With a combination of charm, beauty and a wicked golf swing, Grand Rapids' own Molly Malaney wooed single dad Jason Mesnick, advancing to the Top 15 contenders on ABC's "The Bachelor."

Malaney, 24, distinguished herself from the pack of 25 ladies looking to snag Mesnick with her self-confidence, ladylike behavior, and with her cool opening line: "I hear you're a golfer," she said. "What's your swing?"

Continue reading "Grand Rapids' Molly Malaney connects through golf with 'Bachelor' Jason Mesnick" »

Now that it appears the Rothbury Festival will maybe possibly perhaps happen in 2009 after a judge's ruling this afternoon, all sorts of names are being bandied about for the three-day outdoor music festival on the placid but financially beleaguered grounds of the Double JJ Ranch.

So, in the name of unsubstantiated rumor-mongering, here's a look at some of the big acts being discussed, and some that would be perfect for the second coming of Rothbury.

Continue reading "Phish? Tom Petty? The Rothbury rumor mill begins turning after judge's approval" »

Howdy, West Michigan. I know money is tight, and I know there are a lot of entertainment options out there, but if you have little ones, and you believe in Walt Disney World "magic" -- who doesn't? -- then you can't go wrong with "Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic." Shows have just been booked for Van Andel Arena, and I have the presale password.

Continue reading "'Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic' presale password for Van Andel Arena; Eagles presale for Palace of Auburn Hills" »

Michigan Film Office officials say they're close to sealing an $80 million development deal that would create three film and television production studios in southeast Michigan. An official announcement could come in February. Continue reading "State may be near film studio deal in SE Michigan" »

Get ready for ROTHBURY 2009.

PHOTO GALLERIES

ROTHBURY 2008 photo galleries after the jump.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee and AEG Live have come to an agreement on the lease of Double JJ Resort next summer for the second year of the ROTHBURY Festival.

One possible glitch: Federal bankruptcy Judge Jeffrey R. Hughes must approve the camp-in, environmentally-themed music festival at the Double JJ in a court ruling.

Financial problems led Double JJ to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization after last July's first ROTHBURY, which was by all accounts a commercial success and a popular hit. The resort is poised to be sold through the bankruptcy proceedings, but not in time for the 2009 version of ROTHBURY to be planned with a new owner.

Continue reading "Promoters preparing for ROTHBURY 2009" »

Grand Rapids' fans of ABC's "The Bachelor" (and "The Bachelorette") can root for another rose-worthy local contestant when Molly Malaney contends for the heart of single dad Jason Mesnick.

Continue reading "Ex-Grand Rapids woman Molly Malaney vies for nod from jilted 'Bachelor' Jason Mesnick" »

Grandville's Aidan Bigelow is a pretty precocious toddler. At age 18 months, he figured out how to climb out of his crib.

He landed his family on ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" in the process.

"It was a pretty surreal experience," said Aidan's father, Jason Bigelow, a service adviser at The Sharpe Collection in Grand Rapids. Bigelow, wife, Sarah, and Aiden will appear Jan. 18 when "Funniest Home Videos" features "Tales from the Crib."

Continue reading "Video of son's great escape lands family on ABC's 'Funniest Home Videos'" »

It might have seemed like Christmas brought a veritable bonanza of new films to area theaters: Within the space of three weeks, local theaters opened THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX, YES MAN, SEVEN POUNDS, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, DOUBT, BEDTIME STORIES and more. But for some moviegoers, it wasn't enough.

Where is MILK? When is SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE coming? Why don't we have FROST/NIXON? REVOLUTIONARY ROAD is playing in New York; why isn't it here?
These are the questions I have been hearing regularly from readers. They e-mail, they call, they attach comments to my blog pages, and the message is usually something like this: Kalamazoo is getting cheated out of great movies.

Continue reading "Not playing at a theater near you: Why Kalamazoo is 'cheated' out of good movies -- and what you can do about it" »

I attended my first Meanwhile Movie in December, when "Labyrinth" played at the Wealthy Theatre, and I decided I'd be back every Tuesday.

Something about the experience struck a chord. For a lot of people, it seemed to involve a certain anatomical feature on David Bowie that was enhanced by his Goblin King wardrobe.

Continue reading "See 'Wild at Heart' and make Meanwhile Movies a habit in 2009" »

KALAMAZOO - There is a good movie somewhere in "Lexibaby" -- not to mention a month's worth of melodramatic soap opera plots and subplots.

The locally-shot film, which had its world premiere at Kalamazoo's State Theatre Friday night, was directed and edited by 21-year-old Richland native Jonathan Petro, and written by his cousin Josh Petro. It was produced by local production company Ream Enterprises, owned by Chad Ream.

It might have been a bad sign that the crowd had to wait an hour for the film to begin. It was announced that Petro was still in post- production, so we sat until the production computer was brought into the theater and plugged into the projector. Then the journey into the melodrama of violence began.

Continue reading "Movie Review: Gull Lake High School graduate Jonathan Petro delivered 'Lexibaby' Friday" »

Is your New Year's resolution to lose weight? Pete Thomas of "The Biggest Loser" lost 185 pounds when he was on the show three years ago, and now he goes around the country, meeting fans and motivating others to get into better shape.

I first talked to him in March when I was writing in my "Going Gonzo" blog about Detroit auditions for a new season of "The Biggest Loser: Couples."

Continue reading "'Biggest Loser' standout Pete Thomas to offer free seminar in Grand Rapids" »

If you think Kate and Leo were the first stars to set sail on the TITANIC, you need to tune in to Fox Movie Channel at 10 a.m. Saturday; 44 years before moviegoers met Jack and Rose, there was another TITANIC, this one starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. There are a few similarities to director James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster, although the 1953 version concentrates much more closely on the characters, saving the spectacle for the last half-hour. And yes, at only 98 minutes it's roughly half as long as the DiCaprio/Winslet vehicle. Continue reading "'Titanic' sails on Fox Movie Channel -- but not with Winslet and DiCaprio" »

I was intrigued by a story The Press' business editor, Nancy Crawley, did in the fall about Amway Global sponsoring Tina Turner's recent North American tour.

The tour ended a couple of weeks ago, so I thought I would check in with Steve Lieberman, managing director of Amway Global, to see how things went.

Continue reading "Amway Global 'very happy' with Tina Turner tour sponsorship" »

LOS ANGELES - Millions of Time Warner Cable customers won't lose their access to MTV and 18 other channels after the cable giant reached an agreement early Thursday with media conglomerate Viacom Inc.

The two sides, citing disagreement over fee hikes, had threatened a damaging blackout at a minute past midnight Thursday that would have cut off shows such as "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "The Colbert Report" to about 15.7 million subscribers.

"We are pleased that our customers will continue to be able to watch the customers will continue to be able to watch the programming they enjoy on MTV Networks," said Glenn Britt, president and CEO of Time Warner Cable Inc. "We are sorry they had to endure a day of public disagreement as we worked through this negotiation."

Continue reading "Time Warner Cable and Viacom reach deal" »

The new year is upon us, and economic prognosticators are shouting at anyone who will listen that the woes will continue.

Between the recession and holiday spending, people are looking for more and more ways to make their money last in '09. And with the way the winter has started, it looks like it will be a long, harsh one. So when you finally venture out of the house for a night out with friends, we thought we'd bail you out with a few ideas.

Continue reading "You work hard for the money: Here are some tips on how to save it and still have a good night out" »