together 300 high school students and their teacher coaches from 40 schools across the region. 

The Study at University of Chicago hotel is slated to open in 2021.

DALLAS/FORT WORTH:  The P.G.A. of America is relocating its headquarters from Palm Beach County, Florida, to Frisco. The headquarters will be on a 600-acre, mixed-use development. 

LOS ANGELES:  Spike Lee will receive the Career Achievement Award at the 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival's Film Awards Gala. The awards take place January 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The 13th annual Adrienne Arsht Center Gala will take place April 6. The event will honor Carnival Corporation C.E.O. Arnold W. Donald. 

NEW YORK:  Pet accessories brand Wild One and homemade dog food delivery company the Farmer’s Dog will host a holiday market at Wild One’s NoLita pop-up on December 15-16. 

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

TORONTO:  Toronto Star: “Activists are calling on the executive director of Pride Toronto to resign after an ‘undemocratic’ and chaotic annual general meeting Tuesday shut down debate on the organization’s controversial decision to allow the Toronto Police Service to participate in next year’s Pride parade.” https://bit.ly/2GaJBqG

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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

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