By Mark Kennedy, AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Kevin Spacey has been picked to host this year's Tony Awards, putting the award-winning star of "House of Cards" in the unenviable position of steering a telecast surely facing a post-"Hamilton" hangover.
The telecast on June 11 will originate from the 6,000-seat Radio City Music Hall, and producers are sure to be keeping their fingers crossed that they avoid any technical or human snafus that have marred previous awards shows this year, including the wrong winner announced at the Oscars and sound issues at the Grammys.
Spacey, who won Oscars for the movies "The Usual Suspects" and "American Beauty," won a Tony Award in 1991 in Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers" and starred in the Broadway and West End productions of "Long Day's Journey into Night." With a foot in both Broadway and Hollywood — and a career singing onscreen and in concert to boot — Spacey brings glamour and acting chops to the job.
In a statement, he alluded to the telecast producers scrambling for a host after other celebrities dropped out. "I was their second choice for 'Usual Suspects,' fourth choice for 'American Beauty' and 15th choice to host this year's Tony Awards. I think my career is definitely going in the right direction," he said. "Maybe I can get shortlisted to host the Oscars if everyone else turns it down."
Producers hope Spacey will limit the audience erosion likely from the numbers last year when "Hamilton" and host James Corden drew 8.73 million viewers, up 35 percent from 2015 and its largest audience since 2001. Previous hosts include Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More