Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s Family Day offers artistic fun
Volunteer Jeanne Jackson shows La Petite Academy campers the “Turner to Cezanne” exhibition at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art last month. The museum had a Family Day celebrating the exhibit on Sunday. (Photo by Ashley McKee/The Oklahoman)
On Sunday, my husband and I took our younger son, Gabe, 2 1/2, to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s Family Day celebrating the wonderful special exhibit “Turner to Cezanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales.”
We had a great time at the event, starting with a tour of the gorgeous exhibition. It includes amazing paintings by Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Manet, van Gogh and more. The exhibit closes Sept. 20, and I encourage everyone to make plans to see it before it’s gone.
We also checked out the contemporary and modern artwork in the exhibit “The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States,” in the museum’s third-floor galleries. I think Gabe was as impressed with Martin Johnson’s colorful abstract sculpture “Exerptunis” as I was.
And of course, for Gabe no trip to the museum is complete without touring the impressive collection of Dale Chihuly glass art. As we wound through the exhibit, one of us would murmur “wow” or “whoa” at practically every new display, even though we’ve all seen those vivid, graceful glass pieces before. And naturally, we had to stop on the third floor landing and peer at the top of the huge Chihuly tower at the front of the museum.
On the museum’s first floor, we watched a dancing demonstration, signed up for drawings and then moved on to the art-making activities. Gabe was in luck: The museum instructors were set up for the kids to make collages. That meant he got to use the safety scissors to cut out shapes and glue stick to attach them to a piece of blue construction paper. He loved using the kid-sized scissors so much, he wouldn’t stop until every quadrant of his paper had a cutout glued to it.
We missed out on the face-painting, since there was only one painter working and the line was so long. But since we were among the last ones to leave, Gabe got a consolation prize: a green balloon.
It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and I recommend taking your family to the next Family Day.
- BAM
Photos: The Volturi of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Volturi enforcer Jane (Dakota Fanning) has a gift for inflicting pain.
I’ve been working today on our fall movie preview, in which we run down the list of movies opening in Oklahoma City this autumn.
Of course, one of the most anticipated films of the season is the “Twilight” sequel, “New Moon.”
Summit Entertainment has released several new photos of the Volturi, the vampire royal family that plays a big role in Edward and Bella’s relationship starting with “New Moon” and continuing through the third and fourth books, “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn.”
Notice the stunning red eyes on the Volturi, evidence that unlike vampire hero Edward (Robert Pattinson) and the rest of his family, the Volturi don’t abstain from feeding on human blood.
And check out the fall movie preview when it appears on Friday.
Volturi enforcer Demetri (Charlie Bewley) gets a grip on Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), Edward’s adopted sister.
Volturi leaders, from left, Aro (Michael Sheen) and Caius (Jamie Campbell Bower) and enforcer Alec (Cameron Bright), who is Jane’s Brother, are shown in a scene from “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
See more photos after the break.
Kings of Leon planning live DVD, remix album and “Iron Chef” appearance
Kings of Leon on last month on the “Today” show. (Associated Press photos)
Rockers Kings of Leon, who have Oklahoma ties, are working on several project this fall and starting to focus on the followup album to their 2008 platinum release “Only by the Night.”
In an interview with Billboard.com, drummer Nathan Followill said the band is planning to release a live DVD that was filmed in July at London’s O2 Arena. The show featured some “choice rarities” for the DVD.
“England is really the first place we broke…We figured what better place to make a live DVD than where the fans have been the craziest for the longest?” he told Billboard.com.
He also said the band is working on remix album, a project that started when the quartet learned other artists such as Justin Timberlake and Pharrell had started working on alternative versions of Kings of Leon songs.
Along with Pharrell and Timberlake, Mark Ronson, Kenna, Lykke Li and Linkin Park are contributing remixes to the forthcoming album, Followill told the trade publication.
“It’s neat to have these people who we would’ve jumped at the chance to work with ourselves…coming to us before we even get a chance to ask them,” he told Billboard.com. ”It’s amazing to hear your song played by these people who are so creative. Most of the time it takes me two or three listens to even wrap my head around, ‘Oh man, that’s our song…’”
Followill said his brother, Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill will make an appearance as a guest judge on “Iron Chef” this fall. Nathan also has big plans for autumn: He’s getting married in November. (Nathan also got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball game against the Chicago Cubs earlier this month; see that photo at left.)
One big fall activity the band won’t be a part of: Contrary to the rumor, Followill says Kings of Leon won’t be contributing any music to the soundtrack for “New Moon,” the second film in the “Twilight” series. That’s a pity, since I think any contribution from the Followills would have instantly enhanced that soundtrack.
And while the quartet is considering releasing another single from “Only by the Night,” they also working on new material, particularly at sound checks. They don’t have a name or release date in mind yet for a new album, but Nathan Followill said the brainstorming phase is well under way.
“There’s stuff that sounds like Radiohead. There’s stuff that sounds like Thin Lizzy. There’s stuff that sounds like The Band. We’re pretty much to the point now where…we can be experimental and try stuff we would’ve been scared to death to try on the first couple of records. Now we find ourselves being a little more adventurous,” he told Billboard.com.
Kings of Leon is made up of four Followills: brothers Caleb, vocals, guitar; Nathan, drums; and Jared, bass; and cousin Matthew, lead guitar. Nathan and Matthew are Oklahoma City natives, and Caleb and Jared were born in Memphis.
The band will play its first show at Oklahoma City’s Ford Center at 8 p.m. Oct. 3. It will be the first event in the arena after its renovations.
For more information, go to www.okfordcenter.com.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood to “Play On” with third album, releasing Nov. 3
This story also will appear in Tuesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma country superstar Carrie Underwood has picked a name for her hotly anticipated third album: “Play On.”
Scheduled for Nov. 3 release, “Play On” takes its title from the name of a song featured on the new album, but it also seems appropriate considering the stunning momentum the Checotah native has built since winning “American Idol” four years ago.
Since the release of her debut album, “Some Hearts,” in 2005, Underwood has amassed sales of more than 10 million albums with her first record and 2007′s “Carnival Ride.” Earlier this year, she became the first country artist in history and the only “American Idol” winner to achieve 10 No. 1 singles from their first two albums.
Underwood, 26, also has earned numerous industry accolades: She is a four-time Grammy winner, the current Academy of Country Music entertainer of the year and the reigning three-time ACM and Country Music Association top female vocalist.
She is currently continuing to work on “Play On,” with producer Mark Bright, who produced “Carnival Ride” and seven tracks from “Some Hearts.”
Her third album release also will be part of an exciting fall for the star. Last week, she returned to her hometown to announce the donation of $117,000 in musical instruments to Checotah schools, courtesy her new Checotah Animal, Town and School Foundation and the Academy of Country Music’s charitable arm, ACM Lifting Lives.
In addition, Underwood will be inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Sept. 17 at the Muskogee Civic Center, 405 S Boston Street. She and the other 2009 honorees also will perform at the ceremony.
For tickets or information on the state hall of fame event, call (918) 687-0800 or go to www.omhof.com.
-BAM
Box office report for the weekend of Aug. 28-30
It was a battle of horror sequels at the box office over the weekend, and “The Final Destination” emerged victorious.
“The Final Destination” opened as the No. 1 movie with $28.3 million, according to the Associated Press. The Warner Bros. release is the latest installment in a film franchise about people who stalked by death after a premonition saves them from their destined doom.
The weekend’s other horror sequel, Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II,” made the No. 3 spot with $17.4 million. It was the second film in Zombie’s update of the slasher franchise about the psychopathic Michael Myers. The sequel took in more than its $15 million production budget over opening weekend, according to the AP.
“The Final Destination” took over the top spot from Quentin Tarantino’s excellent World War II saga “Inglourious Basterds,” which slipped to second place with $20 million. The Weinstein Co. release raised its total to $73.8 million after 10 days in theaters, according to the AP.
It was a good weekend for the Weinsteins, who also released “Halloween II.”
The weekend’s other new wide release, Focus Features’ music romp “Taking Woodstock,” opened weakly in the No. 9 spot with $3.7 million. Directed by Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain”), “Taking Woodstock” is a nostalgic look behind the scenes at the huge landmark 1969 rock concert.
Though Hollywood’s summer season historically does not end until Labor Day, the holiday comes late this year, adding an extra week to the movie schedule and skewing comparisons to past summers.
Hollywood.com box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian is using this Monday to mark the end of the season, since this weekend corresponded to Labor Day weekend last year. Dergarabedian estimated that through Monday, Hollywood will have taken in $4.26 billion, 1.5 percent ahead of the revenue record the industry set in summer 2008.
While receipts ran at an all-time high, attendance was off 2.2 percent compared with last summer factoring in this year’s higher ticket prices, he told the AP. Hollywood finished with an unusually strong lineup in August, typically a quiet time at the box office.
“August gave us the record,” Dergarabedian told the AP. “Virtually every summer crosses the finish line with a whimper. This year, we crossed with a bang.”
Here is the top 10 at the weekend box office, from the AP:
1. “The Final Destination,” $28.3 million.
2. “Inglourious Basterds,” $20 million.
3. “Halloween II,” $17.4 million.
4. “District 9,” $10.7 million.
5. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” $8 million.
6. “Julie & Julia,” $7.4 million.
7. “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” $6.7 million.
8. “Shorts,” $4.9 million.
9. “Taking Woodstock,” $3.7 million.
10. “G-Force,” $2.8 million.
-BAM
Monday Catchy Quote No. 79
A catchy quote from a movie, TV show or other source to brighten the beginning of your week:
Martin: Why are you so interested in me going to my high school reunion?
Marcella: I just find it amusing that you came from somewhere.
- Click here to learn the source
-BAM
P.S. Hey, loyal readers, can you believe we’re already up to the 79th Monday Catchy Quote? That’s a lot of Mondays we’ve shared since the inception of this blog. From now on, I’m going to number them all.
CMA Music Fest special airing tonight; stars to Tweet along
Reba McEntire performs with Brooks & Dunn at the CMA Music Festival this summer in Nashville, Tenn. The TV special “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” will air tonight on ABC. McEntire and other stars will be Tweeting along with the special. (Associated Press photo)
The Country Music Association will host its first-ever live Twitter feed on www.ABC.com, from 7 to 10 tonight during the ”CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” television special airing on the ABC Television Network.
Fans can log on to see Tweets from artists including Reba McEntire (@Reba), Trace Adkins (@traceadkins), Dierks Bentley (@dierksbentley), Lady Antebellum (@ladyantebellum), Martina McBride (@martinamcbride), Kellie Pickler (@therealpickler), and the Zac Brown Band (@zacbrownband). Each artist will be posting their observations about the show as well as behind-the-scenes tidbits, anecdotes about other artists performing on the show, as well as memories from past music festivals.
“Twitter is one of the best ways right now to directly connect with fans – especially ones on the cutting edge of technology,” said Dan Bowen, CMA VP of Strategic Marketing and Communications, in a news release. “We’re excited to work with ABC.com to be able to bring a great group of Country Music artists together with their current fans and hopefully some new ones.”
The “Tweet ‘N’ Greet” will create an interactive feed between the fans and artists. Fans will have a direct connection to some of their favorite performers, not only allowing them the opportunity to ask questions, but also providing them with behind-the-scenes access. In addition, CMA (@CountryMusic) will be updating fans with information on the participating artists’ upcoming album releases, tour dates, and appearances.
“CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock,” expanding to three hours for the first time this year, will feature high-voltage stage performances by chart-topping superstars, along with revealing special segments about fan favorites.
Among the Oklahomans scheduled to perform are Brooks & Dunn, Miranda Lambert and McEntire.
Others performing include Adkins, Jason Aldean, Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Julianne Hough, Jamey Johnson, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, McBride, Jake Owen, Brad Paisley, Pickler, John Rich, Darius Rucker, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, and Zac Brown Band.
In addition, Kid Rock is to perform his smash hit “Picture” with McBride, while Wynonna and Naomi Judd reunite as The Judds to perform together for the first time at the CMA Music Festival in six years.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Aug. 31, 2009
Today’s featured event:
Get in some laughs as Twinprov (AKA Oklahoma City comedians Buck and Clint Vrazel) performs its new show at 8:30 tonight as part of the weekly Mondays Don’t Suck comedy block at the 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51.
The show will feature a mix of stand-up, sketch, improv and musical comedy with a focus on stories about their parents.
The Vrazel brothers will perform the same show Wednesday as part of the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas.
For more information, go to www.twinprov.com
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Aug. 30, 2009
Today’s featured event:
Take in hands-on art activities, mini-tours, dance demonstrations and more from noon to 4 p.m. today at the Family Day celebrating the exhibit “Turner to Cezanne” at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive.
For more information, call 236-3100 or to go www.okcmoa.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
3D’s Need to See: Rifftrax Edition
In honor of the “Rifftrax Live!” show I recently attended, I’ve decided to make your movie recommendations this week Rifftrax themed. Although there are many fine movies that have received the Rifftrax treatment, I have a nostalgic fondness for their shorts. They remind me of the shorts that MST3K used to do. (If you don’t know MST3K, you should stop reading right now and go watch some.)
Therefore, the first recommendation for you this week is “Rifftrax Shorts Volume 1.” This collection includes 9 shorts being riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy of Rifftrax.com. The first is the safety short Down and Out, which sets the tone for the whole disk and features large novelty props tripping up perhaps the clumsiest person ever. The disk also includes the shorts Patriotism, Buying Food, Right or Wrong, Drugs are Like That (my personal favorite), Skipper Learns a Lesson, The Trouble With Women, & It Must be the Neighbors.
Most of the shorts are simply done with the boys providing an audio commentary of jokes over the film, but for the safety short film Shake Hands with Danger they did something different. There are animated (and in some cases, mutated) versions of the riffers on the screen doing the jokes. At first I found the animation a little disturbing (half man/half parrot thing creeped me out), but I got used to it. If it bothers you, you can look at the film since the figures are at the bottom of the screen.
The second movie this week is Volume 2 of the Rifftrax Shorts. It features such lost classics as One Got Fat, Lunchroom Manners, Each Child is Different, Why Won’t Cathy Eat Breakfast-Petaluma Chicken (which dares you to figure out what it’s about), Act Your Age, Safety: Harm Hides at Home, Coffee House Rendezvous, Are You Popular? (which was done in collaboration with our own University of Oklahoma!) & Good Heath Practices.
All of the shorts are hysterical just like volume 1; however, I have a warning for you here about One Got Fat. From the title of this film, you would never guess it was about bicycle safety. You will also be surprised and disturbed, as I certainly was, to find that the children in it are wearing the sort of malformed, eyeless monkey masks that more readily belong on the faces of killers in slasher films. Why? You just have to watch it and even then I don’t guarantee enlightenment, just laughter.
If you don’t care for humorous riffing on silly films, these will be far too funny for you. However, if you are a MST3K fan who misses the old shorts, these collections are definitely for you. Or if you are simply in the mood for absurdity and laughs, look no further than the “Rifftrax Shorts Collections.”
—3D
