Archive for the 'Celebrity' Category
National World War II Museum rallies the troops, plus Tom Hanks, for premiere
November 6, 2009 10:14am
Everyone from war veterans to movie luminaries are rallying today, Nov. 6, in New Orleans to inaugurate the expanded National World War II Museum, which has doubled in size and added a theater with a film experience that promises to plunge visitors into the wartime world, complete with (fake) falling snowflakes, seats that shudder as munitions explode and other special effects.
Among today’s attendees is Tom Hanks, executive producer and narrator of the 35-minute movie “Beyond All Boundaries” (photo above), which will screen at the museum’s new theater. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Patricia Clarkson, Neil Patrick Harris, Brad Pitt and many others.
Today’s events were sold out, museum spokeswoman Kacey Hill said. But there was still plenty of room on Saturday, dubbed “Family Fun Day,” when a range of free activities will be offered, she added. Here’s the 411:
The Michael Jackson theme park that never was, but still could be
November 5, 2009 12:29pm
Michael Jackson dreamed of a theme park based on the J.M. Barrie story of “Peter Pan,” complete with looping roller coasters, 3-D flight simulators, water rides, stunt shows, dinner theater, nighttime spectaculars and hotels.
The Disney and More blog has the full story of how the dream nearly became reality, including blueprints and concept art from the envisioned project.
In the late 1990s, the King of Pop partnered with Burbank-based Landmark Entertainment Group — the creators of the Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure and the Jurassic Park water ride at Universal Studios Orlando — to draft a plan for Peter Pan’s Neverland theme park.
The concept looks remarkably similar to Disneyland past and present, with all the Peter Pan parts of the park (pirate ship, dark ride, skull rock) amplified and embellished with plenty of pixie dust.
Peter Pan’s Neverland envisioned a grand entrance into Victorian London with replicas of Kensington Gardens, Big Ben, Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.
On Neverland Island, reached by boat, there were six themed lands:
Read the rest of this entry »
Dodgers cruise to the Mexican Riviera with Steve Garvey, Mariano Duncan and 2009 teammates
October 30, 2009 3:14pm
Dampen your post-season Dodger blues with a seven-day cruise on the Mexican Riviera out of Long Beach. It will feature former first-baseman Steve Garvey, first-base coach and former infielder Mariano Duncan and broadcaster Steve Lyons.
Interior staterooms start at $855 per person, but book soon: The cruise embarks Nov. 15. The trip, aboard Carnival Cruise lines, includes stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas. Also included are photo sessions, cocktail parties and Q&A sessions with the former ballplayers.
The ship returns to Long Beach on Nov. 22.
–Chris Erskine, Los Angeles Times deputy Travel editor
[The home runs may be over, but Dodger fans can celebrate aboard a special cruise; photo by Christina House/For The Times]
‘Julie & Julia’ foodie tour of France
October 6, 2009 5:56am
Have you seen the movie “Julie & Julia,” directed by Nora Ephron? Read the book?
Much of the film takes off from “My Life in France,” describing Julia Child’s post-World War II encounters with French cooking and eating. The renowned chef was working on the memoir when she died in 2004, leaving it to be finished by Alex Prud’homme.
Now true believers in the “French Chef” can follow her tracks through the land of tripe and escargot on a tour devised by New York-based Tour de Forks, which specializes in culinary excursions around the world, from New Orleans to Australia.
How to get free tickets to Disneyland and Disney World in 2010
September 29, 2009 3:01pm
Starting in 2010, Disney will give away free theme-park tickets to 1 million people who spend a day volunteering in their community.
The give-a-day, get-a-day marketing campaign — which replaces the wildly successful 2009 free-on-your-birthday promotion — starts Jan. 1, 2010 and runs through Dec. 15, 2010.
Volunteers must pre-register online at the HandsOn Network — which represents more than 70,000 nonprofit agencies nationwide — to be eligible for the free ticket.
The tickets are valid at six theme parks in the U.S.:
$99 Britney Spears Las Vegas concert + dinner package at the Mirage
September 25, 2009 11:44am
If you are still planning on seeing Britney Spears on her current tour, The Mirage Las Vegas is offering a “Gourmet Dining and Britney Spears Show Package” for $99 per person that includes a show ticket and a pre-fixe dinner at your choice of three Mirage restaurants—Kokomos, Onda or Fin. Note that your night’s stay at their hotel is not included in the package. The e-mailed offer includes full-view seats (no obstructions by handrails, etc. during the performance). The pre-fixe menus are available on the package website so you can select which meal you’d like before you book the package.
When: Sunday Sept. 27, 2009
Cost: $99/person before tax, beverages and gratuities.
Tested: When I called the Mirage seats were available. I asked about a package for two people and they offered me seats in section 223 row b. When I checked prices and available tickets for the show outside of this package, the cheapest seats I found started at $55 each on Ticketmaster (Thursday). When I tested Ticketmaster tickets again on Friday morning, I couldn’t find prices for either $55 or $79. In this case, the package could get you in at the low rate.
‘Gossip Girl’ tour takes on Manhattan
September 23, 2009 11:45am
“Gossip Girl” fans can live a day in the life of Serena, Blair, Chuck, Vanessa and the rest of the crew on the hit CW-TV series during a new guided bus tour that takes in more than 40 New York City locations used in filming the show.
The On Location trip, organized by the same folks who originated the” Sex and the City Hotspots” tour, visits sites made famous by the privileged New York teens who populate “Gossip Girl.” Among them are the hotel that is home to the Bass and Van der Woodsen families; the Fifth Avenue building that Blair Waldorf calls home; and sites such as Henri Bendel, where Blair and Serena shop.
Wizarding World of Harry Potter to open at Universal Studios Orlando in spring 2010
September 15, 2009 11:19am
Visitors to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will step into a realistic re-creation of Hogsmeade village complete with a steam-billowing Hogswarts Express train, a towering Hogwarts Castle as well as rides, shops and restaurants based on the blockbuster book and film series.
Universal Studios Orlando announced today that the much-anticipated themed land at the Islands of Adventure theme park will open in spring 2010.
“I know that I would come out of films when I was younger and absolutely just wish that world could be real and I could be a part of it,” said Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry in the movies. “It’s fantastic that people will get to actually realize everything they’ve seen on screen.”
A closer look at the locations in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter:
Theme park news: Legoland water park, Real Madrid theme park, Wizarding World DVD extras, Neverland negotiations
September 12, 2009 5:58am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
* Legoland California to open a separate-admission, 5.5-acre water park by summer 2010. (L.A. Times)
* Built in 1927 and rebuilt in 1948 and 1994, Comet coaster at Great Escape in New York gets American Coaster Enthusiasts landmark designation. (Screamscape)
* DVD extras on “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” movie to include short feature on Wizarding World themed land at Universal Studios Orlando. (Orlando Sentinel)
* Report: Michael Jackson’s family negotiating to open Neverland as a Graceland-like amusement park by Christmas. (New York Post)
* Disney: No plans to use Marvel characters in Orlando parks, no concerns about brand confusion with Universal Studios. (Orlando Sentinel)
Iger: No plans to bring ‘Captain EO’ back to Disneyland
September 10, 2009 2:52pm
Disneyland has “no definite plans to bring back” the Michael Jackson 3-D movie “Captain EO,” Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said today during an impromptu news conference at D23 Expo in Anaheim.
“There aren’t plans to bring back ‘Captain EO’ at this time,” Iger said. “We are looking at it. It’s the kind of thing that, if we did it, would get a fair amount of attention and we’d want to make sure we do it right.”
Iger and other Disney brass watched a screening of the 1980s-era sci-fi fantasy film this week and determined that the old music video needed to be further evaluated before it could be brought back into the Anaheim theme park.
