APR 26: COLCOA CLOSING DAY AT DGA; ANNUAL FRENCH FILM FEST FEATURES FREE FUN FOR ALL

Celebrate the 13th anniversary of COL•COA on April 26th with:
The official COL•COA Short Film Competition – FREE ADMISSION
Two surprise reruns - FREE ADMISSION
The anticipated North-American premiere of Welcome – $5 admission
The drawing of the Win a Trip to Paris contest
Coffee & cake party.
More info: http://www.colcoa.org/2009/events/sunday.asp

SPARKS WILL FLY WHEN CBS’ "ROCKSTAR: SUPERNOVA" Winner LUKAS ROSSI Shares the Stage with Runnerup DILANA for the First Time

Live at the Brixton in Redondo Beach, Saturday, April 25, 2009

(LOS ANGELES; April 7, 2009) – The first time on stage together since the CBS reality series Rock Star: Supernova, winner Lukas Rossi and runner-up Dilana perform live at Brixton in Redondo Beach, CA on Saturday, April 25th. Lukas is thrilled to be joined on stage by his dear friend and sista in rock, Dilana. Sparks will fly and who knows what could happen with the closing encore!

Who: Lukas Rossi & Stars Down with special guest, Dilana
What: An evening with Lukas Rossi & Dilana, one night only performance!
When: Saturday, April 25, 2009, 8PM, 21+
Where: Brixton, 100 J W. Torrance Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA
Tickets: $15 at the door, or to purchase advance tickets,
please visit http://tickets.brixtonsouthbay.com or call 310.406.1931.

ABOUT LUKAS ROSSI
Lukas Rossi and his band, Stars Down is comprised of an internationally acclaimed singer (Rossi) who sounds like a bastard music child of Freddie Mercury and Jeff Buckley (and is as compelling on stage as David Bowie and Iggy Pop), and a full throttle band that will make your ass move (all while stealing your girlfriends). The band's influences collectively range everywhere from Jeff Buckley to The Cure to Queen, however Lukas Rossi’s original music is very fresh, very new, and very much his own. Layered with melodic harmonies, and a stellar (no pun intended) ability to grab the crowd by the balls, the Lukas Rossi and Stars Down sound is emotive and tortured, yet inspiring and hopeful, and in the unforgettable soaring vocals of Lukas Rossi, the listener ultimately finds redemption. For more information, visit Lukas Rossi official website at www.lukasrossionline.com

ABOUT DILANA
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dilana began her singing career at a very young age, finding her way on stage in front of her first audience at the age of 7. From then on, she was music obsessed, leaving school at 16 to sing in a traveling duo and soon, perform in various cover and original bands for a number of years. Leaving, as she called it, years of "madness and violence in the city," she moved from her homeland and onto the Netherlands in order to further herself and start her own band. A wise decision--playing covers and originals, Dilana's band became one of the country's highest paid and most booked bands. She even opened up for the internationally acclaimed (Dutch) rock band, Golden Earring. Dilana who is best known for her participation on the hit CBS reality-show "Rock Star: Supernova" now lives in the United States where she is enjoying success with surely more hits to follow. For more information, please visit her website at www.dilana-robichaux.com

ABOUT BRIXTON SOUTHBAY
With a newly renovated, speak easy vibe; this 450 capacity live music venue is considered Redondo Beach’s premiere hotspot. The club features state-of-the-art sound & lighting, a private V.I.P Sky Lounge, 3 beautiful restrooms, and an expansive dance floor. All patrons receive ‘free’ validated parking in their adjacent secured parking structure, and full cocktail & bottle service are available. The club is also available for private parties, film shoots, music videos and band rehearsals. For more information, please visit their website at www.brixtonsouthbay.com.

For media inquiries, or to set up an interview with Lukas Rossi or Dilana, please contact Kim Koury @ kim@spinprgroup.com or call 310.497.6324.

APR 15: FREE LUNCH AT IVAN KANE'S HIP HOLLYWOOD HOTSPOT, CAFE WA S

Event Listing by Don Rose

Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch? Not Ivan Kane.
His "Cafe Wa s" (not sure why there is a space in its official name)
is featuring free lunch (yes, free lunch, you read right),
but we expect it will get crowded so going early is advised.
(Info is from socialdomain.com, a great website for events.)

Ivan's foodie freebie in the middle of a bad economy,
and on tax day to boot, should make many mini-moguls
in the haven called Hollywood happy:

Free lunch Tax Day at Cafe Wa s
Wednesday April 15th 2009
Cafe Wa s - 1521 N Vine Street - Los Angeles, CA
Time 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Info 323.466.5400
Cost Free
Organization Home www.cafewas.com
Starting April 13, Ivan Kane’s Café Wa s will be open for lunch..... Since this year tax season is going to hit us all a little bit harder, owner Ivan Kane is offering free lunch on tax day, April 15th. It's first come, first serve. (There is a special menu for the free lunch day that is different from the regularly offered lunch menu, www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=5177556&key=MjBmOTljMGIt&pass=YTFkYi00ZTU1 )

APR 21: ANNUAL BEN & JERRY'S FREE CONE DAY; FREE ICE CREAM 12-8PM (CALL TO CONFIRM IN YOUR AREA)

Can you believe this is the 31st year that Ben & Jerry's is doing a Free Cone Day?
True. According to the Web, they're giving Free Ice Cream 4/21/09 from noon to 8pm.
With our current anemic economic condition, the lines for this may be longer this year.
(By the way, wouldn't it make more sense to do this day on 4/20? Wink wink, nudge nudge...)
Below is more info on this deal, first from the SlickDeals website -- original link is
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=1196819 :

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day ... on 4/21 from noon - 8pm YMMV *
Hey everyone, who doesn't like Ice cream, especially when it is free!!!
Ben & Jerry's is having their free Ice cream cone day this year on
... Tuesday, April 21, 2009
... 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: at participating Scoop Shops
Your local Ben & Jerry's may or may not be participating, so ... call and check ...
Store Locator: http://www.benjerry.com/scoop_shops

* YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary... or at least I assume that's what it means.
If you want the "scoop" from the official source, here it is, via the Ben & Jerry's website:

Tuesday, April 21st is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s, and you know what that means... free ice cream for you! As a way to thank our customers for their support and to celebrate 31 years of scooping the chunkiest, funkiest ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet, Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops are happily giving it away! Maybe it’s time for you to try a new flavor that you’ve been wondering about without commiting your hard earned dollars or it’s time for you to enjoy an old favorite and savor in the deliciousness that is free ice cream? Hey, either way it’s time for you to come on in! Around the world, Scoop Shops are opening their doors from noon to 8:00 pm, to serve up a free scoop of your favorite flavor. Please check with your local Scoop Shop for more info! Grab a pal and come on down to have some good, ’scream fun on us!

Find a participating Scoop Shop near you!
Join the Free Cone Day event on facebook!

IN THE AGE OF OBAMA, IS AMOS 'n' ANDY STILL "RACIST" OR WAS IT A COMEDY MILESTONE WORTH A SECOND LOOK?

Event Listing by Don Rose

On now until 4.26.09 is the 14th iteration of the UCLA Festival of Preservation, when the UCLA Film & Television Archive presents films preserved by its world-renowned preservation department. The Festival again offers a veritable mixture of the ancient and the modern, silent masterpieces and sound diversions, fictional shorts and full-length documentaries.

On tap for Monday April 6 is a double bill at the Hammer, starting with the first feature film by Amos 'n' Andy, once the biggest stars on radio.

Here is a description of the comedy duo and their film debut from the webpage http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/calendar/calendardetails.aspx?details_type=2&id=323:

Monday April 6 2009, 7:30PM ( Buy Ticket )
Preservation funded by Rich Correll

CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK (1930) Directed by Melville Brown
By 1930, NBC's "Amos ‘n' Andy" was a radio phenomenon broadcasting six nights a week to over 30 million listeners. With interest bordering on a national craze, anticipation for the team's heavily promoted film debut was high. Photoplay predicted, "Fifty million Amos ‘n' Andy fans [would] mob the theaters to see their idols for the first time." Viewed three-quarters of a century later, the film offers an invaluable glimpse into the complex, indelicate racial dynamics of the Depression era. The film is also notable as the Hollywood feature debut of composer and bandleader Duke Ellington.
RKO. Producer: William LeBaron. Screenplay: Bert Kalmar, J. Walter Ruben, Harry Ruby. Cinematographer: William Marshall. Editor: Claude Berkeley. Cast: Freeman F. Gosden, Charles J. Correll, Sue Carol, Irene Rich, Ralf Harolde. 35mm, 71 min.

More info on Amos 'n' Andy and their first movie can be found at the website http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/radio/amos/film/film.html, along with more photos and analysis. Here is a sample:

"I can recall walking past motion picture theaters and seeing signs promising to stop the movie and turn on the radio when it came time for the show." -Jack Benny

Although radio legend Jack Benny was discussing the popularity of the Amos 'n' Andy radio show in the above quote, one can only wonder what happened when Correll and Gosden's first (and last) feature film was being screened when the radio program came on. For the sake of the blackface duo, it is hoped theater owners stopped the projector and turned on the radio to remind fans why they had come to sit through this screen disappointment in the first place.

"Check and Double-Check", released in 1930 by RKO pictures, was a heavily promoted critical and commercial disappointment. Amos and Andy are actually secondary players in their own movie. According to Melvin Ely, producers feared that Correll and Gosden's fifteen minute radio shows would be difficult to carry a full-length feature and so, they supplemented the duo with a love triangle between three white people (including the son of Amos and Andy's former employer), a haunted house, and a missing will.

And here is the other classic movie on the bill for Monday:

Preservation funded by the American Film Institute/National Endowment for the Arts Preservation Grants Program
POINTED HEELS (1929) Directed by A. Edward Sutherland

A "backstage" musical of the early sound era, Pointed Heels is a must see for two reasons. The first is William Powell, displaying all his suave appeal as a dapper Broadway producer. Although he doesn't get the girl, Powell is a delight to watch. The second reason is Helen "Sugar" Kane, the Broadway singer who became the uncredited model for Betty Boop. In a rare screen role, Kane here interpolates her signature "boop-boop-a-doop" in the numbers "Ain'tcha?" and "I Have to Have You." This preservation also includes a two-color Technicolor sequence, not an uncommon occurrence at the time.Paramount Famous Lasky Corp.. Based on the short story by Charles William Brackett. Scenario: Florence Ryerson, John V. A. Weaver. Cinematographer: Rex Wimpy. Editor: Jane Loring. Cast: William Powell, Fay Wray, Helen Kane, Richard Skeets Gallagher, Phillips Holmes. 35mm, 61 min.

What: UCLA Festival of Preservation
When: Monday April 6 2009, 7:30PM
Where: UCLA Hammer Musem, Billy Wilder Theater, Wilshire at Westwood Blvds., LA