Entertainment
Digicel partners with Sumfest again
Digicel has signed on as the official telecommunications sponsor for Reggae Sumfest for the 10th consecutive year. In what is gearing up to be a truly exciting season, Digicel has promised to deliver "superior value and amazing offers" to its over two million customers and Sumfest patrons, a release from the company said.
"Reggae Sumfest is a staple in Jamaican entertainment and Digicel is excited about our 10th year of partnership with what is truly the greatest reggae show on earth and this is a testament to Digicel's commitment to supporting our culture and our heritage," commented Shelly-Ann Curran, senior sponsorship manager at Digicel, about their involvement.
Shaggy
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Shaggy
Reggae Sumfest 2010 will take place from July 18 through 24 in Catherine Hall, Montego Bay and organisers have already confirmed some of the most talented local and international artistes to be on its line-up.
"Last year Digicel brought Divas of Dancehall campaign to Sumfest patrons, which was a huge success. This year will definitely be bigger and better," Curran continued.
When asked what Sumfest patrons can expect from Digicel this year, Curran shared that cellphone manufacturer and innovator Motorola is on board with them this year and will be an integral part of the company's marketing campaign around Sumfest.
"We can't let the cat out of the bag just yet, but what I will say is that it will be explosive, it will be everything that an energetic, hip, and cutting-edge-out-of-the-box brand like Digicel could conceive, and something that we will deliver with Motorola," Curran said.
Among the acts confirmed for this year's Reggae Sumfest are Chris Brown, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Tarrus Riley, Queen Ifrica, Jah Cure, Elephant Man, I-Octane, Konshens, Stacious, Chino, Tessanne Chin, Gramps Morgan and Tifa.
Karate Kid opens at No 1 with $56-million kick
LOS ANGELES, USA (AP) — The Karate Kid has won a 1980s showdown at the box office against The A-Team.
Sony's remake of 1984's The Karate Kid debuted at No 1 for the weekend with a whopping $56 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The big-screen adaptation of the 1980s TV series The A-Team came in at less than half that, the 20th Century Fox release opening in second place with $26 million.
After three weekends at No 1, DreamWorks Animation's Shrek Forever After slipped to No 3 with $15.8 million. The animated hit raised its domestic haul to $210.1 million, becoming the fourth movie released this year to top $200 million.
With a relatively modest production budget of $40 million, The Karate Kid far exceeded the studio's expectations. Early on, Sony executives would have been happy if the movie opened to half its $56-million debut weekend, said Rory Bruer, the studio's head of distribution.
Those expectations began to rise once the studio realised it had a crowd-pleaser on its hands, Bruer said.
"It's just an unmitigated grand slam hit," said Bruer, who also worked on distribution for the 1984 version. "I loved the original Karate Kid, but they took this beloved title, and they made it relevant, fresh and absolutely exciting."
The big opening for The Karate Kid gave Hollywood a boost after a weak start to the summer season. Iron Man 2 opened big the first weekend in May, but the box office has lagged since then.
According to box-office tracker Hollywood.com, overall revenues came in at $153 million, up 11 per cent from the same weekend last year, when The Hangover led with $32.8 million.
The Karate Kid stars Jaden Smith as an American boy who moves with his mom to China, where he takes on a bully under the guidance of an unassuming martial arts master (Jackie Chan).
With his first lead role, 11-year-old Smith had an opening weekend that stacked up well against the track record of his superstar father, Will Smith, who has had only two debuts bigger than The Karate Kid (I Am Legend at $77.2 million and Hancock at $62.6 million). Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith are producers on The Karate Kid.
Chris Aronson, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, said the momentum of a strong weekend should benefit The A-Team, which received high marks in exit polls from the under-25 crowd.
"It's good that the industry finally has an up weekend, so it's nice to be a part of that," Aronson said. "We're very optimistic that we're now in an upswing in the business and that we're going to play and play as our word of mouth spreads."
Hollywood looks to build on its momentum next weekend as Pixar Animation goes back to its roots with "Toy Story 3," the latest sequel to the 1995 hit that was the first feature-length computer-animated film.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theatres, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released today.
1. The Karate Kid, $56 million.
2. The A-Team, $26 million.
3. Shrek Forever After, $15.8 million.
4. Get Him to the Greek, $10.1 million.
5. Killers, $8.2 million.
6. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, $6.6 million.
7. Marmaduke, $6 million.
8. Sex and the City 2, $5.5 million.
9. Iron Man 2, $4.6 million.
10. Splice, $2.9 million.
D-Major steadily gaining momentum
D-Major
Leighton Levy, Star Writer
About a month ago singer D-Major flew to New York to perform at a friend's birthday bash. From all accounts his performance was well received but, from where he stands, it is he who came away with the greater sense of satisfaction.
"People were actually singing along," he recalled, seemingly surprised that so many people in New York were intimate with his music.
The singer who specialises in Lover's Rock, but has been exploring new sounds in recent times, said people at the party were even requesting which of his songs he should sing.
experienced
The reaction to his music was quite similar in Lowe River, Trelawny, where he performed recently. The night was cold, he said, but the reception from the audience was very warm. He also experienced more of the same during the Easter weekend on a tour to the North Coast. At the Kite Festival especially, the crowd was frenzied when he performed along with his Scikron/Big Yard label-mates.
Yes, the singer born Damian Codlin is feeling the love from his growing number of supporters both here and abroad and he intends to stoke the warmth into blazing heat with the fuel being supplied by new ideas he has been working on. "Some ideas came up over the Easter weekend and I intend to develop on those in the coming weeks," he said.
New music is also on the horizon.
Meanwhile, he says he likes the energy coming from his video, Real Friends. The video has been steadily climbing Hype TV's video charts. Tempo has also fallen in love with the video where it has been getting frequent play. That song, plus several others, including So Smooth, Smooth Sailing, My Babes,featuring Sleepy Hollow, and the popular Wife Material, have been getting heavy rotation on local radio.
The singer whose female fan base rivals that of many seasoned entertainers, is quietly pleased with the path his career is now on. "This is definitely a step in the right direction," he said.
Dancehall DJ, Bounty Killer, was this morning arrested by the St Andrew North Police at his East Avenue home. Bount Killer, whose real name is Rodney Pryce, was collared by the cops who executed a warrant for assault occasioning bodily harm on him. Police say Pryce physically abused his female companion after she decided to end their three year relationship. A report was made to the police and following investigations a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Police report that while being processed at the Constant Spring Police Station, in keeping with standard police operating procedure, Pryce was allowed to make a telephone call. Police say the DJ used that opportunity to call the complainant and threatened her life in their presence. He was refused station bail and will appear in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
AP – In this publicity image released by Fox, the 12 male finalists for the ninth season of the reality singing …
LOS ANGELES – Teen power won out on "American Idol" as Katie Stevens claimed a place in the top 12 while a more experienced singer got the ax.
Stevens, 17, earned viewer support even though the show's judges were disappointed earlier this week by her performance of "Breakaway" that Randy Jackson likened to karaoke.
Lilly Scott, despite earning praise for her artistry on "I Fall to Pieces," was among the four contestants dropped Thursday. They included Alex Lambert of North Richland Hills, Texas; Todrick Hall of Arlington, Texas, and Katelyn Epperly of West Des Moines, Iowa.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Guns N' Roses will play three private shows in Brazil and Argentina during the band's current tour of South America, the organizer said on Monday.
The shows are set for undisclosed locations in Sao Paulo on Thursday and Buenos Aires on March 20. Plans are also in the works for a show in Rio De Janeiro.
Organizer Jamison Ernest said each venue will hold about 150 people. He declined to reveal too much information for fear of riots by uninvited guests. He will co-host the Sao Paulo show with Brazilian model Ana Beatriz Barros.
The 11-date tour, the band's first trek around the continent since its heyday in 1992, began on Sunday in Brasilia. Dates are on tap through April 1 in Quito, Ecuador. The band will also play Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia.
Ernest, a friend of Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose, also runs a clothing company and has a band, both named Yellow Fever. Guns N' Roses previously played three secret shows, two in New York City and one in London.
LOS ANGELES – Johnny Depp and Tim Burton found a pile of money on the other side of the looking glass.
"Alice in Wonderland," their update on Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass," had a mammoth opening weekend of $116.1 million.
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:
1. "Alice in Wonderland," Disney, $116,101,023, 3,728 locations, $31,143 average, $116,101,023, one week.
2. "Brooklyn's Finest," Overture, $13,350,299, 1,936 locations, $6,896 average, $13,350,299, one week.
3. "Shutter Island," Paramount, $13,225,411, 3,178 locations, $4,162 average, $95,750,005, three weeks.
4. "Cop Out," Warner Bros., $9,289,311, 3,150 locations, $2,949 average, $32,504,610, two weeks.
5. "Avatar," Fox, $8,118,102, 2,163 locations, $3,753 average, $720,607,444, 12 weeks.
NEW YORK – After saying goodbye on concert stages and online video streams, Lil Wayne had nothing to add as he was sentenced Monday to a year in jail for having a loaded gun on his tour bus.
The Grammy Award-winning rapper delivered only a brief bow to fans and supporters as he was led out of a courtroom in handcuffs to start serving his sentence.
With that, Lil Wayne headed off to face his punishment in a case that had shadowed him as he became one of music's most prolific and profitable figures in recent years. Arrested in July 2007, he pleaded guilty in October to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He admitted he had the loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun on his bus.
His lawyer, Stacey Richman, said the rapper was resolute as he was taken away.
"He knew what he had to do, and he's doing it," she said.
Lil Wayne arrived later Tuesday at the Rikers Island jail complex, where he was being held apart from the general population of inmates because of his fame. He has a cell to himself but the option of spending time in a TV room with 17 other inmates who also have been separated from the general population because of notoriety or other reasons, according to the city Correction Department.
