Category Archives: Entertainment

Gravity Picks Up 6 Honours At The EE British Academy Film Awards 2014

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British Film Gravity picked up six awards at the EE British Academy Film Awards and it also picked up four other awards for Best Visual Effects, Cinematography, Sound and Original Film Music while Gravity Director, Alfonso Cuarón, won the Director Award. 12 Years a Slave received the award for Film while Chiwetel Ejiofor won Leading Actor for his role in the film.  Other winners included Cate Blanchett who won Leading Actress for her role in Blue Jasmine, Jennifer Lawrence who was named Supporting Actress for her role in American Hustle, Captain Phillips star Barkhad Abdi won Supporting Actor and Philomena won Adapted Screenplay. Dame Helen Mirren was awarded the Academy Fellowship, BAFTA’s highest accolade, in recognition of her exceptional contribution to film.

BAFTAs 2014 BAFTAs 2014 BAFTAs 2014 BAFTAs 2014

Champagne Taittinger, official Champagne Partner to the British Academy for the 12th year running, once again added extra sparkle to the proceedings.   Special BAFTA labelled Magnums and 75cl bottles of Champagne Taittinger Brut Réserve were produced for the Awards. A bottle was also included in the gift bags, given to all nominees and presenters.  Taittinger is one of the few premium Champagne houses to remain owned and actively managed by the named family.  It is proud to support the work of BAFTA to acknowledge and encourage the highest achievements in film and television.

 

As New Zealand’s most awarded winery for more than 30 years, Villa Maria makes a very fitting Wine Partner to the Academy.  Guests at the glamorous Awards dinner enjoyed the delicious Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2013 which perfectly complimented the Smoked Loch Fyne Salmon and Dorset Crab starter and the Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 which made a mouth-watering match with the main course of Fillet of Aberdeen Angus and Braised Short Ribs.

 

other winners included:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY                                              ANIMATED FILM

American Hustle                                                         Frozen

 

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE                      PRODUCTION DESIGN                        

The Great Beauty                                                        The Great Gatsby

 

MAKE-UP AND HAIR                                                   EE RISING STAR

American Hustle                                                         Will Poulter

For the full list of winners visit: www.bafta.org

 

Fire and the Romance | Music Profile

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Band/Artist: Fire and the Romance
Location: New York / Los Angeles
Styles: Alt Pop, Alt Rock, Indie
Similar to: Postal Service, Atlas Genius, Bastille, Owl City
Track: Way Down Below

fire and romanceAccolades:
1. Fire and the Romance is a brand new band fronted by Dion Roy. Dion over the past year has independently toured the US extensively, as well as most major Canadian Markets. Last year he also toured Europe on a 13 date run.

2. Dion has had his music and production featured on networks MTV, A&E, Lifetime, Oxygen, and many others.

3. Jenn Stone (Keys for Ke$ha),  performs keyboards live with Dion in LA and is in the “Way Down Below” Music Video.

Members/Instruments:
Dion Roy – Vocals, Guitar, Writing
NYC: Leo Fraire – Drums / Jamie Pitrelli Bass / Peter Roessler Guitar
LA: Jenn Stone Keys / Topher Mohr (Mayer Hawthorne) Guitar / Tom Breyfogle Drums

Production/Writing : Produced by Steven Miller, feat. songs written/produced with Steven Miller, David Hodges, Teddy Geiger.

Steven Miller:  production/mixing credits include: Demi Lovato, Avril Lavigne, Colbie Caillat, Christina Perri, Tristan Prettyman, David Cook, Tyler Hilton, Haley Reindhart, etc.

David Hodges: (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Daughtry, Evanescence, Javier Colon, Tonic, Grammy wins).

Bio:
Fire & The Romance is a band, founded on one principle – the desire to create a sound that is new, unique and relatable. Though most of the band has been writing music and touring for most of their life, this new collection of songs came from an epiphany that founder Dion Roy had while on tour in Europe as a Singer-Songwriter – and his vision of this larger musical idea needed to be put out into the world.

When inspiration hit, Dion reached out to some of his most trusted music collaborators with the goal of recording this new material as a band, borrowing from each member’s varied inspiration and influences during the process. As a group, they found a voice, and the final product – the eclectic “Adaptations” EP – mixes sparse, bass heavy pop production with arena-ready alt-rock anthems, placing Fire & The Romance somewhere between Atlas Genius, Postal Service and AWOLNation on the genre map.

Now living in New York City, Front-man Dion and his bi-coastal band are anxious to unveil their new material, starting with the single Way Down Below. Says Dion “Way Down Below was born out of a pretty vocal melody idea I had in the middle of the night, but grew in just a few hours into this untamed emotional demon, complete with teeth and a killer haircut. You just can’t look away”

The Adaptations EP will come out Spring 2014, In the meantime, they are excited to see the world react to the new music and have begun touring. “Its been an incredible experience developing this project with my band; the process was both fun and intriguing. The Adaptations EP was an experiment in sound that really turned into something special for all of us – and I love what we found.”

House of Cards Season 2 Premiere

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Netflix’s “House of Cards” Series two Los Angeles Premiere on Thursday, February 13th. Cast members in attendance included Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and Kate Mara.

Kate Mara, Kevin Spacey Dana Brunetti, Kevin Spacey, Kevin McCarthy Molly Parker, Jayne Atkinson, Michel Gill, Jimmi Simpson, Derek Cecil Michel Gill, Jayne Atkinson, Robin Wright Ted Sarandos, Robin Wright, David Fincher Mozhan Marno, Jimmi Simpson Nicole Avant, Ted Sarandos Sakina Jaffrey Kevin Spacey Gerald McRaney Gerald McRaney, Gil Birmingham Molly Parker Constance Zimmer Kate Mara Robin Wright Sam Page Kate Mara

The second season of the Netflix original series, from Media Rights Capital, “House of Cards,” premieres Friday, February 14, 2014. All 13-episodes of the season starring Academy Award® winner Kevin Spacey (“Horrible Bosses,” “American Beauty,” “The Usual Suspects”) and Golden Globe® nominee Robin Wright (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Forrest Gump”), who both received Emmy® nominations for their performances in the first season, will be available for members to watch instantly in all territories where Netflix is available.

Are you excited?

 

Austenland Film Review

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austenlandAustenland is a quirky and fun film; a delightful romantic comedy and a modern twist on the timeless tales of Jane Austen’s romance novels. The imaginative story focuses on a woman named Jane, played by Keri Russell (TV’s “Felicity” and The Americans) who is obsessed with the Regency era and the famed author’s fiction. Determined to be the heroine of her own story, Jane spends her life savings on a trip to Austenland, an eccentric resort where guests experience complete immersion in the Regency era. Armed with her bonnet, corset and needlepoint, Jane strives to avoid spinsterhood … but has a difficult time determining where fantasy ends and real life—and maybe even love—begins.

Jennifer Coolidge is hilarious and adds some brashness while Keri Russell plays the introverted, Austen-obsessed thirty-something women who still believes in old fashioned love and romance. I would have liked a little bit more of the background of her love life, it is referenced to but you feel like you are missing something. Although it is obvious that she was hurt badly.

I love the progression of Russell’s character, Jane. She slowly becomes more kick ass, in a way this is a coming-of-age comedy, or coming-of-self comedy. The regency era set and Austenland itself is amazing. The supporting cast are great, bringing excellent comedy timing and some OTT moments. The script is very good; different and funny. Jane Seymour is also great as the stuck-up owner of Austenland.

Will Jane find true love? Will she regret spending her life savings on going to Austenland? Watch the film and find out. This is a good, funny comedy.

Austenland [DVD] [2013]

 

Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2014

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Here it is: a list celebrating the most desirable women. AskMen Readers Celebrate Actresses, Performers, Athletes and Other Leading Ladies in Global Poll.

After more than one million votes were cast internationally, Game of Thrones darling Emilia Clarke was voted No. 1 on AskMen’s Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2014. The 13th edition of the Top 99 poll called on readers to elect women who most closely match their ideals, voting on criteria including sex appeal, character, talent and potential for 2014.

mostdesirablewomen

Rounding out this year’s top five are Mad Men’s Alison Brie (No. 2), Blurred Lines music video model Emily Ratajkowski (No. 3), The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence (No. 4) and Harry Potter’s Emma Watson (No. 5). After an eventful year, Miley Cyrus was featured on the list for the first time ever — at No. 99. “AskMen readers are big television fans — the proof is the 27 current and former TV stars that they voted to this year’s list. Emilia Clarke being crowned Khaleesi of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2014 is attributable to the strength and character she portrays onscreen, as well as the global popularity of Game of Thrones. It’s great to see a Brit top our list this year,” commented Mike Goldstein, Publisher of AskMen.

Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2014

British women are appealing to men across the globe: 28 British ladies were voted into the Top 99 this year – with Emma Watson (No.5) and Kate Moss (No.10) also making it into the coveted top 10 spots. There were also spots for It-girl of the moment Cara Delevigne (No.13) and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton (No.35).

The Year of the Musician: Female artists were also incredibly appealing for men around the world, with AskMen readers voting in their droves for Beyonce (No.11), genre-blurring singer Rita Ora (No.18), Harry Styles’ ex-girlfriend and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (No.30), Brit award-winner Ellie Goulding (No.34), Australian recording artist and model Iggy Azalea (No.95), and Brit singer-songwriter Eliza Doolittle (No.86).

The Reign of the TV Starlet: AskMen’s readers are clearly fans of fantasy series Game of Thrones, electing Clarke’s co-stars Oona Chaplin (No. 43) and Rose Leslie (No. 61) to the 2014 list as well. Additional TV favourites who secured a spot include New Girl’s Zooey Deschanel (No. 17), TV presenter Holly Willoughby (No. 37),  Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara (No. 40) and Fresh Meat’s Zawe Ashton (No.51).

Athletes are hot and coveted this year! AskMen’s readers are seemingly impressed by the drive, dedication and healthy figures of the likes of British Olympians Jessica Ennis (No.59) and Laura Trott (No.93)
and surfers Alana Blanchard (No.36) and Anastasia Ashley (No.67).

Blunda | Music Profile

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Artist: Blunda
Location: North Hollywood, CA
Styles: Indie Rock, Synth Pop, New Wave, Lo-Fi Indie, Electronic
Similar to: Wild Nothing, Beach House, Neon Indian, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, The Cure
CD: “Messages” digital download only

Blunda

Accolades:
* Guitarist for Fastball 1997-1999
* Guitarist, Keyboards for Paloalto on American Recordings 2 albums with
producer Rick Rubin 1999-2004 opened for Supergrass, Johnny Marr, Collective Soul, Stone Temple Pilots
* Guitarist for Jason Falkner late 2000’s 2 Japan tours including Fuji Rock
* Composer for many TV shows including theme song for Showtime series
“Polyamory: Married and Dating” also Storage Wars, American Hoggers and
most recently Appalachian Outlaws on History Channel
* Winner of ASCAP Film and Television award in 2013 for music in highest rated show “After the Catch” on Discovery

Members/Instruments: Andy Blunda all instruments except tracks 4 and 5 drums played by Fernando Sanchez.

Production: Recorded and Mixed by Andy Blunda out of professional home
“Studio B” in North Hollywood
Mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge NYC
Assisted by Rich Morales

Tracklisting:
1. A Broken Case
2. If You Want Me
3. Messages
4. Devil Inside
5. The Money Side

Websites:
Official
Facebook

Bio:
Blunda is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Andy Blunda. A classical pianist at University, Blunda landed a touring gig with the texas trio Fastball at age 20 where the success of their song “The Way” kept him on the road for 2 years.

Shortly after he joined Paloalto, who recorded two albums with producer Rick Rubin on his American Recordings label. After years of touring and recording in bands, Blunda made the decision to start recording his own material which he had been writing off and on for the last decade. Messages is Blunda’s second solo EP, and it is his most focused effort to date. It was recorded, produced & mixed by Andy out of his home studio in North Hollywood. The sound is a blend of 80’s new wave & moody indie pop delivered in a very unique style.