 BURBANK, Calif., April 28, 2020 /HalcyonTV/ -- The Burbank International Film Festival (BIFF), now celebrating its 12th year, debuts a new category "Films Made From Home," it was announced today by Jeff Rector, BIFF Festival President. The annual film festival takes place September 9-13, 2020 in beautiful Downtown Burbank, the Media Capital of the World and home to Warner Bros, Marvel Entertainment, Disney, ABC, The Burbank Studios, among many others.
"At this time of COVID-19 production challenges, we are excited to launch our newest festival opportunity to spotlight the talented and innovative filmmakers who are creating remarkable movies from the confines of their homes," said Rector. The "Films Made From Home" category will focus on short content (maximum running time of five minutes) submitted between May 1- June 30, 2020. This opportunity challenges filmmakers from around the world to get inspired and create fresh, original content from the safety of their homes. Projects can include any genre or medium including short films, music videos, PSA's, commercials, etc. Filmmakers must follow current health and safety guidelines and restrictions during their productions. Online submissions can be made here: https://filmfreeway.com/BurbankInternationalFilmFestival The top semi-finalists will be announced on July 15th and screened as part of the film festival. The finalists and winners will be announced at the Closing Night Gala & Awards Show on Sunday September 13th. Last year's Awards Gala drew over 450 filmmakers, celebrities and industry professionals from around the world for the red carpet, cocktail party, dinner and semi-formal awards show. Firm 'Go' For Two More Seasons For Fall 2021 And Fall 2022 In Broadcast Strip Syndication And Cable LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23, 2020 /HalcyonTV/ -- Entertainment Studios, one of the largest independent producers and distributors of film and television, and owner of 15 U.S. broadcast television stations and nine 24-hour HD television networks now serving nearly 160 million subscribers -- including The Weather Channel television network and its streaming service Local Now – is proud to announce an additional two-season order of its comedy game show FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK through the 2022-23 season.
Hosted by Jon Kelley (EXTRA, THE MOLE), the comedy game show FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK is a daily half-hour strip featuring a panel of comedians who interact with contestants for cash and big laughs. In each episode, the laughs and the stakes increase as the contestants ask the comedians questions. The comedians regularly appearing on FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK include: Howie Mandel, Tiffany Haddish, Whitney Cummings, Jon Lovitz, Anthony Anderson, Gabriel Iglesias, Cedric the Entertainer, Billy Gardell, Kathy Griffin, Margaret Cho, Cheryl Hines, Byron Allen, Louie Anderson, Raven-Symone, Tommy Davidson, Sherri Shepherd, Tim Meadows, Russell Peters, Tom Arnold, Sheryl Underwood, Natasha Leggero, Bill Bellamy, Bobby Lee, Jimmie Walker, Bill Engvall, Harland Williams, Jackee, Gary Owen, David Alan Grier, Maria Bamford, Maz Jobrani, Dave Coulier, George Wallace, Loni Love, Pauly Shore, Dean Edwards, Jodi Miller, Vivica A. Fox, and Caroline Rhea. Entertainment Studios – which currently produces and distributes a total of 64 shows on the air globally – has cleared FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK in 96 percent of U.S. television markets, including New York (WLNY) Los Angeles (KCAL) and Chicago (WICU). FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK currently boasts clearances with group-owned television stations including: Sinclair, Weigel, CBS, Scripps, Graham Media, Meredith, Mission, Londen, Sunbeam, Nexstar, Raycom, Titan, NRJ, Hubbard, Lilly, Cunningham, Block, OTA, California-Oregon Broadcasters, Independent Communications, Winston, Tougaloo, Shield, Rockfleet, Marquee, Sagamore Hill, News-Press Gazette, McKinnon Broadcasting, Max Media, and Cowles. "FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK is growing rapidly in all key demos," said Byron Allen, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Entertainment Studios. "This comedy game show is perfectly positioned for long-term success, and we are very proud to continue investing in this marquee television franchise." FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK is produced and distributed by Entertainment Studios. ABBA - LIVE AT WEMBLEY ARENA Available March 13 via Polar/UMe - Features the complete November 10th, 1979 ABBA show LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23, 2020 /HalcyonTV/ -- By the time ABBA played London's Wembley Arena in November 1979, they had spent five years in the public spotlight – although it seems a short time now, they had lived several lives in that period. Comprising of writers Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, and the incomparable vocals of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, ABBA shot to international fame by winning the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton UK in 1974. From that moment on, they had moved through the glam'n'glitter of Arrival, the megastardom of ABBA - The Album and the gloss and embracing of disco of Voulez-Vous.
ABBA's concerts in London at the end of the '70s – the decade that they helped to shape musically – quickly became the stuff of legend. For a group that toured only a handful of times, these shows were a pinnacle, coming near the end of their touring life. Backstage they would have admirers such as Ian Dury, Joe Strummer ('Spanish Bombs' from the Clash's London Calling was said to be influenced by ABBA) and Jimmy Page dropping by to catch the hottest ticket in town. John Cleese was spotted in the auditorium. The tour had opened in Edmonton, Canada in September 1979 and was to close in Dublin on November 15th. ABBA loved being in London (Frida wore an Arsenal FC shirt one night), fighting off winter chills to deliver some of the most exhilarating performances of their career. Coinciding with the release of their Greatest Hits Volume 2 album, this was high-octane ABBA, captured forever in the legendary pictures of the event with Frida and Agnetha appearing initially in Nordic outfits that referenced 'blue-tinged mountains and glittering waters' before all four emerged in their blue jumpsuits, singing as if their life depended upon it. When ABBA took the stage, their experience and professionalism showed. Audiences and critics were astounded that ABBA could reproduce their studio sound live – and sometimes it swung even more. The backing musicians were Sweden's best and most experienced. Although principally promoting their recent Voulez-Vous album, the set covered highlights throughout their career and contained a rare performance of Agnetha's 'I'm Still Alive', unreleased on any album. It is now time to hear ABBA at the peak of their live performance again on ABBA – Live at Wembley Arena. The concert is now available on a 180gm beautiful triple vinyl, produced by Ludvig Andersson, and half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Pre-order ABBA – Live at Wembley Arena now: https://abba.lnk.to/LiveAtWembleyArena-3LPPR 3LP Track Listing: LP1 – Side A 1. Gammal fäbodpsalm 2. Voulez-Vous 3. If It Wasn't For The Nights 4. As Good As New 5. Knowing Me, Knowing You LP1 – Side B 1. Rock Me 2. Chiquitita 3. Money, Money, Money 4. I Have A dream LP2 – Side A 1. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 2. SOS 3. Fernando LP2 – Side B 1. The Name Of The Game 2. Eagle 3. Thank You For The Music 4. Why Did It Have To Be Me LP3 – Side A 1. Intermezzo No. 1 2. I'm Still Alive 3. Summer Night City 4. Take A Chance On Me LP3 – Side B 1. Does Your Mother Know 2. Hole in your soul 3. The Way Old Friends Do 4. Dancing Queen 5. Waterloo ABBA · Live at Wembley Arena Polar/UMe · Release Date: March 13, 2020 Album Collects Songs From Her Classic Song Book Releases of Cole Porter and Duke Ellington as well as from 'Ella Sings Gershwin,' 'Songs In A Mellow Mood,' 'Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs From Let No Man Write My Epitaph,' and Pablo Records' 'Ella and Oscar' - Available on 2CD Set and Digitally on March 13 via Verve Records/UMe LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21, 2020 /HalcyonTV/ -- Ella Fitzgerald was masterful in any musical format, but there was something especially luminous about her singing alone with a piano. This was clear when pianist Ellis Larkins was first asked to work with her for her 1950 album, Ella Sings Gershwin. "Larkins said he strongly believed that piano accompaniment alone would best serve the singer's extraordinary talents," NPR wrote in 2008. "She just loved singing with Ellis," producer Milt Gabler said in 1990. The result was a delicacy of 1950s vocal jazz, revealing that Fitzgerald—a three-octave dynamo—was just as brilliant without any bells and whistles.
The Gershwin album did so well that Fitzgerald reunited with Larkins for a second voice-and-piano album in 1954, Songs In A Mellow Mood, which consisted of a variety of iconic Great American Songbook standards. Fitzgerald found massive success with her signature series of lush, orchestral Song Book releases, but throughout her long and illustrious career, she would occasionally return to the intimate format of just voice and piano. While she peppered 1956's Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book and 1957's Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book with a couple piano duets, 1960's Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs From Let No Man Write My Epitaph, featuring songs from the film she appeared in as a pianist-singer, was her third full album accompanied only by piano, this time played by Paul Smith. In 1964, she performed a ravishing rendition of "Somewhere In The Night" with pianist Tommy Flanagan live at the French Riviera which was later issued on the 1964 live album, Ella at Juan-Les-Pins. Fitzgerald's final major collaboration with a piano player was Ella and Oscar, a 1975 duet with the revered Oscar Peterson, who she had worked with on and off for more than two decades. For the first time ever, all of Fitzgerald's captivating collaborations with pianists on the labels Decca, Verve, and Pablo, have been collected together as The Complete Piano Duets, which will be released March 13 as a 2CD and digital collection via Verve Records/UMe. The double album includes detailed liner notes by noted author and music critic Will Friedwald. Pre-order The Complete Piano Duets now: https://UMe.lnk.to/CompletePianoDuets The Complete Piano Duets sequences each track in the chronological order it was recorded in, forming a miniature crash course on Fitzgerald's various eras. You can drop in on her early sessions with Larkins ("Someone To Watch Over Me," "But Not For Me," "I've Got a Crush On You,") hear her and Paul Smith tackle Cole Porter ("Miss Otis Regrets") and music from the gritty 1960 crime drama Let No Man Write My Epitaph ("Black Coffee," "Angel Eyes," "I Cried For You"), drop in on her and Tommy Flanagan at a 1964 French gig ("Somewhere In The Night") and revisit inspired 1975 duets with Oscar Peterson from the third act of her career ("Mean to Me," "How Long Has This Been Going On?," "April In Paris"). As Friedwald writes in the liner notes, "Fitzgerald was so great at everything–especially scatting and swinging–that it tended to overshadow her ballad singing. Yet, as any one of the 43 tracks on this collection makes clear, Ella Fitzgerald was a nonpareil singer of love songs, a balladeer par excellence. Like her closest colleagues, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Billie Holiday, Fitzgerald could get deep into not just the words but the inner meaning of a song and bring out the profound truths that the lyricist had in mind all along." Sometimes, as on Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book and Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book, her sparer recordings were sandwiched between big band and orchestral work. Now, for the first time ever, all of Fitzgerald's exquisite piano duets have been assembled on one program. Whether you're a fan of vocal jazz, solo piano or American popular song in general, The Complete Piano Duets is a must-have document of a masterful interpreter—raw, intimate, vulnerable, and oftentimes at her very best. The Complete Piano Duets Track Listing Disc One: 1. Looking For A Boy 2. My One And Only 3. How Long Has This Been Going On? 4. I've Got A Crush On You 5. But Not For Me 6. Soon 7. Someone To Watch Over Me 8. Maybe 9. I'm Glad There Is You 10. Baby, What Else Can I Do 11. What Is There To Say? 12. Makin' Whoopee! 13. Until The Real Thing Comes Along 14. People Will Say We're In Love 15. Please Be Kind 16. Imagination 17. My Heart Belongs To Daddy 18. You Leave Me Breathless 19. Nice Work If You Can Get It 20. Stardust 21. Miss Otis Regrets 22. Lush Life Disc Two: 1. My Melancholy Baby 2. Angel Eyes 3. Black Coffee 4. I Hadn't Anyone Till You 5. I Cried For You 6. Misty 7. Who's Sorry Now? 8. I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby 9. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You 10. Then You've Never Been Blue 11. September Song 12. Reach For Tomorrow 13. One For My Baby 14. Somewhere In The Night 15. Mean To Me 16. How Long Has This Been Going On? 17. When Your Lover Has Gone 18. More Than You Know 19. There's A Lull In My Life 20. How Long Has This Been Going On (Take 5 alternate) 21. More Than You Know (Take 1 alternate) ABOUT THE ELLA FITZGERALD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation was created and funded in 1993 by Ella Fitzgerald in order to fulfill her desire to use the fruits of her success to help people of all races, cultures and beliefs. Fitzgerald hoped to make their lives more rewarding, and she wanted to foster a love of reading, as well as a love of music. In addition, she hoped to provide assistance to the at-risk and disadvantaged members of our communities—assistance that would enable them to achieve a better quality of life. The Board of Directors of the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation seeks to continue Ella Fitzgerald's goals by making charitable grants serving four major areas of interest:
In new ad teaser, Ringwald shows Avocados From Mexico are always worth giving extra attention DALLAS, Jan. 21, 2020 /HalcyonTV/ -- Avocados From Mexico (AFM) today announced in their first teaser, titled "Tiara," that they've partnered with Golden Globe-nominated actress, singer and author, Molly Ringwald for their 2020 Super Bowl advertisement. Glimpse a sneak peek at what the Always Worth It brand and Ringwald are cooking up for this year's Big Game in the "Tiara" teaser.
"Our creative concept is a lot of fun and brings together a few of our favorite things – avocados, Molly Ringwald and of course, humor," said Kevin Hamilton, head of brand marketing, PR & strategy at Avocados From Mexico. "We felt Molly was the perfect fit for the brand given her prestigious career and the fact that she genuinely loves Avocados From Mexico." In the first teaser, fans can watch Ringwald prep one of the Avocados From Mexico in its hair and makeup chair before the pair have their big Super Bowl ad moment. Even a star like Molly Ringwald can see that Avocados From Mexico are always worth the extra attention. "When I first heard about this opportunity, not only was I excited because it's my first Super Bowl ad, but I was thrilled to work with a brand that I am both familiar with and eat on a regular basis," said Ringwald. "Avocados From Mexico are worth it because they are healthy, delicious on everything and always in season. I hope people love this funny, entertaining ad as much as I've loved filming it." For the second year running, Avocados From Mexico's big game campaign was developed with creative agency partner Energy BBDO. Digital Experience This news follows last week's announcement from Avocados From Mexico surrounding the launch of its digital activation called #AvoNetwork. In order to delight fans and build excitement in the lead up to the Big Game, the brand is using cutting-edge technology and a decentralized marketplace to put digital assets on the blockchain. Consumers can visit https://avocadosfrommexico.com/big-game/ where they have a chance to win over $30,000 USD worth of prizes, including a high-end designer tiara valued at $2,745 USD. |
HTVN - ENT.Join us for daily posts of lifestyle entertainment. Archives
April 2020
Categories |
RSS Feed