Archive for the 'Events' Category
June 15th, 2011 by Gregg Senko
What happens when you have the hottest musical/comedy show on television? You take your act on the road! Glee was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, which, believe it or not, was originally intended to be a film. Murphy, however, had other ideas and eventually proposed Glee as a weekly TV show instead of a big screen production. With two seasons in the history books and an ever-growing fanbase, the only logical thing to do next was turn Glee the show into Glee Live! In Concert!
Continue reading ‘Glee Live! In Concert!’
May 30th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Over the 2011 Memorial Day weekend, I had the chance to cover a very special event out in the Los Angeles area. On May 28th, at the K1 Speed Indoor Racing facility in Gardena, California, I was able to witness the Celebrity Go-Kart Tournament, which brought forth a number of stars helping to produce awareness and show their support for the American Diabetes Association. Many stars, both young and adult, along with their families, were willing to come out on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and race for awareness, while also have a fun time for the sake of a good, charitable cause. Continue reading ‘An All-Star Go-Kart Race To The Finish, Benefiting The American Diabetes Association’
May 6th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
For the closing night of the 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival, the spotlight feature of the evening was the comedy, A Beginner’s Guide to Endings. The film essentially had the feel of what would happen if a director like Guy Ritchie were to make a family comedy. ‘Beginner’s Guide’ is just as much about its flashiness as it is its plot, which had me trying to factor how much of this film was style versus substance. Fortunately, despite some overkill and a somewhat predictable structure, the film does benefit from a high energy, some good laughs, and solid chemistry from within the cast. It’s been a long week since the festival started, so it was nice to at least go out with a film that had a main focus of being fun. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: A Beginner’s Guide to Endings’
May 5th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
I feel like I have done something wrong in picking out films to watch during the 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival. Besides my initial screening, every film that I have seen so far has been very good. Wednesday night, May 4, 2011, was no different, as I got to watch another highly entertaining feature. This time it was an offbeat thriller, The Perfect Host, in which a criminal cons his way into the house of a man planning to throw a dinner party, only to have the tables turned on him in the worst possible way. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: The Perfect Host’
May 4th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Tuesday night for the Newport Beach Film Festival was an international showcase night, featuring films from countries including France, Sweden, Australia, and Switzerland, which is the country where the filmmakers responsible for Der Sandmann have come from. Once again, I have chosen wisely, as Der Sandmann is a wonderful film that managed to bring a fantastical element into the realm of a romantic comedy. It is a sweet and funny film, but also charming in the way this fantasy element adds to the film’s imagination and spirit. Settling into strange territory, this is the kind of romantic comedy that I can enjoy; one that is original, with interesting ideas that are well thought out, while still maintaining the right kind of emotional backing. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Der Sandmann (The Sandman)’
May 3rd, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
It was a Monday night Asian showcase on May 2, 2011, for the Newport Beach Film Festival. The films featured as spotlight screenings were all products of Asian filmmakers. To continue to mix up the types of movies I have seen so far, I chose Redline, the first anime film to be featured as a Spotlight Screening for the NBFF. I ended up making a fantastic choice, as Redline was a hugely entertaining film. The film is a sci-fi auto racing-themed work of art, featuring incredible animation, a knowingly over-the-top style & story, memorable & hilarious characters, and some slick animated racing action. I had a ton of fun watching this film, especially in my drive to appreciate anime more. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Redline’
May 2nd, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
For my screening on the fourth night of the 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival, I managed to be pleasantly surprised by A Bag of Hammers. Going into the film, I was expecting to maybe have a good laugh at a simple comedy; however, I was delighted to see that the film not only accomplished having a comedic touch, but found very solid footing in balancing what turned out to be a comedic drama. This was a very good film that I was happy to have enjoyed deeply and I attribute many of the film’s charming qualities, such as its strong writing and dialogue, solid performances, and great chemistry between all of the actors, to that conclusion. While the film may reach a few points of being a tad too dark, with a story that is not entirely unpredictable, these minor issues hardly effect a film that is very well crafted and highly entertaining. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: A Bag of Hammers’
May 1st, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
The 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival’s screening of Project Nim was one of the screenings I was most anticipating. Project Nim is the new documentary from director James March, who previously made the Oscar winning documentary Man on Wire. Since Man on Wire was both an incredibly well crafted documentary and also one of the most enjoyable docs I had ever seen, his latest feature about Nim, a famous chimpanzee from the 70s, was one I was going to give the benefit of the doubt to and hope for the best. Once again, Marsh has made a film that is incredibly well crafted, but the enjoyable factor is replaced by a story that is somewhat comic, but more revealing, and fairly unsettling at times. All of this is to say that Project Nim is another great film from Marsh, not as a crowd pleaser, but as an emotional journey. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Project Nim’
April 30th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
The 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) has begun, and with that I have now been to my first screening. Friday, April 29, 2011, saw the west coast premiere of the film Lucky, starring Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor, Ann-Margaret, and Jeffrey Tambor. Lucky is a comedy that relies on two very quirky performances from its leads, Hanks and Graynor. The story involves a shy man (with a secret) who wins the lottery and the results it has once a girl he’s had a crush on factors more heavily into his life. While I certainly found there to be humorous things about this film and its concept, I had a lot of issues with the tone and handling of these characters. I did not want to end up with negative feelings about this film for my first screening review, but unfortunately that has to be the case here. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Lucky’
April 29th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
This is more of a preview of things to come, but I just wanted to point out that from April 28th to May 5th, 2011, the 12th annual Newport Beach Film Festival will be in full swing. The festival takes place in Southern California, within the city of Newport Beach. About an hour away from Hollywood, this beautiful coastline city will be a wonderful place to find classic and contemporary cinema being shared by both accomplished and new filmmakers to the public. Over 350 films from over 40 countries will be screened during the week, in addition to 17 spotlight and special events, including discussions and Q&A’s with directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and more. Continue reading ‘The 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival Has Begun’
April 28th, 2011 by Gregg Senko
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That is how the classic novel “A Tale of Two Cities” begins. It’s also an accurate description of the most recent Lady Gaga concert I attended. This past Wednesday was the final U.S. concert in Lady Gaga’s acclaimed Monster Ball Tour. Last year, I was also in attendance when she came to town though my seat was on the opposite end of the arena. This time, I was 15 feet from the stage. How was this latest delivery?
Continue reading ‘Gaga Makes Cleveland Last U.S. Stop’
April 25th, 2011 by Gregg Senko
April 23rd saw Rocktagon delivering its fifth amateur mixed martial arts event, this time back in Elyria, Ohio. With a nine-bout fight card, things were sure to be rockin’ and rollin’ as soon as that opening bell rang. The multi-faceted fight night featured a little international flare with one of the fighters hailing from Canada. There were also rookie and amateur veteran aspects with some first-timers as well as those fighters looking to turn pro in the near future.
April 22nd, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
Are you ready to test your SOUTH PARK knowledge? Play the South Park Pop Quiz presented by the SOUTH PARK SEASON 14 DVD and Blu-ray and enter for a chance to a trip for two to San Diego to attend Comic-Con International 2011. Grand Prize includes 4-day Comic-Con passes, VIP Access to all South Park events at Comic-Con, Airfare, hotel and spending money. Fans can check it out now at: http://www.southparkstudios.com/games/pop-quiz – Remember on Tuesday, April 26, “South Park: The Complete Fourteenth Season” will be released nationwide on DVD and Blu-ray by COMEDY CENTRAL Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. Also, the foul-mouthed fourth-graders of “South Park” are back for their 15th season with seven all-new episodes beginning Wednesday, April 27 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on COMEDY CENTRAL. Continue reading ‘New South Park Season 14 DVD/Blu-ray video montage/ South Park Season 14 quiz and Comic-Con Sweepstakes’
March 7th, 2011 by Gerard Iribe
Here’s a priority announcement from our friends at Paramount Pictures. It’s going down TONIGHT! The Blu-ray DVD “Launch” party will be in full effect live from the Paramount Studios backlot in Hollywood, CA. This is a special event and it will be broadcast LIVE on the Jackass Facebook page and via Livestream. We have linked to these sites, so you can keep it here on Why So Blu and catch the hinjinx as they develop. Jackass 3 will be available tomorrow March 8th on Blu-ray and DVD. Good times! Continue reading ‘Watch LIVE: Cast of Jackass 3 Celebrate the Film’s Blu-Ray And DVD “LAUNCH” With an Evening of Asinine Antics’
February 26th, 2011 by Ken Johnson
The countdown to the 83rd Oscars continues in Hollywood. The red carpet area is coming together, statues are in place, and most of the media outlets are ready to go for the broadcast. Back in the Greater Cleveland area, our folks are busy readying for the first Oscar Night America Cleveland watch party in several years, which will take place Sunday night at the Geneva Lodge. Continue reading ‘Oscars Night America Interview w/ Randy Haberkamp’
February 25th, 2011 by Ken Johnson
It’s Thursday night at the Academy and that means time to honor the nominees for Best Animated Feature Film. This year there were three nominees for Best Animated Picture – Feature Length: Toy Story 3, How to Train you Dragon and The Illusionist. Talking with Tom Sito, Animator and Host for the evening, he gave us some interesting trivia. Tom explained that the award for Best Animated Feature has only been around for ten years, starting in 2001. You may ask why they didn’t have the category sooner, and the answer is one that each of our honored guests felt passionate about, “animated feature films are not a genre-they are a medium.” Continue reading ‘Oscars 2011 Animated Features’
February 24th, 2011 by Ken Johnson
Wednesday was a tough one in L.A. Locals were bundled up in their winter coats on this frigid sixty degree day! We Midwesterners though, were in shorts and hoodies, enjoying the warmth and sunlight for the one brief week we’ll be here. After watching a film shoot just outside the hotel, we headed off to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Documentary Features reception and screening. I arrived on time and quickly found a great spot in the press row, right at the end! Continue reading ‘Oscars 2011 Documentaries’
February 23rd, 2011 by Ken Johnson
After a five hour road trip, we arrived in Los Angeles to start our “real” Oscars coverage. The first event on our schedule was the Shorts! reception at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Although we’ve attended several events at the Academy headquarters, it’s still quite a thrill to push past the hundreds of attendees lined up outside and take our place among the media inside the building. Continue reading ‘Oscars 2011 Shorts!’
