Los Angeles, U.S.A – On July 28, 2012, The Music Center and Ovation present The Dizzy Feet Foundation’s second “Celebration of Dance” Gala hosted by its board members — including International Emmy Award-winning producer Nigel Lythgoe (‘American Idol’, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’) ‘Rock of Ages’ director Adam Shankman and actress Katie Holmes. Starting at 7:00PM at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at The Music Center, the gala event will feature performances by talent from ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ ‘Step Up Revolution,’ ‘The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers’ and ‘American Ballet Theatre’ among many others. The star-studded event will conclude with a Celebration Supper taking place in the Eva and Marc Stern Grand Hall at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA.

VIP tickets start at $400 and include dinner and unforgettable performances by some of the world’s most critically acclaimed dancers. General admission tickets for the gala performance range from only $34 to $125.

All tickets will benefit the Dizzy Feet Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is threefold: to sponsor, fund and/or support dance education programs that expose children in under-served areas to the lifelong benefits of dance education, through and with local community organizations; to provide scholarships to talented students studying at accredited or nationally regarded dance schools, studios, or institutions; and in conjunction with recognized credentialing organizations, to support and increase the quality of all styles of dance education in the United States.

The event is supported by presenting sponsors, The Music Center and Ovation, and is also made possible with the support of Electronic Arts, Inc.

Launched in 2010 by Nigel Lythgoe, National Dance Day is an annual celebration that takes place on the last Saturday in July. The campaign encourages Americans to incorporate dance into their lives as a way to promote health and self-esteem through the art form of dance. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a long-time proponent of healthy lifestyles, introduced the National Dance Day resolution at a press conference on July 31, 2010 in Washington, D.C., making the day dedicated to dance education and physical fitness across the U.S. an official act of Congress.

Image Courtesy of  Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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The rock-centric musical ‘Rock of Ages’ hit theaters June 15, 2012, and is unfortunately under-performed due to its competition with the kid-friendly ‘Madagascar 3’ and highly anticipated sci-fi thriller ‘Prometheus.’ However, box office aside, the movie itself is an average romp with great songs, solid performances, and an upbeat cast. ‘Rock of Ages’ is certainly enjoyable, but the lackluster story and scattered plot-lines may have also contributed to its low ticket sales this past week.

Spoiler alert!

‘Ages’ is actually a film adaptation of Chris D’Arienzo’s 2006 Broadway musical of the same name. It tells the story of rock legend Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise), lead singer of Arsenal, giving his farewell performance at the Bourbon Room, a bar owned by Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin) and his best friend Lonny Barnett (Russell Brand). Stacie has decided to go solo and so Arsenal’s last performance as a band will draw in hundreds of fans, which the Bourbon Room needs, as it has recently fallen on hard times.

Meanwhile, a perky young girl named Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) arrives in Los Angeles from Tulsa, Oklahoma with dreams of becoming a singer. Unfortunately, LA is not kind to her and she gets mugged, losing all of her albums. Drew Boley (Diego Boneta) tries to intervene but the thief gets away, prompting Drew to offer Sherrie a job at the Bourbon Room to help her get back on her feet. Dennis refuses at first, but ultimately hires her so they can prepare for Stacee’s arrival at the club later that week.

Mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston) announces his campaign for the city with the help of his wife, Patricia Whitmore (Catherine Zeta Jones), who is the real brains behind the politics. She wants to shut down the Bourbon Room due to the “immoral music” and wants to take Stacee Jaxx down as well, recruiting mothers and religious fanatics to back her up and protest his last performance.

Drew and Sherrie hit it off and start dating soon after she gets hired. Stacee arrives and turns everything upside down due to his monstrous ego and bizarre demands. A writer for the Rolling Stone named Constance Sack (Malin Akerman) stirs up trouble with her questions and manages to get through to Jaxx about his attitude problem and his slimy manager, Paul Gill (Paul Giamatti).

A couple of hours before Stacee performs, the start up band drops out and Sherrie convinces Dennis to let Drew and his band play. He reluctantly agrees and Drew’s band does well, prompting Paul to want to sign him as he is sick of Stacee’s attitude. However, Stacee bumps into Sherrie and Drew thinks they slept together, which makes him break up with her and sign with Paul. From there, everything takes a turn for the worse.

The selling point of ‘Rock of Ages’ is of course the musical performances, which are strong and varied. Special mention goes to the fact that all the actors actually do sing their parts themselves instead of being dubbed over by professional singers. The standout performances are Cruise, Zeta-Jones, and Mary J. Blige while the others fair relatively well. The selections of 80’s rock are all familiar tunes and create an air of familiarity for the audience as well as nostalgia.

Unfortunately, ‘Rock of Ages’ suffers from a dull story with too many characters that stretch the plot thin. The love story between Drew and Sherrie is clichéd and largely uninteresting as neither of them have distinct personalities. Furthermore, their relationship materialized in what seemed to be only a few days, so when they inevitably break up due to miscommunication, it does not stick with the audience.

Furthermore, since the two main leads were relatively boring, other actors did not get enough time to shine, particularly Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is a shame to see that she only received two musical numbers since her performance in ‘Chicago’ (2002) won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. It would have been smarter to play up her antagonistic relationship with Stacee Jaxx rather than inserting a bland character like Constance to be his love interest.

Another pointless subplot is the romance between Dennis and Lonny, which is played for laughs, but does not go anywhere. It only adds to the number of songs stuffed into the story and is neither funny nor plot relevant. It could have been left out entirely and would not have made a difference.

To that same end, Alec Baldwin is largely out of place in the role of Dennis. He seems asleep at the wheel and does not breathe much life into the character while everyone else around him gives solid performances.

To close out the pointless angle, while Mary J. Blige’s singing is phenomenal, the entire subplot with the strip club is not utilized properly. It sends a mixed message that gets clogged up among the other things going in the story at the same time. It seems to imply that becoming a stripper is hitting rock bottom, but then there is a musical number about implying how it can be empowering. This idea is then contradicted by Sherrie, who does not enjoy the job and considers moving back to Tulsa as a result. It would have been better to give the strip club a clearer role in the storyline rather than shoehorning it in for the sake of fan-service.

Still, ‘Rock of Ages’, while just an average musical, is energetic, colorful, and funny. It is a bit of harmless summer fun that is not necessarily a must see, but it would not hurt to give it a try.

Grade: 3/5

Image Courtesy of   Rock of Ages

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Palo Alto, Calif.– Attensity, the leading provider of social analytics and engagement applications for Social CRM, has released an analysis of public reaction in social media to the movie, ‘Rock of Ages’. Using Attensity Analyze, the company’s social analytics application, Attensity identified and analyzed social media conversations about ‘Rock of Ages’ posted on Twitter, Facebook, news sites, forums, videos and other social sources before and after the movie’s nationwide June 15release. The results from the entire data set from June 10-17 show that moviegoers expressed an overwhelming 96.8 percent positive sentiment toward the movie.

The full Attensity report is available as a free download and summarized on the Attensity blog. It contains social data on cast member performances as well as the most commonly used hashtags.

“Knowing the polarizing nature of stars like Tom Cruise and movie musicals in general, we decided to use Attensity’s social media analytics to find out the sentiment toward ‘Rock of Ages’,” said Rebecca MacDonald, vice president of marketing at Attensity. “Based on our analysis of thousands of social media conversations, we were surprised by how positive the overall sentiment was toward both the star and the movie.”

Attensity’s data reveals that the already positive sentiment toward ‘Rock of Ages’, in fact, grew over 10 percent after the film’s premiere. Positive sentiment for Tom Cruise in the movie also increased, moving from 47.87 percent to 52 percent.

On the other hand, critics of Tom Cruise jumped on the opportunity to post their negative comments about the actor and his participation in ‘Rock of Ages’, adding to the small amount of negative sentiment and arguably playing a role in the film’s lackluster opening weekend numbers.

About Attensity

Attensity’s social analytics and engagement solutions are the choice of the world’s leading brands for Social CRM. Attensity is a company that gives business users the ability to analyze millions of real-time customer conversations from any online, social media or internal source, and extract the industry’s most accurate insights to drive business decisions. From its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, Attensity is powering the Social CRM strategies of companies such as Charles Schwab, EMC, JetBlue Airways, Lloyd’s Banking Group, Siemens, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, StubHub, Travelocity and Whirlpool.

Image Courtesy of  Rock of Ages

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Los Angeles, U.S.A. - IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures announced that New Line Cinema’s ‘Rock of Ages’, based on the hit Broadway musical, will be released in the immersive IMAX format for a limited engagement in 39 IMAX theatres worldwide. Domestically, the film will open in 35 IMAX locations day-and-date with the film’s wide release on June 15, 2012. Additional playdates will be added as pending bookings are confirmed. Directed byAdam Shankman, the film stars Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Paul Giamatti, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige and Catherine Zeta-Jones, with Alec Baldwin, and Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx.

The IMAX release of ‘Rock of Ages’ will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

‘Rock of Ages’ tells the story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock ‘n’ roll romance is told through the heart-pounding hits ofDef Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison, REO Speedwagon, Twisted Sister and more.

The movie musical stars Julianne Hough, with actor/singer Diego Boneta in his feature film debut, Russell Brand, Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti, Academy Award winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman and R&B queen Mary J. Blige, with Oscar nominee Alec Baldwin , and Oscar nominee Tom Cruise.

Shankman directs ‘Rock of Ages’ from a screenplay by Justin Theroux and Chris D’Arienzo and Allan Loeb, based on D’Arienzo’s musical of the same name. The film is being produced by Matthew Weaver,Scott Prisand, Carl Levin, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Grant and Jennifer Gibgot, with Toby Emmerich,Richard Brener, Michael Disco, Samuel J. Brown, Hillary Butorac Weaver, Janet Billig Rich, Shankman and D’Arienzo serving as executive producers.

Rounding out the ‘Rock of Ages’ creative team are director of photography Bojan Bazelli (‘Hairspray’), production designer Jon Hutman (‘It’s Complicated’), editor Emma E. Hickox (‘A Walk To Remember’), Oscar nominated costume designer Rita Ryack (‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’, ‘Hairspray’), Grammy-nominated music supervisor Matt Sullivan (‘Dreamgirls’, ‘Nine’), executive and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Mia Michaels (“So You Think You Can Dance”). The original score is by executive music producer Adam Anders and Peer Astrom (TV’s “Glee”).

New Line Cinema presents, a Corner Store Entertainment production, in association with Material Pictures, in association with Offspring Entertainment, an Adam Shankman film, ‘Rock of Ages’. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

‘Rock of Ages’ has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for for sexual content, suggestive dancing, some heavy drinking, and language.

‘Rock of Ages: The IMAX Experience’ is scheduled to play day-and-date at the following IMAX theatres beginning June 15:

The United States

• Alaska, Anchorage – Regal Tikahtnu Stadium 16 + IMAX
• Arizona, Phoenix – AMC Deer Valley 30 with IMAX
• California, Aliso Viejo – Regal Aliso Viejo Stadium 20 + IMAX
• California, Burbank – AMC Burbank 16 with IMAX
• California, Escondido – Regal Escondido Stadium 16 + IMAX
• Colorado, Lakewood – Regal UA Colorado Mills Stadium 16 + IMAX
• District of Columbia, Washington – AMC Loews Georgetown 14 with IMAX
• Florida, Brandon – AMC The Regency 20 with IMAX
• Florida, Orlando – AMC Loews Universal Cineplex 20 with IMAX
• Florida, South Miami – AMC Sunset Place 24 with IMAX
• Florida, St. Augustine – The World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater
• Georgia, Cumming – AMC Avenue Forsyth 12 with IMAX
• Illinois, Peoria – Rave Grand Prairie 18 + IMAX
• Illinois, Schaumburg – AMC Loews Streets of Woodfield 20 with IMAX
• Indiana, Noblesville – Goodrich Hamilton 16 IMAX
• Iowa, Davenport – Rave Davenport 53 + IMAX
• Kansas, Leawood – AMC Town Center 20 with IMAX
• Michigan, Sterling Heights – AMC Forum 30 with IMAX
• Minnesota, Edina – AMC Southdale 16 with IMAX
• New Jersey, Hamilton – AMC Hamilton 24 with IMAX
• New York, New York City – AMC Loews 34th Street 14 with IMAX
• North Carolina, Raleigh – The Wells Fargo IMAX Theatre at Marbles Kids Museum
• Oklahoma, Tulsa – Cinemark Tulsa + IMAX
• Oregon, Tigard – Regal Bridgeport Village Stadium 18 + IMAX
• Tennessee, Hendersonville – Regal Streets of Indian Lake Stadium 16 + IMAX
• Texas, Austin – Regal Gateway Stadium 16 + IMAX
• Texas, Frisco – AMC Stonebriar 24 with IMAX
• Utah, Salt Lake City – Megaplex 12 at the Gateway ATK IMAX Theatre
• Washington, Seattle – Pacific Science Center PACCAR IMAX

Canada

• Alberta, Calgary – Empire Studio 16 Country Hills IMAX
• Ontario, Ancaster – Cineplex SilverCity Ancaster Cinemas IMAX
• Ontario, Gloucester – Cineplex SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas IMAX
• Ontario, London – Cineplex SilverCity London Cinemas IMAX
• Ontario, Toronto – AMC Yonge + Dundas 24 with IMAX
• Quebec, Montreal – AMC Forum 22 with IMAX

International

• Austria, Graz – Cineplexx Graz IMAX
• Austria, Hohenems – Cineplexx IMAX Hohenems
• Austria, Vienna –Apollo Das Kino Vienna IMAX
• Italy, Milan – UCI IMAX Pioltello Milano

Image Courtesy of   Warner Brothers

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