• Taylor Swift's star-studded "Bad Blood" music video is paying off: She's the top nominee at next month's MTV Video Music Awards. Swift is nominated for nine moonman trophies, including video of the year for "Bad Blood," starring Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham and more of the pop star's famous friends. Kendrick Lamar, who is featured on "Bad Blood," is nominated for video of the year thanks to his own hit, "Alright." Other nominees for the top prize include Beyonce's "7/11," Ed Sheeran's "Thinking out Loud," and "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson. The 2015 Video Music Awards, hosted by Miley Cyrus, will air live Aug. 30 from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Sheeran has six nominations, and Beyonce, Lamar and Ronson have five each. Swift's "Blank Space" will compete for best female video and pop video, while "Bad Blood" is up for best collaboration, direction, editing, visual effects, art direction and cinematography. Cyrus, who won video of the year last year for "Wrecking Ball," dominated the 2013 awards when she danced up against Robin Thicke during a performance that trended on social media. Cyrus wrote in an Instagram post Monday that "MTV won't let me perform ... so I'm hosting this year's VMAs."
• The lead plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case that made gay marriage a nationwide right has a book deal. Jim Obergefell is collaborating with Washington Post journalist Debbie Cenziper on 21 Years to Midnight, William Morrow said Monday. William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, plans a June release to mark the 5-4 ruling's anniversary. Obergefell's involvement in what became Obergefell v. Hodges originated with his desire to have his name listed as "surviving spouse" of the late John Arthur, whom he had married in Maryland. "When John and I made the decision to stand up for our marriage and the commitments we'd made, we did so with no thought about where our fight might take us," Obergefell said in a statement. "This book will tell the story of that unexpected journey from the perspective of our 21-year relationship and the overall marriage equality movement." Earlier this month, a 20th Century Fox division said it had acquired film rights for 21 Years to Midnight. Both Fox and William Morrow are part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
A Section on 07/22/2015