Ted Sarandos, the Greek-American Chief Content Officer of Netflix, was honored today with an industry tribute at the prestigious 2014 Gotham Independent Film Awards. The Gotham Awards ceremony, which traditionally kicks off the Oscar season, took place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

The Independent Filmmakers Project chose Sarandos because of his dedication to revolutionalize the way shows are produced and consumed through the Netflix business model. Joana Vicente, executive director of the Independent Filmmakers Project, commended Sarandos as “a visionary who is credited with reshaping how, when and where we watch entertainment.”

Sarandos’ strategy for Netflix over the past years included a push to create original content on the streaming service, which has since led to many critically and commercially successful shows such as “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.” The shows have received several Emmy nominations and played an important role in Netflix’s impressive growth in reach and popularity.

The evening’s other honorees included Tilda Swinton and Bennett Miller. Swinton was honored with the actor tribute for her impressive body of work this year, which included appearances in Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and Jim Jarmusch’s “Only Lovers Left Alive.” The director tribute went to Bennett Miller to honor him for his fantastic work helming the film “Foxcatcher.”

Sarandos has been in charge of Netflix’s content acquisition since 2000 and is frequently praised as one of the most innovative people working behind the scenes in Hollywood today.

Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks took a break from their busy acting schedule yesterday to host the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, together with President Obama and his family. The ceremony took place at 4:30 PM in President’s Park, near the White House.

The famous couple, known for its strong ties to the Greek-American community, also introduced the musicians for the evening. Ne-Yo, Steve Miller, Patti LaBelle, Chely Wright and Fifth Harmony, among others, sang a medley of holiday tunes to get the audience into the Christmas spirit.

The tree lighting ceremony is an annual tradition in Washington, D.C., since 1923. It features a giant Christmas tree, lit up with over 60,000 bulbs, along with 56 smaller trees to represent the American states and territories. This year, the designs for the smaller trees were programmed by girls across the US who took part in Google’s Made With Code project. The program, meant to inspire girls to enter the field of computer science, sponsored this year’s tree lighting event.

The Hollywood power couple will soon be back in theaters nationwide. Wilson has been working on numerous film projects and can be seen in the upcoming films “Kiss Me,” “Brother In Laws” and “Facing the Wind,” while Hanks will be starring in “Ithaca,” “The Lost Symbol” and “A Hologram for the King.”

A Mötley Crüe biopic script co-written by Tom Kapinos was just picked up for development by Focus Features. The script is based on the band’s autobiography The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band, written by the band members with the help of Neil Strauss.

Mötley Crüe’s “sex, drug and rock ‘n’ roll memoir” was written in 2001 and the band has promised that the film will be just as extreme and R-rated as their book. Tommy Lee thinks the film and the band’s history is so crazy that the movie will be “Triple-R rated.”

The Greek-American musician described an initial film read-through as “probably the most insanely surrealistic experience I’ve ever sat through.” Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx serve as co-producers on the film and will soon begin the casting process.

Kapinos is best known as the creator of the popular TV show “Californication.” Jeff Tremaine, the man behind the camera of the “Jackass” movies and TV show, has been tapped to direct the film.

Features has previously produced such critically acclaimed films as “The Theory of Everything” and “Dallas Buyers Club.”

Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks was one of the thousands who gathered on Fifth Avenue in New York this past Sunday to attend the Greek Parade and celebrate Greek Independence.

Hanks, is married to Greek American actress Rita Wilson and has repeatedly said to Greek Reporter that he feels more “Greek than a Greek.”

So, his appearance in the parade although went unnoticed was something we could have expected.

Here’s what he posted on his twitter together with the following video:

“I do love a parade. Don’t you? Hanx”

Watch Tom Hanks talking about his Greek feelings in one of our past interviews:

Nia Vardalos announced the story-line of her much anticipated ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ sequel that will unite the crazy Portokalos family again on the big screen. The Greek-Canadian actress posted on Facebook a message explaining how her daughter and her parenting experience helped her write “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.”

Here’s the message she wrote:

Rita Wilson along with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman will produce the film, along with Gold Circle’s Paul Brooks exec producing with Scott Niemeyer, Norm Waitt, Steven Shareshian and Nia Vardalos.

The plot involves the reveal of a family secret and a new wedding which brings the Greek clan back together again (the wedding is described as “bigger and fatter”). Most of the original My Big Fat Greek Wedding cast will film again for the sequel.

“Now that I’m experiencing motherhood, I’m ready to write the next chapter of my family story,” Vardalos has said about the new movie.

Watch an interview with Nia talking about her book “Instant Mom” but also discussing the success of her most popular movie and the possibility of replicating it (watch at 6.30).

By Vasilis Papoutsis

Greek American director Angeliki Giannakopoulos’ play is a collection of monologues based on true stories from the mothers who lost their sons in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and has been performing to rave reviews and sold out audiences on Sunday nights at the Hudson Theater in Hollywood.

The play is based on the award-winning documentary by the same title that aired nationally on PBS in 2006. The director’s interest in the subject was piqued by reading articles in the Los Angeles Times documenting the stories of the mothers grieving their sons’ deaths and surviving their loss. Giannakopoulos was trying to make sense of those feelings and found herself unable to throw away the articles. Instead, she started collecting them and one day she decided to start calling the mothers. These conversations became the foundation of the stories you see on stage.

As George Pennacchio reported on ABC7 News, “The new play reminds us that soldiers have families who love them, waiting for them back home.” The roles of the six American mothers are portrayed by a very talented ensemble cast featuring Frances Fisher, Melina Kanakaredes, Mimi Rogers, Laura Ceron, Monique Edwards and Jean Smart.

The mothers have very different opinions, ideologies and social backgrounds but they are united in their love for their sons who perished in the wars and their struggle to bear their grief and move on. It is a staged reading but it is fully acted as the audience follows the mothers’ communications with their soldier sons, in Marine outfits, that begins during boot camp and phone calls while stationed in the desert up till their untimely deaths.

Worth noting is that all the actors work for free, 100% of the profits are donated to the Fisher House Foundation that provides “comfort homes” to military families during hospitalization. The homes are built on the grounds of major military and VA medical services and are free of charge! When we asked the director what message should the play convey to the audience she said that, “The play is a mother’s journey of how she says goodbye to her son that she will never see again and nothing will ever replace his loss, it is not a political play just a human account of lost life.”

She also emphasized that these American mothers “speak for mothers from all over the world.” Giannakopoulos had already directed an award-winning documentary on the same subject but “the emotions are far more powerful on the stage,” she admits.

On Mother’s Day, there will be a special performance sponsored by Earth Friendly Products. A special champagne toast at the Hudson Theater Café will take place at the conclusion of the performance and all the mothers in attendance will receive a special gift bag courtesy of Earth Friendly Products.

The highly-regarded theater review site, “Stage Raw,” has selected the play on its Top Ten list, and you can see the remaining performances on Mother’s Day and on May 17th, 24th and 31st at the Hudson Backstage Theater located on 6539 Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, Sundays at 7pm. For a complete list of appearances click here.

Now in its 9th year, the festival has expanded from four to five days of feature films, documentaries, short films, Q & A’s, forums and fun. Founded by two Greek women – filmmaker Angeliki Giannakopoulos and journalist/HFPA member Ersi Danou, LAGFF is one of the largest Greek Film Festivals in the country boasting a prestigious advisory board that includes Oscar winning writer/director Alexander Payne, Actors Billy Zane, Olympia Dukakis and Nia Vardalos, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment Jim Gianopulos and Netflix head of content acquisition Ted Sarandos to name a few.

The festival has become the main conduit for films from Greek and Cypriot natives and descendants and films with a Greek theme to be shown in Los Angeles.The films, many of which are subtitled, range from comedy to drama, animation to thriller and political and cultural exposes. There truly is a film for everyone.

This year’s Fest welcomes a record 35 features, documentaries and short films to the program including three World premieres, 14 US premieres and 10 Los Angeles premieres. Alongside Greece, countries represented in this year’s festival include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, Israel, Germany, Qatar, United Kingdom and the United States.

The festival is proud to announce that Pantelis Voulgaris’ award-winning period drama “Little England ” will highlight the red-carpet Opening Night Gala on Wednesday, June 3. The festivities will include a dinner reception and music and dancing under the stars.

Appearing as the Centerpiece Premiere selection is Alexis Alexiou‘s explosive neo-noir film, “Wednesday 04:45 “(TETARTI 04:45). The film will make its West Coast Premiere on Saturday, June 6.

Panos H. Koutras’ wry and emotional road trip and this year’s Hellenic Film Academy Award winner for Best Picture, “Xenia”, will close the five days of screenings, red carpet events, receptions and industry panels at the Closing Night Gala on Sunday, June 7, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Kary Antholis, president, HBO Miniseries and Cinemax Programming for Home Box Office and “Hercules” scribe Evan Spiliotopoulos are this year’s recipients of the Festival’s top honor – the prestigious Honorary Orpheus Award.

LAGFF is also pleased to add three new members to its already impressive roster of Industry Advisors. The 2015 additions to the LAGFF Advisory Board are Writer/Director/Actor Nick Cassavetes, Starz Executive Vice President of Worldwide Distribution Gene George, and Fullscreen Chief Executive Officer and Founder George Strompolos.

For more info and tickets visit the LAGFF website.

By Vasilis Papoutsis

“A Night in Athens” is a film about comedian Angelo Tsarouchas’ one hour stand-up performance in
front of a sold-out audience at the Michael Cacoyiannis Foundation theater in Athens, Greece. The film
will have its world premiere at this week’s LA Greek film festival on June 7 at the famous Egyptian
Theater in Hollywood, CA. His performance is a hilarious take on Angelo’s challenges growing up Greek thousand of miles away from Greece.

The film fulfills a lifelong wish of Angelo’s father for his son to perform in Greece. This is the second
project following the filming of his documentary “Back to Sparta,” a personal story of triumph for Angelo
who made a comeback after suffering personal and professional setbacks and an exploration of his
father’s birthplace of Dafni, Lakonia.

During our lunch we talked about his projects, his love for Greece and of course his success as a standup
comedian. Angelo who is now known as the “Funny Greek” told me that his path to success was a
difficult one. In his profession there is no formal training and the only way to learn is by performing.

On stage to an audience that sometimes remains silent, is a tough way to break in. His determination
and his persistence eventually paid off. Today he tours regularly around the globe and he can boast that
his one hour Showtime special “Bigger is Better” was watched by over 14 million viewers. He expressed
his satisfaction of completing these two projects and how happy his father would had been. To honor
his father’s memory Angelo donated all of the proceeds from the event to local charities in Athens.

Angelo was thrilled by the enthusiastic reception he received from the sold-out audience in Athens and
he was also amazed that 150 people showed up to a subsequent comedy workshop he did the next day.
He feels very proud by the way the Greek Diaspora supports him and shows up to his stand-up
performances all over the world. He also performs regularly with Vince Vaughn’s “Wild West Comedy
Show.”

When he is not on tour or donating his talents for a good cause you can find Angelo performing
and testing new jokes at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. For future live performances you can visit his
web site.

The Funny Greek has also made a successful venture into acting as well, winning a Best Actor Award at
the London Greek film festival for his role as Vinnie D’ Angelo in the film “Fred and Vinnie.”

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival is taking place at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood June 3-7, and Angelo believes it will be the perfect place to host his film’s world premiere.

The Los Angeles Greek Film Festival celebrated its opening night with a buzzing red carpet full of the biggest Greek-American and Greek names in the film industry. Sponsored by Earth Friendly Products, the opening night included the screening of the film “Little England” on Wednesday June 3rd.

Among the many powerful Hollywood personalities who are involved in the event were Jim Gianopulos of 20th Century Fox, Kary Antholis from HBO (and one of this year’s Orpheus Honorees) and “Hercules” screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos.

As for Greek-American faces in front of the camera, Costas Mandylor, Patricia Kara, Andy Milonakis and Michael Papajohn of “Nightcrawler” were just a few of the many celebrities honoring their Greek heritage and Greek contribution to film at the opening ceremony.

Watch interviews below from the 2015 Los Angeles Greek film Festival red carpet:

This year’s festival will run from June 3rd to June 7th, and will feature films from Greek filmmakers all over the world from Australia to Germany, with a good percentage of this year’s line-up coming from the resurgent film industry in Greece.

There was laughter and celebration as the 9th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) concluded Sunday, June 7 at the Egyptian Theatre. The evening began with a screening of Panos H. Koutras “Xenia” followed by their annual Orpheus Awards Ceremony and Closing Night Gala Reception and live auction under the Hollywood stars.

Taking top Jury Orpheus honors were from Greece, Yannis Economides’ redemption drama “Stratos” (Best Feature Film); from Greece, Germany and Qatar Yorgos Avgeropoulos’ “Agora” (Best Documentary) which follows the dissolution of the city center as a hub of democracy and free thinking to becoming just a modern day marketplace; from France Basile Doganis’ “Citizen Day” (Best Short).

Watch interviews from the LAGFF red carpet closing night:

Winning the inaugural Van Vlahakis Award for Innovative Filmmaking, Stavroula Toska for her daring documentary “Underneath the Olive Tree” which reveals the true stories of atrocities suffered by women during the Greek Civil War in late 1940’s.

This year’s Audience Award went to Angeliki Aristomenopoulou’s documenatary “A Family Affair” an intimate portrait of the famous Xylouris family and their sacred bonds with the musical tradition of Crete.
LAGFF’s executive producer Alex Kalognomos took center stage to introduce Panos H. Koutras’ award-winning dramedy “Xenia” before the near capacity audience. During his introduction, Kalognomos took time to thank his team and the over 50 department heads and volunteers that worked tirelessly for the past six months to bring the festival to life.”

After the screening, artistic director Aris Katopodis announced that, “This year we were proud to host over 42 filmmakers and 35 films from around the world. We were entertained, moved and inspired as we watched their visions unfold on the screen of the Egyptian Theatre and we thank them for sharing their stories with us.”

Katopodis went on to say “LAGFF has reached a milestone with an attendance that boasted a double digit rise in patronage. Our industry program – International Project Discovery Program, under Araceli Lemos and producer Giulia Caruso’s guidance continues to grow in popularity and this year’s public pitching session was a huge success.”

Katopodis went on to say that “Thanks to the support of our sponsors, media sponsors, co-founders Ersi Danou and Angeliki Giannakopoulos the Festival will continue to bring entertaining and thought provoking stories from Greek and Cypriot filmmakers worldwide to Los Angeles. With your continued support, we look forward to celebrating the end of our first decade in 2016. We invite everyone here to join us here for the 10th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival in June of 2016.” He then invited Orpheus Award Producer Dorothea Paschalidou to the podium to introduce the evening’s Awards host Swiss-born Greek megastar Panos Mouzourakis.

This year’s Orpheus Honorees were Kary Antholis, president of HBO Miniseries and Cinemax Programming, and “Hercules” scribe Evan Spiliotopoulos. Presenting the Orpheus Award to Kary Antholis was Emmy Award-winning television and film director Greg Yaitanes (“Banshee”).

The 2015 International Project Discovery Forum winners were also handed out. The Aegean Award with a $1000 scholarship was presented to “Dora” (Bulgaria) and director Milko Lazarov, writers Simeon Ventsislavov and Milko Lazarov.

The Mfi script2film workshops Scholarship was awarded to “In The Arena” (Greece), writer/ director Arsenis Polymenopoulos and co-writer Dimitris Emmanouilidis. Honorable mention went to “Hamarat Apartment”, director/writer/producer Huseyin Karabey (Turkey).

John Stamos has checked himself into a residential program to be treated for substance abuse, People reports.

Last month, police in Beverly Hills stopped the Greek-American actor and tested his BAC after numerous calls came in around 7:45 PM about a possible drunk driver on the road. He was found to be driving under the influence.

John Stamos tweeted to his fans that he was finally back home after his DUI arrest and subsequent hospitalization at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

Stamos is due in court on September 11 for his DUI arrest.

So far, Stamos himself has not commented on his rehab check in, and a representative for the actor asked the media for privacy stating he had no comment at this time.

The 2016 Golden Globe Awards nominees have been announced. America Ferrera, Chloë Grace Moretz, Dennis Quaid and Angela Basset were on hand to assist Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Lorenzo Soria in announcing contenders for this year’s awards. The list includes two Greek-Americans, composer Alexander Desplat and director George Miller, that have been nominated in the best score and best director category respectively.

The complete list of the 2016 Golden Globe nominees:

Motion picture, drama

“Carol”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Revenant”
“Room”
“Spotlight”

Motion picture, comedy

“The Big Short”
“Joy”
“The Martian”
“Spy”
“Trainwreck”

Actress in a motion picture, drama

Cate Blanchett, “Carol”
Brie Larson, “Room”
Rooney Mara, “Carol”
Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”
Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”

Actress in a motion picture, comedy

Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”
Melissa McCarthy, “Spy”
Amy Schumer, “Trainwreck”
Maggie Smith, “The Lady in the Van”
Lily Tomlin, “Grandma”

Actor in a motion picture, drama

Bryan Cranston, “Trumbo”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Danish Girl”
Will Smith, “Concussion”

Actor in a motion picture, comedy

Christian Bale, “The Big Short”
Steve Carell, “The Big Short”
Matt Damon, “The Martian”
Al Pacino, “Danny Collins”
Mark Ruffalo, “Infinitely Polar Bear”

TV series, drama

“Empire”
“Game of Thrones”
“Mr. Robot”
“Narcos”
“Outlander”

TV series, comedy

“Casual”
“Mozart in the Jungle”
“Orange Is the New Black”
“Silicon Valley”
“Transparent”
“Veep”

Actress in a TV series, comedy

Rachel Bloom, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”
Jamie Lee Curtis, “Scream Queens”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”
Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”

Actress in a TV series, drama

Caitriona Balfe, “Outlander”
Viola Davis, “How to Get Away with Murder”
Eva Green, “Penny Dreadful”
Taraji P. Henson, “Empire”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”

Actor in a TV series, drama

Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”
Wagner Moura, “Narcos”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”

Actor in a TV series, comedy

Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”
Gael García Bernal, “Mozart in the Jungle”
Rob Lowe, “The Grinder”
Patrick Stewart, “Blunt Talk”
Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

Actress in a supporting role in a motion picture

Jane Fonda, “Youth”
Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight”
Helen Mirren, “Trumbo”
Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs”

Actor in a supporting role in a motion picture

Paul Dano, “Love & Mercy”
Idris Elba, “Beasts of No Nation”
Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Michael Shannon, “99 Homes”
Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”

TV movie or miniseries

“American Crime”
“American Horror Story: Hotel”
“Fargo”
“Flesh and Bone”
“Wolf Hall”

Actress in a TV movie or limited series

Kirsten Dunst, “Fargo”
Queen Latifah, “Bessie”
Felicity Huffman, “American Crime”
Sarah Hay, “Flesh and Bone”
Lady Gaga, “American Horror Story: Hotel”

Actor in a TV movie or limited series

Oscar Isaac, “Show Me a Hero”
Patrick Wilson, “Fargo”
Idris Elba, “Luther”
David Oyelowo, “Nightingale”
Mark Rylance, “Wolf Hall”

Supporting actor in a TV series, limited series or TV movie

Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife”
Damian Lewis, “Wolf Hall”
Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”
Tobias Menzies, “Outlander”
Christian Slater, “Mr. Robot”

Supporting actress in a TV series, limited series or TV movie

Uzo Aduba, “Orange Is the New Black”
Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey”
Regina King, “American Crime”
Judith Light, “Transparent”
Maura Tierney, “The Affair”

Animated feature film

“Anomalisa”
“The Good Dinosaur”
“Inside Out”
“The Peanuts Movie”
“Shaun the Sheep Movie”

Director

Todd Haynes, “Carol”
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “The Revenant”
Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Ridley Scott, “The Martian”

Screenplay

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, “Spotlight”
Aaron Sorkin, “Steve Jobs”
Quentin Tarantino, “The Hateful Eight”
Emma Donoghue, “Room”
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, “The Big Short”

Original song

“Love Me Like You Do” (“50 Shades of Grey”)
“One Kind of Love” (“Love and Mercy”)
“See You Again” (“Furious 7”)
“Simple Song #3” (“Youth”)
“Writing’s on the Wall” (“Spectre”)

Foreign language film

“The Brand New Testament” (Belgium/France/Luxembourg)
“The Club” (Chile)
“The Fencer” (Finland/Germany/Estonia)
“Mustang” (France)
“Son Of Saul” (Hungary)

Score

Carter Burwell, “Carol”
Alexandre Desplat, “The Danish Girl”
Ennio Morricone, “The Hateful Eight
Daniel Pemberton, “Steve Jobs”
Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, “The Revenant”

We managed to nab an exclusive interview with George Miller, one of the nominees this year. Check out the full interview here:

We caught up with Netflix’s content mastermind, Ted Sarandos, to discuss the online network’s rapid expansion as well as his company’s nine Golden Globe nominations.

Ted Sarandos, a Greek-American whose family hails from the Greek island of Samos, has been credited as the visionary executive who reshaped how, when, and where we watch entertainment.

Sarandos’ strategy for Netflix over the past years included a push to create original content on the streaming service, which has since led to many critically and commercially successful shows as well as expand the company’s presence around the globe.

The Greek-American has been in charge of Netflix’s content acquisition since 2000.

We met Lainie Kazan at an Oscar party and we got all the scoop just before My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 hits theaters.

“We have been meeting with Nia and Gia at least once a month for 12 years” notes Kazan who has been friends with the cast since they first made the first movie.

“I am the only one who is not Greek, I am Jewish, but they make believe,” she tells us laughing.

Kazan, plays the Greek mother of Nia Vardalos (Toula) who is the real head of the house and offers advice to her kids often with questionable results.

The new movie opens March 25th in the USA.

Alki David, the billionaire owner of FilmOn said that he will leave the material world behind to become a monk and dedicate his life to Jesus.

“I was born in an Orthodox family and grew up being an altar boy back in Greece,” said the Cyprus born businessman, actor and online personality.

After his teen years David says he was so disappointed with the world that he decided to do pranks to discover the limits of society.

“But now I realize it’s time to try to save the world not make fun at it, ” admits the man who once orchestrated a fake assisted suicide live on camera. “I have accepted God’s existence and I want to ask for forgiveness.”

In 2010, David had also announced a one million dollar reward for the citizen who would streak in front of President Obama.

The unconventional billionaire and FilmOn owner who now wants to repent, says that he will give half of his wealth to his wife and kids. “The other half will be donated to ‘Saint Efstratios’ the Greek-Orthodox monastery on the Greek island of Spetses that I’ll be calling home next week.” David’s wealth has been estimated at $1.7 billion.

“You know at some point you get tired of having fun and being the bad boy. I’ve seen everything to realize how meaningless we are, and no money can change the human condition,” says David who has booked a one-way ticket to Greece for April 4.

The man who used to fly with his private jet said that he already wants to cut down on his lifestyle because he no longer gets pleasure from material things.

“My mindset has changed, I already am a simple man, a changed man, and I always was wondering how it is to fly economy, so yes for the first time in my life I booked a ticket.”

Earlier in the week David had posted on facebook a naked photo of his wife with another naked woman, something that he says was “the last sin he wanted to commit,” before dedicating his life to God.

“I know it may sound strange to people coming from somebody like me, but I like extremes. I got so deep into the material world and enjoyed it all, but I now I want to go as deep into God’s world. People who know me understand that this is the only way for me to go full circle in life.”

While David is used to expensive toys like a private jet or a Ferrari, Orthodox monks usually live in remote monasteries and lead very simple lives of fast, prayer and celibacy. But who knows, Alki David has always surprised us!

After amassing an amazing number of festival awards, director Chris Moraitis’ “Pet” is an early Oscar contender for an official 2017 nomination in the short film category. It will be the first Greek short to ever be nominated.

“Pet,” with a great push from the Greek American community, including Producer Alexia Melocchi, an Advisory Member of the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival who is championing and representing the film and Nektarios Kalogridis , a fellow filmmaker from NYC who is an Executive Producer on the film, hope to push Pet to win the award for best short in 2017.

Chris Moraitis (which is the pseudonym for the Thessaloniki based Christos Liakouris) talks about the film below:

“It is clear that the violence we suffer socially in recent years was the impetus for the creation of Pet,” says Chris Moraitis (which is the pseudonym for Thessaloniki-based Christos Liakouris). “Society is a reflection of the family formation.”

He used this unrest as the impetus to create one of the most disturbing and compelling short films in years. The film is disturbing in how it takes a seemingly commonplace life event (or death) in this case and uses it to suggest that sociopathic behavior stems from a breakdown in the family unit.

Interestingly enough, two of the other breakout films from Greece in recent memory play on some of the themes seen in “Pet,” such as “Little Greek Godfather” in 2007, which showcased a fictional version of the life of a young Nikos Papandreou and his love of hedgehogs and 2009’s Dogtooth, which focused on a whole new level of sociopathic behavior (not unlike last year’s indie hit Room).

“Pet is not a film that focuses on current events,” says Moraitis. “My intention was to tell a universal story about childhood and the time you have to leave behind your innocence in order to survive. Of course, If we want, we can make an analogy of the domestic violence with the society violence, which is all over us. Besides, our society is a reflection of the family formation.”

It may not have intended to, but there’s room to speculate that illness and sociopathy emerge from unhealthy societies the way 1970s New York City gave rise to Taxi Driver, Fort Apache, The Bronx and The Warriors. Moraitis continues, “I committed to this story because it concerns me very strongly that a child can be emotionally damaged due to the treatment by his parents. I am also concerned of the consequences of materialism. The rat race — accumulating wealth and power, often leads to losing ourselves and our children. We lose living in the moment and subsequently we lose the future.”

The film is doing well on the festival circuits with numerous awards and nominations at important film festivals:

AWARDS:

– Best Foreign Film – Ridgewood Guilt International Film Festival (USA)

– Best Director – Skyline International Film Festival (USA)

– Best New Director – London Greek Film Festival (UK)

– Best Sound – Sanford International Film Festival (USA)

– Best Short Film – North Carolina Film Awards (USA)

NOMINATIONS:

– Great Lakes International Film Festival ( USA)

Best short film

– Malta International SHort Film Festival (Malta)

Best Film, Best Editing

– Noosa International Film Festival (AUS)

Best Director, Best Film

– The AFMI International Film Festival (NY, USA)

Best Short, Best Actor, Best Cinematography

MAJOR FESTIVAL:

– Festival De Cannes, Short Film Corner (France)

– Taos International Short Film Festival (USA)

– Tallgrass International Film Festival (USA)

– Las Vegas Film Festival (USA)

– Parbeck International Film Festival (USA)

– Independent Days International Film Festival (Germany)

– Scenecs Debut International Film Festival (Netherlands)

– Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (USA)

– Australia Greek Film Festival (AUS)

MAJOR FILM MARKETS:

– Festival De Cannes, Marche Du Film(France)

– Palm Springs Film Market (USA)

(Source: Savas Abadsidis)

We caught up with Moby at the EMA Awards in Los Angeles and talked about his new hit “Are You Lost In The World Like Me,” our internet era and Greece.

Watch our candid interview above.

Sponsored by Earth Friendly Products, the largest green event of Oscar Week was attended by over 200 guests including celebrities, eco-luminaries, environmental companies, political leadership and headline press from around the world. Some the guests included Oliver Stone, Jeff Bridges, Jane Fonda, Estelle, Ed Begley, Jr., Paula Abdul, James Van der Beak, Orlando Bloom, Cody Simpson, Taylor Dayne and Matt Walsh.

Wearing a creation by eco-conscious designer Lindee Daniels, Earth Friendly Products CEO Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks noted that green is not just good for the planet but also good for business.

Oscar winner (and also nominated again this year) actor Jeff Bridges said that what the Siout tribe is trying to achieve by blocking the Dakota Pipeline is good for all of us.

“You always had the deniers,” said Oliver Stone referring to the approach of the current administration on the environment and global warming.

“I was just in the polar regions and what I saw there it scares me,” said environmentalist Douglas Stoup who was also honored at the event.

Watch our interviews from the green carpet:

The VIP Pre-Oscar event for the Hollywood community raised awareness to #StandForGreen and celebrated the heroic leadership of Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council Chairman David Archambault II, along with other environmental leaders working to protect the people, places and planet in need.

In attendance were this year’s celebrity partners Emma Roberts (“Scream Queens”) and Priyanka Bose (“Lion”), in addition to actress Missi Pyle (Red Carpet Green Dress previous participant) and more. The event, also supported by Earth Friendly Products, maker of ECOS™ Laundry Detergent, had just under 100 attendees come together in support of the eco-friendly initiative at a private Beverly Hills residence.

“We eat food every day; we wear clothes every day, but it takes a concerted effort to help make the world a better place,” noted Amis Cameron. “But we can all do our part. Recycling clothes, eating fresh organic food-even one conscious meal a day- every little bit helps.”

One of the highlights of the evening came from the students of MUSE School CA, who shared first-hand testimonials of the impact the financial support from Red Carpet Green Dress has made on their lives.

The event was held in anticipation of the 89th Academy Awards®, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017. In honor of Red Carpet Green Dress, Emma Roberts and Priyanka Bose will reveal eco-conscious gowns made by top designers at the Academy Awards and debut exclusive pieces from Atelier Swarovski’s first fine jewelry collection.

The Elton John Foundation has given out to charity million of dollars over its 25 year period. This year the gala attracted some of the biggest stars in Hollywood to watch the Oscars and mingle.

Right after the award show ended the A-listers at EJF were joined by many who were in attendance at the Award Show.

Elton John and David Furnish aim to raise awareness as long as money on AIDS and HIV. The duo this year also support “The Promise,” a film that tells a love story using the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian Genocide as a backdrop.

Watch our interviews and coverage.