MARVEL UNIVERSE AT BARCLAYS CENTER BROOKLYN
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THE GLORIOUS CORNER
Story By: G. H. HARDING
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| Katie Holmes |
MARVEL UNIVERSE --- Wednesday night, Barlcays Center in Brooklyn, was the opening night and VIP-launch party for the stage presentation of Marvel Universe; which featured for the first time ever … members of The Avengers meeting Spider Man and the X-Men. Marvel sold off the rights to X-Men and Spidey years ago, so a movie paring (which sounds like a interesting idea ... I think) is not possible; or, at least until the boatloads of cash stop coming in.
At the VIP pre-party, actress Katie Holmes was spotted with cancer kids from the Sunrise Day Camp in Wyandanch, NY.
At the VIP pre-party, actress Katie Holmes was spotted with cancer kids from the Sunrise Day Camp in Wyandanch, NY.
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| Nastia Liukin |
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| Donnie Kehr |
Also there were Jersey Boys actor Donnie Kehr (working on a top secret-super-duper project); Russian-gymnast Nastia Liukin; actress Irina Pantaev; Miss Teen USA, K. Lee Grah; Miss US, Nia Sanchez; Kehr’s pr-mouthpiece David Salidor; A. J. Calloway from Extra; Simone Boyce from Fox and Lori Levine and Alexa Susser, from Flying Television who coordinated the star-studded event. The live presentation was kind of campy, certainly catering to the dozens of kids at the premiere show. There were nods to the Marvel-canon of films, including an actor doing a pretty spot-on imitation Tony Stark aka Robert Downey, Jr.The dialogue is certainly not Shakespeare, but hit all the right grace notes. The biggest ovations were saved for (not surprisingly) Iron Man, Captain America and The Hulk. Plaudits to the Kenneth Feld-team who delivered a stage show with something for everyone. Good clean fun for sure.
It runs to this weekend here in Brooklyn, then starts a major coast-to-coast tour.
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| Jay Leno |
GLEN WILL BE --- I’ll Be Me, directed and produced by James Keach (producer of Walk The Line) and produced by Trevor Albert (Groundhog Day), will open in theaters in New York on October 24, followed by a national release to 50 cities. This powerful portrait of the life and career of great American music icon Glen Campbell will reveal to the viewer the world of the singular talent who created hits like Rhinestone Cowboy, Wichita Lineman, Southern Nights and Gentle on My Mind.
Winner of the Grammy for Lifetime Achievement and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Glen was the first country music star to cross over to the pop charts, opening a new realm of opportunity for generations of country musicians.
In 2011, when Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he joined forces with his family to fight the biggest battle of his life. Glen and his wife, Kim, made history by going public with the diagnosis – the first time a major American celebrity would share this experience with the world. The Campbell family then embarked on a short Goodbye Tour, but the three-week engagement turned into an emotional and triumphant 151-show nationwide tour de force. This epic human drama about the undying bond between Glen and Kim, and their unwavering caring for each other, chronicles a story of love, resilience and the power of song.
I’ll Be Me features those who know and love Glen, including Bruce Springsteen, Bill Clinton, The Edge, Paul McCartney, Jay Leno, Vince Gill, Jimmy Webb, Blake Shelton, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Steve Martin, Chad Smith and Taylor Swift among many others. Rare vintage footage and extraordinary new performances of Glen’s hits immerse this moving cinematic account in the overwhelming talent of this humble family man.
This should be epic!
BATMAN ASSAULT --- La-La Land Records will release the soundtrack for Batman: Assault On Arkham composed by Robert J. Kral (Superman: Doomsday, Duck Dodgers) on CD August 26, 2014. This limited edition CD (1500 units) will contain 4 exclusive tracks not available elsewhere.
“Batman: Assault On Arkham marks a departure from what we normally do from a music standpoint,” said director Jay Olivia. “We usually do the operatic epic music that we've all become accustomed to in the live action and animated comic book films for the last twenty five years…. James Tucker, my producer, was very supportive of the idea of doing a more contemporary take on the superhero music and when Rob sent us his first pass of the score, we were tremendously pleased.”
Batman: Assault On Arkham is a direct-to-video animated superhero that is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. The film is based on the universe of the Arkham video game franchise, and is a direct sequel to Batman: Arkham Originals.
In the universe of Arkham, the government teams up a group of super villains with the code name Suicide Squad and forces them to break into Arkham Asylum to bring back top secret information the Riddler has stolen, and Batman soon becomes involved. Things go from bad to worse when one of the Squad (Harley Quinn) frees the Joker, who has the means to not only blow up the asylum, but most of Gotham City as well.
“In terms of influence, for this movie most of the approach I knew would be different, with influences coming from Guy Ritchie movies or even Ocean’s 11 in places,” explains Kral. “Jay and I definitely wanted some funk grooves. We wanted the flavor of setting up the story to feel like a heist movie but set in the Batman world.”
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| James Earl Jones |
CLOSING NOTES --- I can't say where I was, but in the space of a half hour, I saw Nathan Lane, Jerry Zaks, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, James Earl Jones, Mark Linn-Baker, and Donnie Kehr. Wow! And, not a paparazzo in sight either …
Micky Dolenz is the subject of The Daily Mail’s My Haven (personalities at home and at work) piece out next week. Dolenz is shown at his home in L. A. and at work with daughter Georgia in his fine-furniture endeavor, Dolenz & Daughters (www.dolenzanddaughters.com). Micky's in Chicago this weekend for Mark Lapidos' Beatlefest ...
I'm telling you, if Maroon 5's new single "Maps" was released back in early-June, it most certainly would have been the record of the summer. Just a superbly written and produced song. A record to be proud of up and down. I love it...
I've been a big fan of CBS' Under The Dome series since it premiered last summer. Based on the Stephen King-book (he even scripted the second season premiere), it was good clean fun, but in the last several weeks, the scripts have gotten tighter, the acting has gone off-the-charts, and just this week, it ended with a Coldplay song ("Midnight" from their current brilliant album Ghost Stories) as another mystery unraveled. Amazing ...
Happened to walk by Radio City Music Hall yesterday when they announced their annual Christmas show, with 15 Rockettes dressed as toy soldiers and Santa Claus on hand. With performances beginning on November 7, guess the summer is just about over ...
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