For several years, many music fans and critics alike have speculated that Kelly Rowland was/is jealous of her more successful band mate Beyoncé Knowles. On May 15, Rowland confirmed this in the first verse of her new single, “Dirty Laundry,” that there was a time that she envied Beyoncé’s solo success. She sings, “when my sister was on stage, killin’ it like a (expletive)/ I was enraged, feelin’ it like a (expletive)/ Bird in a cage, you would never know what I was dealing with/ Went our separate ways, but I was happy she was killin’ it/ Bittersweet, she was up, I was down…”

While there may have been a time that critics would have reveled in such a confession, a much more harrowing revelation came as the song played out. In the second and third verses Rowland revealed a dark secret that she had been holding onto: she had been in an abusive relationship for many years.

Rowland sings, “this (expletive) puttin’ his hands on me…I was battered, he hit in a window like it was me until it shattered/ He pulled me out, he said ‘Don’t nobody love you but me / Not your mama, not your daddy and especially not Bey.’”

While Rowland and Knowles have since rekindled and strengthened the bond between them, the abuse is still a sensitive subject for the former. “It was very emotional. It took me days to record,” Rowland said in an exclusive interview with Billboard. “I had to get past being so upset and actually sing the song, not sob through it. I always hope that my music can inspire someone, the same way other artists inspire me.”

Since the song’s premiere, many fans of Destiny’s Child have made a connection to one of DC3’s last songs as a group, “Girl.” In this song the trio sings to a friend who has been going through a hard time in a relationship. In the first verse Beyonce sings, “in your face I can see the pain, don’t you try to convince us that you’re happy./ We’ve seen this all before, But he’s taking advantage of the passion/Because we’ve come too far for you to feel alone, you don’t let him walk over your heart.” In the accompanying video, the member that was being sang to was none other than Rowland. Fans flocked to YouTube and other social media outlets to express shock and sadness as well as admiration for Rowland’s willingness to share her traumatic ordeal with them.

While no one knows for sure who the man that Rowland was referring to is, her ex-fiance, NFL player Roy Williams, assured her fans and his as well that he was not the abuser. “So Kelly has a new song. Called #DirtyLaundry.. & what ever she’s saying in it ppl thinks it’s me. #wow #imnottheonlypersonshedated #wasntme,” he tweeted.

While the speculation of which ex is guilty of abusing the songstress continues, fans can focus their attention on “Talk a Good Game,” Rowland’s fourth studio album led by “Kisses Down Low,” which will arrive in stores on June 18.

Image credit: Kelly Rowland on Instagram

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Michelle Williams continues to expand her brand and make a name for herself in the entertainment industry with a new reality series, My Sister’s Keeper. Produced and distributed by Entertainment One (eOne), the series will follow Williams’ journey of writing and recording her third Gospel album, and other aspects of her life.

“I am very thrilled about this opportunity, to extend into television with the eOne family as well, with this series,” she said in a release.

“Working together on my new gospel album and television series, I am excited to share with everyone a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration and journey of recording for the album, performing, fun family times and other unforgettable experiences out together with my dear sisters.”

One of those sisters sang alongside Williams in a gospel group, United Harmony. Destiny’s Child fans may remember a mini reunion that Williams had during an interview with Ananda Lewis on MTV’s TRL. Fans will have to watch the show to see what musical surprises, if any, the Williams sisters may be cooking up.

“We’re very excited to expand upon our relationship with Michelle on this new collaboration that will provide fans with a peek into her everyday life,” said Tara Long, Senior Vice President of U.S. Alternative Programming.

“eOne’s versatility across all pillars of entertainment from music, film and television through development, production and distribution enables us to offer comprehensive multi-platform opportunities for our partners.”

Williams’ career in entertainment spawns more than a decade. She got her start as a background singer for R&B singer Monica in 1999 and joined Destiny’s Child in 2000.  Alongside Beyoncé Knowles and Kelly Rowland, Williams traveled the globe, selling out shows and collecting major music awards. In 2002, however, she branched out and forged a solo career.

On April 16, 2002 Williams released Heart to Yours via Sanctuary Records and Columbia Records. The album was well received by critics and performed marginally well on the music charts. Do You Know followed in 2004 and featured appearances by former band mates Knowles and Rowland. Knowles and younger sister Solange also wrote and produced on the album. Again, the album received positive reviews. The album did not perform as well as its predecessor though. In 2008 Williams ventured from gospel music and issued a dance/pop album titled Unexpected.  The album was a commercial disappointment. It is Williams’ lowest selling album to date.

In 2003 Williams made her Broadway debut in Aida, replacing Grammy-winning singer Toni Braxton in the lead role. The year 2007 saw Williams star in Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple, followed by a ground breaking, historical portrayal as Roxie Hart in Chicago in 2009. Williams is the first woman of color to take on the lead role. In 2011, Williams made a brief departure from the Broadway stage to act in a David E. Talbert play, What My Husband Doesn’t Know. Broadway fans saw Williams return to them in 2013 with a role in Fela!

In addition to being a singer, songwriter and actress, Williams is also a philanthropist, designer and a minority owner of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.

Image Courtesy : Michelle Williams

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Sarah Polley’s second film debut, ‘Take This Waltz,’ explores the strain of long-term relationships and forbidden attractions. The film is full of metaphors such as the hot and steamy Toronto summers. This article is part 2 of a two part series.

It was story, specifically the “Storm” scene which made Polley and Montpellier decide to shoot the film digitally. This allowed them to let the camera roll for over two hours continuously. There’s an emotional response to images you get when you are able to film them at certain times of the day. Shooting at magic hour (a misnomer because this is the last 15 minutes of sunlight in a day, as well as the first 15 minutes in early morning) was something Polley wrote into the script. As the sun set on Margot’s marriage, it also rose on the potentially new relationship she had with Daniel. “Neither of these scenes would have had the same significance if they were shot at high noon,” commented Montpelier.

“For the hero house, where Lou and Margo live, the colors are slightly off prime because I didn’t see Sarah’s ‘bowl of fruit’ as being fresh, but rather sticky and over ripe,” remarked Production Designer Matthew Davies. “I wanted a sense of heat building up in the house, slightly oppressive, with a treacley, beautiful amber light filtering through the windows. This is in direct contrast to Daniel’s apartment which is bright white with high key, primary colors.”

As envisioned by Polley, the hero house in Toronto’s Little Portugal (which is the scripted neighborhood) is a fine example of real estate as biography, embodying the spirit of Queen West: a liberal, independent middle class couple would have bought the place when the market took a momentary downturn and then began extensive renovations which dragged on. “Unfinished, like everything else in Lou and Margot’s life,” continued Davies. “So we see the uneven surfaces, exposed wiring and peeling plaster.

Textured surfaces play light in an interesting way so we used grass wallpapers, a shiny, leather sofa, which has a sticky quality and the coffee table made from samples of linoleum. The colors are oranges, greens and nicotine khaki.” The interior walls of the house are a very saturated, hot, apricot color and is further intensified by installing amber and lilac glass panels which pick up shafts of exterior light shining through into the house through patterned gobos, lace sheers and wicker blinds. And in every room are oscillating fans. The effect of heat is a result of layer upon layer upon layer of architectural detail.”

Davies furnished the house with vintage pieces, re‐appropriated from other sources. The art on the living room wall, created specifically for the film, is a photographic triptych of seven graffiti artists (mostly kids from a city project) at one Toronto streetcar stop. This piece is made more significant as a result of the agenda of the new mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, who had that particular wall painted over a few months after the film was completed. This is also the same streetcar stop in the scene where Daniel, with his rickshaw, passes by Margot.

“To say Sarah is collaborative doesn’t do justice to her approach. Sarah is very multi‐layered and cultivates very healthy relationships with the crew, allowing everyone to feel like they are a part of the project, to invest themselves in it, and bring something exceptional of themselves to the film,” explained Davies.

“Life has fantastic moments of absolutes, moments where you believe absolutely something, and those moments should be really enjoyed,” concluded Polley. “My general belief is that every decision is ambiguous and it is rare that a decision is clearly right or wrong. Sometimes it can feel that way and those are interesting moments that stand out for me. But I think we are all just muddling through. You never know how a decision will end up so you never know what the right one is. To me, the only real truth is in ambiguity.”

Image Courtesy of  Take This Waltz

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In the chicken‐egg world of deciding to take a role because of the script or because of the director, Seth Rogen had not read ‘Take This Waltz’ before meeting Sarah Polley on the set of ‘The Green Hornet.’ “She came to LA and told me about the film. She was so nice and so cool. I’d actually been a big fan of hers for a long time, both as an actor and director. And then I read it and thought it was really awesome and very well written, much better written than I can write,” Rogen laughed at his admission. “So I was very thrilled to do it, and yeah, I was very excited.”

Rogen, who tends to think of everything in terms of humor, regards the perspective of his character as amusing. Lou is, for the most part, completely unaware of what is happening around him. “For Lou, ‘Take This Waltz’ is a movie about a guy who writes a chicken cookbook and then finds out his wife is cheating on him. It’s kind of funny that my character is just not that emotionally involved.” Rogen is more familiar with cynical characters who are in on the action, albeit not necessarily in the brightest way possible. But he played Lou “as comfortable. He’s just making his chicken and everything is fantastic.”

“I did draw on my Dad a little for this role, honestly,” he admitted. “My Dad does a thing where he talks with his eyes closed, so I did that a few times.”

But getting back to the chicken, Rogen viewed it as, “Slightly symbolic for a guy who’s aspiring to do something, but not something that’s incredibly exciting or daring. Chicken is the middle ground of meat. It’s a good metaphor for the relationship. It’s good, but it’s not the most exciting thing in the world.”

What was exciting was the prep. “I can confidently say I did more research for this movie than any movie I’ve ever done, except maybe ‘Pineapple Express.’ You learn little things from movies, like how to ride a motorcycle or shoot an AK‐47. But for ‘Waltz,’ I spent a lot of time learning how to cut up chickens. I had chefs coming to my house in LA and they’d leave me dozens of chickens. I’d cut them up and cook them in different ways, but I would mostly just cut them up. I’d also watch a lot of cooking shows, like “Top Chef,” and steal the way they do stuff.” Rogen was so into his prep, he started having chicken dreams, but confused his chicken‐sized Cavalier King Charles Spaniel for the food. “That was weird.”

That said, his wrap gift from the film crew was a magnificent set of carving knives. All reports indicate the dog remains in good health.

While Sarah Silverman, who played Lou’s sister, Geraldine, was dreading the naked shower scene, Rogen had to deal with the scene which has come to be known as ‘The Storm.’ It is when Lou faces the truth about the state of their marriage. “It was pretty brutal, but we did it.”

“It was about emptiness and emotional lost‐ness and a void. When I look at comedy, I can feel if it’s funny or not. But when it’s all based on nuanced emotional moments, it’s a lot harder to gauge whether or not I’m doing a good job. In some ways, I thought it was a lot harder than comedy.”

“The entire scene was primarily scripted with a healthy blend of ad‐lib,” said Cinematographer Luc Montpellier. “Sarah only stopped to reload the camera every half hour or so. Only key crew remained on set to give Seth space to breathe.”

“This scene was all on his strong shoulders,” said Williams. “The camera was not on me, so I was improvising off camera, but he was doing it all on camera. Leading up to this, Seth and I had found a nice rhythm together. It’s nothing we had planned on, but just accidentally Sarah would keep the camera rolling after a take and that became a habit that at the end of each scene. I had my crash course in improv on ‘Blue Valentine,’ so I’ve gotten more comfortable with it. But Seth rewards your efforts with his hardy laugh. He’s just such a deeply generous guy.”

Seth Rogen has emerged leading a new generation of comedic actors, writers and producers. Rogen demonstrated his wide‐ranging ability as he co‐wrote, executive produced and starred as the main character, Britt Reid, from the comic book turned action film, ‘The Green Hornet.’ Directed by Michel Gondry, Rogen stars opposite the Academy Award‐winning actor Christoph Waltz, who plays the villain Chudnofsky. Rogen was most recently seen in ’50/50,’ a film based on the real life experience of Vancouver native Will Reiser. Starring alongside Joseph Gordon‐Levitt, the film unfolds the comedic perspective of the 25‐year‐old’s (Gordon‐Levitt) cancer diagnosis and subsequently, his best friend’s desire for him to beat the disease. Furthermore, Rogen starred as the voice of the title character in the comedy, ‘Paul,’ teaming once again with ‘Superbad’ director, Greg Mottola which was released by Universal Pictures in January 2011 and will be out on DVD in August, 2011. Written by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, and co‐starring Jane Lynch, Kristen Wiig and Jason Bateman, Rogen voiced an alien who has escaped outside of Area 51 and his encounters with two geeks on their way to Comic Con.

Nominated for an Emmy Award in 2005 for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy for “Da Ali G Show,” Rogen began his career doing standup comedy in Vancouver, Canada at the age of 13. After moving to Los Angeles, Rogen landed supporting roles in Judd Apatow’s two critically acclaimed network television comedies, “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared,” the latter for which Rogen was also hired as a staff writer at the age of 18. Shortly after, Rogen was guided by Apatow toward a film career, first with the box office smash hit, ‘The 40‐Year‐Old Virgin,’ which opened No. 1 at the box office and remained at the top perch for two weekends in a row. The film went on to gross more than $175 million worldwide and helped put Rogen on the map as a future film star. The film was named one of the 10 Most Outstanding Motion Pictures of the Year by AFI and took home Best Comedy Movie at the 11th annual Critics’ Choice Awards. Rogen was a co‐producer on the film as well.

Image Courtesy of  Take This Waltz

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Sarah Polley’s second film debut, ‘Take This Waltz’ is a fantastic romantic and erotic drama/comedy about married life: what it does to sex, love, and the images of ourselves. In the film Margot (Michelle Williams) is married to Lou (Seth Rogen), a cookbook writer. Margot and Lou’s relationship is stalling and Margot becomes extremely attracted to her neighbor, Daniel (Luke Kirby). Throughout the summer Daniel and Margot explore their erotic relationship while Lou is none the wiser.

Polley brought producer Susan Cavan and Luc Montpellier, her Director of Cinematography, with whom she worked on “Away From Her,” in after the first draft of the script. “As the project evolved, Sarah folded her key creative people into the process so her vision became a shared vision. In the case of Luc, alone, he was brought in far earlier than cinematographers are normally engaged. She is meticulous in her planning, and she and the actors had extensive rehearsals ‐ often right on the sets the scenes were to take place. That kind of comprehensive familiarity allows for improvisation, such as with the party scene which was heavily choreographed, but still had a looseness and imperfection that produced a very creative result,” said Cavan. Polley has indeed turned imperfection into an art form. “You could walk out of this film and feel quite good about yourself because you don’t know and are unsure, are imperfect and unfinished and have grafted your own experiences onto any one of the characters. It happens subtly throughout the film, and you come out breathless.”

“One of the first mandatory attributes of the film, in addition to the “bowl of fruit” motif, was that Sarah declared it be shot at the height of the summer in sweaty, hot downtown Toronto,” said Montpellier. And after two consecutive summers of cool and wet weather, the jet stream shifted north, allowing warm air from the Gulf to flow at record‐breaking levels. Muggy, soaring temperatures were capped off by Hurricane Earl, which made landfall in Nova Scotia, the film’s second location, just after 35 days of principal photography wrapped.

In an effort to create a visual language for the film, Polley and Montpellier, with the contribution from a graphic artist, Jessica Reid, began trading images among themselves. “There were a lot of summer city images, paintings with a tremendous amount of chromain them, a lot of primary colors and night images. On a subconscious level, we always picked images with some kind of wetness to them where you could feel the heat within the frames,” recalled Montpellier. “In the end, this is what the film ended up having which is quite a victory when your original intention is actually reflected in the film.”

All the creative and visual decisions came from the characters, an organic design strategy which is a function of bringing the creative team in early in the process. “Margot and Lou live together in a wonderful life,” Montpellier continued, “but there is something slightly missing in their relationship. So the world of color and warmth is a celebration of uneasiness as well as satisfaction and every frame needed to tell that story without words.” By using a tremendous saturation of color and working primarily with source light (sunlight) coming in through windows, intruding into interior spaces, which in turn would bounce off objects, floors and ceilings in frame and then washing over the actors, everything appears honest and true to itself instead of looking artificially lit.

Light and heat coming into Margot’s home and life is a metaphor for what takes place throughout the story and Montpellier strove to duplicate the poetry of the screenplay on the canvas of his cinematography. The backlighting of Lou during ‘the Storm’ scene reflects the emotion of what is happening to Lou at that moment. “All you need is a clear idea to start and for me, for the production designers, for costume design, for all of us, it is the dramatic point of view from which we all work. Story informed everything.”

The rest of this article can be read in Part 2.

Image Courtesy of  Take This Waltz

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‘Take This Waltz’ is the second feature film from writer/director Sarah Polley, based on her screenplay which made the coveted Black List in 2009. Whereas Polley’s feature film directorial debut, ‘Away From Her,’ was the tender story of a couple in the winter of their married life, ‘Take This Waltz’ follows a younger couple, married for only a few years, moving from the springtime of their romance, settling into what should be a warm, loving life together.

Set in Polley’s hometown of Toronto, she proudly admits that she romanticizes the city, and wanted to show her affection for the tree‐lined streets and downtown residential areas tucked in around neighborhood restaurants and cinemas. So she placed the story right onto the sidewalks, streetcars and beaches which she walks every day.

The title of the film, ‘Take This Waltz,’ comes from the Leonard Cohen song of the same name, the words of which Cohen interpreted from “Little Viennese Waltz” by the modernist poet, Frederico Garcia Lorca, who was assassinated in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. The lines read: “Now in Vienna there’s ten pretty women. There’s a shoulder where/Death comes to cry. There’s a lobby with nine hundred windows./There’s a tree where the doves go to die.”

“The lyrics are so tragic and romantic,” declared Polley. “You never completely understand it, but it makes perfect sense on some deep, emotional level. I listened to it non‐stop while writing the screenplay and it informed the tone of what I wanted to accomplish.”

In the story, Lou is the good husband, durable in his affection for his wife, grounded in his kitchen, as he diligently works his way through his chicken recipes; Margot, however, is a zephyr. Temperate in her self‐awareness, untethered by intention, she is easily propelled by gusts of inspiration coming from others. Side by side, making all the proscribed choices young, urban couples are advised to make, they move towards their future. Lou, contentedly – Margot, because she is his wife.

For Polley, this opening scene in the kitchen, domestic, yet dull, approaching claustrophobic; peaceful, yet intensely restless, is a bookend for the film. “I start and end the film with this scene, even though a great deal goes on in between,” said Polley, “I wanted to make a film about desire, not a philosophical essay, but to be inside of it, to feel how delicious it is, and how difficult it is for us, as human beings, to either turn our backs on that sensation or to live with the primal gap it creates, one that needs to be fulfilled. I wanted to show the process of someone trying to escape that essential state of being and how it doesn’t always work.”

In many respects, ‘Take This Waltz’ is a coming of age movie about a woman in her late 20s, for whom the veil concealing the reality of romance and relationships truly falls away, revealing an emptiness that cries out to be addressed. “For women like Margot, and most women I know in their 30s,” said Polley, “there is a point when they realize the ‘happily ever after’ relationship fairy-tales they were told about as a child are not quite true. If you’re lucky, there is a great love, but apart from that, how do you know if a relationship is ‘wrong’ or if needing/wanting/desire is a function of life being complicated? It’s not simple. You may be in a relationship where you are mostly happy, but also sad or angry ‐ and nothing prepares us for that.”

The emotional reality of relationships is complicated by the pervasive happiness imperative that runs through our lives. Relationship guidelines abound in books, magazines and online, dictating the levels of happiness we should be experiencing with our partners: are your needs being met? Can you communicate? Do you still laugh? Do you still enjoy being alone with them? Can you still overlook minor annoyances? Polley weighs in on this subject: “I think we live in a culture where if there is something missing in a relationship, then there is something wrong. It can be fixed, we are told, and it’s a failure to not fix it,” she said.

The honeymoon period of Margot and Lou’s marriage is over. Their fifth anniversary dinner scene at the restaurant, where they struggle to converse, poignantly highlights this. As the novelist, Robert Louis Stevenson, wrote, the cruelest lies are often told in silence. “There are very few couples who are completely engaged and fascinated by each other years into their relationship,” noted Polley. “Once you know someone that well, it’s hard to have the space between you to be interested and excited by each other’s company.”

Margot copes with this by adopting slightly baroque behavior: irregular in its rules, swinging wildly between baby talk, verbal jousting and perfunctory sex. Lou, who is having a hard time following her playbook, takes the passive approach. “Lou has a belief that if you don’t address something head on with words, it has a chance of just going away. I understand why he wants to avoid conversations. From an outside perspective, it’s so obvious that talking about the problem would be the better thing to do, but in an intimate relationship, it’s the scariest thing in the world to admit that there might be something insurmountable there,” explained Polley.

The marriage isn’t enough for Margot, but for Polley, the question becomes, “Is anything really enough? My wish is that throughout the film, people will not know what Margot should do and they’ll bring their own lives into the decision. There’s a tremendous amount of ambiguity in the film. For people who left a stagnant relationship and it was the right decision for them, I hope they’ll feel this film supports that. For those who have turned away from temptation, and stayed in a relationship, I hope this film will act as a confirmation that this was the right choice as well.”

Image Courtesy of  Take This Waltz

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“I’d never get to read for a part like this,” Sarah Silverman pronounced upfront about the new film ‘Take This Waltz.’ Unquestionably, the role of Geraldine is casting against type in the extreme and it is an unabashed masterstroke on the part of both Polley and casting director John Buchan. Silverman elaborated, “Usually when I’m told that someone had me in mind for a part, it’s vulgar and it has shit jokes and it’s gross. It must be what I put out there, but I don’t see myself like that. But when I read this, I got choked up because I couldn’t believe someone would see me this way. I see myself able to play drama. But we put people in boxes and can’t see outside of it, but Sarah did. It was so nice. And I’m so grateful for this.”

Geraldine is Lou’s sister. She is also a recovering alcoholic. While Margot is surrounded by the comfort of Lou’s sprawling family, Geraldine is the only one with whom she shares any personal thoughts. “Margot is like a little sister to Geraldine, although she does view Margot in the context of protecting Lou’s happiness. I also think there’s a self-centeredness in both characters where they’re connecting but only because they’re getting something that they need or giving something that they need to give. Like many friendships, theirs is like two islands in a way ‐Geraldine has her own shit and she’s seeing everything around her in relation to her own shit, and so is Margot,” explained Silverman.

And to be working with Polley, Silverman declared, “So many directors, great directors, directors I love, are fully socially retarded. Sarah actually isn’t. She has a plan, knows exactly what she wants, and knows how to manipulate exactly how to get it in a way that makes you, the actors and me, feeling like “Oh my God, I’m amazing in this!” instead of shells of ourselves.”

“Sarah Silverman is my favorite living performer and has been for years,” stated Polley. “You know the “If you could have dinner with one person in the world, who would that be?” question? For the last five years, the answer has always been Sarah Silverman. The moment her name was suggested by John Buchan, it was all hands on deck to get her. As much as I knew she was going to be fantastic in this part, nothing could have prepared me for how complicated and nuanced and strange and beautiful her work was. It was such a joy to watch her work.”

The part of Geraldine is that of the proverbial Greek chorus, the wisest character in the film even if her life is a bit of a mess. The key to this wisdom is the cross she bears throughout the film, her alcoholism. “That state of ‘needing, wanting and ‘won’t survive unless you have it’ is something that an addict is very familiar with,” continued Polley, “and they understand what a trap it can be, what an illusion. The rest of us struggle to understand this in increments. As a result, Geraldine recognizes in Margot the qualities of needing a drug, except in Margot’s case love and filling emptiness are more organic to her life. Geraldine tried in vain to fill the emptiness as well ‐ she just does it with something else.”

The progression of shifting from comedy to drama is a subject of perpetual interest to viewers because the funny‐ actor‐turned‐serious‐actor has to convincingly take audiences, and their previous conceptions, along for the ride. Silverman is adamant that the key to the transition is honesty in performance. “To me, Seth Rogen is the marker of where comedy started being played very real. It was like the anti‐Ace Ventura (which was great when it came out). It’s just playing it real and letting the moments be funny. So watching Seth go from comedy to drama is seamless because he’s just playing the lines very naturally in both cases. There’s no difference.”

Rogen wasn’t quite as convinced. “With comedy, for me, you develop a pretty good gauge of whether it is funny or not. The kind of comedy that we generally have done is naturalistic, conversational, which means it’s not like completely based on call‐and‐response. But I also thought that when you find out what’s happening to Lou and to Margot, it’s very impactful and there are a lot of really interesting moments that I’d never really seen in a movie before. More than anything, Sarah [Polley] really seemed to think I was going to help her movie a lot and that to me was the most important thing.”

Emmy winner Sarah Silverman is as versatile of a performer as they come. Her repertoire includes everything from film and television, stand‐up comedy, to iconic online videos and she added author to this list when she released her first book last spring. Silverman was most recently seen starring in the third season of “The Sarah Silverman Program,” on Comedy Central and her New York Times bestselling book, The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, was recently released in paperback. Silverman was nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy in the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series category for her portrayal of a fictionalized version of herself in “The Sarah Silverman Program.” This marked Comedy Central’s first ever Emmy nomination in a scripted acting category. She also received a WGA nomination last year for her work on the show. Silverman won a Primetime Emmy in 2008 in the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category for her musical collaboration with Matt Damon. In addition, she was honored with a Best Actress Webby Award for her online video “The Great Schlep,” in which she persuaded young Jewish kids to encourage their grandparents in Florida to vote for President Obama prior to the 2008 election.

On the film side, Silverman appears in the comedy “Peep World” opposite Michael C. Hall and Rainn Wilson about a group of dysfunctional adult siblings who are fighting over a novel that one of them is writing, about the family. The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theaters in 2011.

Silverman was dubbed “the most outrageously funny woman alive,” by Rolling Stone. With her comedic timing and stage presence it’s no surprise that Sarah has been asked to host major award shows. In 2007 she hosted the MTV Movie Awards and she has also twice hosted the Independent Spirit Awards.

Silverman grew up in New Hampshire and attended New York University. In 1993 she joined “Saturday Night Live” as a writer and feature performer and has not stopped working since.

Image Courtesy of  Take This Waltz

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In the upcoming film “Take This Waltz,” actor Luke Kirby plays the sensuous next door neighbor, Daniel. The introduction of Daniel plays a key role in the development of the story in the film.

“Originally, Daniel was the object of desire, the thing that makes you question your life,” said Polley about this character who lands, ironically, right across the street from Margot’s life. The object becomes a catalyst. “From Margot and Daniel’s point of view, it’s very, very hard to turn away from falling in love and very few people can do it.” The dizzying head‐over‐heels tumble into love is something Polley feels offers lovers the idea that they will be able to reinvent themselves with this other person in a way they were unable to do alone. It affords lovers a state of fulfillment that seemingly exists only in combination with this person.

Ultimately, Polley believes that we are not satisfied beings. “We need. We want. And we desire. And that’s part of who we are. You get to the point you’ve been longing for and then, inevitably, another chasm opens up. I feel these characters are people who mean well and are doing their best, but their best sometimes isn’t good enough for the other characters ‐ the way it is in life as well,” she explained.

Luke Kirby has been performing since his teen years after he was accepted at this country’s most respected conservatory, the National Theatre School of Canada. He graduated in May 2000 and after two auditions found himself working on two separate projects in major roles; the CBS/Alliance miniseries “Haven” and Director Lea Pool’s feature, “Lost and Delirious.”

Soon after, Luke performed the role of “Morgan” in the Factory Theatre’s production of “Geometry in Venice” in Toronto, a performance that garnered him a Best Actor nomination at the Dora Mavor Moore Awards. This was quickly followed by the role of “Patroclus” in Theatre for a New Audience’s production of “Triolus and Cressida” directed by Sir Peter Hall in New York City. In 2006, he gave a critically acclaimed performance in The Women’s Project’s production of “Jump/Cut.” Other theatre credits include Judith Thompson’s premiere of HABITAT at Canadian Stage followed by Daniel Brook’s premiere of “The Good Life” at the Tarragon Theatre (both in Toronto).

His latest theatre venture was in NYC where he performed the lead role in “Defender of the Faith” (Irish Repertory Company). Luke’s first feature film lead was the role of Jim in “Halloween 8: Resurrection.” Other film credits include lead roles in Peter Wellington’s feature, “Luck” and “Mambo Italiano” directed by Emile Gaudreault. “Mambo Italiano” received a gala presentation at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival to a standing ovation and earned Luke a Canadian Comedy Award Nomination.

Following on the success of “Luck” and “Mambo Italiano,” Luke ended up with a part that was written for him in the feature film “Shattered Glass” produced by Cruise/Wagner. In 2007, Luke played the lead role of Ray Dokes opposite Rachel Leigh Cooke and Keith Carradine in the Canadian feature “All Hat” and followed with a lead role opposite Lindsay Lohan in a feature titled “Labor Pains.” Luke was cast as the lead opposite Samuel Jackson in “The Samaritan,” David Weaver’s latest feature also set to premiere in 2011.

In television, one of Luke’s favorite roles was in the critically acclaimed TMN/Showcase miniseries, “Slings & Arrows,” featuring some of Canada’s top actors and directed by his friend Peter Wellington. “Sex Traffic,” a miniseries for Channel 4 and CBC that aired in the fall of 2004, had him working with one of Britain’s top directors, David Yates and earned him a Gemini nomination. That same year he received a second Gemini nomination for his guest‐starring role in the dramatic series “The Eleventh Hour.” In the fall of 2005, Luke landed a role as a series regular for HBO’s “Tell Me That You Love Me,” directed by Patricia Rozema. The first season aired on HBO in September of 2007. Luke also had the lead as Jimmy Burns in the critically acclaimed Canwest Global television series “Cra$h& Burn.”

Image Courtesy of  Take This Waltz

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Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams’ range of talents and experience have shaped her career to the point where she has become one of Hollywood’s most sought‐after and respected actors. In the second film debut by Sarah Polley, ‘Take This Waltz,’ Michelle Williams plays the main character, Margot, who is lost when she falls into an erotic love affair with her neighbor. The problem: Margot is already happily married to a cookbook writer, Lou (Seth Rogen). Michelle Williams discusses playing the role and her excitement about working with Sarah Polley.

When the story begins, Margot, 28, is a writer who has not written much. Her husband is a cook, creating recipes for an all chicken cookbook. Lou, coming from a solid, supportive family, is kind and adorable. “Lou makes her feel contained,” Williams observed. “He makes her feel cozy, safe, secure and a little drowsy. Take This Waltz is about Margot on the threshold of moving from being a girl, where it is safe, to a woman, where there are no guarantees. It’s like she’s trying to hang onto something she’s losing her grasp on ‐ all subconsciously of course.”

A two‐time Oscar‐nominee, Williams is more apt to emotionalize her roles rather than intellectualize them. After working with Seth Rogen, she had a heartfelt reaction to how their characters interact. “Knowing him and seeing his performance, I thought, ‘How am I going to walk away from this marriage? He’s so loveable!’ Yet, looking out at the world from Margot’s viewpoint, she wonders if she’s missing out on life and if something’s going to pass her by. Margot feels stuck. She’s not doing exactly what she wants to be doing. She’s not writing exactly what she wants to be writing.” In building this character, Costume Designer Lea Carlson found there to be something gentle and slightly quirky about her, but intentionally didn’t want her to be too sweet. She just slips on a pair of sneakers and, Margot being Margot, everything looks cool in a haphazard, unplanned way.

Contentment can be as deceptive as desire. When Daniel comes along, Williams sees it as being like a shot of adrenaline for Margot. “I think that falling in love is the closest thing to a religious experience that you can have in Western culture,” she professed. “It’s such a gentle thing that causes such a great upheaval in your life, rearranging your morals and your values.” It certainly was the justification Margot used to motivate herself forward, but whether it was real, or simply real enough for her, is the question because Daniel becomes the vehicle for her hopes and dreams and ambitions. “It’s like Daniel is a place for Margot to put it all,” explained Williams.

It is here where the magic of performance becomes genuine because both actor and character embrace the freedom of ambiguity Polley has written into the script and move forward with optimistic hope. Williams shied away from verbalizing how Margot makes her final decision, instead saying, “Does she want more or is she writing it off as something sexual that she wants to explore with Daniel? I hope she’s following her heart, her best heart, her most noble heart. We don’t know if it’s a mistake or not.” The question is, does anyone ever know.

“Margot evolved inside me slowly,” acknowledged Williams. “To me, Margot starts out the movie as an innocent. At first I wondered if she was someone to whom nothing bad had ever happened, and this breakup was her first kind of experience into her shadow‐self. Maybe it was her walk on the wild side. But that evolved and now I don’t think she’s entirely naïve ‐ but she does have a kind of unworldly‐ness about her so that this experience is a transformation. That’s a good thing, but it’s transformation through fire, which is painful.”

Seth Rogen, whose movie relationships have typically been about either meeting or breaking up with a girl, found the ‘happily married’ relationship completely novel. “It was really interesting pretending to be married to someone all day. It’s amazing how easy it is when you’re allowed to be comfortable with yourself when the cameras are rolling ‐ and how awkward it becomes the second they stop rolling. But Michelle made it as easy as it could be, and she’s just 100% real at all times. Because it feels kind of real at times and Michelle’s so nice, it just sucks to have to even pretend to not get along with her.”

Prior to ‘Take This Waltz,’ Michelle has what some would call an interesting, albeit imaginary relationship with Sarah Polley. “This has really has been sort of a dream come true. I told Sarah “You know what I do sometimes before I act, before I met you? I do WWSPD: What Would Sarah Polley Do?” You know when you’re on take #10 of a scene and you still haven’t found your way in, nothing’s clicking, and you’re calling upon the gods for some sort of help? One of my pull‐it‐out‐the‐bag things is, ‘How would Sarah Polley do this scene? What would she do?’”

Even from afar, the respect was reciprocated. Polley assessed the talent of Michelle Williams succinctly, “I think Michelle is the greatest actor of her generation and that’s not a superlative. What I learned from working with her is the difference between good actors and great actors: great actors don’t just surprise their directors or their audience ‐ they surprise themselves. Something about their character blindsides them in the middle of a take and their performance spins off a bit in an incredible, unforeseen direction.” So transcendent was Williams’ performance that Polley was better able to understand the character she created, and, as a result, was able to allow Margot to travel further in her emotional journey. “Michelle has such wisdom about her, such poetry about her, it was hard to keep a character in the same place if it is Michelle who is playing her.”

Image Courtesy of  Take This Waltz

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“Take This Waltz” is produced by Sarah Polley and Susan Cavan. “Sarah found me in 2009 and showed me the script. This was exactly the kind of material I wanted to be doing,” said Cavan, a veteran in the industry. “It’s provocative, unique, and humorous in places, sad in places, and complicated.”

For Cavan, her priority as producer was to provide a safe space within which Sarah and her actors could work. “The best realized movies, especially for auteur filmmakers like Sarah, benefit most from an absence of interference, crisis and chaos. This is an intimate movie, very nuanced with an emotional underpinning to it. To be able to deliver this successfully, the production was structured with a handpicked, first class crew who had a like‐minded approach to the project. Sarah is an enormously talented, perceptive director who is both completely unafraid to explore things that on the surface appear simple. This pertains to both “Away From Her” and “Take This Waltz.” She is very clear in what she wants, possibly one of the clearest communicators I’ve ever met.”

Sarah Polley (Writer, Director, Producer) has been writing and directing in Canada since 1999 when she made her directorial debut with short films. She wrote, directed and produced, “Don’t Think Twice,” starring Tom McCamus and Jennifer Podemski and then “The Best Day of My Life.” In 2001, she wrote, directed and co‐produced, “I Shout Love,” starring Kristen Thomson, who won an Actra Award for her performance in the short. The film also won a 2003 Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Drama. In 2002, Sarah wrote and directed “The Harp,” one of the episodes of “The Shields Stories” for television.

In 2007, Sarah wrote and directed “Away From Her,” starring Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, and Olympia Dukakis, adapted from the Alice Munro short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain.” In addition to two Academy Award nominations (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress), “Away From Her” garnered a long list of awards.

Susan Cavan (Producer) is one of Canada’s leading independent film and television producers. She has developed, packaged and produced over one hundred million dollars of critically acclaimed and commercially successful film and television. She is passionately committed to producing material with an original creative point of view. Cavan has been a longtime collaborator of Bruce McCulloch’s (“Kids in the Hall”), and has produced all of his feature films as a director. Their shared projects include the CBC/IFC commercial and critical hit mini‐series “Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town;” “Comeback Season” starring Ray Liotta, and “Stealing Harvard,” a comedy for Imagine Entertainment and Revolution Studios starring Jason Lee and Tom Green, and released by Sony Pictures. Cavan also acted as Executive Producer for Lorne Michaels and Paramount Pictures on the feature film “Superstar” starring Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell.

Cavan’s other credits include “Citizen Duane,” a comedy written by Jonathan Sobol and starring Doug Smith, Donal Logue and Vivica A. Fox; Peter Wellington’s Sundance Festival film “Joe’s So Mean to Josephine” starring Sarah Polley; and “Mesmer,” co‐executive produced with David Bowie and staring Alan Rickman. Television credits include Gemini winner “Waking Up Wally: The Walter Gretzky Story” starring Tom McCamus; critically acclaimed “Dead Aviators” a cable feature for CBC, Showtime and Hallmark and the Gemini award‐winning series and cult hit “Twitch City” written by and starring Don McKellar and directed by Bruce McDonald, broadcast on Bravo in the US. Cavan was previously a founding partner and President of Alliance Communications, and a Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for Cineplex Corporation prior to founding her own independent production company, Accent Entertainment, in 1990.

Image Courtesy of  Take This Waltz

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Luke Kirby first met Sarah Polley in 2002 when they both starred in Peter Wellington’s film, ‘Luck’. “Now she’s the boss,” he said. “And it’s incredibly lovely. I have a very strong sense with Sarah that if she isn’t feeling that we have gotten to where we want to be in a scene, she won’t relent, she won’t settle. I feel a sense of trust and it’s exhilarating. She’s like a very strong little bird in a breadbasket who you’d like to take with you on your picnic. She’s very calm and grounded and present. Those qualities are exceptional. There’s no concern of being embarrassed because of whatever truth she carries.”

Playing Daniel just felt right to Kirby. Daniel is an artist, a solitary man who finances his art life by pulling a rickshaw. Once he meets Margot, everything changes. “The relationship between them is a force too strong to even acknowledge any question of integrity. He knows she is married, but there’s not enough space for him to think about it, and he’s not blind to the spark. It’s too exciting. It feels too good to stop and assess because of the game they are playing which, for the most part, is unconscious – that is until the depth of it and the reality of it hits, which it does, heavily. It seems free at first, but there is a price tag. It is too frightening to acknowledge that there may be some kind of loss.”

There was a happy ease for Kirby moving into playing this role and that had a lot to do with the extensive rehearsal time allotted prior to shooting. “I enjoyed the process mostly for the environment Sarah created, putting us all together. I was very happy just being in a room with Sarah and Michelle and having the space to play and not being at the behest of time constraints,” he said.

The rehearsals included everything ‐ except the martini scene. The scene goes like this: they sit facing each other ‐ untouched martinis in front of them.

Daniel: “Drink.”

Margot: “You drink.”

Daniel: “You first.”

Margot: “I don’t want to get drunk with you.”

Daniel: “I’m impressed by your consistency.”

Margot: “I want.”

Daniel: “You want.”

Margot: “I want to know…” She looks up, bright red. “I want to know what you’d do to me.”

This scene, which continues on to become brazenly explicit, in spite of both actors remaining in public and fully dressed, was a moment of Machiavellian directing. “It was the first time those actors have spent much time with those lines and it was shot on the very first day right after lunch. I think it helped that there was real embarrassment and real awkwardness about that. And yes, I did that deliberately,” Polley stated.

“The martini scene anchored something deep between those two,” said Kirby, “and that only came up in the doing of it. We were vulnerable that day, but it all feels so vulnerable, always. I couldn’t ask for anyone better to play with in this regard. Michelle is entirely there. It’s very easy to smile with her. When I first read the script, I thought, they sure laugh a lot. And it’s very rare that you read ‘laughter’ written into a script and it’s everywhere. And I thought it could be difficult, but it wasn’t.”

When asked about working with Kirby, Williams said, “Each time I’m worried about a scene and how I’m going to approach it, I was comforted when I looked into Luke’s eyes and realized, ‘Oh, I can just relate to what he’s offering me.’”

It was this very point that caused Polley to say that Kirby did an incredible job of making that role into a lot more than she originally imagined. “Luke has played eccentric characters, but there is a striking purity and a kindness to him.”

Daniel’s art is that of Balint Zsako, crisp in contrast to the humid palette of Margot’s life, suggestive, in the spirit of both Inuit art and Aubrey Beardsley’s erotica, again contrasting the submerged sexuality of Margot’s existence. A native of Budapest, now living in New York, Zsako works in several media: collage, sculpture, photography and machines, but for ‘Take This Waltz’, Polley selected his bright water colors of surreal almost mystical hybrids of humanity rendered with exaggerated sexual and fertile qualities.

Kirby did spend some time with the artist in New York. “His work is quite stunning, very beautiful and sensual without being crass. As a person, he was very giving in terms of welcoming me into his home, sharing his process and his work.” There was one distinct point of overlap between the real artist and the character in the film ‐ both are hesitant about showing their work and Zsako was surprised that Daniel shared the portrait with Margot. Kirby could only explain it by way of the script when Daniel says to Margot, ‘There was something about your face that made me want to start talking to people again.’”

Image Courtesy of  Take This Waltz

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Mýa and Michelle will design new collections for Ghanaian clothing brand Koshie O as a part of “The Koshie O Woman” campaign. The campaign celebrates strong, confident, independent women who possess the ability to multi-task while remaining fashionable. The singers will co-design and name the pieces along with founder and Creative Director of Koshie O, Nina Baksmaty. As part of the Spring/Summer 2013 collection, the pieces will be available for purchase in July 2012 and will be available to consumers in Spring 2013. “The Koshie O Woman” campaign will feature many more celebrity women who embody what the brand represents. Fans will be allowed to follow the process via social media networks.

While neither has been extremely vocal about the projects, which are still in the beginning stages, Michelle recently took to her twitter to say, “Bout to hop on a design call w/Koshie O. Designing some new clothes…..line will be out next Spring. This is a COLLABORATION for charity!” A percentage of the profits from the sale of this unique capsule collection, which will feature custom prints, will be donated to Mercy Corps, a global aid agency involved in helping populations stricken by tragic events in over 40 countries around the world.

Nina has stated that she is sure that the public is going to love what Mýa and Michelle will contribute to Koshie O. She says, “The whole Koshie O. team is excited to be working with Mya. We absolutely love her talent and her fashion and we strongly believe that Koshie O. and Mya are going to create magic together.” On working with Michelle, Nina states, “It is such an honor to have Michelle Williams design pieces for Koshie O. She has been an inspiration of mine from her Destiny’s Child days.”

Koshie O “integrates African themes and aesthetics with modern designs,” according to its website. Founder Nina Baksmaty, who is Lebanese and Ghanaian, was raised in Ghana, but was educated and currently resides in the United States of America. It was her Ghanaian upbringing among traditional dress makers and artisans, as well as being in the presence of her designer mother, which fueled her desire to be a designer.

In 2010, Nina launched Koshie O and has since been featured in the Washington Post and Upscale Magazine, and has garnered mentions from Fox 5 News. Singer Ledisi, as well as model and reality television star Cynthia Bailey, are among the numerous women who proudly wear Koshie O.

Image Courtesy of  Mya

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Music World Gospel celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year. An imprint of Music World Music, it was founded in 2002 by Mathew Knowles, President and CEO of Music World Entertainment, and is currently the largest owned and operated African American Gospel label in the world. Music World Gospel’s 10th anniversary celebration coincides with the 20th Anniversary celebration of Music World Entertainment.

In 2001, as the ladies of Destiny’s Child transitioned into their solo careers, one of Michelle Williams’ dreams was to record gospel and inspirational music. Knowles decided to establish a faith-based label for Williams’ recordings, as well as other projects in that genre, and the next year, established the Spirit Rising Music label, now known as Music World Gospel.

In March of that year, Williams released her first gospel recording, the GRAMMY-winning Hearts to Yours, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart. Hearts to Yours eventually became 2002′s biggest selling album of that genre in the U.S., selling over 210,000 copies. Williams also landed in Billboard magazine’s year-end issue as the #5 Top Gospel Albums Artist, and the CD, Hearts to Yours, was #6 on the Top Gospel Albums chart. Williams’ follow-up album, Do You Know, was released in 2004 and debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart.

Although Knowles’ primary focus was on the pop and R&B genres, he periodically released key projects under the faith-based imprint, including the soundtrack from Fighting Temptations, which spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. Knowles signed Pastor Rudy Rasmus to the label in 2005 as Music World Gospel Ambassador.

Affectionately known as Pastor Rudy, he co-pastors St. John’s Church, located in downtown Houston, with his wife Juanita. St. John’s is one of the most culturally diverse congregations in the country, where every week people of every social and economic background share the same pew. Since 1992, the church’s membership has grown from nine to more than 12,000 people, including 4,000 homeless or formerly homeless individuals.

On October 17, 2010, Pastor Rudy’s Love Revolution premiered on SIRIUS XM Radio’s Praise Channel.  The one-hour weekly radio show features music selected by Pastor Rudy, uplifting conversation with the Pastor and his special guests, and a regular segment, “Ask Pastor Rudy,” in which Pastor Rudy answers questions from his listeners. The show airs live each Sunday at 12:00 p.m. EST (SIRIUS channel 64 and XM channel 64) and re-airs every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. EST.

In fall 2007, Trin-i-tee 5:7 (then a trio) signed with Spirit Rising Music, which released the group’s critically-acclaimed fourth album, T57, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. “Listen,”the hit single from the project, graced Billboard’s Hot 100 R&B Airplay chart and was one of the biggest gospel radio hits of 2007-2008.

The album went on to win two prestigious Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards, and a GRAMMY nomination, which resulted in Trin-i-tee 5:7 being spotlighted, alongsideAretha Franklin, BeBe Winans, Israel & New Breed and the Clark Sisters, on the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards broadcast.

In 2009, Knowles’ interest and focus shifted primarily to Music World Gospel, and he released the inaugural CD of gospel newcomer Brian Courtney Wilson, who was touted as one of gospel music’s contemporary break-through artists of 2010, and was one of Music World Gospel’s great success stories of that year.

The three-time Gospel Music Association Dove Award nominee’s CD, Just Love, entered at #2 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart and #6 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart. The CD remained at #1 on Christian Music Trade Association’s Inspirational Albums chart for 52 weeks. Since its release in June 2009, the CD has held steady in the Top 20 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for over 90 weeks—longer than any other CD title on Billboard’s Top 50 that year [2010].

Music World Gospel relaunched, Just Love Deluxe Edition, and the CD re-entered on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart at #3.   Just Love made music chart history. Wilson was the only artist to have four active singles ["All I Need,"  "Already Here," "Just Love" and "Awesome God"] on Billboard’s Gospel charts, and all have peaked in the Top 5, 10 and 15 positions [2009/2010].

His first single release, “All I Need,” was the longest-running single at that time, charting 92 weeks on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart. In September 2010, Wilson received the Gospel Music Heritage Month Rising Artist Award. In early 2011, he received a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Gospel Album of the Year (Traditional and Contemporary).

In Billboard magazine’s 2010 year-end issue, Music World Gospel held Top 5 and Top 10 positions on the gospel charts, and the label ranked on nine of the 11 charts.  Music World Gospel was #4 on the Hot Gospel Songs Imprint chart, ranked #6 as the Hot Gospel Songs Label and was #9 on the Top Gospel Albums Labels chart.

In 2010, Knowles signed several artists, including Juanita Bynum, and Micah Stampley. In 2011, Music World Gospel signed other key talent such as Vanessa Bell Armstrong, and entered into an exclusive recording agreement with BET Networks and its premiere brand Sunday Best, the award-winning weekly gospel music competition projects.

Under the agreement, the label signed Season 3 and 4 winners Le’Andria Johnson and Amber Bullock along with Season 3 and 4 runner-up contestants Andrea Helms, and Elder Goldwire. The agreement also includes future season winners and contestants. Through a partnership with BET, Music World Gospel has released two highly-anticipated debut projects: Johnson’s The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson and Bullock’s Thank You.

The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson debuted at #1 on multiple music charts, including both the Billboard Top Gospel Albums and the Top Christian/Gospel Albums charts. The CD also debuted at #1 on the Christian Music Trade Association’s Current Gospel Overall chart. It spent nine weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart, and remains in the Top 5 for over 15 weeks.

Le’Andria also received her first GRAMMY nomination for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music performance for her debut single, “Jesus.” Amber Bullock’sThank You also debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Album chart.

In addition to the Sunday Best brand releases, Music World Gospel released GRAMMY nominated, Stellar Award and Gospel Music Associations’ Dove Award winners Trin-i-tee 5:7′s first project as a duo,Angel & Chanelle, which debuted at #1 on both Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart and the Top Christian/Gospel Albums chart.

The CD also entered at #2 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
chart, #5 on the Independent chart and #19 on the Billboard 200. Trin-i-tee 5:7 received their second GRAMMY nomination for Best Gospel Album for Angel & Chanelle, which is the group’s 7th recording to date.

Music World Gospel’s other notable compilation projects include ESSENCE Gospel, Ultimate Gospel, the Most Powerful Voices, The Gospel Superfest, Spirit Rising and The Pastor Rudy Experience.

In 2011, Music World Gospel experienced a revenue increase of more than 115 percent over 2010, and the label moved to the Top 5 on Billboard’s magazine year-end Gospel Albums Labels chart, from #9 in 2010. This year’s GRAMMY nominees, Trin-i-tee 5:7 and Le’Andria Johnson, also led the way on Billboard’s year-end charts.

Their current CD projects, The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson and Angel & Chanelle,landed at #7 and #13 respectively on the Gospel Albums chart. Le’Andria and Trin-i-tee 5:7 were listed at #8 and #10 respectively on the Gospel Albums Artists chart. Trin-i-tee 5:7′s hit single, “Over and Over” came in at #9 on the Gospel Songs chart, and the song producer,  PJ Morton landed at #8 on the Gospel  Songs Producers chart.

Looking ahead, Music World Gospel is expanding the label’s release schedule in 2012 to include over 45 new releases, and will be making other faith-based acquisitions, which will be announced in the coming months.

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The time for deliberation is almost over. The voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have begun mailing out the nomination ballots for the 84th Academy Awards, scheduled to take place on Sunday February 26 and to be hosted by Billy Crystal.

The ballots themselves, which are to be completed by the 5,783 voting members of the Academy, must be returned by January 13 and will be announced on January 24, at which point firm-favourites and critics-choices will learn if their hopes of award-season glory have been warranted or wasted.

Some of those favorites include Meryl Streep and George Clooney, whose roles in “The Iron Lady“ and “The Descendants”, respectively, have already garnered them nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

Other actors expected to receive Academy Award nominations based on prior accolades this season include: Michelle Williams for “My Week With Marilyn”, Ryan Gosling for “The Ides of March” – for which, incidentally, Clooney has received a Golden Globe nomination in the directing field -, Leonardo DiCaprio for the biopic “J. Edgar”, and Viola Davis for Dreamworks’ adaptation of “The Help”.

Statistically, the Golden Globes and SAGs have been shown to be the primary indicators of who will achieve success at the Academy Awards. For example, the 2010-11 awards season saw David Fincher’s “The Social Network” compete against Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” in many of the major categories, with Fincher’s film triumphing at the Golden Globes, Hooper’s film triumphing at the SAGs, and each film ultimately walking away with a handful of Academy Awards.

This ceremony is in fact the last in Hollywood’s award season, so if this year’s voting replicates last year’s, it may go down to the wire as to who will indeed succeed in the Academy’s Best Picture and Acting categories. Therefore, while there may be little in the way of surprises awaiting the Hollywood press on January 24 when the nominations are announced, there will be no doubt added anticipation over whether the voters will sway away from favoring the abundance of high-profile biopics making waves this season.

These are namely: “The Iron Lady”, a study of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; “My Week With Marilyn”, a week in the life of Marilyn Monroe; and “J. Edgar”, a study into the FBI director’s personal life and debated sexuality. Each film has already received multiple nominations from other major award bodies, but this may be a case where there are too many releases from the same genre which ultimately cancel each other out.

Aside from their acting nominations at the Golden Globes, none of the films managed to make the final cut into the Hollywood Foreign Press’ Best Motion Picture selection, so there may still be some spots up for grabs in the final Academy Award shortlist.

Whatever happens, it won’t be long until the public finds out.

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The New York Film Festival comes to New York City for its 49^th annual showcase of new and emerging films in the entertainment industry. The yearly film festival will run from September 30 to October 16, celebrating up and coming filmmakers and actors.

The New York Film Festival was created in 1969 by The Film Society of Lincoln Center with aspirations of creating an event for filmmakers to show their movies. The love of art and film are combined during this festival and brings movie goers from all across New York City to exciting movie premieres.

International filmmakers are able to showcase their movies at the prestigious New York Film Festival. The Main Slate is the optimal venue to screen movies. Filmmakers from countries such as the United States, Iran, France, United Kingdom, Israel and Denmark are among those who will show their movies at the Main Slate.

In the movie entitled “Miss Bala,” a young Mexican woman competes in a beauty competition in Baja, where she gets involved in the ongoing narcotics battle in Mexico. “Miss Bala” depicts drug related gang violence and how it plays a role in Mexico.

“The Artist,” is a movie that pays homage to the original Hollywood entertainment business where the art of movie making was through black and white silent movies. “The Artist” highlights wonderful acting even though it is a silent movie and allows the audience to go back in time to when movies were first created.

Famous Hollywood actors can be seen in some of the movies on display at The New York Film Festival. “Melancholia” has actress Kirsten Dunst playing a bride in this science fiction movie. “The Descendants” ushers in George Clooney as a man who must cope with his wife who is in the hospital and his two daughters with whom he has shaky relationships.

Michelle Williams brings a performance as sex icon Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn,” one of the most anticipated movies of The New York Film Festival.

Aside from the Main Slate where much of the popular movies are watched, there are also other special events going on during the festival. Documentaries are also a part of the film festival where the daily international lives of people are portrayed through film. “Tahrir” is a documentary of the recent revolution in Egypt, as seen through the voices of Egyptians on the streets of Cairo.

“Paradise Lost 3,” is an American documentary that follows the lives of Alabama teenagers who are in jail for murdering three children. These documentaries are just a couple among many others that use film to highlight unique, real life stories. World renowned talent made appearances at the New York Film Festival.

Internationally famed director Martin Scorsese spoke by video during a press conference on October 3. Scorsese talked about “George Harrison: Living in the Material World,” which is Scorsese’s new documentary. Special Anniversary Screenings of movies such as “The Royal Tennenbaums,” “Spirited Away” and “Howard’s End” will also be a part of The New York Film Festival.

Along with showing some of the world’s most talented actors and filmmakers, The New York Film Festival also gave the chance for bring up and coming movie makers to meet some famous directors and producers. The Emerging Vision event took place over the course of one day where 25 new and passionate film creators were given mentors to help produce high quality films.

The 25 chosen will have one year of ongoing guidance from professional directors and producers with the goal of helping young talents flourish in the entertainment industry. The New York Film Festival is a well respected annual event that gives both veterans and newcomers to the movie business a chance to share their talents for film with the world.
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