The Association of Music Producers (AMP) hosted a West Coast Battle of the Ad Bands on Nov. 19 at the Mint in Los Angeles. While the mood was festive as ad agency folk who are members of different bands strutted their musical stuff–to reviews by a panel of AMP judges loosely reminiscent of the American Idol m.o.–there was a serious purpose to the event, continuing an AMP tradition of raising money for Mr. Holland’s Opus, a foundation that supports music education and its many benefits through the donation and repair of musical instruments, which go to under-served schools, community music programs and individual students nationwide.
Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation was inspired by the critically acclaimed motion picture Mr. Holland’s Opus, the story about the profound effect a dedicated music teacher had on generations of students. The film’s composer, Michael Kamen, founded Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation in 1996 as part of his commitment to the future of music education. Kamen passed away in ’03, but the legacy he left behind includes not only his amazing body of work, but also the foundation.
The organization was started to address the fact that across the nation, school and community music programs have been discontinued or severely diminished due to budget cuts. The positive effects of music education on children’s emotional and intellectual growth have been proven in numerous case studies.
This mark “Opus No. 4” in AMP fundraising efforts for The Opus Foundation. It all began in April 2004 with the then AMP Mixer Awards. That evening there were a couple of prime highlights besides the awards themselves: a silent charity auction which generated money for Mr. Holland’s Opus; and a live performance by Drake Price, a talented jazz cellist who at the time was 18 years old.
Price represented the good work of the Opus Foundation. He applied to the foundation in ’98 for a cello. He was at a place in his studies where he needed a better instrument to progress in his pursuit of music, but his family could not afford a cello for him. Price received a cello from the Opus Foundation and went on to win assorted scholarships and awards.
Again in ’05, a portion of the proceeds generated by the AMP Awards was donated to Mr. Holland’s Opus. And in late ’06/early ’07, sans the AMP competition, the tradition still continued, albeit online as AMP auctioned off an ebony Les Paul guitar bearing the signatures of superstar band Gnarls Barkley and television and radio personality Adam Carolla. The instrument sold for $1,310 on eBay, with the money going to the Opus Foundation.
This was the second time the guitar was auctioned. The first time was at AMP’d UP!, the opening night music bash of Advertising Week ’06 in Manhattan last fall, but the highest bidder never showed up to claim the guitar. So AMP turned to eBay to stay true to its commitment to the Opus Foundation.
For further info, log onto http://www.mhopus.org/
“Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic 3” Rule Box Office For 1st Weekend Of 2025
The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.
The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn't far behind.
"Sonic 3" stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. "Mufasa's" running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.
In third place, Focus Features' "Nosferatu" remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable. "Nosferatu," which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).
No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, "Moana 2," claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.
The Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in... Read More