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Relativity’s Rogue and AMC Independent Launch “The Big Break Movie Contest”

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Relativity Media’s Rogue and AMC Theatres® announce today the launch of the “Big Break Movie Contest,” which will provide filmmakers with previously undistributed feature-length films the opportunity to obtain exclusive on-screen distribution. Submissions will be accepted Aug. 16 through Oct. 15, 2010. Five finalists will be selected, professional trailers will be created for them by the Rogue team and debuted online at iamrogue.com where the general public can vote. The winning film will be released across the country in 50 AMC theatres for at least one week as part of the AMC independent (AMCi) program. The winning movie will be announced Dec 20, 2010 and will tentatively be released in spring 2011.

The esteemed panel of judges includes actress Kate Bosworth, Relativity’s CEO Ryan Kavanaugh, AMC Theatres’ Vice President of Specialty and Alternative Content Nikkole Denson-Randolph, Relativity President of Worldwide Production Tucker Tooley, iamrogue.com’s Editor-In-Chief Jimmy O, and Youtube’s “Beyond the Trailer” creator, Grace Randolph.

“Rogue has always stood for doing it your way, breaking the mold” said Kavanaugh. “We are always looking for ways to support and embrace new and inspired talent, who dare to do it their way. That’s exactly what this contest is about.”

“AMC Theatres is proud to bring together a talented and diverse judging panel for this contest,” said Denson-Randolph. “Through our AMCi program, we exhibit our passion for bringing independent movies to the big screen and we are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to bring a great film to our guests.”

“I am thrilled to be a part of the Rogue/AMCi Big Break Movie contest and look forward to seeing the films,” said Bosworth. “It is always exciting to witness and support fresh and original talent.”

The contest will be hosted at iamrogue.com/bigbreak. Contestants must first submit a DVD with the finished film and a short trailer, or a 2-minute excerpt from the film. Filmmakers should then visit iamrogue.com beginning Aug. 16 to create a User Profile and upload trailers or excerpts.

Rogue will support the finalists with further editing and production, creating a professional trailer, as well as handling the marketing and logistics of the release for the winning title.

Entries are to be submitted to:

Big Break Movie Contest
c/o Rogue Life
PO Box 46247
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Contest Steps:

Step 1.

MAIL in a DVD containing your finished movie and a short trailer or 2 minute excerpt from the movie, to:

Big Break Movie Contest
c/o Rogue Life
PO Box 46247
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Step 2.

GO to iamrogue.com from August 16, create a USER PROFILE and UPLOAD your trailer or excerpt from your movie.

Key dates

Submissions: Aug. 16th through Oct. 15th
5 finalists will be chosen. Relativity’s team will create professional trailers for each finalist. . These will be posted online at iamrogue.com/big break for movie fans to review and give comments.
The judges will announce the winner on December 20, with release occurring sometime in spring 2011.

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4 Great Baby DVDs You Should Know About

Friday, March 26th, 2010
Baby videos have generated lots of discussion in the last couple of years, and rightfully so. Most of those that I see are just terrible. I wonder why indie filmmakers think they can simply film some pretty images, add music and believe that a baby will learn anything from it. It’s just not so. Even well known brands have been criticized for not being able to hold up to the educational claims they make. And, of course the AAP is well know for its stand on “no media for kids under the age of 2.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not proposing that you stick your infant in front of a TV screen, walk away and expect him or her to become the next rocket scientist in 20 years. But, let’s face it, sometimes a parent needs some alone time, to wash their hair, make dinner, or perhaps take care of another child. Here are four great DVDs from one of my favorite companies, So Smart, that you can feel good about putting your 1 to 3-year old in front of. And, with some interaction from you, they will learn.
 

So Smart: Baby’s First Word Stories – Get Dressed. We applaud So Smart for creating a sweet, easy to understand show for toddlers with simple stories, gentle rhymes, lovely production values and delightful, upbeat music. The narrator is easy to listen to; the characters are non-threatening. The DVD encourages participation by asking the viewer questions they can easily answer such as, “What words do you remember?” There are a series of short vignettes that address getting dressed, playing in the snow, playing with hats, umbrellas, and shoes. Repetition helps learning new words easier. The characters are very likable, they behave in friendly and caring ways. The stories portray simple things that a child might experience in life: a button falling off, the rain coming, the snow melting, a zipper breaking. Characters are shown dealing with these little inconveniences in such a way that we can see how easy it is to replicate. DVD. 30 min.; $15.99; Age: 1-3. ECHO BRIDGE HOME ENTERTAINMENT.
 

So Smart: Baby’s First Word Stories – House. In this DVD, your little one are introduced to simple words about objects in the home, and then build sentences and stories around them. The video encourages engagement and participation with its questions such as, “What sound is that?” “What words do you remember?” There are 4 vignettes: Bath time, Who’s Hiding in the House, Sounds in My House and Clean-up Time. The stories respect the fact that children can get dirty (while eating or painting) but lets children know its okay to get dirty and that one must later take a bath to clean up. The stories have gentle humor as the characters get dirty all over again even after they take their baths. Obviously well planned out for this age group, our kid reviewers loved it, learned new words and found reinforcement for social skills they are developing. DVD. 30 min.; $15.99; Age: 1-3. ECHO BRIDGE HOME ENTERTAINMENT.
So Smart: Baby’s First Word Stories – Nighttime. This DVD uses words that the children should already be hearing and mixes them with words that may be unfamiliar. When a parent or caregiver watches along and emphasizes the words in other contexts, then learning begins. The animal characters are very cute. The colors are bright but not over the top. The use of the music is thoughtful and suitable to the program and audience. Our two-year-old viewers stayed focused for the entire show, saying words for objects they knew. As each segment began, one two-year-old would say, “Oooh! More!” Our ten-month-old looked up now and then but was more interested in his toys than the DVD. The two’s enjoyed a second viewing as much as the first. One 22-month-old, who is more verbal than the 25-month-old, said words without prompting – from the beginning he said, “moon, star, night night, book, light, etc.” When the narrator asked, “Let’s see what we can remember…” they didn’t respond. But, when their parent asked the same thing, they did. Grasping the idea of someone onscreen asking a question takes a bit more maturity. DVD. 30 min.; $15.99; Age: 1-3. ECHO BRIDGE HOME ENTERTAINMENT.
So Smart: Baby’s First Word Stories – Outside. I really loved this DVD. Great music. Loved the piano music. Nice uses of pauses to catch a child’s attention. For example, pause then say “leaves fall” and then see them fall. The music is toe-tapping. Coloration is pleasant. Some infant DVDs are just blasting full of brilliant colors, this is much more subtle and thus, more enjoyable. Great use of repetition. Words are restated, then shown again with an image. The producers seem to respect that babies and toddlers need to have their attention caught, then caught again. The pause effect addresses this well. Good use of exercises to encourage memory skills for what was shown. This worked particularly well for slow learning children or a child who takes longer to express himself verbally. The activity guide that comes with it can be printed out and used to reinforce what has been watched. There is also a website to go to for more information about the video and the company. DVD. 30 min.; $15.99; Age: 0-4. ECHO BRIDGE HOME ENTERTAINMENT.
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Trading Popcorn for Peaches at Cinemas Encouraged by Sony Pictures Exec

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Sony Pictures Entertainment Chief Executive Michael Lynton called on the nation’s biggest circuits to think about the waist lines of their customers, not just their own bottom lines. In a speech at the nation’s largest theater convention in Las Vegas,… Full Article at Los Angeles Times
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PBS KIDS® ANNOUNCES APPS NOW AVAILABLE ON APP STORE

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

I recently discovered these great educational apps on iTunes for my iPhone. They are really well done, the kids love them and they provide entertainment that teaches in a mobile platform. If you have an iPhone and a young child or grandchild like me, check them out! 

PBS KIDS announces two new iPhone and iPod touch apps, SUPER WHY! and PBS KIDS Photo Factory are now available on the App Store. SUPER WHY! and PBS KIDS Photo Factory join the successful lineup of PBS KIDS apps, including Curious George Coloring Book, Martha Speaks Dog Party and Mister Rogers Make A Journal, all designed to enable children and parents instant access to innovative educational content supporting childhood development, including social emotional development, artistic expression, language development, and reading skills.
“These apps empower children to explore the world around them with guidance from their favorite PBS KIDS characters,” said Lesli Rotenberg, SVP, Children’s Media. “They also provide parents and caregivers with a new way to foster learning anywhere, anytime and help their children reach their full potential.”

“PBS transformed television into an instrument for teaching and learning a generation ago, and now we’re blazing new trails in digital media with iPhone and iPod touch,” said Jason Seiken, SVP, Interactive. “We’re constantly experimenting with ways to use media to engage users of all ages with new experiences and opportunities to learn something new.”

SUPER WHY!
The SUPER WHY! App helps children achieve the power to read with four SUPER WHY! interactive literacy games in addition to a virtual sticker book. Children can play along with each of the four main characters from the TV series: Alpha Pig, Princess Presto, Wonder Red, and, of course, Super Why, while practicing the alphabet, rhyming, spelling, writing and reading.

The SUPER WHY! App was developed as a part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, a national initiative which uses the power of public media to build the reading skills of children ages 2 to 8, with an emphasis on children from low-income families. The effort is funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education, part of a cooperative agreement with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), PBS and The Ready To Learn Partnership.

PBS KIDS Photo Factory
The PBS KIDS Photo Factory App makes it simple to bring favorite PBS KIDS characters along on any adventure, featuring art from 11 PBS KIDS series that can be added to any family photo, as well as localized tune-in information for featured series. Photos can be shared via iPhoto, e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter. Kids can also take part in the fun with this safe and easy-to-use app, arranging art from favorite series ARTHUR, CAILLOU, CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG, CURIOUS GEORGE, DINOSAUR TRAIN, DRAGON TALES, FETCH! WITH RUFF RUFFMAN, SESAME STREET, SID THE SCIENCE KID, SUPER WHY! and WORDGIRL.

The SUPER WHY! App is available for $2.99 and the PBS KIDS Photo Factory App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

For more information on PBS Kids apps please visit http://pbskids.org/mobile/.

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NAPPA Awards for 2007

Monday, January 7th, 2008

National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) 2007 winners of its Children’s Products Competition for the best DVDs, music, toys, books and magazines, software and video games and storytelling CDs have been announced.

All 95 products earning the coveted NAPPA Gold Award, and 171 products earning the NAPPA Honors Award, have been published in a holiday gift guide checklist, Great Gifts for Kids, now available at http://www.nappa.parenthood.com/.

I and several of our senior KIDS FIRST! jurors evaluate for NAPPA’s DVD awards. This year was, without a doubt, the most difficult year ever as we received an overwhelming number of outstanding titles. For the first time, we separated major studio titles from independent titles, giving the independents an opportunity to compete with their peers.

The 2007 NAPPA Gold Medal DVD Winners Are

For Infants and Toddlers

Baby Einstein: My First Signs
Classical Baby 3-Pack: Music, Art & Dance
Phonics 4 Babies: Baby’s First Words
Way to Go, Juno

For Preschoolers
Angelina Ballerina: Angelina Follows Her Dreams
Caillou’s Playschool Adventures
Disney’s Little Einsteins: Legend of the Golden Pyramid
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: Somewhere in Nowhere Land

For Ages 5 & Up
Arthur and the Invisibles
Eloise Goes to School
Gustafer Yellowgold’s Wide Wild World
Suzi Shelton Live at Southpaw

For Ages 8 & Up
Flight 29 Down: Vol. 1
Going to School in India
Hannah Montana: Pop Star Profile

For more information, visit: http://www.parenthood.com/articles.html?article_id=9887

DVD Gold Winners:
http://www.parenthood.com/articles.html?article_id=10857

DVD Honor Winners:
http://www.parenthood.com/articles.html?article_id=10863

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