Kona Commons selects artist for brand refresh
Kona Commons recently announced a new partnership with Holualoa artist Siena Baldi who was selected to work with the shopping center on its brand refresh.
The center sent out a call to local artists in May soliciting artwork samples and received many impressive applications. Baldi’s art was chosen for its imaginative imagery, vibrant colors, animation, and creative interpretations.
Baldi, who describes herself as an eco-conscious artist, will create a series of images for Kona Commons, which will be used on parking lot banners and throughout the shopping center’s marketing.
Katie Kaanapu, marketing director for Kona Commons, envisions Baldi’s art as the foundation for a future campaign which will heighten brand awareness and add a new twist to the center’s personality.
“Siena’s art will be the perfect complement to the shopping center’s image. We can’t wait for this fall’s rollout of the art,” she said.
Classic sitcoms to stream on Amazon Prime, IMDb TV
Streaming viewers can finally let all of the “good times” roll.
Amazon Prime has sealed a deal with prolific television producer Norman Lear to stream his classic TV shows, including the Emmy-winning sitcoms “All in the Family” and “Maude,” as well as the groundbreaking “Diff’rent Strokes,” “One Day at a Time” and “Good Times.”
On Thursday, “All in the Family,” “Good Times,” “Maude” and “One Day at a Time” will launch on Prime Video and IMDb TV, Amazon’s premium free streaming service; marking the first time that episodes of “Maude” and all seasons of “All in the Family” are available to stream.
“Diff’rent Strokes” and the Marla Gibbs-headlined “227” (which Lear did not produce) will debut that day on Prime Video, as well.
Additional titles, including “The Jeffersons,” “Sanford &Son” and the spinoff “Sanford,” is expected to drop on Prime Video later in 2021.
With Wednesday’s announcement of the deal, Lear, 98, offered: “Life is a collaboration. Writing, directing and producing films and television is perhaps the most collaborative work of all. In 2018, our Act III Productions sat with the team at Sony Pictures Television and formed a partnership to not only produce new content, but to bring a new awareness to my former Embassy library. That Sony found a home for that library with Prime Video/IMDb TV where new generations could find it, is the best present a man entering his 100th year can have.”
“Norman Lear is a national treasure and his impact on television and popular culture is immeasurable,” Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke added. “We are so honored to bring his classic television series to Prime Video and IMDb TV so new audiences and a new generation can laugh, enjoy and be inspired, like so many of us have been throughout the years.”
Lear recently revived “All in the Family” and its spinoffs “The Jeffersons” and “Good Times” for ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience…,” which garnered critical acclaim and high ratings. The shows won the Emmy award for Outstanding Variety Special for two consecutive years.
How Metallica plans to celebrate its 40th birthday
Metallica has big plans for its 40th birthday.
The multiplatinum-selling metal band, which formed in 1981, plans to party it up with fans during two shows at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Metallica will perform Dec. 17 and 19 at the home of the Golden State Warriors, playing a different set list each of the two nights.
Tickets to these two highly anticipated gigs will only be available to registered members of Metallica’s Fifth Member fan club.
The two shows are part of a four-day Metallica celebration in the Bay Area, which finds the band curating other live music events and comedy shows, tasting for their signature Blackened Whiskey brand and other events. The celebration runs Dec. 16-19.
These shows also mark the first time that the band has performed at Chase since September 2019, when Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony opened the venue to the public with two special “S&M2” gigs.
Metallica is also set to headline the big Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, California, in October. The band headlines on both Oct. 8 and 10 at the festival. See aftershockfestival.com for details.
Britney Spears does cartwheels after court victory
A judge’s decision to let Britney Spears select her own lawyer in her conservatorship case gave the pop star a reason to celebrate.
Spears shared an Instagram video showing her doing cartwheels following Wednesday’s hearing.
“New with real representation today … I feel GRATITUDE and BLESSED !!!!” Spears captioned the post late Wednesday.
“Thank you to my fans who are supporting me … You have no idea what it means to me be supported by such awesome fans !!!! God bless you all !!!!! Pssss this is me celebrating by horseback riding and doing cartwheels today.”
Earlier Wednesday, Spears’ efforts to pick her own lawyer in the case was approved by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny. Spears will be represented by lawyer Mathew Rosengart.
Spears was previously represented by Samuel Ingham, who was assigned to her.
The “Toxic” singer is fighting for her father Jamie Spears, who controls her finances under the conservatorship, to be removed.
Britney Spears was moved to tears Wednesday during a hearing in which she spoke about the “cruelty” of the conservatorship.
“My dad needs to be removed today,” Spears said Wednesday. “I want an investigation done on him.”
A conservator, Jodi Montgomery, handles many aspect of Spears’ personal life. Spears has previously described the conservatorship as “abusive.”
Fellow celebrities and fans have supported Spears amid the case using the hashtag #FreeBritney, which she included in her Instagram post Wednesday.
“Internet is about to explode #freebritney,” Spears’ boyfriend, Sam Asghari, commented on the post.
By local and wire sources