Angela Meryl - Stunt Lady

(C) 2013 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

 
Angela Meryl - Stunt Lady

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

By Rych McCain, www.twitter.com/rychmccain and Facebook

Angela Meryl

Hollywood Stunt Woman Extraordinaire!

Photos RMMS

    

     The world of professional Hollywood stunt people is an area of the TV, Commercials and Film business that is so far in the background that it rarely receives any attention from the press or public. When was the last time you saw an incredible stunt preformed in a movie and was able to call the stunt person’s name who did it? Performing stunts is a fascinating but dangerous line of work that requires natural athletic talent, specific training, awareness of your body and surroundings while being on top of every detail of the stunt. One of the best of the best in the Hollywood stunt business is Angela Meryl who has recently written and released a book titled “Stunts: The How To Handbook.”  Meryl is one of the few working Black stunt women in Hollywood and has won “The Diamond In The Raw Award” which celebrates stunt women. 

    

Stunt Double for Vivica A. Fox (L) "Kill Bill"

She has doubled for Samantha Mumba for “Time Machine;” crashed through a glass table in the famous “Kill Bill” opening fight scene doubling for Vivica A. Fox. Meryl and Uma Thurman’s stunt double Zoe Bell were both nominated for “Best Fight” scene at the 2004 “World Taurus Stunt Awards” .where  Meryl also was nominated for “Best Overall Stunt By A Woman.”  Meryl says in her book, “Although neither of us won, being nominated in a fight category dominated by men was a huge honor.” 

     Lighting struck again in 2010 with “The World Taurus Stunt Awards” when Heather Vandrell and Meryl won “Best Overall Stunt By A Woman” where she doubled for Beyonce Knowles  for another thriller fight scene in “Obsessed.” 

Meryl (L) Beyonce (R) "Obsessed"

(L) Meryl (R) Rihanna "Battleship"

     Her list of doubling famous Black actresses is long and note worthy. After having done a laundry list of every stunt in the book from fighting (she is a real life black belt kung-fu artist), to falling off buildings, driving and crashing cars, being set on fire to everything else in between does Meryl look at everyday situations with the awareness of how she would handle things as a stunt. For example, if she is driving on a bridge or in a high-rise building would she wonder how a fall or whatever would go? She ponders and says, “I do actually. Going over bridges I do wonder what if? What would I do if God forbid, if my car veered off the bridge and I ended up in the water?”  And about the falls off of a high rise? She laughs, “First of all, if I did not have a cable and if I were not secure in my harness, I would not be jumping. Bur once I ‘m secured in my harness and I have that cable and I trust my rigger that has locked off the cable, I just go for it and jump.” 

Meryl at her Samuel French Bookstore Signing in Hollywood

     Would Meryl get nervous if a stunt coordinator told her we have a stunt and we have a back-up? Her reply is, “They wouldn’t say that. They wouldn’t say I have a back up for you. They hire you in knowing that you can do it, that you are capable of doing the stunt.” How long does Meryl plan to stay in the game? She says, “As long as I can. As long as I’m able to drive and see, I’m going to keep doing this because it’s not work for me. I go to work and I play. I take it serious though but I stay safe and I go to work and I come home.”

     If she had to do it all over again, what would she do differently? Meryl smiles, “I would have trained in gymnastics because with gymnastics, it makes you aware of your body. So for doing high falls, for doing fights, it makes you aware of where your body is at all times. And doing high falls you can make it more dramatic because you know where your body is when you are in the air as a gymnasts. So that’s one thing I would do differently which I didn’t train as a gymnasts.” Meryl’s book will walk you step by step on how to get into the Hollywood Stunt game for those who have it in them.

© 2013 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook

Celine Dion - Music

 

(C) 2013 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

Celine Dion - Music

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

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COLUMBIA RECORDS ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF LOVED ME BACK TO LIFE,

THE NEW STUDIO ALBUM FROM INTERNATIONAL ICON CELINE DION

CELINE DION’S LOVED ME BACK TO LIFE

AVAILABLE IN THE U.S. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5

LISTEN TO NEW SINGLE TODAY AT CELINEDION.COM

      Columbia Records is thrilled to announce the release of Loved Me Back To Life, the highly anticipated new album from multi-platinum-selling and five-time Grammy Award-winning musical legend Celine Dion. Loved Me Back To Life, Dion’s first English-language album in six years, will be released in the U.S. Tuesday, November 5 on Columbia Records (see track list below). 

  The album’s pulsating, upbeat first single, also titled “Loved Me Back To Life,” is available digitally now. Fans may order the album through CelineDion.com, iTunes, and Amazon. Listen to “Loved Me Back To Life” on CelineDion.com now.
 

 “Loved Me Back To Life” offered Dion the chance to work with a team of exceptional producers and songwriters including Ne-Yo, Diane Warren, Tricky Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Eg White, Daniel Merriweather, Babyface, Audra Mae Butts, Play Production, Eman, Janis Ian, Danny Mercer, Andrew Goldstein, Shaffer Smith, Jessi Alexander, Tommy Lee James, Corparal, Sauce, Kyle Townsend, Dana Parish, Andrew Hollander, Aaron Pearce, Kuk Harrell, and Walter Afanasieff. The album’s single and title track was written by Sham & Motesart and Sia. In addition, Ne-Yo and Stevie Wonder lend their incredible talents as Dion’s duet partners.

   In December of 2007, Dion concluded an unprecedented concert engagement in Las Vegas—five consecutive years of sold-out shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, a $100 million venue built exclusively for her performances.  This historic, original show, entitled "A New Day...", was one of the highest grossing concerts in music history, selling more than 3 million tickets in its run and helping make Dion the highest-grossing touring artist in the world from 2000 to 2010.  In 2011, Celine returned to The Colosseum with a brand-new critically-acclaimed show, simply entitled "Celine," playing to sold-out audiences since opening night.  This spectacular show, which will continue for several years to come, features Dion’s greatest hits, some surprising covers, and a few songs featured on “Loved Me Back To Life,” including the title track.

  Having sold more than 220 million albums around the world, Celine Dion is one of the most immediately recognized, widely respected and successful performers in pop music history. In addition to numerous U.S. and international gold, platinum and multi-platinum certifications, Celine Dion has seen two of her albums—Falling Into You and Let’s Talk About Love—each achieve RIAA Diamond status in recognition of sales of more than 10 million copies in the U.S. alone (each selling more than 30 million worldwide). She has been awarded five Grammy Awards®, including Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “My Heart Will Go On” in 1998, Album of the Year and Best Pop Album for Falling Into You in 1996, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Beauty and the Beast” in 1992. Both “My Heart Will Go On” and “Beauty and the Beast” received Best Song Academy Awards® for their respective years of release.

Loved Me Back To Life track list:

1. Loved Me Back To Life

2. Somebody Loves Somebody

3. Incredible (duet with Ne-Yo)

4. Water And A Flame

5. Breakaway

6. Save Your Soul

7. Didn’t Know Love

8. Thank You

9. Overjoyed (duet with Stevie Wonder)

10. Thankful

11. At Seventeen

12. Always Be Your Girl

13. Unfinished Songs

www.celinedion.com

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www.twitter.com/celinedion

© 2013 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook

Skylan Brooks and Ethan Dizon - Film

(C) 2013 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may be reprinted, re-posted or duplicated without written permission from Rych McCain Media/Syndication. Violation is subject to applicable laws.

Skylan Brooks and Ethan Dizon - Film

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

Rych McCain, www.twitter.com/rychmccain and Facebook

 

Skylan Brooks and 

Ethan Dizon

Are Brilliant As 

Mister and Pete!

Photos Courtesy of Codeblack Films & Lionsgate

L: Mister (Skyland Books) R: Pete (Ethan Dizon)

     Hollywood has seen its share of child and teen stars come and go. Whereas most shine for the duration of a hit TV show or a couple of movies then fade into oblivion, a select few stand the test of time and graduate to adult stardom with a lasting career. Thirteen year-old actor, model and dancer Skylan Brooks and eleven year-old musician (piano), athlete (martial arts and competitive swimming) Ethan Dizon can easily qualify as candidates for the latter category as mentioned above. Both youngsters played off of one another with such natural timing and chemistry in the new movie “The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister & Pete” that some critics are already talking possible Oscar® bids for either the pair or one of the two.

   

  Brooks plays the lead role of “Mister.” His mom Gloria (played by Grammy® and Oscar® winning singer/actress Jennifer Hudson) is a heroin addicted, strung out mom who is apprehended by the police. Mister and his young neighbor friend Pete are left alone in the apartment to fend for themselves in the projects. Pete’s mom is just as bad as Mister’s mom so the boys do what they need to do to eat and survive with Mister calling the shots. Brooks delivers an astounding performance with acting maturity well beyond his thirteen years. Dizon himself hangs right in there with him not missing one beat. Both boys are remarkable as a team and they received a rousting standing ovation after their packed house screening on the closing night of the Hollywood Black Film Festival in Hollywood.

   

Brooks & Dizon

  The lead role in this film required Brooks to be in 157 scenes. Who did he get up for that? Books instantly responds, “I really wasn’t sure if I would be able to do it. It had a lot of cursing language in there and my parents were talking about that. So I discussed it and I realized that myself and Mister had a lot in common. Not the drugs or the projects and all that but we had common interest and I was acting.” This was such an outstanding performance where Brooks demonstrates without question that he can carry a dramatic lead role. What does he hopes comes from it? Cutting a quick positive glance, he says, “Open some doors. I’d like to venture into other things too, drama comedy, everything. How was it working with the master director George Tillman, Jr.? Brooks lights up, “He’s amazing! He knows how to get it out of you. He guided me the whole way through and so did my co-star Ethan, We connected immediately and he drove it out of me.” Speaking of his co-star Ethan, how quick did they bond/ Brooks responds, “After one audition. It was seconds because we really got to talk to one another before we actually entered together to do the chemistry read and we got the chance to talk alone, meet up and my dad met his dad. I was just really awesome from the beginning.”

   

Dizon and Brooks

  How did Dizon prepare for his role? He explains, “The director (Tillman) gave us some films and photos to look at of boys who go through this kind of stuff everyday. We talked with a drug counselor at Homeboy Industries and he shared his story with us about his dad and how he did drugs and how that affected his purpose.” Has Dizon ever known any real life person who has been in his character Pete’s situation? Dizon explains, “No, I’ve never known anybody who has been in this situation. That’s why I thought it was very unique and I needed to play it.” What was Dizon’s experience on set? “He flashes a big smile, “These guys are so awesome. They are so nice and I learned a lot working on set.”

© 2013 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

(You DID Hear It From Me!) 

Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook