I followed my brothers into acting: Liam Hemsworth

 New Delhi, (India), March 24, 2012 - Hollywood actor Liam Hemsworth, who got his first big break with much anticipated film ÒHunger GamesÓ, says acting was never his first choice and he followed his brothers into acting.










 The 22-year-old says his elder brothers Luke and Chris, who have a well off career in Hollywood, were the main reason he took up acting.




 ÒI used to like drama and also acted in a few skits and plays. However as time passed by my interest in acting developed even more and I followed my brothers into acting,Ó Liam said.
 The actor also says the comparisons drawn between him and his brothers don't bother him and he takes it as an opportunity to learn from them.

 ÒOne often seem to compare when ones siblings are of the same profession but for me it's a chance to learn as I am the youngest so it gives me that much more to learn from Chris & Luke,Ó he added.
 Liam, who is paired opposite actress Jennifer Lawrence in the film ÒHunger GamesÓ, says although he was nervous doing the stunts, he enjoyed the experience. The film released in India yesterday by Top Entertainment.





 ÒI think the others experienced a little more than I did.
I enjoyed doing the stunts. When I was there, for the most part, it was ridiculously hot. We were shooting in a beautiful place, out in the woods in Ashville, these great mountains.

But when I was there it was just really hot. However it was a great experience,Ó he added.
 Based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins, the film also stars Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson.

Acclaimed Filmmaker Steve James Comes to Webster University

Mr. James is an Inaugural 2012 Global Leader in Residence

 
ST. LOUIS, March 23, 2012 - Webster University and the Office of Corporate Partnerships are pleased to welcome award-winning filmmaker Steve James, as an inaugural 2012 Global Leader in Residence on April 26-28, 2012 in the School of Communications.

Films by Mr. James have played in festivals around the world, including Sundance, The International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam (IDFA) and Full Frame, and have been released theatrically throughout the world. He has received an Academy Award®, a Peabody Award and a Directors Guild of America Award. He is a producer with Chicago-based Kartemquin Films, a documentary group that has been making films since 1966.

Mr. James is widely known for his legendary 1995 film Hoop Dreams, which was recently selected for the Library of Congress National Film Registry.  He will be presenting this film along with three others and hosting special events at Webster University:

Thursday, April 26:	President's Opening Reception, Noon – 1:30 P.M.
	East Academic Building, Room 253, Webster University
Thursday, April 26:	Film: Hoop Dreams, 7 P.M.
	Q & A with Steve James follows the film
	Winifred Moore Auditorium, Webster University
Friday, April 27:	Film: The Interrupters, 7:30 P.M.
	Meet & Greet Steve James Reception 6-7 P.M.
	Q & A follows the film
	Winifred Moore Auditorium, Webster University
Saturday, April 28:	Filmmaking Workshop with Steve James 10 A.M. – Noon
	Workshop/master class is open to anyone interested in making documentary films or learning how films are made.
	Winifred Moore Auditorium, Webster University
Saturday, April 28:	Film: No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson  7:30   P.M.
	Winifred Moore Auditorium, Webster University
Sunday, April 29:	Film:  At the Death House Door, 7:30 P.M.
	Winifred Moore Auditorium, Webster University

 
All films and events are free and open to the public.  The President's Opening Reception, Meet & Greet Steve James Reception, and Filmmaking Workshop require reservations: http://www.webster.edu/partners/executives.shtml.

Reservations for the films: www.kdhx.org/mediaarts.

"Steve James is one of the most courageous and talented documentary filmmakers I've ever known," states Debra Carpenter, Dean of the School of Communications. "It is such a unique opportunity for our students, faculty and community to be able to interact with him. Steve's work always focuses on a better world and how we all can help through our individual actions and commitment."

The newly announced Global Leaders in Residence program presents distinguished individuals who are considered thought leaders in their fields from across a wide spectrum of disciplines.  While in residence, each Global Leader will interact with students to assist in real world learning by connecting theory to practice.  They will share their unique perspectives based upon their experiences, in forums that are free and open to all students, faculty and the general public.

This Global Leader in Residence event is co-sponsored by Webster University School of Communications, The Webster Film Series, KDHX Radio, The Missouri Arts Council and The Regional Arts Commission.
Webster University's mission of ensuring high quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence is an ideal environment for these distinguished leaders to connect students to deep, real-world knowledge of significance. 

Agnee composes Hindi theme song for 'The Avengers'

 New Delhi, (India), March 23, 2012 - Popular Indie pop band Agnee has composed a theme song 'Hello Andhero' for the Hindi version of Scarlett Johansson-Robert Downey Jr starrer action-adventure ÒThe AvengersÓ .

 The lyrics of the song have been penned by director Abbas Tyrewala and it will be officially launched on March 26 when the band will take the stage and perform live.

 ÒThis one's been a song that's taken us on a long and very satisfying journey. We are glad to be part. 'Avengers' is one of the most awaited films this year, and seeing the video, we're sure it'll be well worth the wait,Ó said Agnee's frontmen, Mohan and Koco.



 ÒThe AvengersÓ will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more, as they are forced to band together to battle the biggest foe they have ever faced.

 The Joss Whedon directed film also stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L Jackson.

 ÒThe AvengersÓ produced by Marvel Studios and distributed in India by UTV Motion Pictures is set to release on April 27, a week before the US release date.

 The film will be released in 3D and 2D versions and has also been dubbed for Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

The Smith Center for The Performing Arts Opens in Las Vegas With Star-Studded Concert

History Making Night Hosted By Neil Patrick Harris Featured Award-Winning Musicians and Broadway's Best

LAS VEGAS, March 11, 2012 - An extraordinary line-up of performers from across the arts community ushered in a new era of culture as they graced the stage for the opening of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas on March 10.  Led by quintessential host and award-winning actor, Neil Patrick Harris , the evening featured performances by the who's who of music and Broadway's brightest stars. 

The sold-out show featured incredible pairings of musical talent and rare performances.  Broadway superstars Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sherie Rene Scott, Cheyenne Jackson, Laura Osnes, Benjamin Walker and Montego Glover shared medleys from hit shows including West Side Story, Rent, The Lion King and Guys and Dolls.  Country star Martina McBride and Train lead singer Pat Monahan teamed up for a medley featuring "Marry Me" and "A Song For You," while legends Carole King and Mavis Staples performed hit "You've Got a Friend." 

Theater-goers were thrilled to see Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard perform "Pancho and Lefty."  The duo was later joined by Grammy-winner Emmylou Harris to perform "Ramblin' Fever." American Ballet Theater's Marcello Gomes and Luciana Paris performed a dazzling tribute to the late Frank Sinatra.  Diva songstress Jennifer Hudson, accompanied by a 70-member choir, closed the evening with a spectacular rendition of "Take Care of This House."  All artists were backed by a world-class orchestra and Emmy Award-winning Musical Director Rob Mathes. 

"Tonight we celebrated more than the opening of The Smith Center," said Myron Martin, President and CEO of The Smith Center. "We celebrated this community's commitment to the arts and to creating something important and lasting for the people who live here and for generations to come."

More than two decades in the making, The Smith Center's purpose is to provide residents of Las Vegas an all-encompassing cultural experience featuring the very best in arts programming from around the world.  From first-run Broadway touring productions on stage at Reynolds Hall to legendary entertainers at Cabaret Jazz, The Smith Center will provide diverse entertainment on a weekly basis. The Smith Center will also be the centerpiece of arts education in the community.  Through affiliations with the John F. Kennedy Center's Any Given Child program and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, along with creative programming designed for students, The Smith Center will seek to augment and expand arts education for all Southern Nevada students.

The full line of up performers at the grand opening of The Smith Center included: Host Neil Patrick Harris, Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson ; country artists Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris and Martina McBride ; singer songwriter Carole King ; trumpeter Arturo Sandoval ; violinist Joshua Bell ; gospel great Mavis Staples ; Train lead singer Pat Monahan ; American rock legend John Fogerty ; Broadway stars Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime) Laura Osnes (Grease, South Pacific, Anything Goes), Cheyenne Jackson (television's Glee, 30 Rock and Broadway's Xanadu, All Shook Up), Sherie Rene Scott (Aida, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), Montego Glover ( Memphis, Color Purple) and Benjamin Walker (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, Inherit the Wind); and American Ballet Theater dancers Marcello Gomes and Luciana Paris .  Kathleen "Bird" York (Crash, Seven Pounds and Lifetime's new original series The Client List) served as announcer for the evening.

The Smith Center opening was produced and directed by George Stevens, Jr., and Michael Stevens, who produce the Kennedy Center Honors each year.  The Smith Center opening will be broadcast on national television at a later date.

About The Smith Center for the Performing Arts:
Located in downtown's 61-acre urban development, Symphony Park, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is a public/private partnership that is the new centerpiece of cultural life in Las Vegas, offering a blend of performances by resident companies, as well as first-run touring attractions. The 5-acre cultural campus features three performance spaces, the 2,050-seat main performance area in Reynolds Hall and Boman Pavilion's 258-seat Cabaret Jazz and 250-seat Troesh Studio Theater, and is home to a 1.7 acre park, which can be used for outdoor concerts. Additionally, the campus will be the new location of the Discovery Children's Museum.  The Smith Center is the cultural center for Las Vegas – a place that educates, entertains and excites the citizens of the Las Vegas community. 

Hackademy Awards Call Out Smokiest 2011 Movies

Annual Event Coincides With Surgeon General Report on Tobacco Use and Youth

SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 9, 2012 - Revealed on the same day as the U.S. Surgeon General's report "Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults," Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails' Hackademy Awards March 8 highlighted movies including animation as among the worst offenders in depicting tobacco use that could influence young people to try smoking.

The annual Hackademy Awards are part of the Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down! Project (TUTD), which was cited in the U.S. Surgeon General's report in a section that addressed how movies can play a role in promoting tobacco use among young people.

Using TUTD research, The U.S. Surgeon General report stated that while depictions of tobacco use has been declining in top-grossing movies, there remains a substantial amount of smoking in youth-rated (G, PG, PG-13) movies. This year's Hackademy Awards echoed this troubling fact.

Volunteer youth reviewers with TUTD voted the animated PG movie "Rango" 2011's worst in terms of smoking, earning it a Thumbs Down! Award. In fact, nearly all depictions of tobacco use in PG movies — 97 percent — were delivered by three of five 2011 releases that utilized animation and extensive digital effects, and were aimed at young movie goers. Oscar favorite "Hugo" and "The Adventures of Tintin" were the two other movies in this category that delivered pro-tobacco messages.

Reviewers also created a special 2011 runner-up category, calling out PG-13-rated "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows." From the perspective of many reviewers, the movie had already re-invented so much of the iconic English detective's persona, it could have just as easily left out the pipe.

On the brighter side, the Thumbs Up! Movie Award recognized Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" for ignoring stereotypical tobacco use found in many other pirate-themed movies.

The Thumbs Up! Awards for best actor and actress also gave reviewers another reason to celebrate. All three of Ryan Gosling's roles in "Drive," "Crazy, Stupid, Love" and "The Ides of March" did not include a wisp of tobacco. The Thumbs Up! Actress Award went to Amara Miller for her performance in "The Descendants." She portrayed a child who complained about being subjected to second-hand smoke. By doing so, she marked a rare cameo appearance in 2011 movies for anti-tobacco messages.

For the Thumbs Down! Actor Award, reviewers chose Brad Pitt for his role in "Moneyball." That film missed few, if any, opportunities to play up chewing tobacco's popularity among baseball players, even throwing in a scene with Pitt's character uses chewing tobacco around a child.

"The Help"  used its historical time period as a reason to pack in as much smoking as seemingly possible into its 146 minutes. It was her character's smoking habit in this movie that led to Emma Stone's downfall with reviewers unanimously agreed to give her the Thumbs Down! Actress Award.

A study by Dartmouth College found that 44 percent of young adults who try smoking in the United States do so because of exposure to tobacco use in movies. Thursday's U.S. Surgeon General report also pointed out the link between youth smoking and movies that depict tobacco use.

"The evidence is sufficient to conclude that there is a causal relationship between depictions of smoking in the movies and the initiation of smoking among young people," the report stated.