EIGHTH ANNUAL ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL TO HONOR J.J ABRAMS WITH “ATHENA LEADING MAN” AWARD

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Festival takes place February 22 – 25, 2018

The Athena Film Festival (AFF) announced today that director, producer and screenwriter J.J. Abrams (STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, STAR TREK, Alias, Felicity) will receive the 2018 Athena Leading Man Award at the eighth annual festival. The festival will celebrate Abrams’ extraordinary career and continued support and advocacy of women in the entertainment industry. The Athena Film Festival, co-founded by the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College and Women and Hollywood, will take place February 22-25, 2018, at Barnard College in New York City.

Abrams has championed women throughout his career, advocating for female protagonists on screen, as well as strong female voices behind the camera. He introduced audiences to international spy Sydney Bristow in Alias and cast Daisy Ridley to star as Rey in STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI. Abrams is currently writing and will direct the highly anticipated STAR WARS: EPISODE IX, which will star Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac and John Boyega, and will open in theaters December 20, 2019.

Past recipients of the Athena Leading Man Award include director, producer and screenwriter Paul Feig (2016) and actor and producer David Oyelowo (2017).

“I am deeply humbled to be recognized by the Athena Film Festival. Any good I’ve done has been achieved because I have worked alongside women, and I share my gratitude with all of them for being honored with this award,” said J.J. Abrams.
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Oscar Best Visual Effects Contenders Shortlisted

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By Creative Media Times

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has narrowed down the list of films still in consideration for Best Visual Effects, giving us a better look at films that may eventually receive nominations.

The list features a good mix of some of the year’s most visually stunning films, franchise blockbusters (Kong: Skull Island, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2), and as well strong best picture contenders (Dunkirk, The Shape of Water).

As expected, a good portion of the list are sci-fi films. Many also consider Kong: Skull Island as a top contender, given the film’s highly acclaimed visual effects and that the 2005 remake won the same award, though overall, it is a solid list of films with a lot going for each.

Here is the 10 films, listed in alphabetical order:

Alien: Covenant
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Kong: Skull Island
Okja
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
War for the Planet of the Apes

Films that were previously in the running but didn’t make the cut include Beauty and the Beast, Ghost in the Shell, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Justice League, Life, Logan, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Spider-Man Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, and Wonder Woman.

The official list of nominees will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23, with the awards ceremony taking place on March 4. For more about the announcement, go to oscars.org

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AVENGERS: NO SURRENDER: Third Month Covers Revealed

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Plus, see the linked variant covers for the second month by Nick Bradshaw

Avengers: Disassemble. The epic weekly takeover continues this February when Paco Medina takes the reigns to draw the third month of Marvel’s biggest team adventure, and Marvel is excited to reveal the covers for issues #683 – #686 of AVENGERS: NO SURRENDER by Mark Brooks as well as the first look at February’s interlocking variant covers by Nick Bradshaw.

Month three of AVENGERS: NO SURRENDER takes its epic storytelling to another level, as Jarvis’ life hangs by a thread and the Black Order is on the attack. And as if the Avengers don’t have enough to worry about, they’ll need to deal with a betrayal of one of their own.

Co-written by Mark Waid, Al Ewing and Jim Zub with art by Pepe Larraz, Kim Jacinto and Paco Medina, AVENGERS: NO SURRENDER unites the casts and creative teams of three titles into one weekly book of exciting action. It all starts with AVENGERS #675 this January, when the teams of THE AVENGERS, UNCANNY AVENGERS, and U.S. AVENGERS come together in a story as exciting and powerful as the Marvel Universe itself.

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Listen to Ed Sherran’s “Perfect” Orchestra Version With Andrea Bocelli

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By Creative Media Times

Asylum – Atlantic


Who would have thought Ed Sheeran singing parts of his song “Perfect” in Italian would be quite, well, perfect.

The new version of the song, which also features Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, is the second iteration of the track after a duet version featuring Beyoncé, titled “Perfect Duet” was released earlier this month. That version pushed “Perfect” to the top of the Billboard hot 100 charts.

Before the track was released, the 26 year old English singer teased about his collaboration with Bocelli on Instagram. “Orchestral version of Perfect with the amazing @andreabocelliofficial comes out friday. Orchestrated and produced by my super talented brother Matt, little gift for you all before Christmas,” Sheeran posted on Instagram. “Hope you love it as much as I do. I sing in Italian too which is fun x.”

The romantic ballad is from Sheeran’s third studio album, ÷ (divide) which dominated the charts this year, along with its chart-topping single Shape of You. 2017 is a big year for Sheeran as he is poised to become Billboard’s top artist of the year on its year-end charts, becoming only the second British solo act since George Michael dominated in 1998.

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‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Scores Huge Thursday Opening Gross

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By Creative Media Times

Lucasfilm Ltd. – Walt Disney Studios


The day finally arrived and its a force to reckon with. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” opens on Thursday night to $45 million, making it the second highest Thursday opening ever, next only to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” which grossed $57 million in 2015.

Though it didn’t beat its predecessor, The Last Jedi easily beats last year’s Rogue One, which made $29 million for its Thursday night opening.

Released by the Walt Disney Co., The Last Jedi is on pace to collect around $200 million in the United States and Canada over the weekend based on its Thursday night performance. If it reaches that number, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t at this point, The Last Jedi will only be the fourth film top cross that milestone.

Internationally, “The Last Jedi” made $60.8 million from its early two day run so far through Thursday night, with more major market still to follow including China where the film opens on January 5.

This is another big news for Disney this week, if not slightly overshadowed by the recent announcement of the company’s historic $52.4 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets.

Critics are also embracing the film, scoring 86 from Metacritic.com, indicating universal acclaim, with The Guardian’s Jordan Hoffman describing The Last Jedi “first post-Lucas Star Wars film that feels free to dance to its own beat.”

The Last Jedi is currently playing in theaters.

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New “Annihilation” Trailer Show Portman Journey In Bizarre World

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By Creative Media Times

Paramount Pictures


The latest trailer for Alex Garland’s science fantasy action horror film “Annihilation” has been released, giving audiences a deeper look at the film’s mysterious setting and surreal world of ominous creatures.

The trailer shows star Natalie Portman playing a biologist who one day found her husband (Oscar Isaac) mysteriously ill. In her attempt to find answers, she leads her team team into a disaster zone “Area X” to retrace his steps, but instead encounters numerous threats and biological anomalies she did not expect. “It’s not destroying, it’s making something new,” says Portman’s biologist character.

The film is written and directed by Alex Garland, who rose to film prominence in 2015 with his break-out directorial debut Ex Machina, which was a critical and commercial success. The film was also one of National Board of Review’s ten best independent films for 2015.

“Annihilation” is based Jeff VanderMeer’s 2014 book of the same name. It is the first in a series of three books, with “Authority and “Acceptance” being the other two, though director Garland previously stated that Annihilation was not originally conceived as part of a trilogy.

Annihilation also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson and Gina Rodriguez and is set to be released by Paramount on Feb. 23, 2018.

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Bon Jovi, The Cars, Dire Straits Among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2018 Inductees

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By Armando

Mercury – Vertigo


Bon Jovi will certainly have a nice day today as the veteran rockers earned a spot for induction into the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Jersey band that rose to prominence in the 1980s will be inducted alongside British rock bands Dire Straits and The Moody Blues, new wave rockers The Cars, social activist Nina Simone and rock and roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe who will be given an Early Influence award posthumously.

Meanwhile, third time’s definitely a charm for three-time nominee The Cars. The popular band from Boston have appeared on the ballot twice before but failed to get inducted. This is the second nomination for Bon Jovi, while first for Simone, Tharpe, Dire Straits and The Moody Blues.

Guitarist Richie Sambora has not played with Bon Jovi since 2013, and the induction could possibly see a band reunion. The Cars are still intact as a band, though they have not been active since their tour ended in 2011. Dire Straights officially broke up in September 1988, though some of the band’s members Alan Clark, Chris White, and Phil Palmer performed at a charity show in 2011 with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ drummer Steve Ferrone.

Today’s announcement of the class of 2018 inductees certainly looks favorable towards vintage rock artists with more recent acts such as Rage Against The Machine missing the cut. Radiohead, whom many thought was a shoo-in in their first year of eligibility also missed the cut, though their recent statements about not wanting to attend the ceremonies if inducted probably didn’t help.

Throughout the past, inductees include some of the most influential names in rock history, such as Chuck Berry, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Jackson 5. Last year, Electric Light Orchestra, Joan Baez, Journey, Pearl Jam, Tupak Shakur, and Yes comprised the 2017 Hall of Fame class.

The artists will be honored during the Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium on Saturday, April 14 and will be aired on HBO and SiriusXM.

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The Countdown Begins As The Marvel Universe Discovers Who Holds Infinity

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…and its discovery heralds the end of the Guardians of the Galaxy

With a CRASH and a BANG, the cosmic strike of the Countdown begins as the greatest epic in the history of the Infinity Stones explodes onto the pages of INFINITY COUNTDOWN! And it’s a beginning so huge, it can only be told in one sweeping, mind-bending tale.

This March, Gerry Duggan (All-New Guardians of the Galaxy) and Aaron Kuder (All-New Guardians of the Galaxy) are bringing you a spectacular, huge Infinity tale that will lead to an even greater story – and one that will impact the entire Marvel Universe! The Infinity Stones, thought to be lost forever, have suddenly reappeared — bringing with them the ultimate power for good and evil. Three stones have fallen into the hands of the mightiest heroes in the galaxy…but where are the rest?

As the hunt for the stones begins, a new weapon of unimaginable power is being forged…and it’s a weapon like nothing the universe has ever seen! What is its purpose? And who – or what – is the destructive force that will be unleashed on the world? The race for power in the post Secret Wars universe has begun, and its search will impact every Marvel character from the street to the cosmos, from the Avengers to Spider-Man to the X-Men, even bringing about the end of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
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2018 Golden Globes Nominations Solidify List Of Awards Hopefuls

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By Creative Media Times

The Shape of Water. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)


Nominees for the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards have been revealed with Guillermo del Toro’s romantic fantasy “The Shape of Water” leading with seven nominations including best drama and best actress for the film’s star Sally Hawkins.

Films that has been making waves around awards circuit such as “Call Me By Your Name,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “Dunkirk” and “The Post,” also received multiple nominations.

Noticeably snubbed on the major categories is scathing racial satire “Get Out.” Though the film received nomination for best picture comedy or musical, Jordan Peele was ignored for directing the film and writing its screenplay.

For the TV categories, HBO once again continued its Golden Globe dominance with 12 nominations overall, led by its series “Big Little Lies” with six nominations while “The Wizard of Lies”, “Game of Thrones” and “The Young Pope” also received mentions. Netflix received nine, while FX follows with eight noms.

The Golden Globes will be held on January 7, 2018 with Seth Meyers hosting.

Here is the list of nominations in full:

Best Motion Picture: Drama

Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy

The Disaster Artist
Get Out
The Greatest Showman
I, Tonya
Lady Bird

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“Ready Player One” Official Trailer

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By Creative Media Times

Warner Bros. Pictures


After unveiling a sensational, crowd-pleasing teaser for it science fiction adventure film “Ready Player One” at last summer’s Comic-Con, Warner Bros. has now released an exciting new trailer for the film, full of pop-culture references and some trademark Spielberg-visuals galore.

The trailer, like the novel it is based on, featured plenty of our favorite characters crammed into its short running time, from King Kong to Harley Quinn, to Child’s Play‘s Chucky and Gundam (and many other characters that may require multiple viewings to identify) as our protagonist Wade Watts (played by Tye Sheridan) enter the virtual-reality world of “OASIS.”

Based on Ernest Cline’s novel of the same name and directed by Steven Spielberg, the trailer is visually stunning and futuristic, yet still retro, with Van Halen’s 80’s anthemic track “Jump” playing during the second half, providing some feel-good, nostalgic energy.

“Ready Player One” arrives in theaters on March 30, 2018.

Here is Ready Player One’s official synopsis:

The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.

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