City Vineyard presents Mother’s Day Brunch With The Music Of Bill Withers feat. Kori Withers with Marcus Machado & Everett Bradley and Special Guest, Valerie Simpson on May 12th at 12:00 PM! Join us in celebrating the book release of Bill Withers’ new children’s title, “Grandma’s Hands”.

Celebrate an unforgettable Mother’s and Grandmother’s Day featuring the songs and stories of Bill Withers as performed by his daughter Kori Withers feat. Marcus Machado and Everett Bradley with very special guest Valerie Simpson. Join us as we honor all mother and grandmother figures in our lives with the release of “Grandma’s Hands”, a new illustrated children’s book by Bill Withers based on the timeless, universal song originally featured on his 1971 album, Just As I Am. A portion of the book’s proceeds will be donated to SAY: The Stuttering Association For The Young.

Date: Sun May 12 at 12:00 PM / 11:00 AM Doors

Address: 233 West Street (Pier 26), New York, NY 10013   646.677.8350

Purchase tickets for the show here!

Pre-Order your copy of “Grandma’s Hands”, at a special price, and pick it up at the event here!

The post Sunday, May 12th: NYC Mother’s Day Brunch With The Music Of Bill Withers Feat. Kori Withers With Marcus Machado & Everett Bradley And Special Guest, Valerie Simpson appeared first on Good News!.

Location: The Harmonie Club NYC

Date:
6 November 2017

Lifetime Achievement Awards presented to:

George Beach II , Superintendent New York State Police

Robert K. Boyce , Chief of Detectives , Police Department City of New York

Angel Melendez, Special Agent in Charge-Homeland Security Investigations

Ashan Benedict, Special Agent in Charge, ATF New York

Members of the following organizations as well:

DEA, FBI, HSI, IRS-CI, USSS,USMS,NYPD, NYSP and other state , local and federal law enforcement agencies

The post The Federal Drug Agents Foundation’s 18th annual True American Hero Award Reception appeared first on Good News!.

VENICE BEACH the musical

A contemporary musical with various styles of music and dance from hip hop
and rock to standard musical theater about American college graduates trying
to survive in the post-graduate world between 2008 and 2012, a time of
economic recession and high unemployment. Jesse, a native Californian, is
trying to convince three of his mid-western fraternity brothers, Bradley,
Michael, and Steven, to move with him to Venice, California, promise land of
sun, surf, hot girls in bikinis, and plenty of jobs. During their graduation
ceremony at Ohio State University, they express their doubts and concerns
about what’s next after college. At the celebration party that night in
their favorite campus bar, The Stadium Pub, they shake off their fears and
agree to go, encouraged by Joe the Barman to get out of Ohio and pursue
their dreams. They drive together to California in Jesse’s car, where they
lease a beach house in Venice. The boys initially try to keep the college
party lifestyle going. They adopt a new favorite bar, the Sidewalk Café,
where Joe the Barman once again presides. Gradually, however, they face all
the challenges of the adult world, no longer cradled in college campus life,
nor funded and cared for by parents. They must make tough choices regarding
starting their careers, pursuing relationships, making rent, paying off
student loans, discovering self-identity, and ultimately, dealing with
disillusionment when their high expectations, and those of their parents,
don’t meet reality as they learn that success and happiness isn’t always
rewarded simply for individual effort.

Jesse, handsome and charismatic, immediately adopts a player life style
and seems to get whatever he wants. He lands a good job at Merril-Lynch, but
quietly struggles with the heartbreaking loss of his failed writer/artist
father from suicide during his junior year. He also finds that his job in
finance holds no interest for him, nor has he any real aptitude for it at
heart, he’s an actor/singer and a writer himself. He is also frustrated with
his mother, Kay, who, though she loves him dearly, is unintentionally
encroaching on his space in Venice, for she herself moves there in her
transition out of grief, as she strives to reclaim the lost years of her
youth because of marrying so young. Bradley finds an entry level job at
Coldwell Banker real estate, and begins guiltily to enjoy his temporary
freedom from Emily, his fiancé who must stay in Ohio to finish her senior
year. From a distance, she expresses her anquish over his absence, for she
has always placed her music and singing aspirations second to Bradley’s
plans for their future. She believes him when he says he will only be gone
for the summer, but when he informs her he wants to stay longer, she is
heartbroken. Michael, a talented architect and former fraternity president,
is hired at Cunningham, a prestigious architecture firm, and begins to
pursue Sarah, his hard-driving, slightly older project manager. He
gradually discovers he doesn’t like his work, nor does he feel comfortable
with Sarah. Ultimately, he meets Kenny, a gay art teacher and yogi, who
helps him to -come out- and re-discover his love for painting. Steven, a
tough, Irish Catholic from the working class farming community of
Youngstown, also majored in architecture, but is unable to get hired, so he
begins waiting tables to pay his portion of the rent. He sees Marika, a
beautiful Eur-Asian yoga instructor with several tattoos, and joins her yoga
class on the beach. They begin to date, and through her influence, he
discovers a deep interest in yoga and a desire to be health conscious, all
the while covering himself in tattoos. Marika has always distrusted men due
to her father’s early abandonment, but her unlikely relationship with Steven
becomes, surprisingly, the most stable one of the group. Things change for
Jesse when he reconnects with an old musical theater friend and high school
prom date, Rose, now an eclectic, Bard educated woman living in Mexico.
Jesse begins to fall in love again, but Rose’s fierce independence and
desire to explore the world causes her to avoid his romantic advances,
though not necessarily his sexual ones. The Boys fun Venice Beach life
begins to unravel during a crazy, alcohol and drug-filled Halloween party,
where Bradley cheats on Emily with Sarah. Michael confronts Bradley over his
disloyalty, and Bradley accidently –outs- him as a defense for his actions.
As winter 2009 arrives, the boys see that the party is over and so they
decide to go their separate ways. Bradley returns to Ohio but Emily refuses
to take him back. She now has plans to go to NY and attend graduate school
for music. In May 2009, as they are all moving out of the Venice Beach
house, Bradley, shattered by losing Emily, as well as his job at Coldwell
Banker, and facing the prospect of moving back in with his parents in Ohio,
attempts to take his own life with pills. Jesse is shaken by his friend’s
act, especially since the experience of his father’s suicide is still so
painful. Jesse has also been let go at Merrill Lynch, which is downsizing.
When Rose leaves for Africa to work for the Peace Corps for two years, it
becomes clear that they will remain -just friends- and nothing more. She
says goodbye to him on Venice Beach, leaving him alone, loveless, jobless,
hopeless, wondering what he’s going to do. At that moment, his father
appears to him (or is it simply Jesse’s subconscious) to talk with him he
gives him the advice and guidance he’s been needing for some time.

One year later, June 2010, Jesse moves to New York to reclaim the acting and
singing aspirations he once had and then temporarily abandoned. Bradley is
back in Ohio, Steven is living with Marika in Venice and Michael with
Kenny in West Hollywood. Having kept in touch with Emily over the years,
Jesse responds to her facebok invitation to go and see her sing a set at The
Bitter End club in N.Y. She has found her voice, and is pursuing her singing
career. At the club, Jesse finds himself attracted to her, and after the
show, they lament about how things were when they were kids, how they were
led to believe by everyone that they were special, that fate had great
things in store for them, but they now know that life is much more
complicated than that. The Bitter End seamlessly transforms into the
Sidewalk Café back in Venice Beach where they join the old gang who have all
come together again. Only now, it is two years later, June 2012, and The
Boys, Kenny, Marika have come together for Jesse and Emily’s wedding to
occur on Venice Beach the following day. Joe the Pastor officiates the
wedding. He urges them to enjoy life and love while they can, but work to
make it last. At the ceremony, The Boys once again express their angst over
what’s next, for they still don’t know for sure what the future holds for
them. But they have come to understand that they must simply continue on
doing the best they can to learn, to live, to love, to work, and to grow.

The post Venice Beach The Musical appeared first on Good News!.

The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that principal photography has begun for their upcoming feature ADAM JONES. The cast and crew will spend two days shooting in New Orleans before continuing in London from July 27^th to September 26^th. An all-star ensemble has signed on for the film, including Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Uma Thurman, Daniel Bruhl, Riccardo Scarmacio, Emma Thompson, Lily James, Omar Sy, Jamie Dornan, Sam Keeley, Sarah Greene and Alicia Vikander.

John Wells is directing with a screenplay by Steven Knight. Stacy Sher, Michael Shamberg and Erwin Stoff are producing the project, which is loosely based on the story of acclaimed chef Marco Pierre White. Dylan Sellers, Julie Rapaport and Negeen Yazdi are overseeing production for TWC.

Chef Adam Jones (Cooper) had it all – and lost it. A two-star Michelin rockstar with the bad habits to match, the former enfant terrible of the Paris restaurant scene did everything different every time out, and only ever cared about the thrill of creating explosions of taste. To land his own kitchen and that third elusive Michelin star though, he’ll need the best of the best on his side, including the beautiful Helene (Miller). ADAM JONES is a remarkably funny and emotional story about the love of food, the love between two people, and the power of second chances.

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE. Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes. During Harvey and Bob’s tenure at Miramax and TWC, they have received 348 Oscar nominations and won 82 Academy Awards.

Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; 1408; I’M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD; HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; BLUE VALENTINE; THE COMPANY MEN; MIRAL; SCRE4M; SUBMARINE; DIRTY GIRL; APOLLO 18; OUR IDIOT BROTHER; I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT; SARAH’S KEY; SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D; MY WEEK WITH MARILYN; THE IRON LADY; W.E.; CORIOLANUS; UNDEFEATED; THE ARTIST; BULLY; THE INTOUCHABLES; LAWLESS; KILLING THEM SOFTLY; THE MASTER; SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; DJANGO UNCHAINED; QUARTET; ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH; DARK SKIES; THE SAPPHIRES; SCARY MOVIE 5; KON-TIKI; UNFINISHED SONG; FRUITVALE STATION; LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER; THE GRANDMASTER; SALINGER; 12-12-12; PHILOMENA; MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM; AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY; VAMPIRE ACADEMY; THE RAILWAY MAN; THE IMMIGRANT; YVES SAINT LAURENT and BEGIN AGAIN. Upcoming releases include THE GIVER; FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR; UNDERDOGS; TRACKS; THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY; ST. VINCENT; THE IMITATION GAME; PADDINGTON and BIG EYES.

TWC boasts an active television production division led by former Miramax Films Co-President of Production Meryl Poster. TWC garnered nine Emmy nominations in 2013. The Weinstein Company Television produces the reality powerhouse Project Runway, prepping for its 13th season on Lifetime; with its spin-off series and critically-acclaimed Project Runway All Stars, hosted by Alyssa Milano and Project Runway Under The Gunn, hosted by Tim Gunn which is currently on air.  TWC series that were produced in 2013 include Mob Wives Season 4 which VH1 has green lit for Season 5, Million Dollar Shoppers for Lifetime, Rodeo Girls for A&E and Trailer Park: Welcome to Myrtle Manor Season 2 for TLC.  Scripted project currently in production is John Fusco’s historical action-adventure epic Marco Polo.  Announced scripted projects in development include Ten Commandments a 10 part event series with each episode to be helmed by a different A-list director and focusing on one commandment and an adaptation of Daniel Stashower’s bestselling Civil War-era spy thriller The Hour Of Peril.  TWC also developed Amy Sherman Palladino’s The Nanny Diaries for ABC and produced the Peabody award-winning HBO series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, directed by Anthony Minghella.

The post BRADLEY COOPER AND SIENNA MILLER STARRER ADAM JONES KICKS OFF PRODUCTION appeared first on Good News!.

The post Les (Leslie) Wolff, part 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 appeared first on Good News!.