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    Kate McKinnon, Kumail Nanjiani to co-host 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1849 Views
    LOS ANGELES --

    Film Independent president Josh Welsh has announced that Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters, Sisters) and Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Big Sick, My Name is Doris) will co-host the 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards. The nonprofit, which also produces the LA Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA, will hold the 31st annual awards ceremony as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica on Saturday, February 27, with the premiere broadcast airing live exclusively on IFC at 2 pm PT/5 pm ET.

    The multiple Emmy nominee McKinnon currently stars on the 41st season of Saturday Night Live, having joined the cast in April 2012. McKinnon received 2014 and 2015 Emmy nominations for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actress’ in a Comedy Series for her work on SNL. She has entertained viewers with her critically acclaimed impression of Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as other notable impressions including Justin Bieber and Ellen DeGeneres. She is also known for her standout “Weekend Update” turns as artist Cecilia Giminez and Russian meteor witness Olga Povlatsky. McKinnon can be been seen in the upcoming films Ghostbusters and Masterminds. In addition, she has lent her voice to the upcoming feature film Angry Birds and animated series including The Simpsons and Family Guy.

    Nanjiani is an actor, writer and comedian currently starring as ‘Dinesh’ on the critically acclaimed HBO comedy series Silicon Valley, which won the TV Critics Choice Award for ‘Best Comedy Series’ last year and has received several Emmy and Golden Globes nominations. Soon he will be playing the lead role in The Big Sick, a film he co-wrote with his wife Emily V. Gordon, produced by Judd Apatow and Barry Mendel and directed by Michael Showalter. Nanjiani’s many comedic roles include the films The Five-Year Engagement (also produced by Apatow), Sex Tape and Hot Tub Time Machine 2. He will next be seen in the upcoming films Hello, My Name Is Doris, Central Intelligence, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and Fist Fight. Nanjiani is also a writer, executive producer and co-host of Comedy Central’s The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail. He’s also recurring on IFC’s Portlandia, and will have a guest role on the upcoming return of The X-Files on Fox.

    In addition to celebrating the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking, the Spirit Awards is also the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity in the industry.

    Tags:Film Independent Spirit Awards



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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