"Preview Edition" Launches with Andy Garcia
Hollywood's Master Storytellers is launching a "Preview Edition" to showcase new movies. The series will debut with Andy Garcia and his new movie about the famous artist "Modigliani."
Hollywood, CA (PRWEB) May 6, 2005 -- Hollywood’s Master Storytellers
Entertainment expands its flagship production with the launch of “Hollywood’s
Master Storytellers™ Preview Edition” on May 10 at ArcLight Hollywood with the
critically acclaimed film Modigliani, produced by and starring Andy Garcia, it
was announced by Gordon Meyer, Hollywood’s Master Storytellers’™ creator and
host. The new program will feature a mix of studio-based and independent
features prior to their theatrical release.
Meyer and his producing
partners Nadine Hamdan and John Culton, who share executive producer credits on
the prestigious series, selected Modigliani as the premiere presentation of
Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™ Preview Edition after seeing Garcia win the
Indie Producer Award for Outstanding Contribution to Film at the 2005 IP Awards
Gala. Modigliani is the critically acclaimed true story of Italian artist Amedeo
Modigliani and his rivalry with Pablo Picasso. “I’ve been a fan of Andy’s as an
actor for years, and recently discovered how talented he is as a producer” said
Meyer. “He was so passionate about how his love of independent films drove him
to develop and produce movies like Modigliani that I just looked at John and
Nadine and we immediately knew he was someone we had to bring to Hollywood’s
Master Storytellers. My brother saw Modigliani in Paris last year and raved
about it, as have critics all over the world. When the opportunity came up to
present Modigliani prior to its theatrical release, we jumped on
it.”
Although the Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™ team works closely
with all the major studios, they also maintain a passionate independence. “One
of the things that makes a Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™ appearance so
prestigious in the creative community is that we are very particular about who
we invite to participate,” explains Culton. “From the very beginning, whether
it’s an up and coming talent like screenwriter Stephen Susco (The Grudge) or a
seasoned Academy Award® winning producer/director like James Cameron, we’ve
always focused on talent. As a result, we’ve developed such a stellar reputation
in the industry that studios and publicists are increasingly approaching us
about showcasing their films and clients.”
“From the very beginning,
studios, distributors and the publicity community have embraced Hollywood’s
Master Storytellers™ as an important venue to showcase the industry’s top
talent. In fact, our very first show under the Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™
brand was sponsored by a major studio in support of its Awards Season campaign
for one of their films,” Meyer explained. “It’s the kind of endorsement that
means a lot to filmmakers because only a few people who work in Hollywood can
truly be considered Master Storytellers.”
The home entertainment
divisions of the studios have long recognized the value of an HMS presentation
as a promotional tool, according to Nadine Hamdan, one of the founding partners
of Hollywood’s Master Storytellers Entertainment and VP of Marketing and
Development for the company. According to Hamdan, about a third of Hollywood’s
Master Storytellers’™ presentations are associated with DVD releases. “For some
time, the folks on the theatrical side have been asking us to create a program
that will draw on the strength of the Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™ brand to
help build and generate advance word of mouth on certain features. We now have
that vehicle with Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™ Preview Edition.” Hamdan
said."
Although studios have been using pre-release screenings as a
promotional tool since the early days of the motion picture industry, they’re
increasingly curious about the tools that a Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™
Preview Edition presentation will give them them." explains Culton. “Because we
feature these incredible conversations with the filmmakers, there’s
automatically a lot more interest in the event. But HMS is a lot more than that
thanks to the fact that we professionally videotape each program.” Hollywood’s
Master Storytellers Entertainment makes their videotapes available to the
studios to distribute as part of an overall publicity package, including
electronic press kits, webcasting and inclusion in the satellite-fed video
pre-shows that are now seen in thousands of theatres around the country.
“Hearing these behind the scene stories told by the Storytellers themselves
generates phenomenal interest,” adds Culton. Hollywood’s Master Storytellers
Entertainment also provides video highlights of its programs to websites all
over the world through its sister company, FilmStew.com, one of the
entertainment industry’s largest and most influential interactive information
portals with millions of visitors annually. “The cumulative effect of exposure
through both the flagship and Preview editions of Hollywood’s Master
Storytellers™ is substantial and growing and the studios know it. That’s why
they’ve asked us to create this new version,” said Culton.
About
Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™: Twice a month, Hollywood’s Master
Storytellers™ showcases the motion picture industry’s most fascinating
Storytellers at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood. Since its launch in January 2003,
HMS has been host to such luminaries as Academy Award® winning writer/director
James Cameron, Academy Award® winning actor/director Gary Sinise, director
Richard Donner, DreamWorks principal and co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and
actor/producer/director George Clooney. A broadcast version is currently in
development. Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™, which is open to the public,
provides audiences with the opportunity to meet some of Hollywood’s best
Storytellers, telling the always-fascinating “Great Stories Behind the Great
Stories™” and is a production of Hollywood’s Master Storytellers Entertainment.
FilmStew.com is the official online home of Hollywood’s Master Storytellers™.
Visit Hollywood's Master Storytellers at: http://filmstew.com.
About ArcLight Hollywood: ArcLight
Cinemas Hollywood, created by Pacific Theatres, represents a new evolution in
the movie going experience. The beautifully designed facility, which opened in
March 2002, offers an unprecedented combination of technology, amenities,
comfort, and customer service. Facilities include the historic Cinerama Dome and
14 state-of-the-art “black box” auditoriums as well as a café bar and a
cinema-focused gift shop. Tickets can be purchased online without a fee and
printed at home, at the theatres automated ticketing kiosks, lobby box office
and over the phone. Plus, ArcLight offers a fee membership program with
purchasing rewards and other members-only benefits. ArcLight Hollywood is
located at 6360 W. Sunset Boulevard, between Vine and Ivar. For more information
about ArcLight visit www.arclightcinemas.com
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb236842.htm