Wednesday September 14, 2011
Nicholas Cage arriving at the TIFF Gala Premiere for his new film Trespass in Toronto. Cage arrived around 9pm and signed autographs for fans and posed for some pictures before heading in to the screening. Nicole Kidman was not at the Premiere.
June 20, 2011
TMZ reports that 34-year-old Ryan Dunn, one of the stars of the “Jackass” movies was killed in a car crash in Pennsylvania. Dunn and another victim were killed in the accident. Reports say that the Porsche they were driving reached speeds of up to 130 mph before it crashed and burned on Route 322 and New street in West Goshen Township, PA.
November 8, 2010
11 days until the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
September 9, 2010
Urban World Film Festival Website
URBANWORLD ADDS DIGITAL CONFERENCE TO FILM LINEUP;
NIA LONG, JAMIE HECTOR, OMARI HARDWICK,
SALLI RICHARDSON-WHITFIELD & MORE TO ATTEND FESTIVAL
The nation’s largest competitive multicultural film fest will convene in NYC Sept 15 – 19, 2010
NEW YORK, NY (September 8, 2010) – The 14th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, presented by BET
Networks, is proud to announce Urbanworld Digital, an exciting addition to the festival that will be hosted by
HBO® on September 15, 2010. This invite-only program will feature executives from Abrams Artists Agency,
HBO, MTV Networks, NamcoBandai America, SAGindie, and Writers Guild of America – East, who will
share their expertise in gaming, social media, new media contracts and production. A collaboration between
Jigsaw Global and the Urbanworld Foundation, Urbanworld Digital will serve as a primer for film professionals
who want to learn more about digital media production and make new contacts on the tech side of the
entertainment industry.
“We’re excited about our partnership with Jigsaw Global, which has allowed us to bring the digital aspect of
entertainment back to the festival,” says Stacy Spikes, founder of Urbanworld. “HBO is the perfect host for
Urbanworld Digital, as they remain on the cutting edge of innovation in the world of film and tv.”
The festival will continue September 16 – 19 at the AMC 34th St Theater in New York City. Unique
programming features include BET Networks’ Inaugural TV Script Writing Competition, in which aspiring TV
writers will have a chance to win $5,000, and the BET Networks with “My Black is Beautiful” Present: The
Tasha Smith Actors Workshop, a two-day instructional seminar offering students the chance to hone their
acting skills.
In addition to festival ambassador Kerry Washington, celebs such as Nia Long, Jamie Hector, Omari
Hardwick, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Evan Ross, Kid Capri and Clint Dyer will be in attendance to support
their respective films. Spotlight films and programs at Urbanworld this year include:
• HBO’s Boardwalk Empire℠, a 1920s-era drama set in Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition (series
premiere) from Terence Winter, Emmy® Award-winning writer of The Sopranos® and Academy® Awardwinning
director Martin Scorsese
• BET’s My Mic Sounds Nice, a documentary exploring the role of female rappers in hip-hop (directed by
Ava DuVernay and featuring interviews by Missy Elliott, EVE, Trina, Rah Digga, MC Lyte, Yo Yo and
more)
• One Night in Vegas, part of ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary series, this film details the evening of
1996 when Tupac Shakur was shot (directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood; starring Mike Tyson)
• Kid Capri Presents: The Lionz Den, a short film about an underground rap battle in Harlem (directed
by Kid Capri and Loaded Lux, starring Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, and Rakim)
• SUS, a based-on-a-true-story drama centering on the controversial British “sus” laws and their inherent
racism (directed by Robert Heath; starring Ralph Brown, Clint Dyer)
• Africa Rising, a documentary portraying the grassroots movement to end female genital mutilation
(directed by Paula Heredia)
For the complete slate of films or ticket information, visit www.urbanworld.org. For more information on
Urbanworld Digital, visit http://ow.ly/2x1gy.
About Urbanworld
The Urbanworld® Film Festival is the largest internationally competitive festival of its kind. The five-day festival includes
features, documentaries, short films, as well as panel discussions, live staged screenplay readings, the celebrated
Actor’s Spotlight, Actor’s Boot Camps, and introducing Urbanworld® Digital, a 1-day Conference during the festival
focused on Digital and Social media. Over the last thirteen years, Hollywood studios have consistently chosen
Urbanworld® to premiere box office and award-winning hits. Urbanworld® has also become home to some of today’s
top brands who wish to reach key influencers and social media leaders across the African American and Latino
landscape. The Urbanworld® Film Festival is an initiative of the Urbanworld® Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization
founded in 1997 by Stacy Spikes dedicated to redefining the multicultural roles in contemporary cinema, television and
online by implementing programs and initiatives that support the development of the urban content creation community.
Gabrielle Glore serves as Executive Producer of the Urbanworld Film Festival, as well as ancillary Urbanworld
Foundation endeavors. For this year’s 2010 festival, BET Networks returns as the Presenting Sponsor. HBO continues
support as the Founding Sponsor. Media Sponsors include Essence, Vibe, Uptown, BlackPlanet.com, TheUrbanDaily,
KISS FM, HOT 97, and Jigsaw Global. Benefactor Sponsors include AMC Theatres, Directors Guild of America – New
York, and urbanAdserve. The festival website is www.urbanworld.org.
About BET Networks
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), 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, a 24-
hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; 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.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Saptosa Foster
The 135th Street Agency
404.909.6493 | saptosa@135stagency.com
Shante Bacon
The 135th Street Agency
917.553.0005 | shante@135stagency.com
Danielle Davis
BET Networks
212.205.3028 | Danielle.Spigner@bet.net
August 5, 2010
Remember the line in the Karate Kid when Jackie Chan tells Jaden Smith that Americans should get the switch for hot water so they can use less energy. That’s probably the only line that stuck out for me in this movie. My kids on the other hand were transfixed by the film. They’ve both watched it at least twice. Amongst children this is definitely a popular film, it may be a little too simplistic for the adults but it’s still good entertainment.
Maybe we in North America should be conserving more and getting a switch for hot water isn’t such a bad idea.
May 13, 2010
I can still remember seeing Jaws as a kid at the drive-in movie theater. That was the best place to watch a horror movie. Jaws was a classic and many movies have tried to remake that type of thriller. Piranha 3-D is going to try to take a page out of Jaws’s notebook. The trailer for this one looks cool anyway, certainly worth a few laughs.
April 27, 2010
Robert Downey Jr. arrived at the premiere of Iron Man 2 in one of Tony Stark’s cars from the movie. Unlike many sequels Iron Man 2 seems to be as interesting as the original. Unlike Superman, Tony Stark’s identity as Iron Man is known to the world and he gains world celebrity status from it. The sequels plot seems to be as interesting and imaginative as the original. Mickey Rourke makes the villain come to life and Don Cheadle steps in for Terrence Howard to play the role of James “Rhodey” Rhodes. Don Cheadle’s character actually steals Stark’s Mark II suit or armor and sells it to the military who create a “War Machine” version of Iron Man for military use.
February 10, 2010
To start a conversation about the movie Avatar without discussing the character of Neytiri played by Zoe Saldana, would be pointless. Holding together a plot about aliens facing annihilation is a moving love story not unlike Titanic. Zoe Saldana is the perfect actress to play Neytiri a Na’vi from the planet Pandora who falls in love with an ex marine named Jake Scully who has infiltrated her tribe to gain strategic knowledge which will help move the Na’vi from their land. Avatar is a movie about good and evil, wrong and right, but it is also a movie about a strong woman.
Zoe Saldana said she is attracted to playing strong female characters and Neytiri is a model of strength. Having arrived on Pandora and getting lost in it’s dangerous jungles, Neytiri rescues Jake’s Avatar from sure death from the animals who lurk in Pandora’s forest. Neytiri shows him how important it is to be in tune with nature and to have respect for every living thing in the forest. Zoe Saldana also played Uhuru in 2009′s Star Trek, another role that allowed her to play a strong female character.
Born in New Jersey, Saldana went to the Dominican Republic with her family for seven years when she turned 10. In the Dominican Republic she studied dance and it shows in her grace on screen in Avatar. It is quite fitting that such a tough character would be played by a woman born in the toughness of New Jersey. She embodies both beauty and grit.
Avatar is truly from a cinematic stand point a visually stunning movie and worth every penny of your admission. While its comment on man an nature is very relevant, it is sometimes too simplistic. However, as a vehicle to put forth stronger images of women in film it does do itself justice. The male lead is humbled by his lack of knowledge in the face of Neytiri’s mastery of the forest. She shows him how brute force can be tempered with a more understanding approach to nature and the animals that inhabit the jungle.
My rating 4 stars. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Stephen Campbell holds a Cinema Studies degree from the University of Toronto