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CULTURE - From TheAtlantic: A surprising number of college students are homeless and/or hungry.
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MOVIES - From THR: Universal is developing a White House workplace comedy around the President Obama White House.
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BLM - From THR: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says that Jordan Peele's "Get Out" is like a Black "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
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COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap: Warner Bros. has movied "Aquaman," directed by James Wan and starring Jason Momoa in the title role, to December 21, 2018.
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MOVIES - From IndieWire: Production is about to begin on "Body Cross," a sequel to David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises," which features a most excellent performance by Viggo Mortensen.
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MOVIES - From IndieWire: The horror streaming service, Shudder, is streaming a reassembled cut of the original version of Ken Russell's notorious (and fantastic) 1971 film, "The Devils."
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MOVIES - From IndieWire: Warner Bros. is in the early stages of rebooting "The Matrix." As of now, neither the original writer-directors The Wachowskis nor the original producer, Joel Silver, is involved.
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MOVIES - From Variety: Amazon Studios has bought the U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to the music-filled drama, "Annette," starring Adam Driver, Rihana, and Rooney Mara and directed by Leos Carax ("Holy Motors").
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MOVIES - From TheWrap: Jordan Peele becomes the first Black writer-director whose debut film makes over $100 million dollars at the domestic box office.
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MOVIES - From TheWrap: Will Netflix finish Orson Welles' last film, "The Other Side of the Wind?"
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COMICS-FILM - From TheWrap: Warner Bros. would like Matthew Vaughn to direct "Man of Steel 2," the sequel to its Superman reboot. Vaughn directed the stylish "X-Men: First Class."
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TELEVISION - From Variety: CBS' smash-hit TV series, "The Big Bang Theory" will get a spinoff next season, "Young Sheldon."
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MOVIES - From Variety: The English-language version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" will have a sequel, "The Girl in the Spider's Web." Apparently, the cast of the first film will not return for the sequel.
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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist: Ridley Scott still wants to make a sequel to his 2000 film, Gladiator, which won the "Best Picture" Oscar.
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MOVIES - From IndieWire: Director Ava Duvernay shares photos from the set as "A Wrinkle in Time" wraps up principal photography.
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BLM - From RSN: Tensions rise in Ferguson, Missouri as new video surfaces concerning the killing of unarmed Black teen, Michael Brown, by then Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson.
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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 3/10 to 3/12/2017 weekend box office is "Kong: Skull Island" with an estimated take of $61 million.
From Deadline: "Kong-Skull Island" rising at international box office.
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MOVIES - From Deadline: Director Terrence Malick makes a rare public appearance.
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POLITICS - From TheDailyGrind: Anti-LGBTQ, "family values" Republican is having an affair with his cousin/employee, who divorced her husband for him.
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LGBTQ - From TheDailyGrind: South Dakota becomes first state to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people.
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CULTURE - From WashPost: 64-year-old Richard Leslie Lloyd thought the owners of Met Mart, a convenience store, was an Arab and tried to burn the store and "run the Arabs out of our country." The Met Mart owners are of Indian descent.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Amazon Prime Video Extends Deal with Film Company, A24
Amazon Extends Deal with A24, Brings Moonlight, Winner of Three Academy Awards Including Best Picture to Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video will continue to be the exclusive premium subscription streaming service for critically-acclaimed films from A24 including Academy Award winning Moonlight, current theatrical hit 20th Century Women and Casey Affleck’s next film, A Ghost Story
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon Prime Video today announced the extension of an exclusive content agreement with A24, making Prime Video the only premium subscription home for all upcoming A24 films. Moonlight starring Mahershala Ali (House of Cards) is available on Amazon Video, and starting May 21, 2017, Prime members will be able to stream and download the Oscar winning film at no additional cost to their membership. Swiss Army Man starring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Cannes Jury Prize winner The Lobster starring Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and Rachel Weisz (Amazon Studios’ Complete Unknown) and Green Room starring Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation) are already available to stream on Prime Video.
“We are thrilled to be the exclusive subscription streaming service to offer customers Academy Award winner Moonlight”
“We are thrilled to be the exclusive subscription streaming service to offer customers Academy Award winner Moonlight,” stated Jason Ropell, VP, Worldwide Head of Motion Pictures for Amazon Studios. “We already have an incredible catalog of films from A24 like Room and Ex Machina that Prime members love to watch and we are happy to extend our relationship to continue to bring Prime members these award winning, prestige films. Collaborating with A24 in addition to creating our own Academy Award winning movies like Manchester by the Sea and The Salesman make Amazon Video a premiere platform for streaming films.”
Highly anticipated A24 films coming to Prime Video later this year include Academy Award nominated 20th Century Women from Mike Mills (Beginners) and starring Annette Bening (American Beauty) and Elle Fanning (Amazon Studios’ The Neon Demon), American Honey starring Sasha Lane (Hunting Lila) and Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Free Fire starring Brie Larson (Room), Cillian Murphy (Inception) and Armie Hammer (Nocturnal Animals), The Lovers starring Debra Winger (Terms of Endearment) and Tracy Letts (Imperium) and It Comes at Night starring Joel Edgerton (Warrior) and Riley Keough (The Girlfriend Experience). Written and directed by David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon) and starring Casey Affleck (Amazon Studios’ Manchester by the Sea), A24’s A Ghost Story, will also land on Prime Video.
Amazon Prime members are already enjoying access to A24’s impressive library of titles including 2016 Oscar award winning films like Room with Brie Larson’s Best Actress performance as Ma and Amy, the Oscar winner for Best Documentary depicting the life and death of singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse as well as the thought-provoking supernatural horror film The Witch, Ex Machina, starring Golden Globe nominee Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) and Dark Places starring Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass).
Prime Video is available via the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/primevideo. In addition to unlimited streaming, Prime members can also download titles to mobile devices at no additional cost for offline viewing.
About Amazon Video
Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch, and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:
In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited fast free shipping options across all categories available on Amazon, more than two million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, secure photo storage with Prime Photos, unlimited reading with Prime Reading, unlimited access to a digital audiobook catalogue with Audible Channels for Prime, a rotating selection of free digital games and in-game loot with Twitch Prime, early access to select Lightning Deals, exclusive access and discounts to select items, and more. To sign-up for Prime or to find out more visit: www.amazon.com/prime.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.
About A24
Launched in the summer of 2012, A24 is a New York-based media company focused on the distribution, financing, development and production of feature films and television projects. Recently the company released Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, which just won 3 Academy Awards® at the 2017 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. The film also won a record-breaking 6 Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, and was honored with the Best Picture – Drama award at the 2017 Golden Globes.
Other recent film releases include Mike Mills’ funny and heartwarming 20th Century Women, nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar® and featuring a renowned central performance by Annette Bening; Yorgos Lanthimos' critical and commercial hit The Lobster, also an Oscar® nominee for Best Original Screenplay and starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz; Andrea Arnold’s highly acclaimed American Honey, starring Shia Labeouf, which won the Jury Prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival; the outrageous comedy Swiss Army Man, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano; and Robert Eggers’ horror smash The Witch, winner of 2 Independent Spirit Awards.
In 2015, A24’s releases included Room, winner of the Academy Award® for Best Actress for Brie Larson’s emotionally stunning performance; Amy, Asif Kapadia’s heart-wrenching portrait of Amy Winehouse which was a major commercial hit and won the Oscar® for Best Documentary; and Alex Garland's lauded directorial debut Ex Machina, a sci-fi smash starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander, which won the Academy Award® for Best Visual Effects.
In 2014, the company released Sundance breakout Obvious Child, featuring Jenny Slate, and Jonathan Glazer’s singular Scarlett Johansson film, Under the Skin. In 2013, the company released Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now, and Harmony Korine’s record-breaking Spring Breakers.
Upcoming titles include Trey Edward Shults’ It Comes at Night, a horror film starring Joel Edgerton, Riley Keough, and Christopher Abbott that marks the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the director’s celebrated debut feature Krisha; David Lowery’s A Ghost Story, which stars Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, and premiered at Sundance 2017 to rave reviews; Menahse, a heartwarming father/son story set in the Hasidic community and performed entirely in Yiddish; and Ben Wheatley’s wickedly funny action comedy Free Fire, starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, CillianMurphy, and Sharlto Copley, and winner of the People’s Choice Award in the Midnight Madness Section of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.
A24's television projects include The Carmichael Show which will soon be returning to NBC for its third season and USA's Playing House.
-----------------------
Amazon Prime Video will continue to be the exclusive premium subscription streaming service for critically-acclaimed films from A24 including Academy Award winning Moonlight, current theatrical hit 20th Century Women and Casey Affleck’s next film, A Ghost Story
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon Prime Video today announced the extension of an exclusive content agreement with A24, making Prime Video the only premium subscription home for all upcoming A24 films. Moonlight starring Mahershala Ali (House of Cards) is available on Amazon Video, and starting May 21, 2017, Prime members will be able to stream and download the Oscar winning film at no additional cost to their membership. Swiss Army Man starring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Cannes Jury Prize winner The Lobster starring Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and Rachel Weisz (Amazon Studios’ Complete Unknown) and Green Room starring Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation) are already available to stream on Prime Video.
“We are thrilled to be the exclusive subscription streaming service to offer customers Academy Award winner Moonlight”
“We are thrilled to be the exclusive subscription streaming service to offer customers Academy Award winner Moonlight,” stated Jason Ropell, VP, Worldwide Head of Motion Pictures for Amazon Studios. “We already have an incredible catalog of films from A24 like Room and Ex Machina that Prime members love to watch and we are happy to extend our relationship to continue to bring Prime members these award winning, prestige films. Collaborating with A24 in addition to creating our own Academy Award winning movies like Manchester by the Sea and The Salesman make Amazon Video a premiere platform for streaming films.”
Highly anticipated A24 films coming to Prime Video later this year include Academy Award nominated 20th Century Women from Mike Mills (Beginners) and starring Annette Bening (American Beauty) and Elle Fanning (Amazon Studios’ The Neon Demon), American Honey starring Sasha Lane (Hunting Lila) and Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Free Fire starring Brie Larson (Room), Cillian Murphy (Inception) and Armie Hammer (Nocturnal Animals), The Lovers starring Debra Winger (Terms of Endearment) and Tracy Letts (Imperium) and It Comes at Night starring Joel Edgerton (Warrior) and Riley Keough (The Girlfriend Experience). Written and directed by David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon) and starring Casey Affleck (Amazon Studios’ Manchester by the Sea), A24’s A Ghost Story, will also land on Prime Video.
Amazon Prime members are already enjoying access to A24’s impressive library of titles including 2016 Oscar award winning films like Room with Brie Larson’s Best Actress performance as Ma and Amy, the Oscar winner for Best Documentary depicting the life and death of singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse as well as the thought-provoking supernatural horror film The Witch, Ex Machina, starring Golden Globe nominee Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) and Dark Places starring Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass).
Prime Video is available via the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/primevideo. In addition to unlimited streaming, Prime members can also download titles to mobile devices at no additional cost for offline viewing.
About Amazon Video
Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch, and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:
- Prime Video: Thousands of movies and TV shows, including popular licensed content plus critically-acclaimed and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies from Amazon Studios like Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, Love & Friendship and kids series Tumble Leaf, available for unlimited streaming as part of an Amazon Prime membership
- Amazon Channels: Over 100 video subscriptions to networks like HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, PBS KIDS, Acorn TV and more, available to Amazon Prime members as add-ons to their membership – to view the full list of channels available, visit www.amazon.com/channels
- Rent or Own: Hundreds of thousands of titles, including new-release movies and current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers
- Instant Access: Instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, or online. For a list of all compatible devices visit www.amazon.com/howtostream
- Premium Features: Top features like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing
In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited fast free shipping options across all categories available on Amazon, more than two million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, secure photo storage with Prime Photos, unlimited reading with Prime Reading, unlimited access to a digital audiobook catalogue with Audible Channels for Prime, a rotating selection of free digital games and in-game loot with Twitch Prime, early access to select Lightning Deals, exclusive access and discounts to select items, and more. To sign-up for Prime or to find out more visit: www.amazon.com/prime.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.
About A24
Launched in the summer of 2012, A24 is a New York-based media company focused on the distribution, financing, development and production of feature films and television projects. Recently the company released Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, which just won 3 Academy Awards® at the 2017 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. The film also won a record-breaking 6 Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, and was honored with the Best Picture – Drama award at the 2017 Golden Globes.
Other recent film releases include Mike Mills’ funny and heartwarming 20th Century Women, nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar® and featuring a renowned central performance by Annette Bening; Yorgos Lanthimos' critical and commercial hit The Lobster, also an Oscar® nominee for Best Original Screenplay and starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz; Andrea Arnold’s highly acclaimed American Honey, starring Shia Labeouf, which won the Jury Prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival; the outrageous comedy Swiss Army Man, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano; and Robert Eggers’ horror smash The Witch, winner of 2 Independent Spirit Awards.
In 2015, A24’s releases included Room, winner of the Academy Award® for Best Actress for Brie Larson’s emotionally stunning performance; Amy, Asif Kapadia’s heart-wrenching portrait of Amy Winehouse which was a major commercial hit and won the Oscar® for Best Documentary; and Alex Garland's lauded directorial debut Ex Machina, a sci-fi smash starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander, which won the Academy Award® for Best Visual Effects.
In 2014, the company released Sundance breakout Obvious Child, featuring Jenny Slate, and Jonathan Glazer’s singular Scarlett Johansson film, Under the Skin. In 2013, the company released Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now, and Harmony Korine’s record-breaking Spring Breakers.
Upcoming titles include Trey Edward Shults’ It Comes at Night, a horror film starring Joel Edgerton, Riley Keough, and Christopher Abbott that marks the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the director’s celebrated debut feature Krisha; David Lowery’s A Ghost Story, which stars Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, and premiered at Sundance 2017 to rave reviews; Menahse, a heartwarming father/son story set in the Hasidic community and performed entirely in Yiddish; and Ben Wheatley’s wickedly funny action comedy Free Fire, starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, CillianMurphy, and Sharlto Copley, and winner of the People’s Choice Award in the Midnight Madness Section of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.
A24's television projects include The Carmichael Show which will soon be returning to NBC for its third season and USA's Playing House.
-----------------------
Live Theater "Angels in America" and "Obsession" Comes to Movie Theaters This Summer
Academy Award® Nominees Hit Cinemas Nationwide from the NT Live Stage with Andrew Garfield in ‘Angels in America’ and Jude Law in ‘Obsession,’ for Three Days This Summer
Two Hit Stage Productions Light Up the Big Screen in Exclusive Programming from National Theatre Live in May and July
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Love, temptation and fear will captivate moviegoers as Fathom Events, BY Experience and National Theatre Live partner to bring the best of the stage to U.S. cinemas with “NT LIVE: Obsession” on May 11, 2017 and “NT LIVE: Angels in America” on July 20 and 27, 2017 all captured live each day.
.@FathomEvents News: Jude Law and Andrew Garfield Hit the Big Screen in Obsession and Angels in America from #NTLive
Tickets for “NT LIVE: Obsession” and “NT LIVE: Angels in America” can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in more than 500 select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).
“Obsession” features Jude Law (“The Young Pope”) in a tale of adultery and crime full of passion and destruction in this one-night event on Thursday, May 11 at 7:00 p.m. local time. Law stars as the handsome, down-on-his-luck Gino in the new stage adaptation of Visconti’s penetrating social drama directed by Tony Award®-winner Ivo van Hove (“Hedda Gabler,” “A View from the Bridge”). Drifter Gino encounters Giuseppe and his much younger, trapped wife Giovanna at their roadside restaurant and petrol station. He and Giovanna are so irresistibly attracted to one another they begin an affair while plotting to murder her husband. But the crime does not unite them in this chilling story where passion can lead only to destruction. Broadcast from the prestigious Barbican Theatre, “Obsession” marks Law’s first London theatre performance in four years.
Andrew Garfield (“Silence,” “Hacksaw Ridge”) stars in “Angels in America,” a story set in New York during the 1980s AIDS crisis in a conservative America, as people fight for their lives. “Angels in America” will be broadcast in two parts; “Part 1: Millennium Approaches” on Thursday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m. local time and “Part 2: Perestroika” on Thursday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m. local time. Andrew Garfield plays Prior Walter alongside cast including Denise Gough (“People, Places and Things”), Nathan Lane (“The Producers”), James McArdle (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) and Russell Tovey (“The Pass”).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi award-winning two-part play is directed by Olivier® and Tony Award-winning director Marianne Elliott (“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and “War Horse”). “Part One: Millennium Approaches” was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by “Part Two: Perestroika” the following year.
“National Theatre Live continues to make some of the best stage shows with the biggest names accessible to cinema audiences,” Fathom Events Vice President of Programming Kymberli Frueh said. “Theatre fans of all kinds will appreciate these two compelling shows from the ‘best seats in the house’ – at their local movie theater.”
About Fathom Events
Fathom Events is recognized as the leading domestic distributor of event cinema with participating affiliate theaters in all 100 of the top Designated Market Areas®, and ranks as one of the largest overall distributors of content to movie theaters. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) (known collectively as AC JV, LLC), Fathom Events offers a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events such as live, high-definition performances of the Metropolitan Opera, dance and theatre productions like the Bolshoi Ballet and National Theatre Live, sporting events like Copa America Centenario, concerts with artists like Michael Bublé, Rush and Mötley Crüe, the yearlong TCM Big Screen Classics film series and inspirational events such as To Joey With Love and Kirk Cameron’s Revive US. Fathom Events takes audiences behind the scenes and offers unique extras including audience Q&As, backstage footage and interviews with cast and crew, creating the ultimate VIP experience. Fathom Events’ live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live and pre-recorded events to 896 locations and 1,383 screens in 181 DMAs. For more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.
About BY Experience
BY Experience kicked off the digital revolution of live events to movie theaters and other locations globally with David Bowie’s 2003 Reality album launch and since then, over 30 million tickets have been sold worldwide for cinema events BY Experience has distributed globally. Current cinema series credits: Distribution Representative, The Met: Live in HD (Worldwide; since 2006), the UK’s National Theatre Live (Ex-UK; since 2009), Bolshoi Ballet (North America; since 2014). BY Experience has executive produced and/or distributed several diverse programs for cinema including numerous rock concerts, radio programs, fine art exhibits other special content events including national theatrical re-releases of classic and in some cases fully restored films such as “The Breakfast Club” (30th anniversary), “My Fair Lady” (50th), “Oklahoma!” (60th), and “Fantasia” (75th). BY Experience distributes to over 70 countries, to over 3,000 movie screens. www.byexperience.net.
About National Theatre Live
National Theatre Live launched in June 2009 with a broadcast of the National Theatre production of Phèdre with Helen Mirren. The company has since broadcast more than 50 other productions live, from both the National Theatre and from other theatres in the UK. NT Live broadcasts have now been experienced by over 6 million people in over 2,000 venues around the world, including over 700 venues in the UK alone. Past broadcasts from the National Theatre have included Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller; War Horse; Man and Superman with Ralph Fiennes; and most recently Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus. Broadcasts from other UK theatres include Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Coriolanus from the Donmar Warehouse; A View from the Bridge from the Young Vic; Macbeth from the Manchester International Festival; and Hangmen, Skylight, The Audience and No Man’s Land from London’s West End. The biggest single broadcast to date is Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch at the Barbican, which has been seen by over 600,000 people. In 2014 the National Theatre recorded its first production on Broadway, Of Mice and Men with James Franco and Chris O’Dowd, captured at the Longacre Theatre.
-------------------------
Two Hit Stage Productions Light Up the Big Screen in Exclusive Programming from National Theatre Live in May and July
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Love, temptation and fear will captivate moviegoers as Fathom Events, BY Experience and National Theatre Live partner to bring the best of the stage to U.S. cinemas with “NT LIVE: Obsession” on May 11, 2017 and “NT LIVE: Angels in America” on July 20 and 27, 2017 all captured live each day.
.@FathomEvents News: Jude Law and Andrew Garfield Hit the Big Screen in Obsession and Angels in America from #NTLive
Tickets for “NT LIVE: Obsession” and “NT LIVE: Angels in America” can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in more than 500 select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).
“Obsession” features Jude Law (“The Young Pope”) in a tale of adultery and crime full of passion and destruction in this one-night event on Thursday, May 11 at 7:00 p.m. local time. Law stars as the handsome, down-on-his-luck Gino in the new stage adaptation of Visconti’s penetrating social drama directed by Tony Award®-winner Ivo van Hove (“Hedda Gabler,” “A View from the Bridge”). Drifter Gino encounters Giuseppe and his much younger, trapped wife Giovanna at their roadside restaurant and petrol station. He and Giovanna are so irresistibly attracted to one another they begin an affair while plotting to murder her husband. But the crime does not unite them in this chilling story where passion can lead only to destruction. Broadcast from the prestigious Barbican Theatre, “Obsession” marks Law’s first London theatre performance in four years.
Andrew Garfield (“Silence,” “Hacksaw Ridge”) stars in “Angels in America,” a story set in New York during the 1980s AIDS crisis in a conservative America, as people fight for their lives. “Angels in America” will be broadcast in two parts; “Part 1: Millennium Approaches” on Thursday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m. local time and “Part 2: Perestroika” on Thursday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m. local time. Andrew Garfield plays Prior Walter alongside cast including Denise Gough (“People, Places and Things”), Nathan Lane (“The Producers”), James McArdle (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) and Russell Tovey (“The Pass”).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi award-winning two-part play is directed by Olivier® and Tony Award-winning director Marianne Elliott (“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and “War Horse”). “Part One: Millennium Approaches” was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by “Part Two: Perestroika” the following year.
“National Theatre Live continues to make some of the best stage shows with the biggest names accessible to cinema audiences,” Fathom Events Vice President of Programming Kymberli Frueh said. “Theatre fans of all kinds will appreciate these two compelling shows from the ‘best seats in the house’ – at their local movie theater.”
About Fathom Events
Fathom Events is recognized as the leading domestic distributor of event cinema with participating affiliate theaters in all 100 of the top Designated Market Areas®, and ranks as one of the largest overall distributors of content to movie theaters. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) (known collectively as AC JV, LLC), Fathom Events offers a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events such as live, high-definition performances of the Metropolitan Opera, dance and theatre productions like the Bolshoi Ballet and National Theatre Live, sporting events like Copa America Centenario, concerts with artists like Michael Bublé, Rush and Mötley Crüe, the yearlong TCM Big Screen Classics film series and inspirational events such as To Joey With Love and Kirk Cameron’s Revive US. Fathom Events takes audiences behind the scenes and offers unique extras including audience Q&As, backstage footage and interviews with cast and crew, creating the ultimate VIP experience. Fathom Events’ live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live and pre-recorded events to 896 locations and 1,383 screens in 181 DMAs. For more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.
About BY Experience
BY Experience kicked off the digital revolution of live events to movie theaters and other locations globally with David Bowie’s 2003 Reality album launch and since then, over 30 million tickets have been sold worldwide for cinema events BY Experience has distributed globally. Current cinema series credits: Distribution Representative, The Met: Live in HD (Worldwide; since 2006), the UK’s National Theatre Live (Ex-UK; since 2009), Bolshoi Ballet (North America; since 2014). BY Experience has executive produced and/or distributed several diverse programs for cinema including numerous rock concerts, radio programs, fine art exhibits other special content events including national theatrical re-releases of classic and in some cases fully restored films such as “The Breakfast Club” (30th anniversary), “My Fair Lady” (50th), “Oklahoma!” (60th), and “Fantasia” (75th). BY Experience distributes to over 70 countries, to over 3,000 movie screens. www.byexperience.net.
About National Theatre Live
National Theatre Live launched in June 2009 with a broadcast of the National Theatre production of Phèdre with Helen Mirren. The company has since broadcast more than 50 other productions live, from both the National Theatre and from other theatres in the UK. NT Live broadcasts have now been experienced by over 6 million people in over 2,000 venues around the world, including over 700 venues in the UK alone. Past broadcasts from the National Theatre have included Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller; War Horse; Man and Superman with Ralph Fiennes; and most recently Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus. Broadcasts from other UK theatres include Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Coriolanus from the Donmar Warehouse; A View from the Bridge from the Young Vic; Macbeth from the Manchester International Festival; and Hangmen, Skylight, The Audience and No Man’s Land from London’s West End. The biggest single broadcast to date is Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch at the Barbican, which has been seen by over 600,000 people. In 2014 the National Theatre recorded its first production on Broadway, Of Mice and Men with James Franco and Chris O’Dowd, captured at the Longacre Theatre.
-------------------------
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Review: Disney's Live-Action "Cinderella" is Good, But is not Disney Classic
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
Cinderella (2015)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour 45 minutes)
Rating: MPAA – PG for mild thematic elements
DIRECTOR: Kenneth Branagh
WRITER: Chris Weitz
PRODUCED: David Barron, Simon Kinberg, and Allison Shearmur
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Haris Zambarloukos (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Martin Walsh
COMPOSER: Patrick Doyle
Academy Award nominee
FANTASY/ROMANCE
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, Helen Bonham Carter, Nonso Anozie, Stellan Skarsgard, Sophie McShera, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Ben Chaplin, and Hayley Atwell
Cinderella is a 2015 fantasy and romance film from director Kenneth Branagh and writer Chris Weitz. Released by Walt Disney Pictures, the film is based on Walt Disney's 1950 animated feature film, Cinderella, and the folk tale of the same name. In this new version of the story, a young woman is at the mercy of her cruel stepmother, but her fortunes change after she meets a dashing young man.
In a peaceful kingdom there is a father (Ben Chaplin), a mother (Hayley Atwell), and their beautiful daughter, Ella (Lily James). Ella's parents teach her courage and kindness, and her mother teaches her to believe in magic. Some years after her mother dies, Ella's father marries the Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), who has two loud, rude daughters, Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera).
When Ella's father goes abroad for business, Lady Tremaine reveals her cruel and jealous nature. After Ella's father dies, Lady Tremaine takes over the household and pushes Ella from her own bedroom and into the attic. Anastasia and Drisella even give Ella a new name, Cinderella. After one particularly cruel day, Ella rides off into the woods where she meets a young man who says his name is Kit (Richard Madden). For both young people, this meeting is a turning point, but there are forces arrayed to keep them apart.
At the end of this movie, the Fairy Godmother (played by Helena Bonham Cater) describes the “forever-after” as being defined by “courage,” “kindess,” and “a little magic” (or something like that). This live-action version of Cinderella is indeed about “just a little magic.” Disney's classic, 1950 animated Cinderella is a fairy tale that is practically entirely infused with magic – from talking animals to an atmosphere of enchantment. Cinderella is more like a fantasy-romance or a romantic fantasy than it is like a fairy tale. With its lavish costumes and opulent sets, Cinderella plays like a period set piece set in a fictional kingdom in an indeterminate time.
But I can move past that. 2015 live-action Cinderella does not have to be 1950 animated Disney classic Cinderella. This new Cinderella relies on its title character for the magic that a wand or a fairy godmother might provide. As Cinderella, Lily James is quite good. When she smiles or is happy, the movie lights up. When she is sad, I felt sad, too. In this film, James does not have the greatest range between happy and sad. When Cinderella isn't happy or sad, James makes her look as if she is in a solid state of consternation. Luckily, it is Cinderella's state of happiness or sadness that drives the movie, and that works.
I don't need to say that Cate Blanchett is really good as Lady Tremiane, “the Stepmother.” Blanchett dominates her scenes, and the filmmakers were wise to limit her screen time; otherwise, Blanchett would have burned this movie down in a larger roll. Everyone else is good enough to pretty good, although Stellan Skarsgård seems neutered as The Grand Duke. Of course, there is not enough of Nonso Anozie as Captain of the Guards, but I am glad that this film's decision-makers were willing to cast him.
Cinderella is not for everyone. It is sweet and cute, a feel-good movie that goes down like warm hot chocolate on a cold winter's night. Cinderella is a good, but not great film, and director Kenneth Branagh does nothing to distinguish himself here. But there is enough Disney magic here to entertain some of us.
6 of 10
B
Sunday, September 18, 2016
NOTES:
2016 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Sandy Powell)
2016 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Costume Design” (Sandy Powell)
The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.
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Image Comics Announces "The Divided States of Hysteria" by Howard Chaykin
A TIMELY AND UNFLINCHING POLITICAL COMMENTARY
An America sundered.
An America enraged.
An America terrified.
An America shattered by greed and racism, violence and fear, nihilism and tragedy...
...and that's when everything really goes to hell.
Image Comics is pleased to announce that this June, creator Howard Chaykin (AMERICAN FLAGG!, BLACK KISS, SATELLITE SAM) will deliver THE DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA—a pulls-no-punches, dystopic suspense story about the dramatic downfall of the most formidable and globally far-reaching government the world has ever seen.
In THE DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA, a deeply troubled America is barely beginning to recover from a profound national trauma, only to be further destabilized by a worst-case terrorist attack.
"Black Kiss was banned in the UK and Canada—The Divided States of Hysteria may very well get me arrested here in the good ol' USA," Chaykin said of this raw, uncompromising vision of an all too familiar, all too near future America.
A powerful and profoundly unsettling new series echoing today's political turmoil and the restlessness of a jaded society, Chaykin’s THE DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA is poised to upend what readers have come to expect from comics.
THE DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA #1 (Diamond Code APR170684) hits stores on Wednesday, June 7th, 2017. The final order cutoff deadline for comics retailers is Monday, May 15th, 2017.
ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.
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Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Anime "K: Missing Kings" Now on Blu-ray and DVD
VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE HOME MEDIA RELEASE OF K: MISSING KINGS ANIME FEATURE FILM
K Film Debuts As A Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack And Standard Edition DVD Set And Resumes The Ferocious Battles Between Warring Clans
San Francisco, CA – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, delivers the visually stunning K: MISSING KINGS feature film home media release to audiences.
Set for release as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and as a Standard Edition DVD Set, K: MISSING KINGS expands the story of a once easygoing teenager that becomes embroiled in a deadly war between seven bloodthirsty clans. The film’s plot takes place one year after the conclusion of the original K anime series, which VIZ Media first released in 2013.
K: MISSING KINGS features a notable English voice cast that is highlighted by Sam Riegel as Yashiro Isana, Matt Mercer as Kuro Yatogami, and Stephanie Sheh as Neko.
The K: MISSING KINGS Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack will carry an MSRP of $29.98 U.S. / $34.99 CAN and features full 1080p HD resolution, 16x9 video. The Standard Edition DVD Set will be offered with an MSRP of $19.98 U.S. / $24.99 CAN. The Combo Pack’s notable bonus features include a character bio gallery and trailers.
In K: MISSING KINGS, Silver Clan members Kuro and Neko are on a mission to find their king, Shiro, who went missing after the battle on the School Island involving four of the seven colored kings. During their search, the two discover that Red Clan member Anna Kushina has become the target of the mysterious Green Clan, which intends to use the girl’s special power to track down Shiro. Now the Silver Clan and Red Clans find themselves joining forces to protect Shiro and Anna from this new threat. But will this unexpected alliance be enough to counter the Green Clan’s top fighters, as well as its king?
“We are very excited to expand the beautiful, thrilling world of K with MISSING KINGS’ gripping story of supernatural action and intrigue depicting the desperate search by the Silver Clan for their lost sovereign,” says Charlene Ingram, VIZ Media’s Senior Manager of Animation Marketing. “The animation by Studio GoHands is stunning and we’ve also accented the film with a stellar English voice cast. Don’t miss this extraordinary home media release coming this spring!”
For more information on K or other award-winning anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit VIZ.com.
About VIZ Media, LLC
Established in 1986, VIZ Media is the premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing. Along with its popular digital magazine WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, DRAGON BALL, SAILOR MOON, and POKÉMON, VIZ Media offers an extensive library of titles and original content in a wide variety of book and video formats, as well as through official licensed merchandise. Owned by three of Japan's largest publishing and entertainment companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is dedicated to bringing the best titles for English-speaking audiences worldwide.
Learn more about VIZ Media and its properties at VIZ.com.
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Japanese Sci-Fi Novel, "Orbital Cloud," Set for English Release
Award-Winning Author Of GENE MAPPER Returns With A Tense Thriller About International Agents Battling Space-Based Terror
San Francisco, CA – VIZ Media’s Haikasoru literary imprint expands its catalog of works by the renowned Japanese author Taiyo Fujii with the publication of his celebrated novel ORBITAL CLOUD on March 21st, 2017.
The gripping near-future thriller will be released in print with an MSRP of $16.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN. An eBook edition will debut on March 21st in the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Book Store, the Kobo eBooks Store, and the Google Play Store. Taiyo Fujii is a winner of the Nihon SF Taisho Award as well as the prestigious Seiun Award and Japan’s “Best Science Fiction” Award, a rare triple-crown victory that has propelled the author to the country’s top echelon of SF writers and also garnered him wide international acclaim.
ORBITAL CLOUD is set in the year 2020. Kazumi Kimura, proprietor of shooting star forecast website Meteor News, notices some suspicious orbiting space debris. Rumors spread online that the debris is actually an orbital weapon targeting the International Space Station. Halfway across the world, at NORAD, Staff Sergeant Daryl Freeman begins his own investigation of the threat. At the same time, billionaire entrepreneur Ronnie Smark and his journalist daughter prepare to check in to an orbital hotel as part of a stunt promoting private space tourism. Then Kazumi receives highly sensitive, and potentially explosive, information from a genius Iranian scientist. And so begins an unprecedented international battle against space-based terror that will soon involve the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NORAD, and the CIA.
ORBITAL CLOUD won Taiyo Fujii the 2014 Nihon SF Taisho Award as well as the Seiun Award, and took first prize in the “Best SF of 2014” in Japan’s SF Magazine.
“Taiyo Fujii is one of Japan’s most popular science fiction authors and we are very excited to make ORBITAL CLOUD available to English readers for the first time,” says Nick Mamatas, Editor. “Readers will be engrossed by the novel’s cast of Western and Japanese characters and the tense multi-layered plot that involves an international battle against space-based terror.”
Taiyo Fujii is the author of the mystery thriller, Gene Mapper, and won a 2014 Nihon SF Taisho Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan. Gene Mapper was Fujii’s first novel and became Amazon Japan’s Number One Kindle bestseller for 2012 when it was originally published. The novel was later revised and republished in both print and digitally in Japan as Gene Mapper – full build – by Hayakawa Publishing in 2013 and was nominated for the Nihon SF Taisho Award and the Seiun Award. Gene Mapper is published in English by Haikasoru. ORBITAL CLOUD is Fujii’s second novel.
For more information on ORBITAL CLOUD and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit Haikasoru.com.
For more information on other titles available from VIZ Media, please visit VIZ.com.
About VIZ Media, LLC
Established in 1986, VIZ Media is the premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing. Along with its popular digital magazine WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, DRAGON BALL, SAILOR MOON, and POKÉMON, VIZ Media offers an extensive library of titles and original content in a wide variety of book and video formats, as well as through official licensed merchandise. Owned by three of Japan's largest publishing and entertainment companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is dedicated to bringing the best titles for English-speaking audiences worldwide.
Learn more about VIZ Media and its properties at VIZ.com.
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