"Sailor Moon" Virtual Slumber Party Announced

VIZ MEDIA CELEBRATES PREMIERE OF REMASTERED ENGLISH DUB SAILOR MOON EPISODES ON NEON ALLEY AND HULU WITH A SPECIAL “MOONLIGHT PARTY” 

September 5th Virtual Live Stream Event Includes Real Time Q&A And Trivia Contest With Valuable Prizes

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, invites fans to celebrate the very special premiere of the re-mastered classic SAILOR MOON anime series Episodes 1-4 – featuring the brand new English cast – available to stream on Neon Alley and Hulu beginning Friday, September 5th at 8:00pm (PST). Exclusive dubbed episodes will be available for a limited time only!

Fans are invited to join company members as VIZ Media and Neon Alley present Moonlight Party: A Celebration of SAILOR MOON Reborn! The virtual “slumber party” will take place as an unique live stream event on VIZ Media’s YouTube channel at: http://bit.ly/MnLtPty95 beginning at 8:00pm (PST) on Friday, September 5th.

Viewers can simultaneously watch the live, uncut SAILOR MOON Episodes 1-4 during their premiere on Hulu and join the VIZ Media staff on its YouTube channel for a lively evening of witty commentary, inside facts and tons of fun from the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.

Throughout the Moonlight Party fans may submit their SAILOR MOON questions via YouTube in the comments sections of the livestream, on the official VIZ Media Facebook page, and Twitter by using the special hashtag, #MoonlightParty for a real-time Q&A with VIZ Media staff that will run throughout the event. Fans can interact with members of the VIZ Media SAILOR MOON team, which will be participating in the live stream to answer questions and offer lively commentary and little known information about the series and the premiere episodes. A SAILOR MOON trivia contest also will take place and fans are invited to participate and submit answers via Facebook and Twitter to win special prizes. Sailor Moon fans nationwide are also encouraged to share pictures from their own Moonlight Parties by using the hashtag #MoonlightParty on their favorite social media platforms.

VIZ Media’s first-ever Moonlight Party kicks off the premiere of a host of new SAILOR MOON content that will air exclusively on Neon Alley and Hulu beginning in September for a limited time. In addition to the premiere of Episodes 1-4 on Friday, September 5th, viewers can catch more of SEASON 1 of the classic, uncut SAILOR MOON featuring the new English dub as Episodes 5-23 become available to stream beginning at 12:00am (PST) on Sunday, September 7th. Brand new subtitled SAILOR MOON Episodes 35-36, which present the entire Sailor Guardian team together as one for the first time, along with the Princess they seek, also will premiere on Hulu and Neon Alley, for a limited time only beginning at 12:00am (PDT) Monday, September 8th to celebrate the weekly Moonday.

Fans can also catch the brand new SAILOR MOON reboot – SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL – with the premiere of Episode 5 (subtitled), which introduces the fan favorite character Makoto Kino, Sailor Jupiter, on Hulu and Neon Alley beginning at 3:00am (PST) on Saturday, September 6th.

“The first weekend in September will deliver plenty of excitement to anime fans with a chance to join us for our first-ever Moonlight Party, celebrating the premiere of the uncut re-mastered SAILOR MOON English dub,” says Charlene Ingram, Senior Manager, Animation Marketing. “We also will be sharing fun facts about the production, giving out prizes for a special SAILOR MOON trivia contest and having fun with viewers nationwide as we celebrate the return of this legendary anime series. We hope this also might inspire some fans to share in the fun and join us with SAILOR MOON Moonlight Parties of their own!”

The smash hit SAILOR MOON anime series is inspired by the bestselling manga (graphic novel) series created by Naoko Takeuchi (published in North America by Kodansha). In the series, Usagi Tsukino is a clumsy but kindhearted teenage girl who transforms into the powerful guardian of love and justice, Sailor Moon. Meeting allies along the way who share similar fates, Usagi and her team of planetary Sailor Guardians fight to protect the universe from forces of evil and total annihilation! 

SAILOR MOON Set 1 limited edition DVD/BD combo pack and standard edition DVD will be released on November 11th, 2014. Preorders are now available.

For more information on SAILOR MOON, or other award-winning anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

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Crowe, Gosling Headline Shane Black's "The Nice Guys"

Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling to Play “Nice” for Shane Black and Silver Pictures

Black to direct the pair in “The Nice Guys,” set to hit theaters June 17, 2016

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Silver Pictures’ upcoming detective thriller “The Nice Guys,” directed by Shane Black (“Iron Man 3”) and starring Oscar winner Russell Crowe (“Gladiator,” “Man of Steel”) and Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling (“Half Nelson,” “Drive”), has staked out the summertime date of June 17, 2016. Set to begin production in the fall of this year, the film is being produced by Joel Silver (“Non-Stop,” “The Matrix” series, the “Sherlock Holmes” series). The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

    “Ever since we did ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,’ I’ve been eager to work with Shane again, and with this film we made it happen. It’s a terrific script written in Shane’s great cinematic voice. With Russell and Ryan on board, I know we’re in for another wild ride.”

“The Nice Guys” takes place in 1970s Los Angeles, when down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Gosling) and hired leg-breaker Jackson Healy (Crowe) must work together to solve the case of a missing girl and the seemingly unrelated death of a porn star. During their investigation, they uncover a shocking conspiracy that reaches up to the highest circles of power.

Silver stated, “Ever since we did ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,’ I’ve been eager to work with Shane again, and with this film we made it happen. It’s a terrific script written in Shane’s great cinematic voice. With Russell and Ryan on board, I know we’re in for another wild ride.”

Black directs from an original screenplay he wrote with Anthony Bagarozzi. Silver is producing under his Silver Pictures banner, with Ken Kao of Waypoint Entertainment, Hal Sadoff, and Michael Malone serving as executive producers. Waypoint is co-financing, and Alex Walton and Ken Kao’s BLOOM is handling international sales.

“The Nice Guys” will be distributed in North America by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment

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Hayao Miyazaki and Harry Belafonte Among New Governors Awards and Oscar Statuette Recipients

Harry Belafonte, Jean-Claude Carrière, Hayao Miyazaki And Maureen O'Hara To Receive Academy's Governors Awards

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday night (August 26, 2014) to present Honorary Awards to Jean-Claude Carrière, Hayao Miyazaki and Maureen O’Hara, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Harry Belafonte.  All four awards will be presented at the Academy’s 6th Annual Governors Awards on Saturday, November 8, 2014, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center®.

“The Governors Awards allow us to reflect upon not the year in film, but the achievements of a lifetime,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs.  “We’re absolutely thrilled to honor these outstanding members of our global filmmaking community and look forward to celebrating with them in November.”

Carrière, who began his career as a novelist, was introduced to screenwriting by French comedian and filmmaker Pierre Étaix, with whom he shared an Oscar® for the live action short subject “Heureux Anniversaire (Happy Anniversary)” in 1962.  He received two more nominations during his nearly two-decade collaboration with director Luis Buñuel, for the screenplays for “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” and “That Obscure Object of Desire.”  Carrière also has collaborated notably with such directors as Volker Schlöndorff (“The Tin Drum”), Jean-Luc Godard (“Every Man for Himself”) and Andrzej Wajda (“Danton”).  He earned a fourth Oscar nomination for “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” with director Philip Kaufman.

Miyazaki is an artist, writer, director, producer and three-time Oscar nominee in the Animated Feature Film category, winning in 2002 for “Spirited Away.”  His other nominations were for “Howl’s Moving Castle” in 2005 and “The Wind Rises” last year.  Miyazaki gained an enormous following in his native Japan for such features as “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” “Laputa: Castle in the Sky,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” before breaking out internationally in the late 1990s with “Princess Mononoke.”  He is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, a renowned animation studio based in Tokyo.

O’Hara, a native of Dublin, Ireland, came to Hollywood in 1939 to star opposite Charles Laughton in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”  She went on to appear in a wide range of feature films, including the swashbucklers “The Black Swan” and “Sinbad the Sailor,” the dramas “This Land Is Mine” and “A Woman’s Secret,” the family classics “Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Parent Trap,” the spy comedy “Our Man in Havana” and numerous Westerns.  She was a favorite of director John Ford, who cast her in five of his films, including “How Green Was My Valley,” “Rio Grande” and “The Quiet Man.”

An actor, producer, singer and lifelong activist, Belafonte began performing in theaters and nightclubs in and around Harlem, where he was born.  From the beginning of his film career, he chose projects that shed needed light on racism and inequality, including “Carmen Jones,” “Odds against Tomorrow” and “The World, the Flesh and the Devil.”  He was an early supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, marching and organizing alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. and often funding initiatives with his entertainment income.  Belafonte was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1987 and currently serves on the boards of the Advancement Project and the Institute for Policy Studies.  His work on behalf of children, education, famine relief, AIDS awareness and civil rights has taken him all over the world.

The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”

The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, also an Oscar statuette, is given “to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.”

"Blood Lad" Anime on Limited Edition Blu-ray DVD Combo Sept. 2nd

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY AND DVD COMBO PACK FOR THE PARANORMAL ANIME ACTION COMEDY BLOOD LAD

An Otaku Vampire Obsessed With The Human World Falls For a Pretty Girl That Becomes A Ghost; 10-Episode Anime Series Also Features Talented English Dub Cast

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, gives fans and viewers the opportunity to add BLOOD LAD to their personal home media collections as it announces the release of the complete anime series as a special Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, and also as a Standard Edition DVD set, on September 2nd. VIZ Media is the exclusive North American master licensor for the BLOOD LAD anime property.

The 10-episode paranormal action comedy about a nerdy vampire that is obsessed with the human word is rated ‘TV-14’ and will be offered as a Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with an MSRP of $69.99 U.S. / $89.99 CAN. The special set comes packaged in a full-color chipboard box featuring 4 discs containing the entire series as well as the BLOOD LAD “BLOOD LAD-EX” OVA short film and a 96 page premium art booklet featuring episode guides, art, interviews and more. Other combo pack bonus features include an interactive art gallery,  nearly a half-hour of English dub session outtakes, an Anime Central convention chalk art video along with series trailers and clean opening and ending segments.

The Standard Edition 2-disc DVD set for BLOOD LAD features the complete series and OVA film and will be offered at an MSRP $44.82 U.S. / $43.24 CAN. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and standard DVD set both feature English dubbed and original Japanese stereo audio selections (with English Subtitles).

The Demon World: a place where it's good to be bad. Werewolves, zombies, and even the Abominable Snowman fight day and night for the title of Territory Boss. The vampire Staz, however, finds the whole thing to be a serious pain. He spends his time watching anime, playing video games, and daydreaming about going to the Human World. That all changes when he meets Fuyumi, a human girl who instantly wins Staz's heart but subsequently loses her life to a man-eating plant. Staz refuses to give up on the girl of his dreams and travels across the Demon and Human Worlds in search of a way to bring Fuyumi back to life by any bloody means necessary.

The English dub cast for BLOOD LAD notably stars Bryce Papenbrook as Staz and Xanthe Huynh as Fuyumi and also features talented voice actors such as Johnny Yong Bosch, Kyle Hebert, Cristina Vee and Wendee Lee in key supporting roles.

“BLOOD LAD was adapted from Yuki Kodama's bestselling manga series and offers a hilarious, action packed story featuring plenty of adventure and laughable situations, and fans won’t want to miss the chance to own the complete series as a special Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack,” says Charlene Ingram, Senior Animation Marketing Manager. “The combo pack also features a wealth of entertaining bonus material including the BLOOD LAD OVA which picks up right after the series’ final episode and follows Staz and Fuyumi as they journey to the Demon Acropolis. Don’t miss this special release coming next month!”

For more information on BLOOD LAD, or other award-winning anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

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Robert Zemeckis' "The Walk" Due October 2015

TRISTAR ANNOUNCES TITLE AND WRAP OF PRODUCTION FOR "THE WALK"

3D / IMAX 3D CAPER FILM DIRECTED BY ROBERT ZEMECKIS STARRING JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT BASED ON PHILIPPE PETIT’S BOOK "TO REACH THE CLOUDS"

This is the 40th Anniversary of Petit’s August 7, 1974 Walk Between the Twin Towers

MONTRÉAL, Canada, Principal photography has wrapped on the inaugural film from Tom Rothman’s TriStar Productions, now officially titled The Walk. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film is a true story based on Philippe Petit’s book "To Reach the Clouds," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young dreamer who dared the impossible: an illegal wire walk between the World Trade Center towers. Zemeckis wrote the screenplay with Christopher Browne. Producers are Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, and Jack Rapke. The film will be released on October 2, 2015.

August 7 was the 40th anniversary of the astounding event, now being brought back to vivid life in the third act climax of the film.

Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan. Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express, and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story. With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, but most of all, to the Towers of the World Trade Center.

Also starring in the film are James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Charlotte Le Bon, Clément Sibony and César Domboy.

The production’s creative team includes director of photography Dariusz Wolski, production designer Naomi Shohan, editor Jeremiah O’Driscoll, and costume designer Suttirat Larlarb. The composer is Alan Silvestri.

Moviegoers can follow the film on the official movie site at www.thewalkmovie.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheWalkMovie or on Twitter @TheWalkMovie.

Photos from the film were made available at www.sonypicturespublicity.com on Thursday, August 7th at 9AM Pacific time.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.

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A Negromancer/September (2014) to Remember 13 Years Strong

We made it to another September... 2014 to be specific.  Welcome to Negromancer 2.0.  This is the rebirth of Negromancer, the former movie review website as a new movie review and movie news site.

By the way, the first Negromancer debuted 13 years ago this month.

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

The Berkeley FILM Foundation Gives $130,000 in Grants to 16 Filmmakers for 2014

2014 Berkeley Film Foundation Awards

$130,000 in grants given to 16 East Bay filmmakers

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Berkeley FILM Foundation (BFF) announced that it has just awarded $130,000 from its 2014 film and video grant program to 16 filmmakers, including two student filmmakers. The BFF gave this year’s $25,000 Saul Zaentz Award to Ghost Town to Havana by filmmaker Eugene Corr.

    “In our six-year history, BFF has awarded nearly $800,000 to almost 90 film projects. We are extremely proud that several films funded by the BFF have found audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca, DocuWeeks, Silver Docs, and one has garnered an Oscar nomination”

The film is an intimate portrait of two coaches and their youth baseball teams. Nicolas Reyes, a coach in Havana, Cuba, and Roscoe Bryant, a coach in Oakland, CA, mentor their boys through the toughest of circumstances.

In May of 2010, the two coaches meet and their teams get the chance to play together in Havana. It is a celebration of life, community, boyhood and baseball.

At its core, Ghost Town to Havana is a film about poverty, mentorship, sports and race.

Corr and coach Bryant have been asked to speak at the annual Berkeley FILM Foundation gala fundraiser on October 1, 2014 at The David Brower Center in Berkeley. For ticket purchase: https://bff2014gala.eventbrite.com

“More than ever, our filmmakers are relying heavily on the Berkeley FILM Foundation for financial support as funding is drying up for independent films,” said David Bergad, executive director of the BFF. “In our six-year history, BFF has awarded nearly $800,000 to almost 90 film projects. We are extremely proud that several films funded by the BFF have found audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca, DocuWeeks, Silver Docs, and one has garnered an Oscar nomination,” he added.

The total list of 2014 BFF winners is:

Eugene Corr, Ghost Town to Havana ***Saul Zaentz Award

Amir Soltani, Dogtown Redemption: In Trash We Trust
Gregory Scharpen, Buchla
Karina Epperlein, Finding The Gold Within
Kim Anno, Water City, Berkeley
Marlene Morris, A New Color
Raymond Telles, A Photographer's Journey
Rick Goldsmith, Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw
Rick Tejada-Flores, The Road to Chulumani
Robin Fryday, Riding My Way Back
Sarolta Cump, The Gold Fish Casino
Sheri Shuster, Child Sex Trafficking: A Story About Love
Snitow-Kaufman Productions, Do Not Track
Judy Montell/Emmy Scharlatt, In The Image

Student Grant Winners:
Dorothy Atkins, The Battle Over Thompson Divide
Leah Dubuc, Zora

The Berkeley FILM Foundation, is a 501(c)3 grant program for independent filmmakers funded by the City of Berkeley, Wareham Development, and the Saul Zaentz Company with a mission to nurture, sustain and preserve the thriving local film community while attracting the next generation of filmmakers. The BFF focuses on supporting social, historical and innovative documentary and dramatic works. Many of the BFF grant winners have gone on to screen at U.S. and international film festivals, been recognized with prestigious awards, received television broadcasts, and are making a difference around the world.

For more information on these awards and on the October 1, 2014 annual gala fundraiser, please e-mail David Bergad, Executive Director BFF at david@berkeleyfilmfoundation.org. Visit us on the web: www.berkeleyfilmfoundation.org, www.facebook.com/BerkeleyFilmFoundation and https://twitter.com/berkeleyfilmfdn