Page 64 - Simple Man News Today

“This year’s lineup includes an incredibly diverse and dynamic selection of narrative, documentary and short films as well as programming for audiences of all ages and backgrounds,” said festival chairman and president Mark Famiglio in a statement. “We look forward to being able to welcome everyone both virtually and in-person to enjoy this year’s selections.” This year’s opening night film is “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It,” a documentary about the Oscar...

The HBO Max comedy pilot  OK Boomer starring Broadway Icon Patti LuPone ( Pose) fills out its cast with Will Sasso ( United We Fall) and Tim Chiou ( I Was a Simple Man). Deadline reports the pair join as series regulars along with Erinn Hayes ( Bill and Ted: Face the Music) and Devere Rogers ( Will and Grace), along with Zoe Manarel ( An American Girl: Summer Camp) and Carter Chee. In OK Boomer, LuPone stars as Barbara in a self-centered boomer who shows up at her estranged daughter Sarah�...

Lionel Richie was moved to tears by a 19-year-old singer Ronda Melton who persevered despite a hardscrabble past on Sundays episode of American Idol. Listening to Ronda Melton sing One Night Only from the musical Dreamgirls completely undid the four-time Grammy winner, 71, usually the least likely of the judges to cry. It wasnt just Rondas emotional vocals that turned Lionel into a wreck and caused him to lend her his handkerchief as he saw her starting to cry, too. Getting emotional: Lionel R...

Polynesian slam poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio. The Tidal Wave of Indigenous Cinema continues to swell with Hawaiian filmmaker Ciara Lacy’s stirring This is the Way We Rise, a poetic short about Polynesian slam poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio that recently screened as part of the Sundance Film Festival. Jamaica is the daughter of Jon Osorio, Dean of Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi, an author and renowned songwriter who composed one of my...

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) turns his directing skills towards his debut documentary by exploring every single one of the albums made by the offbeat band Sparks. Why you must know this before heading into this musical epic is that these two tempestuous brothers, Ron and Russell Mael, have made 25 albums over a 50-year period. While Wright sets things up as their ultimate super-fan, he follows through two-fold by placing the countless interviews over numerous live performances. After hear...

Sundance Film Festival 2021: A cinematic bonanza for movie lovers A still from CODA Forget the pandemic and the isolated lockdown period that followed, it’s time for film lovers to celebrate again. Indeed, the Sundance Film Festival 2021 has created quite a buzz… what with a lot of films selling like hot cakes, pre-sale bonanzas, one whooping huge acquisition sale worth $25 million and several award-winning documentaries making the grade. So, indeed, it’s the time for cine lovers...

Sundance from home: A virtual wrap on 2021’s unprecedented all-digital festival [Los Angeles Times] This year’s Sundance Film Festival, its first virtual incarnation, ran Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 and Times film staffers were collectively glued to our TVs, laptops, smartphones and other devices to join in the annual celebration of independent cinema. Critic Justin Chang and reporters Mark Olsen and Jen Yamato discuss a most unusual festival experience and nod to some standout films and a few rather...

AJ TaylorFebruary 2, 2021Last Updated: February 2, 2021 Country Thunder is a go for June 11th through the 13th at the Heritage Park in Forest City. Country Thunder Music Festivals Director of Marketing and Public Relations Jerry Krochak says even though the festival was postponed twice in 2020, they were able to maintain the headlining acts of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Old Dominion, and Kane Brown.

Steve Iwamoto and Constance Wu in I Was a Simple Man "A lot of times the island is used as a pretty backdrop and the locals are at the margin," explains the filmmaker behind the Sundance dramatic competition title. Christopher Yogi hopes to introduce audiences to a different Hawaii than the one they have grown accustomed to seeing onscreen. "A lot of movies that take place here take place in hotels and at popular tourist spots," explains the filmmaker. "A lot of times the island is used as a pr...

By Jana Monji, AsAmNews Arts & Culture Writer Those looking for a glimpse of the Asian and Asian American films at Sundance got a good taste during a conversation with Asian filmmakers and actors hosted by the Asian Society of Northern California. Janet Yang, Academy Governor-at-Large and executive producer of The Joy Luck Club film, spoke with writer Amy Tan, actress Miya Cech, director Sushmit Ghosh, director Debbie Lum, actor Leonardo Nam, director Baz Poonpiriya, director Rintu Thomas and...