My Publicist Note Book

The Space, the community-driven arts and performance complex located just off the Strip near Polaris and Harmon, appears to have the lock on iconic artists’ offspring. Frank Sinatra’s granddaughter AJ Lambert is performing there monthly — her next show is April 20 — and now Carla Cooke, youngest daughter of Sam Cooke, is visiting Las Vegas during her tour for a concert on March 29. “It’s my first time performing in Las Vegas and I’m excited to come to The Space,” says Cooke, who lives in Detroit and recently sang in Arizona on her way to Southern California. “I came to Vegas years ago to record and didn’t get too much into the city, so this will really be my first chance to see it.” Sam Cooke, of course, is one of the most influential performers and celebrated voices in the history of soul, gospel and R&B. Like her dad, Carla set her musical foundations in church, singing in the choir at a very young age and performing consistently up through high school. “Then I ...

Most people can easily list their favorite Christmas, Thanksgiving and other major holiday movies. But how many of us have a list of films we enjoy every Easter? The holiest holiday of the Christian calendar has spawned numerous adaptions of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. From the early days of Hollywood (1953's "The Robe") and the recent spate of Christianity-based fare on offer at the cineplex (2014's "Son of God"), to "A.D.  Even those looking for lighter Easter-themed fare need only look to Fred Astaire and Judy Garland ("Easter Parade") and the Peanuts gang ("It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown") for something to view this weekend. Here, in no particular order, a list of the best Easter movies: While Jesus’s other big celebration gets all the movie treatment, there was never a lot to choose from on Easter.  At one point, it was the crystal toothed straight-to-DVD Jesus,  Bruce Marchiano , ...

"I Heard It Through The Grapevine" was birthed at Motown Records by songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966. It would pass through many hands before the track landed with Gladys Knight & The Pips. As they say, the rest is history! Here's    how the would-be classic passed through many hands at Motown before it landed with Gladys Knight & The Pips   "Instead I heard it through the grapevine/Oh, not much longer would you be mine/Oh, I heard it, yes, I heard it (heard it through the grapevine)/Oh, just about, to lose my mind" Released in 1967, Knight's retooled up-tempo version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" landed at No. 1 on the  Billboard  R&B charts and placed at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 just behind the Monkees' "Daydream Believer," paving the way for later versions such as Gaye's 1968 recording and Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1970 interpretation. The tune al...

Byron Allen ‘s privately held Entertainment Studios has purchased Atlanta-based Weather Channel. A once utility-like television standby, the Weather Channel is getting a new owner.  Media mogul Byron Allen has made a deal through his Entertainment Studios to acquire the television network from its owners, The Blackstone Group, Bain Capital and Comcast/NBCUniversal. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed, though one source estimated the deal to be in the $300 million range.  The cable network has been owned by two private equity firms – Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group – and media giant NBC/Universal since 2008. It was purchased at the time for an estimated $3.5 billion. To add a layer of confusion, the owners in 2015 sold off the Weather Channel’s digital assets to IBM for an estimated $2 billion. This means the current purchase doesn’t include weather.com or the Weather Channel app. The cable network now licenses the Weather Channel brand from I...

Continuing a remarkably successful run topping even the most optimistic predictions, director Ryan Coogler's Marvel superhero masterpiece  Black Panther  topped $1.2 billion in worldwide theatrical receipts Wednesday, heading into a weekend that will (probably) see it finally relinquish the #1 spot at the box office to  Pacific Rim Uprising . Source: Marvel Studios, photo by Matt Kennedy Chadwick Boseman stars as King of Wakanda in Marvel's "Black Panther" After it reaches $1.2 billion this week,  Black Panther  still has enough gas left in its tank to add an additional $60-80+ million in global revenue to its cume, depending on what happens over the next few weekends as some potentially major contenders arrive, including  Pacific Rim Uprising ,  Ready Player One , and  Rampage . That means  Black Panther  could be looking at a final worldwide box office tally in the range of a high-end $1.28+ ...