THE ACADEMY CREATES BRANCH FOR CASTING DIRECTORS

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced the creation of the Casting Directors Branch.

Casting directors began to be invited to Academy membership more than 30 years ago, many of them admitted as Members-at-Large.

The decision was approved at the regularly scheduled board meeting on Tuesday, July 30.

"Casting directors play an essential role in the filmmaking process," Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said. "Their inclusion on our board will only broaden our perspective and help ensure that the Academy continues to accurately reflect the state of filmmaking today."

The Casting Directors Branch brings the Academy to 17 branches, with three members representing each branch on the Board of Governors. The Academy will hold special elections this fall to select the three governors of the newest branch.

Check out this audio of the stellar "CASTING BY" panel

which discussed the role Casting Directors play.

CHERYL BOONE ISAACS ELECTED ACADEMY PRESIDENT

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Cheryl Boone Isaacs was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (July 30) by the organization’s Board of Governors.

Boone Isaacs, who is beginning her 21st year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch, served as Academy first vice president during the past year. She also produced the 2012 Governors Awards. Boone Isaacs succeeds Hawk Koch, who served a one-year term as president.

In addition, John Lasseter was elected first vice president; Jeffrey Kurland and Leonard Engelman were elected to vice president posts; Dick Cook was elected treasurer; and Phil Robinson was elected secretary.

These will be the first officer stints for Engelman, Kurland and Cook.  Lasseter previously served one-year terms as treasurer (2011-2012) and secretary (2009-2010). Robinson served as vice president during the past year, his fourth consecutive term in that office (2009-2013).

Boone Isaacs currently heads CBI Enterprises, Inc., where she has consulted on such films as “The Call,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Tupac: Resurrection.” Boone Isaacs previously served as president of theatrical marketing for New Line Cinema, where she oversaw numerous box office successes, including “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Rush Hour.” Prior to joining New Line in 1997, Boone Isaacs was executive vice president of worldwide publicity for Paramount Pictures, where she orchestrated publicity campaigns for the Best Picture winners “Forrest Gump” and “Braveheart.”

Academy board members may serve up to three consecutive three-year terms, while officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive years in any one office.

JASON REITMAN TO HOST LIVE COMMENTARY OF "THE PRINCESS BRIDE" AT THE ACADEMY

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Jason Reitman will be joined onstage by director Rob Reiner and actor Cary Elwes for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ first live commentary event, featuring a screening of the 1987 favorite "The Princess Bride," on Thursday, August 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.  The format, a live version of commentaries typically included on DVDs and other recorded media, opens the door to illuminating anecdotes, behind-the-scenes details and filmmaker insights in real time.

Adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel, "The Princess Bride" is an unforgettable tale of love and adventure told by a kindly grandfather to his ill grandson.  Featuring swordplay, an evil prince, a giant and a beautiful princess, the film showcases an ensemble cast including Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Carol Kane and Billy Crystal.  It earned an Oscar nomination for the original song "Storybook Love," written and composed by Willy DeVille.

The Academy Film Archive created the print, courtesy of 20th Century Fox, as part of Project Film-to-Film, an initiative that accelerates the Archive’s efforts to acquire and create new film masters and prints from at-risk elements.

Tickets for "The Princess Bride" Live Commentary are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID, and may be purchased starting August 1 online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office or by mail.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m.  The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.  Ticketed seating is unreserved.  For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

THE ACADEMY ANNOUNCES MAJOR ANIMATION GIFT FROM ABE LEVITOW FAMILY

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces the gift of the Abe and Charlotte Levitow Collection featuring animation art and related production materials documenting the career of animator Abe Levitow. Donated in their parents' honor by the Levitows' three children, Roberta, Judy and Jon, the collection features animation cels, backgrounds, storyboards, graphic art materials and related film prints – hundreds of items that represent Levitow's accomplishments as an artist, animator and director for Warner Bros., UPA and MGM, and include his work on features such as "Gay Purr-ee" (1962) and "The Phantom Tollbooth" (1970).

The collection, which will be housed in both the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library and the Academy Film Archive, is a significant addition to the Academy's holdings in the animation field. "We are honored that the Levitow family has entrusted the preservation of their father's legacy to the Academy's archivists," said Margaret Herrick Library Director Linda Mehr, "and you really can't go wrong when Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are in the mix, can you?"

Levitow began his career at Leon Schlesinger Productions, where he served as a publicity artist and animator on cartoons released through Warner Bros. He worked primarily as a member of the Chuck Jones unit, contributing to many of Jones's films in the late 1940s and early 1950s, including the Academy Award®-winning animated short "For Scent-imental Reasons" (1949). He was elevated to director on several Warner Bros. cartoons before moving on to UPA in the late 1950s, where he served as animation director on the studio's first feature, "1001 Arabian Nights."

At UPA, Levitow had two career directing milestones: first, on the animated feature "Gay Purr-ee," featuring the voices of Judy Garland and Robert Goulet with original songs by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, and then with "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol," an animated musical version of the Charles Dickens tale. Following his stint at UPA, Levitow joined the animation unit at MGM, where he directed a number of the later Tom and Jerry cartoons, including "The A-Tom-inable Snowman" (1966), "Guided Mouse-ille" (1967) and "Rock 'n' Rodent" (1967).

In addition to the more than 500 pieces of original production art, which will join more than 15,000 such items already held by the Margaret Herrick Library, the Levitow Collection includes scripts, sound recordings and other documentation related to Levitow's work in film, television and commercials. All of the production materials may be accessed by filmmakers, historians, journalists, students and the public at the library, located in the Academy's Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study in Beverly Hills.

Many of the pieces in the Levitow Collection are available for viewing online through the Library's Production Art Database at http://collections.oscars.org/prodart. Additional information about Abe Levitow is also available at: www.abelevitow.com.

For more information about Academy's holdings, visit www.oscars.org.

ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES ANNOUNCES THREE MAJOR NAMING GIFTS

 

GALE ANNE HURD, GERALD SCHWARTZ AND HEATHER REISMAN, AND THE SIMMS/MANN FAMILY FOUNDATION EACH DONATE $5 MILLION TO THE ACADEMY MUSEUM

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that it has received three $5 million naming gifts from producer and Academy Governor Gale Anne Hurd; philanthropist and CEO of Onex Gerald Schwartz and his wife Heather Reisman; and the family of the iconic film exhibitor Ted Mann—Victoria Mann Simms (Ted Mann's daughter), her husband Ron Simms and their family. These gifts will help to fund the design and construction of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

"Our plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures are ambitious, and the support of a diverse and committed group of partners will help to make our vision possible," noted Academy Museum Campaign Chair Bob Iger. "We are incredibly grateful for these vital commitments to the project." The Academy launched the Museum's capital campaign in 2012 and has already secured more than half of the campaign's goal in commitments. The campaign is co-chaired by Annette Bening and Tom Hanks.

Designed by architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali, the Academy Museum will be located next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in the historic Wilshire May Company building. Slated to open in early 2017, the Academy Museum will contain nearly 300,000 square feet of state-of-the-art galleries, exhibition spaces, theaters, screening rooms, education centers, and special event spaces.

Support from Gale Anne Hurd will fund the creation of Academy Museum's Demonstration Stage, which will be called The Hurd Stage. The Hurd Stage will host Academy members and other industry professionals who will conduct clinics and master classes tied to the arts and sciences of moviemaking. It also will allow the Academy Museum to highlight the latest technological advancements in cinema and to provide an immersive introductory experience for visitors.

Support from Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman will fund the Museum's mezzanine lobby and gallery space, which will be called the Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman Mezzanine Gallery. Adjacent to the Academy Museum's premier theater, this space will be a lively and interactive space that will also serve as a gallery, reception area, and meeting place for Museum visitors and moviegoers.

The Simms/Mann Family Foundation will support the creation of an intimate theater on the third floor of the Museum to be named The Ted Mann Theater. The Ted Mann Theater will be a home for retrospectives, screening series, and special programming, and will be embedded within a permanent exhibition devoted to the history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Oscars.

"The outpouring of support for our Academy Museum has been extraordinary," added Dawn Hudson, the Academy's CEO. "Each one of these donors has a special connection to the entertainment community and we are thrilled and honored to count them as Founding Supporters of the Academy Museum."

“TWO: THE STORY OF ROMAN AND NYRO” TO HAVE LOS ANGELES PREMIERE AT 2013 OUTFEST

Documentary Feature Chronicles the First 10 Years of the Lives of the Twin Sons Born to Acclaimed Songwriter Desmond Child and His Lifelong Partner Curtis Shaw

 

(Los Angeles, CA)– One of the most eagerly awaited films of the year will be coming to Los Angeles. Directed by Heather Winters, TWO: THE STORY OF ROMAN AND NYRO, documents the 12-year journey of legendary songwriter Desmond Child and his lifelong partner Curtis Shaw, and the extraordinary way they met and connected with Angela Whittaker, the woman who would carry their twin sons, Roman and Nyro, into the world.

"Gay marriage opponents need to come up with a better argument than procreation,” states Child. “Gay people are NOT infertile... we actually can procreate... and our children deserve married parents. End of discussion, America.”

“We're just living our lives day by day, and we have the same ups and downs like any other family,” says Shaw. “Love is love.... and love makes a family. This is our story.”

From pre-conception through the boys’ first 10 years, TWO is the personal and powerful story of these unique individuals whose lives become inextricably woven together in magical and unexpected ways. TWO is testament to the universal power and ultimate triumph of love – that it is love that makes a family, affirming modern families may be modern in their making, but timelessly human at their core.

“This film couldn’t come at a more important moment in our nation’s history when hearts and minds are fractured and debate rages over equality,” says director Winters. “I’m honored that Desmond and Curtis entrusted me to tell the world their story and invited me into their lives in such an intimate and poignant way.”

The film is presented by Desmond Child’s film production arm, Deston Films and was produced by Desmond Child, Curtis Shaw Child and Heather Winters. For nearly three decades, songwriter and producer Desmond Child has reigned as one of music's most successful creative forces. His list of accolades includes Grammy awards, 70 Top 40 singles, and songs that have sold over 300 million albums worldwide.

Over the course of his career, Child has worked with international superstars including Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Ricky Martin, Cher, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

TWO: THE STORY OF ROMAN AND NYRO will be featured at the 2013 Outfest Film Festival, screening on Wednesday July 17th at 7:15 PM. For ticket informaiton, please visit: www.outfest.org .

THE ACADEMY TO HOST WONG KAR WAI AND "THE GRANDMASTER"

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Academy's summer-long celebration of kung fu continues with a salute to writer-director Wong Kar Wai and an advance screening of his film "The Grandmaster," about the martial arts grand master who trained Bruce Lee, on Monday, July 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Writer-director Matthew Weiner will host the evening, which features an onstage conversation with Wong. The Academy's current Grand Lobby exhibition "KICK ASS! Kung Fu Posters from the Stephen Chin Collection" will be open with extended viewing hours after the screening. Tickets for the event are sold out. A standby line will form on the day of the event, and any available tickets will distributed shortly before the program.

Click here to learn more.

A Conscious Cinema Celebration | 4th Annual AWARENESS FILM FESTIVAL | July 25-28, 2013

The Awareness Film Festival - awarenessfestival.org - is a dynamic festival promoting the awareness of world issues.

Santa Monica, CA.  The Awareness Film Festival is the festival that brings together filmmakers, artists, educators, environmentalists, alternative health practitioners and other industry professionals. It aims to inspire the public through this engaging, entertaining and unique annual event in the film capital of the world.

Themes represented in this year’s films include: green and eco-friendly living, homelessness, gang/felon reform, veteran’s issues, cancer survival, GMO’s, marijuana policy reform, couch-surfing community, pilgrimages, mental health stories, vision loss, women’s issues; stories of hope, the arts, spirituality, and current events and much more. Film presentations will be accompanied by filmmaker Q&A’s with talent in attendance. World premieres include 420: The Documentary, Authority and Expectations, C -- A Celebration of Life, Medium, Conscious Love, Charity, as well as 30 other features and 45 shorts from 17 countries (see full list below). Many films are award-winning, and many others are new to the festival circuit.

Festival prices range from free panels and select free screenings, to $11 for individual presale tickets, $14 at the door, to $175 for VIP festival passes.

Proceeds from the Awareness Film Festival benefit the non-profit organization 501(c)3 Heal One World. This Los Angeles-based charity offers yoga, tai chi and alternative treatments to members of low-income and underserved demographic groups. Heal One World seeks to  educate people and provide them access to preventative health care, integrative health modalities, natural non-invasive treatments, and self-help techniques for the body, mind and soul. In 2012, it was rated a Top Nonprofit by GreatNonprofits.

Heal One World organized the highly successful Zen Den at Sundance Film Festival 2013, where celebrities and filmmakers were treated to holistic treatments and yoga/tai chi classes offered amidst the chaos on Main Street in Park City. Zen Den will be represented again in Santa Monica.

New this year, the Awareness Film Festival is being co-produced by Intrinsic Values Films and receiving programming support from Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment, who is offering a first look distribution opportunity for the grand jury-winning films from this year's selections. In addition, the festival festival will be will be nothing will be sent to landfills, making it a Zero Waste event stemming from its collaboration with Zero Waste Co zerowasteco.com. By rethinking, recycling, composting, and donating waste materials, all waste will be diverted from landfills.

Each of the festival venues is located in Santa Monica, the 'jewel by the sea.’ The entire festival schedule* is as follows.

Aero Theatre 1328 Montana Avenue
Opening night Thursday, July 25
     Femme 7:30 pm
Closing night Sunday, July 28
See Me 5:00 pm World Premiere
G-Dog 5:30 pm

Magicopolis 1418 4th Street (Zen Den and Sponsor headquarters)
  Friday, July 26
    This Dewdrop World 6:15 pm
    Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey 7:00 pm
    Home 8:30 pm
  Saturday, July 27
    Sacred Journey of the Heart 11:15 am
    Genetic Roulette 1:00 pm
    California Winter 3:00 pm
    The Hidden Hand: Alien Contact and the Government Coverup 4:00 pm            (second screen)
    420: The Documentary 5:00 pm World Premiere
  Sunday, July 28
     Sirius 1:00 pm
     Beauty and the Breast 3:30 pm
    The Paw Project 5:30 pm
    Awakening World 7:00 pm
    One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das 7:30 pm
    Closing Night Awards 9:00 pm

Promenade Playhouse 1404 3rd Street Promenade
  Friday, July 26
    Screen 1
    Authority and Expectations 7:00 pm World Premiere FREE to Veterans
    Red Reign 8:45 pm
    Screen 2
    Shorts Block 1 7:00 pm
    Shorts Block 2 8:30 pm
  Saturday, July 27
 Screen 1    
Panel 'Developing New Audiences for Film' 1:00 pm
Hungry for Change 2:30 pm FREE
    The People and the Olive 4:00 pm
    Graceland Girls 5:30 pm
    C -- A Celebration of Life 6 pm World Premiere
    One Couch at a Time 8:00 pm
    Screen 2
    Ride a Wave: Live and Love It Up 1:00 pm
    Diminished Chords 2:30 pm
    Young Voices Block 3:30 pm FREE
    Read Me Differently 4:30 pm FREE
    Youth Shorts Block 5:30 pm FREE
My Best Friend 6:45 pm FREE
    Conscious Love 8:00 pm World Premiere
Sunday, July 28
    Screen1    
Student Shorts Block 1:00 pm
    Panel 'Marketing Socially Conscious Films' 3:30 pm
    Charity 4:30 pm World Premiere
My Way to Olympia 6:00 pm
    Screen 2    
     Overdraft 1:00 pm
     J&J 2:00 pm
     Medium 3:00 pm
     Shorts Block 3 4:30 pm
     Shorts Block 4 6:00 pm
    Conspiracy Rising 7:00 pm

Santa Monica Laemmle 1332 2nd Street
  Saturday, July 26
    Driving Blind 11:00 am
  Sunday, July 27
    Talking Story 11:00 am

West 4th and Jane 1432 4th Street
Friday, July 25
      Filmmakers’ Party 9 pm – 12 am

*Screen locations of individual films subject to change due to demand.

Sponsors of Awareness Film Festival include Gaiam, Zevia, Venice Family Clinic, LA YOGA Magazine, Organic India Tea, Aware Guide, US Vets, Weleda, Heal the Bay, Stella Artois… more sponsors to be announced by festival time.

VIP ALL ACCESS PASS $175
Opening Night Reception and Film, All Screenings at all Venues, After Parties, Sponsor and Filmmaker Mixer, VIP for Closing Night Film.

ALL ACCESS PASS $59
All Film Screenings and Panels except opening night and closing night at the Aero Theater.

DAILY PASS Price $25
All Screenings at any theater for that day (Fri/Sat/Sun)- excludes the Aero Theater and Laemmle Theater.

STUDENT PASS $39
Same as All Access Pass.

INDIVIDUAL SCREENINGS
Select Free Screenings, $8 Students and Seniors, $11 presale, or $14 at the door

Awareness Film Festival
310-826-1971
awarenessfestival.org
pr@healoneworld.com

Like the Awareness Film Festival on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awarenessfest

Follow the Awareness Film Festival on Twitter: https://twitter.com/awarenessfest

Outfest And UCLA Film & Television Archive To Launch Landmark Online LGBT Resource

Los Angeles, July 15, 2013, – Outfest – the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization promoting equality by creating, sharing, and protecting LGBT stories on the screen – and UCLA Film & Television Archive have announced plans for an online lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender moving-image research area that will feature all 208 episodes of the groundbreaking public television series "In the Life" at its core.

The new, publicly accessible digital portal, expected to launch in late 2013, will include two decades' worth of broadcasts of the Emmy-nominated LGBT newsmagazine and will link to the UCLA archive's already substantial collection of LGBT moving-image study resources.

The "In the Life" project is funded by the Estate of Ric Weiland (managed by the Pride Foundation), the Arcus Foundation and Henry van Ameringen and is part of UCLA Film & Television Archive's partnership with Outfest.

Beginning as a variety show in 1992, "In the Life" quickly evolved into a newsmagazine format, becoming an honored and respected source for LGBT journalism at a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people were often invisible in media. Produced by In The Life Media, the series was the first — and remains the only — LGBT newsmagazine broadcast on public TV. "In the Life" ran for more than 20 years in more than 200 markets around the country; its final episode aired in December 2012.

"I am immeasurably proud of the critical role 'In the Life' played in the LGBT movement," said Van Ameringen, a board member of In The Life Media. "We're committed to preserving this invaluable resource and maximizing access to it with an online presence that will continue to advance equality in new and innovative ways."

"Preserving and providing public access to LGBT media materials is important not only for scholars, researchers, filmmakers and historians worldwide but also for the broader society," said Jan-Christopher Horak, director of UCLA Film & Television Archive. "This new initiative with 'In the Life' builds on the archive's longstanding commitment to underrepresented communities, including the LGBT community."

In 2005, UCLA Film & Television Archive partnered with Outfest to create the Outfest–UCLA Legacy Project, which has since assembled the largest publicly accessible collection of LGBT moving-image materials in the world, with more than 25,000 titles stored at UCLA. The project also works to preserve both the history and the future of LGBT moving-image materials by convening symposia, creating study guides, educating filmmakers about proper stewardship of their work, restoring materials that are at risk and encouraging the wide propagation of collection materials.

The new "In the Life" initiative will build on previous Legacy Project efforts, with a specific focus on enhancing public access by putting program episodes — along with outtakes, interviews and other valuable content — online. And importantly, all materials will be accompanied by detailed descriptions to facilitate meaningful searchability.

"'In the Life' provided an invaluable voice for the LGBT community for over two decades, and we are thrilled that its legacy will live on," said Outfest executive director Kirsten Schaffer.

"This living legacy of 'In the Life' will provide generations with documentation and history that exists nowhere else and will help chronicle and explain the LGBT movement over the past 20-plus years," said Jayne Baron Sherman, a board member of In the Life Media.

Richard W. "Ric" Weiland was a noted computer software pioneer and dedicated philanthropist. He was one of the first five employees of Microsoft Corporation and left the significant majority of his estate to support LGBTQ organizations across the nation and globe. The donor-advised fund created in his name is held at and managed by Pride Foundation and, in honoring his vision and wishes, has been a significant supporter of In the Life Media.

Henry van Ameringen is a philanthropist whose main interests lie in the LGBT community and in mental illness and mental health.

The Arcus Foundation, founded in 2000 by Jon Stryker, is a leading global foundation advancing pressing social justice and conservation issues. Specifically, Arcus works to advance LGBT equality, as well as to conserve and protect the great apes. The Arcus Foundation works globally and has offices in Kalamazoo, Mich., New York City and Cambridge, UK.

Outfest, founded by UCLA students in 1982, is the leading organization that promotes equality by creating, sharing and protecting LGBT stories on the screen. Outfest builds community by connecting diverse populations to discover, discuss and celebrate stories of LGBT lives. Over the past three decades, Outfest has showcased thousands of films from around the world to audiences of nearly a million, educated and mentored hundreds of emerging filmmakers and protected more than 25,000 LGBT films and videos through the Outfest–UCLA Legacy Project.

UCLA Film & Television Archive is internationally renowned for its pioneering efforts to rescue, preserve and showcase moving-image media and is dedicated to ensuring that the collective visual memory of our time is explored and enjoyed for generations to come. A unique resource for media study, the archive is one of the largest repositories of moving-image materials in the world. The archive's Research and Study Center provides free access to its holdings to international researchers from all disciplines. The archive is well known for its moving-image restoration efforts, and many of its important projects are invited to screen at prestigious events around the globe, as well as screening locally in UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater.

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.

SOURCE MPRM Communications

LA Red Carpet Premiere of Korean zombie coming-of-age film, LET ME OUT

Starring Hyun-Sang Kwon (The King 2Hearts, Queen of Ambition) and K-pop star, Hee-Von Park from SM Entertainment’s girl band, Milk and actress (Grand Prix, Read My Lips, Family and God’s Quiz Season 3)

 

Film Opens on Friday, Aug 16, 2013 at Downtown Independent Theater

FLOWER MOUND, TX- (7/12/13) Group 1200 Media, in conjunction with Giant Ape Media announced today that its live-action Korean zombie coming-of-age film, LET ME OUT will be presented at a red carpet premiere at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, August 16, 2013 at 8:00pm.

The film will be the first Korean independent film to be released back to back theatrically in both Korea and the U.S. LET ME OUT will be distributed through Baekdu Daegan Film Company on August 15, 2013 in approximately 15 theaters in including Art House Momo (Baekdu’s Art House theaters), CGV Movie Collage (the Art House division of CJ Entertainment), and Artplus Cinema Network in various cities throughout Korea, including Seoul.

An official selection to six major international film festivals (including Hawaii International and Dallas International Film Festivals) LET ME OUT pays homage to Day For Night (France), Living In Oblivion (USA) and Korean cinema. The film pokes fun at director Ik-June Yang who won the 2009 Rotterdam Film Festival’s Tiger Award for Breathless.  Director of M, Duelist, Nowhere To Hide and Korean film icon, Myungse Lee is cast as himself.  Also noteworthy, the male lead Hyun-Sang Kwon (star of The King 2 Hearts, Queen of Ambition) is the son of the legendary director Kwon-Taek Lim, winner of the Best Director Award for Chiwaseon at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.  The female lead is Hee-Von Park of SM Entertainment’s girl band, Milk and star of Grand Prix, Read My Lips and TV dramas Family and God’s Quiz Season 3.

It will be a night of entertainment for fans of Korean cinema including an opportunity to walk the carpet, movie presentation, and a Q & A with the film’s director, Jae Soh.

SYNOPSIS:

This zombie melodrama is Mu-Young film school opus. An eternal senior, he knows everything about cinema but nothing about actual filmmaking.  Critical of everyone else, he heckles the famous indie director Ik-June Yang at a campus screening and somehow receives film funding.  His dream of working with his love-interest Ah-Young becomes a nightmare.  Everything that can go wrong does.  Barely surviving a disastrous shoot, Mu-Young learns making a movie is like love, you can’t do it alone. LET ME OUT is a tribute to guerrilla, indie, amateur, low-budget cineastes struggling to create.  It is hope.

A Baekdu-Daegan Film Company release of a Seoul Institute of the Arts production. Produced by Jae Soh, Min Soh, and Irene Cho. Executive producer, Jae Soh. Directed and written by Chang-Lae Kim, Jae Soh. Starring : Hyun-Sang Kwon, Hee-Von Park, Geun-Sup Han, Yumouhyung, Jessica Choi and Myung-se Lee. LET ME OUT is produced by Seoul Institute of the Arts.

Tickets for the screening are currently on sale at www.downtownindependent.com the first 100 tickets purchased will include an autographed limited edition event poster.

More information may be found at :
http://downtownindependent.ning.com/events/let-me-out

Giant Ape is also currently hosting a contest with an opportunity to attend a dinner with the director and VIP tickets to the premier via:
http://blog.dramafever.com/2013/07/contest-win-tickets-to-let-me-out-premiere-in-la/

About Group 1200 Media
Group 1200 Media is a multifaceted entertainment conglomerate encompassing FUNimation(R) Entertainment, Giant Ape Media and Group 1200 Products (GameSamba and Immerz). This production, marketing, and distribution corporation strives tirelessly to accomplish its mission of delivering the highest quality entertainment brands – along with their associated products – across a multitude of genres. Group 1200 Media is committed to continually releasing and developing exciting new properties representative of its diverse background in the entertainment industry. Additional information may be found at www.group1200.com.

ACADEMY NAMES 2013–2014 BOARD OF GOVERNORS

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Ten first-time governors have been elected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors. In addition, eight incumbents have been reelected and one previous governor is returning to the board. This year's election increases the Academy's governing body from 43 to 48.

The first-time governors are Judianna Makovsky and Deborah Nadoolman, representing the Costume Designers Branch; Rick Carter and Jan Pascale, Designers Branch; Alex Gibney, Documentary; Lynzee Klingman, Film Editors; Amy Pascal, Executives; Kathryn Blondell and Bill Corso, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists; and Nancy Utley, Public Relations.

The reelected governors are Ed Begley, Jr., Actors Branch; John Bailey, Cinematographers; Kathryn Bigelow, Directors; Charles Fox, Music; Jon Bloom, Short Films and Feature Animation; Curt Behlmer, Sound; Richard Edlund, Visual Effects; and Robin Swicord, Writers.

Mark Johnson, representing the Producers Branch, is returning to the board after a hiatus.

The Academy's 16 branches, including the recently created Costume Designers Branch, are each represented by three governors, who may serve up to three consecutive three-year terms. For the first time, the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch is represented by three governors; the branch was previously represented by one.

Governors who were not up for reelection and who continue on the board are Annette Bening and Tom Hanks, Actors Branch; Jim Bissell, Designers; Richard P. Crudo and Dante Spinotti, Cinematographers; Jeffrey Kurland, Costume Designers; Lisa Cholodenko and Michael Mann, Directors; Michael Apted and Rob Epstein, Documentary; Dick Cook and Robert Rehme, Executives; Mark L. Goldblatt and Michael Tronick, Film Editors; Leonard Engelman, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists; Arthur Hamilton and David L. Newman, Music; Gale Anne Hurd and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers; Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Rob Friedman, Public Relations; Bill Kroyer and John Lasseter, Short Films and Feature Animation; Don Hall and Scott Millan, Sound; Craig Barron and John Knoll, Visual Effects; and Bill Condon and Phil Robinson, Writers.

AMERICA FERRERA TO TAKE PART IN OUTFEST LOS ANGELES SCREENWRITING LAB READING

CHEYENNE JACKSON TO SPEAK AT AMFAR PANEL

 

OUTFEST LOS ANGELES ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL PANELISTS AND SPEAKERS FOR PRODUCERS EXPO INCLUDING KEY NOTE BY RICH ROSS

Los Angeles, July 10, 2013 – Outfest – the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that promotes equality by creating, sharing, and protecting LGBT stories on the screen – has announced the participants for the panels and screenwriting lab reading, as well as the speakers for the Producers Expo at its 31st Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival. The nation’s leading LGBT festival will be held July 11 to 21, 2013.

Golden Globe and Emmy award winner America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”) will take part in the 11th annual Outfest Screenwriting Lab Reading. She will read the lead role of Meg for the script “HAG” by Julia Dwyer Sullivan. The reading takes place on Thursday, July 18th at 7pm at the Director’s Guild of America (DGA 2).

Actor, singer and activist Cheyenne Jackson (“Behind the Candelabra,” 30 Rock”) will be participating in Outfest’s amfAR panel, following the screening of Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s short film “The Battle of amfAR.” Jackson is an international ambassador for amfAR, and will discuss the organization’s ongoing work tackling the AIDS crisis. The screening and panel takes place on Sunday, July 14 at 7:30PM at the Director’s Guild of America (DGA 2).

Panels at this year’s Outfest Los Angeles include “Oh, the Horror!,” a discussion about the fascination with horror movies and examining the link between sexuality and terror. Panelists include this year’s Outfest Achievement Award winner Kimberly Peirce (“Carrie”), TV mogul Bryan Fuller (NBC’s “Hannibal” and ABC’s “Pushing Daisies), screenwriter Christopher Landon (“Disturbia,” “Paranormal Activity 2”), and writer/producer Jeffrey Reddick (“Final Destination”).

Some of today’s leading figures from the world of animation will discuss the rise of LGBT characters, the queer subtext of classic Disney plotlines and the future of animated films aimed at a non-kid market.  The Queer Animation panelists include Kevin Bannerman (director of development, “The Lion King,” “Pocahontas,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”), Suzanne Buirgy (producer, “Happy Smekday!”), Dean DeBlois (director, “How to Train Your Dragon 2”), Jay Dyer (development and story writer, “Mulan,” “The Lion King”).

The Outfest Producers Expo is a conference for established and up-and-coming filmmakers featuring stellar speakers, workshops, technology demonstrations and networking events. The special one day conference is Friday, July 19th and brings together some of the best talent in film, television, and new media to provide filmmakers with the tools to make their next project a great success. While some of the focus will be on LGBT storytelling, the Expo is open to all and marketed to a broad audience of film, television and commercial filmmakers. Topics for the panels are: Where’s the Money?; Developing and Producing Projects for Digital Distribution; and New Technology in Production. Speakers include Keynote Speaker Rich Ross (Shine America), and panel moderators Joseph Beyer (Director of Digital Initiatives, Sundance Institute), and Tom Vice (Vice President of Digital Department, Fotokem). The Expo’s presenting sponsors are Fotokem and Hollywood Reporter and official sponsor Film LA.

Tickets and information
For more information and for a complete listing of films in the Festival, log on to www.outfest.org/fest2013 or call 213-480-7065.

Memberships are currently on sale at Outfest.org/membership. Outfest members receive benefits such as free tickets, priority entrance to screenings or all access passes. Contact the Box Office for membership, tickets and event information by calling 213.480.7065 or visit Outfest.org. Special ticket packages are also available.

The 2013 Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival is presented by HBO. Grand Sponsors include Absolut and Ease Entertainment.  Other sponsors at the Premiere Level include: Clear Channel, The Directors Guild of America, DIRECTV, The Hollywood Reporter, The Los Angeles Times, Merrill Lynch, Southwest Airlines and Variety. Official Sponsors include: Bloomingdale’s, Coca-Cola, COMCAST | NBCUniversal, Equality Rewards, Lichter, Yu and Associates, Marriott, Orbitz, Propaganda Creative Group, Room & Board, Stella Artois, Tech Pal, UBER and Wells Fargo. Day Sponsors are CNN Films, David Geffen Foundation, FrontiersLA, GayCast, HERE TV, Hollywood & Highland, Instinct, Lifetime, Logo TV and Queerty.

For more information about Outfest Los Angeles 2013 sponsorship, visit www.outfest.org/sponsor.

About Outfest
Founded by UCLA students in 1982, Outfest is the leading organization that promotes equality by creating, sharing and protecting LGBT stories on the screen. Outfest builds community by connecting diverse populations to discover, discuss and celebrate stories of LGBT lives. Over the past three decades, Outfest has showcased thousands of films from around the world to audiences of nearly a million, educated and mentored hundreds of emerging filmmakers and protected more than 20,000 LGBT films and videos. Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival is eleven days of world-class films, discussions and parties.

BAYOU MAHARAJAH: The Tragic Genius of James Booker

LOS ANGELES PREMIERE – DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Screening: Tuesday, July 16th – 5PM - DGA 2

Director: Lily Keber

Producers: Lily Keber, Nathaniel Kohn
Associate Producers: Ted Moree, Amy Rodrigue, Don Williams

Principal Cast: Harry Connick Jr., Hugh Laurie, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Charles Neville, Douglas Brinkley

"Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker explores the life, times and music of piano legend James Booker, who Dr. John described as 'the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced.' Booker was an unparalleled musician whose eccentricities and showmanship belied a life of struggle and isolation. Triply-marginalized by his race, sexuality, and physical disability, he still managed to excel as a musician in New Orleans and Europe in the turbulent 1960-70s, fusing secular, sacred, pop and classical traditions in breathtaking new ways. A brilliant stylist of soaring imagination, Booker personified the agony of genius in a time of paradigmatic change."

TRAILER

 

SOURCE: PMK•BNC

BORN THIS WAY - Outfest Documentary Competition!

Friday, July 14th - 7:30pm / Harmony Gold Theater

Directed by Shaun Kadlec & Deb Tullmann

More people are imprisoned each year for homosexuality in Cameroon than any other country in the world. With intimate access to the lives of two young gay Cameroonians, Born This Way sketches a vivid portrait of day-to-day life in modern Africa. Lyrical imagery, devastating homophobia, glimpses of American culture and a hidden-camera courtroom drama coalesce into a story of what is possible in the global fight for equality.

Born This Way explores the underground gay and lesbian community in an intensely homophobic culture that is taking its first steps toward greater acceptance. More people are imprisoned each year for homosexuality in Cameroon than any other country in the world, serving sentences up to five years. The film focuses on two people who dream of sharing with their families the truth about who they really are: Cédric wants to come out to his mom, and Gertrude wants to come out to the Mother Superior who raised her in a Catholic convent.

Cédric and Gertrude work at a nonprofit that officially operates as an HIV/AIDS clinic, but also functions as a safe space where LGBT people can come together without fear of going to jail, being attacked or being rejected by family and friends. When two young women in a remote village are arrested for “lesbianism and witchcraft”, they turn to brilliant human rights lawyer Alice Nkom to defend them. Cédric and Gertrude’s activism becomes bolder and stronger as they work with Alice to help the two women.

Born This Way is a view from the inside of a secret community on the verge of transforming into a social movement. It offers an inspiring portrait of this young, courageous community as it struggles to find its voice in a deeply traditional culture. The film is not only an eye-opening work of art, but also a key component of a global campaign to raise awareness about an unjust, anachronistic law and the compromised legal system that enforces it. Lyrical imagery, devastating homophobia, glimpses of American culture and a hidden- camera courtroom drama coalesce into a story of what is possible in the global fight for equality.

TWO PROVOCATIVE, AWARD-WINNING FILMS: ANIMALS & THE LAST MATCH

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SOAP OPERA STARS HOST EVENTS TO BENEFIT SMILE TRAIN

Rebecca Herbst (General Hospital) & Scott Reeves (General Hospital and The Young and the Restless) bring awareness to the charity through fan events
 

Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft lip and palate charity, brings awareness to the organization with help from TV stars Rebecca Herbst and Scott Reeves.

Rebecca Herbst, General Hospital actress, will host her annual soiree in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 25th. Proceeds from the evening will benefit Smile Train as Rebecca meets fans, hosts a Q & A and auctions off memorabilia from the show.

Scott Reeves, known for his role in General Hospital and The Young and the Restless, will be hosting his Nashville Nights Event with Friends in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 28th. Scott Reeves will be donating proceeds from the event to Smile Train. During the evening, Reeves will entertain fans by performing an acoustic show with special guests.

WHEN

 

~ Rebecca Herbst Soiree ~

Thursday, July 25th at 9:00PM

 

~ Nashville Nights Event with Scott Reeves and Friends ~

Sunday, July 28th at 9:00PM

ABOUT SMILE TRAIN

Smile Train's mission is to provide a child born with a cleft the same opportunities in life as a child born without a cleft. We provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive care to hundreds of thousands of poor children in developing countries and train doctors and medical professionals in over 80 countries.

Unlike many charities that do many different things, Smile Train's mission is focused on solving a single problem: cleft lip and palate. Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where millions of children are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly and aren't allowed to attend school or hold a job. They face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache. Their clefts usually go untreated because they are poor - too poor to pay for a simple surgery that has been around for decades. We want our mission to be yours www.smiletrain.org .

Like SMILE TRAIN on Facebook:  facebook.com/SmileTrain
Follow SMILE TRAIN on Twitter:  twitter.com/smiletrain

OLDBOY opens October 25, 2013 in theatres!

"OLDBOY is a provocative, visceral thriller that follows the story of an advertising executive (Josh Brolin) who is abruptly kidnapped and held hostage for 20 years in solitary confinement. When he is inexplicably released, he embarks on an obsessive mission to discover who orchestrated his bizarre and torturous punishment only to find he is still trapped in a web of conspiracy and torment. Co-starring Elizabeth Olsen and Sharlto Copley, OLDBOY was directed by Spike Lee, from a script by Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, The Cell, Thor). The film was produced by Roy Lee, Doug Davison and Nathan Kahane."

Theatrical Trailer   Distributor: FilmDistrict

Release Date: October 25, 2013

Director: Spike Lee

Writer: Mark Protosevich

Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, and Sharlto Copley.

Documentary Features Section GORE VIDAL: THE UNITED STATES OF AMNESIA

Featuring the final on-camera interviews with the iconic American writer, essayist, and singular intellectual.

OUTFEST SCREENING:  Sat, July 20, 11:00am, DGA1

SCREENING INFO: http://tinyurl.com/VidalOutfest

SYNOPSIS:
No twentieth-century figure has had a more profound effect on the worlds of literature, film, politics, historical debate, and the culture wars than Gore Vidal.  Anchored by intimate one-on-one interviews with the man himself, Nicholas Wrathall’s new documentary is a fascinating and wholly entertaining portrait of the last lion of the age of American liberalism.

Featuring a series of candid interviews from namy notable figures, including  Burr Steers, Christopher Hitchens, Jodie Evans, Tim Robbins, Mikhail Gorbachev, Sting, David Mamet, Bob Scheer, William F. Buckley, Jay Parini, Norman Mailer, Nina Straight and Dick Cavett, the film shows just how prescient many of Vidal’s views were about American political and social ills, and even manages to pull back the curtain a bit on his internal life—which despite his very public homosexuality he kept largely cloaked.

Directed by LBGT filmmaker Nicholas Wrathall (Abandoned: The Betrayal of America’s Immigrants).

  Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia Trailer from Theodore James on Vimeo.