Award-Winning Filmmaker Spike Lee to Speak at C2 Montréal 2019

American filmmaker Spike Lee will be taking the stage at the 8th edition of C2 Montréal, the award-winning creative business conference happening on May 22-24, 2019. (Image via C2 Montréal)

To kick off this year's roster of speakers, C2 Montréal announced today that it will be hosting the Socio-political critic and acclaimed storyteller under the banner theme of TOMORROW.

Spike Lee will lead the discussion on racial inequalities and the creative storytelling behind his powerful films. Participants will get to dive into the mind of this icon widely regarded as one of contemporary cinema's most influential figures.

A prolific creator's groundbreaking achievements 
The 61-year-old producer, director, writer and actor is largely recognized for creating provocative pictures that explore race relations, political issues, urban crime and violence.

Spike Lee's company has produced over 35 films since 1983, including the recent BlacKkKlansman and the critically acclaimed films Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X and Inside Man. 

Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman - Poster

Spike Lee has also produced and directed music videos for artists like Michael Jackson, and authored six books including the recent retrospective That's  My  Story  and  I'm  Sticking  To  It.

Revolutionizing black talent in film and tackling biases for better businesses and societies

"Spike Lee has revolutionized the role of black talent in film by tearing away decades of stereotypes and marginalized portrayals. We feel C2 Montréal, with its mission to propel the economy and society forward, is the perfect platform for Spike Lee to engage participants in a dialogue about how we can better tomorrow with our actions today" said Richard St-Pierre, President of C2 Montréal. He adds, "like Lee, C2 Montréal does not shy away from controversial topics, having featured speakers like Snoop Dogg, Chelsea Manning and other impressive headliners."

⏩ Pre-sale tickets to the three-day conference are available at the fall rate here.

 SOURCE: C2 Montréal

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Ariana Grande Named 2018 Billboard 'Woman of the Year'

Ariana Grande (Credit: Dave Meyers)

Billboard has announced today it will honor Ariana Grande with its 2018 Woman of the Year award. The award-winning singer, songwriter, actress and activist will accept the honor at the 13th annual Women in Music dinner and awards ceremony on December 6 in New York City. 

⏩ The highly-regarded event, held in conjunction with the release of Billboard's Women in Music issue, will also honor the most powerful female executives in the industry.

"Ariana Grande is a star on her own terms, never bending to any particular musical trend or path in the industry," says Billboard's VP of Content, Ross Scarano. "Certain in her convictions, she consistently stands up for herself and her decisions in a world that often isn't hospitable to that sort of strength in young women. She's got guts, she's making some of the best music of her career, and she's absolutely deserving of Woman of the Year."

Over the past year, Ariana Grande has continued to assert herself as one of popular music's indispensable superstars, with Top 40 hits including "No Tears Left To Cry," "Breathin'" and "God Is A Woman." All three singles come from Grande's critically acclaimed 2018 full-length, Sweetener, which became her third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 albums chart and scored the largest streaming week ever for a pop album by a female artist upon its release.

Ariana Grande has also used her formidable voice to support worthwhile causes: earlier this year, she participated in March For Our Lives in support of gun control legislation, and has been a staunch advocate for mental health awareness, gender parity and the Black Live Matters movement. 

"One Love Manchester" - Poster

Last year, Ariana Grande helped organize the One Love Manchester benefit concert in response to aid the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, broadcasting to 50 countries and raising more than $23 million.

With 10 career Top 10 hits and a combined 6.4 million equivalent album units earned to date, Ariana Grande is a premier pop personality, an in-demand arena headliner and a role model to young women around the world. Grande was previously honored with the 'Rising Star' Award at Billboard's 2014 Women in Music event.

⏩ Billboard's Woman of the Year award has become one of the music industry's highest honors. Previous artists named Woman of the Year include Selena Gomez, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift.

The 13th annual Women in Music event and red-carpet pre-show will be broadcast live on Twitter, 7pm-10pm EST on December 6. Additional honorees of Billboard's 2018 Women in Music event will be announced in the coming weeks.

SOURCE: Billboard

Arron Banks Criminal Investigation: Could Evidence Against Him Make Brexit Void?

Banks needs to account for Brexit spending. (PA/Stefan Rousseau)

The National Crime Agency is to open a criminal investigation into Brexit campaign backer Arron Banks after the Electoral Commission revealed that it had reasonable grounds to suspect that Banks was “not the source” of millions of pounds in loans to the organisation Leave.EU. Banks has denied that there was any funding from Russia in the £8 million he donated to the Brexit campaign.

There have also been fines for overspending on Brexit campaigns and questions about how voter data was used.

All these events have led to a new legal case being listed for an oral hearing in the High Court on December 7. This will argue that Brexit must be declared void and that the notification of Article 50 must be nullified. It is being led by two Queens’ Counsel against the prime minister. So, if the investigation against Banks confirms wrongdoing, can Brexit be declared void in court?

There is no doubt that potentially criminal overspending, data-harvesting and Russian interference delegitimise the Brexit poll in the public’s eye. But it also matters because at common law, votes can be void when they break the law. The common law principle applies to all votes: both elections and referendums.

The constitutional principle was applied in a case called Morgan v Simpson. In 1975, a group of citizens in Croydon argued that a Greater London Council candidate’s election was invalid because 44 votes had not been counted. First, the Court of Appeal held if an “election was conducted so badly that it was not substantially in accordance with the law as to elections, the election is vitiated, irrespective of whether the result was affected or not”. It also said that where there is an irregularity – even one that isn’t major – that “did affect the result”, a vote must also be declared void.

This is part of the general legal principle that “fraud unravels everything”. “Fraud” in law is an objective concept. It would implicate any potentially fraudulent funding of Brexit.

It means that the people’s “order” that the prime minister trigger article 50 and negotiate to leave the European Union could be unravelled.

It could include the fraudulent appropriation of Facebook data. If official campaign Vote Leave knowingly overspent, that might be have implications too, as would potentially fraudulent funding of Brexit by Russia through Arron Banks. It means that the people’s “order” that the prime minister trigger Article 50 and negotiate to leave the European Union could be unravelled.

The case that argues Brexit is void, which gets its first hearing on December 7, is called Wilson v Prime Minister. The barristers’ argument is well worth reading in full, but the opening sentence is gives the gist: it asks whether a “free and fair vote is one of the constitutional requirements of the United Kingdom”. Wilson and the other claimants submit that it is.

Now, it’s a big thing to litigate the very validity of Brexit. But if Russian athletes win Olympic medals when they are taking drugs, their victories are not valid. The same is true of a corrupt vote.

What’s clear is that the UK is in a terrible situation. There is a very real risk of ending a 210-year union between Britain and Northern Ireland, and the 311-year union between England, Wales and Scotland.

For Russia, the power to disable two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in two years is an earth-shaking geopolitical victory. It didn’t work with Marine Le Pen in France, and it can’t touch China. But if it gave the UK Brexit, and the US Trump, British parliamentarians need to look impartially and dispassionately at what has been unfolding, and act.

The British constitution is not codified, but it is written in the case law and the statute books. The law tells us every vote must be free and fair. If Brexit was not, as more and more evidence appears to show, it’s time to bury it.

About Today's Contributor:
Ewan McGaughey, Senior Lecturer in Private Law, King's College London

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Bonus Related Images:
(Via The Brexit Comic - Facebook Page)

"Is this your collar I can feel Mr Banks?" - The Brexit Comic

"Three Wise Mays" - The Brexit Comic

"*BREAKING* Johnson & Gove admit Vote Leave was wrong to stoke fears about immigration ... oh and breaking electoral law ..." The Brexit Comic

Bidders From 26 Countries Chased Superhero Toys, Including Record-Smashing Walking Batman, at Vintage Toy Auction

Rare TN Japan battery-operated Walking Batman, 12 inches, new/old store stock with pristine original Japanese-version box, set a new world auction record at $16,800 (image via Milestone Auctions)

Batman first captured the public's attention in 1939, when he appeared on the cover of Detective Comics #27. Since then, the masked crime-fighter has remained in the forefront of American pop culture, dominating all media and delighting generations of children in the form of toys that reflect Batman's complex world of heroes and villains. 

⏩On October 13, a classic battery-operated Walking Batman coolly strolled across the auction block at Milestone Auctions and in so doing set a new world auction record at $16,800.

Made in the postwar Japan by TN, the 12-inch Walking Batman was new/old store stock and appeared never to have been played with. Its original Japanese-version box was a rare bonus and depicted "Adam West" as Batman with sidekick Robin in the Batmobile. 

"There was a lot of action on that toy from all over the world. It opened on our website with an absentee bid of $2,500 and was already up to $10,000 before the auction even started," said Milestone co-owner Miles King. "From all that we can determine, the $16,800 selling price is a new auction record for the Walking Batman toy."

Buck Rogers U-238 Atomic Pistol Holster Set in rare original box, excellent to near-mint condition. Sold for $4,440 (image via Milestone Auctions)

Space fantasy toys were in great demand. A boxed Buck Rogers U-238 Atomic Pistol Holster Set estimated at $800-$1,200 soared to new heights, landing at $4,440. 

"We couldn't believe what some of the Buck Rogers items went for. There was a very nice selection in our sale, all from one consignor," King said. "Buck Rogers was one of the earliest space-themed characters. It's hard to believe he was introduced some 90 years ago and still has such a huge following with collectors."

A Superman Krypto-Raygun made by Daisy was all original and presented in a colorfully lithographed box complete with all six filmstrips and instruction sheet. An early Superman toy designed to allow the user to point the ray gun at a wall and view "picture stories." 
⏩ It rose to $2,280.

Another crowd-pleaser was Transogram's Elroy Jetson Bobbing Pull Toy Space Car. It was offered in mint condition and sealed on its original display card with images of both Elroy and his dad George and a tagline about the vehicle's "GRR-RR Motor Sound." 
⏩ Estimated at $800-$1,000, it made $1,860.

Also, a 7-inch tin friction Flying Saucer Z-101 in its crisp, colorful original box disintegrated its $400-$600 estimate to settle at $3,480. "It had a crude, early look that space toy collectors love," King noted.

For Disney fans there was an impressive array of 1930s through postwar-era toys. A rare and near-mint Marx boxed set featuring Pinocchio and Figaro the Cat tin windups, both in tip-top condition, was the ultimate two-for-the-price-of-one deal. 
⏩ Estimated at $1,000-$1,500, the set more than doubled expectations, finishing at $3,480.

"We could not have been more pleased with the way this auction went," said King. "It was 100% sold and grossed over $290,000. We saw many new faces at the gallery, and there were online and phone bidders from 26 countries, all pointing to a strong and well-supported toy market."

SOURCE: Milestone Auctions

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L.A. Comic Con Births New Film Genre With "ZombieCON" Screening

"ZombieCON" - Poster

"ANI-Fi" was born on Oct. 27, 2018, 5 p.m., at Los Angeles Comic Con, Room 306, with the showing of Big Squid Productions' in association with MewNowTV's groundbreaking feature film "ZombieCON: Cosplayers Stuck in a Zombie Apocalypse of Anime Proportions" - and ''anime proportions" couldn't be more bang on. 

"ZombieCON," America's live-action take on what would be a "Highschool of the Dead" for the West, awed a packed Con audience, which roared with laughter, gripped their seats in terror and teared up when ... NO SPOILERS. 

"ZombieCON" - Still from the movie

It was an amazing ride complete with rocking music, exciting editing, incredible acting and, for the first in a long time, a completely fresh story. 

This "Kill Bill" meets "insert any badass Anime" feature film can only be categorized in its own unique genre. Hence, the birth of "ANI-Fi," or "Anime/Film," a genre of film which expertly blends all the staples, characters, arcs and beats of an anime with those of a typical Hollywood film - but in a completely original story/world.

"ZombieCON" does exactly that and with a cinematic style that looks more like a film shot by Roger Deakins than a sub-$100,000 budget indie. This inventive "ANI-Fi" feature changes the game.

"ZombieCON" - Still from the movie

Nominated for Best Director, Best Ensemble and Winner of The Indie Spirit Award with a working copy (incomplete version of the film) at Orlando Film Festival two weekends ago, "ZombieCON" came into L.A. Comic Con and did not disappoint. 

Playing to a standing-room-only crowd of Con-goers, some of which had been following the "ZombieCON" team for the last three years and others they met that CON weekend, the room was electric - all leaving with swag bags and a truly one-of-a-kind movie experience.

Completed by a 40-minute Q&A with the director and actors following the screening, some excited fans stayed even longer getting gifted "ZombieCON" signed T-shirts and grabbing selfies with these new stars until building staff had to usher everyone out for closing.

"ZombieCON" - The Panelists

In the end, the inevitable birth of this genre "ANI-Fi" was delivered exactly as it should be: To an excited crowd of cosplayers, comic, pop culture and anime enthusiasts, playing primetime at the celebrated (more than 90,000 attended) Los Angeles Comic Con, complete with friends and fans old and new.

Check out more about "ZombieCON: Cosplayers Stuck in a Zombie Apocalypse of Anime Proportions" at zombieconmovie.com and be on the lookout for this groundbreaking "ANI-Fi" film. 

"ZombieCON" -The Rocket’s Rockets

More About "ZombieCON The Movie":

(Plot Outline - via Zombieconmovie.com)

"Suffocating under the daily oppression of LA assholes and closed-minded society, it’s a battle for the cosplaying group of best friends the Rocket’s Rockets just to be able to do what they love.

Squaring off against former best friend turned arch rival Zander (leader of conniving team Zander Rulz) at a small regional con’s masquerade competition, only one group can win the gold…but little known to both groups, the real war is about to begin.

Team rivalries and assholes become child’s play when a fated encounter changes the course of human existence forever.

An oddball mystic and the gift of a mysterious rock set in motion a Zombie apocalypse of anime proportions, and events that will forever change Rocket and the Rocket’s Rockets…

Will the Rocket’s Rockets be able to traverse a crumbling Los Angeles overrun with undead assholes and save Mom?

Cosplay gets too real this 2018."

"ZombieCON: Cosplayers Stuck in a Zombie Apocalypse of Anime Proportions" - Trailer:

SOURCE: MewNowTV

New Documentary with Noam Chomsky Challenges Establishment over Twin Threats of Climate Change and Nuclear Annihilation

Noam Chomsky

Executive Producer Randall Wallace and Director Patrick Jerome launch the online documentary, "Noam Chomsky: Internationalism or Extinction" on ChomskySpeaks.org. 

Based on a lecture by the public intellectual who is often described as the "most quoted living intellectual," the documentary brings both the activist energy and desperate concerns of climate change and nuclear escalation that are causing mass extinctions. Against these dire realities, Noam Chomsky surveys "the internationalism" of inter-state cooperation and social movements as solutions. 

• He notes the complicity of both Democratic and Republican parties in escalating nuclear tensions and nuclear proliferation. 

• At the same time, he condemns the Republican Party for profit-driven policies leading to climate-altering, carbon pollution. 

The documentary is a compelling and urgent warning explaining such ideas and tools as "the Anthropocene," "the Doomsday Clock," "species extinction," "internationalism," "denialism," "non-proliferation," "NATO expansion," "climate accords," and "climate debt" among many others.

"Noam Chomsky: Internationalism or Extinction" - The Flyer

Many non-partisan organizations collaborated in organizing the original lecture upon which the documentary is based; several also supported the production of the documentary as a starting point for further analysis. These included peace movement organizations in collaboration with the Boston-based movement-building center, encuentro5 and the democracy movement's Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution. 

The video adds to their efforts at expanding the public conversation about vital issues of the day. A grant from the Wallace Action Fund supported the documentary.

Chomsky concludes his lecture with sober reflection on the urgent challenges facing humanity: "The tasks ahead are daunting and they cannot be deferred."

"Noam Chomsky: Internationalism or Extinction" - The Video:

SOURCE: ChomskySpeaks.org

Paul Orwell, Author Of "Sad! Donald 'Biff' Trump Is President", Predicts Donald Trump Will "Rectify" Midterm Results

Donald Trump (via LoupDargent.info)

Author Paul Orwell predicts that after losing the House in the midterm elections, Big Trump will—using the language of 1984—make a flurry of decrees to confuse opponents and implement his manifesto.

"As we saw in 2016, when confronted with facts, Big Trump will simply deny them. Instead he will shirk his responsibilities, shift the blame, and attempt to rectify the record, declaring victory after suffering a defeat, and making several day orders, some of which may be blackwhite or contradictory.

Big Trump has many times spoken of mutability and shapeliness of truth and I predict that he will appoint Alex Jones to the Ministry of Truth (formerly the National Archives and Records Administration). Jones will revise the historical record according to a newly-implemented truth-fake axis. The Records Department (Recdep) at 1515 Pennsylvania Avenue will increase its supply of corrected information to media organs in the United States of America. In all media, "fake news" will be replaced with goodthink.

Memory holes will be widely distributed to State Governments so records of election results can be conveniently disposed of."

Alex Jones (via LoupDargent.info)

More "Predictions" From Paul Orwell:

• At the Ministry of Love, General Sessions will be declared an unperson and replaced by Stoogey Graham.  

• Michael Moore, Jimmy Kimmel and Chris Hayes will be declared Enemies of the State.  

• Books by Stephen King will be burned.

• Comrade DeVos will introduce the zero-sum game into the school system which will deprecate facts and learning, and emphasize the importance of winners and losers. 2 + 2 = 5 will also be taught.

Big Brother's face looms on giant telescreens in Victory Square in one of several scenes of Michael Radford's 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. (Via Wikipedia)

• Comrade Sanders will introduce a Two-Minute Press Hate (distributed by State-Sponsored Fox News via telescreens to proles) immediately prior to White House briefings.

• Kanye West will head the Ministry of Truth's Fiction Department, pornosec.

• The Department of Homeland Security will be renamed The Ministry of Peace and tens of thousands of Peace Officers will be hired and despatched to the borders. "There will be so much love out it won't be believed! Incredible!!" Big Trump announced. Anyone who crosses Oceania's borders without correct documentation will be transported to joycamps.

• The war with Eurasia will be declared over. Simultaneously, a new war with Eastasia will be started. Eastasia will be the enemy and will always have been the enemy.

• There will be changes to Newspeak itself. The period will be deprecated in favor of single exclamation mark (neutral), double exclamation mark (good) and triple exclamation mark (doubleplusgood). In addition "bigly" will be officially added to Newspeak (adverb, super big), as will "yuge" (adjective, bigger than "bigly.")

About Paul Orwell:

Paul Orwell, a writer and businessman, has lived in New York, Moscow and Washington DC and yearns for an era where Newspeak is abolished and the world can return to political conversation and bi-partisan compromise.  

⏩ He is the author of "Sad! Donald 'Biff' Trump is President".

"Sad! Donald 'Biff' Trump is President" - Title Block (via Amazon)

SOURCE: Oceania Press

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From Star Wars to Stars of the Bolshoi, The 13th Annual Festival of the Arts BOCA Presents "Stellar" Line-Up

Festival of the Arts BOCA (image via festivalboca.org)

The 13th Annual Festival of the Arts BOCA, presented by the Schmidt Family Centre for the Arts, returns to the Mizner Park Amphitheater and Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center in Boca Raton, February 28 – March 10, 2019, with a celebration of music, film, dance, concerts and authors. 

Opening the Festival of the Arts BOCA on Thursday, February 28 is Doris Kearns Goodwin, beloved five-time Festival presenter, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential historian.  She will discuss her latest book, Leadership in Turbulent Times. 

"We are over-the-moon to welcome our dear friend and long-time supporter, Doris Kearns Goodwin to this year's Festival, as well as Arturo Sandoval, who is back for a third time," said Charlie Siemon, Chair and Co-Executive Producer of the Festival of the Arts BOCA.  "We have a fun mix of performances and a powerhouse of thinkers lined up for our 13th season."

⏩ The "force" will be with the Festival on Friday, March 1 as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope gets its Florida premiere on the big screen to live music by The Symphonia, led by Constantine Kitsopolous, playing John Williams' epic Academy Award-winning score.

Other Festival highlights include:

• Rhapsody in Blue, an evening of orchestral blockbusters performed by The Symphonia 
• Pink Martini, the wildly popular group described as "The United Nations house band of 1962 meets Lawrence Welk on acid" in an exclusive South Florida appearance 
• An Evening of Classical Russian Ballet featuring Stars from the  Russian National Orchestra and the Bolshoi Ballet 
• Nu Deco Ensemble, an innovative Miami-based virtuosic and eclectic chamber orchestra designed for the 21st century 
• 10-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval and his band

Arturo Sandoval will perform at the Festival of the Arts BOCA on Sunday, March 10 2019.

The Authors and Ideas program features:

• Constitutional scholar and author Jeffrey Rosen who will speak about the Constitution in the 21st Century 
• The screening of Bending the Arc, a documentary that tells the story of idealistic young doctors who helped change the way public health issues are addressed in developing nations, followed up with a panel discussion, "Global Public Health Today and Tomorrow," featuring Dr. Agnes Binagawaho and Tom Bollyky 
• PoemJazz with former Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky, who will read his poetry while accompanied by a small jazz ensemble 
• Pulitzer Prize winning writer, David Sanger, who will talk about his latest book, The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage and Fear in the Cyber Age

⏩ Tickets for the 13th Annual Festival of the Arts BOCA range from $25 to $150 per person and are available at festivalboca.org or by calling (866) 571-ARTS (866-571-2787). 

SOURCE: Festival of the Arts BOCA

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