Dick Van Dyke, beloved actor, singer, dancer, writer and comedian, will receive SAG-AFTRA’s highest honor – the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Van Dyke will be presented the performers union’s most prestigious accolade, given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, which premieres live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, at 8 p.m. ET, ...

The Paley Center for Media will honor Participant Media and its Founder Jeff Skoll at its annual gala event “Salute to Excellence,” Tuesday, December 13 at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, it was announced today by Paley Center for Media President and CEO Pat Mitchell. Participant Media, whose most recent film projects include “The Help” and “Contagion,” is being honored for its unique use of media to accelerate social change. Participant’s films are often accompanied ...

Renowned actress, producer and humanitarian Mary Tyler Moore will receive Screen Actors Guild (SAG)’s most prestigious accolade – the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. Moore created a new paradigm for female leads in television, won top honors for her courageous performances in film, television and on stage, produced some of the most lauded television programs of all time, and for thirty years, has served as a tireless advocate giving hope to all those afflicted with Type 1...

 by Marla LewinJONI versus THE BARD, the Shakespeare SmackdownTonight Joan Darling presented her solo show, JONI VS THE BARD, the Shakespeare Smackdown as a benefit for Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills. We all know Shakespeare but who is Joan Darling? It is safe to say that without Joan Darling it might have been impossible for Katherine Bigelow and many other women to have had their careers. Joan is a true pioneer and has done much to shape both male and female directors over the years.Theatr...

by Marla Lewin Ed Asner was born the same year as the Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman play, Once In A Lifetime, was written 1929. Ed has been a regular performer for the LA Theatre Works readings of great plays since its inception in 1985. The first live reading of this play back then had guests Steven Spielberg and Barry Diller in the audience. The producer explained that their technique and equipment for that performance had not been as good as they would have liked so they had always wanted...

A “Once In A Lifetime” Backstage interview with Ed Asner of Pixar’s “UP”by Marla LewinEd Asner was born the same year as the Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman play, Once In A Lifetime, was written 1929. Ed has been a regular performer for the LA Theatre Works readings of great plays since its inception in 1985. The first live reading of this play back then had guests Steven Spielberg and Barry Diller in the audience. The producer explained that their technique and equipment for that perf...

Cinema/Chicago is proud to announce another 20 films that will appear at this year's Chicago International Film Festival. From dazzling CGI animation to tales of existential ennui and little white lies gone wrong, The 45th Chicago International Film Festival promises an impressive array of diverse films that will excite cinema fans in Chicago and beyond. Below is a newly released sampling of the 145 films that will be shown at this year's Chicago International Film Festival, which will take plac...

When you’re an A-list actress who has already won an Oscar, several Golden Globes and multiple Emmys, what do you do as an encore? Direct your own feature film, natch. Well that is what Helen Hunt has done and the prolific screen, television and stage actress will present her feature debut THEN SHE FOUND ME tonight at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts.Acting is part of Ms. Hunt’s DNA. She was born in 1963 in Culver City, California, the daughter of Jane Elizabeth Novis, a photographe...

 Saturday, March 2---------When you’re an A-list actress who has already won an Oscar, several Golden Globes and multiple Emmys, what do you do as an encore? Direct your own feature film, natch. Well that is what Helen Hunt has done and the prolific screen, television and stage actress will present her feature debut THEN SHE FOUND ME tonight at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts.Acting is part of Ms. Hunt’s DNA. She was born in 1963 in Culver City, California, the daughter of Jane El...

1920s 1928 Janet Gaynor - Seventh Heaven as "Diane", Street Angel as "Angela", and Sunrise as "The Wife (Indre)" Louise Dresser - A Ship Comes In as "Mrs. Pleznik" Gloria Swanson - Sadie Thompson as "Sadie Thompson" 1929 Mary Pickford - Coquette as "Norma Besant" Ruth Chatterton - Madame X as "Jacqueline Floriot" Betty Compson - The Barker as "Carrie" Jeanne Eagels - The Letter as "Leslie Crosbie" Corinne G...

The Beverly Hills Festivals runs April 13 to 17 and will offer a series of 5 industry seminarsSEMINAR: Independent Film Financing & Distribution A business and legal seminar for filmmakers that covers the development, financing and distribution of independent feature films. The panel will discuss various aspects of how to optimize the financing, sales and distribution of independent films. Panelists: Relani Belous (Vice-President, Business & Legal Affairs, Ventura Entertainment), Thomas Mai (M...