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‘Man From Reno and ‘Stray Dog’ Earn Top Awards at the LA Film Festival

By
Rebecca Murray
-
2014 LA Film Festival Winners
A scene from ‘Man From Reno’

The Los Angeles Film Festival concluded with the announcement of this year’s winners including winners in the LA Muse, Documentary, and Narrative categories who each received $5,000 while the Short Film awards winners earned $1,500. The Narrative Award winner was also announced, with Dave Boyle’s Man From Reno being named the “finest narrative film in competition” at this year’s festival.

“This year the Los Angeles Film Festival reached a new high, thanks to the audiences who packed theaters in support of the films. We’re so proud of every single film and celebrate the winners!” said Festival Director Stephanie Allain.

“Huge thanks to our wonderful juries, whose enthusiasm and diligence was remarkable. There were so many outstanding movies in the competition this year, which made the jurors’ job difficult. Congratulations to the winners–and to all the filmmakers who helped make the Festival a rousing success,” said Artistic Director David Ansen.

2014 LAFF Winners:

Narrative Award (for Best Narrative Feature)

Winner: Man From Reno, directed by Dave Boyle
Producer: Ko Mori
Cast: Ayako Fujitani, Pepe Serna, Kazuki Kitamura
Film Description: A stranger in the increasingly strange city of San Francisco, Japanese crime novelist Aki is unsure of precisely what role she has to play in a real-life murder mystery involving ambiguous MacGuffins and amorphous identities. Unfolding in lonely places such as bookshops and hotel bars, Dave Boyle’s moody thriller uncovers exhilarating new takes on genre conventions. Consequently, it’s an alluring homme fatal who supplies Aki with the breadcrumb trail of clues that entices her into a labyrinthine plot of sinister dealings. In turn, the aging sheriff (veteran character actor Pepe Serna, fantastic in a rare leading role), who should rightfully be riding to her rescue, proves to be equally out of his depth. The game is afoot, the chase is exhilarating and the stakes are perilously high in this inspired neo-noir.

Documentary Award (for Best Documentary Feature)

Winner: Stray Dog, directed by Debra Granik
Producer: Anne Rosellini
Featuring: Ron ‘Stray Dog’ Hall, Alicia Soriano Hall, Felipe Angel Padilla Soriano, Felipe de Jesús Padilla Soriano
Film Description: Winter’s Bone director Debra Granik’s searching, stereotype-shattering documentary focuses on Ron “Stray Dog” Hall. At first glance, this burly, bearded biker looks like one badass dude. Then, through Granik’s incisive, sympathetic eye, we begin to see his big, battle-scarred heart. The movie follows Stray Dog as he caravans on his Harley from his rural Missouri home to Washington, D.C. with his fellow vets to pay tribute to his fallen brothers at the Vietnam Memorial. Back home, he takes in his Mexican wife and her two sons, who are, like him, struggling to find a place in a country that has become foreign. Stray Dog is at once a powerful look at the veteran experience, a surprising love story and a fresh exploration of what it takes to survive in the hardscrabble heartland of America.

Documentary Award

Honorable Mention: Walking Under Water, directed by Eliza Kubarska
Producer: Monika Braid
Film Description: In the crystal clear waters off the coast of Borneo, a unique way of life threatens to disappear forever. For generations, the Badjao were oceanic nomads, living in harmony with the sea as fishermen and free divers. Nowadays, however, only a few Badjao remain, like Alexan, who still remembers the old ways. He hopes to pass his knowledge along to his ten-year-old nephew Sari, but time and opportunities are running out. Sari loves the sea, but it can only offer a hard life of subsistence fishing, while the nearby tourist resort sings a siren song of easy money. Through the sensitive direction of Eliza Kubarska and remarkable underwater cinematography, Walking Under Water provides a haunting portrait of timeless traditions struggling to survive in the modern world.

LA Muse Award

Winner: Los Ángeles by Damian John Harper
Producers: Jonas Weydemann, Jakob D. Weydemann
Cast: Mateo Bautísta Matías, Marcos Rodriguez Ruíz, Lidia García, Daniel Bautista, Donaciano Bautista Matías
Film Description:The perilous ambitions for a better life weigh heavy on the youth of a Zapotec community in rural Oaxaca. Young Mateo plans to raise money for the coyote who will smuggle him across the border and ingratiates himself with the local gang, seeking protection on the other side. Yet when his conscience catches up with him, not even the fearless mothers of their agrarian village can protect him. Forced to gather his courage and embark on a suicidal journey, Mateo’s goal becomes less a physical destination and more a dangerous rite of passage. Damian John Harper’s directorial debut subverts the conventions of the gang genre and transcends the ethnographic approach by knitting together the multiple perspectives of his diverse characters, who are magnetically played by non-actors.

Best Performance in the Narrative Competition

Winner: The Ensemble Cast of Recommended by Enrique, directed by Rania Attieh and Daniel García
Producers: Rania Attieh, Daniel García, Ivan Eibuszyc, Mahalia Cohen, Alice Kharoubi
Cast: Lino Vareia, Sarah Swinwood
Film Description: An aspiring Hollywood actress working on her first feature–a no-budget horror flick oddly crewed by enthusiastic teenagers–and a cowboy on a mysterious job arrive in the small border town of Del Rio, Texas, each with their own very clear agenda. When the starlet’s film director and the cowboy’s associate both fail to appear, however, there’s nothing to do but wait and see. Dusty Del Rio quickly becomes a strange way station where time seems to stand still and things are not what they seem. Basing their film on an amusing, bizarre true story they delight in elaborating on, filmmakers Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia and their brilliant cast of newcomers weave a mesmerizing, witty fable that blurs the borders between dreams and reality.

Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature

Winner: The Young Kieslowski, directed by Kerem Sanga
Producers: Seth Caplan, Danny Leiner, Dave Hunter, Ross Putman
Cast: Ryan Malgarini, Haley Lu Richardson, Joshua Malina, Melora Walters, James LeGros, Osric Chau, Jessica Lu, John Redlinger
Film Description: Grand romantic gestures need not apply in this comedic tale of star-crossed young love. Instead, freshman Brian Kieslowski displays endless reserves of bumbling awkwardness as he goes home with a girl for the first time… and then learns that he got her pregnant… with twins… all while she’s going through a rather inconvenient Christianity phase. Could it be that being the good guy and doing what’s right are two very different things? With writer/director Kerem Sanga presenting a seriocomic gauntlet for them to negotiate, Ryan Malgarini and Haley Lu Richardson deliver delightfully nimble performances, hitting all the right off-notes as two kids in just over their heads, whose luck seems as bad as their instincts. The fates may have conspired to prematurely drag them into adulthood, but they intend on going kicking and screaming.

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature

Winner: Meet the Patels, directed by Geeta V. Patel and Ravi V. Patel
Producers: Janet Eckholm, Geeta V. Patel
Featuring: Ravi V. Patel, Vasant K. Patel, Champa V. Patel
Film Description: Largely inexperienced in the art of courtship, L.A.-based actor Ravi Patel is suddenly thrown into the deep end of the dating pool when he reluctantly consents to letting his parents find him an ideal Indian bride. As he embarks on a multi-date tour across North America, however, the self-effacing suitor can’t help but wonder whether his quest represents a laudable acceptance of cherished traditions or a pathetic surrender to his own deep-seated insecurities. Co-directed by Ravi and his sister Geeta, this sharp, funny documentary is fueled by the comic banter and confessional asides that can transpire only between siblings. Meanwhile, their doting parents are the sort of larger-than-life characters that most Hollywood screenwriters can only dream of creating. If only all family videos were this enthralling and packed with plot twists.

Audience Award for Best International Feature

Winner: Someone You Love, directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen
Country: Denmark
Producers: Vinca Wiedemann, Sisse Graum Jørgensen
Cast: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Sofus Rønnov, Eve Best
Film Description: After many years living in L.A., a world-famous, hard-living Danish singer-songwriter (think a Nordic Leonard Cohen) returns to his homeland to record a new album. Solitary, self-absorbed and nursing his hard-won sobriety, he holes up in a luxurious country home and buries himself in his music, his only passion in life. His solitude is rudely interrupted by the arrival of his troubled, coke-snorting daughter, who deposits her 11-year-old son in his lap. Mikael Persbrandt is extraordinary as the gravel-voiced egotist forced to rediscover his deeply buried humanity in award-winning Danish director Pernille Fischer Christensen’s moving, immaculately crafted family drama.

Award for Best Narrative Short Film

Winner: The Runaway, directed by Jean-Bernard Marlin
Producer: Valentine de Bligniéres
Cast: Adel Bencherif, Médina Yalaoui
Description: A youth worker tries desperately to save an unstable teenage girl charged with multiple crimes.

Award for Best Documentary Short Film

Winner: The Queen, directed by Manuel Abramovich
Producer: Daniela Raschcovsky
Description: A young beauty queen endures the pain of getting a massive headdress attached to her head.

Award for Best Animated/Experimental Short Film

Winner: Butter Lamp, directed by Hu Wei
Producer: Julien Féret
Cast: Genden Punstock
Description: Cultures clash as traditional Tibetan families pose in front of backdrops of far away locales.

Audience Award for Best Short Film

Winner: The Gunfighter, directed by Eric Kissack
Producer: Sarah Platt
Cast: Nick Offerman, Shawn Parsons, Scottt Beehner, Eileen O’Connell, Jordan Black
Film Description: Characters in a Western discover each others’ secrets from an evil off-screen narrator.

Audience Award for Best Music Video

Winner: “Turn Down For What: Lil Jon and DJ Snake” directed by Daniels
Music: Lil Jon & DJ Snake
This award is given to the music video audiences liked most as voted on by a tabulated rating system.

Movie Review: ‘Jersey Boys’

By
Ian Forbes
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Jersey Boys
VINCENT PIAZZA, ERICH BERGEN, JOHN LLOYD YOUNG and MICHAEL LOMENDA in “JERSEY BOYS” (Photo © 2014 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and RatPac Entertainment)

I was born in the late seventies. As such, I did not grow up with the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I’ve heard many of the tunes and like them just fine. But when Jersey Boys became a huge hit on Broadway, after getting its start here in San Diego at the La Jolla Playhouse, it didn’t register very high for me on a personal level. Somehow, the stage musical has now been adapted into a Clint Eastwood film. That was … unexpected. One doesn’t think of big musical numbers when it comes to Clint, though he did direct Bird so the idea of him helming another musician’s biopic wasn’t so far-fetched.

With that said, one thing audiences need to know going into Jersey Boys is that this is NOT a musical. Yes, there is plenty of singing and the Four Seasons perform a number of their songs … but all within the context of telling the story of these four guys. Aside from the closing credits, you won’t find any hint of a traditional musical. This is a biopic, plain and simple. I’ve never seen the musical so you won’t find me making comparisons in that aspect, but if you thought everyone was going to unnaturally break out in song whenever their emotions got the best of them, you’re in for a shock.

Instead, we get this stilted and multi-perspective look at the group and how they came together. Each member periodically breaks the fourth wall, turning to speak directly to the audience, and gives us their take on what certain events meant and what they may foreshadow. Some may think this is clever. I hated every instance. I don’t need the film to tell me what something means, I need it to show me.

For their part, the actors (all of whom performed on stage in the musical) do a good job. Not being well-known actors, it was relatively easy to accept them as their characters. The musical numbers are all well done and using performers so well acquainted with the material likely helped Eastwood in getting the scenes to work as he wanted them to. Also, the inclusion of Christopher Walken as a mobbed up neighborhood kingpin added much-needed levity to the proceedings.

All that said, I’m simply not in the demographic to be all that interested in Valli or his bandmates. I suppose if the movie didn’t feel so sluggishly paced in the front half my general disinterest could have been mitigated more, but at 161 minutes, any pacing issues are magnified, and it felt like a 3-hour epic … minus the epic bit. I had initially wondered how a movie based on an award-winning hit musical and directed by Clint Eastwood was getting so little buzz. Having seen it, I know why now.

Jersey Boys is a decent movie, but unless you have a real connection to the music or the musicians, it won’t leave any lasting mark. Unless you’re haunted by horrifically bad aging makeup. Then you’ll remember this movie for a while to come … even though you don’t want to. Of course, Eastwood encountered this same problem with J. Edgar. I’m not sure why he didn’t learn from that experience, but all we can do is hope he sticks to actors playing their own age moving forward. Maybe next time he’ll call the Jackass boys. They seem to do little else but prank people and hit each other in the testicular region … but they know how to make young people look like grandparents. And I’m tired of watching Eastwood accept a heavy layer of powder on an actor’s face as film-worthy makeup.

Sorry for the digression but honestly, it was the most interesting topic of conversation I had with friends and fellow critics following the movie. I still think Jersey Boys is okay as a film, but I think it’s quite obvious I’m going to be forgetting about it well before the end of this rev-

GRADE: C-

Jersey Boys is rated R for language throughout.




‘The Judge’ Debuts a New Trailer and Poster

By
Rebecca Murray
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Robert Downey Jr introduced the new trailer for The Judge via Twitter, saying, “Here’s a first look at #TheJudge. This is the kind of movie I grew up wanting to make. Only took 49 years. Enjoy.” – @RobertDowneyJr

Directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers), The Judge cast is led by Downey Jr and includes Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dax Shepard, Jeremy Strong, and Billy Bob Thornton. Village RoadShow and WarnerBros are opening the film in theaters on October 10, 2014.

The Plot:

In The Judge, Downey stars as big city lawyer Hank Palmer, who returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town’s judge (Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.

Watch the trailer:

The Judge Poster and Trailer
Poster for ‘The Judge’

Source: Warner Bros Pictures

By Rebecca Murray

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‘Fargo’ and ‘Orange is the New Black’ Tie for Most Critics’ Choice Television Awards Wins

By
Rebecca Murray
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2014 Critics' Choice Television Award Winners
Allison Tolman as Molly Solverson and Bob Odenkirk as Bill Oswalt in ‘Fargo’ (Photo Credit: Chris Large/Copyright 2014, FX Networks)

The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) found a lot to like about Fargo and Orange is the New Black, awarding both series three Critics’ Choice Television Awards during the ceremony broadcast on The CW on June 19, 2014. FX walked away with the most wins by a network with five, followed by HBO with four, and Fox and Netflix with three each.

Fargo‘s wins came in the Best Mini-Series, Best Actor (Billy Bob Thornton), and Best Supporting Actress (Allison Tolman) categories. Orange is the New Black took home awards in the Best Comedy Series, Best Guest Performer (Uzo Aduba), and Best Supporting Actress (Kate Mulgrew in a tie with Allison Janney from Mom).

Cedric the Entertainer hosted the 4th Annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards, which were held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Among the celebrities who took the stage to present were Christina Applegate, Fred Armisen, Scott Aukerman, Demian Bichir, Danielle Brooks, Carrie Brownstein, Lizzy Caplan, Josh Dallas, Kat Graham, Max Greenfield, Tony Hale, Colin Hanks, Angie Harmon, Colton Haynes, Diane Kruger, Natasha Lyonne, Kunal Nayyar, Adam Pally, Jim Parsons, Laura Prepon, Gina Rodriguez, Emmy Rossum, Matthew Rhys, Christian Slater, Isaiah Washington, and Shane West.

Complete List of 4th Annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards Winners

Best Comedy Series: Orange is the New Black (Netflix)

Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: TIE Allison Janney, Mom (CBS) and Kate Mulgrew, Orange is the New Black (Netflix)

Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series: Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black (Netflix)

Best Drama Series: Breaking Bad (AMC)

Best Actor in a Drama Series: Matthew McConaughey, True Detective (HBO)

Best Actress in a Drama Series: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America)

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad (AMC)

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Bellamy Young, Scandal (ABC)

Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series: Allison Janney, Masters of Sex (Showtime)

Best Movie: The Normal Heart (HBO)

Best Mini-series: Fargo (FX)

Best Actor in a Movie or Mini-Series: Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo (FX)

Best Actress in a Movie or Mini-Series: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven (FX)

Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Mini-Series: Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart (HBO)

Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Mini-Series: Allison Tolman, Fargo (FX)

Best Reality Series: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (FOX/National Geographic Channel)

Best Reality-Competition Series: Shark Tank (ABC)

Best Reality Series Host: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (FOX/National Geographic Channel)

Best Talk Show: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)

Best Animated Series: Archer (FX)

Critics’ Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award: Ryan Murphy

Moon Bloodgood and Seychelle Gabriel Talk ‘Falling Skies’ and Alien Babies

By
Rebecca Murray
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Moon Bloodgood and Seychelle Gabriel Falling Skies Interview
Moon Bloodgood, Seychelle Gabriel, Doug Jones and Sarah Carter from ‘Falling Skies’ (Photo © Richard Chavez)

Without giving any spoilers away it’s safe to say Falling Skies season four finds our ragtag pack of alien invasion survivors split up into smaller groups. This new season, which kicks off on June 22, 2014 on TNT, also finds some relationships established in previous seasons have become strained while other characters are feeling the need to redeem themselves for their actions in season three.

Together at WonderCon to discuss season four, Moon Bloodgood (‘Anne Glass’) and Seychelle Gabriel (‘Lourdes’) provided the scoop on what fans of the sci-fi series can expect this season.

Moon Bloodgood and Seychelle Gabriel Interview

What’s up with your baby?

Moon Bloodgood: “Seriously, what is up with my beautiful baby? You’ve seen the trailer, so I’m not giving anything away that she’s older and quite attractive.

[…]We don’t know where her allegiance is. Is she good? Is she bad? She’s changed so much. She is our focal point this year and we don’t know if she’s good or she’s bad. Anne is completely convinced that she’s on our side and just being influenced by her alien side. That’s all I can tease.”

Will she have special abilities?

Moon Bloodgood: [Laughing] “Well, she’s half alien, so and her hair is really white, so she’s got some abilities.”

Will we be seeing the aftermath of all the traumatic experiences you went through last season?

Seychelle Gabriel: “Oh yeah. Lourdes goes back to her religious kind of self but in a much more extreme way. It’s not so orthodox Catholic or whatever she started as, but it’s more of like a worldly spirituality…”

Moon Bloodgood: “But fanatical.”

Seychelle Gabriel: “But fanatical, I would say. I think that that is completely directly a reaction to what happened to her.”

Moon Bloodgood: “And you feel a strong loyalty to Lexi, and Lexi also knows that and maybe – we don’t know – maybe exploits it. And maybe exploits all of our love for her but then redeems herself, if I can be so broad. She is our superstar this year.

But we are all so different, all of our characters. All of the actors who normally work with certain actors were working with different actors. I was working with Seychelle. I was now with Scarlett [Byrne]. Nobody was working with the same actors. This is our most far-fetched year. Our sci-fi goes full force.”

If Anne and Tom are separated, where does their relationship stand as the season starts?

Moon Bloodgood: “I can say that we’re still together. We have way more fights. I’m now a soldier; I’m no longer just a doctor. I’m now a soldier, and he is now relying on me for my input, and I’m not the same person he left behind. I’m also going to defend my daughter. We go toe-to-toe a lot about the essence of our daughter because we just don’t know how much of her is human. We also have an episode that Jonathan Frake’s directed where you see what happened to Anne when she was back […]with Lexi and how involved Karen is. You also get to see part of Anne’s past.”

Does Tom not really accept Lexi?

Moon Bloodgood: “He’s also not bonded to her the way I am. So no, he doesn’t completely accept her, and everybody questions where his alliance is as well. There’s a lot of pointing fingers of who is on whose side, and can he be objective because this is his daughter? Is he giving her special treatment that he wouldn’t allow another character?”

How are we doing with eye worms this season?

Seychelle Gabriel: “Seem to steer clear in the beginning. But, yeah, I think Lourdes has become a little obsessed with not being that person, that extremely violent and harmful influence on her community. I think she’s maybe a little trying a little too hard to be the opposite of that, to be the enlightened peaceful girl. We’ve all seen that religious person who sometimes takes their crusade a little too seriously.”

With the sci-fi level cranked up, are the show’s military maneuverings not quite as front and center this season?

Seychelle Gabriel: “It’s not as strategic now because we’re all thrown out of the loop. It’s not an organized thing, but those qualities are so instilled in our group. I don’t think it’s ever lost.”

Moon Bloodgood: “You’ve got the young kids who are fighting. You’ve got that camp. They are also a threat to us. You’ve got the Volm trying to help us but kind of, in some ways, abandoning us. Not Cochise. We’ve got episodes where we’re trying to go out on our own and find recon missions that I get to go on, actually. We’re being attacked and we actually end up being in this one area a lot of the time. What do we call that area? It’s China Town. China Town becomes our new Charleston. Visually you can see that that’s very different from Charleston.”




DVD Review: ‘Best of Warner Bros – 20 Film Collection: Comedy’

By
Rebecca Murray
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Warner Bros Best Comedies Review
Best of Warner Bros – 20 Film Collection: Comedy (Photo © Warner Bros Home Video)

The ’80s are well-represented in Best of Warner Bros – 20 Film Collection: Comedy showcasing funny films from the past eight decades-worth of theatrical releases. Kicking off with the beloved classic A Night at the Opera from the Marx Brothers, this 20 film collection features some comedic gems that deserve to be a part of any comedy-lovers DVD collection.

Films in this must-own collection include:
1. A Night at the Opera (1935)
2. Stage Door (1937)
3. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
4. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
5. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
6. The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
7. The Great Race (1965)
8. Blazing Saddles (1974)
9. The In-Laws (1979)
10. Caddyshack (1980)
11. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
12. Risky Business (1983)
13. The Goonies (1985)
14. Spies Like Us (1985)
15. Beetlejuice (1988)
16. Grumpy Old Men (1993)
17. Ace Ventura Pet Detective (1994)
18. Analyze This (1999)
19. Wedding Crashers: Uncorked Edition (2005)
20. The Hangover (2009)

While not every movie included comes with bonus features, most of the films themselves are worthy of checking out solely because of their place in comedy history. 1940’s The Philadelphia Story is one of the hundred best films of all time according to the American Film Institute, while Blake Edwards’ The Great Race includes some of the best gags in movie history. Moving forward in time, the collection includes two films that are still quoted today: Caddyshack and Risky Business (complete with a director’s cut of the final scene). The DVD set also features the original films of the National Lampoon Vacation and The Hangover franchises.

Many of the films in the collection do include commentary tracks, behind-the-scenes features, trailers, gag reels, and deleted scenes. And if you only have time for one commentary track, I’d suggest The Goonies commentary featuring director Richard Donner and all the main cast members (grown up, of course).

The 20 Film Collection: Comedy set also comes with a 20-page booklet that includes a synopsis of each film as well as a little trivia on the included movies.




‘Pitch Perfect 2’ Set Visit Contest Details

By
Rebecca Murray
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Pitch Perfect 2 Set Visit Contest

Universal Pictures is going to be giving one lucky Pitch Perfect fan a chance to visit the set of the sequel, Pitch Perfect 2, directed by Elizabeth Banks. The “aca-awesome” contest is open now through June 23, 2014 with US, Canadian, UK, and Australia fans eligible to enter.

The contest winner will receive:

– A trip for the winner and one guest to Baton Rouge, LA between July 8 and July 11, 2014 to visit the set of Pitch Perfect 2

– Round trip coach airfare for the winner and his/her guest

– Two consecutive nights hotel accommodations

– Round trip ground transfers between airport and hotel as well as ground transfer to the Pitch Perfect 2 set

Pitch Perfect 2 will open in theaters on May 15, 2015.

For more info and to enter, visit Pitch Perfect‘s official Facebook page.

Post by Pitch Perfect.

-By Rebecca Murray

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New ‘Gotham’ Video Focuses on the Villains

By
Rebecca Murray
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Gotham Villains Video
Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney in ‘Gotham’ (Photo by Jessica Miglio, FOX)

Gotham‘s not debuting on Fox for a few more months, however, the network wants to keep the show front and center between now and its premiere. The latest promotional video is a 30-second spot focusing on the series’ villains: the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Catwoman (Camren Bicondova).

Gotham will air on Mondays this fall on Fox. The cast is led by Ben McKenzie as Detective James Gordon and features Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, Sean Pertwee as Alfred, Erin Richards as Barbara Kean, David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, and Zabryna Guevara as Captain Sarah Essen.

The Plot: Before there was Batman, there was GOTHAM. Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world’s greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon’s story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face, and The Joker?

Gotham is an origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told.

Watch the video:





Meet This Season’s ‘Big Brother’ Houseguests

By
Rebecca Murray
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Big Brother Season 16 Houseguests
Julie Chen hosts ‘Big Brother’ (Photo by Bill Inoshita/CBS © 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc)

The 16 new Big Brother houseguests who will be competing for the $500,000 grand prize during the reality competition series’ most “twisted” season have been revealed. Big Brother, once again hosted by Julie Chen, will kick off season 16 with a two-night premiere on June 25 and June 26, 2014. During the two-night premiere, Chen will be unveiling this season’s big twists including new rules surrounding the ‘Head of Household.’

Details on Season 16:

In the first twist, two Houseguests will win the coveted role of “Head of Household” (HOH) each week and will have the responsibility of nominating two fellow Houseguests for eviction; however, for the first time on the series, earning HOH will not guarantee one’s safety in the game for the week.

With the second twist, fans will have a unique opportunity to significantly influence the game from home with a new interactive element called “Team America.” Today, CBS Interactive launched the site cbs.com/bbteamamerica, asking viewers to vote on which of the new Houseguests they would like to form an alliance with.

In addition, an entirely new high-stakes competition will be introduced, “Battle of the Block,” which will dramatically shift the power in the house each week.

2014 Big Brother Houseguests

Amber Borzotra, 26
Hometown: Knoxville, Tenn.
Current City: North Hollywood, Calif.
Esthetician

Christine Brecht, 23
Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.
Current City: Tucson, Ariz.
Barista

Cody Calafiore, 23
Hometown: Hackensack, N.J.
Current City: Howell, N.J.
Sales Account Executive

Nicole Franzel, 21
Hometown: Ubly, Mich.
Current City: Ubly, Mich.
Recent Nursing Graduate

Frankie Grande, 31
Hometown: Boca Raton, Fla.
Current City: New York, N.Y.
YouTube Personality

Derrick Levasseur, 30
Hometown: Providence, R.I.
Current City: Providence, R.I.
Police Sergeant

Brittany Martinez, 29
Hometown: Long Beach, Calif.
Current City: Torrance, Calif.
Event Coordinator

Jocasta Odom, 33
Hometown: Griffin, Ga.
Current City: Lovejoy, Ga.
Minister

Victoria Rafaeli, 22
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y. and Holon, Israel
Current City: Weston, Fla.
Photographer

Zach Rance, 23
Hometown: Palm Beach, Fla.
Current City: Palm Beach, Fla.
Recent College Graduate

Caleb Reynolds, 26
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Current City: Hopkinsville, Ky.
Adventure Hunting Guide

Paola Shea, 27
Hometown: East Hampton, Conn.
Current City: Astoria, N.Y.
DJ

Devin Shepherd, 26
Hometown: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Current City: San Antonio, Texas
Former Professional Baseball Player / Motorcycle Sales Manager

Donny Thompson, 42
Hometown: Albemarle, N.C.
Current City: Albemarle, N.C.
School Groundskeeper

Joey Van Pelt, 27
Hometown: Seattle, Wash.
Current City: Seattle, Wash.
Makeup Artist

Hayden Voss, 21
Hometown: Marlborough, Mass.
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‘Extreme Weight Loss’ Will Return for a Fifth Season

By
Rebecca Murray
-
Extreme Weight renewed for season 5
Transformation specialists and trainers Chris Powell and his wife, Heidi, return for more “Extreme Weight Loss” (Photo: ABC/Rick Rowell)

ABC wants more Extreme Weight Loss and has renewed the series for a fifth season. The renewal comes as season four is currently airing, earning higher ratings than seasons two and three and up over 9% in adult viewers compared to last season.

Season five’s 13 two-hour episodes will air next year along with three special “Extreme Weight Loss: Love Can’t Weight” editions. In the “Love Can’t Weight” editions, Chris and Heidi Powell will lend their expertise to help three couples get ready both physically and emotionally for their weddings.


Details on Season 4:

Hit series Extreme Weight Loss, is a unique, non-competitive show about weight-loss transformations that documents the unprecedented 365-day journey of courageous, “super-obese” participants. In each of the 13 stand-alone, two-hour episodes, the participants — whose lives have become unmanageable because of their weight — will undergo a transformation not only of their bodies, but of who they are as individuals. With the proper nourishment, exercise and guidance assured by Extreme Weight Loss, they are afforded a fresh perspective.

In addition to having participants continue to work alongside transformation specialists and trainers Chris Powell and his wife, Heidi, the show is taking a unique approach in the upcoming fourth season: each participant will spend the first 90 days of the weight loss journey at the renowned University of Colorado’s Anschutz Health and Wellness Center (AHWC) in Aurora, CO. Chris & Heidi, with AHWC’s medical director Dr. Holly Wyatt, MD and associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, will guide these individuals to safely lose up to half their body weight, ultimately revealing an amazing metamorphosis. The Anschutz Health and Wellness Center offers some of the country’s most advanced research and science-based expertise, focusing on a comprehensive weight loss and weight-loss management approach, including fitness, nutrition and wellness services.

Source: ABC

-By Rebecca Murray

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