Diane Warren to receive Point Foundation’s Leadership Award

[What a wonderful bit of news — I love Diane Warren’s work, and the Point Foundation is such a great organization. Two great tastes y’all!]

(Logo: PRNewsFoto/Point Foundation)

Diane Warren To Be Honored By Point Foundation

Prolific Songwriter To Receive Award at “Voices On Point” Concert and Dinner, September 13at Los Angeles’ Hyatt Regency Century Plaza

LOS ANGELES, July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Point Foundation (Point) will present its Leadership Award to songwriter Diane Warren, whose work has been recognized with Grammy® and Golden Globe® awards and multiple Academy Award® nominations. The Point Leadership Award is given to an individual who has achieved prominence in their professional career and unequivocally supported the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community. Warren has repeatedly spoken out against bigotry of all kinds, including discrimination directed at the LGBTQ community. The “It Gets Better” musical theater project that is touring the U.S. in support of LGBTQ youth includes songs of Warren’s alongside those of Gnarls Barkley, Kelly Clarkson and Alanis Morissette.

Diane Warren (PRNewsFoto/Point Foundation)

Diane Warren (PRNewsFoto/Point Foundation)

Warren has written music for and established friendships with top LGBTQ artists and important allies of the LGBTQ community such asElton John, Ricky Martin, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Kristin Chenoweth and Patti LaBelle. Popular stars she has recently been at work with include Celine Dion, Snoop Dogg, Carrie Underwood, Mary J. Blige, Demi Lovato, Jessie J, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Kelly Rowland, Renee Fleming and Paloma Faith among many others. In addition, Warren has written a song for Baz Luhrmann’s stage production of Strictly Ballroom The Musical which opened in Australia this spring.

To date, Warren’s songs have been nominated for six Academy Awards, five Golden Globes (winning for the song “You Haven’t Seen The Last of Me”) and 12 Grammys (winning for the song “Because You Loved Me”) and have been featured in more than 100 motion pictures. The impact of her music has resonated across the globe. Her “Anthem for Peace” was performed in Tel Aviv in 2008 for over 1,000 dignitaries, including Nobel Prize laureates. In 2012, her song “I Was Here” was named the theme for World Humanitarian Day and was performed by Beyonce live at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Her nonprofit, The Diane Warren Foundation has supported music education in schools, as well as programs to help those with serious illness and enrich the lives of the elderly. Warren is also a noted advocate for animal rights.

“Diane Warren has earned fame and respect not just through the creation of an incredible body of music, but also because of her empathy, integrity and her commitment to education,” said Jorge Valencia, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Point Foundation. “Our Point Scholars learn through their leadership training, that a leader is someone who uses their talent and position to ensure that others can live with dignity and respect. We are honored to recognize Diane Warren’s accomplishments by presenting her with the Point Foundation Leadership Award.”

Voices On Point” is a benefit for Point Foundation, the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students. The evening features performances and appearances by celebrities, as well as some of Point’s 80 current scholars and 184 alumni, sharing their compelling stories of perseverance and success.

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Insight Studios Group coming to Baltimore Comic-Con

 

BCCIcon2014More news for you Baltimore Comic-Con junkies!  Local-kids-made-good Insight Studios Group are coming to this year’s Comic-Con!  Mark Wheatley, Marc Hempel, Allan Gross, Robert Tinnell & Darrenn Canton will all be here to answer questions, sign stuff and generally be cool.

Read on for the full press release.  See you at the ‘con!  I’ll be the chick trying to work up the courage to get Thom Zahle to sign a MLP issue. Famous people are terrifying!

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Free passes for the Baltimore screening of Guardians of the Galaxy!

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Yaaaaaay! They’re here y’all! The Guardians of the Galaxy passes are here!
Since you’ve been waiting all week, let’s do this easy like….

Where: AMC White Marsh

When: July 29th 8pm

Why: because c’mon, talking raccoons are awesome.

How: See it first! Head to http://www.seeitfirst.net/ and enter code 840731

Remember: seating for screenings are first come, first served and are not guaranteed even with passes. So get there early to get your seats! Seriously people, this screening is gonna be crazy, so getting there at 7:30pm will probably mean you’re out luck. Don’t be the We Missed It people!

Good luck everyone!

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Elsewhere Review — The Purge: Anarchy

First posted on Geek for e, the original piece can be found here.

Nutshell: I give The Purge: Anarchy an A-.  Much more of a thriller than it’s original claustrophobic predecessor, Anarchy shows viewers all the chaos on the streets, and in the hidden enclaves of the über-rich.  It even gets a little class-warfare in, along with some serious thoughts on vengeance, entitlement, duty and civic responsibility. Oh, and it’s creepy as hell too.

Movie Review — The Purge: Anarchy

TwitView: Thought-provoking, violent and in-your-face.  This ain’t the first film. Cool. A-

Last year, people headed to the theater in droves to see The Purge.  Unfortunately, they hated it.   But with The Purge: Anarchy, writer/director James DeMonaco is hoping a more wide-scale view of his near-future distopia is more to your liking.  Apparently he knows the deal, and wants to give moviegoers what they wanna see in this new sequel.  Him-a culpa.

But is Anarchy any good?  If you like your satire jet-black with tinges of red, you betcha.  Class warfare, The Man as slaughter king, and shades of the Nuremberg Defense run rampant here.  I for one found it a fascinating look at how far things could get out of hand if absolute power was vested in people who may not have everyone’s best interests at heart.  In opening up the Purge landscape from a single house to the streets of LA, Anarchy gives us a taste of mayhem and the hopelessness of those who are unable to protect themselves.  There’s also a heapin’ helpin’ of old-school horror here, with the usual tropes played out.  In the Purge’s chaotic landscape, that’s comforting, and helps the film stay grounded rather than turning into an mish-mosh of aimless scenes.

No emergency services for 12 hours and all crime including murder is legal.  Let the anarchy begin!
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Discounts on BronyCon registration tomorrow. Thanks, Ice Cold Water guy!

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Friendship. Magic. And now tongue-in-cheek. This year’s BronyCon just got 20% cooler y’all.

How? Did Spike volunteer to make everyone S’mores? Applejack bringing pie? Derpy making muffins? (Aw now I’m hungry….)

No. Sorry. But there’s a discount on registration, and it’s thanks to everyone’s favorite street salesman. That’s right, the famous Baltimore Ice Cold Water guy has given the ponies-that-be at BronyCon the idea for a $1 discount Friday July 18th!

Not groovy enough for you? Well, with every 100 registers Friday, one lucky Brony (or Pegasister, perhaps?) will get his or her registration for only $1! That’s right, the same price as a bottle of ice cold wa-ta. Because Hydration is Magic too.

Yeah I’m excited about this. Time to sign up if you haven’t already!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find a piece of apple pie and a glass of water….

Read on for the full press release!

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This year’s Harvey Award nominees announced!

Terry Moore.  Mike Norton.  Stefano Gaudiano.  Jeff Stokely.  Ryan North.  Fiona Staples.  Brian K. Vaughan.  David Petersen.   If these names seem like a damn good way to get your comics on, you’d be right.  They’re also among those nominated for Harvey Awards this year.  Yaaaaay!  *flails arms around like Kermit*

To crib from the press release, the Harveys are “in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art.” They’ll be presented, as usual, at the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Congratulations to all nominees!!!

Read on for the full list, and more Harvey Award info in the full press release!

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Production Designer Jim Bissell To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

I always love it when the folks that make movies come alive get their justly deserved recognition. So…enjoy a little warm & fuzzy y’all!

Jim Bissell (PRNewsFoto/Art Directors Guild)

Jim Bissell (PRNewsFoto/Art Directors Guild)

Art Directors Guild logo
Oscar®-nominated Production Designer Jim Bissell To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 19th Annual Art Directors Guild Awards On January 31, 2015

LOS ANGELES, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Emmy®-winning and Oscar®-nominated Production Designer Jim Bissell will receive theArt Directors Guild‘s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 19th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on January 31, 2015 at a black-tie ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The announcement was made today by John Shaffner, ADG Council Chairman, and ADG Award Producers Dave Blass and James Pearse Connelly.”Jim Bissell’s work as a Production Designer is legendary and we are proud to rank him among the best in the history of our profession. He is an extraordinary artist and accomplished leader in the industry and it is our pleasure to name him as this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient,” said Shaffner. A veteran leader of the ADG, Bissell was a past Vice President and a Board member for more than 15 years. He also chaired the Guild’s Awards Committee for the first three years of its existence.Bissell’s distinguished work can be seen on such notable films as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which took home four Oscars® with an additional five Oscar® nominations in 1983; The Rocketeer (1991), Jumanji (1995), 300 (2006), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol(2011) and most recently The Monuments Men (2014), directed by and starring George Clooney. Monuments Men is Jim’s fourth collaboration with Clooney, which began with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), followed with Oscar®-nominated Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) and continuing with Leatherheads (2007). Bissell is currently working on Mission: Impossible 5 (2015) and the recently announced film 1906 (release TBA).

Nominations for this year’s ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards will be announced on January 5, 2015. Media sponsors for the ADG Awards are The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety and SHOOTonline.

About the Art Directors Guild:
The Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) represents more than 2,000 members who work throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the world in film, television and theater as Production Designers, Art Directors, Assistant Art Directors; Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists; Illustrators and Matte Artists; Set Designers and Model Makers; and Previs Artists.

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Movie News: Laggies with Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz opens Oct. 24

LAG_TeaserPoster

You know why I’m posting this. Look at this adorable poster!  And yes, Knightley has tons of goodwill stored up from her lovely performance in Begin Again.

So yes, Laggies opens Oct. 24.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go cuddle a tortoise.

Read on for the full 411!

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Fox’s Gotham teases Riddler, Catwoman and Penguin in first trailer

Image: Fox

Image: Fox


Ooh!  Just when you thought you couldn’t wait for your TV comics fix — would Flash, Constantine and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D hit my TV already? — you’re gonna be even more psyched for fall.  Gotham, the TV show that promises a peek at the life of the city that Batman calls home long before he straps on his Batarang, just let it’s first trailer fly.  And it’s a doozy.

For folks that think Gotham City won’t be as interesting with The Bat nowhere to be seen, I say check this out.  So many origin stories!  And a real mystery, with no Deux ex Batman-ina to jumpstart things?  Oooh.  Shiny!

I’m sure there’ll be tons of cool announcements about the show at San Diego Comic-Con, and I’ll be awaiting those as well.  For folks ready to set their DVRs, Gotham starts up September 22nd.

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Movie News: Focus Features nails down Jesse Owens biopic distribution

I know that Jesse Owens won a gold medal in the Berlin Olympics, and Hitler lost his sheisse because Owens was The Black.  That didn’t make Der Fuhrer’s Übermensch idea very…ideal-able.  Beyond that?  I don’t know much about this sports legend.  But the Owens biopic Race will hopefully change that. It’s getting closer to hitting a multiplex near me you with the US distribution nailed down.  It’ll start shooting next week, and is slated to hit theaters in time for awards consideration this year or next, I’m sure. What really cheers me is that this film has the a-OK of his family.  I’ve been sadfacing that the upcoming Jimi Hendrix biopic All Is By My Side won’t have access to Hendrix’s music, thanks to worries of the Hendrix estate.  So getting the Owens family blessing?  Kinda makes me happy dance. Read on for the full press release! Continue reading

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