Monthly Archives: April 2012
‘The Intouchables’ and ‘Beauty is Embarrassing’ Grab Audience Awards as Nashville Film Festival presented by Nissan Wraps
43rd Edition of Longest-Running Festival in the South Edges Past Attendance Record; Gets lift from Tennessee-centric Opening Day, visits from Nicole Kidman, Famke Janssen, Lizzy Caplan and more.
The 43rd Edition of the Nashville Film Festival presented by Nissan wrapped last night with a closing night party at the W.O. Smith School and the announcement that the “The Intouchables” and “Beauty is Embarrassing” grabbed the two major Southwest Airlines “Freedom to Choose” Audience Awards. Director’s Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s “The Intouchables,” the funny, moving and based-on-a-true story film about the friendship between a paralyzed aristocrat and an immigrant from the Paris projects, was tops in the Narrative Feature category. Director Neil Berkeley’s “Beauty is Embarrassing,” the charming, irreverent and inspiring story of one of America’s most important artists and puppeteers, Wayne White, snagged the best Documentary distinction. The ensemble-directed “V/H/S” and director Potsy Ponciroli’s “Super Zeroes” were co-winners of the Graveyard Shift Audience Award.
Are You A DJ? STRIKEoutDiabetes Needs Your Help
K*Chele Kares main charity, STRIKEoutDiabetes, is in need of a DJ for their June 2nd, 2012 event. If you’re in or near Lewisville, TX and interested…
Email: STRIKEoutDiabetes@yahoo.com
*(serious inquiries only – willing to donate time/services)
JDRF remains dedicated to finding a cure for type 1 diabetes as our highest priority. But until a cure is within more immediate reach, JDRF is committed to keeping individuals with type 1 diabetes healthy and reducing the burden of living with the disease. Also, for those patients who have lived with the disease for decades, JDRF believes it is essential to find new ways to prevent, reverse or treat the complications of type 1 diabetes.
For more information and/or to donate, visit:
http://jdrfdallas.homestead.com/STRIKEoutDiabetes.html
Remembering Earl Scruggs
Earl Scruggs, 1924-2012
In all of American popular music, Earl Scruggs stands as one of the very few musicians who singularly changed performance practice on their instruments and in the process birthed an entirely new genre. Without him, bluegrass music as we know it would almost certainly never have happened. And countless young players might never have chosen the banjo as their vehicle for creativity.
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION’S RICK REKEDAL JOINS ADVISORY BOARD OF TENNESSEE BASED SEABOURNE PICTURES
Seabourne Pictures’ First Feature Film AFTER Opens – 2012 Nashville Film Festival
Seabourne Pictures, a Franklin, TN based film company, today announced that Rick Rekedal has joined the company’s board of advisors. Rekedal is an entertainment industry veteran in his 15th year with DreamWorks Animation. In his current role, Rekedal works closely with filmmakers and marketing executives to maximize the commercial potential of DreamWorks Animation’s biggest properties. Prior to his current role, Rick held posts as head of online production, head of licensing and head of interactive, helping establish film franchises such as “Shrek”, “Madagascar”, “Kung Fu Panda” and “How To Train Your Dragon”.
ACADEMY DOCS EXPLORE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF BIG BUSINESS
The Oscar®-nominated films “The Warriors of Qiugang” and “Gasland” will screen as the next installment in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 30th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series on Wednesday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission to all screenings in the series is free.
Directed by Ruby Yang, who produced the film with Thomas Lennon, “The Warriors of Qiugang” follows the villagers of Qiugang, China, as they fight for a safer living environment when a chemical company begins to poison their air and water. The film earned a 2010 Academy Award® nomination for Documentary Short Subject.
The Recording Academy® Statement on Greg Ham
GRAMMY®-winning artist and Men at Work group member Greg Ham was a multi-talented musician and songwriter who played many instruments including flute, saxophone, piano and organ. His playing style made a distinctive mark on the group’s hits, helping them to become one of the success stories of the new wave era and Best New Artist GRAMMY Award® recipients in 1982. Our deepest sympathies extend to his family, friends, and fans worldwide, who will continue to enjoy his work as part of musical history.
Neil Portnow
President/CEO
The Recording Academy
The Recording Academy® Statement on Levon Helm
Three-time GRAMMY® winner and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Levon Helm was an Americana and folk/rock music pioneer. As a member of what would become the Band, he was an instrumental part of Bob Dylan’s shift to rock music. He was one of rock’s earliest singing drummers, and his unique voice helped bring the group’s well-crafted songs to life. His dynamic career spanned more than five decades and included solo releases and acting credits, such as playing Loretta Lynn’s father in Coal Miner’s Daughter. His passion for performing led him into the recording studio, where he opened Levon Helm Studios and produced many notable works. The music community has lost a gifted and treasured icon, and our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans everywhere.
Neil Portnow
President/CEO
The Recording Academy
Levon Helm of The Band Is Dead at 71
Levon Helm, a drummer, actor and the last surviving voice of The Band, whose Southern tenor was heard on the group’s classic songs “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” died Thursday afternoon after a long battle with throat cancer. He was 71.
“He passed away peacefully at 1:30 this afternoon surrounded by his friends and bandmates,” Larry Campbell, Helm’s guitarist, told Rolling Stone. “All his friends were there, and it seemed like Levon was waiting for them. Ten minutes after they left we sat there and he just faded away. He did it with dignity. It was even two days ago they thought it would happen within hours, but he held on. It seems like he was Levon up to the end, doing it the way he wanted to do it. He loved us, we loved him.”
It was announced on his website on Tuesday that the drummer was “in the final stages of his battle with cancer.”
By Marc Schneider, N.Y.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.
