Universal Studios News

A passionate young artist sets out to save her school's art and music program in the new feature-length movie, An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky ,coming to Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital Download today, July 2, 2013 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Throughline Artists (J.J. Kandel, Executive Producer; John McCormack, Producing Artistic Director) will present SUMMER SHORTS 2013, their seventh annual festival of new American short plays from established and emerging writers, at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street). Performances will begin Friday July 19th, and continue through Saturday August 31st only.

The world's most adorable band of singing spuds comes to DVD when Meet the Small Potatoes debuts on July 30, 2013, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Crowd-pleasing taiko songs and Arabic-Japanese musical fusion converge to create a bass-pounding drum spectacular when TAIKOPROJECT brings Rhythmic Relations 2013 to the Ford Theatres today, June 29.

Emmy Award winning actor/comedian Dana Carvey reunites with fellow 'Saturday Night Live' alumnus Jon Lovitz for the World Premiere of the new 'Lovitz or Leavitz' Vodcast series in front of a live audience today, June 29 at The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club & Podcast Theatre, located in the Universal City Walk entertainment complex at Universal City, California. The 'Loveitz or Leavitz' show tapes on Saturday nights in their brand new state of the art studio at the comedian's popular comedy club and airs as a Vodcast the following day on the newly launched Jon Lovitz Vodcast Network. Currently in negotiations to go live streaming.

Crown Center has announced its calendar of events, July 2013 - September 2014. Details below!

Hallmark Channel announces that three-time Emmy(R) nominee Gail O'Grady ('NYPD Blue,' 'Boston Legal,' 'Hellcats') and Michelle Harrison ('Tom Dick & Harriet,' 'Emily Owens M.D.') are set to star in 'The Mystery Cruise.'

Les Miserables, Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of the world's longest running musical, runs at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis for one week only, July 30-August 4, 2013.

MARA , a multi-media dance and musical theatre production featuring a cast of 35 dancers and musicians, will be presented at the John Anson Ford Ampitheatre on Saturday, September 21, 2013, at 8:00pm.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2014 Ford Theatres Partnership Program which supports Los Angeles County resident arts organizations by assisting them to successfully present performances in the historic 1,200-seat John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. Guidelines and application are available at fordtheatres.org/opportunities. The deadline to apply is August 28, 2013.

Winners are found in 39 countries around the world including regional lists for Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Central America, China, Europe, India, Mexico, the Middle East, South America, the South Pacific, and the United States.

Emmy Award winning actor/comedian Dana Carvey reunites with fellow 'Saturday Night Live' alumnus Jon Lovitz for the World Premiere of the new 'Lovitz or Leavitz' Vodcast series in front of a live audience on Saturday, June 29 at The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club & Podcast Theatre, located in the Universal City Walk entertainment complex at Universal City, California. The 'Loveitz or Leavitz' show tapes on Saturday nights in their brand new state of the art studio at the comedian's popular comedy club and airs as a Vodcast the following day on the newly launched Jon Lovitz Vodcast Network. Currently in negotiations to go live streaming.

This summer, Saige Copeland, American Girl's popular 2013 Girl of the Year, comes to life in a new feature-length movie from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky. Available on July 2, 2013, on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital Download, the film chronicles the passionate young artist as she sets out to save her school's art and music programs. It stars Jane Seymour ('Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman') and introduces Sidney Fullmer as Saige.

One of the world's coolest hotel pools* just got cooler as guests "Slide into Summer" with the highly anticipated completion of the multifaceted overhaul to the iconic Falls Pool Oasis at Orlando World Center Marriott. Sparing no expense to both thrill and chill, guests plunge into an entirely new experience with enticing enrichments inclusive of a new Icon Slide Tower featuring two 200-foot winding waterslides and one 90-foot speed waterslide among the tallest and fastest resort slides in Florida in addition to a Splash Zone offering kids a zero entry pool and playground, as well as a Kid's Activity Zone and Poolside Bar and Grill.

Hallmark Channel announces the start of production for the two-hour original movie 'The Color of Rain,' the emotional true story of two families' unexpected new beginning in the face of unimaginable loss.

Smart Destinations is pleased to announce the addition of two new tours in the Los Angeles market to their Go Select Los Angeles Pass: the Long Beach Harbor Tour and the Double-Decker Bus Tour. These tours will provide exciting new opportunities for Smart Destinations customers to explore Los Angeles by land and by sea.

When Hallmark Channel's second original primetime series 'When Calls the Heart' begins filming this summer, it will mark the first time a TV series has been shot in the gorgeous surroundings of Telluride, Colorado. It also will be the first narrative TV series shot in Colorado since 1991, when the 'Father Dowling Mysteries' series was filmed here. 'We are delighted with Hallmark Channel's choice of Colorado for its latest series,' said Gov. Hickenlooper. 'With Hallmark Channel's brand behind it, the show will have a positive economic impact for our state and provide tremendous national exposure for Telluride and all of Colorado.'

National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA), in association with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products (FCP), has announced an exclusive global merchandise program around the groundbreaking animated series, THE SIMPSONS.

Universal Studios Hollywood today announced that the theme park will be home to the newest version of the wildly popular 'Despicable Me Minion Mayhem' attraction during a press conference at International Pow Wow, one of the largest travel trade shows in the United States held this week in Las Vegas. News of the Spring 2014 grand opening also revealed that the iconic theme park will unveil a 'Super Silly Fun Land,' based on the park depicted in Despicable Me, adjacent to the attraction.

To coincide with the 20-year anniversary of the Ford Partnership Program, which nurtures locally based artists and arts organizations, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission presents the inaugural Zev Yaroslavsky Signatures Series. This two-concert program benefiting the Ford Theatre Foundation pairs world-renowned performers with a local artistic treasure, celebrating Los Angeles as a destination for world-class artists, who find here both collaboration with, and inspiration from, celebrated local artists.