Renee Zellweger plays businesswoman Lucy Hill in the romantic comedy "New in Town."
It’s a slow week on the DVD front, with only one major theatrical release making its way to home video.
‘Up’ avoids gimmicky 3D
Carl Frederickson launches his house into the sky in the movie "Up."
Don’t go to Pixar Animation Studio’s first 3-D feature expecting things to fly out of the screen and hover in your face. That’s not going to happen.
“Our job is to make the audience forget they’re at the movies, as opposed to reminding them they’re watching a movie,” said producer Jonas Rivera. “We treated the screen more like a window looking in, you know, almost like a diorama. That just felt right.”
In other words, the 3-D version of “Up,” opening nationwide Friday, gives the action extra dimension, but it isn’t filled with typical 3-D gimmicks.
Click here for full story: http://rgj.com/article/20090524/ENT/905240337/1056/Directors%20knew%20just%20who%20to%20turn%20to%20for%20%20Up
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Ed Asner helps ‘Up’ soar
Actor Ed Asner, left, and producer Jonas Rivera work on the vocal track for "Up."
When it came time to cast the lead voice actor for “Up,” Pixar filmmakers didn’t look beyond veteran actor Ed Asner.
The animated movie, opening Friday, tells the story of Carl Frederickson, an embittered elderly man who attaches hundreds of helium balloons to his home and floats to South America. Asner, said producer Jonas Rivera, was perfect for the role.
“That line between curmudgeon and sweet, old man was very blurry, and that was Carl,” Rivera said. “We had to make Carl appealing “» and no one doesn’t like Ed. “» He was electric to us, and we couldn’t imagine it without him, really.”
Click here for full story: http://rgj.com/article/20090524/ENT/905240336/1056/Directors+knew+just+who+to+turn+to+for++Up+
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Video Verdict: New DVDs for May 19
Tom Cruise plays Col. Claus von Stauffenberg in the World War II drama "Valkyrie."
This week’s DVD releases include a World War II thriller starring Tom Cruise, a goofy comedy featuring Kevin James and the first season of an excellent television drama led by Anna Paquin.
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Video Verdict: New DVDs for May 12
Liam Neeson stars as Bryan Mills in "Taken."
This week’s DVD releases are anchored by a prequel to the popular “Underworld” franchise and an action-packed thriller featuring Liam Neeson.
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Nimoy passes the Spock torch
Chris Pine, left, plays Kirk and Zachary Quinto plays Spock in the new "Star Trek."
For more than 40 years, science fiction fans have known Leonard Nimoy as Spock, the half-Vulcan Starfleet officer who cut his teeth aboard the starship Enterprise. This week, Nimoy, who lives part-time at Lake Tahoe, is passing the torch to Zachary Quinto, a sharp-featured young actor who plays Spock in the new “Star Trek” feature film.
Click here for full story: http://rgj.com/article/20090507/ENT/905070381/1056
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TMCC producing ‘Rocky Horror’
Talk to Truckee Meadows Community College theater instructor Paul Aberasturi and it doesn’t take long for him to start gushing about students and colleagues.
“We have something that we’re proud of,” he said before a rehearsal for the school’s upcoming production of “The Rocky Horror Show.” “We think it’s probably one of the best theater companies around.”
That makes it meaningful when Aberasturi says the spectacle of TMCC’s version of “Rocky,” which opens Friday in Reno, goes beyond anything the company has produced in the past.
Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009905070312
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Video Verdict: New DVDs for May 5
Brad Pitt, left, and Cate Blanchett star in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
This week’s DVD crop features notable stars appearing in dramas that range from a big-budget blockbuster to a tiny independent.
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Big plans for Reno’s Artown festival
Folksinger Richie Havens will open Artown with a free concert.
Artown will kick off its 14th season July 1, and organizers are promising more entertainment options than ever, but presented in a slightly different fashion than in years past.
“We had 350 events last year,” Artown executive director Beth Macmillan said. “We have 400 unique events this year, and we’ve cut back on our ticketed events.”
Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090503/LIV/905030312
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Bringing fairy tales to Northern Nevada
Kelly Bevel, left, Gabrielle Tostado and Therese Curatolo were at a recent princess party in Kings Beach.
Sometimes Susane Tagayev has to fight back tears while talking about her new business.
The 57-year-old Carson City woman was laid off from her job of more than 15 years in January, and after months of fruitless job hunting, unemployment was taking a toll. Then she watched a video of a friend singing in the persona of a fairy tale princess, and everything changed.
“It brought such joy,” Tagayev said. “I was really feeling like there was just nothing. There was something about that little video.”
It reminded Tagayev of young adulthood, when she worked at Disneyland in California. And, when she learned that her friend was making money portraying princesses at special events, it sparked an idea.
Click here for full story: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090503/LIV/905030315/Woman+finds+untapped+niche+in+princess+parties
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