China’s Huading Awards in Los Angeles Draws Johnny Depp, Bryce Dallas Howard

Johnny Depp, Mel Gibson, Wiz Khalifa, Bryce Dallas Howard, Hilary Swank and Sylvester Stallone are among the Hollywood stars set to take part in Los Angeles’ latest addition to awards season.

The actors are set to attend China’s Huading Awards, to be held at L.A.’s Ace Hotel on Thursday. But before awards analysts start wondering whether they have to factor an odd-ball variable into their Oscars prediction formulas, it’s worth noting the Chinese award show’s unique history and content.

Mel Gibson

The Huading Awards dishes out honors to talent from all fields of entertainment, from stage theater to film, pop music to TV, and even traditional Chinese opera. The film categories, crucially, hand out honors to movies from the year prior, so titles like The Martian, Fast & Furious 7 and Avengers: Age of Ultron are among the nominees in the show’s best global picture category this year (nominations tend to have a populist bent). No word if Robert Downey Jr or any of the other Avengers are slated to attend at press time.

The Huading Awards were founded in 2007 by Chinese entertainment company Tianxia Yingcai Cultural Media. Nominees are selected by committee and the winners are chosen by popular vote over the award show’s website and other Chinese internet portals.

Unlike other awards ceremonies, the location of the Huading Awards is not fixed; previous editions have been held in Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China. The awards honor stars from around the world and previous winners include Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irons, Quentin Tarantino, Halle Berry and Chris Hemsworth.

 

Johnny Depp and Chester Bennington to Support Rhonda’s Kiss in Los Angeles

Image courtesy of Rhonda’s Kiss

On Thursday, November 3rd, the historic El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles will host the 2nd annual Rhonda’s Kiss benefit show. Actor Johnny Depp will be presented with the Healing and Hope Award.

The Hellcat Saints (featuring Jane’s Addictions Dave Navarro, Juliette Lewis and Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray) with special guest singer, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington will kick off the night followed by headliners Weezer.

Proceeds from Rhonda’s Kiss Los Angeles to benefit the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute and further the mission of Rhonda’s Kiss, supporting programs to aid cancer patients in need, and helping those who receive a cancer diagnosis make ends meet during treatment. Rhonda’s Kiss is a 501 (c)(3). To date, the charity has donated more than $750,000 to hospitals to support cancer programs and patients.

The event will also auction off Rhonda’s Kiss honoree, Johnny Depp’s signature Duesenberg Guitar, designed with Johnny’s tattoo art. You can check Rhonda’s Kiss for any last-minute tickets that may open up for the show or if you simply wish to give to a great charity supporting cancer patients in their time of need please click here to support them.

Joey Graceffa Launches Children of Eden

YouTube star, actor and New York Times bestselling author Joey Graceffa launched his 2nd book, but first young adult novel, Children of Eden last night at Barnes & Noble at the Grove in Los Angeles. Hundreds of fans lined the sidewalk for several hours waiting to meet the star, pose for a quick photo and pick up their autographed copy of the book.

Joey was joined by his partner, Daniel Preda and actress Denise Richards brought her daughters out to meet the author.

A short film entitled Children of Eden: Chapter One was also released this week on YouTube.

Joey and Daniel are off on a book tour visiting San Francisco tonight, before heading to Houston, Boston, New York City, Uncasville, Chicago, Orlando and Miami. Details on how to take part in the meet & greets or to just buy Children Of Eden can be found on Joey’s website.

Have you had a chance to read Children of Eden yet? Have you participated in a meet & greet with the author? Tell us about it in the comments below. Share this article with friends so they don’t miss these upcoming events with Joey Graceffa. #JoeyGraceffa #ChildrenofEden

Joey will also take part in Entertainment Weekly’s Popfest in Los Angeles over Halloween weekend, October 29th and 30th where he will join a host of digital influencers in a panel discussion and participate in fun and games on stage. Tickets are available to purchase here

Marriott Rewards Treats Members to Demi Lovato and DNCE Concert

By Cindy Robinson

Last week Marriott Rewards members were treated to a free concert by pop superstars Demi Lovato and MTV VMA Best New Artist, DNCE. Marriott Rewards members had to log in to their rewards account, select the event, apply a special code and they could request a free pair of concert tickets. The concert took place at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles for about 1,700 concert-goers near the J. W. Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels. Guests over the age of 21 enjoyed complimentary cocktails during the hour-long concert which featured a special duet between Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato on DNCE’s latest hit, Toothbrush.

DNCE will release their self-titled debut album, DNCE, in November. Demi Lovato just wrapped up her co-headlining Future Now tour with Nick Jonas.

The Marriott Rewards program has just completed its merger with the Ritz Carlton Rewards program and the Starwood Preferred Guest Program. It’s free to sign up for the Marriott Rewards program and the points you earn during your hotel stays are valid for far more than just hotel rooms. If you’d like to sign up so you can join the fun next time, stop by Marriott Rewards to start earning points.

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My Chemical Romance To Reunite?

Let’s face it folks, 2016 has been a supreme bitch so far. The Grim Reaper has been running rampant stealing away precious lives like David Bowie, Alan Rickman, The Eagles’ Glenn Frey and Prince among others. Violence and terrorism has circulated the globe non-stop from attacks on gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando to trucks crashing into Bastille Day crowds in Nice, France. That asshat orange-colored buffoon is being allowed to run for President of the United States.

Then, today, my cold, black, heart began rapidly beating a crimson color filled again with hope and joy after My Chemical Romance posted a 30-second cryptic video teaser on their newly revamped website at the same time their social media pages were updated with the new logo and video post. The video concludes with the date 9.23.16. New merchandise is available online and of course at Hot Topic. The new logo featuring a cross, MCR and the letter X, or Roman numeral ten were quickly interpreted as a sign of resurrection to celebrate the 10th anniversary of My Chemical Romance’s iconic 2006 album  Welcome to the Black Parade.

The only other solid news that came out today from major news outlets is that the band will re-release the Black Parade along with some previously  unreleased material. No other word on what else may be in store for this deeply missed band.

For those lucky enough to attend Comic Con in San Diego this week, I would bet you won’t get much more than a sheepish grin from Gerard Way as he signs for both Dark Horse and DC Comics on Friday, July 22nd. Here’s a little flashback to my time at Comic Con 2009 when I literally got stuck in a human traffic jam as security halted us to allow Hall H to empty out. When I turned around to see who else got stuck I found Gerard & Mikey standing behind me.

Gerard & Mikey Way, Comic Con 2009

I count myself extremely lucky to be an Angeleno, because I know if shows do happen, they will happen in Los Angeles. Like the rest of you, I don’t know exactly what My Chemical Romance has in store for us for the last half of 2016 but my best guess would be some tour dates to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Welcome to the Black Parade. Will it be a one-off tour to honor this album? Will there be new music? Only time will tell but you can bet if Gerard Way, Mikey Way, Frank Iero and Ray Toro are reuniting for some shows, my happy ass will be camped out on the sidewalk!

Killjoys, make some noise!

Edit: An update after yesterday’s cryptic teaser video. Today, the band made the following statement on their Facebook page, “We’ve been really touched and blown away by the response to the teaser trailer. We are not touring and there is no reunion planned – only a release for the anniversary of The Black Parade.

Thanks so much for continuing to keep MCR in your minds and in your hearts.”

So, at this point killjoys, the only noise is the sound of hearts around the globe breaking again…

Jack & Jack and Melanie Martinez Pump Up the Wango Tango Village

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by Cindy Robinson along with Contributor Sydney Robinson

102.7 KIIS FM in Los Angeles held their annual Wango Tango concert last weekend at the Stubhub Center in Carson, CA. So let’s do a little wrap up from the weekend! Life On The Scene attended the Wango Tango Village, the FREE daytime festival and concert featuring up & coming artists such as Jack & Jack, Melanie Martinez (from season 3 of The Voice), Daya, Laura Marano and more. There was a ferris wheel, food & beverage tents from Coca-Cola, Sprite, Guerrero Tacos, Magnolia ice cream and a fabulous pink primping tent from Soap & Glory.

Did I mention ice cream? Magnolia had amazing flavors like avocado, purple yam, lychee, guava, coconut and mango. Super delicious and well worth the wait in line for a free ice cream cone of your choice. Right now it looks like their ice cream is only available at Ralph’s locations across Southern California (as far as the West Coast is concerned anyway) so make sure you stop by and pick some up this summer.

 

Soap & Glory’s Body Butter and Pillow Plump Lip Gloss

Then there was the Soap & Glory pink primping tent. They provided a great little break from the hot sun where you could sit & relax for a few minutes while primping ladies touched up your make up, applied fake tattoos and gave out some great cosmetic samples like The Righteous Butter Body Butter and their Pillow Plump Lip Gloss. The body butter leaves my skin soft and I’ve received compliments on the nice fresh scent. The Pillow Plump lip gloss leaves your lips tingling as it gently plumps them up while providing a super shine with a hint of color. Recommended for those age 15+! Soap & Glory is availble at a variety of your favorite retailers like Walgreens, Target and Ulta. This hot UK brand is set to take over the USA this summer so go grab some of their fun products to try on your next shopping trip.

The highlight of the day was for sure the music! The day kicked off with internet superstars Jack & Jack and judging by the screams and mayhem their adoring fans loved hearing fan favorites like How We Livin’, Like That, Wrong One, Shallow Love and California. These guys put on a fun concert and it’s great to see how their stage show is growing and evolving. Their 2nd album is expected to be ready for a fall release so check back for more information on that. They also have some additional shows coming up this summer including Milwaukee’s Summerfest on June 30th, a special performance at BeautyCon LA on July 9th, the Show of the Summer in Hershey, PA on August 20th with Shawn Mendes and tons more to come from these adorable guys!

Melanie Martinez sent her legions of fans into a frenzy performing hits like Crybaby, PityParty, Dollhouse, and Carousel with lots of look-a-likes dressed like her in the crowd. Melanie will be on tour for all of June & July across the United States so the Wango Tango Village was just a warm up for her. Check out all of her dates on her website.

It was great to see the power of Jonas is still strong as Joe Jonas stopped by the Wango Tango Village with his new band DNCE to host a quick meet & greet with a lucky handful of fans and took to the stage to pump up the crowd. Sadly, they didn’t treat us to their massive hit Cake By The Ocean but judging the by the throng of girls following Joe’s every move during the brief appearance DNCE is headed destined to become a smashing success.

There were also fun performances from Laura Marano, Shawn Hook and Daya. Friends of ours who attended the evening Wango Tango concert with artists like Zayn, Ariana Grande, DNCE, Demi Lovato and Gwen Stefani said it was an amazing concert and Gwen rocked the house.

If you’ve never attended a big iHeart Radio event like Wango Tango, the iHeart Radio Festival or a Jingle Ball concert – do yourself a favor and go to one of these fun events! It’s a long, long, day (or weekend depending which one you go to) but it’s such a great opportunity to see your favorite artists in a festival setting and check out some new emerging artists. All in one day you get to see more than a dozen acts and it’s just an incredible experience.

 

Wango Tango Village 2016 Lineup Announced

Wango Tango recently announced the lineup for their 2016 daytime village concert. The lineup includes Daya, Jack & Jack, Melanie Martinez and more!

Here at Life On The Scene we’re a little perplexed as to why KIIS FM has Jack & Jack and Melanie Martinez kicking the day off. I don’t think KIIS is familiar enough with their teenage audience to realize the frenzy these artists will cause. A brief 40-second appearance by Jack & Jack at last year’s iHeart Radio Festival in Las Vegas drowned out the DJ announcing their arrival and clearly overshadowed George Ezra’s set. We were really surprised they haven’t been confirmed as performers for this year’s iHeart Radio Festival! They have millions of rabid followers and their debut album is on the way.

KIIS FM’s Wango Tango Village stage lineup has been announced! You can see Daya, Shawn Hook, Laura Marano, Jack & Jack and Melanie Martinez live outside StubHub Center on May 14th at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA.

The Village will be open from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and it’s FREE to the public! Don’t miss your chance to see them all live. And who knows… Maybe you’ll have a chance to win tickets to Wango Tango.

You can read more here and enter for chances to win tickets to Wango Tango, backstage passes for both the daytime village and the nighttime concert: http://www.kiisfm.com/features/wangotango-2021/articles/15/497484/wango-tango-village-lineup-14646175/#ixzz47XHRsywt

Who are you most excited to see at this year’s show? Life On The Scene can’t wait to bring you coverage from the event! #Jack&Jack #WangoTango #KIISFM

The Huntsman: Winter’s War

Chris Hemsworth and Oscar® winner Charlize Theron return to their roles in The Huntsman: Winter’s War, an epic action-adventure in which they are joined by Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain in this pre-quel to Snow White and the Huntsman.

Long before the evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) was thought vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Blunt), suffered a heartbreaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen—including Eric (Hemsworth) and warrior Sara (Chastain)—only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love. When Freya learns of her sister’s demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power. But once she discovers Ravenna can be resurrected from its golden depths, the wicked sisters threaten this enchanted land with twice the darkest force it’s ever seen. Now, their amassing army shall prove undefeatable…unless the banished huntsmen who broke their queen’s cardinal rule can fight their way back to one another.

Universal Pictures presents THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR arrives in theaters nationwide on April 22, 2016. 

The cast of the film is currently making the promotional rounds for the film with a busy week of Los Angeles activities next week including the Los Angeles premiere of the film on Monday, April 11, 2016 at the Regency Village Theatre, 961 Broxton Ave., Los Angeles, CA along with appearances on the Late Late Show with James Corden on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, April 14, 2016

 

March Movie Madness with Tom Hiddleston and Henry Cavill

What movies are on your list in the upcoming weeks? Here at Life On The Scene we are stoked for the imminent release of Sony Pictures Classics, Hank Williams biopic, I Saw The Light starring Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen. While I am not a fan of country music, the lure of Tom Hiddleston taking on yet another varied role is too much of a draw to miss out on!

DC Comics, Batman v Superman flies into theaters on March 25th, and while I’m not completely sold on Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill’s Superman is stunning and the jury is still out on Gail Gadot as Wonder Woman. It promises to be a great thrill ride into the darker side of the series. Henry Cavill will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 17th and local Los Angeles area residents may still be able to grab a ticket to the taping by visiting 1iota

In May, comes the next movie from Marvel, Captain America: Civil War starring Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. Without a doubt, we’re #TeamIronMan and look forward to the battle amongst the Avengers in this film.

Remembering David Bowie

David Bowie performing in Los Angeles 2004

It’s taken me a long while to be able to put my thoughts into words since David Bowie’s death in early January.

I’ve tried to describe how I feel and the best explanation I can come up with is that I feel as though a martial arts master has come at me full force, kicked me in the chest with both feet and sent me flying through walls and crashing to the ground. My chest physically aches, the world, at times, seems to be moving in slow motion, my brain goes in and out of a foggy coherence as I process the loss of David Bowie, one of, if not, the greatest influence on my life.

Yes, I’ve long lived in that delusional camp that always believed he was so magical he had to be immortal. In life, one generally only meets a handful of people (famous or not) who exude such charm, humor and genuine talent that they seem to sparkle to those around them. You rarely come across a person who is so innovative and willing to constantly try new things just to see what they come up with. He touched so many facets of art – music, theater, acting, painting, and producing.

My first memory of David Bowie is hearing the song “Changes” when I was about 8 or 9, the year I lived in upstate New York with my biological father. I have an image in my brain of sitting in the living room of this big, old, white house and the song is playing. I think the ch-ch-changes bit along with the phrase “and these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds…” stuck in my young mind. What? Spitting on children? That was it. I’ve loved him ever since.

He is literally a part of me as I had his initials tattooed on my ankle (as part of a bigger tattoo) nearly 20 years ago. I was “detained” once, a long time ago, so he is also part of my permanent, legal record, a means by which I can be identified. I take him with me everywhere I go.

As Carrie Brownstein (@Carrie_Rachel) mentioned on Twitter, “It feels like we lost something elemental, as if an entire color is gone.” As if suddenly helium or aluminum is no longer part of the periodic table, yellow doesn’t exist anymore – lemons, bananas or the sun are void of color.

David Bowie and I in Arizona 1995

I was fortunate enough to have a couple encounters with him over the years in addition to the times I saw him perform live. Once, when he was on tour a friend and I got to meet him and take photos with him. A couple years later in Los Angeles, another friend got us VIP access for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno when David was going to be a guest. For some reason I got the idea to try and take our 8×10 photos with him into the studio. They usually made you check everything at the door and retrieve it when filming was over. I decided to stick them inside a Vogue magazine hoping they’d let me take the magazine in as something to glance at during the downtime in between takes. It actually worked. We had been placed in the front, center seats. During the commercial break, when most TV hosts and guests usually pretend there is an invisible wall between them and the audience, Jay asked David something then turned to the audience and asked if we had any questions we’d like to ask them. I quickly grabbed our photos and held them up. Jay sent a stagehand to collect them. Then it became a bit humorous. In the photos with David, my friend has her natural red hair and I had my natural medium brown, mousy hair. But sitting in front of David and Jay in the audience there was now a platinum blonde (my friend) and a nearly platinum blonde (me). They looked at the photos, looked at us and looked at each other with quizzical expressions and asked if it was really us. They were quite surprised and it made for a funny interaction. David signed our photos and then had them returned to us. I also lifted up my pant leg in an attempt to show David his initials which had recently been branded upon my ankle. He obliged by turning his leg toward me, and lifting up his own pant leg to show me the tattoo he had on the back of his calf.

Oh, and the fact that I’d called in sick to work so I could go only added to the humor when the next day 3 coworkers told me they saw me on TV the night before. Oops!

For me, watching a band I adore perform live is one of the very few things in life that truly makes me happy. I thrive on the energy and chaos of a live show. I marvel in the bumps & bruises obtained through frenetic dancing and singing. A My Chemical Romance show where my ribs still hurt nearly a week later after being in the front of the happy mob counts among my favorite memories. But seeing David Bowie perform was simply on another level. It transcended me into a euphoric state unlike any other. He always surrounded himself with amazing musicians who were so well suited to his sound & style. He was so beautifully handsome with an amazing smile and fantastic sense of humor and so immensely talented.

An artistic shot of David Bowie and I in 2004

 

For one show, my friend Kim and I spent an entire cold, rainy, February day waiting in a line to see him perform a rare general admission show in Los Angeles on a tour that was mostly seated venues. I recall us being woefully under dressed for the weather while we huddled together under one umbrella for about 9 hours until they let us into the venue where it all paid off and we managed a coveted spot in the front row. The frozen toes & fingers are long forgotten. I don’t recall much of the set list, only that I was able to play with the strings coming off his purposefully frayed jeans; touch his beat up black Converse while he sang on the high stage above us. My friend Alison took this “artistic” photo of David & I because that’s all we could manage due to the height of the stage. We were close enough that when he held a long note I could actually see the texture in the roof of his mouth. It was magical & memorizing and one of my favorite nights.

To some degree I have been able to share him with my kids. When my son was about 8 I was able to take him to a few shows on the Earthling tour. At the time, he actually liked the seats that were farther away because he could better see when David launched this giant eyeball balloon into the audience where it was instantly pulled to pieces. My daughter is much younger and never had the honor to see him perform live but Labyrinth has always been one of her favorite movies and she understands how magical he was.

On January 8^th, I happily downloaded Blackstar when I got into work and made my annual Happy Birthday post about David on my Facebook then gleefully plugged an ear bud into my ear to absorb the new music without any clue he was about to leave us shattered and heartbroken.

I’m blessed to have many international friends who graciously gathered up newspapers from around the world to send to me.

I’ve always been so biased in my opinion of great admiration and love for David Bowie, that I never really stopped to think about how many other people might also feel that way in varying degrees so it was mind blowing to the senses when he died to see the world react the way they did. My own life has been in flux the past couple years and the majority of my belongings currently reside in two storage units. I’m hoping soon I will be unpacking everything and perhaps, then I’ll have a Bowie fest and create a gallery of cherished items to come back and share with you.

My heart goes out to his family and friends. I thank them for sharing the public version of him with the rest of us. I’m grateful my time on this planet coincided with his.

I will always love David Bowie. He will always be my hero and one of the greatest influences and inspirations in my life that shaped who I am as a person.