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Multi Award-Winning Artist, The Weeknd, Collaborates with Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights

8/16/2022

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This year's Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights will be one you'll definitely won't want to miss. That's because for the first time ever, multi award-winning artist The Weeknd joins forces with Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights to inspire all-new, terrifying haunted houses based on his record-breaking “After Hours” album. Beginning September 2 at Universal Orlando Resort and on September 8 at Universal Studios Hollywood, guests will spiral into the twisted mind of this mysterious artist to experience “The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare.”

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Global phenomenon, The Weeknd, is renowned for his groundbreaking music that blends daring, provocative lyrics with innovative sounds and ominous undertones.
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“After Hours” is The Weeknd’s fourth consecutive number one album and has spawned multiple chart-topping hits, including “Too Late,” “Heartless,” “In Your Eyes” and the wildly popular single “Blinding Lights” – which is ranked as the #1 Greatest Hot 100 Hit of All Time by Billboard. This fall, select tracks from the riveting album are being reimagined as a horror movie soundtrack for the outrageously haunting experience at Halloween Horror Nights. 

The dark undercurrent behind The Weeknd’s enigmatic persona will permeate the all-new Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses on both coasts. With the eerie sounds of “After Hours” reverberating throughout the experience, guests will step into a surreal living nightmare filled with grotesque characters and themes inspired by The Weeknd’s music and short films. As they’re stalked by slashers, bandaged maniacs, gruesome toad-like creatures and other unfathomable horrors from the mind of the artist, guests will be challenged to survive the night while trapped within the terrifying, unexpected world of “The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare” – a place that only exists in The Weeknd’s vivid imagination and from which one may never escape. 
“I always wanted my own Halloween Horror Nights haunted house as Halloween has always been significant to my music, so this is a total dream come to life. I feel like my music videos have served as a launching pad for a collaboration like this, and I cannot wait for people to experience this madness!” said Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye. 

“We are thrilled to take guests inside of the mind of The Weeknd, who is a Halloween Horror Nights fan himself,” said John Murdy, Executive Producer of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.  “This is an unprecedented haunted house that is going to shatter the expectations of our guests and immerse them in an unforgettable experience that is equally unexpected and terrifying,” added Charles Gray, Senior Show Director for Entertainment Creative Development at Universal Orlando Resort. 

All tickets are on sale now for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort, which begins Friday, September 2 – including online savings on single-night tickets and a variety of Frequent Fear Pass options that allow guests to experience the horror on multiple nights. Guests can also stay close to the screams with vacation packages that include hotel accommodations, one-night admission to the event, tickets to all three Universal Orlando theme parks, and benefits exclusive to Universal Orlando hotel guests, such as Early Park Admission to the theme parks during the day and access to a dedicated Halloween Horror Nights entry gate at night.  Plus, guests can take their visit to the next level with upgrades such as the guided R.I.P. Tour, Express Pass, the daytime, lights-on Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tour and Scareactor Dining – where guests can fuel up for the fear with a themed dinner buffet and special photo ops with scareactors on select nights. Annual passholder discounts on select products are also now available, and Florida residents can save on vacation packages when they stay two nights or longer. For more information on all offers and ticket products, click here.
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood begins on Thursday, September 8, and all tickets to the terrifying event are now on sale. Tickets purchased online or at the Universal Studios Hollywood front gate provide guests with Early Event Admission to select houses, beginning at 6pm each night of Halloween Horror Nights (subject to change). Universal Studios Hollywood offers a variety of Halloween Horror Nights ticket options, including General Admission, Universal Express, After 2pm Day/Night, the premium R.I.P. Tour and popular passes, Frequent Fear and Ultimate Fear, which allow guests to experience the scares again and again. Click here for more information about each ticket type and for terms and conditions. 
Both events will run select nights through Monday, October 31, and more details and haunted houses will be revealed soon. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com.

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

8/14/2022

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The cast of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves were at the 2022 Comic-Con International: San Diego. The film, which is set for theatre release on March 3, 2023 is already creating quite the buzz. 

Story by Chris McKay and Michael Gilio, the screenplay was written by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, and Michael Gilio. Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head, and Hugh Grant.
Here's a Quick Synopsis:
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.
Following are some images of the  2022 Comic-Con International: San Diego.

Iconic Chica mag
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'America's Family' Producer, Nadia Voukitchevitch

8/7/2022

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The film, America's Family is an audience favorite, and with reason. "I am proud to have written and directed a film that reflects today’s American family as intersectional, mixed status and mixed ethnic and as the cornerstone of an evolving American culture." Those are the words of writer and director Anike L. Tourse. The film has already claimed the Grand Jury Award for Features as well as the Audience Award for Competition Features at the 25th annual Dances with Films festival in Los Angeles.

America's Family was produced by Nadia Voukitchevitch, Angelica Salas, Emiliana Guereca and CHIRLA. The film tells the story of the Diaz family, whose home is raided by ICE on Thanksgiving Day.  The mother, Marisol (Tourse), was put in detention, her son Koke (Ricardo Cisneros) was deported, and patriarch Jorge (Mauricio Mendoza) fled for protective sanctuary. Marisol and Jorge’s two American-born children—young attorney Emiliano (Emmanuel López Alonso) and his differently-abled teen sister Valentina (Jailene Arias) scramble to reunite the family as their parents and brother fight to get home.​​
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To read the full article on the film, read our coverage,  'America's Family,' A Favorite at Dances with Films Festival.
We are looking into the life of producer Nadia Voukitchevitch, a New Yorker who is paving her way in the film industry. 
She's a producer, writer and director. Voukitchevitch was born in New York City, earned her BA at Sarah Lawrence College and has been living in Los Angeles for almost 18 years. Nadia also has a Masters in Human Development with a concentration in Leadership in Education and Human Services from Pacific Oaks College. While at Sarah Lawrence, Nadia was elected Sophomore Class President and as a member of the Student Senate brought about change on campus particularly affecting students of color. Nadia directed several short films and documentaries, one called “Color & Differences @ SLC” about the experiences of students and professors of color on campus that caused some controversy. She also directed “Foreign Women Living in Russia” when she took her Junior year abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia, which lead her to become a finalist for Documentary by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1998. When living in Russia, she was asked to play a small role in the film “Brother”, directed by Alexei Balabanov and starring Sergei Bodrov Jr., which received a Special Nomination at Cannes in 1997 and won numerous awards including Best Feature Film at the Brussels International Film Festival. ​
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On making America's Family:

​“Producing this film was beyond a work of love and social justice for me as a daughter of immigrants who fled Hitler during WWII. I have always believed that this is a country made up of immigrants from all over the world. It’s an honor for me to support CHIRLA and Angélica Salas for over 17 years, a non-profit very close to my heart that has been advocating for immigrant rights for generations.  We hope that our film sparks a bright light in those already aware of the need for immigration reform and those new to the critical issue, and inspire them to take action” shared Voukitchevitch. ​

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Nadia comes from a multicultural family who traveled the world, her father, an Author, was born in Geneva. Her paternal grandfather from Montenegro became a Member of the Secretariat of the League of Nations, and her concert pianist-artist-poet mother, the Philippines. She recently discovered that she had English, Swedish, Norwegian and Basque blood via a DNA test. Nadia is fluent in Spanish and speaks several languages. Her work has taken her to film in many countries including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Dominican Republic and Cuba.

Nadia's interests in drama and film started at the age of 10 when she decided she wanted to be a Director. When in High School, she won a place at the Future Filmmaker’s Workshop at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. Nadia was Senior Class President and founded the Video Club at Washington Irving H.S., where she made her first animated film and won a Drama Cup at Hunter College for playing a male and female role simultaneously in a play by Lope de Vega in Spanish.

Nadia’s passion for Photography started at the Instituto de Bachillerato de Miguel Hernández in Alicante where she took her first classes. When in High School, several of her B&W photographs were bought and published by Paramount. She recently had one of her B&W photographs taken in Cuba minted as her first NFT when selected to be exhibited in the Every Women Biennial in NYC at the SuperChief Gallery. ​
Nadia’s film career began with Good Machine Inc. working on low-budget indie films with mentors Ted Hope and James Schamus and Directors Nicole Holefcener, Hannah Weyer, Tod Haynes, Hal Hartley, Eddie Burns, and Ang Lee and Producers Anthony Bregman and Mary Jane Skalski. Later she worked on big-budget Hollywood features like Hurricane, dir. Norman Jewison, and Music of the Heart, dir. Wes Craven. 

As a woman of color, Nadia worked her way up from Locations Intern, Key PA, Production Coordinator, Assistant Producer, Script Supervisor on features, to 1st Assistant Director, Line Producer, Producer and eventually Executive Producer on TV commercial sets. Nadia also worked on TV Shows: CNN, MTV, VH1, and BBC, and some music videos for Celine Dion, Trick Daddy, Juan Luis Guerra, Jennifer Lopez…
 
Nadia’s first job as an Agency Producer was at Castor Advertising in Miami, one of the top US Hispanic Advertising Agencies with Fortune 500 clients, including General Motors, Pontiac, Anheuser Busch, Bacardi, Castrol Oil. This opportunity allowed her to work with the best commercial production companies in the nation, both for the US Hispanic Market and General Market, and to learn about all aspects of Latin culture.
 
In 2001 she moved to Los Angeles where she became Executive Producer at Castells Advertising and helped grow the Agency in four years by winning 19 new business accounts out of 20 pitches. Nadia also worked for Grupo Gallegos, Casanova Pendrill/McCann Erikson, Pacific Communications, Vitro Agency, al Punto, and directly with brands such as Aireloom and Pep Boys. She has won multiple awards for advertising campaigns that she produced, a Belding for a Kohls’ Holiday spot and Palm D’Ors for an Alzheimer’s campaign.
She directed, produced, wrote and edited a short film: “Behind Closed Doors”, and directed documentary Esperanza Community Housing Corp and PSAs for CHIRLA, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, who awarded her a certificate of recognition.
  
Nadia produced a short comedy, Ending Up, directed by Paige Morrow Kimball, starring Jenica Bergere and Matt Letscher, that won many awards at film festivals, including the Comedy Block Audience Award at the San Jose Short Film Festival. 
  
Nadia's passion for social justice and love for public service led her to raise funds for many non-profits. After sending her 287-page thesis on US Public School Education Reform to the White House, she received a letter from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden acknowledging how critical education is to the long-term success of our Nation. She is also writing her memoir, and is developing a script, a period piece on her paternal ancestors and how they came to survive the Russian Revolution and WWI and migrated to the US on the brink of WWII while being torpedoed by a nazi submarine. 

Nadia ran the 5k in the Pasadena Triathlon and a 5k for BrittaCares: helping children survive cancer; her last Honolulu Marathon raised 8 million for APLA and the fight against AIDS. She is also the proud Mom to her 13-year-old son, who recently won a Grammy with the National Children’s Chorus, and their dogs Estrella and a rescue puppy Fearless. Nadia recently married her partner of 8 years, Director, Editor, Producer and VFX Supervisor, and Founder of VFXLA, Robb Hart.

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Blu-Ray de 'Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness' Nos Expande la Historia de la Actriz detrás del Personaje América Chávez

8/5/2022

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Sin dudas la mejor sorpresa que nos trajo la película número 28 en la saga del Universo Marvel, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness fue la presencia en la historia de un personaje latino clave, América Chávez, una adolescente del paralelo utópico que tiene la capacidad de viajar a través del multiverso abriendo pasadizos con forma de estrella, ayudando así al personaje de Benedict Cumberbatch para que pueda trasladarse de dimensión en dimensión.

El filme, que fue dirigido por el legendario Sam Raimi, y que incluyó en su elenco a grandes estrellas como Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, y actores de la talla de Bruce Campbell, Hayley Atwell, Michael Stuhlbarg y Benedict Wong, fue uno de los mayores éxitos de taquilla en lo que va del año, recaudando 954 millones de dólares en todo el mundo, de los cuales 411 fueron obtenidos sólo en Estados Unidos.
Tras su llegada en formato digital el pasado 22 de junio, el filme acaba de arribar en forma física, tanto en 4K Ultra HD como en Blu ray y DVD. Pero además de volver a disfrutar de las grandes actuaciones, los elaborados efectos especiales y las características escenas de acción de toda buena película de Marvel, cada uno de esos sets nos permitirá conocer un poco mejor a Xóchitl Gómez, particularmente a través de un segmento titulado "Presentando a América Chávez", que a pesar de su brevedad explica el orígen del personaje en los comics, cuáles son los poderes que tiene y quien es la actriz que fue elegida para interpretarla. 

Hija de un padre de orígen mexicano y una madre estadounidense que eligieron bautizarla con la palabra náhuatl que significa "flor", Xóchitl estudió desde pequeñas artes marciales, lo que no le vino nada mal para el rodaje de la película. Gómez, que tenía 14 años cuando se enteró que le habían dado el papel tras un proceso de casting que duró 6 meses, una noticia que hizo que se pusiera a llorar de emoción, apareció por primera vez en una pantalla cuando tenía 10 y participó como extra en la película "Intervowen" que protagonizó Mo'nique pero un año después ya tenía otros 4 créditos. 
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Tras participar en numerosos cortometrajes y en series en episodios aislados, consiguió su primer papel importante en la producción de Netflix "The Babysitters Club", en la que también actuó Alicia Silverstone. 

Hoy con 16 años y todo el futuro por delante, Chávez no sabe aún cuáles serán los planes de Marvel para su personaje, que apareció por primera vez en el cómic "Vengeance" en 2011 como la hija de dos madres que la han criado en un universo paralelo, a las que abandona inesperadamente cuando aparecen sus poderes por primera vez. 
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En la película, América le explica a Doctor Strange que no tiene ningún control sobre su capacidad para cambiar de dimensión, y que es algo que suele ocurrir cada vez que tiene miedo. "América Chávez puede golpear y abrir mundos que son como naves que le permiten viajar de un universo al otro. Le cuesta confiar en los demás y a lo largo de la película podemos ver cómo logra superar ese problema, pero si algo la distingue es que es fuerte y resistente, y aunque todo vaya a explotar, ella sigue hacia adelante", comentó Xóchitl en una entrevista reciente.

El set en 4K Ultra HD y Blu-ray trae también 3 escenas eliminadas, otros dos videos cortos y un comentario en audio.
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'America's Family,' A Favorite at Dances with Films Festival

8/1/2022

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The dramatic film, America's Family was presented at the 25th annual Dances with Films festival in TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.  The film proved to be a favorite. It won the  Grand Jury Award for Features and took home the Audience Award for Competition Features.

Written and directed by Anike L. Tourse and produced by Nadia Voukitchevitch, Angelica Salas, Emiliana Guereca and CHIRLA,  the film tells the story of the Diaz family, whose home is raided by ICE on Thanksgiving Day.  The mother, Marisol (Tourse), was put in detention, her son Koke (Ricardo Cisneros) was deported, and patriarch Jorge (Mauricio Mendoza) fled for protective sanctuary. 

Marisol and Jorge’s two American-born children—young attorney Emiliano (Emmanuel López Alonso) and his differently-abled teen sister Valentina (Jailene Arias) scramble to reunite the family as their parents and brother fight to get home.​
Official Synopsis
​When two ICE officers maneuver into the Diaz family home over the Thanksgiving holiday, a domino effect ensues and the family is separated. Mother Marisol is arrested and detained, eldest son Koke is deported to Mexico and father Jorge flees to a synagogue for protective sanctuary. The two American born children left intact; freshman attorney Emiliano and his differently-abled teen sister Valentina, scramble to do whatever they can to reunite their family while the undocumented family members do whatever they can to get home. While each family member fights to return to each other, they also embark on a personal journey, discovering that their commitment to their family and faith in one another is much stronger than they think.

Written, directed and produced by Anike Tourse, America's Family stars Anike Tourse Jailene Arias Emanuel López Alonso Ricardo Cisneros Mauricio Mendoza Angie Kim Aida Rodriguez Baltimore Beltran. 


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    "Live"

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