Gregory Zarian News

The Sixteenth edition of Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival will soon be underway. The schedule is set and tickets and passes are now on sale. The festival, which includes forty nine feature films and over 100 short films this year, runs for two long weekends at the Palm Springs Cultural Center: September 21-24 and September 28-October 1. Films will be screening in all three of the Camelot theatres. 

Celebrities lending their support for this year’s fundraising special included Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Biel, Don Cheadle, Katie Couric, Danai Gurira, Tony Hale, Ken Jeong, Queen Latifah, Maria Menounos, Julianne Moore, Tig Notaro, Jimmy Smits, Eric Stonestreet and Justin Timberlake. In the U.S., SU2C is still gratefully accepting donations.

 Today, GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, announced participants wearing purple or going purple online for Spirit Day in a united stand against bullying and show of support for LGBTQ youth.

Additionally, an inspiring PSA aired during the show featuring Chris Evans, Danai Gurira, Jodie Comer, Karen Gillan, Michelle Dockery, O-T Fagbenle and Paul Rudd, showing that when we come together, cancer doesn’t stand a chance.

The program opened with a surprise greeting from Ringo Starr and from that point on, donations poured in by phone, online, and text…and they're still coming in. They sent out a call for love, and Los Angeles answered with donations big and small. People calling in were not only giving $5, $10, $100, they were telling stories to volunteers about the son they lost to AIDS, or their own cancer battle, or their friend who has survived because of Project Angel Food.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) today announced the nominees for the 47th Annual Daytime Emmy® Awards, which will be presented in a two-hour special on Friday, June 26 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

A standing room crowd gathered for a Season 2 Premiere launch last week at The Los Angeles LGBT Center's Renberg Theatre including Sam Harris, Bill Brochtrup, Lawrence Zarian, Gregory Zarian, Todd Sherry, Christopher J Hanke, Nick Adams, and Tony Award winning producer for Dear Evan Hansen, Scott Mauro.

Best In Drag Show, the fabulous and long-running annual fundraiser, will be held on Sunday, October 2, 2016 at the The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. Kathy Griffin will open this year's festivities and the celebrity judging panel includes Melanie Griffith, Jennifer Coolidge and Ana Gasteyer. Best In Drag Show benefits Aid For AIDS, a program of Alliance for Housing and Healing which is dedicated to preventing homelessness and hunger for men, women, children and families living with HIV/AIDS throughout Los Angeles County. The highly-anticipated beauty pageant spoof features six gorgeous gals competing for the crown while keeping the focus on its cause - giving back to the community through fundraising.

The Jose Iturbi Foundation is once again, a proud sponsor of the LA Philharmonic, featuring this year's concert at the Hollywood Bowl conducted by Gustavo Dudamel with piano soloist Yuja Wang, in what was a "historic performance," as noted in Mark Sved's LA Times review.

Jim Caruso and Billy Stritch's Cast Party has officially proven to be a bi-coastally success with its West Coast premiere on Thursday, April 1st at the world famous Magic Castle's highly popular Cabaret at the Castle. The Extreme Open Mic that has become a Broadway mainstay was as equally well packed with Hollywood elite, some of which took their turn at the mic. The witty and charming Caruso took charge of the stage, while the musical genius of Billy Stritch brought brilliant music to the ears of patrons and performers alike.