FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(HOLLYWOOD, CA, November 15,
2012)—Hollywood celebrities, musical artists, and entertainment producers
crowded into the Avalon nightclub on Hollywood and Vine Thursday to celebrate
the nominees and winners of the 22nd Annual Los Angeles Music Awards and 6th
Annual Hollywood F.A.M.E. Awards. All in all, over 1,000 people attended the
star-studded event, which featured a 40-foot red carpet that was inundated with
media personnel and excited fans.
“Every year the organizers of the LA
Music Awards and Hollywood F.A.M.E. Awards put on a spectacular show. Tonight,
with its large crowd and media frenzy, appears no different and continues the
tradition of the great red carpets I witnessed at Paramount Studios two years
ago and at the Avalon last year. We have a lot of attendees here from both the
music and film businesses, and I believe that the artists and producers in both
camps are benefiting from the opportunity to network for future projects,” said
John Carvalho, an advocate for the arts, music and entertainment in West
Hollywood. Carvalho was a panelist at the 2012 LAMA Voting Party held previously
at the Whisky on Sunset where he spoke on the importance of social media for
developing recording artists. “I think when you unite the promotion of an artist
on social media with the publicity gained from red carpet exposure at LAMA, you
have a real opportunity to bring a beginning artist to another level where he or
she can perform his or her music full time while also making connections with
more established artists and producers.”
Indeed, the Hollywood F.A.M.E.
Awards that are announced at the LAMA events every year honor leaders and
visionaries in a variety of fields such as entertainment, music, sports,
politics, television and film. Past recipients of the award have included former
President Jimmy Carter, Filmmaker Stanley Kramer, Comedian Larry Hankin, U.S.
Senator Max Cleland, The Jackson Kids, Jamie Hilfiger, James Brown II, and
Producer Keith Olsen. Last year, Booboo Stewart, from the movie “Twilight”
(starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner) received the
award. This year his sister Fivel was honored, along with Madonna’s guitarist
Monte Pittman, classic rock radio icon Brad Mercer, Kerris and Justine Dorsey
(whose credits include “Moneyball” with Brad Pitt, “Walk the Line”, and
“Brothers and Sisters”), and Olympic gold medalist Olga Korbut. There was an
emotional moment this year when Jason Becker won the Hollywood F.A.M.E. Award.
The virtuoso guitarist had triumphed over ALS disease even though doctors had
only given him three years to live. Provided that both the LAMA and Hollywood
F.A.M.E. Awards are presented in one simultaneous show, beginning artists have
the opportunity to network with industry icons that have already made it
big.
The Los Angeles Music Awards, founded in 1991 by industry expert Al
Bowman, honors the rising stars of independent music and gives them a platform
to move towards commercial success by creating a Hollywood media event that
generates high profile publicity. The red carpet reception on Thursday was
covered by close to 150 media outlets and was followed by a dinner banquet,
awards presentations, and live musical performances by a host of artists such as
Cheating Daylight. Even David Osborne, the pianist who has performed at the
White House for the past four presidents of the United States, including Barack
Obama, attended the show.
Some artists traveled great distances to
receive their award. “I came all the way from Louisiana,” said “Win The Day”
whose song “Walk the World” won for “Rock Single of the Year.” Giusepinna Torre,
who performed on stage and took away the recognition for best “International
Artist or Band,” traveled even further having flown in from Rome, Italy.
In terms of practicality, Glitter Rose, one of the singers who also
attended, claimed that the LAMA was doing a fantastic job of getting the word
out for independent artists and offering them a spot to play at such an
elaborate venue as Avalon. “I really appreciate what you guys have done,” she
stated to the organizers.
“Now that was a great show,” beamed LAMA
founder Al Bowman at the elegant after party on the roof and library of the
Redbury Hotel, which was also highly attended following the live performances.
Bowman has produced numerous, successful red carpets in the city, starting with
his extravaganza at Paramount Studios three years ago that included Hollywood
F.A.M.E. honors to former President Jimmy Carter. Now he has added another one
to his repertoire that has allowed independent artists to showcase themselves
and reap the rewards of publicity from the music media. Bowman’s long and
distinguished career in music was the feature of a recent exposé in
Examiner.
Among the winners at Thursday night’s LA Music Awards were
Stevie Hawkins (Male Singer/Songwriter of the Year; Record of the Year), Sheyna
Gee (Female Singer/Songwriter; Country Single), AKRON (Rock Album; Hot AC
Artist), and Marirose (American Blues and Roots Artist). Mozaik won the “Pop
Single” award for the song “Make it Rain”, Lisa Panagos received best
“Electronica/Dance Artist”, and Sean Ward captured the award for “Country Artist
of the Year.” Tom Slack, who is also up for two Grammy nomination considerations
this year, walked away with “Best Jazz Artist.” Producer’s Choice recipients
were also honored and included Monks of Mellonwah (International Rock Band of
the Year), Black Raven (Instrumental Album of the Year), Stephanie K (National
Vocal Performer of the Year), and Nicole Willard (Breakthrough Single of the
Year for her song "Misery"). Longtime Hollywood photographer Bob Delgadillo, a
stalwart at red carpet events around the city, received a Producer’s Choice
Award for “Career Achievement in Photography”, and Myah Marie Langston won an
award for her recording studio achievement for two Britney Spears albums.
Langston was also a nominee in other categories. Mikey Jayy, Executive Producer
of the “Artists In Music Awards”, also was recognized for his work with the
independent music industry and his collaboration with the LAMA.
The
complete list of the 2012 Ballot and Producers Choice recipients can be found
at: www.lamusicawards.net/recipients.html .
The Los Angeles Music
Awards has been a valuable asset for furthering the professional careers of
musicians and artists for over two decades. For more information on the awards,
visit: www.lamusicawards.net .
Friday, November 16, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
New Media Revolutionaries STEPHANIE THORPE & PAULA RHODES At the Helm of New ElfQuest Deal
INDIE PRODUCERS SCORE RIGHTS TO FANTASY FRANCHISE ELFQUEST
United States of America—Nov. 6, 2012—: LOS ANGELES, CA – It was announced today that the rights to the 35-year old comic book series ElfQuest, by Wendy and Richard Pini, have been acquired by indie producers Stephanie Thorpe and Paula Rhodes (see the related article as posted in Variety, here). While Warner Bros held the option on ElfQuest until the first quarter of 2012, the Pinis have since agreed to have Thorpe and Rhodes develop their series in order to put the ElfQuest story directly in the hands of its loyal fans. Previously, Thorpe and Rhodes produced the cyber-phenom “ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining”, a short live-action production.
Part of the generation that grew up with ElfQuest, Thorpe and Rhodes’ aim is to bring even wider exposure to the fantasy series, which has a healthy following already; ElfQuest.com, the property's official website, generates 10 million views a month and continues to acquire new fans. The saga has also been published by both Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and has a global following in 12 countries.
“Paula Rhodes and Stephanie Thorpe more than proved themselves to us with their award-winning "ElfQuest : A Fan Imagining",” Wendy Pini said. “With their deep love and understanding of the property, they represent a new direction for ElfQuest... new creative energy and new connections in the larger media.”
"We are thrilled to bring ElfQuest, a tale that has influenced our storytelling and imaginations, to life for new and existing fans," said Thorpe, “The global fan support we've received has been amazing."
Rhodes added, "When we discovered our shared lifelong love for this series we were spurred to action. ElfQuest gave us heroines we could aspire to be and its magic shaped us, ultimately leading us into the creative entertainment sphere. We owe it a lot!"
New pages of ElfQuest: The Final Quest are now being released weekly on Boing Boing and Elfquest.com, attracting nearly half a million hits on the first day.
ABOUT STEPHANIE THORPEStephanie Thorpe is a prolific actor/producer who has spearheaded over 150 episodes of web TV, 2 features and a dozen shorts. She has been honored with several acting and directing awards. An expert on New Media and member of the IAWTV, Thorpe is a popular guest speaker, appearing on panels at Comic-Con, WonderCon, VidCon, Digital Hollywood, AFI, SAG, Digital LA, Comikaze and Geek Girl Con. Find her online at www.thestephaniethorpe.com .
ABOUT PAULA RHODES
Paula Rhodes is a working actor/producer with a collective 104 million views in new media projects she's been a part of and a substantial list of credits including Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs and Screen Media Film's award-winning recent thriller, Shuffle. Visit her online at www.OfficialPaulaRhodes.com .
ABOUT ELFQUEST FAN TRAILER
Inspired by a childhood love for the ElfQuest saga, "ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining" was created by Stephanie Thorpe and Paula Rhodes. This project has been an Official Selection at Balticon, the Renovation Film Festival, the Hollyshorts Film Fest, Phoenix Comicon, Dragon*Con, the IFQ Film & Webisode Festival, Best Shorts and the St. Louis International Film Festival. The work has also won Best Directing of a Webisode for IFQ, Award of Merit in Best Shorts, Special Shorts Award in Balticon, 2012 Silver Prestige Award, and Best Web Series Trailer at the Indie Intertube Awards. See it online at www.ElfQuestFanTrailer.com .
ABOUT ELFQUEST
Debuting in 1978, ElfQuest tells the story of a tribe of elves on the distant World of Two Moons who find themselves brutally driven from their forest by humans. In their desperate quest for a new home, they discover something they didn't know existed: other elves. It is an adventure story with violence, war and sexual content. Created by Wendy and Richard Pini, ElfQuest is known for its magical artistry and for being a vanguard of the indie/fantasy scene. The story has been retold by Marvel Comics and published by DC Comics, enjoyed several novelizations and short story anthologies and has been printed in over 12 countries. Find out more at www.elfquest.com .
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