ODEON studios launches in Leicester square

ODEON offers new cinema experience to local film fans 

ODEON – the largest cinema chain across the UK and Ireland - has today announced the completion of ODEON Studios, the newly refurbished cinema in Leicester Square.

Designed to offer guests a more private cinema experience, and part of ODEON’s ongoing refurbishment programme, the new ODEON Studios boasts five fully accessible luxury screens in smaller, more personal auditoriums. Featuring brand new seats and increased screen size, ODEON Studios provides guests with the ultimate comfort and the latest in cutting edge digital technology. 

With a new boutique feel, ODEON Studios also features a Costa Coffee concession as well as a fully licensed bar, enabling guests to enjoy a beer or glass of wine whilst watching the film of their choice.

Tessa Street, General Manager at ODEON Studios said: “We are delighted to be able to offer film fans a new ODEON experience, more personal and unique than before. The refurbishment has meant that guests can enjoy ODEON’s fantastic film offering in a comfortable and stylish setting and we’re excited to welcome new and existing guests through the doors.”

Fanatical about film, ODEON Studios will provide film fans with a wide and varied choice of films, as well as a variety of alternative content such as sports, theatre and concerts.

Guests can continue to take advantage of the fantastic promotions at ODEON including the cheapest family, child and adult off-peak cinema tickets available in Leicester Square*. Other benefits include the option of joining the ODEON Première Club, a rewards scheme which allows members to earn points to spend on film tickets and snacks.

Create Levels, Share Experiences and Save the Universe

 with Friends in Piece Corps, A  New Mobile Game for iOS and Android
Piece Corps,

Created by Joe Doucet Studio, Promotes Diversity and Ignites Imagination
Without Boundaries by Letting Players Control the Game

Piece Corps, a new physics-based mobile game for casual gamers of all ages, is now available for free to download in the iTunes App Store and from Google Play. Piece Corps unites its players and characters through unique abilities and crafty problem solving skills to overcome challenging levels of schoolyard madness. Players can also control their own game play by creating new levels and sharing with friends, Facebook and the whole Piece Corps community.

The Piece Corps characters are a group of daring, young girls who protect the powerful “Book of
Dreams”. Unfortunately, the Evil Scientist has stolen it for his own wicked bidding! So it's up to
the Piece Corps to band together using their unique abilities against enemies of all kinds to get
the book back safely and save the universe.

"Piece Corps is more than a physics-based mobile game. It empowers imagination and
creativity by supplying the tools for players to create their own levels to be shared within a
global Piece Corps community," said Joe Doucet. "Also, by leveraging the unique abilities of
these diverse characters, we want to show the promise of uniting through differences, to work
together to achieve common goals.”

Key Features:

Who Are The Piece Corps?

Players can select one of five unique Piece Corps characters: Djane, Bundi, Meana, Deevah,
and Martia. Each character possesses three distinctive abilities to help solve complex and challenging levels. Mix and match from more than 125 different character combinations to best
tackle each puzzling level. For example, players can use Djane’s giant stereo to stun enemies
with a blast of music, or protect your chosen character in her pursuit to save the Piece Corps
friends with Martia’s impenetrable force field.

Quirky Enemies & Allies

The Evil Scientist has enlisted the help of the Wicked Lunch Lady, Foul Janitor, Criminal Coach,
and the Malicious Little Hall Monitors to stop the Piece Corps from recovering the “Book of
Dreams”!

Finish an entire pack to free and unlock a Piece Corps friend to help you along the journey.
Players should also always be on the look out for allies like the Powerful Principal, Special
School Nurse, and Cute Crush, who all aid the Piece Corps cause

Create Levels. Share with the World.

Piece Corps gives players a chance to be a part of the game. Every player is encouraged to put
his or her creative juices to work by building customized levels to share with the global Piece Corps community. Every level is a playable work of art, which other players can rate and share
as their favorite user-generated level.

Piece Corps is available now for free from the iTunes store (http://bit.ly/T2IZBw) and for Android
on Google Play (http://bit.ly/V5tmeu). Piece Corps will be available for Amazon, Kindle and in
the Mac App Store coming soon.

Stay in touch with the Piece Corps community and their latest news:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PieceCorps
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThePieceCorps

TopGear Magazine iPad edition

TopGear Magazine Launches Fully Interactive iPad Edition, Now Available On Newsstand

TopGear Magazine has today launched the first fully-interactive version of the world’s greatest car magazine on Newsstand with its ‘Cars of 2012’ Awards issue, setting a new high octane standard for iPad.

The TopGear Magazine iPad edition brings you up close and personal with the world’s most exciting cars allowing you to hear, see and interact with them in more high-definition, eye-popping detail than ever before.

The interactive magazine features more from the TopGear telly team (Clarkson, Hammond, May and the Stig), more of the incredible jaw-dropping imagery from TopGear’s world-class team of photographers and more exclusive - and loud –HD videos. It’s basically TopGear, but with added everything. And don’t forget that this is just the start. Every month the magazine will be packed with even more interactivity that puts you in the driving seat, so we hope you’ll join us for what promises to be an amazing ride. Readers can now decide how they want to experience TopGear Magazine with the key features including:

Ø  HD videos – stunning video of our world-exclusive feature

Ø  HD galleries – experience your favourite supercar from every angle, with extra images

Ø  Interactive content wheel – navigate to the latest news, hottest car reviews and the TopGear Garage

Ø  Facebook and Twitter – join live-populating feeds to interact with other readers

Ø  Entertainment – fire up the engines of our cover stars by tapping them on-screen

Ø  Secret Content – tap to reveal additional content within features

Ø  Exclusive offers – digital promotions only available on iPad

Ø  Buyers’ guide – read all the essentials for every new car available

Charlie Turner, Editor-in-Chief, TopGear Magazine said; “The launch of the fully interactive edition of TopGear Magazine on Newsstand is a huge milestone in the TopGear journey. Rammed full of exciting interactive content, our iPad edition also features exclusive HD videos, spine-tingling noise and even more stunning imagery from the world’s greatest photographers. Included as standard is some of the industry’s most evocative writing, and even more from those stalwarts of TGTV, Clarkson, Hammond, May and the Stig…. Though the Stig remains generally uncommunicative. TopGear Magazine really does put the reader in the driving seat. To quote a certain J.Clarkson, it's time to feel the.... Poweeeeeer!”

Simon Carrington, Publisher, TopGear Magazine added; “We are delighted to have finally arrived on iPad and Newsstand with a product that we believe fully maximises the technology. We know that the TopGear audience is used to seeing and hearing cars and it’s great to be able to provide video content that is on a par with their expectations. In the current media climate it’s important that TopGear can provide existing and new readers the chance to access the fantastic content that TopGear magazine generates every month.”

The app was developed by Engine Creative for Immediate Media Company, who publish TopGear Magazine under contract from BBC Worldwide.

The TopGear Magazine App is available for free from Newsstand on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore. Six-month (£14.99) and 12-month (£24.99) subscriptions are available via In-App Purchase, and individual issues are available for £2.99.

LAS ACACIAS

Pablo Giorgelli, director of the award winning film LAS ACACIAS, has recently written and directed REENCUENTRO, a 6 minute film exploring the relationship between a father and his daughter. 

View the film on the Verve Pictures website:  

http://www.vivaverve.com/product.php/223/0/reencuentro__meeting_again_

MASTERS OF CINEMA Series

Kaneto Shindō’s ONIBABA will be released as part of Eureka Entertainment’s MASTERS OF CINEMA Series on Blu-ray on 25 February 2013.

[For immediate release] Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will be upgrading one of the most popular titles in the Masters of Cinema Series, ONIBABA to a new 1080p HD Blu-ray on 25 February 2013.  One of the most popular Japanese horror films of all-time, ONIBABA was directed by Kaneto Shindō, the prolific director of 48 films (The Naked Island, Kuroneko) who passed away in 2012 at the age of 100, and who was still working up until his death.

  

“Onibaba graphically illustrates that brutalism, art and allegory can co-exist to spellbindingly powerful effect.” – Film 4

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SYNOPSIS:

Kaneto Shindō, one of Japan’s most prolific directors, received his biggest international success with the release of Onibaba [The Demoness] in 1964. Its depiction of violence and graphic sexuality was unprecedented at the time of release. Shindō managed — through his own production company Kindai Eiga Kyōkai — to bypass the strict, self-regulated Japanese film industry and pave the way for such films as Yasuzo Masumura’s Mojuu (1969) and Nagisa Oshima’s In the Realm of the Senses (1976).

Onibaba [or Onibabaa, in its alternate spelling] is set during a brutal period in history, a Japan ravaged by civil war between rivaling shogunates. Weary from combat, samurai are drawn towards the seven-foot high susuki grass fields to hide and rest themselves, whereupon they are ambushed and murdered by a ruthless mother (Nobuko Otowa) and daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) team. The women throw the samurai bodies into a pit, and barter their armour and weapons for food. When Hachi (Kei Satō), a neighbour returning from the wars, brings bad news, he threatens the women’s partnership.

Erotically charged and steeped in the symbolism and superstition of its Buddhist and Shintō roots, Kaneto Shindō’s Onibaba is in part a modern parable on consumerism, a study of the destructiveness of sexual desire and — filmed within a claustrophobic sea of grass — one of the most striking and unique films of Japan's last half-century, winning Kiyomi Kuroda the Blue Ribbon Award for Cinematography in 1965. The memorably frenetic drumming soundtrack was scored by long-time Shindō collaborator Hikaru Hayashi. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Onibaba for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK.

Original Theatrical Trailer http://youtu.be/s2SkmwgU8qs 

Available to pre-order from:

Amazon http://amzn.to/WljXOy

Play http://tidd.ly/e39e1d56

The Hut http://tidd.ly/defea0d5

Movie Mail http://bit.ly/RBr2gv

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SPECIAL NEW BLU-RAY EDITION:

• Gorgeous new 1080p HD transfer
• Full-length director’s audio commentary by director Kaneto Shindō and the stars of the film, Kei Satō, and Jitsuko Yoshimura

• Video introduction by Alex Cox
• 8mm footage (40-minutes) shot on location by lead actor Kei Satō
• Optional English subtitles
• Original theatrical trailer
• Production stills and promotional art gallery
• 36-PAGE BOOKLET with a new essay by Doug Cummings, an English translation of the original short Buddhist fable that inspired the film and a statement from writer/director Kaneto Shindō about why he made Onibaba

Amy shoots cover for NME

Amy Brammal was perhaps, more excited than most when she picked up her 60^th anniversary copy of NME magazine. This particular issue featured the Sex Pistols front man, John Lydon, sitting crossed-legged in a chair – and Amy took the picture.

29-year-old Amy from Leicester said: “I’ve done a lot of work for NME, all over the UK and as far afield as Serbia in the past. John Lydon was lovely to direct through the shoot and I was ridiculously happy when my picture it was selected for the cover. It’s definitely a career highlight to date and hopefully will be the first of many.”

Amy started taking photos at friend’s music gigs and soon found that she had a natural talent. She studied for both an A-Level and Foundation Degree in Photography with Leicester College, before ‘topping-up’ to a full BA at De Montfort University.

Meeting music promoters earned her more work, which she fitted in around her five years of study. By the time she graduated in 2009, Amy had enough work to keep her busy as a full-time freelancer – and she has done ever since.

 “When I first started, I was shooting bands in abandoned warehouses standing against walls and that sort of thing, which is pretty typical. By about my third shoot, I decided I wanted to do something different and really developed my own style,” says Amy.

Amy’s striking style has taken her all over the world; behind the scenes with bands on tour, in front of soap stars on TV sets and in the photo pits at some of the biggest festivals on the planet. Although she does a lot of work with bands, she wouldn’t describe herself as a music photographer.

 “I’d say my work is commercial photography. It’s predominantly music-based based because of my love of music and the work I’ve done for NME. For me it’s all about portraiture, I love capturing people. It can sometimes feel like you’re intruding on a private moment, but then you remember it’s your job. I really enjoy shooting people who are enjoying it and communicating with me the most,” she explained.

 “I didn’t know anyone in the industry when I started and I think that was one of the hardest things as half the battle is working out who you need to speak to and when. Gaining formal qualifications at College and University was really important for me though and definitely helped. I was really nervous on my first few shoots for NME, but with more experience; comes more confidence.”

Amy is currently working in Leeds for ITV; a role that has seen her on the sets of Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Celebrity Juice. She doesn’t want to stop there though, with ambitions to do book or album covers watch out for more of Amy’s work in the near future.

Film Magic

Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) to cast a festive spell with two special screenings of THE HOBBIT in support of East End charity Step Forward at the Genesis Cinema.

Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit star, Sir Ian McKellen will attend two exclusive fundraiser Q&A screenings of THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, in which he reprises the role of Gandalf, at the Genesis Cinema on Friday 21^st December in support of East End charity Step Forward. Sir Ian who is patron of Step Forward has been an active supporter of the charity, who work with young people in Tower Hamlets, since 1996.

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated version of THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, is the first of a trilogy of films adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s enduring masterpiece.

Step Forward is an independent charity committed to improving the health, well being and life chances of local young people aged 11-25 affected by poverty and disadvantage in Tower Hamlets. The charity offers a range of free and confidential counselling and support services, helping young people deal with any difficulties in their life or recover from past trauma or abuse. Through their purpose built centre in Bethnal Green they offer a place of sanctuary which inspires and encourages 2,000 young people a year to realise their self-worth, raise their aspirations and reach their full potential in life.

Like many charities in London Step Forward has been affected by public sector cuts and reduction in funding across the board. “Step Forward is so impressive to visit, welcoming and utterly committed to helping local young people,” says Sir Ian. “It is amazing that such an evidently worthwhile project does not receive the funding necessary to continue its vital work. I am very happy and honoured to be a Patron for Step Forward and support its aim to continue providing essential support services over the coming years.”

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, (12A, r/t: 170 minutes).

Special Charity Fundraiser screenings on Friday 21^st December:

18:30 (Screen 1), 19:00 (Screen 5)

Q&As with Sir Ian McKellan before each screening

At The Genesis Cinema, 93-95 Mile End Rd, London. E1 4UJ.

Tickets are £20 for Screen 1 and VIP tickets for Screen 5 are being auctioned. Tickets for Screen 1 are now on sale through the Genesis Cinema Box Office: 020 7780 2000 or online booking at:http://www.genesiscinema.co.uk/comingsoon.php Ticket prices will include a donation of £10 to Step Forward on each ticket.

VIP tickets for the private screening in Studio 5 which seats 40 people will be auctioned by Step Forward via Ebay from the 8^th December. For more details check out the charity’s web site on: www.step-forward.org