Last week, JK Simmons received his first-ever Oscar nomination for his work in Damien Chazelle's Whiplash (a film that would've cracked my top 10 had I seen it before putting that list together), and good for him! Dude's long overdue some Academy love, and I'll be rooting for him to win when the Oscars air next month.
I'll also be rooting for Simmons later this month - January 31st, to be precise - when he hosts Saturday Night Live. If you're wondering, the evening's musical guest will be D'Angelo, who, Deadline reminds us, is returning to the fold after a 14-year hiatus I hadn't noticed.
Not much to add here, news-wise, but because I'm a longtime SNL enthusiast who rarely has good reason to write about the show, I'll take this opportunity to offer the following thoughts: with the exception of Update (which is still struggling to find itself, and will never be truly whole until it jettisons Anthony Crispino once and for all), this season seems like an improvement over the last; it's awesome to see the show's female performers (particularly Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and the swoon-worthy Cecily Strong) mopping the floor with the rest of the cast; and Beck Bennett's man-trapped-in-a-baby's-body character destroys me every time (I don't understand why, either).