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A Christmas Story Live Keeps Up Holiday Tradition

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Beginning as an experiment with The Sound of Music four years ago, live television musicals have once again become an annual holiday tradition.

For every December since 2013, NBC live televised productions of Peter Pan, The Wiz, and Hairspray. While this year’s production was originally scheduled to be Bye Bye Birdie starring Jennifer Lopez, NBC was forced to push the show back a year to accommodate Ms. Lopez’ schedule. As a result, FOX has given us a live television production of A Christmas Story: The Musical; which is ironically the first of these “holiday” telecasts to feature a Christmas theme.

Based on the 2011 Broadway musical, which in turn was based upon the beloved 1983 film, “A Christmas Story Live!” tells the story of young Ralphie Parker, who longs more than anything to receive a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas. Unfortunately, his chances of receiving the gift are slim, as nearly everyone he tells his wish to utters the familiar phrase, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” The production stars newcomer Andy Walken (Ralphie), Matthew Broderick (Narrator/Adult Ralphie), Maya Rudolph (Mother), Chris Diamantopoulos (The Old Man), Tyler Wladis (Randy), Jane Krakowski (Miss Shields), Ana Gasteyer (Mrs. Schwartz), Ken Jeong (Tree Salesman/Restaurant Owner), David Alan Grier (Mall Santa), and Fred Armisen (Mall Elf).

While the adult cast is comprised of mostly well-known actors and they all do their job well (save for Broderick’s occasional line-flubs and Rudolph’s “singing”), the younger members of the cast are the true stars of the show. Andy Walken plays young Ralphie with spunk and charisma, ever desperate to achieve his dream of owning a Red Ryder BB gun, all while dodging notorious bullies Scut Farkus (Sacha Carlson) and Grover Dill (Elie Samouhi). There to aid him are his trusted friends  Schwartz (Sammy Ramirez), Flick (JJ Batteast), Louise (Abigail Dylan Harrison), Richie (Artyon Celestine), and Esther Jane (Hayley Shukiar). The children are all spectacular in voice and movement, seamlessly working through Sam Davis’s brilliant choreography.

The show’s original songs and score are composed by Tony and Oscar-winning composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who made a splash with last year’s hit musical film, La La Land. The two also recently composed the upcoming musical film, The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman. While some might be hesitant to see such a beloved film converted into a musical, you can rest assured that these songs add even more depth to an already timeless Christmas tale. From the schoolyard ballad, “When You’re A Wimp”, to the tear-jerking finale where we see Adult Ralphie and Young Ralphie meet on the street, the music soars with holiday cheer.

With heartfelt music, cutting-edge cinematography, and several callbacks to the beloved original film, “A Christmas Story Live” is an event not to be missed.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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