Lifestyle Blog

Netflix signs overseas streaming deal with MGM


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Netflix has penned a deal with production house MGM to stream the latter’s movies in UK and Ireland when it commences operations there in early 2012, the company announced Nov. 7. It will become the exclusive subscription streaming provider of MGM movies in the region. Netflix will be providing most first-run feature films within a […]

Robert Pattinson to hold private movie screening for charity


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Robert Pattinson has donated a private screening of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 to generate funds for Program Advancing Girls’ Education, an organization helping to educate teen girls in Cambodia. The movie will be screened for 20 people in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, the night before the global release.  The winners of […]

Paranormal Activity 3 scares off box office competition


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Production cost for Paranormal Activity 3 might have run just $5 million, but its debut this weekend exceeded expectations and opened to a staggering $54 million. This third installment of candid-and-creepy-camera features serves as the prequel to the first two Paranormal Activity movies about a demonic force that haunts a pair of sisters. It is […]

Trio of restaurants brings cultural diversity


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Arts District was once a starving, dull blot east of Downtown Los Angeles spotted with industrial and railroad buildings devoid of human warmth. Almost a decade later, the Arts District has transformed into a vibrant neighborhood, rejuvenated by artsy hipsters who moved into renovated loft-style apartments and by numerous new restaurants that sprouted in the […]

Real Steel takes audiences on a rip-roaring ride


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One of the first images in Shawn Levy’s Real Steel is the reflection of a dazzling carnival, superimposed over a rough-edged, worn out Hugh Jackman. In the scene that follows, Jackman’s character, Charlie Kenton, tries to pocket a little cash at the carnival by controlling a robot in a fight against a bull — the […]

SCA Alum Returns Home for Screening of “Abduction”


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Five minutes after 7 p.m. The students squirm anxiously in their seats. Some have been waiting an hour. Others longer. Idle chatter rises and falls and everyone’s eyes are trained on the door. Finally, his name is called and he enters the room. Everyone applauds. Clean-cut, wearing a gray sweater over a white button down […]

USC to collaborate with state on film showcase


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The Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has awarded the USC School of Cinematic Arts a $1-million grant to collaborate on the American Film Showcase program, it announced Oct. 11. The program has its origins in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s ‘smart power diplomacy.’ The program is aimed at utilizing movies to […]

Ex-Disney chief named Paramount animation head


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David Stainton, formerly the President of Walt Disney Feature Animation, has been appointed President of Paramount’s up-and-coming in-house animation division, the company announced Oct. 10. Mr. Stainton’s experience, which includes 17 years at Disney, is expected to be extremely useful for the fledgling Paramount Animation. According to a press release on the appointment, he helmed […]

AFI to recognize Shirley MacLaine with Life Achievement Award


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Renowned actress and author Shirley MacLaine, 77, will receive the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award at a gala ceremony June 7. Known for works such as The Trouble With Harry and Terms of Endearment, MacLaine will be the 40th recipient of the AFI award, placing her among the likes of Morgan Freeman, her younger […]

Beyonce flaunts baby bump in “Countdown” video


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Beyonce proved she’s hot as ever with her colorful ’60s-inspired video for “Countdown,” the latest single off of her album 4. “Countdown” is an upbeat song about how she’s dedicated to the man she loves, but the video shows more — the mom-to-be uses her video to prove her pregnancy is not slowing her down. […]