web1_TTL020916backley.bdy_.jpg

Happy birthday to Zoey M. Backley!

web1_Approved-Kevin-James-2015-Tour-Photo-Credit-Tom-Caltabiano-3-PRESS.jpg

Wilkes-Barre’s F.M. Kirby Center announces return of comedian Kevin James

<p>PITTSTON &#8212; The Oscars Awards Ceremony is just around the corner and the Pittston Memorial Library is getting into the spirit early.</p><p>The library will host a series of Pre-Oscar Parties in the John P. Cosgrove Center and will screen the movies &#8220;Inside Out,&#8221; &#8220;Mad Max: Fury Road&#8221; and &#8220;Bridge of Spies,&#8221; all of which are nominated for multiple Oscar awards.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s part of what&#8217;s actually released on DVD at this point,&#8221; said Teen Services Coordinator Noelle Kozak about why she chose the movies to screen. &#8220;Some (movies) are still in the theaters, so we won&#8217;t get the chance to get them on DVD and these are the ones that are available right now.&#8221;</p><p>The ceremony is on Sunday, Feb. 28, but the library&#8217;s parties will be held the week prior on Monday, Feb. 22, Tuesday, Feb. 23 and Thursday, Feb. 25. The library will be closed Wednesday, Feb. 24.</p><p>The event is free and will feature snacks and beverages.</p><p>Kozak said she came up with the idea for the Pre-Oscar Parties as a way to get people more involved with the awards show.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of people like to try to know what&#8217;s going on with the awards show,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t get out to see as many movies as I should, personally, so I thought it would be cool to have an event to have people gather and get a chance to see some of the nominees. It&#8217;s hard to watch the (awards) show if you don&#8217;t know what you&#8217;re actually watching.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Inside Out&#8221; will be screened Feb. 22, &#8220;Mad Max: Fury Road&#8221; will be shown Feb. 23 and &#8220;Bridge of Spies&#8221; will be played Feb. 25.</p><p>Kozak said people can attend all three, but they must be of the proper age to watch &#8220;Bridge of Spies,&#8221; which is rated PG-13, and for &#8220;Mad Max: Fury Road&#8221; which is rated R.</p><p>Although parents can register their children to see &#8220;Mad Max,&#8221; Kozak will not allow access to those under the age of 17 without an adult present.</p><p>Interest has sparked as Kozak said people have begun signing up for the screenings.</p><p>Kozak hopes the event is successful enough to hold again and looks forward to what the first Pre-Oscar Parties have in store.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s good to know what&#8217;s going on in pop culture,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I feel the Oscars will be very interesting this year so it&#8217;s good to know what&#8217;s going around you so you can actually have an opinion on these things.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_107228359-259582ab7b584234ba39fba94eaf666d-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tom Hanks portrays Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan in a scene from the Steven Spielberg film, &#8220;Bridge of Spies.&#8221; The film is a spy thriller about the justice America affords captured enemy combatants and the strength of a morally strong individually to stand up against a national tide of overzealous patriotism. It is nominated for Oscars, including Best Picture, and will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library on Feb. 25 </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_107228359-259582ab7b584234ba39fba94eaf666d-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Tom Hanks portrays Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan in a scene from the Steven Spielberg film, &#8220;Bridge of Spies.&#8221; The film is a spy thriller about the justice America affords captured enemy combatants and the strength of a morally strong individually to stand up against a national tide of overzealous patriotism. It is nominated for Oscars, including Best Picture, and will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library on Feb. 25 </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Hanks1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tom Hanks portrays Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan in a scene from the Steven Spielberg film, &#8220;Bridge of Spies.&#8221; The film is a spy thriller about the justice America affords captured enemy combatants and the strength of a morally strong individually to stand up against a national tide of overzealous patriotism. It is nominated for Oscars, including Best Picture, and will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library on Feb. 25 In this image released by Disney, Tom Hanks, from right, Mark Rylance and Billy Magnusson appear in a scene from &#8220;Bridge of Spies.&#8221; The movie, nominated for Best Picture, will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library Feb. 25. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Hanks1-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Tom Hanks portrays Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan in a scene from the Steven Spielberg film, &#8220;Bridge of Spies.&#8221; The film is a spy thriller about the justice America affords captured enemy combatants and the strength of a morally strong individually to stand up against a national tide of overzealous patriotism. It is nominated for Oscars, including Best Picture, and will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library on Feb. 25 In this image released by Disney, Tom Hanks, from right, Mark Rylance and Billy Magnusson appear in a scene from &#8220;Bridge of Spies.&#8221; The movie, nominated for Best Picture, will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library Feb. 25. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_insideout-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">From left, Anger, voiced by Lewis Black, Disgust, voiced by Mindy Kaling, Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, Fear, voiced by Bill Hader, and Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith appear in a scene from &#8220;Inside Out.&#8221; The fim is nominated for Best Animated Feature Film and will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library Feb. 22. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_insideout-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>From left, Anger, voiced by Lewis Black, Disgust, voiced by Mindy Kaling, Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, Fear, voiced by Bill Hader, and Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith appear in a scene from &#8220;Inside Out.&#8221; The fim is nominated for Best Animated Feature Film and will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library Feb. 22. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_-MAD-MAX-FURY-ROAD-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Set in a post-apocalyptic, desert wasteland that was once Australia, &#8220;Mad Max: Fury Road&#8221; is a roller coaster of action featuring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. The film is nominated for multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, and will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library Feb. 23. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_-MAD-MAX-FURY-ROAD-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Set in a post-apocalyptic, desert wasteland that was once Australia, &#8220;Mad Max: Fury Road&#8221; is a roller coaster of action featuring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. The film is nominated for multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, and will be screened at the Pittston Memorial Library Feb. 23. </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Pittston Memorial Library hosting a series of pre-Oscar parties</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jimmy Fisher</p><p>jfisher@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jimmy Fisher at 570-704-3972 or on Twitter @SD_JimmyFisher</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Pittston Memorial Library will host a series of pre-Oscar parties on Feb. 22, 23, 25