By Mark Kennedy, Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Tina Turner and Iron Maiden lead this year's nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a female-heavy list of 16 acts that includes for the first time The Go-Go's, Mary J. Blige and Dionne Warwick.
Artists are eligible for a nomination 25 years after the release of their first official recording. There are two newly eligible acts in Jay-Z and Foo Fighters while artists nominated for the first time include Blige, The Go-Go's, Iron Maiden, Warwick and Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.
Several candidates are looking for a second spot in the hall. Turner would be inducted for a second time, having gone to the hall as part of Ike & Tina Turner in 1991. King is already in the hall as a songwriter and she would go in again this time as a performer. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is already in the hall as a member of Nirvana.
If elected, King and Turner would become the second and third female artists inducted twice, following Stevie Nicks' 2019 election.
"This remarkable ballot reflects the diversity and depth of the artists and music the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrates," said John Sykes, Chairman of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, in a statement Wednesday. "These nominees have left an indelible impact on the sonic landscape of the world and influenced countless artists that have followed them."
Other nominees include: Kate Bush, Devo, Chaka Khan, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine and Todd Rundgren. LL Cool J is on his sixth nomination and Chaka Khan is on her third solo nomination.
The class of 2021 will be announced in May.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More