Mary Pickford News

CBS today announced the six writers selected to participate in the 2018-2019 Writers Mentoring Program. Since its inception in 2004, the program has served to provide mentorships, access and opportunity for writers.

Smithsonian Channel continues putting the color back into history, restoring it to life with the return of AMERICA IN COLOR. Season two dives even deeper into historical archives, private collections and home movies, digitizing over 23 miles of footage, in search of the people, places and moments – big and small – that helped define the 20th century. Through rare imagery of the birth of American traditions like the Girl Scouts and the first Indianapolis 500 to in-game footage of the infamous 1919 Black Sox World Series and even the legendary Rockefeller family's own home movies, the series continues to use startlingly detailed restoration and colorization to bridge the decades and present history as it was lived – in color.  Building on the decade-by-decade approach of season one, season two captures the country's explosive transformation: the men and women who drove it, its impact on the land and society at large, and the birth of a mass culture that we still recognize today. From the Golden Age of Hollywood to the Wild West and organized crime, the new season explores some of the most significant moments in American history, now in color for the first time. AMERICA IN COLOR returns Sunday, November 18 at 8 PM ET/PT.

The Gish Prize Trust today announced that the inspired Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, has been selected to receive the 25th annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in recognition of his ongoing achievements as a conductor and an advocate for music education. Established in 1994 through the will of legendary stage and screen actress Lillian Gish, known as the First Lady of Cinema, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize is one of the most prestigious honors given to artists in the United States and bears one of the largest cash awards, currently valued at approximately $250,000.

Pacific Symphony won't save the best for last in the opening of the 2018-19 Pops season with the sensational entertainment star Vanessa Williams. Led by Pops conductor, Richard Kaufman, the Symphony joins Williams to celebrate her career for two nights at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, with a program of her icon hits such as "That's Entertainment," "Dreamin'," "Love Is Love," and "Save the Best for Last." The Symphony will also play the Hollywood themes from the film scores of "Splash," "The Producers," "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles," "Animal House and Airplane."

Pacific Symphony won't save the best for last in the opening of the 2018-19 Pops season with the sensational entertainment star Vanessa Williams. Led by Pops conductor, Richard Kaufman, the Symphony joins Williams to celebrate her career for two nights at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, with a program of her icon hits such as "That's Entertainment," "Dreamin'," "Love Is Love," and "Save the Best for Last." The Symphony will also play the Hollywood themes from the film scores of "Splash," "The Producers," "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles," "Animal House and Airplane."

Vanessa Williams, one of the most respected and multi-faceted performers in entertainment today, performs at Mayo Performing Arts Center on Friday, September 14 at 8 pm. Tickets for MPAC's Opening Night celebration are $49-$99.

UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) and The Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles will once again team up to present 14 bold programs by leading innovators and acknowledged masters in contemporary dance, music, theater and literature, featuring pioneering champions for social justice and diverse world views. Offering more than 40 unique events and 60 performances, CAP UCLA's new season runs from September 22, 2018, to May 10, 2019, and will open and close with programs at Ace.

On May 31st, Rich Little, arguably the most famous impressionist in the world, was honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce during their Hollywood Hero ceremony with the Johnny Grant Award, along with Diahann Carroll (receiving the Mary Pickford Award).  

In a production commissioned by the Finborough Theatre as part of their acclaimed 'Celebrating British Music Theatre' series, the first professional UK production since its 1980 premiere, The Biograph Girl by Warner Brown and David Heneker opens at the Finborough Theatre for a three week limited season on Tuesday, 22 May 2018 (Press Nights: Thursday, 24 May and Friday 25 May 2018 at 7.30pm)

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has today announced the shortlist for the 2018 BAFTA Student Film Awards. Following the international expansion of the Awards in 2017, this year's shortlisted 60 films have been selected from the 469 submissions by students at film schools in 35 countries across the world, including Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Israel, Kenya, Lebanon, Russia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

In a production commissioned by the Finborough Theatre as part of their acclaimed 'Celebrating British Music Theatre' series, the first professional UK production since its 1980 premiere, The Biograph Girl by Warner Brown and David Heneker opens at the Finborough Theatre for a three week limited season on Tuesday, 22 May 2018 (Press Nights: Thursday, 24 May and Friday 25 May 2018 at 7.30pm)

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, celebrating its roots in the film and television recording industry, presents LACO @ the Movies: Buster Keaton's The General, featuring Emmy Award-winning composer Jeff Beal (House of Cards) conducting the world premiere of his score for the 1926 silent classic spotlighting the absurdity of war on Saturday, November 11, 2017, 8 pm, at The Theatre at Ace Hotel, in downtown Los Angeles. Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, LACO was founded in 1968 as an artistic outlet for the recording industry's most gifted musicians. The Orchestra, regarded as one of the world's premier chamber orchestras as well as a pacesetter in presenting wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissions, performs live to The General for this entertaining evening. Considered among the greatest films ever made, the historical parody was adapted from The Great Locomotive Chase and is set during the Civil War. The Theatre at Ace Hotel was built in 1927, just a year after The General was made.

The Gish Prize Trust today announced that the widely influential, utterly inimitable Meredith Monk has been selected to receive the 24th annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, in recognition of her ongoing achievements as a composer, singer and interdisciplinary artist. Established in 1994 through the will of legendary stage and screen actress Lillian Gish, known as the First Lady of Cinema, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize is one of the most prestigious honors given to artists in the United States and bears one of the largest cash awards, currently valued at approximately $250,000.

Being called 'the Tennessee Williams of Transylvania' is just about the coolest moniker a playwright could receive.

You're invited to join NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) with presenting partners NALIP and SAG-AFTRA today, September 16th, 2017 for the annual NFMLA Film Festival InFocus: Latino & Hispanic Cinema event.

You're invited to join NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) with presenting partners NALIP and SAG-AFTRA on Saturday, September 16th, 2017 for the annual NFMLA Film Festival InFocus: Latino & Hispanic Cinema event.

The most famous actress you've never heard of.

Critically-acclaimed country music artist Kellie Picker, legendary jazz musicians Herb Alpert and Lani Hall, Grammy-winner Shawn Colvin, and two Legendary Ladies of Motown, Mary Wilson of The Supremes and Martha Wilson & The Vandellas, are just a few of the artists set to appear at the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University during its 2017-2018 season.

The Hollywood Bowl has announced the cast and creative team for a benefit performance of SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, conceived and directed on Broadway by James Lapine.

On July 17, 2017, distinguished artists from across the nation's entertainment industry will come together in Los Angeles for a gala production of The 24 Hour Musicals: Los Angeles, an intensive theatrical endeavor where a team of more than 100 (including artists from Broadway, film, television and music) will come together to write, compose, rehearse and perform four original musicals within a 24-hour time span at the beautiful The Theater at Ace Hotel.