Monday, August 29, 2011
Report: Lost's Matthew Fox Detained for Allegedly Assaulting a Woman
Matthew Fox Lost star Matthew Fox was taken into custody after allegedly assaulting a woman, TMZ.com reports. Fox reportedly tried to board a private party bus early Monday in Cleveland, but he was denied access by the bus driver, Heather Bormann, who claims Fox retaliated by punching her in the chest and stomach. Bormann says she punched the actor in the face in self-defense and now plans to press charges. Check out the rest of today's news A police report quoted by TMZ said the punch caused a cut on his lip. Fox was detained by the police, but not formally arrested. He subsequently was taken to a hotel by a friend. An e-mail to his rep was not immediately returned.X-Men: First Class Online Free
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Jobs Resigns as Apple Boss
Jobs resigned as Boss of Apple, the organization stated Wednesday.our editor recommendsApple Investors Reject Proposal to show Jobs Succession Plan Apple Boss Jobs to consider Another Medical Leave of AbsenceApple Shares Fall Among Boss Steve Jobs' Medical LeaveBon Jovi: Jobs Is 'Killing the background music Business' Per a request from Jobs and also the company's succession plan, COO Tim Prepare continues to be named the brand new Boss, effective immediately. Inside a letter addressed towards the Apple board of company directors and also the "Apple Community" dated Wednesday, Jobs authored: "I've always stated if there ever came each day after i could no more meet my responsibilities and anticipation as Apple's Boss, I will be the first to show you. "Regrettably, on that day originates. "I hereby resign as Boss of Apple. I must serve, when the Board sees fit, as Chairman from the Board, director and Apple worker. "So far as my successor goes, I highly recommend that people execute our succession plan and title Tim Prepare as Boss of Apple. "In my opinion Apple's cleverest and many innovative days are in front of it. And That I anticipate watching and adding to its success inside a new role. "I've made a few of the close friends of my existence at Apple, and that i thanks all for that years of having the ability to work alongside you." Jobs, who signed the letter "Steve," continues to be fighting a potentially existence-threatening illness off and on for quite some time, though he earned no reference to his health in the resignation letter. Apple board member Art Levinson confirmed that Jobs is going to be chairman from the board, where he "continues for everyone Apple together with his unique experience, creativeness and inspiration." Jobs remains a board member at Wally Disney, a situation he's held because the media conglomerate bought Pixar in 2006. He's also Disney's biggest investor. Simon & Schuster a week ago increased the discharge date of the biography of Jobs compiled by Walter Isaacson, a choice which had Apple viewers theorizing concerning the health status of Jobs. On Wednesday, the writer stated the brand new date, November. 21, will stand, despite the fact that the manuscript has been up-to-date to mirror his resignation as Boss. Apple shares fell in after-market buying and selling, losing about 6 percent by 7 p.m. ET. Related Subjects Jobs Apple
Puss In Boots Motion Poster Online
Wook at der widdle kitty! Wook!With Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots getting set for release this December, the marketing for the new 'toon is getting more and more prevalent. Thank goodness, then, that the creative types have a charismatic central figure to work with, one who doesn't even need to talk to be appealing. Case in point? This funny new motion poster, courtesy of Fandango, featuring the feline hero caught in an embarrassing moment of Typical Cat Behaviour. The film itself chronicles Puss (Antonio Banderas) in the years before he met the big green ogre. He's on a mission to steal the famous goose that lays the golden eggs, working with mastermind Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and helped/hindered by the street-smart, sexy Kitty (Salma Hayek). Having seen a chunk of the movie, we can say it's looking good as a worthy addition to the Shrek universe. Puss in Boots is out on December 9.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
USA Sets Premieres for Burn Notice, Psych and Covert Matters
Jeffrey Donovan, James Roday It will not be lengthy before your preferred fake psychic, eco-friendly CIA agent and burned spy have returned about the air! USA Network introduced the autumn premieres of their shows on Monday. Psych will start its sixth season on Wednesday, March. 12 at 10/9c having a slew of recent mysteries, like whether Shawn (James Roday) really jumps the question to Juliet (Maggie Lawson) or if poor Gus (Dulé Hill) will ultimately obtain a girlfriend. Covert Matters Exclusive: Meet Arthur's Old German Flame Covert Affairs' fall premiere is Tuesday, November. 1 at 10/9c. The midseason finale left Annie (Piper Perabo) about the outs together with her sister after she was instructed to confess what she does indeed as a living. Once the show returns, Annie has become an experienced operative with increased high-action adventures ahead. Finally, Burn Notice returns Thursday, November. 3 at 10/9c, ongoing Michael's look for solutions about those who burned him. Which series are you currently most excited to determine return? Hit your comments ought to together with your ideas.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Lamp
A Trost Moving Pictures production and presentation in association with Narrative Television Network and Destiny Image Films. Produced by Jason Stafford. Executive producers, Jim Stovall, Tracy J. Trost. Directed, written by Tracy J. Trost, based on the novel by Jim Stovall.With: Jason London, Meredith Salenger, L. Scott Caldwell, Sarah Brown, Cameron Ten Napel, Muse Watson, Louis Gossett Jr., Steve Forbes.There's a heaping helping of inspirational uplift for family auds to sample in "The Lamp," an innocuous feel-good indie about a deeply depressed man saved by a mystical spirit. Theatrical prospects are dim, even for a limited regional release -- pic is available via VOD -- though there's always the chance that an unabashedly wholesome trifle such as this could strike a responsive chord with those who feel too rarely served by mainstream Hollywood fare. Homevid and niche-cable prospects are appreciably brighter, provided that the producers can successfully direct their marketing toward the same viewers drawn to faith-based fare. That same target aud responded well to "The Ultimate Gift," a 2007 release that, like "The Lamp," was adapted from a popular novel by Jim Stovall. To be sure, the earlier pic soft-pedaled its religious elements -- discussions of faith and God were fleeting, almost subliminal -- and "Lamp" comes off as even more secular. But writer-director Tracy J. Trost aims for pretty much the same type of heart-tugging sentimentality common to dramas in which characters have their prayers answered and hearts lifted. Early scenes depict author Stanley Walters (Jason London) as a man in dire need of a shot at redemption. Two years after helplessly witnessing the accidental death of his young son, he remains so consumed by guilt and grief that he barely can communicate with his wife, Lisa (Meredith Salenger), much less complete a book for which he's been paid a considerable advance. Stanley doesn't begin to emerge from his funk until Lisa fortuitously comes into possession of an ancient oil lamp. By rubbing it, she magically summons Charles Montgomery III (Louis Gossett Jr.), a courtly, spiffily dressed stranger who insists he is "a messenger," not a genie - -- but nevertheless offers to fulfill three wishes for the anxious Lisa and skeptical Stanley. (It should be noted that Charles conspicuously refrains from revealing -- and Stanley and Lisa inexplicably fail to ask -- just whose "messenger" he is.) As it turns out, there's very little magic involved in the resolution of a plot that also involves a beneficent next-door neighbor (L. Scott Caldwell) who cares for foster children and a feisty orphan girl (Cameron Ten Napel) who needs loving parents and a savvy baseball coach. Indeed, the literal-minded dialogue and primary-colored performances throughout "The Lamp" suggest all parties involved were determined to keep things as simple and comprehensible as possible. Thoroughly predictable yet undemandingly pleasant, the pic, handsomely lensed on Oklahoma locations, may benefit from supportive word of mouth and grassroots promotion. Steve Forbes has a silent cameo as Stanley interviews celebs for his book.Camera (color), Randy Stuehm; editor, Stuehm; music, Jason Moore; production designer/art director, Chris Rose; set decorator, Kara Paslay; sound, Kabe Cornell; supervising sound editor, Mark Keefer; assistant director, Jason Stafford; casting, Amber Horn, Danielle Aufiero. Reviewed on DVD, Houston, Aug. 11, 2011. Running time: 95 MIN. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com
Monday, August 15, 2011
'Officer' tuner sets Sydney world preem
Richard Gere starred within the 1982 pic "A Police Officer along with a Gentleman."
SYDNEY -- Large-budget tuner "A Police Officer along with a Gentleman -- The Musical," an Aussie-U.S. co-production in line with the Richard Gere-starrer, will world preem in Sydney in May.Tuner was introduced on Monday in a presser aboard the HMAS Sydney, moored in the city's Garden Island naval base.The planet preem will occur in the Lyric Theater on May 24, created by Australia's Gordon Frost Organization and Sharleen Cooper Cohen, co-producer and co-author from the show.Musical is going to be helmed by Simon Phillips, outgoing topper from the Melbourne Theater Company, and helmer of "Priscilla: Full from the Desert -- The Musical" now about the London stage.Douglas Day Stewart, who authored the film script, will co-script the tuner with Cooper Cohen.Auditions were locked in Sydney a week ago with casting now 80% completed. Tuner will even feature the important thing tune "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes that won an Oscar and Grammy upon to produce new score and tunes is going to be supplied by Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner."All the classic, beloved musicals ever have experienced source material and that i went lower their email list of famous love tales and that i believed that 'An Officer along with a Gentleman' would sing around the world,Inch Cooper-Cohen stated in the launch. "It had every element of all of the classic legendary musicals also it took it's origin from brilliant source material. It is a movie that individuals see over and over, compiled by Douglas Day Stewart who told area of the story of their own existence inside it, so for me personally it had been an ideal vehicle for any musical."Day Stewart stated: "Being an artist my finest thrill was seeing how auds all over the world would embrace this Cinderella tale. Today, by using this unique team of Australian and American artists, we're going to bring this excellent story of affection and aspire to the musical stage where we're confident it'll inspire challenge and uplift many decades in the future.InchMaker John Frost stated the planet preem further cemented Lower Under's status like a pre-Gotham showing ground for tuners after it bowed "Physician Zhivago," also created by Frost, in Feb."It's getting People in america and Aussies together to complete commercial new works," stated Frost who aims to obtain a third new tuner up after "Officer."Oz is really a cheaper selection for tuner tryouts but Cooper-Cohen recognized the talent pool and government support, while acknowledging that financial aspects would be a strong element in her selection of preeming in Sydney."Frankly since it is an industrial run, the traders can make back their cash and make money hopefully," she stated. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com
Monday, August 8, 2011
UFC 133 - Evans vs. Ortiz 2
Main Card: -Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz (Light-Heavyweight Bout) -Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (Middleweight Bout) -Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole (Welterweight Bout) -Jorge Rivera vs. Costantinos Philippou (Middleweight Bout) -Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle (Welterweight Bout) Preliminary Card (Televised on Spike): -Matt Hamill vs. Alexander Gustafsson (Light-Heavyweight Bout) -Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya (Featherweight Bout) Preliminary Card (Stream on Facebook): -Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace (Bantamweight Bout) -Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce (Welterweight Bout) -Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan (Featherweight Bout) -Rafael Natal vs. Paul Bradley (Middleweight Bout)
Saturday, August 6, 2011
'True Blood's' Denis O'Hare on Russell Edgington's Return: 'Never Quit Hope'
Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images Following the vampire king of Mississippi, Russell Edgington, transformed the road of vampire-human relations last season on True Bloodstream having a public display of bloodstream thirst, the character's return might be probably the most anticipated from the series. PHOTOS: True Bloodstream's Dark, Sexy New Style The final time fans saw him, Bill (Stephen Moyer) and Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) sealed Russell inside a cement grave, but he vowed that he'd return. "He's been locked away," executive producer and author Alexander Woo told The Hollywood Reporter earlier within the season. "So he's type of a period explosive device. He could return in a moment." THR swept up with Denis O'Hare Saturday in the Television Experts Association (TCA) Press tour where he was marketing his new Forex series, American Horror Story. We'd a minute to speak with him about if the go back to the Cinemax series will really arrived at fruition. THR: True Bloodstream fans happen to be waiting eagerly for Russell Edgington's possible return. Here i am midway through Season 4 and absolutely nothing. Did that ever arrived at fruition? Denis O'Hare: I believe [series creator]Alan Ball was requested lately about Russell's return and that he stated, 'Russell's not dead.' And That I can't fare better than that. So, I'll just reiterate what he stated. Russell isn't dead. THR: So, fans should not disheartenment? O'Hare: Never disheartenment. Never disheartenment. THR: What is your opinion Russell's incomplete clients are? O'Hare: It is a great character and that i feel he has not had the opportunity to totally express his dreams yet. I believe a lot more than the other vampires of the underworld that season, he's ambition and huge dreams, an amazing existence pressure. I am still drawn to that and i believe he must fulfill anything the truth is he's striving for and venture out inside a blaze of glory in anything he must do. He's not only a passive character. He's charging forward having a plan and i believe we have to see his plan. THR: In lots of ways Russell shapes the occasions of the season together with his actions. Have you expect that after you required about the role? O'Hare: No. I believe it is interesting, because I believe with True Bloodstream it is the most powerful if this discusses the interaction between vampires of the underworld and humans. And thus in whatever way the show may bring that in, then your show will get a genuine spine. Pardon the pun. True Bloodstream airs Sundays at 10 p.m. O'Hare's new series, American Horror Story, premieres October 5 on Forex. Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com Twitter:@TheRealJethro RELATED 'True Bloodstream': Alan Ball Ink New Deal, Talks Season 5 'True Bloodstream's' Alexander Skarsgard Talks Shirtless Eric, Plus Sookie Shower Scene Confirmed All 'True Bloodstream' Coverage on THR True Bloodstream TCA Denis O'Hare Cinemax TCA Summer time Press Tour 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Katy Perry Sets Sights On Tying Michael Jackson's No. 1s Record With 'Friday' Remix
Katy Perry is about the verge of tying an amazing Billboard Hot 100 chart record -Held by Michael Jackson -- because of the help of Missy Elliott. Jackson is the owner of the record which are more Hot 100 No. 1 singles in one album -- with five from his 1987 album Bad. Presently, Perry has four No. 1s from her Teenage Dream set. Its fifth single, "Last Friday Evening (T.G.I.F)," rests at No. 2 about the chart now. PHOTOS: Grammys: Top Ten Must See Moments However, on Monday, August. 8, a brand new remix of "Friday" (featuring Missy Elliott) will hit radio airwaves, the net and digital merchants. When the sales, airplay and streams from the track are sufficiently strong, it might push the song to No. one in the approaching days. (All versions of the song and it is remixes are usually merged together for planning reasons.) A week ago, it trailed the present Hot 100 No. 1, LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," by about 50,000 digital downloads about the Digital Tunes chart. Over about the Hot 100 Airplay tally, "Friday" was behind "Party" by two million in audience points coupled with been the finest gainer within the last three days. VIDEO: Katy Perry: 5 Most Surprising Covers This late-in-the-game remix-release strategy has turned into a popular concept in recent several weeks. In April, Beyonce enlisted Britney Warrior spears for any remix from the former's "S&M" that motivated its jump to No. 1. Soon after that, Warrior spears switched to Nicki Minaj and Ke$' to help having a remix of her "Till the planet Finishes." Its release assisted push the only 11-3 about the Hot 100. But let's return to Perry versus Jackson. Perry has to date stated four No. 1s from Teenage Dream -- "California Gurls," the title track, "Firework" and "E.T." (featuring Kanye). "Last Friday Evening" is within its second week at No. 2 and it is seventh frame within the top ten. VIDEO: Katy Perry's 'Firework' Will get the Kendall and Kylie Jenner Treatment Jackson's five No. 1s from Bad are "I Simply Can't Stop Loving You," the title track, "How You Cause Me To Feel Feel," "Guy within the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana." Some fans may have immediately thought Thriller held the record which are more No. 1s, because it was this type of monster album. Although it did spawn seven top ten hits, only a couple of them -- "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" -- hit No. 1. Related Subjects
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Amy Winehouse, Tony Bennett Duet To Be Charity Single
FIRST PUBLISHED: August 4, 2011 2:31 PM EDT LONDON, U.K. -- Amy Winehouses family says the singers final recording will be released as a charity single next month. The late singers father said Thursday the proceeds from Body and Soul a duet with Tony Bennett will go to the newly established Amy Winehouse Foundation. Mitch Winehouse says releasing it in September as a charity single was the most fitting tribute of all to his daughter. The two singers recorded the single at Londons Abbey Road Studios for Bennetts forthcoming Duets II album. The foundation is set to fund a range of projects focusing on young people. The family also hopes to establish a drug rehab center for addicted youths. Winehouse, who had struggled for years with drug and alcohol addiction, was found dead at her London home on July 23. Copyright 2011 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Brooklyn's Bushwick Becomes World-Class Arts Mecca
NEW YORK (AP) Brooklyn's old Bushwick neighborhood has quickly become a new world-class arts mecca with music, dance, sculpture and theater bursting from defunct warehouses and desolate streets where gangs still roam.That hasn't kept artists away from the affordable, industrial spaces ever more rare in a pricey city."This was a ghost town, with tumbleweeds blowing down the street five years ago," says Jay Leritz, co-owner of Yummus Hummus, a Middle Eastern-style cafe on a street filled with musician rehearsal and recording spaces."The streets were empty," says Leritz, "and that was the big attraction the lack of rules, like your parents went away for the weekend and it's a free-for-all."Born-in-Bushwick creations have reached Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other top venues in the United States and abroad even the tallest building on earth, the 160-story Burj Khalifa in Dubai.That's where four canvases of Bushwick artist Kevork Mourad now hang.The son of Armenian refugees in Syria is pioneering a special technique a counterpoint of art and music he's performed with cellist Yo-Yo Ma: Squeezing a tube of paint between thumb and forefinger, Mourad swipes his pinky lightning-fast across paper to improvise images to sounds, projected on a screen. Then a computer unleashes his hand-painted animation, turning the visuals into yet newer forms.Bushwick is "very private, and you can go into your bubble, your world, here without being interrupted by the fast stream of New York City," says the artist, whose abstract self-portrait sold for $20,000 in April at a Christie's auction, topping an estimate of up to $8,000.His favorite sidekick is 4-year-old daughter Cirene, who occasionally pops up in his Bushwick studio, dancing, singing and painting. "She's the boss; she has her own style," says her dad.She's watched him paint with greats like Ma, playing Bach. Mourad also teamed up with French guitarist Stephane Wrembel, who tosses off riffs in gypsy jazz style with off-the-cuff virtuosity. Wrembel, whose music is featured in Woody Allen's film "Midnight in Paris," showed up at Mourad's studio to jam with singer/songwriter John Presnell and guitarist Spencer Katzman.In the heat of a July night, their smoldering sounds filled the third-floor space on Meadow Street. The audience of several dozen people, sitting on a hand-woven Armenian carpet, was riveted."This is so cool!" said Quincy McQ, a Nigerian-born British music promoter.Several blocks away is residential Bushwick, where families live in neatly kept homes or rowhouses. Enticing smoke from barbecues fills the air in a part of New York that is slowly being resurrected from decades of burned-out destruction.A dozen years ago, this urban turf still struggled with crime and poverty. There were few banks, schools or social services never mind the arts.Then came help in the form of city money. Bushwick started to recover.It's the perfect place for income-poor, up-and-coming artists. They're spreading their raw vibes through the debris-strewn streets and converted warehouses of the area's non-residential industrial zone. On Saturday nights here, "underground" parties come alive with high-tech lighting and unlicensed bars.A pizza joint, Roberta's, is packed at night, with an Internet-only radio station housed in two converted metal shipping containers offering talk about natural foods sprinkled with hip music."There's so much happening here that it's just unbelievable," says Mourad.Earlier in July, Presnell, the songwriter, appeared in a double-height warehouse space two blocks from Mourad's studio. Singing in a rich, plaintive voice, Presnell played the brief Kafkaesque part of a lovelorn New York cockroach in an otherwise cheesy, sex-fueled musical featuring aerial acrobats. In the audience was Darren Aronofsky, who directed the Oscar-nominated film "Black Swan."After the show, the director made a beeline for Presnell, while another performer told the songwriter he had "a new fan." Perhaps someday, Presnell might be what Aronofsky or some other high-powered, artsy type can use.In the annals of art neighborhoods, Bushwick harkens back to New York's bohemian Greenwich Village in the 1950s and '60s, when real estate there was affordable, accompanied by drugs that brought murders and muggings to Manhattan's East Village.When prices climbed, artists discovered nearby SoHo. And by the 1990s, Manhattan was off-limits to all but the already successful ones. The rest crossed the East River to Brooklyn's Williamsburg.Now, it too is populated by "hipsters with a trust fund," jokes Adam Johnson, who chisels inspired, artistic furniture at the 3rd Ward, a 20,000-square-foot Bushwick building teeming with activity around the corner from Mourad's Meadow Street.The former warehouse is ringed by parked bicycles belonging to mostly youngish adventurers generating a whirlwind of activity amid weathered walls that house everything from fashion classes to high-end sculpture in chocolate taught by Mehdi Chellaoui, a former chef for rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.One neighborhood over is East New York, the city's most violent and hardly a magnet for artists.Even in Bushwick, pedestrians stay alert for teenage members of the Latin Kings and Crips gangs. One evening, a police cruiser stopped, beaming a flashlight into the faces of a group of friends walking past abandoned buildings with blown-out windows.Mourad plans to take his art to these streets soon, with Lil Buck, a brilliant young Los Angeles break dancer who also has performed with Ma. He and the cellist have drawn almost 1.4 million YouTube views for their rendition of Camille Saint-Saens' dying-swan song in a Spike Jonze-produced video.There's something else on Buskwick streets that's of no use to anyone but attractive to some artists: trash.In the 3rd Ward, sculptor Luke Schumacher melts copper he retrieves from throwaway electric wiring to his dramatic welded sculptures their rough-hewn twists inspired by his childhood in California's Mojave Desert."This is like a fossil, from the time of the dinosaurs," he adds with a laugh, cradling one piece.Two floors up in the 3rd Ward, "Drink N' Draw" is the droll name of a sketching session offered each Wednesday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. complete with a nude model and unlimited beer, for $10 if you come with a friend, $15 if alone.Anyone can bring a pad and pencil and practice the skill of tracing human anatomy."For young artists coming to make it here, Bushwick is the gateway to New York City," says Johnson, the furniture designer, eyeing a woodworking shop where he turns fallen city trees and discarded water towers into creative pieces. "They might have been big talents in small towns, but here they're just one of many; it's a real test."Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. By Verena Dobnik August 1, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT AP Photo/John Minchillo NEW YORK (AP) Brooklyn's old Bushwick neighborhood has quickly become a new world-class arts mecca with music, dance, sculpture and theater bursting from defunct warehouses and desolate streets where gangs still roam.That hasn't kept artists away from the affordable, industrial spaces ever more rare in a pricey city."This was a ghost town, with tumbleweeds blowing down the street five years ago," says Jay Leritz, co-owner of Yummus Hummus, a Middle Eastern-style cafe on a street filled with musician rehearsal and recording spaces."The streets were empty," says Leritz, "and that was the big attraction the lack of rules, like your parents went away for the weekend and it's a free-for-all."Born-in-Bushwick creations have reached Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other top venues in the United States and abroad even the tallest building on earth, the 160-story Burj Khalifa in Dubai.That's where four canvases of Bushwick artist Kevork Mourad now hang.The son of Armenian refugees in Syria is pioneering a special technique a counterpoint of art and music he's performed with cellist Yo-Yo Ma: Squeezing a tube of paint between thumb and forefinger, Mourad swipes his pinky lightning-fast across paper to improvise images to sounds, projected on a screen. Then a computer unleashes his hand-painted animation, turning the visuals into yet newer forms.Bushwick is "very private, and you can go into your bubble, your world, here without being interrupted by the fast stream of New York City," says the artist, whose abstract self-portrait sold for $20,000 in April at a Christie's auction, topping an estimate of up to $8,000.His favorite sidekick is 4-year-old daughter Cirene, who occasionally pops up in his Bushwick studio, dancing, singing and painting. "She's the boss; she has her own style," says her dad.She's watched him paint with greats like Ma, playing Bach. Mourad also teamed up with French guitarist Stephane Wrembel, who tosses off riffs in gypsy jazz style with off-the-cuff virtuosity. Wrembel, whose music is featured in Woody Allen's film "Midnight in Paris," showed up at Mourad's studio to jam with singer/songwriter John Presnell and guitarist Spencer Katzman.In the heat of a July night, their smoldering sounds filled the third-floor space on Meadow Street. The audience of several dozen people, sitting on a hand-woven Armenian carpet, was riveted."This is so cool!" said Quincy McQ, a Nigerian-born British music promoter.Several blocks away is residential Bushwick, where families live in neatly kept homes or rowhouses. Enticing smoke from barbecues fills the air in a part of New York that is slowly being resurrected from decades of burned-out destruction.A dozen years ago, this urban turf still struggled with crime and poverty. There were few banks, schools or social services never mind the arts.Then came help in the form of city money. Bushwick started to recover.It's the perfect place for income-poor, up-and-coming artists. They're spreading their raw vibes through the debris-strewn streets and converted warehouses of the area's non-residential industrial zone. On Saturday nights here, "underground" parties come alive with high-tech lighting and unlicensed bars.A pizza joint, Roberta's, is packed at night, with an Internet-only radio station housed in two converted metal shipping containers offering talk about natural foods sprinkled with hip music."There's so much happening here that it's just unbelievable," says Mourad.Earlier in July, Presnell, the songwriter, appeared in a double-height warehouse space two blocks from Mourad's studio. Singing in a rich, plaintive voice, Presnell played the brief Kafkaesque part of a lovelorn New York cockroach in an otherwise cheesy, sex-fueled musical featuring aerial acrobats. In the audience was Darren Aronofsky, who directed the Oscar-nominated film "Black Swan."After the show, the director made a beeline for Presnell, while another performer told the songwriter he had "a new fan." Perhaps someday, Presnell might be what Aronofsky or some other high-powered, artsy type can use.In the annals of art neighborhoods, Bushwick harkens back to New York's bohemian Greenwich Village in the 1950s and '60s, when real estate there was affordable, accompanied by drugs that brought murders and muggings to Manhattan's East Village.When prices climbed, artists discovered nearby SoHo. And by the 1990s, Manhattan was off-limits to all but the already successful ones. The rest crossed the East River to Brooklyn's Williamsburg.Now, it too is populated by "hipsters with a trust fund," jokes Adam Johnson, who chisels inspired, artistic furniture at the 3rd Ward, a 20,000-square-foot Bushwick building teeming with activity around the corner from Mourad's Meadow Street.The former warehouse is ringed by parked bicycles belonging to mostly youngish adventurers generating a whirlwind of activity amid weathered walls that house everything from fashion classes to high-end sculpture in chocolate taught by Mehdi Chellaoui, a former chef for rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.One neighborhood over is East New York, the city's most violent and hardly a magnet for artists.Even in Bushwick, pedestrians stay alert for teenage members of the Latin Kings and Crips gangs. One evening, a police cruiser stopped, beaming a flashlight into the faces of a group of friends walking past abandoned buildings with blown-out windows.Mourad plans to take his art to these streets soon, with Lil Buck, a brilliant young Los Angeles break dancer who also has performed with Ma. He and the cellist have drawn almost 1.4 million YouTube views for their rendition of Camille Saint-Saens' dying-swan song in a Spike Jonze-produced video.There's something else on Buskwick streets that's of no use to anyone but attractive to some artists: trash.In the 3rd Ward, sculptor Luke Schumacher melts copper he retrieves from throwaway electric wiring to his dramatic welded sculptures their rough-hewn twists inspired by his childhood in California's Mojave Desert."This is like a fossil, from the time of the dinosaurs," he adds with a laugh, cradling one piece.Two floors up in the 3rd Ward, "Drink N' Draw" is the droll name of a sketching session offered each Wednesday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. complete with a nude model and unlimited beer, for $10 if you come with a friend, $15 if alone.Anyone can bring a pad and pencil and practice the skill of tracing human anatomy."For young artists coming to make it here, Bushwick is the gateway to New York City," says Johnson, the furniture designer, eyeing a woodworking shop where he turns fallen city trees and discarded water towers into creative pieces. "They might have been big talents in small towns, but here they're just one of many; it's a real test."Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)