AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY HONORS CHEF MING TSAI AT CALIFORNIA SPIRIT 33 GOURMET GARDEN PARTY, WITH HOST CHEF JAVIER PLASCENCIA

The American Cancer Society’s California Spirit 33 gourmet garden party honored Chef Ming Tsai with the 2018 Impact Award for his inspiring work in the fight against cancer through his leadership in the national non-profit Family Reach on Sunday, July 15 at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. The event was hosted by Chef Javier Plascencia, celebrated chef, author, TV personality noted for his signature interpretation of the cuisine of Baja California. Chef Jason Fullilove, owner of Barbara Jean LA presided as Culinary Chair for the event.
Honorary chairs Sherry Lansing (Paramount Pictures, STOP CANCER, Stand Up 2 Cancer) and Phil Rosenthal (15-time Emmy Award-winning “Everyone Loves Raymond,” “Spanglish,” “I’ll have What Phil’s Having” and second season of “Somebody Feel Phil” on Netflix) welcomed the crowd and Andrew Firestone (Principal at StonePark Capital) presided over the live auction. The event was attended by Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill, Chicago P.D.), Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue), Samantha Harris (Entertainment Tonight, Dancing with the Stars, Camila Banus (Days of Our Lives), among others.
The event featured a performance by Band From TV, a powerhouse of well-known and acclaimed actors including Greg Grunberg, Adrian Pasdar, Jack Coleman, and Scott Grimes. Guests enjoyed offerings from LA’s top restaurants including 71 Above, Barbara Jean LA, The Bel-Air, BOA, Fig & Olive, Frida Mexican Cuisine, Guerilla Tacos, Kato, Life Energy Food, Maple Block Meat Co, McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams, Panini Kabob Grill, Prawn Coastal, Takami Sushi & Robata, Sweet Lady Jane, The Wallace, Wolfgang Puck Catering, and Wood & Vine. Libations were poured by Ammunition Wine, Codigo 1530 Tequila, Danone Waters of America, Drake’s Organic Vodka & Rum, Golden Road Brewing, Hilltop Coffee, Lillet, Kikori Whiskey, Moraga Bel Air, Malibu Vineyards, and The Ojai Vineyard. 
Corporate and individual sponsors include, at the Master Chef level ($25,000)—Centric Capital Advisors, Ellie Kanner and David Zuckerman. Chef de Cuisine sponsors ($10,000) include Cedars Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Sam and Peggy Grossman, Sherry Lansing, New York Film Academy Foundation, and Phil & Monica Rosenthal.  Supporters at the Sous Chef level ($5,000) are Amalfi Estates, Heyler Realty, Lynn Both & Kent Kresa, SoCalGas, and Torrance Memorial Medical Center.
Media sponsors included KTLA-TV, Variety, Angeleno, The Hollywood Reporter, and KJAZZ Radio. California Spirit raised $________  for the Society’s groundbreaking research, free patient and caregiver services, and early detection and prevention education programs.

CONCERN FOUNDATION’S 44TH ANNUAL BLOCK PARTY RAISES $1.8 MILLION FOR CANCER RESEARCH

On Saturday, July 14th 2018, Concern Foundation for cancer research successfully produced its 44th Annual Block Party on the backlot of Paramount Studios in Hollywood on the foundation’s 50th anniversary. Themed this year as Cancer Crusaders, the highly anticipated and sold-out event hosted approximately 4,000 guests, successfully raising $1.8 million for cancer research through ticket sales, donations and bids on auction items.
All guests had a chance to experience over 70 restaurants, caters, and beverage vendors including Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Fogo de Chao, Dulan’s Soul Food, Button Mash, Fresh Brother’s Pizza and Pink’s Famous Hot Dogs. The night was filled with interactive entertainment such as casino-style gaming, a celebrity bar hosting actors Lili Bourdán (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, THE NUN), Gabe Jarret (REAL GENIUS) and Chad Johnson, the original TV Batmobile, and live and iconic Super Hero “streetmosphere”. For the 14th year in a row, The Best of LA® on Los Angeles Magazine’s street featured lounges, photo booths, food stations, beauty stations and gift bags sponsored by Infiniti.
As a focal point for the evening’s festivities, the live auction lead by lifestyle expert and entertainment reporter, Mar Yvette, presented guests with the option to bid on prizes including VIP tickets to a taping of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”, VIP tickets to the 2018 American Music Awards, a six-night vacation in Maui, and Dodger Dugout seats. Following the auction, John Ferdenzi of Town and Country Event Rentals was honored with the Spirit of Concern award. Recognized for his dedication and commitment to Concern Foundation, John Ferdenzi has been a valued member of the extended Concern family for more than two and a half decades. He has given his time and creative talents to assist at various Concern Block Parties and annual holiday events.
 This year, in connection to the theme, the foundation was happy to honor Dr. Jay & Kris Calvert and family as this year's "Cancer Crusaders" for their participation in helping to conquer cancer through research. Honored on stage alongside his family, Dr. Jay & Kris Calvert openly shared their personal experience with cancer. The Calvert's 10 year old son Ace was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age 4 and while today he has beaten his cancer, ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) can always return and he is never truly cured.  This is a major reason he and his family feels so strongly about raising money to help find a permanent cure.  Jay himself was a young scientist who could not get funding early in his career as a molecular biologist and he personally knows how important our mission to supporting young investigators is to jump start researcher's careers. Dr. Jay Calvert has been consecutively named one of Los Angeles Magazine's "Super Doctors" in 2014, 2015, and 2016.  He has appeared on multiple hit television programs including CBS's "The Doctors" and OWN's "Dr. Phil". 
Concern Foundation is proud to have these members of the community serve as this year's honorees. Their personal connection to the fight against cancer and philanthropic actions alongside the non-profit organization is sure to help make this year's Block Party a success.
 Concluding the event, Derek Alpert stated, “Having the honor to be on stage to welcome and see nearly 4,000 of the true super heroes all gathered together helping us raise funds to conquer cancer is a very emotional thing for me.  It’s such a blessing to be able to help orchestrate this event each year and to bring together 4 generations of donors, 5 decades of cancer researchers that Concern has funded all surrounded by a tremendous outpouring of love and support by our local business community that donate their time and talents so that we can give as much money as possible to support cancer research.”

 

Le Vian Forecasts 2019 Trends at Its Annual Red Carpet Revue

Ross Mathews once again emceed Le Vian’s annual Red Carpet Revue catwalk show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Le Vian is, famously, a family-owned company. And before models walked the runway, company CEO Eddie LeVian and president Moossa LeVian brought up to the stage several smiling grandkids the future generation of the Le Vian dynasty to help explain their love for family and for jewelry-making.
Avril Graham, executive fashion and beauty editor for Harper’s Bazaar, who presented a spate of trends for 2019 during the event, also called herself an honorary member of the Le Vian family. Le Vian is a longtime advertising partner of the magazine, but she and the magazine’s editor, Glenda Bailey (who spoke on video), said the relationship goes beyond business. Once a year, Eddie and his team meet with Harper’s Bazaar editors to talk about future trends and what looks are missing in the market: “Through decades of relationship, our trust allows us to collaborate deeply,” said Graham. “There’s a lot of synergy between us.”
Eddie added that through the collaboration, the company will debut product with a gray palette later this year. “The editors were asking for something gray,” he noted. Details on that release are under wraps, but the company proudly announced the trends it’s betting on for 2019. They include:
Diamond of the year:
Nude diamonds The C2-C3 natural color diamonds “offer value and are complementary to fashion and beauty trends,” read a press release on the forthcoming product.
Theme of the year:
Royalty For obvious reasons (Harry and Meghan!), a royal theme—manifested as Le Vian “tiara” rings and majestic three-stone and cocktail styles—feels especially timely.
Cut of the year:
Baguette Le Vian’s Baguette Frenzy collection of jewelry with baguette-cut diamonds includes nontraditional settings and pieces with clusters of baguettes.
Item of the year:
Open rings Le Vian will be offering an avalanche of rings with linear designs, featuring plenty of negative space.
Gem of the year:
Fancy colored sapphires The rainbow and multicolor trends will calcify in Le Vian’s collections of pieces featuring a pantheon of colored sapphires (the company’s 2019 Spring Colors of the Year are “Multicolor Rainbow”).
Animal of the Year:
The dog The brand is latching on to a larger trend for jewelry that celebrates everyone’s best friend—the dog.

The event’s runway show featured models styled in a combined $20 million in Le Vian jewels and clothes from Missoni, Marchesa, Salvatore Ferragamo, Alexandra Vidal, Pucci, and Jason Wu. And the evening ended with a fun and memorable performance by soul/pop singer Macy Gray.

TOM CRUISE HONORED AS 2018 Pioneer of the Year at CinemaCon in Las Vegas - CRUISE IS THE FIRST MOVIE STAR TO RECEIVE THE AWARD

The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation (WRMPPF) honored Tom Cruise, multiple Academy Award nominee and three-time Golden Globe winner, as its 2018 Pioneer of the Year. Director, producer and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie presented Cruise with the prestigious award at the Foundation’s annual Pioneer of the Year dinner, which took place Wednesday night at Caesars Palace during the National Association of Theaters Owners (NATO) annual convention, CinemaCon.
Cruise was honored before an audience of 2,500 motion picture executives consisting of film studio chiefs, theatrical distribution heads, and exhibition presidents and CEOs. Multiple Emmy-winning actor and comedian James Corden surprised guests to emcee the evening that included a special performance by Tony and Grammy Award-winning Hamilton star Leslie Odom, Jr. Additional appearances were made by actors Angela Bassett, Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg and Paramount Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Gianopulos.
A tradition for 72 years, the Pioneer of the Year dinner honors leaders of the motion picture industry and within the philanthropic community. The Pioneer of the Year award is one of the motion picture industry’s highest honors. This year’s event raised a CinemaCon record of more than $1.5 million for the benefit of the Pioneers Assistance Fund which provides financial assistance to individuals in the motion picture distribution and exhibition community who are encountering an illness, injury, or a life-changing event.

A global cultural icon, Cruise has portrayed some of the most memorable characters of all time in blockbuster films such as Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, Risky Business, Minority Report, Interview with the Vampire, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Rain Man, Collateral, The Last Samurai, Edge of Tomorrow, The Color of Money and the Mission: Impossible franchise, among many others.
Cruise’s versatility is evidenced by the films he selects and characters he portrays. He has had a producing role on many of his legendary films and has worked with a remarkable list of award-winning and esteemed film directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Martin Scorsese, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Ron Howard, Rob Reiner, Sydney Pollack, Neil Jordan, Brian de Palma, Cameron Crowe, Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ed Zwick, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, J.J. Abrams, Robert Redford, Brad Bird, Doug Liman and Chris McQuarrie.
Cruise will next star in the sixth installment in the Mission Impossible (July 27, 2018) franchise for Paramount Pictures followed by Top Gun: Maverick (July 12, 2019), the studio’s long awaited sequel to the Cruise classic Top Gun.
“A consummate filmmaker, leader, and visionary involved in all aspects of film production, Tom is an accomplished member of our entertainment community who demonstrates extraordinary creativity and exceptional influence in our industry; these qualities make him a true pioneer,” said Kyle Davies, President of WRMPPF and President of Domestic Distribution at Paramount Pictures. “We are delighted to honor Tom as the 2018 Pioneer of the Year.”

Cruise is the first actor to receive the award. Having achieved extraordinary success as an actor and producer in a career spanning over three decades, Cruise is a three-time Academy Award® nominee and three-time Golden Globe Award winner whose films have grossed $9 billion in worldwide box office — an incomparable accomplishment.

IT’S A WRAP! Kitty Bungalow’s CATstravaganza a Roaring Success Cat Lovers, Broadway Fans, and Hollywood Stars Raise Unprecedented Funds for Feline Friends

Last night on Saturday, April 21st at the Montalban Theatre in Hollywood, Cat-Lovers, Broadway fans, and Stars of two legs and four came out to support Kitty Bungalow’s musical CATstravaganza, Hamilton’s Cats. The show ended up being the most successful of Kitty Bungalow’s to date aiding the non-profit’s mission of turning feral cats into furrever companions by raising more than $65,000.
Kitty Bungalow Founder and Head Mistress Shawn Simons said, “This, our now seventh year of our celebrity musical event, was by far our most ambitious undertaking. Thankfully, our sponsors, celebrities and friendly audience did not disappoint all coming out to be a part of the music and laughs, all for a not so funny cause, the feline over-population problem still plaguing our city. The kitties couldn't be more grateful.”
The show Hamilton's Catstold the story of a small-town cat rescue that decided to put on the musical Catsas a fundraiser for their organization. Sadly, no one was interested until they discovered Andrew Lloyd Webber planned to attend. Featuring the talents of Fred Willard (“Modern Family”), Emily Deschanel (“Bones”), Wendi McLendon Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Mindy Sterling (“Con Man”), Kirsten Vangsness (“Criminal Minds”), Nicole Sullivan (“Black-ish”), Bethany Joy Lenz (“Dexter”), Elaine Hendrix (“Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll”), Carla Jimenez (“The Mick”), Brendan Robinson (“Pretty Little Liars”), Lori Alan (“SpongeBob SquarePants”), Maiara Walsh (“Switched at Birth”), and Moshow the Cat Rapper. 
The event began with the Hamilton’s Cats stars walking the red carpet at 7:00pm, which was hosted by Bonnie-Jill Laflin. At the same time, doors opened to guests where they could bid on prizes, play games, or enjoy magic tricks with The Fantastic Fig and his Cat Newton. The curtain rose at 8:00pm, with a half hour intermission beginning at 9:00pm where guests were treated to live music by duo Almond&Olive. After the end of the second act, Kitty Bungalow’s theatre patrons enjoyed an after party with DJ’s, an open bar, tapas, and other treats.
 The year’s CATstravaganza was a roaring success; and thanks to Kitty Bungalow’s sponsor Solid Gold Pet Nutrition, 100% of all sales went to help rescue more homeless animals. Additional thanks go to Fizzion Concentrated, Lime Crime, and Michelson Found Animals.
About Kitty Bungalow: Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that rescues, neuters, socializes and finds homes for feral kittens while providing outreach, education and Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) services. Dedicated to the city of Los Angeles and its street cats, their goal is a truly humane LA.