{Media, Medical, Government} Van Nuys Airport Since becoming an entertainment industry partner during its aerial filming of the 1984 Olympics, Helinet Aviation Services has hovered into several different industries, diversifying its client base and range of expertise. During that time, however, their work in film has been unparalleled. "Having provided aerial production services for over 25 years, our goal has always been to provide the most dramatic and spectacular images based on the director's creative vision," says Founder and President Alan Purwin. –NW |
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Lucas Funds Red Tails {Production} Hollywood When George Lucas set out in 1988 to make a film about the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, Hollywood studios refused to participate as they didn't see it as profitable. Without studio backing, Lucas decided to fund it himself. Twenty-three years later, the director completed Red Tails, starring Terrence Howard, at a personal cost estimated at $58 million. The film grossed over $45 million in its first month of release. –NW
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Grammy Museum: Music and Culture Collide {Arts & Culture} Los Angeles Trouble In Paradise: Music and Los Angeles 1945-1975, The Grammy Museum's current exhibition, explores LA's pop music history: the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Rare concert posters, music, and filmed interviews focus on the tensions between alluring myths of Southern California paradise and the realities of social struggle that characterized the years following WWII. The exhibition, funded by The Getty Foundation and part of the citywide, multi-venue Pacific Standard Time, runs through June 3.
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Making an ImpressionAfter all the statuettes, plaques, and figurines have been dispensed, the question that remains is: Which show is winning with the American public? With the exception of the Oscars, the season finale of American Idol (May 25, 2011) captured more viewers than any other show honoring entertainment's paid professionals in the past year.
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Middle of Nowhere Going Somewhere {Film Festival} Park City, UT
Park City awarded Best Director in Drama this year to Ava DuVernay, the first black female to achieve the Sundance Film Festival accolade, for Middle of Nowhere, her second feature film after transitioning from a marketing and publicity career. The film fest firebrand founded The DuVernay Agency in 1999 and went on to orchestrate pub pushes for several African-American film projects, including Invictus, Dreamgirls, and, most recently, The Help. Two years ago, she formed the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM), advancing the front lines of independent, African-American film exposure. "We collaborate with local black film festivals in select markets, working with them as 'field agencies,' says DuVernay. "It allows us to provide films of color with exposure within a modest budget." Her first film, I Will Follow, established her as an artist with an upward trajectory, and Middle of Nowhere cemented her reputation as a visionary and compelling storyteller. Filmed in less than three weeks in and around downtown LA, Middle of Nowhere was completed for less than $1 million. The return on that investment promises to be handsome indeed. –JZ |
House Away From Home {Private Club} West Hollywood
Founded in London in 1995 as a private members' club for those in film, media, and creative industries, Soho House has opened facilities over the years in Berlin, New York, Miami, and, naturally, the entertainment capital of the world. In January entrepreneur Ron Burkle purchased a majority interest in the franchise, which also counts restaurants, cinemas, spas, and hotels in its roster of properties available to members. This elegant enclave attracts an affluent array of personalities and power brokers. |
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Helinet Steady and Focused
