Dark Light Pictures has appointed Gabriel Mena to director of development, a newly created post at the company. Mena, who has a background in film and TV development, will lead a new effort to grow Dark Light's roster of directors, with an emphasis on building a cadre of young filmmakers. Mena will also direct a marketing effort in support of the new talent. Prior to joining Dark Light, Mena was head of development at Miami-based independent outfit Hispafilms Corporation, where he produced the Tribeca feature-length documentary, “Celia the Queen,” about salsa legend Celia Cruz, which featured appearances by David Byrne, Gloria Estefan and Andy Garcia. With a directorial roster that includes Caleb Deschanel, David Steinberg, Gil Cope, Andy Garcia, Michael Lehmann, Suzanne Luna, Vince DiPersio, Craig Henderson, Vincent Paterson and Chris Anthony, Dark Light Pictures has recently produced work for Boeing, Honda, Whirlpool and Rush University… Medical Center…..Oscar-nominated production designer Eve Stewart has just completed work on director Tom Hooper's Les Miserable and is now available for commercial bookings through Dattner Dispoto and Associates….DP Jan Prahl has signed with Montana Artists Agency for US representation. Prahl continues to be repped by Driven By Creatives in Germany….
FireAid Concert Features Major Music Stars, Shares Stories Of Loss To Raise Money For L.A. Wildfire Relief
Pop stars, first responders, rock stars and those who've lost everything in the devastating LA-area wildfires came together for FireAid, a massive benefit concert Thursday that combined spectacular performances with moving storytelling from survivors and reminders of the destruction.
In a night full of surprises, a reunion of Nirvana — fronted by St. Vincent, Kim Gordon and Joan Jett in the place of the late Kurt Cobain — tops the list. They launched into "Breed," "School" and "Territorial Pissings" respectively, inspired and unexpected choices.
Drummer Dave Grohl's daughter, Violet, then emerged on stage for "All Apologies."
Closer Lady Gaga, after powering through the Oscar-award winning "Shallow" and "Always Remember Us This Way" from "A Star Is Born," played a new song on the piano. "It's just for tonight, it's just for you," she said of the song she wrote with fiancé businessman Michael Polansky. "Time is a healer."
"All I need is time," she sang in the folk-y pop chorus. "To heal my broken wings and then I'll soar."
Green Day kicked off the massive show by launching into "Last Night on Earth" at the Kia Forum and were soon joined by Billie Eilish for the first surprise of the night. The lyrics are surprisingly astute: "If I lose everything in the fire / I'm sending all my love to you."
After their set, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong hugged actor Billy Crystal, who was there to welcome to the crowd at the Kia Forum.
"Our goal is simple tonight, to spend more money than the Dodgers spent on free agents," he joked. He told the audience U2 offered the first big donation of the night: $1 million dollars.
Crystal said he was wearing the clothes he had on when he evacuated. He lost his home in... Read More