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Universal Horror Unleashed Haunts Las Vegas at Area 15 Entertainment District
Story, photos and videos by Cassie Hepler (unless otherwise noted) Universal Horror Unleashed comes to haunt Las Vegas, Nevada! This first-ever, year-round horror entertainment experience by Universal Studios lives inside a huge warehouse in AREA15 Entertainment District with four terrifying haunted houses inside including my favorite Universal Monsters, Blumhouse’s The Exorcist: Believer, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Scarecrow: The Reaping. The horror extends to the bloody food and beverage offerings, with themed bars and food locations serving craft cocktails and grotesque bites in select areas, and a retail location with the most unique collectible merchandise. Actors dressed as various spooky season creatures lurk about waiting to scare you at any…
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Being an Actor, the Raw Truth Behind the Hollywood Glamour
Story by Irina Abraham Hollywood is on strike, they say. Having worked as an actor for years and having been a part of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA,) I’m having a hard time with this statement. It assumes that all actors are Hollywood actors, but the truth is a lot of us have never been close to Hollywood studios. I spent over a decade in New York City working in TV, film, and theatre, and there is very little Hollywood glamor in my memories. Have I missed something? I decided to go to my former colleagues who are currently working actors in New York City, and ask what the life…
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Philadelphia’s Nightmare Before Tinsel Halloween Pop-up Complements Day of the Dead
Nightmare Before Tinsel follows strict adherence to face-mask protocol. Meet the new abnormal normal. “Terror is a passion which always produces delight when it does not press too close.” —Edmund Burke Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “How you pull up, Baby? How you pull up?” I pull up like I am all about the total experience. No summertime shore trip happens unless I watch Jaws first. The night before touring a nuclear facility, I popped The China Syndrome into my DVD player. A medical operation on my schedule guarantees a viewing of the suspenseful Coma the evening before I’m anesthetized. I intentionally scare myself. Apparently, I’m in good company, particularly…
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Oscar Nominee Rian Johnson Cuts a Sharp Figure at Philadelphia Film Festival’s Knives Out Screening
Lights, Camera, Action … with a heavy on the lights! Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “We must look a little closer. And when we do, we see that the doughnut hole has a hole in its center. It is not a doughnut hole, but a smaller doughnut with its own hole, and our doughnut is not holed at all!” – Benoit Blanc (Knives Out) The 2019 Philadelphia Film Festival (PFF) wrapped with yet another successful year (its 28th!) in the can. Running 11-days through October, the festival showcased 110 films at the Philadelphia Film Center. I had the distinct honor of attending the red-carpet premiere of the critically acclaimed Knives Out…
