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Hollywood News Food/Drink

LA’s Thai Food Festival

z Thai Food FestivalAs summer truly comes to an end in September, chef Jet Tila tries to ease Angelinos into the winter months by hosting LA’s first Thai Food Festival. The Thai Food Festival will take place at Paramount Studios on Sunday, September 29. The event will allow attendees to taste authentic regional cuisines from the four regions of Thailand. The national dishes and delicacies will be accessible from street food vendors and authentic Thai restaurants alike. In addition to food, the festival will feature Thai cultural events, such as Muay Thai martial arts, classical and folk dancing, umbrella painting, Thai fruit carving and much more!

Chef Jet Tila is a nationally celebrated chef specializing in all styles of Asian cuisine, and managing partner of The Charleston in Santa Monica, CA. Jet has appeared on various television programs, including “The Best Of,” “Food Finds” and “The Secret Life Of” on the Food Network, and “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” on the Travel Channel. Other chefs that will be featured and cooking at the festival are: Andy Ricker, Sang Yoon, David LeFevre, Kris Yenbamroong, Susan Feniger and Evan Kleiman.

The Thai Food Festival begins Sunday, September 29 at 3:30pm and will continue until 6pm. Tickets for the event are available here: http://thaifoodfest.eventbrite.com.

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Hollywood News Movies/Television Celebrity News

Sharknado to Hit LA Again

 

Horrible Movie Night will be showing Sharknado at the something Showroom in Hollywood on Saturday, September 14.
Horrible Movie Night will be showing Sharknado at the NerdMelt Showroom in Hollywood on Saturday, September 14.

In case you lived under a rock this summer, Syfy released a made-for-television movie called Sharknado in early July. While it was unanimously agreed upon that the movie was the furthest from an Oscar nomination, it completely took Twitter by storm. Social Media has a new place in our lives when the worst movie to be released this summer was the most talked about in social media. With just under 1.4 million viewers on its premiere, Sharknado was a hit on Twitter with just under half a million tweets with the hashtag ‘#Sharknado.’ With 5,000 tweets per minute at its peak, word spread fast about Sharknado, and those who didn’t know about the film were soon tuning in to see what all the commotion was about.

Horrible Movie Night has embraced this shark tornado that hits Los Angeles, and will be showing it at a DVD release party at the NerdMelt Showroom in Hollywood on Saturday, September 14. Guest comedians will be the hosts for the night, and attendees will be visited by the cast and crew of Sharknado to answer all of your burning questions.

Horrible Movie Night screens the worst films made and invites the attendees to Roast them. Those with the best one-liners will even win prizes! Tickets are on sale online for $8, or are available at the door for $10. Please visit the website to learn more: https://nerdmeltla.com/tickets2/index.php?event_id=603.

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Movies/Television Hollywood News

Goodbye to Walter and Jesse

AMC's Breaking Bad premiered its 5th and final season this summer, and will say goodbye during its final episode on Sunday, September 29.
AMC’s Breaking Bad premiered its 5th and final season this summer, and will say goodbye during its final episode on Sunday, September 29.

Hollywood – Can’t get enough of Breaking Bad? With the imminent series finale you will have to find a way to cope without Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, but to make this closure easier, AMC offered a chance for fans to experience the end together. The final episode of Breaking Bad is going to be screened at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Sunday, September 29 at 8pm, presented by Cinespia. The cast and crew are going to be present and all proceeds of the event are going to the Kind Campaign.

The tickets went on sale September 4 and to no ones surprise they are now all sold out. The event is going to be co-hosted by The Embassy and will feature DJ Chris Holmes spinning before and after the showing. All the attendees will also have a chance at a Q & A with the cast and crew immediately following the show. The night will begin with the screening of Breaking Bad’s pilot episode, which will be followed by the final episode.

Breaking Bad had a successful 5 season run with AMC and will be finishing up with countless award nominations. Breaking Bad has been considered the greatest television drama of all times, and millions of fans will come together to watch it come to an end on Sunday, September 29.

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Hollywood News Food/Drink

The Rusty Mullet for Burgers and Shots

The Rusty Mullet in Hollywood offers an extensive list of custom burgers and shots.
The Rusty Mullet in Hollywood offers an extensive list of custom burgers and shots.

Hollywood – The Rusty Mullet in Hollywood has made a name for itself. This restaurant doubles as a place to watch sports with its 24 flat screens, while being a great restaurant. What really draws people in are the custom-blended burgers and extensive list of shots. The Rusty Mullet gets creative with their burger combinations, such as adding a fried egg or pulled pork. In addition, their very interesting menu items are the 50 varieties of shots. The Rusty Mullet offers fun concoctions of alcoholic shots, each one only costing $5. The 50 different shots come mixed to make taking the drink easier and tastier.

Actor Vincent Laresca remade an old spot into a drinking den with high-chaired seating in a large, exposed-brick room. The entire place has a laid-back feel with murals painted right onto the walls. Rusty Mullet offers great happy hours daily with a buy one, get one for $1 deals until 8pm, and an additional late-night deal from 10pm to midnight Sunday through Thursday.

The Rusty Mullet is located in Hollywood at 1708 N. Las Palmas, just two blocks east of the Hollywood & Highland Center.

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Hollywood News Food/Drink

The LA Times Brings Us The Taste

The Los Angeles Times presents The Taste this Friday, August 30 through Sunday, September 1.
The Los Angeles Times presents The Taste this Friday, August 30 through Sunday, September 1.

Labor Day marks the end of summer in Los Angeles, but The Los Angeles Times tries to ease Angelinos’ sadness by hosting The Taste this Labor Day Weekend. The Taste is a three-day gastronomic adventure featuring five events that will highlight distinct aspects of food culture in Southern California. The events feature unlimited food and drink tastings from more than 40 of the area’s top restaurants, cooking and mixology demonstrations, wine seminars and panel discussions.

The Taste starts Friday, August 30 and will continue through Sunday, September 1. Friday gets started with their ‘Opening Night’ where you will get a focused collection of tastings, distinctive cocktail and wine offerings and live entertainment. Festivities continue into Saturday with ‘Field to Fork’ with Russ Parsons, The Times’ Food Editor, who hosts an event inspired by fresh, local ingredients and the pleasure of cooking seasonal dishes. The day then turns to ‘Flavors of L.A.’ where Jonathan Gold, The Times’ Restaurant Critic, hosts a day full of authentic dishes from around the world – via Los Angeles’ best restaurants. Sunday brings the ‘Labor Day Block Party’ where Noelle Carter, The Times’ Test Kitchen Director, will host a holiday get-together designed to focus on one of summer’s favorite family pastimes – barbecue. Finally, the weekend festivities come to an end at ‘Cocktail Confidential’ where Jessica Gelt, The Times’ Food & Night Life Writer and Betty Hallock, The Times’ Deputy Food Editor host an evening dedicated to the culinary creations and libations that typify cocktail culture.

The Taste takes place in Los Angeles at the Paramount Pictures Studios. Learn more and purchase tickets at http://events.latimes.com/taste.

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Movies/Television Celebrity News

‘Rich Kids of Beverly Hills’ on E!

The "Rich Kids of Instagram" Tumblr will be making its debut on E! on Rich Kids of Beverly Hills.
The “Rich Kids of Instagram” Tumblr will be making its debut on E! on Rich Kids of Beverly Hills.

If you haven’t already seen it, “The Rich Kids of Instagram” is a Tumblr page that compiles the Instagram photos of ridiculously rich kids and the things they do with that money. As the Tumblr page descriptions says, “They have more money than you and this is what they do.” These rich kids are not associated with this blog, but those with their pictures regularly posted will now be making a TV debut. E! has announced that they are developing a new unscripted series called Rich Kids of Beverly Hills. The show will revolve around a group of 20-something year old friends living a life of extreme wealth that got noticed in Instagram. The children of some of Los Angeles’ most elite families and billionaire moguls play together against the backdrop of extreme wealth.

The show will be aired on E! and produced by ITV Studios America in association with Leepson Bounds Entertainment. The show is expected to be highly popular, like the other shows that have revolved around Beverly Hills’ wealth, such as Beverly Hills, 90210 and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Bravo’s Shah’s of Sunset have also set precedent as the well-to-do young residents of the posh neighborhood shared their lavish lives with America.

Haven’t seen the “Rich Kids of Instagram” Tumblr yet? Check it out here: http://richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com.

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Hollywood News Movies/Television

HollyShorts Film Festival

The HollyShorts Film Festival is takiing place this year August 15-22 at the Chinese Theater and Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.
The HollyShorts Film Festival is taking place August 15-22 at the Chinese Theater and Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

Hollywood – The HollyShorts Film Festival is back in Hollywood for its 9th year! The prestigious film festival represents talent from around the world as they present their short films to a vast audience. The festival showcases the top short films produced 30-minutes or less. The festivities started last Thursday, August 15 and will continue through Thursday, August 22. Activities for the week include screenings, networking events, talent/literary panels and various forums, and will take place at the TCL Chinese Theater and Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

One of this year’s projected festival favorites is La Petite Mort, directed by Alex Prager. The short, screened on the opening night, focuses on a woman that experiences the boundaries of her body as she contemplates life, death and love. Another film receiving a lot of audience buzz this year is The Sidekick, directed by Michael J. Weithorn. The short is a comedic take on the ever-popular superhero genre, while touching on the idea of our need to find our purpose in life. This film screened on opening night.

The festival is proud to be presenting over 350 films this year over the course of 8 days, comprised of comedy, animation, sci-fi, horror, music videos and web series. Find out more about the HollyShorts Film Festival online: hollyshorts.com.

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Hollywood News Movies/Television

Summer Television is Making a Splash

Under the Dome premiered on CBS earlier this year and has been renewed for Summer 2014.
Under the Dome premiered on CBS earlier this year and has been renewed for a second season in Summer 2014.

Under the Dome is an original television series based on the Stephen King novel by the same name. The show premiered on CBS earlier this summer in June and it has since been a hit, proven by CBS’ quick renewal of the show for a second season to premiere in 2014. Scripted programming is rare during the summer months, but CBS may have struck gold with their success this summer.

Earlier this week CBS handed out a straight-to-series order for Extant, a television show that Steven Spielberg will be co-executive producing. Those at CBS believe that this futuristic thriller will be able satisfy peoples’ high-quality programming during the summer, and it is set to play alongside Under the Dome next summer.

While Under the Dome changed the face of summer television, CBS has assured everyone that they will continue with their regular 22-episode season approach, which continues to be the most popular trend. There is still hope for great television year-round, and hopefully it will not only be CBS that is provides it.

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Hollywood News Movies/Television

Fall TV will Seem Familiar this Year

Fall television is just around the corner and with is comes more spin-offs of our favorite shows.
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland will be one of ABC’s new freshman series that is a spin-off of their current hit,Once Upon a Time.

Fall television is nearing and it is full of great original series. A common trend for networks, however, has been to create spin-offs from previous and current hit series. This trend has been a result of various freshman series that never get a large following, costing the networks thousands of dollars. A spin-off guarantees an already established fan base that will hopefully love the new show as much as they do the original. Here are a few to expect this fall:

ABC premiered Once Upon a Time in 2011 and it is ready to go for its third season later this year, and now to accompany it is Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. The new show takes place in the same magical world as its predecessor, but it will instead be based on the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

NBC will be premiering Chicago PD, which is a spin-off of Chicago Fire that premiered last year and was a modest hit. This new show is rumored to include the Chicago Police Department as it airs mid-season.

The CW is joining in this new trend as well, with their current wildly popular vampire drama The Vampire Diaries being the parent of a new show this fall, The Originals. The CW’s Arrow is also bringing in a new spin-off that will be based on DC Comic’s Flash. Supernatural will be joining this group as well as writers plant a spin-off in its ninth and final season.

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Hollywood News Food/Drink Music/Concerts

Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival Returns

The Third Annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival will start August 22 and continue on through August 25.
The Third Annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival will start August 22 and continue on through August 25.

The Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival is back in Southern California for its third consecutive year. The festival brings together some of the most celebrated culinary talent in the country for a four day event that takes place in various areas of Los Angeles. The festivities offer guests a chance to sample the cuisines and specialized products of the most prominent leaders of their industry. The entire event caters to nearly all of the human senses by also hosting the entertainment industry’s biggest talents during the live culinary demonstrations, wine and spirit tastings, book signings and many more.

The first annual Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival took place in 2011 and brought in over 15,000 attendees to witness and taste firsthand food from140 celebrity chefs and almost 300 wineries. Hollywood celebrities filled the event lineup, such as Kathy Griffin and Randy Jackson. The entire five-day event raised $400,000 to support St. Vincent Meals on Wheels.

This year’s festival will take place August 22 through August 25, and will spread its events between Santa Monica, Downtown Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. Learn more about the festival and all the events that will be taking place later this month here: www.lafw.com.

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Movies/Television HPC News

The Chase is a Hit in the U.S.

"The Chase" premiered Tuesday, August 6 at 9PM on GSN.
“The Chase” premiered Tuesday, August 6 at 9PM on GSN.

The Hollywood Production Center is proud to announce that their very own “The Chase” premiered its new game show last night on the Game Show Network. “The Chase” is a one-hour quiz show based on the British version that has 3-player-teams to earn as much money as possible by answering rapid-fire quiz questions. The contestants have added pressure because of The Beast, the quiz genius that must answer as many quiz questions as he can to deter the teams from banking their money. By the end of the game, it becomes a one-on-one quiz competition between the highest scoring contestant and The Beast himself. The reward of outwitting The Beast is that they get to go home with their bank of money.

The show premiered on Tuesday, August 6 at 9PM and brought in 511,000 viewers. A second new show premiered at 10PM and captivated 461,000 viewers. The show’s set schedule is Tuesdays at 9PM on GSN.

Actress and television host Brooke Burns is the host of this exciting game show. The Beast is Mark Labbett, and this quiz genius is also the veteran from the original U.K. version. While the show just premiered this week, GSN announced last month that they have ordered another 8 episodes for a second season. The show is produced by ITV Studios America.

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Hollywood News Movies/Television Music/Concerts

CityWalk’s 20th Birthday Bash

CityWalk celebrates its birthday in true Hollywood fashion with events going on all summer.
CityWalk celebrates its birthday in true Hollywood fashion with events going on all summer.

Universal CityWalk is turning 20 and bringing it in with a bang. In true Hollywood fashion, CityWalk will be throwing a huge Birthday Bash that lasts all summer. CityWalk will be providing free live music all summer long at the 5 Towers through September 2nd. They are also offering $2 parking when you go to the nearby AMC to watch a movie, and with so many great summer blockbuster hits this is hard to resist.

The first summer concert kicked off on Saturday, June 29 and featured The Ready Set and Kelsi Luck. This Saturday, August 3, Hollywood is in for a treat with Chris Rene, and on Sunday, August 4 the long list of performers includes Angel & Khriz, Sensato, Henry Santos and Maffio. Saturday concerts start at 7PM and go until 10PM, while Sunday concerts can be enjoyed from 6PM to 9PM. The final performance will take place on Labor Day, Monday, September 2nd and will feature The Summer Set and Echosmith.

For $2 summer movie parking, pay for general parking at the CityWalk toll booth, then present your parking stub at the AMC box office to receive your rebate on parking. This offer expires September 2nd. August’s movie releases include 2 Guns, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Kick Ass 2 and One Direction: This is Us.

City Walk is located at Universal Studios Hollywood at 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608. For more information, please visit http://www.citywalkhollywood.com.

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Hollywood News Movies/Television

Rocky and Bullwinkle leave Hollywood

The Rocky and Bullwinkle statue was first erected on Sunset Blvd in 1951.
The Rocky and Bullwinkle statue was first erected on Sunset Blvd in 1961.

Rocky and Bullwinkle have been inhabitants of Hollywood’s Sunset Strip for 52 years and last week we were sad to see them go. The landmark statue had a large crack in it and needed to be removed in order to attempt to refurbish it. Dreamworks is the current owner of the property and ordered the crane that removed Bullwinkle and his small squirrel friend, Rocky. The statue is said to need some freshening up in true Hollywood style and it will be a surprise where we see our favorite duo pop up next in Hollywood.

The Rocky and Bullwinkle statue first went up in 1961 in front of what was then Jay Ward Productions, who produced the animated show. “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” was an animated television series that first premiered in 1959 and ended in 1964. The two main characters were Rocket “Rocky” J. Squirrel and his best friend Bullwinkle J. Moose. The flying squirrel and dim-witted, but good natured moose went on adventures together and became a great duo that America fell in love with.

The statue was located on Sunset Boulevard, on the cross street Marmont Lane. Cement disks surrounded the statue that displayed signatures and elbow prints of the cartoon’s writers in a “Walk of Fame”-style.  

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Hollywood News Movies/Television

Cinespia Continues Strong in Hollywood

Cinespia's screening take place every Saturday during the summer at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Cinespia hosts screenings every Saturday over the summer at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Hollywood – Visit the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and you will see 62 acres of famous men and women of the entertainment industry laid to rest, but it is also home to Hollywood’s cemetery summer movie screenings, Cinespia. Screenings are held on Fairbank’s Lawn, a grassy field within the cemetery that allows movie goes to enjoy the summer night sky while watching a classic movie. Every Saturday throughout the summer, Cinespia puts up a screen in the cemetery to show a film at night with live musical entertainment to kick it off as patrons set up their blankets and seating in the grassy lawn. Both hardcore and amateur movie goers alike can enjoy this night of relaxation, and take a moment to bond with fellow Angelinos in the great outdoors of Southern California.

Classic movies in this summer’s lineup include “Pulp Fiction,” “Princess Bride” and “Scream” to name a few. Organizers suggest bringing snacks, wine and beer to enjoy throughout the night, as well as coming early to save a spot. These nights have grown in popularity as more Angelinos want to embrace the beautiful city they live in and enjoy everything it has to offer. In 2008, “Los Angeles” magazine named Cinespia on the “16 Best Things about L.A.” list.  

Cinespia’s movie screenings first started in 2002 with the showing of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train.” They showed 4 films that first summer and have since grown their number to 25 movie screenings each season. To learn more about Cinespia and see the full list of movies that will be screening this summer, please visit www.cinespia.org. Hollywood Forever Cemetery can’t wait to welcome you!

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Glendale News Movies/Television

Glendale Dancer Competing in “So You Think You Can Dance”

Glendale's Paul Karmiryan will be competing in this season's "So You Think You Can Dance."
Glendale’s Paul Karmiryan will be competing in this season’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”

“So You Think You Can Dance” is back on Fox this summer for its 10th season, and this year a Glendale resident will be dancing for the top title. Paul Karmiryan is a 21-year-old Glendale resident that started learning Latin ballroom at the age of 17. He is among the Top 20 dancers chosen to move on to the regular competition after surviving the Vegas Week callbacks. Paul will be up against 19 equally talented and professionally trained dancers from across the United States.

The first Live Show of the season premieres tonight, Tuesday, June 25th at 8:00PM as a 2-hour episode on Fox. Each week, dancers will be coupled up and randomly given a genre to dance to. They will have one week to practice before performing at the live competition. One couple will be eliminated each week until the final winning couple is chosen at the end of the season. As the couples begin to dwindle, the dancers will also be performing solos.

Paul may have an advantage in this season’s competition because he competed in and won the Armenian version of “So You Think You Can Dance” two years ago. Paul entered into the competition while visiting the country for the first time since he left, and he quickly won over their hearts with his dancing. While the experiences will be completely different, Paul was able to grow as a person and dancer while competing on the show, and hopefully will be able to use that to his advantage.

Paul came to Glendale from Armenia at the age of 6 and his only previous dance experience was traditional Armenian dancing. With only 5 years of professional dance experience, Paul will have to work hard to compete with the dancers who have been dancing since a very young age.

This year’s judges will include Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and Adam Shankman, and the show will be hosted by Cat Deeley. The weekly live shows are filmed in Los Angeles.

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Hollywood News Movies/Television

The Monsters Take over Hollywood

Monsters University hits theaters on June 21st.
Monsters University hits theaters on June 21st.

The Monsters are back after 12 years, and they are coming back with a bang. The ‘Monsters University’ premiere took place Monday night in Hollywood at the El Capitan Theater. Before the screening, there was a monstrous college tailgate that included the Monsters U marching band and cheerleaders. The blue carpet was filled with monsters, along with attendees that all wore the Monsters U royal blue school colors. Children and parents alike flooded the blue carpet to enjoy the newest edition of universities in Los Angeles.

‘Monsters University’ will come out in theaters Friday, June 21st, and it is a prequel to ‘Monsters, Inc,’ which was released in 2001. As a prequel, Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan, commonly referred to as Sully, are just starting out at college as they try to figure out what kind of ‘scarers’ they are going to be. By going back a couple of years, producers were able to add new lovable monsters to the storyline and explain how Sully and Mike came to be the monsters that we knew and loved in the original ‘Monsters, Inc.’

There has been a lot of marketing promotions around this movie as children and adults had the chance to make their own Monsters U student ID badges and we saw trailers for the movie that played out just like a college promotional commercial. There is a lot of fun and excitement surrounding this movie, and the next generation of children will be able to enjoy the monster gang as well.

Mike Wazowski is voiced by Billy Crystal, John Goodman is the voice of Sully, and Randy is played by Steve Buscemi. ‘Monsters University’ is produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. If you want to check out some of their fun interactive games, go to www.disney.com/Monsters-University.

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Movies/Television Celebrity News

Kim Kardashian Gives Birth to a Baby Girl

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West welcome home a baby girl on June 15th.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West welcome home a baby girl on June 15th.

The Kardashians have a newest addition to their family with the birth of Kim Kardashian’s baby girl on Saturday, June 15th. The little girl was born at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to 32-year-old reality show star Kim Kardashian and 36-year-old music artist Kanye West. Their baby comes a little early with their announced due date not until July. While the name of the baby has not yet been released, the family is happily tweeting congratulations to the new mother.

The couple is not married, as Kim was still officially married to Kris Humphries only 11 days before the birth. The NBA player married Kim in 2011 and they filed for divorce only 72 days later. The divorce filings were long and difficult, and the courts finally announced the official divorce of Kris and Kim on June 4, 2013.

The baby will be Kim Kardashian’s first child, and the third grandchild of Kris Jenner. Kim’s sister Kourtney Kardashian, 34 years old, gave her mother the first two grandchildren, Mason and Penelope. Kim’s pregnancy was highly publicized, along with pregnancy partner Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge. The Duchess’ baby is due in mid-July, and has been closely followed in the media. The two women were expected to have both their first babies be girls.

The Kardashian family has become a spectacle in media with their family being famous for various things. Kim gained her fame as a model, actress, business woman, and reality television star. Her two sisters, Kourtney and Khloe followed her into various business ventures as well. Their brother Rob graduated from USC and recently launched a sock line. Their father was the legendary Robert Kardashian who served as the defense attorney during O.J. Simpson’s murder trial in 1995. Robert Kardashian passed away in 2003. Kris Jenner remarried Bruce Jenner, the gold medal winner for the decathalon in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Kris and Bruce Jenner had two more children together, Kendall and Kylie. The entire family stars in Keeping Up with the Kardashians, an E! reality television series that follows the lives of the Kardashian/Jenner family. The series’ success led to the spin-offs Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Khloe and Lamar, Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, and Kourtney and Kim Take Miami.

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Movies/Television

The Much Awaited ‘Man of Steel’ Releases this Weekend

'Man of Steel' comes out in theaters Friday, June 14.
‘Man of Steel’ comes out in theaters Friday, June 14.

With “Iron Man 3” released last month, “The Wolverine” to be released next month, and “Thor: The Dark World” set to be released in November, 2013 is far from lacking in superhero movies. However, June came with anticipation and excitement as “Man of Steel” was debuted to the world today. “Man of Steel” had a limited release of midnight showings last night, for which they were able to collect $21 million. This surpasses “Iron Man 3,” which was released earlier this summer and was only able to bring in $15.6 million on its midnight opening. While the box-office is expecting “Man of Steel” to collect $85-100 million domestically, the distributors at Warner Brothers are staying conservative and projecting $80 million.

Directed by Zach Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan, “Man of Steel” follows the life of Clark Kent in the original tale as he tries to hide his superpowers and live a regular everyday life. Here we see Clark Kent played by British actor Henry Cavil. Amy Adams stars as Lois Lane and Michael Shannon plays the role of the menacing General Zod.  

There is a lot of hype surrounding this superhero movie, especially after Christopher Nolan wrapped up the final movie in the Batman trilogy last year. Although this weekend is dead in terms of new releases, “Man of Steel” will have to compete with last weekend’s batch of releases such as “The Internship,” “The Purge,” and “This is the End.” Only time will tell whether this superhero will be able to fly away with this weekend’s box office.  

We last saw Zach Snyder directing “Sucker Punch” in 2011, and his counterpart, Christopher Nolan, was directing “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012.

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Movies/Television

The Los Angeles Film Festival is Back

The LA Film Festival kicks off in downtown on June 13th and ends June 23rd.
The LA Film Festival kicks off in Downtown on June 13th and ends June 23rd.

Downtown LA – The Los Angeles Film Festival is back for its 19th year. Following the heels of the Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the films to be seen in Southern California this year. The festival kicked off with some pre-festival excitement on June 12th with the pre-screening of much awaited “Man of Steel.” The next night, however, was the official opening night of the festival where they debuted “I’m So Excited” by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar. Tonight the festival continues on with 11 screenings, the first one starting at 7:10 PM and the last one starting at 10:00 PM.

What sort of things do you have to look forward to these next 10 days? While the movies are still the main attraction, there has also been a particular emphasis on providing out-of-the-theater events that add to attendees’ movie experience. These include conversations and panels with actors, directors and writers. The festival is also offering a great opportunity for families with kids to enjoy the big film culture through Family Day. Family Day is an event free to the public that will be celebrated with activities the entire family can enjoy thanks to their sponsors at Hasbro Studios. This fun day of family-friendly adventure will conclude with the world premiere screening of “My Little Pony Equestria Girls.” Family Day will take place Saturday, June 15 at the Nokia Plaza at L.A. Live from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

While most of the screenings will be taking place at L.A. Live’s Regal Cinema, there will also be screenings at the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA), JW Marriot – ION Rooftop Bar, GRAMMY Museum and Grand Performances and Arts Brookfield at FIGat7th Plaza. Starting Thursday, June 13th, the festival will run until Sunday, June 23rd. For more details about the festival and the schedule, visit their website at www.lafilmfest.com.