Megan Mullally, Rene Syler, Ann Curry,
Lisa Kudrow, Larry King and Satellite Sisters

Were all honored in New York at the
Women in Electronic Media 2006 Gracie Allen Awards

For Informaton on AWRT visit: www.arwt.org.

CONGRATULATIONS ANDY GARCIA FOR TELLING THE TALE!
A Violent Story Told With Dignity And Grace
by Bonnie Carroll

Well, it was a case of better late than never last week when I finally was able to view LOST CITY, the moving, and I am sure completely accurate story of a loving family living in Cuba during the overthrow of the government, and the rise to power of Castro. The movie was nothing short of beautiful, moving and hearbreaking all at once. The directing was perfect, and the acting was as well. This film is a very moving documentary that will withstand time, and will I feel certain be a recorded lesson of what did happen to the people of Cuba, and a way of life that once exhisted there. Bravo to Andy Garcia, and all involved in this great film. I loved it so much!

COPPOLA'S "MARIE ANTOINETTE" SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER DEBUT

Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" about France's iconic eighteenth century Queen is scheduled to open in October 2006. Coppola is not only directing the film but also wrote the script which is based on the book "Marie Antoinette - The Journey" by Lady Antonia Fraser. Kirsten Dunst, who worked with Coppola on previous film projects, portrays the young Austrian princess who becomes Queen of France. Jason Schwartzman portrays her indifferent husband Louis XVI. Rip Torn, Judy Davis, Steve Coogan, Asia Argento, Marianne Faithful, Aurore Clement, Molly Shannon and Shirley Henderson are also featured in the film.

"Maria Antoinette" is produced by Coppola and Ross Katz. Fred Roos, Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Rassam are executive producers. Lance Acord is director of photography with Milena Canonero designing the costumes and KK Barrett is the production designer. "Marie Antoinette" is shot in France, with much of the work being done at the Palace of Versailles, which granted the production unprecedented access.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
20th Century Fox

(Meryl Streep) Miranda Priestly, Editor-in-Chief of a New York fashion magazine Runway, seems like the devil to Andrea (Anne Hathaway), a small-town girl new to Manhattan, who takes a job working as her assistant in the hope she will get a chance to become a staff journalist.

Both Streep and Hathaway give wonderful performances, and a film that I expected to be a total fluff piece turned out to say something meaningful. The acting brought to the screen was honest and the character development was inspiring. Paris, the clothes and the frantic pace of fashion week was great fluff, but the keyhole views of the brutal games in magazine publishing were stunning. Bravo to Streep, who really did remind me of an agent I once had in Chicago, who could be soft as butter in one breath and blow fire in the next. This is a 'feel good' film that has great writing that entertains and makes you laugh.

WHAT THIS COUNTRY NEEDS......
by Bob Roberts

Is not a good five-cent cigar, as the saying goes, but a good lounge act. And it looks like now we have one. I'm talking about a new show called Le Club Seduce and it's located at a place called Le Studio in West Los Angeles.

Not knowing what to expect when I heard about the show, called an aerial burlesque comedy (well, would anyone?), I ventured bravely into this warehouse type complex on Olympic Boulevard and was fully expecting most anything. And I got it.

Over the years, it seems that lounge acts have become almost extinct. In Las Vegas in years past, most of the casinos had at least one lounge act to wet the patrons' appetite before venturing into the larger shows there. Quite a number of new talent was born in these rooms. But it really isn't the same anymore. And it isn't just in Las Vegas. You find this in all the major cities and Los Angeles is no exception.

Le Club Seduce (great title) has a show going like no other you will ever see. It's a combination of comedy, music and, of course, aerial acts. The aerial performances are on a smaller scale, of course, but are, nonetheless, for real in the small space provided for them. Somehow, it all seems to work and the audience are allowed to become a vital part of the experience also.
The show has been created and produced by Natalie Yves Gaulthier, co-produced by Camellia Davenport, written by Ms. Gaulthier and David Oliver and Choreographed by Shannon Beach and Sal Vassallo. In addition, almost all the above mentioned also perform in the piece.

Some of the stand outs, although all are more than up to the task at hand, are Nina Kruse as the Stage Manager, Ricky Culbertson as the young man, Harry Wingfield who is all over the place trying to bring order to the cacophony, Camilla Davenport, Shannon Beach, Tumaini Finley, Lisaun Whittingham, Lexi Pearl, Sebastien Stella and Stef Tover.

The show is not long, a little over an hour, but with all that is going it's more than enough to make it all a very satisfying and enlightening evening. The act should be an ideal addition, not just for a lounge act but for any private function that seeks something really different and exciting. I am told they are bound for an engagement at the Club Med in Cancun in November of this year.

I wish this spirited group the best in all their future endeavors.