Latest news with #UndertheStars
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Detroit's Senate Theater throwing prom with a 'Carrie' theme to raise money for projector
"Carrie" set the bar for prom night scares (not to mention prom dress dry-cleaning bills) when it came out in 1976. The horror film that made Sissy Spacek a star will be a main attraction May 31 at the Carrie Prom at Detroit's Senate Theater. In case you're totally unfamiliar with pre-1980s pop culture, "Carrie" was directed by Brian De Palma and based on a Stephen King novel. It's about a high school student (Spacek) with telekinetic powers and a fanatically religious mom (the late Detroit native Piper Laurie) who frequently locks her daughter in a prayer closet. When Carrie's evening at the prom is ruined by a cruel prank that leaves her drenched in pig's blood, her supernatural powers erupt into a deadly bloodbath. The movie was a box office and critical hit, earning Oscar nominations for best actress for Spacek and best supporting actress for Laurie. Will those attending the Carrie Prom be encouraged to prom it up? "Oh, please!," laughingly exclaims Lindsay Robillard, treasurer of the Detroit Theater Organ Society, the volunteer nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the Senate Theater. As the Senate website notes, prom attire is not required, but patrons are strongly advised to "be sure to dress like it's whatever year it is that you definitely didn't peak." P.S.: For maximum authenticity, you can wear your actual prom outfit from back in the day, if you dare. The event will feature a live band, non-alcoholic punch at the concession stand (now there's a prom flashback), local art vendors and a photo spot for the taking of prom pictures. According to Robillard, who recently rewatched "Carrie," decorations like streamers and silver stars will evoke the Under the Stars theme of the movie's disastrous dance. And, of course, there will be an overture just prior to the screening on the Senate Theater's "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ. A prom court will be crowned during an intermission. "We've got some prizes donated from two of the best places probably to find a prom dress in the city, the Peacock Room and Flamingo Vintage," says Robillard. The bigger purpose of the party and screening is to raise money for a new projector for the historic theater, one of the few remaining Detroit movie houses from the 1920s. Specifically, the goal is to buy a DCI-compliant projector that meets the quality and security standards of the Digital Cinema Initiatives, a group formed by the major Hollywood studios. A new projector would allow the theater to "provide a higher-quality experience for Detroit-area film lovers and filmmakers" and "expand the kinds of films we're able to screen," says Robillard. Older projectors that are not DCI-compliant, like the Senate's current one, are no longer acceptable to distributors of first-run films and numerous classic titles. "We were going to try and play (director Hayao Miyazaki's 1989 animated film) 'Kiki's Delivery Service' last year and they were like, 'Not with that projector, you're not,'" recalls Robillard. More: 2025 Michigan Shakespeare Festival canceled. What the nonprofit group is saying The Senate Theater is one of several sites helping to fill the gaps left in the region's art house theater scene left by the loss of the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township and Main Art Theater in Royal Oak. And for one night during the Carrie Prom, as the Senate description puts it, it's the place to be "whether your prom was a night to remember or just a nightmare." Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@ More: Kid Rock opening Nashville restaurant, takes jab at some old foes back in Detroit 6 p.m.-midnight May 31. Film screening starts at 8 p.m. Senate Theater 6424 Michigan Ave., Detroit $15 at Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's Senate Theater throwing 'Carrie'-themed prom to raise money
Forbes
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Alex Lifeson On Envy Of None's New Album: ‘We Were Just So Excited To Keep Going'
Envy of None: (L-R) Alex Lifeson, Maiah Wynne, Alfio Annibalini and Andy Curran. When former Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson recorded the debut self-titled album of his new band Envy of None, which was released two years ago, he thought it mioght be a one-off project. 'I didn't know what the future would hold,' he says today. 'It takes a year or a year-and-a-half to make these records. [I thought,] The enthusiasm of Lifeson and his bandmates — bassist Andy Curran, keyboardist Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne — from working on the Envy of None album carried over into the supergroup's new sophomore record Stygian Wavz, which comes out on Friday, March 28. It further builds on the group's first album's moody and melodic mixture of alternative rock and metal, hard rock, industrial and electronic music. 'I think the first record was a little trippier, a little more atmospheric,' Lifeson says. 'Whereas Stygian Wavz is a more focused record. There's lots of funk on this record. There's heavy rock.' He also points out that he played solos prominently on Stygian Wavz after he initially stayed away from doing them. 'I don't want them to be misconstrued as just show-off stuff,' explains Lifeson. 'I believe solos have an integral part of the song and they need to reflect the song and they need to be in the service of the song.' One example of that is his guitar solo near the end of the anthemic track 'Clouds.' That's just a little short solo, but it's really powerful," he says. "It doesn't have to be this big shreddy craziness. That makes a statement at the end, and it's full of dread and danger. And it's fun.' The album's first single, 'Not Dead Yet,' is a driving and seductive-sounding track that lyrically conveys a theme of resilience. 'What attracted me to that song when I started working on it was the funky structure,' says Lifeson. 'It's bouncy and rhythmic. And then it reaches that crescendo where the heavy guitars come in. That's where the song ended when we initially started writing it. Then we added…that sort of James Bond vibe to the end. Now, when I listen to 'Not Dead Yet,' I'm thinking, 'This should be the theme song for the next Bond movie.'" Another single from Stygian Wavz, 'Under the Stars,' begins with a Middle Eastern feel and then morphs into a dreamy power anthem. 'Joey Vitale played drums and tablas in the opening and that sets a particular mood,' Lifeson says. 'Then the vocals come in and juxtapose against Andy's heavy bassline. There's a menace going on in that first verse. Then the heavy chorus comes in…I really like that guitar solo because it touches on a number of things. There's sort of a bluesy feel, but it's very emotive. I was channeling probably more of David Gilmour throughout that solo.' Lifeson describes 'The Story' — which encapsulates Envy of None's mixture of hard rock and electronic soundscapes — as kind of incoporating power pop. 'Lyrically, it's an awesome song,' he says. 'Everybody you know wants to be a better person. And not always can you control that devil that's sitting on your shoulder. And I think Maiah gets that across really, really well. 'Structurally, the song builds in a really interesting way. I got to play my 12-string Rickenbacker in the choruses. So it's got that little bit of a '60s vibe in that guitar part. Then the solo — again, is an ascending solo that reaches the climax. And then [Maiah's] vocal comes back in. It's that vocal reentry, that part where the track just starts to really drive, and it's so emotional and plaintive. That is the high point for me.' Stygian Wavz captures a band sounding more confident and bolder following their the debut album. Lifeson says: "I think we started working on this second album, I don't know, maybe the next day [after Envy of None]. We were just so excited to keep going. And as that project progressed, things got more interesting. Everybody's work was really focused. I think we went from being just this co-op of four musicians recording music to actually being a band.' Lifeson particularly credits Wynne, whose vocal and lyrical contributions complement the music's hard rock and electronic components. 'She is just an absolute joy to work with,' he says. 'The way she delivers, something about her lyrics. I would say that Neil [Peart] was the same way in Rush. Just that ability to deliver something succinctly that it just grabs you immediately and you understand what it is. Maiah has that ability at 27 years old. Her lyrics have just become more and more relatable. And they're very introspective. Her skills as a singer have increased enormously as well.' Envy of None For casual and die-hard fans of Rush, the music of Envy of None, which formed in 2021, may still seem like a stylistic departure for Lifeson, who is obviously more well-known in the world of progressive rock. And that's fine with him. 'I am very proud of what I did in Rush for the music,' he says, 'but also for the relationships that I had with Geddy [Lee] and Neil. But Envy of None is a different thing. It's not Rush. The music's not Rush. And I don't want to play like Alex Lifeson of Rush. This is Alex Lifeson of Envy of None.' 'There are three other guitar players in this band,' he adds. 'Alf plays a lot of guitar. Andy once in a while plays a little riff, usually in the writing stage. And Maiah does a couple of little guitar things here and there. I am so relieved that I can do something else, that I can look at what I can bring to the table in this particular unit and work from there. It's liberating for me, and I'm really lucky.' Remarkably, Envy of None has not yet performed live. But that could change depending on audience interest and the proper staging for a concert, according to Lifeson. 'We would love to [perform]. To do both albums in a beautiful theater with a nice light show would be spectacular. I already know the other musicians I would like to bring on, just to really flesh out the sound. 'I think what we'll probably end up doing is just waiting out the record and see how the reaction is," Lifeson continues. "If it does well, and there's an audience where we can go into that theater and do two or three nights, and maybe do it in two or three other cities — then we would definitely consider doing it because it would be awesome.' The enthusiasm within Envy of None following the first two albums has prompted consideration of making a third record. 'We're excited to keep the juices flowing,' says Lifeson. 'I'm sure we'll take a break. Everybody's got other stuff, but we're excited to continue.'
South China Morning Post
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Meet Succession star Brian Cox's third wife, climate activist Nicole Ansari
Brian Cox's wife Nicole Ansari is ready to shine. Photos: EPA-EFE; @nicole_ansari/Instagram TV shows and streaming video There has hardly been a bigger star on American television lately than Brian Cox, who plays media mogul Logan Roy in HBO's Succession . The 78-year-old Scottish actor, who has been in the industry for decades, found mainstream fame with the show but regrets losing his anonymity, says the Daily Mail. Naturally, there is now more attention paid to his personal life than ever, but his wife, Nicole Ansari, is ready for the spotlight. In an interview last year with The Times, the 56-year-old said, 'I've supported him for 25 years. Now it's my time.' Nicole Ansari is Brian Cox's third wife. Photo: @nicole_ansari/Instagram Indeed, Ansari is booked and busy. Per Variety, she has recently acted in the films Under the Stars , from Michelle Danner, Kat Rohrer's What a Feeling and Shireen Khaled's In the Night; now she's set to appear in her husband's directorial debut, Glenrothan . She is also collaborating with Khaled on her first feature film. Fun fact: she played Logan Roy's former mistress Sally Anne in one of the late episodes of Succession . What else do we know about the woman who stole Brian Cox's heart? Ansari was a child actress Nicole Ansari started acting when she was nine years old. Photo: @nicole_ansari/Instagram Nicole Ansari has been acting since she was nine years old, per IMDB. She rose to prominence with the German television show Tatort , after which she received her formal education at New York's famed HB Studio and Actors Studio and at the Stage School of Dance and Drama in Hamburg. Today, she is a producer as well as an actress, credited with co-producing the films Blumenthal (2014) and As Good as Dead (2010), both starring her and Cox, as well as the award-winning web series Messy. She describes herself as an 'actor-vist' Nicole Ansari is a staunch climate activist. Photo: @nicole_ansari/Instagram Ansari is a climate change activist and an advocate of human rights. She also takes pride in having turned Cox into a feminist, according to the Daily Mail. Her Emmy-winning husband admits she made him 'aware of the discrepancies and the gaps between men and women' and that he had to 'relearn everything' about feminism and the patriarchy. Ansari has also received The Vanya Exerjian Award for empowering women and girls and has supported Iran's 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement.
