The great thing about the holiday movie season is that it comes with both big-budget Hollywood efforts and artsy prestige flicks, the latter hoping to jump into the Oscar race. This year’s holiday slate includes a Nicole Kidman epic, a Keanu Reeves science-fiction flick and the curious case of a man who ages in reverse. Read on for the full scoop, but note that release dates are subject to change.
Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20081123/ENT/811230314/1056
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James Van Praagh in action.
James Van Praagh sees dead people.
In fact, he feels like the movie “The Sixth Sense” — about a boy who communes with the deceased — is based on his life.
“I was that boy,” he said. “But I used to see very positive things, not really negative impressions or visions. It was all very positive.”
Van Praagh began seeing things others couldn’t when he was just a child, he said, but it wasn’t until he reached his twenties that he saw the opportunity to make a living with his visions. Today, he is a professional medium who teaches classes, writes books, hosts television shows and leads seminars, and Saturday he will make an appearance at the Grand Sierra, giving hundreds the chance to see him in action.
Click here for full review: http://www.rgj.com/article/20081121/ENT/811210468/1056/ENT
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Have you heard the one about the presidential candidates who walk into a bar?
If you’re a comedy buff, you probably have.
For six to 12 months, political humor has been front and center on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” “The Late Show With David Letterman,” “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” at comedy clubs and even at the movies. Heck, Tina Fey got more publicity for her Sarah Palin impersonations than anything in her career.
It’s enough to make one wonder, “What now?”
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The Reno Philharmonic will continue its search for a new music director and conductor next week when Christopher Confessore leads the orchestra through two performances. Confessore is resident conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and music director and principal conductor of the Brevard Symphony Orchestra in Florida. He also is one of five finalists competing for the music director job in Reno.
Reno Gazette-Journal arts editor Forrest Hartman had the opportunity to ask him four quick questions in advance of his Sunday and Nov. 18 performances.
Click here for the full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20081110/ENT/811100311/1056
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After 4 ½ years, Magic Underground is pulling a disappearing act, but it isn’t one of magician Mark Kalin’s famous illusions.
He and his wife-assistant, Jinger Leigh, decided earlier this year that it was time to permanently draw the curtains on their intimate Pioneer Center venue. The primary reason, Kalin said, is that the theater — devoted almost entirely to magic — demanded too much time, preventing them from taking long-running gigs elsewhere.
Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20081031/ENT/810310500/1056
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After two decades in show business, Madchen Amick knows how painful it is to watch a project fail.
“Unfortunately, you have to learn to really be passionate and love what you do and really dedicate yourself to the time that you do it,” the Reno-born actress said. “You just can’t get too attached. It hurts too much.”
Amick, who grew up in Reno, has been working steadily in Hollywood for about 20 years, and she’s hoping her latest project is pain free. She has a key supporting role in “My Own Worst Enemy,” an NBC drama starring Christian Slater as a spy with a split personality.
Click here for the full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20081027/ENT/810270301/1056
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Those of you who live in Reno, may be interested in reading my interview with conductor Rebecca Miller, who 
is one of the finalists for the open music director position with the Reno Philharmonic. You’ll find the full story here: http://www.rgj.com/article/20081013/LIV/810130317/1089
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Reno-raised actor Kristoffer Polaha said it was tough when he learned that his most recent sitcom project, “Miss/Guided,” was canceled.
He starred across from comedian Judy Greer in the short-lived ABC show and said he loved every minute of the production process.
“It was such a joy to be part of,” Polaha said. “Everyone thought we were going to get picked up (for a longer run). We’d just got nominated for a Teen Choice Award. “» Then, next thing we know, I get a call from (director) Todd Holland, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, Steven McPherson, the president of ABC, has decided that he’s not going to pick it up.'”
The sting diminished just 11 days later, when Polaha learned he had landed a lead role on the dramedy, “Valentine.”
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Michael Cera and Kat Dennings play the title characters in “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” a new romantic comedy about two youngsters who get to know each other during a wild night in New York City.
Question: How did you two get involved in this project?
Michael: I met with Peter (Sollett), the director, and really loved him and loved his other movie “Raising Victor Vargas.”
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Kerry Washington says she’s never seen a black woman on screen like the one she plays in “Lakeview 
Terrace.”
“I loved the idea of playing this kind of Berkeley graduate, environmentalist, crunchy granola, progressive, open-minded young woman because I have a lot of girlfriends like that, and I have a lot of that in me,” she says. “I think she really represents a new kind of young woman. I think sometimes Hollywood has a hard time dealing with hybrids. You know, we kind of want to go, ‘This is what black people are like and this is what white people are like or this is what women are like and this is what men are like.’ I think that we’re moving into a world where all of those lines are getting more fluid and more movable.”
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