Guilty pleasures
By NewsPress Now
The Apollo Theater celebrates 90th anniversary at star-studded benefit
NEW YORK | The Apollo Theater, a bastion of Black music and culture and one of New York City’s most storied venues, celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
On Tuesday, the historic theater held its annual spring benefit — its largest annual fundraising effort, this year raising $3 million — with a star-studded event featuring Usher, Babyface, Big Daddy Kane, Jordin Sparks and more.
Sparks opened the night with an impressive medley of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” and Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.” Then Kym Whitley emerged as a hilarious host, joking about the producer Babyface, who was being honored, arguing that he should now be known as “Grown-man-face, sexy-face, kiss-your-face.”
Later, she’d offer her own transformative story at The Apollo, sharing with the audience that it was on that stage where she first made an appearance as a stand-up comedian on television. “If you can make it at The Apollo,” she said, “You can make it anywhere.”
Speeches were given by a number of Apollo representatives, including President/CEO Michelle Ebanks, chairman of the board Charles Phillips, executive producer Kamilah Forbes as well as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
But it was the performances that really got the crowd on their feet. Dancers treated Usher to a choreographed medley of his own songs, from “Yeah!” to “Burn,” “Caught Up” to “Confessions Part II” and beyond.
Usher, who just a few months ago wowed audiences with his own career retrospective while headlining the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show, was presented with the Icon Award.
In his speech, he recalled watching “Showtime at The Apollo” with his late grandmother. “I remember thinking, ‘Man, someday I’m gonna make it to that stage,’ and ‘hopefully one day, I’ll get a standing ovation,’” he said as everyone in the audience stood. “I stand before you humbled by your appreciation.”
“You know, they say if you make it in New York, you can make it anywhere,” he continued, referencing Whitley’s comments from earlier. “Well, if you can make it to The Apollo, you can do anything.”
Fat Joe and Kwanza Jones, formerly winners of The Apollo’s famed Amateur Night, came out and led the crowd in a singalong of Babyface’s 1989 hit, “Soon as I Get Home.” They were tasked with introducing the super-producer, who had been presented the day prior with the inaugural legacy award at The Apollo Theater’s 2024 Walk of Fame ceremony.
“I never imagined I would get this,” Babyface said during Monday’s ceremony. “I never saw myself actually, you know, being here at The Apollo. I didn’t want to perform here because I didn’t want to get booed, but I didn’t get booed,” he laughed. “I’m so glad that I came here for The Apollo.”
On Tuesday, his acceptance speech mostly ditched the jokes to express gratitude. “To be here at The Apollo — what’s so hard for me to find the words, because if I’m honest, I just never saw myself as like being on The Apollo stage. I was always the guy behind the scenes and writing songs for everyone else,” he said. “I am just in awe to be considered as part of this.”
“I’m just going to thank everybody. Normally I stand up here, I’m funnier than this,” he continued, “Usually, I am. But I’m just, I’m really just so taken by this, and I just want to thank you for the bottom of my heart. I appreciate it.”
The night ended with a series of singers coming out on stage to serenade Babyface with some of the most famous songs he produced: Toxi Braxton ‘s “You Mean the World to Me,” Eric Clapton’s “Change the World,” Whitney Houston’s “I’m Your Baby Tonight” and so on.
Standouts included Karyn White doing her own “Superwoman,” Johnny Gill getting everyone out of their seats for his “My, My, My” and of course, Babyface himself closing the night out with “Whip Appeal.” They’re called classics for a reason.
Sony Pictures acquires Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Sony Pictures Entertainment is getting into the exhibition business. The studio behind recent films like “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and “The Garfield Movie” has acquired the distinctive theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the companies said Wednesday. Included in the deal is the genre film festival Fantastic Fest.
Sony said it will continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors at the dine-in theaters.
Alamo Drafthouse was founded in 1997 as a single screen, family-owned repertory theater in Austin, Texas, and has grown to 35 locations in North America. It distinguished itself in the exhibition landscape with drinks, dine-in food service and a cool vibe that became a favorite of cinephiles.
“We are beyond thrilled to join forces with Sony Pictures Entertainment to expand our company vision to be the best damn cinema that has ever, or will ever, exist now in ways we could only ever dream of,” Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League said in a statement. “They have a deep respect and understanding of cinema’s ability to both drive growth and create lasting cultural impact which aligns perfectly with everything Alamo Drafthouse stands for.”
For Sony, the Drafthouse acquisition is also tied into its experiences initiatives, including its Wheel of Fortune Live! Traveling tour and the Wonderverse space in Chicago. Ravi Ahuja, the president and chief operating officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment, also noted that the studio’s Crunchyroll films are particularly aligned with the interests of Drafthouse fans.
Alamo Drafthouse has seen its ups and downs over the years. In March 2021, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closed some locations and canceled plans to open new ones. Alamo emerged from bankruptcy at the end of May 2021, under the ownership of League, Altamont Capital Partners and Fortress Investment Group. Michael Kusterman, a former executive at Caveman Foods, was named Alamo CEO. He will remain, heading the newly established Sony Pictures Experiences division and reporting to Ahuja, the statement said.
Last year following the frenzy of Barbenheimer, employees at the Alamo Drafthouse in Manhattan and Brooklyn voted to unionize. Similar efforts were attempted at locations in San Francisco and Austin and were met with resistance from the leadership.
For many years, Hollywood studios could not run movie theaters and control what was played on those screens following a landmark antitrust Supreme Court case in 1948 that outlawed practices like “block booking,” in which studios required theaters to book a bundle of their films. Each of the major studios entered into a consent decree with the Department of Justice, known as the Paramount Consent Decrees, which required the major studios that owned theaters at the time to either divest distribution operations or their theaters.
Conflicts between Hollywood studio business practices and the federal government go back to the early 1920s, over concerns about vertical integration and the monopolization of film production and distribution. In the 1930s and 1940s, most first-run movie theaters had only one screen.
Distribution and exhibition have undergone vast changes since the days of the Paramount Consent Decrees, including the proliferation of multiplex theaters that show films from different exhibitors throughout the day and the advent of television, home video and streaming. The separation mandate officially went away in 2020 when the Paramount Consent Decrees were terminated.
Now Netflix, for instance, owns several theaters in New York and Los Angeles, and the Walt Disney Co., which was not part of the original “big eight” in the 1940s, owns and operates the El Capitan in Los Angeles. Movie theater chains have also stepped outside their lane recently, with artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé partnering directly with AMC Theaters to distribute their concert films.
Quincy Jones, Richard Curtis others will get honorary Oscars
Quincy Jones has been nominated for seven Oscars in the past 55 years, including best original score, best song, and even best picture. Although he’s never collected a competitive statuette during the Academy Awards, this November he’ll receive an honorary Oscar from the Academy’s Board of Governors in recognition of his contributions to the art of film.
Jones, casting director Juliet Taylor, filmmaker Richard Curtis and James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli will all be honored at this year’s Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday.
Jones, who has contributed to films like “In Cold Blood,” “The Wiz” and “The Color Purple,” and Taylor, whose casting credits include “Taxi Driver,” “Annie Hall,” “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Schindler’s List,” will receive Academy Honorary Awards. Most honorary Oscar recipients have not yet won a competitive Oscar.
Curtis, the “Notting Hill” and “Love Actually” filmmaker, will get the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his charitable efforts. A co-founder of Comic Relief UK and USA, he has helped raise more than $2 billion over the past 40 years. Jones was given the Hersholt award in 1994.
The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award will go to EON Productions’ Wilson and Broccoli, whose 007 credits include “Casino Royale,” “Skyfall” and “No Time To Die.” Broccoli’s father, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, was given the Thalberg award in 1981.
“The recipients of this year’s Governors Awards have set the bar incredibly high across their remarkable careers, and the Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to recognize them with Oscars,” Academy President Janet Yang said in a statement. “Their profound love of cinema and indelible contribution to our art form make these five individuals truly deserving of these honors.”
The event, which is not televised, will be held Nov. 17 in the Ray Dolby Ballroom, just an escalator ride up from the Dolby Theatre that hosts the Oscars.
Portrait of King Charles III was defaced in latest act of activist vandalism
LONDON | Animal rights activists pasted a cartoon image over a portrait of King Charles III on Tuesday at a London art gallery, the latest in a series of incidents at U.K. museums as campaigners use vandalism to publicize their causes.
A group called Animal Rising shared a video of campaigners pasting a picture of a character called Wallace, from the “Wallace and Gromit” comedy series, over the king’s head.
The so-called ‘’comic redecoration” was designed to highlight an investigation that Animal Rising said found widespread violations of animal husbandry rules at farms approved by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
A speech bubble next to the head of Wallace read: “No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!”
The painting is protected by a sheet of plastic and wasn’t damaged, according to the Philip Mould Gallery, where it is on display.
The larger-than-life painting by Jonathan Yeo was unveiled last month and is the first portrait of Charles to be completed since he ascended the throne in 2022. It captures the king in shades of red with his hands clasped atop the hilt of his sword and a butterfly flitting above his right shoulder.
The portrait was commissioned to celebrate Charles’ 50 years as a member of the Drapers’ Company, which was set up more than 600 years ago as a trade association for wool merchants but is now primarily a philanthropic organization.
On May 10, two climate change protesters attacked the protective glass case housing an original copy of the Magna Carta at the British Library. The 800-year-old document, seen as one of foundations of western democracy, wasn’t damaged.
—From AP reports
