Hillside, U.S.A. — Thanksgiving is just days away, and those residing in New Jersey and New York who struggled before Hurricane Sandy are under even greater stress to put food on the table this holiday season and beyond. Many people are struggling simply to restock their refrigerators from what was lost in the storm.

The Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) – the largest food bank in the state – has been working to feed those who might otherwise go without food, including families, seniors and children. The FoodBank, however, has experienced two-to-three times the need for help. To help support its relief efforts and ensure that no one goes hungry, the CFBNJ announced on November 19, a partnership with celebrity auction venue CharityFolks.com. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised from this partnership will go toward the CFBNJ and its New York-area partners.

The auction, which begins November 19 on www.charityfolks.com/sandy, features experiences donated by luminaries to help people displaced and left hungry by the superstorm. Anyone can bid to win auction items, which include:

• Join Sarah Jessica Parker & Andy Cohen for Dinner at Blue Hill in New York City
• Meet Selena Gomez on the Set of Her Upcoming Music Video Shoot
• Create Chatter when Glenn Close Records your Personal Voicemail Message
• Have An Unforgettable Night of Illusion with David Blaine at his Private NYC Studio
• Get Styled by Kim & Kourtney Kardashian at Dash in NYC
• Be Enlightened with an Impossible-to-Get Private Reading with Renowned Psychic John Edward
• Meet Kelly Ripa & Michael Strahan with VIP Tickets to a Taping of Live! with Kelly & Michael
• Have Breakfast with NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer & Privately Tour the Exchange
• Lunch with legendary author Judy Blume and an aspiring writer
• Indulge in Lunch at the Food Network’s Kitchen at Chelsea Market & Tour the Studio
• Meet Renowned American Blues Singer-Songwriter Bonnie Raitt with VIP Tickets to her Show

Others participating in the auction, include: Nicole Kidman, Billy Baldwin, Derek Jeter, Jackson Browne, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Chelsea Handler, among others.

“In normal times, one in five New Jersey children go to bed hungry and 1.6 million New Yorkers struggle to put food on their tables,” actor and CharityFolks.com spokesman Billy Baldwin said. “These are not normal times. Millions have lost power – many have lost their homes and belongings – and it continues to get colder. This initiative will have an immediate and profound impact on the families who have suffered the most.”

The need, however, continues to be great, and more donations are being sought. Companies and high-profile individuals interested in donating an item or experience for an auction to benefit victims can contact Kelly Fiore, CEO of Charity Folks, by email at kfiore@charityfolks.com.

CharityFolks.com hosted a similar auction in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, raising $650,000 that was deployed within weeks of the disaster.

The largest food bank in New Jersey, the CFBNJ has worked tirelessly since Hurricane Sandy hit, distributing more than 100,000 pounds of food daily. As the chair organization for New Jersey Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NJVOAD), the FoodBank has helped to coordinate aid throughout the state, including local and emergency shelters, food pantries and its traditional distribution network.

Image Courtesy : Photo Works / Shutterstock.com

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“Hotel Transylvania” is a hilarious must-see movie from start to finish. With an all star cast consisting of Adam Sandler as Dracula, Andy Samberg as Jonathan, Selena Gomez as Mavis, Kevin James as Frankenstein, Steve Buscemi as Wayne the werewolf, David Spade as Griffin the Invisible Man, and CeeLo Green as Murray the mummy, the movie is an absolute treat for all ages.

Mild Spoilers Ahead!

The movie defies “monster” expectations by having humans be the villains and the “monsters” be the victims. The story revolves around Count Dracula building a hotel to be a safe haven for monsters (and his infant daughter, Mavis) in 1895. Dracula’s wife was killed by humans, so he is adamant that nothing will happen to their precious daughter.

The movie jumps forward to the present and is now Mavis’s 118^th birthday. Despite her age, Mavis is, for all intents and purposes, a teenager. As typical teenagers who have overprotective parents, Mavis is eager to explore the outside world, particularly the human world. After Dracula allows her to go to the nearby village, which he has constructed and filled with zombies impersonating humans, Mavis decides that humans are terrible and she never wants to leave the safety of the hotel again. Dracula is now content with the knowledge that humans will never harm Mavis…or at least he is until a human named Jonathan stumbles into the hotel.

Jonathan is the typical young backpacker who wants to see the world while living out of his backpack. He is spontaneous and carefree, which instantly attracts Mavis, who is unaware he is a human. Dracula disguises Jonathan as a monster so his hotel’s reputation will not be harmed by the fact that a human was able to invade their territory. Jonathan takes the monsters on a wild ride to rediscovering the concept of fun and freedom, and ultimately challenges every misconception they have about humans.

Perhaps what makes this movie so great, besides the all-star cast, is the believable and relatable storyline of a father trying to protect his daughter because he loves her so much, while the daughter wants nothing more than to be free. The movie clearly portrays what a parent will do for their child in the name of love, and it shows the sometimes painful side of letting your child make their own mistakes. The movie also challenges against making judgments about others who you do not understand, which is a very important lesson for kids to learn.

“Hotel Transylvania” is a heartwarming, hilarious story that instills important life lessons into kids, which makes this movie an absolute must-see.

Rating: 4.5/5

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New York, U.S.A. — CNN, the worldwide leader in news, announced on October 8, the creation of CNN Films to secure feature-length documentaries for air on CNN and CNN International, alongside theatrical distribution. The move is part of a wider strategy to acquire original non-fiction content to complement CNN’s award-winning news programs; it was announced by CNN Worldwide Managing Editor Mark Whitaker.

‘Girl Rising’, the first documentary acquired by CNN Films, will air in spring 2013. The film, which inspired a global action campaign to promote girls’ education called 10×10, tells the extraordinary stories of several girls from around the globe fighting to overcome impossible odds to realize their dreams. The film includes voice performances by Academy Award Winner Meryl Streep, Academy Award Nominee Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, and Selena Gomez.

‘Girl Rising’ is directed by Academy Award Nominee Richard E. Robbins (“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience”) and executive produced by Tom Yellin and Holly Gordon of The Documentary Group and Paul G. Allen of Vulcan Productions.

CNN Films has also signed development deals with Academy Award Winning Director and Producer Alex Gibney (“Taxi to the Dark Side,” “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” and “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer”) and Director Andrew Rossi (“Page One: Inside the New York Times”).  Both will develop original documentaries to air on CNN.

“CNN Films will bring distinguished, thought-provoking documentary programming to our global audiences on all our television, online, and mobile platforms,” said Whitaker. “We want these documentaries to tell compelling stories and stimulate important discussions across CNN’s other programs and websites.”

The original feature-length documentaries will examine an array of political, social, and economic subject matters. The films will premiere in primetime and will re-air in order to increase exposure. Surrounding the premiere of each documentary, acclaimed CNN programs will run dedicated programming that sheds light on the topics and issues discussed in each film. In-depth interviews, expert commentary, roundtable discussions, debates, and behind-the-scenes footage will be featured across all of CNN’s broadcast and online platforms.

Amy Entelis, senior vice president of talent and content development for CNN Worldwide, and Vinnie Malhotra, senior vice president of development and acquisitions for CNN Worldwide, will oversee the acquisition strategy of documentaries under the CNN Films banner. Malhotra will manage the day-to-day operation of CNN Films, and work directly with filmmakers to develop original projects.

CNN Films also plans to bring the documentaries beyond the small screen by developing strategic partnerships to leverage distribution opportunities at film festivals and in theaters.

To learn more about “Girl Rising” and to view the trailer, please visit: http://10x10act.org/presenting-girl-rising.

For more information on CNN, please visit www.cnnpressroom.com.

Image Courtesy of  arindambanerjee / Shutterstock.com

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Santa Monica, CA, U.S.A. – Max Sound Corporation, an innovative technology company, that is changing how we listen to music, watch movies, play video games, experience television and communicate on our cell phones, announced a strategic partnership and newest major music industry adopters of the MAXD technology with the entertainment super producers, ROCK MAFIA.

Rock Mafia, is the record production/songwriting team, consisting of Tim James and Antonina Armato. Rock Mafia is credited for writing and producing for a great number of top pop and rock artists, such as Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, Scotty McCreery, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, American Idol, Disney’s Hollywood Records and has a major label venture with Interscope Records.

People may think it’s easy to define Rock Mafia. A quick glance on Wikipedia tells us that Rock Mafia is one of the biggest pop production teams in the world, with over 50 million albums and 25 million singles sold, along with over 2 billion views on YouTube alone, a seemingly endless pop discography spanning the last decade with hits from Mariah Carey to Miley Cyrus to Selena Gomez. Upon closer inspection, however, there are a few surprises.

One may not know Rock Mafia also wrote and produced some of the biggest records on active rock radio over the past two years, including Sick Puppies’ number 1 single that ruled the Top 10 airwaves for over six months, “You’re Going Down,” to “Odd One,” “Maybe,” and “Riptide.”  Furthermore, following the reproduction and remix by Rock Mafia, Billy Ray Cyrus’ hit song, “Ready, Set, Don’t Go” peaked at number 2 on the country charts.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of them all was Rock Mafia’s debut release as an artist, “The Big Bang.”  The hit song sold over 500,000 in digital downloads independently, gained over 100 million streams as well as over 15 million views of their video on YouTube.

The team is currently hard at work on a Mixtape, rumored to be released sometime this summer, as well as putting the final touches on a groundbreaking animated video for their follow up single, “Fly or Die.” 2012 is shaping up to be better than ever for Rock Mafia.

The double platinum smash, “Love You Like a Love Song” by Selena Gomez, continues to enjoy worldwide success. In addition, their first European smash, “Friends” by Aura Dione featuring Rock Mafia, is currently the  #1 most played song on German radio and has gone top 5 in multiple countries.

“We feel that once every artist hears what MAXD can do for their music, they will want to utilize this incredible technology,” said Rock Mafia Co-Founder Tim James.

“TJ and Antonina are so full of passion for music and constantly speak of the culture, lifestyle, and making music to connect with millions of people.  Clearly, they’re less interested in finding formulas than they are making history. In this ‘strategic partnership’ Rock Mafia will use the Max Sound Technology for all their future projects.

Tim and Antonina were so impressed with MAXD Technology that the duo decided to join the company’s Advisory Board and become ’Brand Ambassadors’ for MAXD. Our Advisory board is proving to be the tipping point for introducing MAXD into music’s vertical markets where compressed degraded audio currently exists and where MAXD provides an unparalleled solution,” said John Blaisure, CEO of Max Sound Corporation.

Rock Mafia’s Co-founders and Music Industry Super Producers Tim James and Antonina Armato are the most recent additions to Max Sound Advisory Board, which includes some of the most influential and respected names in the music/entertainment industry.

They include Legendary Musician Mick Fleetwoodof Fleetwood Mac, Iconic Producer and Engineer Mark Needham, Strategic Artist Manager Carl Stubner, PR Mavens Sugar Rautbord and Lane Davis, Grammy Winner Producer/Songwriter Bradley Spalter, Academy Award Winning Feature Film Sound Designer Frank Serafine, Entertainment Lawyer Frank Correa, Westwood Music Owner Fred Walecki and CBS Radio Executives Todd Cavanah and Erik Bradley

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Postcard on the Run (POTR), a mobile app that allows users to take a photo from their smartphone and send it as a high-quality printed postcard anywhere in the world, announced today that actress and singer Selena Gomez has joined the company as an investor and will play an active role in creative development as it continues to expand.

Additional investors in the company’s Angel round of $750k include Crosscut Ventures, Mike Jones, Kamran Pourzanjani, Yves Sisteron, Aber Whitcomb, Brian Fitzgerald, Ryan Steelberg, Colin Digiaro, Brian Lee,Chris DeWolfe and Jarl Mohn.

“I’ve always loved the old-fashioned touch of sending real postcards, but I never have time anymore with my busy travel schedule. Now it’s easy with Postcard on the Run,” said Gomez. “The one thing that I always have with me is my smartphone. In just seconds, I can send personalized photo postcards to my family and friends right from my phone. It’s a new way to stay in touch the old school way.”

“Selena’s ‘girl-next-door’ sincerity and jet-setting lifestyle sync with the vision of Postcard on the Run. Just like Selena, we deliver heartfelt expression with a new, cutting-edge style,” said Josh Brooks, CEO and founder of POTR. “We are honored to have Selena as part of the Postcard on the Run family. Her entrepreneurial sense and cultural instincts will help take us to the next level.”

Smell Mail

Postcard on the Run today also launched “Smell Mail”, an innovative feature allowing users to add fun “Scratch’n Smell®” scents to their postcards for an additional 50 cents. The aromatic additions will help bring the postcards to life by creating emotional connections to people’s favorite scents which include Baby Powder (perfect for pictures of little ones), Holiday Spice, Pine, Fresh Flowers, Chocolate, Popcorn, Mint, Bubble Gum, Suntan Lotion, Ocean Breeze, and even Teen Spirit.

Smell Mail joins several other proprietary POTR features including:

• Postal Gopher – A patent pending built-in address retrieval service that makes it seamless to get a contact’s mailing address, saving senders the hassle of contacting the recipient or searching for the information.
• Signature – By using a finger as a pen to write or draw a signature or message, every POTR postcard has a personal touch – quite literally!
• GPS stamping –Places a mini GPS-enabled map or point of interest on the back of the card to easily identify the senders’ locale.

John Steel/ Shutterstock.com

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October 2010 was a turning point in Demi Lovato’s promising trajectory. She dropped out of a massive concert tour with the Jonas Brothers after punching a back-up dancer while flying out of Colombia. Lovato, at the height of her career, was lost in the midst of bulimia, stress, and self-injury.

She went into therapy and vanished from the public eye while tabloids put the young star on the spot. Her skinny silhouette and, especially, the revealing scars that suggested Lovato was hurting herself shocked the whole world.

Months later, instead of steering away from her highly-publicized troubles, she openly addressed the issue to help other young girls. A brave Demi Lovato took full responsibility for her actions in front of millions of viewers, and announced she was quitting her Disney Channel show to focus on her comeback album.

Record labels and artists sometimes fight their way through endless meetings to pick the track that will serve as the first single. Some other times it simply doesn’t work out the way they expected. This time, Lovato wanted everyone to see that she now stands fearless against rumors and detractors; she is healed, and ready to prove it.

“Skyscraper,” her first single in months, skyrocketed to the number one slot on iTunes within hours of its release, generating more buzz and talk than any other current song. The video, directed by Marc Pellington, was shot at Bonnevilla Sat Flats Desert in Utah, and features the young diva clad in pale hues, singing her heart out while trying to find her way.

She has been dubbed the best thing that came out of the Disney franchise since Christina Aguilera, whose talents have been cited as a strong influence in Lovato’s career. And that is a huge compliment in the era of auto-tune, where bombshells and buff Jersey-shore-like guys can camouflage their lack of talent to the beat of some repetitive mix.

Just like Christina Aguilera did back in 2002 with “Stripped,” which sold 12 million copies, Lovato’s new album, “Unbroken,” holds a heartfelt meaning, introspected reflections on her personal life, and lyrical maturity. “Unbroken” marks the natural transition from Disney girl into a beautifully imperfect soul.

Some lines bring you back to those sassy hints of Rihanna. Some other tunes resemble the emotional power of P!nk’s “Family Affair” when Demi Lovato sings about her family issues, and begs her dad to put the bottle down for the love of his daughter.

The new Lovato has awed fans, critics, and celeb friends who made the singer’s comeback album a trending topic on Twitter. “Unbroken” debuted within Billboard’s top five with impressive first week sales that might force the 19-year-old to go on tour now that her comeback has proven stellar.

She recently performed on numerous award shows to promote the record, including a Spanish rendition of  ”Skyscraper” at the Alma awards. Her second single, “Who’s That Boy?” and the fan-favorite, “Fix A Heart’” are set to become her new anthems. Meanwhile, Demi Lovato is rubbing shoulders with the music elite, only this time on a full stomach and with two tattoos that read Stay Strong on her wrists, a reminder that scars can be put behind.

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Twilight star Taylor Lautner is set to explode on the big screen in a film fans say will be the film to really make him a real Hollywood star. He will be playing the part of a teenager named Nathan Price. Nathan always had the feeling that there was something not quite right with his life. He felt as though he was living someone else’s life.

When he stumbles upon an image of himself as a child on a missing person website, all of his darkest fears seem to come true. He realizes that his whole life is just one big lie. His parents are not really his parents at all and there seems to lie underneath the surface a much bigger, more dangerous and mysterious lie than he could ever have imagined.

As Nathan begins to put together the pieces of his life in trying to find his true identity he is pursued by a group of trained killers. Nathan is then forced to run for his life with the only person he can trust his neighbor Karen played by Lily Collins. To add romance to the film, Lautner’s real life girlfriend plays Lily.

Image Courtesy of  abductionthefilm.com

Together, they head off for an adventure of their lives and discover the mysterious death of Nathan’s real parents. Nathan and Karen must run for their lives with not a second to lose or they face the fear of being captured by an army of Assassins and federal operatives. Nathan must realize the only way to survive is to discover the truth of his biological father and take matters into his own hands.

The movie Abduction is directed by John Singleton, who is responsible for films such as Boyz in the Hood, Poetic Justice and Higher Learning. Abduction stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins and Sigourney Weaver. Lautner who is one of the most successful young stars in Hollywood over the last few years due to his work on the Twilight series looks set to make it big in this high paced action adventure.

It was made with a budget of about $40 million, as estimated by Variety magazine. Lionsgate studios won a bidding war for the script in 2010 for $1 million. Gotham group and Vertigo entertainment developed the script based on an idea by Jeremy Bell. Photography on the film began on July 12, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Penn.

Casting for extras was held at Carnegie Mellon University, which drew more than 900 people, many of whom were fans of the Twilight series. A majority of the film’s scenes were shot at Mount Lebanon. The film is also set to include some of the most intense fight scenes that are guaranteed to thrill audiences.

Lautner revealed recently that he performed nearly all of his own stunts in the movie. Lautner said he made the insurance companies covering the movie very nervous since he insisted on performing his own stunts. Although he got a few bruises, there was nothing that bad. Abduction is set to open in theatres on September 23 2011

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Selena Gomez & the Scene is back in 2011 with its third studio album, When the Sun Goes Down, released June 28, 2011.

The first single, “Why Says” had its world premiere on the radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest on March 8 and was officially released on March 14. The accompanying music video, directed by Chris Applebaum, premiered on VEVO on March 11. “Who Says” was co-written and produced by Emanuel Kiriakou and Priscilla Hamilton. The song was met with generally positive reviews from most music critics, with many praising its theme of self-empowerment. Bill Lamb of About.com even called the band “the most consistent Disney pop hit-maker in recent year. The single was moderately successful, debuting at No. 24 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 and has gone to sell close to 900,000 copies in the U.S. The song also reached No. 17 in Canada and No. 15 in New Zealand, becoming the band’s highest charting single in those countries.

“Who Says” follows a succession of several self-empowerment anthems including “Firework” (Katy Perry), “Perfect” (Pink) and “Born This Way” (Lady Gaga). According to Gomez, this song was intended to inspire people and fire back at the “haters,” particularly those involved in cyber-bullying.

This single, “Who Says,” marks a distinct departure in sound for the band, as it has an acoustic and organic feel, compared to their other dance-pop and club-oriented singles. Gomez sings in the chorus: “Who says you’re not perfect/Who says you’re not worth it/Who says you’re the only one that’s hurting/Trust me that’s the price of beauty/Who says you’re not pretty/Who says you’re not beautiful/Who says” inspiring listeners not to listen to the gossip and hateful words spread about them. What matters is what you think of yourself. However, while Bill Lamb stated that the band is consistent in sound, this song lacks in originality, and said that it was another pop song with a theme of self-esteem.

Gomez wants to party with title track, “When the Sun Goes Down” as the up-tempo kicks off with a stuttering synth melody and an electric guitar riff energizing the opening verse as Gomez sings about looking forward to the evening after a long, tiring day. By the time the infectious chorus enters, Gomez sings “The party doesn’t start ’til the sun goes down/That’s when everything starts moving/Everybody up when the sun goes down/The music isn’t on ’til it’s way too loud/That’s when everybody starts dancing/Everybody shout when the sun goes down.” This song definitely sounds like the perfect way to kick off Friday night and dance through ‘til morning.

USA Today claims that in this album, Gomez takes on a bit of Britney Spears’ clubby femme fatale and a little of Katy Perry’s sexy role tweaker (both who contributed songs on this album), but she hasn’t turned her back on the young female audience that look up to her as a role model. Even the album’s most overtly sexual song, “We Own the Night,” tells a story with tame language. Compared with recent Top 40 hits, lyrics like “is it all right if I’m with you for the night” sound positively modest and the least bit risqué. Her undeniable catchy singles “Who Says” and “Love You Like a Love Song” suggest that Gomez is on the right track as she transitions into adulthood.

Track List

1.            Love You Like a Love Song

2.            Bang Bang Bang

3.            Who Says

4.            We Own the Night (featuring Pixie Lott)

5.            Hit the Lights

6.            Whiplash (written by Britney Spears)

7.            When the Sun Goes Down

8.            My Dilemma

9.            That’s More Like It

10.          Outlaw

11.          Middle of Nowhere

12.          Dices (Who Says-Spanish Version)

Image Courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52539998@N06/5833669417/sizes/z/in/photostream/

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