Tag: Cinema Siren

ARTINSIGHTS & CINEMA SIREN AT SDCC 2016: All the Panels!

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For those of you who frequent either my art gallery Artinsights or the website Cinema Siren, we are going to be at SDCC 2016 next week with three panels.  That means we won’t be in the gallery, but we WILL be creating amazing stories and memories.  Anyone who will be at Comic-Con International: San Diego, I hope you’ll come to whatever panels interest you we’ve put together!  And i’ll take this moment to thank all the amazing women and men who have supported, promoted, or are taking part in any way in these events.  One thing i’ve learned and will never forget is that there are genuine, enthusiastic, people in LA and working in Hollywood who still maintain their optimism and believe in making the world of film better!

You may not believe this, but there are actually nice, well-meaning agents and studio reps.  YES, YOU HEARD ME! 

Here are the three panels I’ve spent the better part of the last year putting together.  Do I believe in the subject matter? YES! There are lots of people spending hours outside their actual job trying to make change, and they deserve to be heard.  As long as I can and whatever way I can, i’ll shine a spotlight on anyone with vision and an open heart.  I invite you to do all you can to promote these people, and anyone who is working to make Hollywood more diverse and inclusive, while providing AWESOME entertainment!  Also let me send out a hearty thanks and express my gratitude to both Wattpad, the sponsor for our Women Rocking Hollywood panel, and Women In Animation, who sponsored our Cartoon Creatives panel. 

Thursday:

4:30 – 5:30 Cartoon Creatives: Women Power in Animation–While Women in Animation’s initiative strives to have a 50/50 workforce in the animation world by 2025, there are women leading the charge right now, creating, innovating, and guiding cartoons into a future filled with talent that goes beyond gender, and their fans are loving every minute of it. Scheduled to appear are Lauren Faust (creator, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) Brooke Keesling (director of animation talent development at Disney TV Animation) Lauren Montgomery (co-executive producer, Voltron: Legendary Defender)  Stevie Wermers-Skelton (co-director, the upcoming Frozen Holiday Special) Gina Shay (producer, the upcoming Trolls) Katie Krentz (senior director of development: Cartoon Network, Steven Universe), Daron Nefcy (creator/executive producer, Star vs. the Forces of Evil) and Marge Dean (co-president, Women in Animation) to discuss their experiences and upcoming projects.  Moderated by Leslie Combemale of Animation Scoop.  Rm 24ABC

Friday:

1:30 – 2:30  Cartoon Legends Speak: Diversity in the History of Animation–A panel featuring great artists including Disney Legend, and first African-American animator hired at Walt Disney Studios, Floyd Norman (The Jungle Book, Monsters, Inc), first African-American animator to get a screen credit and award winning illustrator Ron Husband (The Rescuers, The Little Mermaid), Japanese-American and Inkpot winner Willie Ito (Lady & the Tramp, The Flintstones), Jane Baer (Sleeping Beauty, Roger Rabbit) discuss their careers, their futures, and how diversity has played a role in their artistic lives.  Moderated by Leslie Combemale of Animation Scoop. Room: 24ABC

Saturday:

2:00 – 3:00 Women Rocking Hollywood–This exciting new panel features powerful, talented women changing Hollywood from the inside.  As creatives, directors, and producers, they are breaking box office records and showing Hollywood altering the status-quo just makes for better movies. Scheduled to appear are Victoria Alonso (exec producer, Doctor Strange, Captain America: Civil War), Deborah Snyder (producer, Wonder Woman, Justice League) Angela Robinson (writer/director, D.E.B.S., True Blood, How to Get Away With Murder) Catherine Hardwicke (director, Twilight, upcoming Love Letters to the Dead) and Kirsten Schaffer (exec director, Women in Film: LA)  talking about positive changes in tinsel town, their work, and future projects. Marvel, DC, blockbusters, indies, and powerful women-This panel brings it all! Moderated by Leslie Combemale of Cinema Siren. Room: 25ABC

If you won’t be at SDCC, as many around the world, you can watch our panels on our YouTube Cinema Siren and ArtInsights channels, or you wait and see them when we post them on our websites.  As for ArtInsights, we’ll be back on Wednesday, July 27th.  Come visit, call, or chat online.  Meanwhile you can also read a bit more about my experience putting together the panels HERE on my column for Animation Scoop.

ArtInsights partners with Habitat for Humanity and Warner Bros. for a Wizard of Oz Anniversary show

Wizard of Oz by John Alvin

Reston, Va – ArtInsights Animation and Film Art Gallery is teaming up with Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia for an exhibit and sale of official The Wizard of Oz art, showing interpretive artwork from the classic movie by carefully selected film artists chosen to represent a wide diversity of imagery and artistic styles. In honor of the Hollywood premiere of The Wizard of Oz on August 15, 1939, all are invited to an open house from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Friday, August 15, as well as to an event featuring official Warner Bros. artist Andrea Alvin on Sunday, August 17, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at ArtInsights, located in the Reston Town Center in Reston, VA.  Ten percent of profits from sales of The Wizard of Oz art sold during the exhibit will be donated to Habitat for Humanity, as well as all money raised from the raffle and silent auction during its opening weekend.   The exhibit, entitled “There’s No Place Like Home,” will be on display through September 15.  For more information, please contact ArtInsights at 703-478-0778 or visit www.ArtInsights.com.

Through Warner Bros., a collection of highly regarded artists have been commissioned to create images inspired by the film for art collectors and film fans.  John Alvin, cinema artist responsible for the movie posters for E.T., Blade Runner, and The Lion King, created images prior to his death in 2008, and they will now be seen in public for the first time at this special exhibit at ArtInsights.  His wife and partner at Alvin & Associates, Andrea Alvin, has also created art and will make a special guest appearance during the opening weekend of the exhibit and sale.  She has hand-embellished two of her The Wizard of Oz limited edition art pieces, making them unique and highly collectible.  One of the art pieces, “Startling Stories: Wicked Witch,” will be part of the raffle and the other, “Startling Stories: Tin Man,” will be available through the silent auction.  Other artists on exhibit include Steve Chorney, the poster artist for the Who Framed Roger Rabbit? one-sheet, and Dan Killen, concept artist on Space Jam and The Iron Giant.

“We are proud and excited to be the gallery celebrating the actual anniversary of such a classic film,” says ArtInsights owner Leslie Combemale. “The quote, ‘There’s no place like home,’ has so much resonance when thinking of affordable housing.  We always love involving charity in our exhibits, now collectors can enjoy inspiring images from one of their favorite films and do good at the same time.”  ArtInsights adds the official art of The Wizard of Oz to a collection of film art, all created by licensed and most distinguished artists working in the film industry today.

For more information about the gallery exhibit and opening benefitting Habitat for Humanity, go to artinsights.com.  Find out more about the “There’s No Place Like Home” campaign at http://thewizardofoz.com/Habitat .  To buy raffle tickets or find out more about Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia, go to http://habitatnova.org/.

ABOUT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia’s unique model of affordable housing is focused on home ownership. Habitat homeowners secure a no-interest mortgage, while the non-profit secures corporate sponsorship, in-kind donations, and volunteer labor to make the home affordable. Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia (Habitat NOVA) was founded in 1990, and to date has built 80 homes, rehabilitated 4 homes and repaired 20 homes, benefiting more than 400 people. As a local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, Habitat NOVA serves the counties of Fairfax and Arlington and the Cities of Falls Church, Fairfax, and Alexandria. More information is available at www.habitatnova.org.

ABOUT ARTINSIGHTS ANIMATION AND FILM ART GALLERY
ArtInsights, established in 1994, is a privately owned gallery located just outside of Washington, DC at Reston Town Center, in Virginia. The gallery presents important images from the 20th and 21st century film art genre, including original art from the masters of film and moving entertainment. From film campaign artists to concept and layout artists to animators, ArtInsights represents a wide collection from the giants and up and comers of film art. With over 30 years experience, the owners work with their worldwide collector base to build and insure the integrity of their collections. They sell rare images used in production as well as original commissions which are often used to create official limited editions.  ArtInsights exclusively represents the original art of John Alvin, Casey Robin, and Ben Curtis Jones, and also exhibits Tim Rogerson, Jim Salvati, Mike Kungl, Chuck Jones, Christian Waggoner, Steve Chorney, Mary Grandpre and and many other artists made famous by their work for the major Hollywood studios. Featured studios include Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, and 20th Century Fox, in a display of images from the best classic movies and animated features of the last 100 years as well as newer classics like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Star Trek. You can see more on their website, and learn more on their web magazine, as well as hear movie reviews by owner Leslie Combemale’s alter ego, Cinema Siren, on over 600 Patch sites nationwide or through artinsightsmagazine.com.  ArtInsights Animation and Film Art Gallery is located at 20907 Medinah Court, Ashburn, VA 20137. For more information, call 703-478-0778 and visit https://artinsights.com/production/wizard-of-oz-1939/ for images from Wizard of Oz.

ABOUT WARNER BROS. CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

THE WIZARD OF OZ and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Turner Entertainment Co.
(s14)

For press info contact Leslie Combemale at the gallery.

AWESOME Con DC! The Art of John Alvin panel

John Alvin postcard

There’s a Con-toddler in our midst.  It’s the nearly brand spanking new convention in DC for enthusiasts of comics, movies, cartoons, and all things geeky.  Not a moment too soon, I say…  Last year we were at another convention the same weekend so we couldn’t take part. This year, however, with the shiny folk running the show, we are having our first con panel of the year, with guest Andrea Alvin of Alvin & Associates, John Alvin’s wife and artistic partner in ” The Art of John Alvin”.

It will be on Saturday April 19th at 2:45 (Room 204C)  Info on the convention programming is at http://awesomecondc.com/programming/ 

We are bringing some really rare original paintings created by John during his career, and it will be the first time we discuss the new book release, written by Andrea, about John and his amazing life as a film artist.  The book, which is being published through Titan Books, will have a preview release at San Diego Comic Con.   It will be a wonderful presentation, not least to hear some of the great stories of how these posters came about, and get a better understanding of the immense contribution he made to the history of film.

For some of the art we have available by John for sale, go to https://artinsights.com/artists/alvin-john/

BUT WAIT!  THERE’S MORE!!

many of you who know me (Leslie) know of my love of interviewing people…not the 5 minute, “tell me what the studio told you to tell me” variety of interview, but the one that goes deeper.  Well, this weekend, I get to do spotlight panels and moderate the subsequent Q&As for:

RON GLASS Saturday 10:30-11:30 (room 209C)  Ron has had an amazing career in film and theater and it shows no sign of slowing down.  I’m excited to talk to him about his life as an actor.

JEWEL STAITE Saturday 12:00-1:00 (Room 202) Jewel is best known as Kaylee in Firefly, and Dr Jennifer Keller, but most recently was featured in The Killing.  She’s a great guest and full of stories.

EASTER SUNDAY!  who needs the Easter Bunny, when you can satisfy your sweet tooth by  sinking your teeth into the stories behind the careers of these tasty actors:

NICHOLAS BRENDON Sunday 11:45-12:45 (room 207A) Nicholas played a great character as Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Kevin Lynch actually made a wonderful match to Garcia in Criminal Minds.

CARY ELWES Sunday 1:00-2:00 (room 202) Inconceivable?  Nope.  I’ll be asking the star about The Princess Bride, Robin Hood Men In Tights, The X-Files, Psych, and lots more. …like The Crush.  Well, we’ll talk about whatever he wants.

I hope you’ll come check out and support this new convention, even though it IS on Easter weekend–because it’s going to be a blast!  I’ll report back about the Alvin panel,  how I did in the Q&A’s, and the best tidbit I got out of each actor!

Yup, I officially have the best job in the world–I can’t wait!

Leslie, Cinema Siren