Music Legend Berry Gordy Receives Square Dedication in Hollywood

Berry Gordy Square Dedication

On Monday, November 25, 2019, Berry Gordy makes history once again with the Berry Gordy Square dedication at 6255 Sunset Boulevard and Argyle  Avenue in Hollywood.

6255 Sunset Boulevard was the headquarters for Motown when Gordy moved his company to Hollywood in 1972.

The momentous event was hosted by Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, Council District 13. Council President Herb Wesson, Danny Bakewall were among the guest speakers.

In attendance to help Gordy celebrate was his best and life long friend, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Thelma Houston, Judge Mathis, Suzanne DePasse, Clarence Avant.

2019 marks the 60th anniversary of Motown and during those years Gordy was responsible for discovering and nurturing the careers of music icons, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Jackson Five, Michael Jackson, Boys to Men, Rick James, Tina Marie, Rockwell just to name a few.

After conquering the world of music Gordy went on to place his musical acts on the popular television shows of the time American Bandstand, Ed Sullivan Show, and once Soul Train debuted, Motown artists dominated the space with hit after hit.

It didn't take long before he made his entry into film with Academy nominated films Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blue, starring Dianna Ross and Billie Dee Williams.

His autobiography, To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown provided the foundation for his highly successful Broadway play, Motown the Musical, which has toured around the world.

The Berry Gordy Square dedication is a fitting tribute to the man who in 1959 founded Motown and created the soundtracks of our lives.

A special thanks to those who made the dedication possible, Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, Sean Starkey, Karla Bordy Bristol, Najee Ali and Brenda Boyce.

And an extra special thanks to Najee Ali and Karla Gordy Bristol who spear headed the efforts.

 

 

 

Key West Film Festival Has Announced the Winners of the 8th Edition of the Festival

Key West Winners
Key West Film Festival has announced the winners of the 8th edition of the festival which ran November 20-24, 2019.

Waves directed by Trey Edward Shults, which closed the festival, was voted winner of the Audience Award.
After Parkland by Emily Taguchi & Jake Lefferman won for Best Documentary Feature, A Name Without A Place  by Kenny Riches won for Best Florida Feature and Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Celine Sciamma won Best LGBT Feature.

Other winners include: Bacurau by Kleber Mendonca Filho and Juliano Dornelles for Best Foreign Feature and  Atlantics by Mati Diop won the Critics Award.

During the festival Boys Don’t Cry director Kimberly Peirce and legendary actor Tom Skerritt (Alien) received prestigious Golden Key Awards.
Arianne Phillips received the Golden Key Award for Costume Design.

*****KWFF 2019 AWARDS******
WORLD Narrative Short & Documentary Short

Always Remember Me
Nell Teare

Underwater Senses
Leonardo Sergiani

WORLD STUDENT Narrative Short & Documentary Short

Where’s the Fire
Yonca Talu

Deaf Reach: Hope for Pakistan
John Quatroche

FLORIDA STUDENT Narrative Short & Documentary Short

Freewheel
Hollis Rosenkranz

In Human Kind
Juancho Rodriguez

FLORIDA Narrative Short & Documentary Short

The Things they Left Behind
Sara Werner

Phil & Grace | The World's Oldest Scuba Diving Couple
Sonny DePasquale

FLORIDA SCREENPLAY Short & Feature

SHORT: Violette Hayes: A True Story
By Giancarlo Fusi

FEATURE: Hearts of Key West
By Billy Nahn and David Fleer

FOREIGN Feature

FEATURE: Bacurau
By Kleber Mendonca Filho & Juliano Dornelles

DOCUMENTARY Feature

FEATURE: After Parkland
By Emily Taguchi & Jake Lefferman

FLORIDA Feature

FEATURE: A Name Without A Place
By Kenny Riches

LGBT Feature

FEATURE: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
By Celine Sciamma

CRITICS AWARD

FEATURE: Atlantics
By Mati Diop

AUDIENCE AWARD

FEATURE: Waves
By Trey Edward Shults

ABOUT THE KEY WEST FILM FESTIVAL 2019

The Key West Film Festival — where passion meets paradise — is an annual celebration of contemporary cinema in a historically rich, artistically vibrant, and culturally diverse island community.

KWFF strives to showcase the best of Florida filmmaking talent, while highlighting visiting filmmakers and industry leaders through discussions and workshops, with access to some of the biggest names in the film business. The festival also looks to support the next generation of local student filmmakers with scholarships and other key awards.


The Festival’s Critics Focus program, enhanced with the juried  Critics’ Prize,
together with the Costume Design Focus,  marks the Key West Film Festival as a vital stop on the awards season’s fall festival circuit, with programs designed to support film criticism and craft while giving audiences greater context and perspective through public conversations guided by expert voices.
Key publications represented in KWFF Critic’s Focus program and Critic’s Prize at the festival include: Los Angeles Times, Vulture.com, Rolling Stone, Indiewire, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, TimeOut NY, RogerEbert.com and more.

Past guests have included: Burt Reynolds, John Waters, Mariel Hemingway, Harmony Korine, Marisa Tomei, Paul Haggis, Alan Cumming, Sebastian Junger, Tom Berenger, Paul Verhoeven,  Billy Corben, Terry George, Corey Glover, Steven Bauer, Anson Mount, Celia Weston, Angus MacLachlan, Judy Blume, Ondi Timoner, Bob Wisdom, Val Lauren, Anne O’Shea, Lois Smith, Mark Bridges and many more.
For more information, visit our website: https://kwfilmfest.com
Twitter - @keywestfilmfest
Instagram - @keywestfilmfestival
Facebook - Key West Film Festival
#kwff #kwff2019 #tropiccinema

Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell Receive Stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Kristen Bell
Idina Menzel Hollywood Walk of Fame. PHOTO: YEVETTE RENEE

Tuesday, November 19, 2019, Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell stars of Disney's  Frozen II receives the 2,681 and 2,682 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

These two dynamic actresses had two guests speakers each to introduce them. Idina had Disney heavy weight, Co-Chairman, Alan Horn and her Frozen co-star Josh Gad, Kristen was introduced by actress and comedian Jackie Tohn and the creator of The Good Place Michael Schur.

Idina's 10-year old son, Walker, with her ex-husband Taye Diggs and her current husband   Alan Lohr and her mother where there to support her. She spoke about her father being unable to make the trip from Florida due to a leg injury as well as her sister.

The ceremony was hosted and emceed by Rana Ghadban, CEO and president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

In attendance to say a few words, was the former councilman for the Los Angeles 13th District and now its current Mayor, Eric Garcetti.

Frozen II opens Friday, November 22, 2019.

Kristen Bell

KEELEY HAWES JOINS HUGH BONNEVILLE IN UNTITLED PATRICA NEAL/ROALD DAHL PICTURE WHICH COMMENCES SHOOTING

New York, NY, November 14, 2019 – Align and Goldcrest Features announced today that the as currently untitled (f.k.a An Unquiet Life) feature starring Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), and Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Misbehaviour), will begin filming on November 14th.

The story of the world’s most beloved children’s author, Roald Dahl (Bonneville) and his film star wife, Patricia Neal (Hawes) will be directed by John Hay (Lost Christmas,  There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble). Hay also wrote the film alongside David Logan. The picture is being produced by Donall McCusker (The Hurt Locker), Adrian Politowski (The Artist), Martin Metz (Mandy) and Nick Quested (Danger Close ).

The film is an Align/Goldcrest presentation, produced by Atticus Films and financed by Align, LipSync Productions LLP and Goldcrest Features Inc. Principal photography commences on November 14th in Surrey, England.

Goldcrest represents the worldwide rights, and has already closed deals with Icon Film Distribution PTY LTD in Australia and New Zealand, Empire International in the Middle East, Paradiso Filmed Entertainment in Benelux, Red Apollo Group in China, and MVP Entertainment in India.

In 1962 Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal retreated to the English countryside to bring up their joyful and expanding young family. The unlikely pairing of an Academy Award-winning actress and a burgeoning children’s author, Dahl and Neal put their relationship to the test, revealing a love more painful than anything Roald Dahl ever wrote about in his books. However, for this remarkable pair, redemption and strength sees them changed forever.

“Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal seemingly had it all until an unimaginable event threatened to tear their family apart. I am so pleased we have attracted two award-winning talents in Hugh and Keeley to play these iconic roles,” Director John Hay said.

“I can’t wait to start work on this film,” said Keeley Hawes. “The story of Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl is extraordinary, and I’m so excited to be part of it and so looking forward to working with the brilliant Hugh Bonneville and the hugely talented John Hay who has provided us with such a beautiful script.”

Donall McCusker, Producer, adds, “Award winning writers John Hay and Dave Logan have written a warm, funny and powerful script that we know is going to resonate with audiences throughout the world”.

Adrian Politowski, CEO of Align notes, “With a love as electric as Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal’s it’s no surprise a project as special as this one has attracted the likes of Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes.”

 

Align - Los Angeles, CA

Align is a film production and financing company launched by Adrian Politowski and Nadia Khamlichi in 2019. The company is backed by a greenlight fund with the ability to $250M from 2019 until 2022. With an ability to fully finance features and television, the team focuses on 4 to 5 projects a year ranging from $5M to $30M in budget. Recent projects include BLITHE SPIRIT by Ed Hall and LOVE, WEDDINGS AND OTHER DISASTERS by Dennis Dugan. With headquarters in LA, Align maintains an international presence with staff in London, Brussels and Luxemburg.

LIPSYNC Post is an internationally recognised post-house, providing post-production services to the film and television industry for over 30 years. Since 2008, LIPSYNC Productions has invested over £80 million in over 180 feature film and TV projects. Such recent projects include ‘Minimata’, ‘Fisherman’s Friends’, ‘Colette’ ‘Out of Blue’ ‘Peterloo’ and ‘Harlots’.  With regular festival appearances and over 200 major award nominations and wins, LIPSYNC has become one of the UK’s leading production partners.

Production Contact:
David Kennedy: dkennedy@goldcrestfilms.com,
+1 212 897 3922

PR Contact:
EG PR
Emma Griffiths
emma@eg-pr.com

 

DOC NYC 2019 IN BRIGHT AXIOM (Section: INVESTIGATIONS) NYC PREMIERE

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DOC NYC 2019

IN BRIGHT AXIOM (Section: INVESTIGATIONS)

NYC PREMIERE 

Director: Spencer McCall (The Institute)

Welcome to the House of Latitude, where absolute discretion is demanded in exchange for entry into a mysterious social experiment in the form of an elaborate immersive experience. Drawing a community of curiosity seekers, this secret society becomes a way of life for some, putting increasing pressure on the organizers to maintain this sophisticated and fantastical parallel world.

From the minds who inspired AMC’s upcoming series Dispatches From Elsewhere, IN BRIGHT AXIOM weaves an intriguing cautionary tale about the unforeseen consequences of embracing the unknown. Followers of Meow Wolf, Sleep No More, Ingress and other immersive & augmented reality entertainment should take note.

The film also features never-before-seen discourse from the mesmerizing hip-hop polymath, RAMMELLZEE and original music by Justin Robbins, with additional songs from Isan, Tickles, and ü-Ziq.

Spencer McCall has spent the last ten years orchestrating socio-reengineering and public hoax-prank performance art pieces. An avid fan of the Yes Men, McCall began by participating in Improv Everywhere inspired events, “plant” based roles in The Go Game, and location-based performances with Atmos-theater.

In 2009, he became a co-creator of the Jejune Institute; a citywide alternate reality game in San Francisco that lasted three years and “inducted” over 10,000 unknowing participants. McCall took his experience working with Jejune and turned it into an award-winning documentary “The Institute.” His film is currently being remade into a series on a major television network.

McCall also contributed to follow-up experience The Latitude Society; a faux secret society with an underground experiential labyrinth beneath San Francisco.

Running Time: 90 Minutes Language: English Country: USA (Feature Documentary)

DOC NYC 2019 FESTIVAL SCREENINGS: 

PUBLIC SCREENING:

Thursday, November 7 at 9:20PM
Location: Cinepolis Cinema (260 West 23rd Street)

VI SOCIAL MEDIA
#inbrightaxiom

Website:  www.inbrightaxiom.com

https://www.docnyc.net/film/in-bright-axiom/
@DOCNYCfest #docnyc
 
PR CONTACT:
Emma Griffiths (EG-PR)
emma@eg-pr.com

www.eg-pr.com

 

HARRIET: Herstory Finally Brought To The Big Screen

Harriet Key Art

Harriet: A Film Review
by Yevette Renee

Genre:                  Drama
Director:              Kasi Lemmons
Screenplay:        Kasi Lemmons, Gregory Allen Howard
Producer:            Debra Martin Chase, Daniela Taplin Lundberg , Gregory Allen Howard
Story :                   Gregory Allen Howard
Starring:               Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Janelle Monáe

HARRIET: Herstory Finally Brought To The Big Screen

Director Kasi Lemmons brings her Herstoryy to the big screen with her new film, Harriet. Co-written with Gregory Allen Howard, brings to life the harsh struggles of Harriet Tubman and despite being born into slavery and eventually escaping, she went on to assist in the freedom of hundreds of slave along the Underground Railroad.

Staring Tony-award winning actress Cynthia Erivo as Tubman, who despite the controversy of the non-casting of an American born black actress, gave a compelling performance as Harriet. William Still, a writer and abolitionist who connects Tubman with the Underground Railroad  (Leslie Odom Jr.) Gideon Brodess, Harriet's slave owner (Joe Alwyn) as Marie Buchanon, a proprietor and friend of Tubman (Janelle Monáe ),

Filmed entirely on location in the State of Virginia where slavery ran long and deep, gives an authentic backdrop to Herstory of life as a slave and former slave in the deep south..

HARRIET is a film that should be seen, and not merely for an entertainment value, yet for the significance of Harriet Tubman’s to American  Herstory.

Release dates:   September 10, 2019 (TIFF)
November 1, 2019 (US)

Running time:       125 minutes                                  Country:                  US
Director:                  Kasi Lemmons
Screenplay:             Kasi Lemmons, Gregory Allen Howard
Producer:                Debra Martin Chase, Daniela Taplin Lundberg , Gregory Allen Howard
Story :                     Gregory Allen Howard
Cast:                        Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Janelle Monáe, Nettles, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Clarke Peters, Henry Hunter Hall, Zackary Momoh , Mitchell Hoog, Deborah Ayorinde, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Omar Dorsey, Tory Kittles, Tim Guinee , Joseph Lee Anderson, Brian K. Landis, Antonio J. Bell, Willie Raysor Music:                     Terence Blanchard
Cinematographer: John Toll
Editor:                     Wyatt Smith
Production Cos   :Perfect World Pictures, New Balloon, Stay Gold Features
Distributor:           Focus Features

 

8th Annual Key West Film Festival Announces Official Lineup

KeyjFest Logo

Noah Baumbach’s “MARRIAGE STORY” and Destin Daniel Cretton’s “JUST MERCY” to serve as Centerpiece Presentations

Previously announced Opening and Closing Night Films – “THE IRISHMAN” and Florida festival Premiere of “WAVES” - Curated by K. Austin Collins of Vanity Fair and Jen Yamato of the Los Angeles Times as part of 5th Annual Critics Focus Program 

October 30, 2019, New York, NY – The 8th Annual Key West Film Festival announces its official 2019 lineup including major fall films from Noah Baumbach and Destin Daniel Cretton. More than 115 films and V/R pieces will be shown during the 5-day festival, which runs November 20-24. Nearly half of the feature films at the festival will be Florida festival premieres.

Baumbach’s MARRIAGE STORY (Netflix), starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, and Cretton’s JUST MERCY (Warner Bros. Pictures), starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx serve as the marquee Centerpiece films, joining the previously announced Opening and Closing Night Films, Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN (Netflix) and Trey Edward Shults’s Hollywood, FL-based WAVES (A24). The latter two films play as part of the festival’s 5th Annual Critics Focus program, in which two of the nation’s top critics curate the slots and have a pre-screening discussion. Shults will appear for a Q&A moderated by Collins and Yamato.

Director of Programming Michael Tuckman says, “We are once again elated to be showcasing some of the major contenders for the Oscars this year and giving audiences in Key West a first look at these films, which are sure to be talked about for decades to come. And we are equally proud of the spotlight we are placing on Florida-based stories, not just through our extensive local programming, but as seen through so many films in our main slate program that take place in or are connected to Florida.” 

Other Spotlight films include the Florida premieres of Emily Taguchi and Jake Lefferman’s AFTER PARKLAND, who will both attend the festival, and Bert & Bertie’s TROOP ZERO, starring Viola Davis and Allison Janney and written by Florida native Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild). Another Florida native, acclaimed filmmaker Ondi Timoner,  returns to KWFF with a special director’s cut of her film MAPPLETHORPE, which took home the award for Best LGBTQ Film at KWFF 2018.

Film critics in attendance at this year’s festival will include Collins, Yamato, and Eric Kohn, Executive Editor & Chief Critic of IndieWireDavid Fear, Senior Editor and critic at Rolling Stone; Eugene Hernandez, Co-Publisher of Film CommentMonica Castillo of RogerEbert.com; Tomris Laffly of Variety; Shirrel Rhoades of Adams Publishing Group, and Hans Morgenstern of the Miami New Times. These critics will participate in the 5th Annual Critics Panel, moderated by Eric Kohn, and collaborate to decide the winner of KWFF’s fourth annual Critics Prize. Unique in its nature, the Critics Prize, voted on by the critics in attendance, is presented to one film from the entire program.

Special events this year include previously announced appearances by Florida native Kimberly Peirce and legendary actor Tom Skerritt, who will be honored with the prestigious Golden Key Awards on the 20th Anniversary of BOYS DON’T CRY and the 40th Anniversary of ALIEN, respectively.

The fourth annual Golden Key for Costume Design will also take place, this time with an award honoring Arianne Phillips, whose recent work was showcased in Quentin Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.  Deborah Nadoolman Landis, a past president of the Costume Designers Guild and former Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, will helm a video presentation of the award.

New to the program this year is the Kibbitz with Critics series, in which the curating critics share two of their favorite films from the last year over brunch. Collins will present Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar’s AMERICAN FACTORY and Yamato will present Florida-raised Lulu Wang’s THE FAREWELL.

Additional films in the main slate with ties to Florida include PAHOKEE, A WOMAN’S WORK: THE NFL’S CHEERLEADER PROBLEM, and THE INFILTRATORS. Special guests from each of these films will appear at the festival.

The festival will take place in Key West from November 20-24, and includes special event screenings and a curated selection of over 30 feature films and shorts programs encompassing narrative features, documentaries, foreign language cinema, LGBTQ cinema, VR, and works by Florida filmmakers. The shorts programs were curated from hundreds of submissions from Florida, the United States, and a dozen other Latin American, Caribbean, European, and Asian countries.

The complete line-up is as follows. Eugene Hernandez and Brian Brooks assisted in the curation of the LGBTQ programming and the Virtual Reality programming was curated by Matthew Bolish. Filmmaker Ruth Reitan, a graduate of the University of Miami MFA program and KWFF alumnus, directed the program.

CRITICS FOCUS – OPENING NIGHT

THE IRISHMAN,Martin Scorsese

JUST MERCY,Destin Daniel Cretton

SHORTS PROGRAMS
World Comedy I

World Comedy II

World Student Docs/Drama

Animation + FL Student Docs/Drama

FL Docs

World Drama/Thriller

FL Psych/Thriller

Florida and World Student Comedy

FL Student Comedy

Environmental Docs & Animation

Havana Shorts

Virtual Reality

ABOUT THE KEY WEST FILM FESTIVAL 2019

The Key West Film Festival — where passion meets paradise — is an annual celebration of contemporary cinema in a historically rich, artistically vibrant, and culturally diverse island community.

KWFF strives to showcase the best of Florida filmmaking talent, while highlighting visiting filmmakers and industry leaders through discussions and workshops, with access to some of the biggest names in the film business. The festival also looks to support the next generation of local student filmmakers with scholarships and other key awards.

The Festival’s Critics Focus program, enhanced with the juried Critics’ Prize, together with the Costume Design Focus, marks the Key West Film Festival as a vital stop on the awards season’s fall festival circuit, with programs designed to support film criticism and craft while giving audiences greater context and perspective through public conversations guided by expert voices. Key publications represented in KWFF Critic’s Focus program and Critic’s Prize at the festival include: Los Angeles Times, Vulture.com, Rolling Stone, Indiewire, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, TimeOut NY, RogerEbert.comand more.

Past guests have included: Burt Reynolds, John Waters, Mariel Hemingway, Harmony Korine, Marisa Tomei, Paul Haggis, Alan Cumming, Sebastian Junger, Tom Berenger, Paul Verhoeven, Billy Corben, Terry George, Corey Glover, Steven Bauer, Anson Mount, Celia Weston, Angus MacLachlan, Judy Blume, Ondi Timoner, Bob Wisdom, Val Lauren, Anne O’Shea, Lois Smith, Mark Bridges and many more.

For more information, visit our website: https://kwfilmfest.com

Twitter - @keywestfilmfest
Instagram - @keywestfilmfestival
Facebook - Key West Film Festival

#kwff #kwff2019 #tropiccinema

QUEEN & SLIM Opening Night Film at the 33rd AFI Fest

Queen and Slim Key Art
The Curtain goes up on the the World Premiere of the Opening Night film Queen & Slim, directed by Melina Matsoukas.
Queen & Slim is a story of a first date takes an unexpected turn when a policeman pulls them over for a minor traffic violation. When the situation escalates, Slim takes the officer's gun and shoots him in self-defense. Now labelled cop killers in the media.
Release date: November 27, 2019 (USA)                Director: Melina Matsoukas                                Screenplay: Lena Waithe                                      Production companies: Makeready, Entertainment One, BRON Creative, Hillman Grad Productions, 3Blackdot, De La Revolución Films Producers: Melina Matsoukas, Lena Waithe, James Frey, Michelle Knudsen, Andrew Coles Starring : Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Chloë Sevigny,Flea, Bokeem Woodbine, Indya Moore                    Story: James Frey, Lena Waithe                                 Music:   Devonté Hynes                           Cinematographer:  Tat Radcliffe                                 Editor:   Pete Beaudreau                                        Distributor: Universal Pictures