May 2, 2012
‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ joins Disney XD
Super heroes are every child’s favorite role model. (Sorry, Mom and Dad.)
One of the most endearing — and enduring — super heroes is now flying high on Disney XD’s new animated series “Ultimate Spider-Man” from Marvel Animation.
In this series, 16-year-old Peter Parker (voiced by Drake Bell) is juggling the life of a teenager at Midtown High School with best friends, Mary-Jane Watson and Harry Osborn, who are clueless to his alter-ego identity of Spider-Man.
When Nick Fury (Chi McBride), head of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) recruits him to join an elite group of four other teenage super heroes, Parker discovers how much he has to learn about discipline and honing his skills as an action hero.
“Usually, when we see Spider-Man, he’s a bit older,” says Joe Quesada, chief creative officer for Marvel. “This show chronicles his life as a teenager. He may have to deal with a chemistry test, as well as any test Nick Fury may give him. This is the first time we also see him in situations where he’s part of a team.”
The team, in this case, includes Nova (Sam Alexander), White Tiger (Ava Ayala), Power Man (Luke Cage) and Iron Fist (Danny Rand). Together, they battle to defeat evil villains in the Marvel Universe.
“It’s the kind of show that can be aimed at the family,” Quesada says. “Kids 6 to 8, in particular, will have a blast with it.”
Super heroes in the Marvel Universe were created in the early 1940s when the popularity of comic books was at its height. In the 1960s, Stan Lee modernized the idea of super heroes in collaboration with several artists, creating Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four and many other characters. (Stan Lee, by the way, plays Stan the Janitor on the show.)
“There’s always been an ebb and flow with the popularity of super heroes,” Quesada says. “Right now, comics are popular in all mediums. Hollywood’s looking at our source material as great fodder for movies. The Marvel movies are part of the Disney family. They appeal to a mainly male audience, and Disney was looking for a foothold in this boys-male arena. We have a long list of female super heroes, too.
He says that super heroes embody an ideal of the best in humanity, but the appeal of these characters lie in the fact that when they fail, they dust themselves off and try again.
“Spider-Man is not all powerful,” Quesada says. “He’s very human. Stan Lee looked at their alter-egos The person inside the costume is what’s most important. There are many lessons you can learn from Peter Parker and Spider-Man — never give up, even when things are dark; there are ways to solve problems, and with great power comes great responsibility.”
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New episodes of “Ultimate Spider-Man” air Sundays at 11 a.m., ET/PT on Marvel Universe on Disney XD.
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April 18, 2012
Inspiring story of man and ‘DUKE’
The plight of homeless veterans is not an easy story to tell, but a thoughtful Hallmark Movie Channel film inspired by true events explores what happens when a veteran of the war in Iraq — traumatized by both PTSD and a disabling injury — finds the strength to go on with the companionship of a faithful Border Collie named Duke.
“Duke,” which airs Saturday, April 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern on the Hallmark Movie Channel, stars Steven Weber as Marine Sergeant Terry Pulaski, a depressed war vet who leaves his wife and daughter when he feels unable to resume his former life, taking with him only a stray dog named Duke that has bonded with him.
Ten years later, Pulaski and Duke are living in an old RV, homeless, but still together. When the dog becomes seriously ill, the former Marine decides to leave him at a veterinary clinic, ashamed that he doesn’t have the money to pay for Duke’s treatment.
“My partner Kelly is a social worker, and saw an article in the paper about a homeless guy who’d left his dog at a vet’s office, with a note saying that he was afraid the dog had had a stroke,” says Michael J. Murray, who wrote the teleplay for “Duke.” “The newspaper ran a couple of stories about the dog, who lived. A friend of the vet helped to reunite him with the dog a week later. I took the article and fictionalized the idea for a movie.”
The homeless vet’s dog in real life was a German shepherd mix, but Duke in the film became a Border Collie, played alternately by two canine stars, Zeek and Tanner.
“Zeek was quite the performer,” says Murray, laughing. “Everyone wanted to play with the dog, and all he wanted to do was do his scene and go back to his trailer.”
Dog stories have a special place in our hearts because we all have the need to be loved, unconditionally, and dogs, well… they get it. They bark to protect us, sit at our feet when we need company, and lick us silly when we need to laugh. In “Duke,” the dog of the hour rescues a broken soul, an act of valor that humans could learn from.
Murray, whose TV movie credits include “Desperately Seeking Santa,” “A Neighbor’s Secret” and “When Angels Come to Town,” did extensive research on the problems faced by returning veterans, and met with the homeless vet whose story inspired the film.
“It was tough interviewing him,” Murray says. “He had so much emotion about the story, and gave me a lot of details that I used in the script, like how the dog liked to wear different colored bandanas every day. I was really attracted to the story because of the issues of homelessness and returning vets. We send these guys away, equip them for war, but don’t give them services to help them when they come back.”
As Murray notes, helping our nation’s wounded warriors hasn’t become an issue that has galvanized the public to action. Regardless of the reasons behind the inattention, “Duke” is a touching reminder that injured vets need more than gratitude for their service — they need the tools to rebuild their lives.
“If I can incorporate those themes into a movie that makes people think, that’s great,” Murray says. “I commend Hallmark for letting us do this. There’s hope and redemption in this movie. The homeless vet who the story is based on still lives in a motorhome in California. I hope he gets a chance to see it.”
“Duke” shows there’s always a way for heroes to come home.
March 23, 2012
Love makes splendid movie magic
Second chances at love come in all shapes, sizes and situations. If you’re in the mood for romantic tales that will give you a smile, you’ll find it in offerings this month that will take you to Mars, Paris, and the Yemen.
First, love of the extraterrestrial kind… “John Carter,” an epic, action-adventure film based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic, “A Princess of Mars,” has been called a box office flop, projected by Disney to lose $200 million or more.
Personally, I don’t get it. I thoroughly enjoyed “John Carter.” Having never read the Burroughs’ novel, I didn’t know what to expect when I went to the film. While I wouldn’t call the performances Oscar-worthy, the movie was a fun, entertaining ride.
Yes, the film follows in the shadow of “Star Wars” and “Avatar”-like movies, but the 1917 tale of John Carter clearly inspired many of today’s well-known authors and filmmakers.
In this version, Confederate soldier John Carter (played by Taylor Kitsch) is transported to Barsoom (Mars) and unites warring tribes to save Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) from a treacherous plot to control the planet’s future. The American Civil War veteran, who battles a mysterious enemy and his own regrets, must move heaven and Earthly forces to be with his princess love.
If you’re in the mood for a popcorn film that has great special effects, a smart heroine, and a story bound for a happy ending, “John Carter” offers a mindless escape to love.
If you’re after more thoughtful fare, “Delicacy” offers a nuanced tale of what happens when Nathalie (Audrey Tautou), a lovely and successful Parisian business executive, suddenly loses her soul mate after a happy, short-lived marriage. After burying herself in work, it’s an awkward, ordinary looking subordinate named Markus (Francois Damiens) who brings back her joie de vivre in this French language film.
The delicate question of whom we should love, and what they should look like, is deftly explored through the dismay of friends and co-workers as Nathalie comes to realize she’s falling in love with the ugly duckling, good-hearted Swedish man who dares to woo his boss.
Tautou, whom many viewers will recognize from “The DaVinci Code” or “Amelie,” brings a beautifully expressive face to a character that anyone will understand — regardless of whether or not you read the English sub-titles. “Delicacy” is a sweet reminder that love will always find us, if we just open the door.
Opening the door to love, of course, requires opening the door to faith, something that British fisheries expert Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) learns when he’s dragged into a wealthy shiek’s dream of bringing fly-fishing to the desert land of Yemen by the shiek’s quietly supportive London representative, Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt) in the wonderful romantic comedy, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.”
This adaptation of Paul Torday’s novel is a wonderfully inspiring tale of what can happen when far-fetched impossibilities are shown to be not so impossible after all. For just as the shiek (Amr Waked) dreams of a time when his country will not be torn by violence, and fly-fishing becomes a common past-time that all can enjoy, Jones realizes that his unspoken dream of having true love can also come true, if he’s brave enough to walk away from a bad marriage and tell the woman he loves how he really feels.
On one level, we are all salmon, running upstream in hopes of finding love and rebirth. And on another level, we must all learn to be better fishermen. For as the shiek asks, “How many hours do you fish before you catch something?” It’s often a long time, he notes, before you get a nibble on your line.
But if you’re a true fisherman and persist, he says, “in the end, you’re rewarded for your faith… with a fish.”
For a joyous, witty affirmation of the power of love and faith, be sure to catch “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.”
March 14, 2012
Scarpetta shines at modern Italian cuisine
A long, thin bar runs the length of the entrance to Scarpetta in Las Vegas, parallel to a series of semi-private cubby-hole tables set into the opposite wall. It’s a cool, contemporary look that sets the tone for the menu and dining experience at celebrity chef Scott Conant’s home for Italian cuisine in Sin City, located on the third floor of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Like the other four Scarpetta restaurants — in New York, Beverly Hills, Miami, and Toronto — the Vegas rendition offers a modern interpretation to Italian classics, starting with Conant’s signature spaghetti with tomato and basil, served al dente with lots of basil and a hint of red chili flakes.
About a third of the menu is comprised of Conant staples, with the rest of the offerings created around what’s available locally. Vegas may be in the desert, but the restaurant imports fresh produce and meat from neighboring California.
Bread lovers will swoon over the four Italian bread offerings — filone, a classic yeast bread similar in texture to the French baguette; a whole wheat foccacia, stromboli filled with meat and cheese, and ciabattini. But don’t fill up too fast because there’s so much more to savor.
Primi piatti standouts include the roasted chestnut soup ($15), a delicious fricasse of black truffle mushrooms with polenta ($17), and Executive Chef Dan Rossi’s roasted sea scallop with cauliflower, bottarga, chili and caper salmoriglio ($18).
The one small disappointment amidst the pasta offerings was the short rib agnolotti ($25), which was more gamey in taste than expected. Entrees range from roasted organic chicken ($31) and black cod ($32) to a 24 oz. beef ribeye ($62). Meat lovers will be happy with the Colorado lamb loin ($40), which came nearly rare, accompanied by eggplant, artichokes and pearl onion.
Wine connoisseurs will appreciate the restaurant’s extensive wine collection. However, it’s a shame that the odd-shaped dining room, which offers a splendid view of the Bellagio water fountains and Strip, is so dimly lit with a monotone feel. Food so delectable should be served in a more distinctive setting.
For dessert, don’t miss the coconut panna cotta ($11) with coconut sorbetto, guava soup and pineapple. The Amedei chocolate cake, with toasted almond gelato and salted caramel sauce ($11) is a close second.
A signature tasting menu ($110 per person) with two appetizers, pasta, two entrees and dessert will leave diners more than satisfied.
The service here is impeccable, with a wait staff that anticipates when you need more water in your glass, or a new fork for the next course. But traditionally stuffy this place is not.
“The trend in fine dining is refined, but approachable,” explains Executive Chef Dan Rossi, who joined Scarpetta after serving as executive chef of the former David Burke Las Vegas restaurant in the Venetian Hotel down the Strip. “We offer incredible quality at a reasonable price. You can come here in a t-shirt and jeans and feel comfortable. It’s the new wave of fine dining.”
Rossi, who favors wearing a black chef’s coat and jeans, is passionate about the dishes he and his staff of 26 create. He credits his boss with creating a restaurant concept that’s easy for foodies to love.
“Scott is very down to earth and knows what he wants,” Rossi says. “The food is straight-forward, so it was a natural fit for me. Italian food is genuine. It’s very rustic and peasant-like, but we have a certain sophistication here. Scott calls it modern Italian.”
Rossi, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, started cooking at 14 years old, and did his share of washing dishes and prep work in an Italian family restaurant before attending the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in Pittsburgh. He’s studied with a number of notable chefs, including Alessandro Stratta, working at four of his restaurants.
“I knew I wanted to do this at a young age,” Rossi says. “I’m a perfectionist in the kitchen. Sometimes I’ll raise my voice, or throw something, to get things moving. But I want people to have a great memory of their experience here. I’ve worked at a lot of great restaurants, and what people get here is incredible.”
Buon appetito!
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For hours and menu information, check out http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/taste/restaurant-collection/scarpetta.aspx on the Internet.
March 7, 2012
Stroll through Monet’s ‘Impressions of Light’
The Bellagio Las Vegas is known for many things, such as its dancing water fountain show, gourmet dining, and high end casino gaming featured in the 2001 remake of “Ocean’s Eleven.”
What many visitors may not realize is that the art gallery in the movie actually exists at the resort, as well. A hidden treasure that would delight any art afficionado, the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art lies down a corridor past the guest rooms and shops, offering a peaceful respite from the sound of slot machine trills and roulette wheels.
The current exhibition, “Claude Monet…Impressions of Light,” features 20 works by the famous French impressionist, along with eight other paintings by Monet’s predecessors and contemporaries, including Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Camille Pissarro, Eugene Louis Boudin, Constant Troyon, Charles Francois Daubigny, and Paul Signac (a neo-Impressionist whose Pointillist style followed Impressionism).
The 11-month show, organized in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, will be on display until Jan. 6, 2013.
“We’re getting an overwhelming response to this exhibition,” says Tarissa Tiberti, director of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. “The past couple of shows have been summaries of the figure and landscape. I thought this would be a good time to go deeper into Impressionism. The whole show is dedicated to one genre. It’s also a bit more what visitors are used to seeing.”
The gallery space is small and can be toured in less than half an hour, but the exhibition is nicely mounted, and visitors can take a self-guided tour with audio wands that are included in the price of admission. A docent-led tour is also offered daily at 2 p.m.
The $15 general admission fee seems excessive, given that admissions to entire art museums across the country are comparable in price, or slightly higher. But since gaming revenue isn’t what it used to be, ancillary casino attractions are clearly expected to help make up the difference.
The paintings in this exhibit span four decades of Monet’s career, and include many of his most recognized works, including “Camille Monet and a Child in the Artist’s Garden in Argenteuil,” 1875 and “Charring Cross Bridge (Overcast Day),” 1900.
Monet’s words on one wall of the gallery reveal a perspective that could be said of life itself: “For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life, the air and the light, which vary continually… For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere that gives subjects their true value.”
For those who would like to have a more interactive conversation about the exhibition, the gallery offers “Art & Wine” talks every second Wednesday of the month.
“Jason Smith, the master sommelier and wine director at the Bellagio, pairs wines — and possibly champagnes — with the artwork,” explains Tiberti. “He will talk about the wine selections, and I talk about the artwork.
Tiberti says the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art is the only fine art museum in a casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
“Thirteen percent of our visitors are locals, and the rest are tourists who come from all over,” she notes. “We provide a unique, intimate viewing experience. It’s a chance to get away from the casinos, and provides a different kind of entertainment. It’s different from the norm of what you expect to see in Vegas.”
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Hours of admission are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, with last admission at 7:30 p.m . General admission, $15; Nevada residents, $12; Wednesday Locals Night from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. ($8 admission with valid Nevada ID); Seniors 65 and older, $12; Students/Teachers/Military, $10; Children 12 and Under, free.
For more information, call (702) 693-7870, or check out http://www.bellagio.com/attractions/gallery-of-fine-art.aspx on the Internet.
February 8, 2012
‘Never Land Pirates’ captures kids’ imaginations
Pre-schoolers may not know that they’re learning valuable lessons, but they sure love to rock with “Jake and the Never Land Pirates.”
The animated Disney Junior series will feature its first prime-time special on Monday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. Eastern, followed by its second second premiere on Monday, Feb. 20 at 8:30 a.m., featuring the adventures of Jake and his pals Izzy and Cubby on Pirate Island as they outwit the ever-greedy Mr. Smee, Captain Hook and his crew while hunting for treasure.
“Originally, Nancy Kanter (senior vice president, original programming and general manager of Disney Junior Worldwide), wanted to do a show with Disney heritage characters, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee,” explains Mark Seidenberg, producer and story editor for “Jake and the Never Land Pirates.” “Rob (LaDuca) and I were involved with developing the group of kids off Never Land, who became Jake, Izzy, Cubby, and Skully the Lookout Parrot.”
In the series, Peter Pan has gone off to explore the world beyond Never Land, putting his trusted crew in charge during his absence.
Rob LaDuca, executive producer of the show, says Never Land’s magical setting of tunnels and mermaid lagoons is a great place for finding treasures and battling Captain Hook for them, while teaching youngsters some important lessons.
“There’s action, adventure and involvement,” LaDuca says. “One theme, for example, is teamwork. We show how the kids work together to solve pirate problems. We might ask the kids to help us jump like a frog while exploring social and living problems that kids at that age are facing.”
Seidenberg says the characters on the show face dilemmas that mirror issues kids will identify with in stories that try to help them deal with their fears.
“Cubby, the youngest of the pirates, is afraid of the dark,” Seidenberg says. “Jake feels less than confident because Hook has stolen his sword. We want the kids in our audience to emotionally bond with our kids on the screen. The audience we’re going for is ages two to seven, but we’ve heard that some teenagers even watch the show.”
Both men also hold the same roles of executive producer and producer/story editor on Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, another series for preschoolers on Disney Junior.
“Writing for preschoolers entails a very different kind of thinking,” LaDuca says. “It’s interesting because you have to be more sensitive to younger kids’ issues, and you don’t want to show the obnoxious side of human nature. You want to focus on good deeds, and doing well in school.”
Characters are clearly portrayed as “good” and “bad” on the shows, but since younger children may frighten easily, meanness is softened, and “bad” characters are shown to make laughable decisions that fail.
“Emotional issues of wondering why people are mean, and trying to understand things at that age are important,” LaDuca says. “We stress teamwork on ‘Jake and the Never Land Pirates’ because they’re a crew. Music’s also very important to the show, so we try to pepper in little song ditties throughout.”
Seidenberg says the producers Googled ‘pirate rock’ and discovered the Portland rock musicians (Kevin Hendrickson and Loren Hoskins) who now perform as The Never Land Pirate Band, and the animated Sharky and Bones, Captain Hook’s crew, on the show.
“Mostly, we want the show to empower the littlest,” Seidenberg adds, “and to give them the message that you can overcome your fears.”
February 4, 2012
Composer’s work makes ‘Joyful Noise’
Every song in the new Alcon Entertainment/Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Joyful Noise” stands on its own as a piece worth listening to, a feat due in no small part to five-time Grammy Award winner Mervyn Warren, the film’s composer and music producer.
Warren, an original member of the group Take 6, produced, co-wrote, or arranged most of the award-winning songs on that group’s platinum and gold albums. He’s since worked on numerous films, including scoring “The Wedding Planner,” and producing and arranging the platinum-selling soundtrack to “The Preacher’s Wife.”
Warren, who met “Joyful Noise” writer/director Todd Graff while working on “The Preacher’s Wife, says Graff contacted him in 2009 about the inspirational comedy that centers around a church choir trying to win the National Joyful Noise Competition. The film stars Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton as two women struggling to take the choir in different directions, but it’s the music that steals the show.
“When Todd called me, he was planning a table read to sell the idea to investors,” Warren says. “He wanted the actors to actually sing at the reading, and I put together some arrangements for him. Most of those actors are not in the movie, but they performed it for the investors, who loved it and decided to do the movie right there.”
Several months later, after the script was refined, Warren began creating the final arrangements. When Dolly Parton joined the cast, she wrote several songs, and Warren wrote a piece before the cast went into the studio to record. Warren wrote the underscore for the film, then mixed the movie and soundtrack scores.
“Music is very important to any movie,” Warren says. “It magically causes scenes to gel and move along that might seem longer, otherwise. The music underneath supports the drama, and helps viewers shape the experience. It brings the emotion, along with the acting, to the screen.”
The evolution of gospel music from traditional spirituals to include rock, hip-hop and R&B is clearly reflected in Warren’s arrangements for “Joyful Noise,” which make you want to get up and dance.
“There’s a bright, happy sound to gospel,” Warren notes. “Gospel songs tend to be uplifting, even if someone’s singing about their problems. There’s an energy and a timbre of voices singing together.”
The popularity of TV competitions ranging from “American Idol” to “The Voice” seem to indicate that many of us yearn to be professional singers, no matter how, uh… awful we may sound. Warren laughingly agrees, and notes, “I think people should sing because it makes them feel good, even when they don’t sound good. It lifts the spirit, and it’s fun.”
Warren, who started playing piano at age five, says he knew then that music was his calling in life. He started writing songs at age 10. The first time he wrote for a television show — a cable network religious show no longer on air called “Breath of Life” — his parents were floored when he brought home a check for $500, at age 16.
“I feel very lucky that I found what I wanted to do at an early age,” Warren says. “It’s what I have to do, and I never allowed anyone to talk me out of it. Success requires a combination of talent and tenacity. A lot of people have one and not the other. Fortunately, I have both.
“My parents are college professors, and were concerned that I be able to make a living. So I have two degrees in music, and thought I’d use my masters to teach until I got a break. But I never had to teach.”
Luckily for us, he made a “Joyful Noise” instead.
January 11, 2012
Cirque CEO leads with an artist’s heart
Daniel Lamarre, president and CEO of Cirque du Soleil, is a businessman who understands that in any enterprise, dollars and people sense must work together if creativity is to thrive, and profits are to grow.
Lamarre, a former Canadian television executive, was a marketing/public relations consultant in 1986 when Guy Laliberté, founder of the street artist troupe that would become a worldwide sensation, asked for his help.
“He had no money to pay me,” says Lamarre, who nevertheless shared his expertise with Laliberté. “Twelve years later, when Cirque was successful, I became the head of a TV network in Canada. I told Guy that I would like to have the TV rights to Cirque, and we started to see each other more because of the project.
“He called me from London one day and said, ‘You’re going to join the circus. Are you willing to talk to me about it?’ Three weeks later, I joined Cirque.”
Eleven years later, Lamarre is in charge of the business side of Cirque du Soleil, guiding the decisions that turn Laliberté’s vision into profitable ventures. How do you manage a company of thousands whose products are based on ever-changing ideas?
“It doesn’t matter how good a business guy you are, if you don’t love artists and content,” says Lamarre, sitting in a Beverly Hills hotel restaurant. “Guy is a great dreamer, and so am I. I cannot be just a business guy. I have to be sensitive to the production and content.
“We provide artists stability. We have people who have been with us for 27 years. When I sit and watch a show, I feel good that I’ve helped provide this man or that woman with a job.”
One of Lamarre’s practices is to stay in touch with Cirque’s employees and their needs. He travels around the world to see each show every year, talking with the artists and crew to boost morale and to gather information first-hand in the field.
“I sit in the kitchen to talk with them about where we are as an organization,” Lamarre says. “It’s easy to sit in an office in Montreal and say we should cut this and that, but to go on site and see what their life is like is important. It’s important to understand the reality of your employees. I believe in the importance of dialogue.”
Managers who listen are appreciated, but those who hear and act on what has been said are the ones who inspire employees to follow their lead. Lamarre shares a story of a Chinese artist who wanted to talk to him because she had a special request. After working for the company for 10 years, she wanted a corporate jacket.
Lamarre delivered, and the following year, she greeted him with her own gift — a scarf, given with a hug and tears.
In a global economy, companies that understand a diversity of cultures and thought emerge with products that appeal to the widest audiences. At Cirque du Soleil, the 1,500 artists on stage, and thousands more behind the scenes, come from around the world, with English being the most common language. Still, many translators are required.
“Our company is a United Nations,” Lamarre says. “We have an average of 17 nationalities in each show. People feel we’re a citizen of the world, and we try to implement ways of living that illustrate that.”
For example, Cirque’s successful touring show “Dralion” has a large contingent of Chinese artists. To ensure a pipeline of top-notch Chinese artists for that and other shows, Cirque du Soleil works with the Chinese government to create relationships with Chinese circus troupes and schools. To ensure fairness in the eyes of employees, the company goes one step further.
“We negotiate with the government to make sure the artists get paid what everyone gets, even if we have to pay a surcharge to the troupe or government for the partnership,” Lamarre says. “We have to be respectful of all the cultures.”
To ensure that new ideas are always streaming into the company’s imagination, a team of three researchers are charged with touring the world and surfing the Web to identify what’s happening in fashion, architecture, music, and the entertainment industry.
Every three months, the team presents what they’ve found to the company’s top artistic creators, fueling ideas for new shows.
“How can you understand what the new values and trends are, unless you look broadly?” Lamarre asks.
Planning for the future can be seen most clearly in the way Cirque du Soleil approaches the careers of its artists. Since their performers travel the world, the company operates traveling schools for the artists’ children.
“It costs us a bloody fortune, but it’s worth it,” Lamarre says. “None of the kids will leave the tour without a high school degree if they’re under 18. For the Chinese and Romanian artists, they’d like their kids to be trained to be circus performers.
“We’re willing to do that, but their kids have to study in school first. If they decide to train their children as circus performers in their free time, that’s fine. But if you want to tour with us, your kids have to study.”
Lamarre says Cirque du Soleil recognizes that performers cannot be on stage forever, so artists are urged to develop skills in the company’s Crossroads program that will result in other jobs when their day in the spotlight is done.
“This way, they can continue to work for us,” Lamarre says. “We need trainers, public relations people, and others around the world, so you’re not going home without knowing what you’ll do next. We value people’s experience. If I have a vice president who’s been training for 10 to 15 years, he understands the performer’s reality. It all comes back to benefit the organization.”
Clearly, doing right by its employees has fueled continued success for the company. With that kind of management philosophy, who wouldn’t want to join the circus?
December 29, 2011
Resolve to make meaningful connections
The future may be filled with technology-driven toys, but nothing will connect us more than personal interactions.
As the holiday season wanes, the kids are out of school and I’m working at Grandma’s house with a little babysitting thrown in. Today, I’m writing this on a laptop while my 7-year-old nephew Mark is watching a movie on an iPad, and his 10-year-old sister Emily is playing Angry Birds on her iPhone.
Yesterday, Emily and I spent much of the afternoon playing Monopoly on an old-fashioned board while Mark tossed a ball with me in between my dice throws. Whatever form the entertainment takes, we’re all hanging together in the same room, which is the real key to connectivity.
In an uncertain economy, adults are working harder than ever — to make ends meet and to stave off the fear of losing the jobs we have. People neglect their health and well being, going to work when they’re sick in order to “get things done,” no doubt infecting co-workers in the process.
Co-workers and bosses e-mail colleagues when they’re on vacation, giving no real break from the work world. We may love our jobs, but what is the point of taking time off, if we can’t get away from the office?
Having little time to take care of things at home adds to the stress of everyday living, and cuts down even more on the meaningful connections in our lives. When there’s no time to return calls to friends, or lend a helping hand without feeling stressed, the heart is squeezed even more.
At the same time, kids are asking for more and more expensive toys, in the form of electronic devices that run the gamut from tablets to smartphones to video games. They love texting more than talking on the phone, and have to be told to put their phones away at the dinner table.
If using electronic devices becomes more interesting than spending time with human beings, we really need to look at the way we’re connecting — or not connecting — with others. There will always be new tech toys to buy. But you can’t buy lost time with the people you love.
As we ring in the new year, resolve to make more time for yourself. Eat healthier foods, exercise more (even if only a little), get offline, and spend more face time with people. Your heart will feel the difference.
December 9, 2011
‘New Year’s Eve’ brings much to celebrate
Love, forgiveness, hope and new adventures beckon every time we turn the calendar page to a new year, and director Garry Marshall’s ode to “New Year’s Eve” reminds audiences that at any moment, we all can create our lives anew.
A multitude of Hollywood’s A-list stars can be seen in the film — now out in theaters — that weaves a montage of storylines together around the countdown to the ball drop in New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
While there are two or three storylines too many in this film, the romantic romp and reminder of love’s importance in our lives — no matter how young or how old we may be — is worth seeing.
One character that many will relate to is Hailey, a 15-year-old played by Abigail Breslin who longs for independence and her first kiss in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, rather than sitting at home, as usual, with her mom (Sarah Jessica Parker) watching the festivities on TV.
“Hailey loves her mom and never wants to be mean to her,” Breslin says. “Her parents are divorced, and she wants her mom to have a life, so she’s wise in that way. But Hailey tries to show that she’s not a child anymore, and ends up pushing it too far.”
When her mom nixes Hailey’s request to hang out in Times Square with her friends, the rebellious teen sneaks out anyway. What she sees when she catches up to her classmates breaks her heart… for the moment.
Breslin, now 15, has been acting since age five, and is perhaps best known for her role in the irreverent comedy “Little Miss Sunshine.” “New Year’s Eve” marks her first on-screen kiss, and she says actor Jake T. Austin “was very nice” in their scene together.
Her New Year’s Eve will probably be spent watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV with her family, and while one New Year’s resolution may or may not be to stop biting her fingernails, “I really want to learn bar chords on the guitar next year,” she says.
“I’m in a band with my friend Cassidy Reiff called CABB, and we wrote a song called ‘Well Wishes’ that’s on YouTube,” explains Breslin. The song, in honor of a terminally ill girl named Alice, urges fans to get tested to become bone marrow donors (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6bg-eFig5A).
When she’s not working on music, she enjoys being on set, learning about different personalities as she prepares to play different characters. This is her third Marshall film, making her part of the cast and crew that the director uses regularly in his movies.
“Getting to work with Garry three times is such an honor,” Breslin says. “It’s like having another grandfather.”
She’s also a fan of Hector Elizondo, a longtime member of the Marshall repertory who’s appeared in every one of Marshall’s 17 feature films.
“I never got to be in a scene with Hector, but he’s really cool,” Breslin says. “He came in on one of my scenes with Sarah Jessica Parker, holding a piece of cake, as a joke. I’ve talked with him a little bit, and he’s a fantastic actor.”
Elizondo, an eloquent man at ease with everyone, plays a gifted engineer named Kominsky in the film, a part written specifically for him.
“We invented Mr. Kominsky, who brings the light to the darkness,” says Elizondo, a native New Yorker who relishes his collaborations with Marshall. “My character is a man who lost his job because he was a whistleblower. He told them the ball wasn’t going to drop one day, and when he was proven right, they brought him back and made him head of the department. Without the ball and no light, no movie.
“Garry and I have made movies like this forever. The only rule we apply is that my character must help the narrative along. It’s not how long the character’s in the movie, but if the character makes a difference.”
For example, while Elizondo was on screen for less than 10 minutes in the film “Pretty Woman,” anyone who saw the movie would instantly recognize him as the discreet hotel manager Barney Thompson. Or they might remember him as Joe, the bodyguard to Julie Andrews’s character in “The Princess Diaries” franchise. Or his role as Edgar in “Valentine’s Day.”
“Garry and I are both about the same age; we’re from New York; we love comedy, music, and we have a tendency to like happy endings because we know that life doesn’t guarantee anything,” Elizondo says. “But we also have differences. Part of my psyche is still in the past, thinking about what might have been better. Garry looks back for a moment, then says, that’s enough. Let’s move on. We are a good marriage. I make him think about things he might have skipped over, and he makes me move on.”
“New Year’s Eve,” Elizondo says, asks the question, what is success? And like all Marshall films, the answer that is given is that success is the capacity to love.
“It’s all about love and connection,” Elizondo says. “This movie is a wonderful contrivance about starting over. I don’t have to be a dummy. I can make up for some of the stupid things I did. I can get a sense of gratitude, and do things better next year. Art changes you. Otherwise, it’s just entertainment, which doesn’t change the way you make human connections. Good music makes you listen, and good movies lift you.”
“New Year’s Eve” is a feel-good-movie that will make you want to do more, appreciate more, and love more in the coming year. Now that’s something worth celebrating.
