NOW PLAYING  - Photos ©2008, All Rights Reserved
Sony, Picturehouse, Sony Pictures Classic, Universal, Buena Vista

FEATURED VIDEO!
See Hardin Minor perform "The Typewriter"

• Queen City Theatre Company presents Side Show, July 3-19 at the McGlohon Theatre. .....a musical about tolerance and acceptance
• Check out one of our new features, Book Talk. Writers give their opinions on books they've read recently. How about something light for the summer? .....more here
• Davidson Parks & Rec presents the Fourth of July Celebration, July 4 at 5:30 pm. .....free and fun-filled
• Join the NoDa Gallery Crawl, July 4. .....a leisurely look at art, free
• See Slick Rick, July 4 at Amos' south End. .....British rap-star, must 21 and over
• The Charlotte Pop Fest presents 2 day "power pop" music festival and Beatles Tribute, July 4 & 5 in uptown Charlotte. .....featuring local and regional artists & bands
• Feeling Adventurous? Try Red Rocks, Whitewater, & Bluegrass Celebration, July 4 at The U.S.National Whitewater Center .....FREE & Fireworks
• Matthews Park, Rec, and Cultural Dept presents the Matthews Summer concert & Movie Series Party, July 4 at 7 pm at Stumptown Park. .....FREE!
• See a free concert by Bill Averbach and Bam-Jazz, July 4 & 5 at Stonecrest at Piper Glen. .....free ongoing music series
• They're here. Crue Fest feat Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, SIXX:AM & Trapt, July 5 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. .....the Crue rocks on
• Central Piedmont Community College Theatre presents Aladdin, at the Halton Theatre, July 1-12. .....family fun
• Shakespeare Carolina presents William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, June 26 - July 26 at Theatre Charlotte. .....more information
• Blowing Rock Stage Company presents Leading Ladies, June 27-July 12 at the Hayes Performing Arts Center. .....madcap comedy

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artsalamode.com

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We must be free not
because we claim freedom,
but because we practice it.


      William Faulkner


     Quote sponsored by:

HANCOCK      Trying to change superhero mythology is tricky. Even having an actor like Will Smith, who has a huge reservoir of good will with the audience, doesn’t guarantee a movie will work if there is a fundamental flaw. The flaw here is the story. Yes, it’s interesting to give the plot some twists, and the writers, Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan do try, yet it’s difficult to empathize with Hancock. Mr. Smith plays Hancock, a gloomy, bad-tempered superhero if there ever was one. He woke up in a hospital with amnesia .....more

TWELFTH NIGHT      Having run off and on since 1997, Shakespeare Carolina has provided Carolina audiences with classic theatre, including last year's productions of The Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet (both performed at Theatre Charlotte). This year they are back (again at Theatre Charlotte) with a production of the bard's most famous gender-bending comedy, Twelfth Night. Once again, we are given a thoroughly enjoyable evening that makes Shakespeare's sometimes difficult language crystal clear. .....more

GRANT WOOD (1891 - 1942)
American Regionalist Painter
Grant Wood lived his whole life in Iowa, although he studied in Europe. When he saw the small, white, gothic house he decided to use it as a backdrop. His sister, Nan, posed (as wife or daughter?), and his dentist as the farmer.

In competition it won third place, but some called it a "comic valentine." When Iowans first saw it, many were furious believing Wood was depicting them as "pinched, grim-faced, puritanical Bible thumpers." Wood said he only wanted to show traditional Midwestern roles of men and women.

American Gothic has since become an iconic work of art. One can only guess what Grant Wood would think of the copies and parodies that have helped make this painting one of the most recognizable cultural images in America.

AMERICAN GOTHIC (1930)

(The Art Institute of Chicago)

Weekend Box Office
Weekend Box Office Estimates - June 29

1.   WALL-E    $62.5M
2.   Wanted    $51.1M
3.   Get Smart    $20M
4.    Kung Fu Panda     $11.7M
5.   The Incredible Hulk    $9.2M
6.   The Love Guru    $5.4M
7.   Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull   $5M
8.   The Happening    $3.8M
9.   Sex and the City   $3.7M
10.   You Don't Mess With The Zohan    $3.2M

Whether people were escaping the heat, high gas prices, or their own circumstances, the movies benefited. The top two movies, WALL-E and Wanted took in over $100 million. This brought everyone else up and rest of the top ten have accumulated good totals. Not shown, Iron man at #11 has gone over $300 million with Indiana Jones right behind.

New York Times Best Seller's List
Paperback Mass-Market Fiction
June 29, 2008

1    LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN, by Janet Evanovich. (St. Martin's)
2   STEP ON A CRACK, by James Patterson. (Vision)
3   HIGH NOON, by Nora Roberts. (Jove)
4   THE JUDAS STRAIN, by James Rollins. (Harper/HarperCollins)
5   RETURN TO SUMMERHOUSE, by Jude Deveraux. (Pocket)
6   THE HOLLOW, by Nora Roberts. (Jove)
7   HIDE, by Lisa Gardner. (Bantam)
8   THE GOOD GUY, by Dean Koontz. (Bantam)
9   LOVER ENSHRINED, by J.R. Ward. (Signet)
10   THE LOST DUKE OF WYNDHAM, by Julia Quinn. (Avon)

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