BET Networks in Partnership with the National Basketball Players Association to Broadcast 1st Annual “Players’ Awards”
BET Productions and Prospect Park to Produce “Players’ Awards” Ceremony in July in Las Vegas, NV
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BET Networks announces it will broadcast 1st Annual “Players’ Awards” in partnership with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). Due to an overwhelming response from its members, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) decided to launch the 1st Annual “Basketball Player Awards” which will tape in Las Vegas, NV in July to air exclusively on BET Networks. In the time honored tradition of identifying excellence through peer review forged by institutions such as the Emmy Awards, The Grammy Awards and The Academy Awards, the “Players’ Awards” are voted on by the NBA’s active players.
“We are delighted to have BET as our broadcasting partner for the first ever ‘Players’ Awards’ next month”
“We at BET pride ourselves on our track record of producing outstanding awards shows and special events and we are thrilled that we’ll be working with the National Basketball Players Association to bring what will be a an incredible night of entertainment,” said Stephen G. Hill, President of Programming, BET Networks. “This will be a unique show and we are looking forward to being the only network to dedicate a night to recognizing and celebrating the league’s most exceptional and rising stars for their extraordinary abilities on the court.”
“We are delighted to have BET as our broadcasting partner for the first ever ‘Players’ Awards’ next month," said NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts. “BET is best-in-class when it comes to award shows, and we are happy that they will be producing this event for the best players in the world”.
“Players’ Awards” will be presented for the following categories:
Most Valuable Player
Best Rookie
Man of the Year
Best Defender
Global Impact Player
Hardest to Guard
Clutch Performer
Coach You Would Want to Play For
Best Home Court Advantage
Player You Secretly Wish Was on Your Team
“We are so excited about the Players’ Awards...first time ever...and will be aired on BET. It is going to be a GREAT event,” said NBPA President Chris Paul.
“This is a historic moment for us as players, and as a union,” said Roger Mason, NBPA Deputy Executive Director. “For the first time, our voices will be heard. This is our process and our show. We could not be prouder.”
ABOUT BET NETWORKS
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA,VIAB), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; Centric, the first network dedicated to Black women; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.
ABOUT NBPA
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is the union for current professional basketball players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Established in 1954, the NBPA mission is to ensure that the rights of NBA players are protected and that every conceivable measure is taken to assist players in maximizing their opportunities and achieving their goals, both on and off the court. For more information, go to www.nbpa.com.
ABOUT PROSPECT PARK
Prospect Park is a multi-faceted entertainment company working in music, film and television, and sports. Along with successful film and television divisions which include breakout network hits “Salem”, “Royal Pains” and “Wilfred,” the company’s music division boasts such clients as Ice Cube, Azealia Banks, Eden xo, and P.O.D. and the highly successful independent record label, Prospect Park Records.
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Saturday, June 20, 2015
Friday, June 19, 2015
Big Sean and Jane Zhang Record Song for "Terminator: Genisys"
CHINESE POP STAR JANE ZHANG AND G.O.O.D. MUSIC / DEF JAM RECORDINGS ARTIST BIG SEAN RECORD ORIGINAL SONG FOR “TERMINATOR GENISYS”
HOLLYWOOD, CA – Chinese pop star Jane Zhang and American hip hop artist Big Sean (G.O.O.D. Music / Def Jam Recordings) are collaborating on the original song “Fighting Shadows” for Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions’ highly anticipated film “TERMINATOR GENISYS,” which opens in theaters in the United States on the 1st of July.
The partnership represents the first time that Zhang has recorded a song for an English-language film and marks Big Sean’s musical debut for a feature film.
“Fighting Shadows” will be released digitally in Asia by Sony and the rest of the world by Def Jam Recordings. It is available to download at iTunes beginning June 30th.
“Contributing to the ‘Terminator Genisys’ movie and inviting Big Sean to collaborate was a very special opportunity for me,” said Zhang. “I am really looking forward to the moment when people get to hear this song.”
Zhang will be featured on CCTV 6’s “Talking to Hollywood with Betty Zhou” this Friday, June 19th at approx. 5:30 p.m. and on future episodes. Fans can receive more information about Zhang and “TERMINATOR GENISYS” by following Betty Zhou’s official Weibo page http://weibo.com/bettyzhoulingan or @Betty周玲安.
“I have been a huge fan of Arnold and the ‘Terminator’ movies since I was a kid, so it’s especially exciting to be a part of the new film,” said Big Sean. “Working with Jane has been an amazing experience and I can’t wait for audiences around the world to hear her song.”
Zhang is a Chinese pop singer who came to prominence after her performance in the 2005 season of the Super Girl contest, a national all-female singing competition in China.
Zhang's debut album, “The One,” was produced by Craig Williams. Her next album, “Update,” broke away from the Chinese pop scene by combining elements of R&B and jazz. After its release, Zhang participated in a World Peace One concert with such artists as U2, Madonna, Pink Floyd and Green Day to increase awareness and activism for world peace and to raise funds for humanitarian relief. She made her American television debut on The Oprah Winfrey Show with the release of her third album, “Jane@Music.”
“Believe in Jane,” Zhang's fourth album, was released in 2010. Following its popularity, she performed at the first New York China Film Festival, where she was awarded most popular Chinese singer, and further represented China in the 7th Asia Song Festival held in Korea. She has recorded two songs for the Chinese film “EMPRESS OF CHINA” and was selected to record “Fighting Shadows” for “TERMINATOR GENISYS” due to her unique vocal range and talent.
American hip hop artist Big Sean has earned worldwide attention since the release of his debut album “Finally Famous” in 2011. As his first major label effort, the album made an impressive #3 Soundscan debut in the U.S., solidifying a joint venture by Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music with Island Def Jam Music Recordings.
With more than 10 million records sold to-date, Sean was the first rapper to ever perform at the White House and has released two successful shoe designs in partnerships with Adidas Originals. While his professional work as an artist keeps him extremely busy, Sean makes the time to use his resources to give back through his Detroit-based non-profit, the Sean Anderson Foundation.
He is currently on a worldwide tour promoting his third major label album, “Dark Sky Paradise,” which debuted at #1.
Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions present “TERMINATOR GENISYS.” When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: to reset the future. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Matthew Smith, Courtney B. Vance and Byung-Hun Lee.
The film is produced by David Ellison and Dana Goldberg. Written by Laeta Kalogridis & Patrick Lussier. Directed by Alan Taylor.
“TERMINATOR GENISYS” opens in theaters on July 1st, 2015.
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First Trailer for "Captive" with David Oyelowo and Kate Mara
The trailer for CAPTIVE starring David Oyelowo and Kate Mara is now available on iTunes Trailers!
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/captive/
CAPTIVE, based on a miraculous true story that drew the attention of the entire nation, is the dramatic, thrilling, and spiritual journey of Ashley Smith and Brian Nichols. After being taken hostage by Brian in her own apartment, Ashley turns to Rick Warren’s inspirational book, The Purpose Driven Life, for guidance. In reading from the book, Ashley not only finds purpose in her own life, but helps Brian find a more peaceful resolution to a harrowing situation.
CAPTIVE is in theaters September 18, 2015
http://www.captivethemovie.com
https://www.facebook.com/CaptiveMovie
https://twitter.com/captive
#CaptiveMovie
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First Trade Paperback for "The Autumnlands" Comic Book Due in July 2015
The first six issues of sword, sorcery, and talking fauna will be collected into trade paperback
Writer Kurt Busiek (ASTRO CITY, Marvels) and artist Benjamin Dewey (Tragedy Series, Star Wars) build a vibrant, layered fantasy series in THE AUTUMNLANDS: TOOTH & CLAW. The first six issues of the series will be collected into a trade paperback and available this June.
THE AUTUMNLANDS: TOOTH & CLAW, VOL. 1 is Conan meets Game of Thrones with a splash of Kamandi. An original high-fantasy epic for mature readers, THE AUTUMNLANDS begins with a secret conclave of wizards as they summon a legendary champion back through time in an effort to save the world. But instead, their efforts are met with disastrous consequences.
THE AUTUMNLANDS: TOOTH & CLAW, VOL. 1 (ISBN: 978-1-63215-277-0) hits comic book stores on July 1 and bookstores on July 14, and will be available for $9.99. It can be ordered by retailers from Diamond Book Distributors with Diamond Code APR150573.
More praise for THE AUTUMNLANDS:
“An ambitious and entertaining story in grand fashion.” —Comicosity
“Each panel is worth the cover price all by itself.” —Comic Book Resources
“I use no hyperbole when I say this may be the comic of the year, and have no doubts about giving it a perfect score.” —Newsarama
“Fantasy lovers rejoice, for we can now add Tooth & Claw to our growing collection of comics in our favorite genre. Once this is collected I will be sure to set it immediately beside my Mouse Guard hardcovers, and Rat Queenspaperbacks.” —Word of the Nerd
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"Batman Day" Returns September 26, 2015
DC Entertainment Announces That on September 26: “Batman Day” Returns
Back By Popular Demand, BATMAN DAY 2015 Makes the Celebration of The World’s Most Popular Super Hero and Global Pop Culture Icon an Annual Event
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DC Entertainment is bringing back the fan-favorite event celebrating The Dark Knight. “Batman Day” is back by popular demand and will take place on Saturday, September 26, 2015, kicking off what has become an annual event honoring one of the most popular and iconic Super Heroes and celebrating all things Batman from comics to video games and more. Fans everywhere are invited to partake in festivities with thousands of comic book shops, bookstores, schools, libraries and other retail partners participating in the bat-centric event.
Those who visit select comic stores, libraries and bookstores on “Batman Day” will also have the opportunity for meet-and-greets with premier DC Entertainment talent including legendary artist and DCE Co-Publisher Jim Lee, Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, David Finch, Brian Azzarello, Cameron Stewart, Pat Gleason, Dustin Nguyen, Tim Seeley, Tom King, Dan Jurgens, Jeff Parker, Matthew Manning, and Daniel Wallace with many more to be announced.
In addition to DC Entertainment, “Batman Day” partners include Warner Bros. Consumer Products with licensees Capstone, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, and DK Publishing, as well as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television, with additional partners to be announced. Partners will provide unique retail and digital promotional tie-ins across multiple media to celebrate the Caped Crusader.
The official “Batman Day” event kit will include activity sheets, trivia, and games and will be available for download on http://www.dccomics.com/batmandaykit.
About DC Entertainment
DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, etc.), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables, etc.) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is one of the largest English-language publishers of comics in the world.
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Thursday, June 18, 2015
Digital Manga Announces Osamu Tezuka's "Storm Fairy"
Digital Manga, Inc. to publish Osamu Tezuka's shojo manga, Storm Fairy
GARDENA, CA - With successful Kickstarter campaigns like Captain Ken, Lugwig B, Alabaster, and the recent Clockwork Apple, Digital Manga isn't slowing down their Kickstarter train to publish “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka titles, and their next project is a shojo (girl's) title called Storm Fairy. This manga is a collection of three short stories with the first being the longest at the length of half the book, and the other two make up the rest. Their new standard will have the book printed in high-quality off-set white paper, and is scheduled to be released in October, 2015. The Kickstarter campaign is planned to start June 16th, and will run for 30 days.
In Storm Fairy, Kuwagata Castle is in the midst of being invaded by enemy forces and the Empress flees to a nearby forest to implore a forest fairy to save her husband and her kingdom. A deal was struck and in exchange for the fairy's favor, the empress must give up the face of her next born child. Thus, two girls life become entwined, one who has to wear a mask to hide her disfigured face, another born with the face of the other. One day, while the Emperor and Empress are away, a usurper finds out about Princess Ruri's curse and steals her mask so he can place his own daughter on the throne. They oust Princess Ruri from her kingdom, and while on the run she meets a samurai, Tonosuke, who takes pity on her and takes her under his wing. Hakobe, the forest fairy blessed with another woman's face, is tasked with tricking unwary travelers but her sweet heart always leads her to help others. While on a trip into the town, she finds out the real Princess Ruri is on the run and decides to help her win back her kingdom. But, little does she know, she wears the face of the woman she's trying to save...
The second short story, “Kokeshi Detective Agency,” has a similar tone and feel to young adult book series, Encyclopedia Brown. Little fearless Paco goes around solving mysteries for she is not afraid of things that go bump in the night while her dog friend Waco does his best to protect her. In the third story, fairy Pink from the realm of beautiful sunsets morphs into whatever she wants so she may help those who are unhappy and in need, but King Brown and Sepia from the realm of thunderstorms do their best to make people miserable.
Even though this manga is classified as a shojo manga, Tezuka still questions what is perceived as beautiful or ugly, and I love it. – Hikaru Sasahara, President of DMI
Shojo is a type of genre born in Japanese magazines that were segregated according to gender. Shonen and shojo was printed similarly like the funnies in your Sunday newspaper. Magazines aimed at boys to sympathize with WWII created the genre shonen whereas magazines aimed at girls focused on their feelings and home life created the genre shojo. Post-WWII showed a surge of girls interested in manga, and when Tezuka published Princess Knight, he raised the bar on what was acceptable for Japanese girls to read. There are not a lot of shojo titles created by men (including Tezuka), so Digital Manga, Inc. is proud to add this teen shojo title to their library.
There will also be a stretch goal to reprint Unico in sharper color, and another stretch goal to print Crime and Punishment which was previously released as digital-only. More information regarding swag for stretch goals when it becomes unlocked.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digitalmanga/publish-tezukas-storm-fairy-and-reprint-unico
About DMI and Tezuka Productions
Digital Manga Inc. has over 20 years of experience publishing manga, and president and founder, Hikaru Sasahara, personally knew Tezuka and his dreams of world unity. Hikaru had created Digital Manga, Inc. in order to bring about his concept of "East meets West," and has published many manga including other Tezuka titles like Barbara, Unico, Triton of the Sea, and Captain Ken.
Tezuka Productions has brought to the anime and manga industry controversial books that always pushed the boundaries of what it means to be human. Tezuka does not shy away from showing all the facets of humanity, whether it be sorrow, joy, humor, tragedy, these things encompass what it means to live no matter what type of skin, color, shape, or gender others have. Some famous books Tezuka and his production company have published are Astro Boy, Blackjack, Unico, and Buddha.
Questions? Contact us at: contact@emanga.com
Digital Manga Inc.
Located in Gardena, CA, Digital Manga Inc. is one of the industry's most unconventional and innovative companies, specializing in building corporate and cultural bridges from Japan to the West - specifically through the licensing, importation, and preparation of anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comic books) and related merchandise for North America's mainstream and niche markets. In this capacity, DMI serves as a catalyst for the spread of Japanese pop culture institutions into the global arena. The company's imprint lines include DMP (its mainstream imprint), DMP Platinum (its classic manga imprint), JUNÉ (its boys love imprint), 801 MEDIA (its adult boys love imprint), DokiDoki (its exclusive co-publishing imprint with Shinshokan Publishing), DH/DMP (a co-publishing venture with Dark Horse Comics, Project H (its Seinen Hentai manga imprint) and DMG (a new forefront for its digital distribution initiative).
For more information about Digital Manga Publishing, visit http://www.digitalmanga.com as well as:
http://www.dmpplatinum.com/
www.dmpbooks.com
www.junemanga.com
www.digitalmangaguild.com
https://www.emanga.com/tezuka
https://www.akadot.com/
-----------------------
GARDENA, CA - With successful Kickstarter campaigns like Captain Ken, Lugwig B, Alabaster, and the recent Clockwork Apple, Digital Manga isn't slowing down their Kickstarter train to publish “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka titles, and their next project is a shojo (girl's) title called Storm Fairy. This manga is a collection of three short stories with the first being the longest at the length of half the book, and the other two make up the rest. Their new standard will have the book printed in high-quality off-set white paper, and is scheduled to be released in October, 2015. The Kickstarter campaign is planned to start June 16th, and will run for 30 days.
In Storm Fairy, Kuwagata Castle is in the midst of being invaded by enemy forces and the Empress flees to a nearby forest to implore a forest fairy to save her husband and her kingdom. A deal was struck and in exchange for the fairy's favor, the empress must give up the face of her next born child. Thus, two girls life become entwined, one who has to wear a mask to hide her disfigured face, another born with the face of the other. One day, while the Emperor and Empress are away, a usurper finds out about Princess Ruri's curse and steals her mask so he can place his own daughter on the throne. They oust Princess Ruri from her kingdom, and while on the run she meets a samurai, Tonosuke, who takes pity on her and takes her under his wing. Hakobe, the forest fairy blessed with another woman's face, is tasked with tricking unwary travelers but her sweet heart always leads her to help others. While on a trip into the town, she finds out the real Princess Ruri is on the run and decides to help her win back her kingdom. But, little does she know, she wears the face of the woman she's trying to save...
The second short story, “Kokeshi Detective Agency,” has a similar tone and feel to young adult book series, Encyclopedia Brown. Little fearless Paco goes around solving mysteries for she is not afraid of things that go bump in the night while her dog friend Waco does his best to protect her. In the third story, fairy Pink from the realm of beautiful sunsets morphs into whatever she wants so she may help those who are unhappy and in need, but King Brown and Sepia from the realm of thunderstorms do their best to make people miserable.
Even though this manga is classified as a shojo manga, Tezuka still questions what is perceived as beautiful or ugly, and I love it. – Hikaru Sasahara, President of DMI
Shojo is a type of genre born in Japanese magazines that were segregated according to gender. Shonen and shojo was printed similarly like the funnies in your Sunday newspaper. Magazines aimed at boys to sympathize with WWII created the genre shonen whereas magazines aimed at girls focused on their feelings and home life created the genre shojo. Post-WWII showed a surge of girls interested in manga, and when Tezuka published Princess Knight, he raised the bar on what was acceptable for Japanese girls to read. There are not a lot of shojo titles created by men (including Tezuka), so Digital Manga, Inc. is proud to add this teen shojo title to their library.
There will also be a stretch goal to reprint Unico in sharper color, and another stretch goal to print Crime and Punishment which was previously released as digital-only. More information regarding swag for stretch goals when it becomes unlocked.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digitalmanga/publish-tezukas-storm-fairy-and-reprint-unico
About DMI and Tezuka Productions
Digital Manga Inc. has over 20 years of experience publishing manga, and president and founder, Hikaru Sasahara, personally knew Tezuka and his dreams of world unity. Hikaru had created Digital Manga, Inc. in order to bring about his concept of "East meets West," and has published many manga including other Tezuka titles like Barbara, Unico, Triton of the Sea, and Captain Ken.
Tezuka Productions has brought to the anime and manga industry controversial books that always pushed the boundaries of what it means to be human. Tezuka does not shy away from showing all the facets of humanity, whether it be sorrow, joy, humor, tragedy, these things encompass what it means to live no matter what type of skin, color, shape, or gender others have. Some famous books Tezuka and his production company have published are Astro Boy, Blackjack, Unico, and Buddha.
Questions? Contact us at: contact@emanga.com
Digital Manga Inc.
Located in Gardena, CA, Digital Manga Inc. is one of the industry's most unconventional and innovative companies, specializing in building corporate and cultural bridges from Japan to the West - specifically through the licensing, importation, and preparation of anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comic books) and related merchandise for North America's mainstream and niche markets. In this capacity, DMI serves as a catalyst for the spread of Japanese pop culture institutions into the global arena. The company's imprint lines include DMP (its mainstream imprint), DMP Platinum (its classic manga imprint), JUNÉ (its boys love imprint), 801 MEDIA (its adult boys love imprint), DokiDoki (its exclusive co-publishing imprint with Shinshokan Publishing), DH/DMP (a co-publishing venture with Dark Horse Comics, Project H (its Seinen Hentai manga imprint) and DMG (a new forefront for its digital distribution initiative).
For more information about Digital Manga Publishing, visit http://www.digitalmanga.com as well as:
http://www.dmpplatinum.com/
www.dmpbooks.com
www.junemanga.com
www.digitalmangaguild.com
https://www.emanga.com/tezuka
https://www.akadot.com/
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Webcomics Update: Grumble #2, Page 9
Grumble Chapter Two, Page 9 is here: http://www.comicbookbin.com/grumbletwopage009.html
NOTE: Last year, I printed some promotional copies of Grumble: Chapter One through a POD printer. I will sign and number a copy of this "rare" comic book for $5 post paid, which you can purchase here or http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/p/i-reads-shopping.html
I am also on Patreon.
NOTE: Last year, I printed some promotional copies of Grumble: Chapter One through a POD printer. I will sign and number a copy of this "rare" comic book for $5 post paid, which you can purchase here or http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/p/i-reads-shopping.html
I am also on Patreon.
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