Oscar Not in the Cards for Melissa McCarthy

It wasn't a huge surprise that the nod didn't go the Plainfield native -- comedy roles rarely win -- but to be at the Academy Awards might be reward enough for now.

Melissa McCarthy won't be able to add "Academy Award winner" to her resume just yet; the honor Sunday night went to Octavia Spencer for her role in "The Help." But if getting to shine in the spotlight before an international crowd of millions is an honor in itself, the 41-year-old Plainfield native found herself in rarified company. And, frankly, the doors her breakout role as Megan in "Bridesmaids" have opened may be worth more than Oscar gold. McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone just landed a sitcom deal in which Falcone will play the lead, McCarthy has a choice of movie roles in front of her, she's starting her own clothing line, and she's got a steady paycheck coming in (not to mention an Emmy Award) from her television role on "Mike…

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About Town

Oscar Winners Not the Only Ones Taking a Bow Sunday

More than 1,000 people participated in the library's winter reading program and celebrated at an Academy Awards-themed party.

Hollywood celebrities weren’t the only ones walking the red carpet Sunday. The line of Plainfield readers waiting for glamour shots snaked around the Plainfield Public Library, part of an Academy Awards party celebrating the end of the library's six-week "Bright Lights, Big Read" reading program. Nearly 1,166 readers participated.  Chris Garbin, a third-grader at Grand Prairie Elementary School, was one of them and looking to get some press because of it.  “I’m in an interview with the news right now,” he informed a playmate, who had the audacity to interrupt him as he spoke to a reporter. Garbin was talking about the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book series, which are among his favorites of the many titles he's read.  ZonCom Productions Inc. …

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About Town

The Library's Gonna Make You a Star, Baby

Of course, you've got to do your bit, too, by participating in the "Bright Lights, Big Read" program that will allow you to claim your "award."

With gray days at hand and subzero temps in the forecast, these are great times to curl up with a good book. The Plainfield Public Library is doing its best to sprinkle a little glitz into our gloom. Nearly 430 readers have signed on for its winter reading program, themed "Bright Lights, Big Read." Readers at Saturday’s soiree not only walked the red carpet, but posed for the paparazzi to have their photos taken with “celebrities” – or at least their life-size cardboard look-alikes.  There was real-life swag, too. Saturday’s event featured drawings for such prizes as autographed chapter books, tickets to Cirque du Soleil, Pioneer Lanes bowling, free ice skating lessons, picture books, YMCA memberships – even a gift certificate for Thin …

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