Billy Ray Cyrus A Natural Born Singer Songwriter Sings From His Heart

Written and Photographs by Nikki Artale

Billy Ray Cyrus has achieved success as an entertainer, singer, actor, songwriter and a philanthropist throughout the last three decades. He has sold millions of albums, charted 44 singles and garnered triple platinum status in Australia for his 90’s hit “Achy Breaky Heart”. BillyRayCyrus.com 

Billy Ray was born in Flatwoods, KY and his family had a musical background, his father Ron Cyrus was a gospel singer in “The Crownsmen”, his mother Ruthie played piano, and his grandfather Papaw Castro played the fiddle. All this talent has been passed onto his children. He is proud of his celebrity kids and especially his daughter Miley Cyrus who starred in Hannah Montana and his father daughter duet “Butterfly Fly Away”

Billy Ray has a new project in the works, a new CTM T.V. series “Still the King”. He plays a washed up country star and he has a new album “Cyrus” which everyone is looking forward to. I have been a fan since the 90’s and I can still remember when he made Achy Breaky Heart famous. He was like another Elvis and every loved him. It was very exciting to see Billy Ray a few months ago at the Red Rock Hotel Casino and hear him play his guitar and hear his wonderful voice. He writes the music and he lives the music. He is still the handsome man as I remembered him to be. 

Billy Ray Cyrus will be back in Las Vegas at Stoney’s Rockin Country on September 22, 2017 and on November 4, 2017. Doors open at 7:00 PM / Show 9:00 PM in the Town Square, 8611 Las Vegas Blvd. Las Vegas NV 89119. www.stoneysrockincountry.com

Come and see Billy Ray Cyrus and show him some love.

48 Hours to Vegas Film Goes to Filmapalooza in Paris France 2018

Written by Nikki Artale

The 48 Hour Film Project is a contest between filmmakers who film one weekend, non-stop  and then go on to compete against all other city winners around the world. Each team is assigned a genre, a prop, a character and a line of dialogue and must use these elements to create a short film in 48 hours. It is the largest International filmmaking competition and 48 Hours to Vegas has won first place for the Best Film, Music, Original Song, Vehicle/car scene and Audience Favorite. The winning film at Filmapalooza will have a chance to screen at Cannes Film Festival 2018.

http://www.48hourfilm.com/las-vegas-nv

It is a sleepless weekend starting at 7:00pm Friday until 10:00pm Sunday as the teams shoot, edit and then submit it to the 48 Hour Film Project. The script is written, costumes, set designs are selected, rehearsals, shooting, editing and sound are all put together.

Cinematography by Glenn M. Student of KTF Media Productions/Emerald Motion Pictures and Executive Producer Samuel Scheller were part of the team who took pride in making the film which won them five awards so far. Scott Scooter Diel wrote, directed and produced the film.

Glenn M.  Student will be going to Filmapalooza in Paris, France on March 6-9, 2018 to represent 48 Hours to Vegas and there is a good chance it will win because it is a great film. 

Las Vegas Film Festival Celebrated 10 Years of Magic June 6-10, 2017

Written and Photography by Nikki Artale

It was magic attending the screenings of many fabulous films with daily festival mixers, parties and panel discussions that were attended by filmgoers and film makers.  This year’s festival was held entirely in Brendan Theaters inside the Palms Casino Resort. National filmmakers and film lovers from all over the world came to enjoy the films and attend the daily panels that were very informative. www.lvff.com 

Included once again was CineVegas Presents at LVFF which featured a fine selection of films, under the direction of Trevor Groth and Mike Pante. The festival lineup was a mixture of documentaries, feature films and highlighted films made by and produced in Southern Nevada. Three college showcases were produced by students from UNLV, CSN and NSC, showing a collection of short films. We are so proud of our young filmmakers and look forward to see their work every year. 

There were many outstanding film shown and one in particular was California Dreams, a semi documentary about five individuals who are pursuing their life time dreams, directed by Mike Ott. The film portraits real people and their Hollywood dreams. 

                                                                 Mike Ott

It is also a time to meet and greet with old friends at the LV Film Fest and enjoy the event that is put together by Milo Kostelecky President, Robin Greenspun CineVegas Chairman and West McDowell Creative & Program Director.

Professor Francisco Menendez, Milo Kostelecky

                                         Jeremy Settles Producer Got Films

Thank you for a great Las Vegas Film Festival and we look forward to next year’s event.

Fathom Events Bring Movie Classics to the Big Screen

Written by Nikki Artale

Timeless classic masterpieces are being shown in select movie theaters across the country and it is a great theater experience seeing it on the big screen. I am a movie buff and I have seen thousands of movies and it is so special to see these old classics once again. Thanks to Fathom Events and TCM these classics will go on forever for everyone to see again.

One of the last films I saw was The Godfather, which was a special 45^th Anniversary Event about a New York Mafia family, starring Marlon Brando as Don Corleone. The film was nominated for seven Academy Award nominations and won three, including Best Picture of 1972 and Best Actor for Marlon Brando. The film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola who went on to make Godfather 11 and Godfather 111. The Godfather is one of the greatest films in world cinema. I have seen this movie many times on a small TV but it was awesome to see it on the big screen. I love this movie and I would watch it over and over again.

All About Eve received 14 academy award nominations and won six for Best Picture, Best Director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Best Actress Bette Davis, Best Film and Special Jury Prize. Also starring in the film was Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, Marilyn Monroe and George Sanders. Bette Davis as Margo Channing is an aging Broadway star whose career is threatened by her assistant Eve Harrington played by Anne Baxter. All About Eve is a 1950 American Drama that has been preserved in the United States Film Registry

Some Like It Hot a Timeless Classic Masterpiece is considered to be one of the greatest film comedies. A black and white film starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon is a film about two musicians dressed as women in an all-girl band who are escaping from gangsters after they witnessed a Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Marilyn Monroe won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role as Sugar Kane, a ukulele player and singer, Jack Lemmon won a Best Actor and Tony Curtis won a 2^nd  place Bambi award for Best Actor. It is a fabulous comedy and so entertaining to watch these legends in this magnificent film. 

EVENTS FOR EVERYONE

We began in 2002 as an experiment - a test to see whether the movie theater could become home to unique content beyond studio blockbusters and if one-of-a-kind entertainment events could draw audiences to cinemas on weeknights and other off-peak timeframes.

15 years later, Fathom Events is the recognized leader in the event cinema industry, offering a variety of world-class entertainment events in movie theatres across the United States. We give audiences the best seats in the house to experience music’s biggest stars, breathtaking performing arts, thrilling sporting events and popular comedy acts. We provide expert insights into beloved classic films, early access to Hollywood’s hottest releases and big-screen presentations of original programming featuring the top names in radio, television, faith and more. No matter your interests, we give you the opportunity to be fully immersed in content that awes, inspires and entertains – all in the comfort of your local movie theater, surrounded by fellow fans.

Check out the web site for all future events. www.fathomevents.com

Homes 4 Heroes Giving 60 Free Homes to Our Heroes

Coleen, John Moore, Maria Miuccio, Ray J

Ray J

 Written and Photographs by Nikki Artale

At a private press conference Andre Haynes, founder and chairman of Armed Forces Chamber of Commerce announced that actor, singer Ray J will host a new T.V. Reality show Homes 4 Heroes. Maria Miuccio, business owner of Cash Kingdom, a State Farm Insurance Franchise and a company that flips homes will be financing the project that will put 60 Veterans, fire, police and paramedics into homes across 50 states.

John Moore

The first recipient was John Moore, a 15 year veteran as a US Army Ranger. John worked on remodeling the house, thinking that an elderly woman was getting the house but on the last day of shooting he was in for a big surprise. Maria Miuccio handed John the keys to the house, valued at $200,000 and thanked him for all his years of service. Another surprise for John was that his home would be totally furnished for free from Coleens Classic Consignment Store and he would pick out anything he wanted for his entire house. John was so overwhelmed by all the generosity and still can’t believe this.

Maria Miuccio, Dan Kaminsky, Ray J

Special guests were the Queens from the Endeavor Pageant Organization who added love and beauty to the event. Andre Haynes is the founder and director and he is proud of the positive impact these Queens are making through their service. www.endeavorpageant.com  www.emgnv.com 

Andre Haynes

Ray J spent a few hours at the media event and everyone enjoyed meeting him and spending quality time talking to him. I found him to be a loving and warm young man with an open heart and he will be a great host on his new show “Homes for Heroes”. 

                                                       Ray J, Nikki Artale

Firefighters Bachelor Auction Hits the Stage for a Fabulous Evening

Written & Photographs by Nikki Artale

Las Vegas Firefighters held their 17^th Annual Bachelors Auction on June 9, 2017 inside the Foundry at the SLS Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Proceeds from the Bachelor Auction will support the Firefighters of Southern Nevada Burn Foundation to fund six children’s camps ranging from Camp Beyond the Scars and family camps. A dozen bachelors were representing fire companies from Las Vegas and they were among the fit and handsome men that took part in the auction.  www.theburnfoundation.org 

Capt. Jason Martinez

James Johnson

https://youtu.be/OgN3rOl-ntc

The evening began with the firefighters giving out a rose and a glass of champagne to each woman that entered the room. Our firefighter Heroes mingled with all the ladies and lots of pictures were taken and the ladies started to single out the men they would be bidding on.

Master of Ceremonies Scotty Allen got the ladies excited when he announced that the Firefighters would go into the audience and give out Kisses, but to the surprise of everyone they handed out chocolate kisses. Everyone loves chocolate.

The night started out with entertainment by Aussie Heat who added more eye candy with their amazing dance moves. They are all super talented and awesome. 

Aussie Heat

The firefighters were paired off with prize packages that included LV show tickets, dinners, helicopter rides, $500 gift certificates, a Five Night trip to Mexico, Golf, spa treatments and much more. Two Firehouse Dinner were auctioned off to six lucky ladies for $7500 each. That will be such an exciting dinner for everyone.

Upon introduction the firefighters put on a show as they came off the stage and mingled in the audience, a la Magic Mike and they tore their shirts off. Guess what………..I got one of the
T-shirts.

It was a fabulous night and all the children will benefit by the thousands of dollars they will receive from our “Heroes the firefighters of Las Vegas”