Bailey, for the one or two people who still haven’t seen the classic Frank Capra film “It’s A Wonderful Life,” is a man driven to the brink of suicide when he comes to believe his life never really mattered.

It’s up to his quirky guardian angel Clarence to set him straight by showing Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, what the world would have been like without him.

In honor of the film’s 65th anniversary, the City Council declared Friday “It’s A Wonderful Life Day” in Los Angeles.

To get people in the spirit, Councilman Tom LaBonge, several members of Capra’s family and a few others gathered at the director’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on a sunny holiday morning.

The section of the walk, it turns out, is one filled with cheesy souvenir shops and sex toy emporiums. They give it more the look of Pottersville, the disreputable place in the film that the evil banker Mr. Potter turns bucolic Bedford Falls into when Bailey isn’t there to stop him.

That didn’t dampen Friday’s celebration, however, which included Jimmy Hawkins, the actor who played Bailey’s 5-year-old son, Tommy.

As one of the last surviving cast members, the 70-year-old actor-producer said he considers it an honor to introduce new audiences to the movie.

When it debuted in theaters in 1946, “It’s A Wonderful Life” was actually a commercial and critical flop. But if that bothered Capra, he never let it show.

“My father always said that `It’s A Wonderful Life’ was the best movie that he ever made,” Tom Capra said. “As a matter of fact, he said it was the best movie ever made.”

The film, whose story takes place at Christmas, became a holiday classic with the dawn of television, when families began to gather each holiday season to watch it.

It airs again Saturday night on NBC.

“It carried with it the message that you can find in each of my dad’s films. The message of hope,” Capra said. “Maybe like George Bailey, we should pause for a brief moment and examine our lives and see if we can make a difference as long as we never give up.”

He’s a contemporary Gospel singer and an actor who can be seen on the upcoming drama “The Family Guardian”

Sixteen year-old Matthew J. will star in “The Family Guardian” which is produced and directed by Lee H. Jordan. The inspirational drama, which was screened at the Black Twin Cities Film follows 17 year-old Elizabeth, played by Lexee Crystal Harris, who finds herself pregnant and alone. Matthew J. Johnson plays the young teen father.

The talented singer/actor has also performed in the Minneapolis stage play “Revelation Judgment Day,” where he played Thomas – a singing angel and will be performing on Saturday December 31, 2011 at the Glendale SDA Church for their New Years Eve service.

“Bass” is also the first album to be recorded with Keller’s live reggae-funk band Kdubalicious. A combination of reggae music – with heavy doses of dub, funk, jazz and even bits of pop and psychedelia.

Formed in late 2010, in addition to Keller on bass and vocals, the group features Jay Starling on keyboards and Mark D on drums.

Beginning with the theatrical release of the film on August 5th in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, and nationwide On Demand, one of the Creative Coalition’s five recently released PSAs, rallying the public around the U.S. military troops returning from overseas, will be attached to the head of the feature. All five spots can be viewed here: http://thecreativecoalition.org/supporting-military-families-psa-campaign/

“The Perfect Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” is a celebration of the blues. Its story explores the schism that all-too-often arises between lead singers, lead guitarists and the darker side of success. The film also hauntingly elicits discussion about the so-called ‘Perfect Age’ or ’27 club,’ a roster of legendary rock and roll stars whose lives tragically ended at the age of 27.

The movie features an all-star cast including Jason Ritter, Peter Fonda, Taryn Manning, Kevin Zegers, Kelly Lynch and Lukas Haas.

Hosted by Short Films and Feature Animation Branch governor Bill Kroyer, the program will include onstage conversations with cinematographers and other film making professionals on the challenges and opportunities brought by evolving technologies. A variety of motion picture formats and technologies will be discussed, including animation, motion capture and visual effects.

Presented by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council, the program’s participants will include Cinematography Branch governor John Bailey (“Country Strong,” 2010); Oscar®-winning cinematographers Guillermo Navarro (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” 2006) and Dean Semler (“Dances With Wolves,” 1990); Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, directors of the CG-animated feature “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010), who will discuss how cinematographer Roger Deakins helped create the look of the Oscar-nominated film; Science and Technology Council member Rob Hummel, who will explain the film and digital image capture processes; and digital intermediate colorist Adrian Seery. The program will also include recorded remarks from 2010’s Oscar winner for Cinematography, Wally Pfister (“Inception”).

Kroyer received an Academy Award® nomination for his 1988 short film “Technological Threat,” which pioneered the technique of combining hand-drawn and computer animation. He directed the animated feature film “FernGully: The LastRainforest” (1992), was senior animation director at Rhythm & Hues Studios in Los Angeles, and is director of the digital arts program at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University.

Tickets for “Cinematography in the Digital Age” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase by mail, at the Academy box office or online at www.oscars.org.

Scorsese will introduce the program, which is part of the Academy’s ongoing “Monday Nights with Oscar” film series.

Voted by the Academy Board of Governors as “the most outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1949,” “The Bicycle Thief” is a story of a father and son desperately combing the streets of post-World War II Rome in search of a stolen bicycle.

The father, who has been unemployed for a long time and is struggling to make ends meet, finally finds work posting flyers and scrapes together the funds to buy a bicycle. When his only means of transportation is stolen on his first day of work, any hope of a better life is lost as well.

Directed by Vittorio De Sica from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini, the film gives a poignant look at the postwar woes of poverty, hunger and despair, using untrained actors and everyday settings in classic Italian neorealist style.

Scorsese, who won the 2006 Directing Oscar for ‘The Departed,’ is renowned for his love of cinema and knowledge of film history. His own heritage helped to develop his appreciation for Italian neorealism.

Award-winning director Marshall is also confirmed to direct.

The film will reteam Marshall with Johnny Depp, who is attached to star in the project. The two just worked together on the Disney flick ‘Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides.’

L-R: Ben Freeth and Mike Campbell in Mugabe and the White African Photo Courtesy of First Run Features

“Mugabe and the White African” will screen as the next installment in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series on Wednesday, March 30, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.

Admission to all screenings in the series is free.

The Academy will also screen “Music by Prudence,” the story of singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhena and her band of seven young disabled Zimbabweans  trying to survive in a bankrupt country. Directed by Roger Ross Williams and produced by Williams and Elinor Burkett, the film earned the 2009 Academy Award® for Documentary Short Subject.

A notable piece of documentary filmmaking, “Mugabe and the White African” tells the story of Michael Campbell, one of the few white farmers left in Zimbabwe since President Mugabe began his land seizure program in 2000.

Initially a policy instigated to reclaim white-owned land and redistribute it to the poor blacks in Zimbabwe, Mugabe’s land reform – according to the documentary – has violently evicted 400 white farmers, displaced the local farm workers and illegally distributed many of these lands to his loyal supporters instead.

The 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series continues through June 1, showcasing feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2009 Academy Award nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year.

All films will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.  Doors open at 6 p.m.  All seating is unreserved.  The filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible.

From cruel and unsanitary conditions in cattle and chicken farming to the addition of corn syrup and sodium to many foods, ‘Food, Inc.’ examines the ways in which large corporations in the American food industry dominate the marketplace and affect the quality of what we consume.

Directed by Robert Kenner and produced by Kenner and Elise Pearlstein, ‘Food, Inc.’ earned an Academy Award® nomination for Documentary Feature.  Pearlstein will be present to take questions from the audience following the screening.

Directed and produced by Andy Abrahams Wilson, ‘Under Our Skin’ investigates the untold story of Lyme disease.  As it follows patients and physicians fighting for their lives or livelihoods, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of America’s broken healthcare system.

The 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series is a showcase for feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2009 Academy Award nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is  a movie-related organization with a membership of more than 6,000 accomplished individuals working in cinema. The Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events and provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors.

Rosario Dawson: Photo by Shola Orol/Royalty Image

Currently starring in the feature film “Unstoppable,” Rosario Dawson announced the nominations for this year’s SAG Awards along with Angie Harmon.

Four-time Actor® nominee Angie Harmon currently stars in TNT’s “Rizzoli & Isles.” Harmon also announced the nominations for this year’s SAG Awards along with Rosario Dawson.

Eva Longoria is a two-time Actor recipient and five-time SAG Awards nominee for her performances on ABC’s long-running hit “Desperate Housewives.”

Actor recipient and five-time SAG Award nominee Hilary Swank is currently nominated for her lead role as Betty Anne Waters in “Conviction.” Swank will next appear in “The Resident,” co-starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Christopher Lee.

2009 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement-honoree Betty White is celebrating two Actor nods this year for her lead role and ensemble performance in the TV Land comedy series “Hot In Cleveland.” She will next be seen starring with Jennifer Love Hewitt in “The Lost Valentine” for Hallmark Hall of Fame.

The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony will be simulcast live coast-to-coast on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011 at 8 p.m. (ET), 7 p.m. (CT), 6 p.m. (MT) and 5 p.m. (PT) from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles and is produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Since college, confirmed bachelor Ronny (Vaughn) and happily married Nick (James) have been through thick and thin.  Now partners in an auto design firm, the two pals are vying to land a dream project that would launch their company. With Ronny’s girlfriend, Beth (Jennifer Connelly), and Nick’s wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), by their sides, they’re a self coined unstoppable machine.  But Ronny’s world is turned upside down when he inadvertently sees Geneva out with another man and makes it his mission to get answers. As the amateur investigation dissolves his world into comic mayhem, he learns that Nick has a few secrets of his own. Now, with the clock ticking and pressure mounting on the biggest presentation of their careers, Ronny must decide how and when he will reveal the truth to his best friend.

“The story is built around two guys’ friendship, which comes under siege from all the predicaments in the story,” says director Howard. “From the first time they met, Vince and Kevin created a great onscreen partnership. Audiences love to see them when their characters are not necessarily at their best, but are very likable and have this goodness about them. Kevin is easygoing, and Vince is extremely verbal and analytical; it is a great combination.”

A movie which marks Howard’s return to comedy after more than a decade of helming blockbuster thrillers and dramas, “The Dilemma” is no laugh fest, but it certainly offers enough jokes to elicit a little humor. With a few scenes, the very amiable Queen Latifah  plays  Susan Warner, a consultant working with Nick and Ronny on their new prototype.

While it feels a bit unbalanced at times, “The Dilemma” still proves to be a rather decent comedy, which provides lots of chuckles for Howard gets great  work out of Vaughn and Connelly,  although it’s the elusive Ryder who steals the show as the angry, guilt-ridden wife.

“The Dilemma”  releases in theaters on January 14

Actresses Kimberly Elise and Sanaa Lathan, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Smokey Robinson and Columbus Short, joined NAACP Image Awards chairman Clayola Brown and executive producer Vic Bulluck to announce the categories.

Leading the list with multiple nominations was Tyler Perry, who received a total of 19 nominations for films “For Colored Girls,” “Why Did I get Married Too”and his TV series “House of Payne.”

Actress Tatyana Ali also received two nods for her TV sitcom “Love That Girl” and the CBS drama “The Young and the Restless.” Nicki Minaj and 10-year old Willow were both nominated for Outstanding New Artists, whilst Corinne Bailey Rae and Mary J. Blige will battle for the title of Outstanding Female Artist.

Nominees for Outstanding Motion Picture include “For Colored Girls,” “Just Wright,” “The Book of Eli,” “The Kids Are All Right” and “Why Did I Get Married Too?”

The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film. The awards will also honor individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors during the two-hour event airing live Friday, March 4 on FOX.

“The time is right,” said Esther Shapiro, co-creator of the series with her husband Richard. “Nostalgia has always been big, but we want to take it a step further. We want to go back to the beginning with these characters and use the film to trace their roots. We’re taking Blake Carrington back to his young manhood and when he met Alexis, and setting the movie in the Mad Men era of the 1960s. It will give us the opportunity to start fresh, without the constraints that television placed on our characters in the series.”

Richard Shapiro, who has reinvented himself as an author of literary fiction with the current release of his novel Tobacco Brown (www.tobaccobrown.com), is eager to put his characters into the movies because of the creative freedom offered by the big screen.

“In a way, these characters were prisoners in television,” he said. “We were always constrained by the smaller budget of a TV series, and all the standards and practices that governed the content of the show. In the movie, if we want to have some James Bond style action, we can afford to do that. If we want to have a steamy love scene, we can do that. If we want to go a few steps beyond what they would allow on 1980s TV, we can move ahead those few steps, and then some.”

The script for the movie, which does not have a release date set, is currently being written by the Shapiro’s, with the intention of it being shot sometime over the next year.

“After we stopped producing new episodes, we were astounded by the staying power of the show and its characters,” Richard said. “We knew it was popular, but when it hit worldwide syndication, it took on a life of its own. It is still extremely popular around the world, so unlike a lot of American-made movies, we think it might even play stronger globally than it does at home.”

But both Shapiro’s are quick to add that this will be a new take on Dynasty, with a nod to where the fans know each of the characters eventually wind up.

“We’re taking the Dynasty family to places they’ve never been before,” Richard said. “It’s fun, because the fans of the show will know from the series where each of the characters end up, eventually, but what they won’t know is how they get there. There will be some very unlikely twists and situations, and people will not be expecting a lot of what we’re planning. We’re going to do a lot of coloring outside the lines.”

That matches where Richard has been taking his writing, as his latest novel is just as unconventional. In Tobacco Brown, he breaks the fourth wall when the narrator of the story boots the main character out of the book, and becomes a character himself.

“Cognitive science assures us,” he added, “that the mind continues to grow if you use it.  Mine, I have to confess, has taken itself places I never dreamed it would. Tobacco Brown is nothing like I’ve ever written (or read). And the movie will be the old Dynasty, of course, but with horns.”

About Richard & Esther Shapiro

Richard Shapiro is one of television’s most celebrated writers.  Individually, and sometimes in collaboration with his wife, Esther, he has been responsible for many highly acclaimed television works, including the landmark television series Dynasty. His second novel, Tobacco Brown, was released in September 2010.

To interview Richard & Esther Shapiro or for a review copy of Tobacco Brown  please contact Russ Handler at 727-443-7115 ext 206 or russ@newsandexperts.com.

Russ Handler
Print Campaign Manager
News and Experts
1127 Grove Street · Clearwater, Florida 33755
Phone: 727-443-7115 EXT 206
www.newsandexperts.com

Mo’Nique will announce Oscar-nominations: Photo by Shola Orol/Royalty Image

Nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards® will be announced on Tuesday, January 25, by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and Oscar-winning actress and Academy member Mo’Nique.

Sherak and Mo’Nique will unveil the nominations in 10 of the 24 categories at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Last year Mo’Nique received her first Oscar nomination and win for her supporting performance in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” She currently hosts her own late-night talk show, “The Mo’Nique Show,” on BET.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theater at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Berry received the best actress nomination for her role in the movie “Frankie & Alice” whilst Elba received a nomination for the BBC drama “Luther.” A psychological drama — produced by Berry, “Frankie & Alice” is based on the true story of Frankie Murdoch (Berry), a woman suffering with multiple personality disorder in early 1970s Los Angeles.

“The King’s Speech” grabbed seven Golden Globe nominations while “The Social Network” and “The Fighter,” which earned four acting nominations, followed with six nods. “Black Swan”, “Inception” and “The Kids are All Right” each received four honors. Johnny Depp was nominated for two acting awards in the comedy category for “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Tourist.”

Presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the Golden Globes recognize outstanding achievements in several entertainment categories and the first awards were held in 1944.

The Golden Globe Awards will air on Sunday, January 16, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.