The 2021 Hollywood Professional Association (HPA®) Awards is returning to an in-person event this year. This year’s gala will take place November 18 at the Hollywood Legion Theater in Hollywood, California. Since 2006, the HPA Awards have honored the brilliance of the community that brings creative vision to life, recognizing artistry in color grading, editing, sound, and visual effects in addition to special awards for Creativity & Innovation, industry contribution, and Engineering Excellence.
Seth Hallen, HPA president, noted, “We look forward to the HPA Awards gala every year, but this year more than ever. This is where the industry comes together to celebrate our amazing work and spend an evening honoring our own. Over this past year, I have been continually inspired by the absolute dedication of our community. Artists and post facility professionals have maintained focus on delivering incredible work during a challenging time. This year more than ever, it’s important that we spend an evening in recognition of this.”
The Hollywood Legion Theater, part of American Legion Post 43, has Hollywood history at its core. Founded in 1919 to serve the community and state and to help fellow veterans suffering badly from the effects of the Great War, the Legion was chartered by Los Angeles veterans who worked in the motion picture business. Veterans and non-veterans alike, including Hollywood luminaries of the day such as Cecil B. DeMille, Adolphe Menjou, Walter Long, and Mary Pickford to name a few, were instrumental in getting the post on its feet in the early days.
Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart downed cocktails and shot pool in what has been dubbed “The longest continuously operating speakeasy in Hollywood,” and Charlton Heston, Mickey Rooney, Gene Autry, Ronald Reagan, Stan Lee were also Legion members. More recently, the post has been the scene of numerous industry events and premieres and this year, the HPA Awards.
A recently completed $6 million renovation of the 90-year-old Egyptian Revival-style building included top notch technology upgrades incorporating state-of-the-art digital projection, an acoustically optimized sound system and 35mm and 70mm film projection capabilities.
Hallen concluded, “To say that we are ready to get this party started is an understatement and we’re pulling out all the stops for this year’s HPA Awards. We’re moving to a beautiful new venue, planning a great evening and, most importantly, we will be celebrating together. We can hardly wait to see you in November!”
The HPA Awards are made possible through the generous sponsorship of Awards Diamond Title Sponsor Blackmagic Design; Registration Sponsor Picture Shop; Awards Category Sponsors Blackmagic Design, DTS, Picture Shop, and Zeiss; and Event Sponsor Deluxe.
Complete rules, guidelines and entry information for the creative categories, which remain open until July 30, are available here. Ticket sales will open in early August.
Sean “Diddy” Combs seeks bail, citing changed circumstances and new evidence
Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a new request for bail on Friday, saying changed circumstances, along with new evidence, mean the hip-hop mogul should be allowed to prepare for a May trial from outside jail.
Lawyers for Combs filed the request in Manhattan federal court, where his previous requests for bail have been rejected by two judges since his September arrest on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
He has been awaiting a May 5 trial at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn.
In their new court filing, lawyers for Combs say they are proposing a "far more robust" bail package that would subject the entertainer to strict around-the-clock security monitoring and near-total restrictions on his ability to contact anyone but his lawyers. But the amount of money they attach to the package remains $50 million, as they proposed before.
They also cite new evidence that they say "makes clear that the government's case is thin." That evidence, the lawyers said, refutes the government's claim that a March 2016 video showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend occurred during a coerced "freak off," a sexually driven event described in the indictment against Combs.
They wrote that the encounter was instead "a minutes-long glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship" between Combs and his then-girlfriend.
The lawyers argued that the jail conditions Combs is experiencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn violate his constitutional... Read More