Happy May, everyone! And welcome to our monthly roundup of the best entertainment stories on the internet. This month we run away to the circus, go behind the scenes in Hollywood and put a new spin on an old magic trick…
Showcase fever
If you follow us on Twitter, there’s a decent chance you heard us banging on about our very first Manchester showcase which took place at The Lowry Hotel. But it wasn’t just us riding the showcase train, our sister agency Sternberg Clarke also hopped aboard with an entertainment extravaganza that featured amazing acts like Beatvox, The Lips and Ember as well as 2014 Britain’s Got Talent winners Collabro. There’s a full recap on Sternberg Clarke’s thoroughly excellent blog.
Both showcases also got a mention in C&IT’s roundup of the week’s best events. If you missed out this time, be sure to keep an eye on our showcase page for your next chance to see what we’ve been working on.
Lessons from the Big Top
Ever dreamed of running away to join the circus? The Chicago Star Tribune took a peek inside one of the city’s growing number of “circus gyms” that train aspiring circus stars in the skills they need to make it in the ring.
Sticking with the circus for a moment, Ham & High speak to up-and-coming performer Luke Hallgarten about life in the circus and how performing helped him realise there was more to life than academic pursuits.
Classical Hollywood
Everyone’s favourite Wes Anderson collaborator, karaoke singer and Ghostbuster Bill Murray (sorry Ray) has announced plans to release an album of classical music which will see him taking on the likes of George Gershwin and Bach, as well as music from West Side Story. No word yet on whether he’ll be revisiting one of his finest vocal performances; John WIlliams’ Star Wars Main Theme.
Max Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight was used to stunning effect in last year’s alien invasion / linguistics romp Arrival, and the composer has since shot from being a cult favourite, to the top of the classical A-List. He shares his top five lesser-known pieces of classical music with the Big Issue along with an interview on his career and influences.
Most people are familiar with big name composers like Hans Zimmer, Alan Silvestri, Alexandre Desplat and the aforementioned John Williams, but what about the musicians who perform on their soaring cinematic scores? Forbes meets Peter Rotter of Encompass Music Partners, the man tasked with putting big name Hollywood composing talent in touch with the performers who bring your favourite movie soundtracks to life.
Sleight of hand
We’ve all whipped out the old “detached thumb trick” at one time or another, often in an ill-advised attempt to entertain a child (alongside other vintage material like “coin behind your ear” and “eyeball in the mouth”). Sadly, this magician puts our feeble efforts to shame with his own take on the thumb trick that, if we’re honest, we’ve watched four or five times and we still can’t figure out. Imagine what this guy could do if he got your nose…
And finally, from sleight of hand to a man with slight hands: the Guardian speaks to comedians as they struggle to come to terms with a Leader of the Free World who insists on being so clownishly inept that writing jokes about him has become paradoxically difficult.
For more of our thoughts on entertainment and the events industry, be sure to follow us on Twitter. See you next time!