2 EVENTS FOR AGREEK MEDIA CLUB SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER!!!
9/11 VETERANS FUNDRAISER: A host of celebs, and a gaggle of GMCers will be at Boss Bar in Chicago Thursday, Sept. 11 to help the GMC’s Anna Davlantes and Susanna Homan raise funds for wounded U.S. veterans. This has been a pet cause for Anna in the past and we’re with these gals 100-percent! Scroll down for full details. We’ll be watching for you.
9/25 OFFICIAL GMC EVENT: This one is on RDS and us! Free food/drinks! Must RSVP!!! We guarantee you’ll be mesmerized by the state-of-the-art facilities at Chicago’s Resolution Digital Studios on Thursday, Sept. 25. RSVP to . Please read invite details first.
Scroll down for newsletter and event instructions. Help us close Summer ‘08 in style!!!
With finest sentiment, we are your GMC directors...
9/11 TROOP FUNDER: NBC5 newscaster Anna Davlantes and Sun-Times columnist Susanna Homan are two of the many luminaries volunteering their time and effort for a huge fundraiser benefiting the Wounded Heroes Fund of Chicago, which hopes to raise enough money to purchase handicap accessible vehicles for five local U.S. Army troops wounded in battle.
WHEN/WHERE/ETC: Thursday, Sept. 11 at Boss Bar, 420 N. Clark Street from 5 pm-Midnight. Minimum $25 donation at door. Free food courtesy of the Anti-Hunger Federation and the Cooking and Hospitality Institute. We‘re told the city will also close a major section on Hubbard Street for a street fest replete with police bagpipers, firemen, and much more.
MORE CELEBS: Slated to participate are Sun-Times columnist/movie critic Richard Roeper, Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould, NBC weathercaster Ginger Zee, sportscaster Mike Adamle, TV host Steve Wilkos, newscaster Natalie Martinez, Alderman Brendan Reilly, WGN-AM radio host Steve Cochran, and many others.
SERVING THE U.S.A.: Check out www.woundedheroesfund.net/donations. Local vets to be feted include U.S. Army personnel PFC Frank Pierson, SPC Sue Downes, SPC Sergio Lopez, SSGT Jose Pequeno, and SFC Chris Blaxton.
GMC 9/25 EVENT: Imagine a near-brand spanking new multi-story, mammoth complex housing state-of-the-art digital TV/audio equipment, a massive staging area, anchor desk studio, edit suites, rec room with billiards and more, big HDTV screens adorning virtually each of the vast and myriad corridors, and a rooftop party deck five stories high with cabana bar, specialty seating, tiki torches, and a majestic Western vantage point of the Chicago skyline. Wake up, because you’re now at Resolution Digital Studios! Did we mention the free drinks, courtesy of RDS, and free (heavy) appetizers, courtesy of the GMC?
RSVP INSTRUCTIONS: This is our fifth comp affair and as always we need to keep close tabs on attendees, so mandatory RSVP. Thanks in advance for your understanding. Best to respond early. RSVP to . We promise a swift reply to confirm receipt (email back if we don't respond in short order). Also forward the name of your guest (one per invitee) and your affiliations and titles (for nametags). If you’re new to our circle, kindly email info on your involvement in `media’ and how you were directed to us. E.g, media to us are those involved with print and publications, broadcasting, web design/reporting, advertising/marketing/PR, the arts (music/dance/visual), as well as spokespersons and other tangengial endeavors (not necessarily full-time; if you received this email direct from either Terry or George, consider yourself invited!).
WHEN/WHERE/ETC: Thursday, Sept. 25 at RDS Chicago from 6-10 pm. RDS is located at 2226 W. Walnut Street (due north from the United Center, almost due West on Lake Street, and only 10 minutes from downtown). Free on-street parking. When departing, must call if requiring taxi service. It’s a quiet, mixed residential/business sector, but it is very close to the Loop. Visit www.RDSChicago.com or online maps for more detailed info. Or call RDS (312) 846-4226. Special thanks to Nancy (Soula) Keres of RDS.
THE RDS INSIDE SCOOP: Located just 10 minutes West of downtown Chicago - and spanning a full city block - Resolution Digital Studios® is a 32,000 square foot state-of-the-art Hi-Def studio, production and post complex. The amazing space is owned by brothers Lee and Jeff Facklis whose heritage is rooted in Greece. Capabilities at the studio are comprehensive and include pre-production through delivery, with projects ranging from broadcast television programming to mobile phone applications and everything in between. In addition to full-service production, the facility’s unique spaces are also perfect for hosting meetings and events. Spaces include a 5,600 sq. ft. main stage; a green screen stage; an apartment/kitchen set; a white cyc stage with attached control room, and creative/post suites for editorial, sound design, original music composition, graphics and animation.
OUR LAST TWO EVENTS: The Pegasus restaurant rooftop in Greektown and Carmichael’s Chicago Steakhouse outdoor courtyard provided the stage for our last two functions. Taking in the scene were Hall-of-Fame NFL head coach Marv Levy (a prominent Phil-Hellene), sports radio host and newly minted Lettuce Entertain You web personality Mike North, WVON-AM radio host Santita Jackson, WJJG-AM radio host Kiki Vale, and newscaster Amy Jacobson, among many of our regulars.
SPACE PIONEER, NETWORK REPORTER HERE: World renowned X Prize founder Peter H. Diamandis, a pioneer in private space exploration and travel, is the honored guest Nov. 15 at the annual Pan Hellenic Scholarship Foundation awards dinner banquet, to be held at the University Club of Chicago. Veteran network newsman John Metaxas, a past CNN and CNBC financial analyst, serves as emcee. Diamandis, a Harvard MD and MIT aerospace grad, also has a background in media, having founded magazines that dealt with wireless technology and various technical applications prior to starting Space Adventures. Philanthropist Chris Tomaras founded the PHSF, which last year honored mutual funds titan John Calamos Sr. The foundation awards scholarships to deserving students in increments of $10,000. Visit www.PanHellenicScholarships.org.
ANIMATED `HORROR’ IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN: With stars like John Cusack, Christian Slater and Jay Leno lending their voices for characters, and a unique plot that’s a type of morality tale teaching how good triumphs over evil, the new animated feature film “Igor” might just make it big this upcoming Halloween season. It’s classified as a horror film of sorts, but it’s animated, so how harmless could it be? Still, its LA-based producer John Eraklis told us “it has an edge to it.” Thus, a PG-13 rating (John says it‘s perfectly safe for kids over 6). Eraklis is founder of the independent studio Exodus Films, which specializes in animated projects. Formerly the money man, Eraklis has now ventured into his first producing role, and it looks promising. The director is Tony Leondis, who’s father and brother are both Greek Orthodox priests. Look for Igor in cinemas beginning September, ‘08. We recently had the chance to interview John by phone for print. More updates later.
OUR GAL OFFICIALLY ON NEW NBC SHOW: Chicago native Patricia Kara, a GMC loyalist, can now be seen on both the nighttime and new daytime version of the hit NBC game show “Deal or No Deal”!!! Patricia is the #9 briefcase model on the nighttime Deal, and now she’s been chosen as one of only two models to appear alongside host Howie Mandel on the new daytime show. If you read this in time, watch the NBC show "Extra" on Sept. 3. Patricia's 2009 calendar will be profiled. Look for her to make a splash on 9/9/09. This is her first "official" foray into the market. PK also recently hosted red-carpet interviews of actors appearing on the new slate of FOX network shows. Visit www.patriciakara.com …Patricia’s sister, Joanna Karamouzis, styles Patricia’s hair on occasion, so ladies…you might want to check out the haute Steven Papageorge salon in Evanston, where Joanna sheers, styles, and highlights locally.
PBS TRASH TALK: Our Bill Kirkos had his environmental documentary “Trashed” aired Aug. 24 on PBS-Chicago, WTTW Ch. 11, a special 60-minute version. Bill informs us Trashed was “the biggest challenge of my career, and the most rewarding.” A former local affiliate network producer, Kirkos founded OXI Productions a few years back to make a go of it on his own and it’s starting to pay dividends. Check out www.TrashedTheMovie.com.
ADDING TO `GREEKS OF CHICAGO’ LEGEND: Author Mike Davros , a college prof by day, is busy putting the finishing touches on his new book “Greeks of Chicago” for Arcadia Press. He thanked Steve Frangos and Alice Kopan for their “vast storehouses of information and pictures.” Mike also informed us of another Davros making some `noise’ in ‘media,’ that being his daughter Athena Davros. The 19-year old prodigy appeared Aug. 23 at Bill’s Blues in Evanston, IL for a paid gig singing five of her new compositions. Check her out at www.bigtimepresents.com. She's also a songwriter who has studied classical guitar since age four, and more recently electric guitar. This dynamo also plays tenor and alto sax and “a little keyboard,” said proud papa. She’s a material science major at Purdue, so it’s possible Athena might some day perform on the same equipment she herself designed!
AUTHOR SEES MOUSKOURI IN ASEA: Our `cousin,‘ Chicago author Nicholas Kokonis, Ph.D and author of “Arcadia, My Arcadia,” was back in Greece this Summer preparing the sequel to his acclaimed novel. While in Asea, a small town near Tripolis, attending the unveiling of a memorial for famed poet Nikos Gatsos, Nikos had the pleasure of seeing famous singer Nana Mouskouri. Hey Nikos, we presume the dedication wasn’t held on a Sunday (old-time insider Greek joke). See www.myarcadiabook.com.
DOESN’T SKIP A BEAT: That’s because our Skip Griparis, renaissance performance artist/singer/songwriter/erudite comedian, is also an expert guitarist, and he didn’t skip a beat Aug. 6 when he performed live on WGN radio’s “Steve and Jonnie Show” as part of an hour interview. Also on the show was famous Chicago radio voice Clark Webber. Skip is a regular Zanies comedy standup headliner, and of course we all remember him from his “Major League” film acting days and as a young touring guitarist for Olivia Newton John. Visit www.SkipGriparis.com.
TONY K, `BOOKMAKER‘: GMCer Tony Kidonakis, a musician extraordinaire with the Chicago band “The Redwalls” and a man who once appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” tells us his uncle Michael H. Skopes recently wrote a book titled “My Little Skinny Greek Life.” The tome covers the gamut of the Greek immigrant experience, exploring mom’s Grecian culinary delights to “treacherous bicycle hill climbing and frightening high diving. The Morris, IL `native,‘ by way of Boston, chose Tony to write the foreword to the book, which is a story that “paints a multi-faceted picture of immigrants adapting to life in Middle America with both success and failure. Skopes relates how his parents brought rich traditions of language, religion, and family to the United States from their ancestral roots in the rugged, northern mountains of Greece, giving Skopes and his sisters the rich opportunity to blend the old with the new. His collection of dramatic and comedic escapades is flavored with fun, courage, and just plain ol childhood recklessness.” Check out http://www.morrisdailyherald.com/articles/2008/07/11/news/417bmornovel.txt and also www.Tonykmusic.com. Tony appears Sept. 6 at Oswego H.S. in a tribute to Ray Charles. On Sept. 26, he’s at the Corn Festival Weekend in Morris, and on the 27th he‘ll be at a book reading/signing with uncle Mike at the Morris Public Library.
LOU ON FOX FOR BEARS GAMES: Don’t forget to check out GMC `cousin’ Lou Canellis this season on Chicago Bears TV broadcasts on FOX and ComcastSportsNet. Lou was tapped to be the pre- and post-game analyst for the networks, and he also handled pre-season sideline reporting during the game.
FRIEND OF GMC ON WGN/WTTW: At Carmichaels, we were paid a visit by yet another child prodigy, 23-year old Pavan Bapu, who’s been so kind as to occasionally direct shows for Terry on his local cable sports show. Pavan is a recent honors grad at UIC, where he produced an award-winning documentary on Chicago subway street performers that was aired in its entirety on PBS-Chicago. Pavan just produced another documentary about hip-hop being used as education programming for mathematics and science. WGN-TV’s Allison Payne interviewed those associated with the project on Aug. 16, and Pavan’s documentary was mentioned prominently on-air. Check out www.vimeo.com/150637.
ANOTHER CHILD PRODIGY: They just keep coming our way. Recent American Academy of Art valedictorian J. Anthony Kosar, yes another GMCer, on Aug. 23 had his artwork exhibited at the Naperville Fine Art Center & Gallery. This award-winning artist, just 22 years of age, graduated with highest honors in fine arts and illustration. The Naperville show was called “Beyond Common Ground,” a compilation of his works up until this point. Anthony, who attended our last function, has a sister, Melissa Kosar, who’s in film school in Southern California. She already produced her own full-length feature film, for which Anthony designed many of the special effects. His artwork encompasses most media, including Byzantine iconography, and he‘s won so many awards that we scarcely know where to begin explanation. Best to simply go to www.KosartEffects.com.
`DARK KNIGHT’ AT FILM FEST: The Chicago-made “The Dark Knight Project,” a 12-minute fan-film tribute and “bridge” between the last and current Batman flick now in cinemas across the nation, has been selected for screening at the 2008 Chicago International Reel Shorts Festival on Sept. 12-14 at the Film Row Cinema of Columbia College. The film was exec produced by our own Jerry Vasilatos and co-produced by the GMC’s Zoe Triantafillou. Check out www.DarkKnightProject.com.
YOUR OWN WINE LABEL, TODAY! GMC regular Anastasia Athans-Stothoff, founder of the full-service graphic design consultancy www.InsightDesignSolutions.com in Chicago and Schaumburg, in August ventured into creating unique and personalized, private wine labels (you provide the bottles) delivered to your doorstep! Her Insight Design Reserve www.IDRLabels.com are “perfect for restaurants, lounges, weddings, and parties across the board,” says Anastasia. Not a bad brand marketing idea for business in general, we surmise. Anastasia just opened her River North location this Summer. Her unique semi-outsource IDS business was profiled two years ago by the Chicago Tribune.
KALOPEDIS DOCUMENTARY: Greek Cypriot Michael Kalopedis, a former NBC5 intern in Chicago, is now back in Cyprus helping run the family business, which is the famous Kalopedis jewelers. He recently produced yet another documentary for the business, called “From Hellenism to the Crusades,” a film that “showcases beautiful sights important to the history of Cyprus. We come to understand how a piece of jewelry ceases to be a piece of metal but a part of a heritage…” Visit www.Kalopedis.com.
ZANIEST GREEK RADIO SHOW AROUND: Our Art Andros, City of Chicago planning and development guy by day, morphs into the zanie Joe Motsekepetro by night for his Friday and Saturday 7-9 pm CST radio show on www.Freewebs/twinbayradio.com. The best of Joe tapes air Monday and Wednesday Noon-1 pm.
ROCKERS GET PUB: The online radio station www.KNAC.com recently interviewed the Flying Hamsters of Doom, a suburban rock band whose bass guitarist is our own Dimitri Kontos. Check out the clip at www.knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=6488
HELLENIC MUSEUM OFFERINGS: The national Hellenic Museum & Cultural Center in Chicago, which broke ground at Halsted and Van Buren Streets in Greektown last Summer, will soon be perhaps the foremost of its kind in the nation. Until such time, they offer some extremely cool programs that are of interest to not only Greeks, but the mainstream community as well. On Sept. 18, they host their 2nd annual “A Night in the Kouzina” (that’s kitchen) at River East Art Center. Their annual fundraising gala is Oct. 26 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, as always a haute affair to remember. Also of note, the museum hosts regular “Culture & Cocktail” nights in and around Greektown at various venues, last at Athena Aug. 5, that are a hit with the younger crowd. As well, many Chicago area schools are coming on board for tours of the facility, considering the study of Hellenism is a chief fascination in democracy-laden America, and not nearly merely “just a Greek thing.” Check out www.HellenicMuseum.org.
BE A POLICE ASSOCIATE MEMBER: The Hellenic American Police Association (yes there is one) brought to our attention a unique concept that has potential for aspiring journalists. On Sept. 20 they’re hosting their annual membership drive at St. George Church in Chicago. At that time, they’ll be offering associate memberships for $20, which includes a membership card, decal, and pin. Not only do you get to mingle with law enforcement and get an education on the criminal justice system and possibly forge some relationships and gain potential sources, you’ll also be able to show support for the men in blue. For more, contact the organization’s president and founder, Elias Voulgaris, at (312) 480-8612, or email .
STAR IN TREASURER’S COMMERCIAL: Neat idea from the office of Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. The office is asking the public to send in video shorts of basic family life and the winning entry will become part of the Bright Start Savings Program public service campaign. Grand prize is $1,000 drachmas (er, U.S. dollars). Check out contest rules at www.Treasurer.il.gov.
PHOTO NEWSLETTER: GMCer Sophia Spentzas, a full-time professional photographer, has taken to emailing her own newsletter to promote her business, www.Spiralartdesign.com. The savvy Sophia had her own promotional booth at the late August Greekfest on Halsted Street, where she sat in with Ms. Illinois 2007 Katie Lorenz and the two offered signed photos to the public.
SEEKS SINGERS, FREE VOICE LESSONS TOO: Reminder, Angie Poulos informs us the Oak Park Concert Chorale is seeking singers (they’re desperate for men, especially). Log on to www.OakParkConcertChorale.org. On Sept. 13, the Cornerstone Methodist Church in Oak Park is offering a free vocal technique workshop that is open to the public. Reservations required, begins at 10 am. Phone (708) 383-4742.
We offer our sincere condolences to the family of NBC5 producer Anna Vasser, whose mother Pamela Vasser passed away in late August.
WHAT: Resumption of the Greek Media Club 2008 “Summer of Agape“ tour !!! (scroll down for August newsletter)
WHO: Creative, communicative contemporaries enjoying stimulating conversation and intellectually challenging discourse (and the occasional mindless humor).
WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, August 14 from 7 to 11 pm (some of us will be eating dinner there prior to 7), at Carmichael’s Chicago Steakhouse, 1052 West Monroe Street (at intersection of Morgan, four short blocks west of Greektown). Valet and street parking available. Restaurant phone (312) 433-0025. Visit www.charmichaelsteakhouse.com.
PARTICULARS: Luxurious outdoor patio bar/cabana atmosphere. Cash bar. Maybe we can once again goad Carmichaels expert chef Dean Eliacosta into preparing for us some of his famous, exotic, tasty appetizer morsels. Those who attended our last function at Carmichaels know full well of what we speak. Bring a colleague. Bring a friend or cousin. Bring your A-game. Just be sure to bring a smile and a laugh !!!
WHY: It's self-evident but for posterity’s sake…(1) Parties are fun. (2) Casual (subtle) networking is best practiced. (3) Terry promises to shower this time. (4) Warm breezes equal warm embraces !!!
Yours in Hellenism and the media arts, we are - respectfully...
Your GMC directors…
George Bliss (312) 217-0510 Terry Poulos (708) 975-0571 Spiro Papadopoulos Nick Mantis Kyriakos Mellos -------------------------------------------------------------------
NOT GETTING INVITES? Many emails bounce back, which might be why some don't recieve our invites. Many are work emails that go through spam filters. We’re trying to limit the quantity of addresses per email to avoid the dreaded auto-gatekeeper. Meantime, spread the word to our `cousins’ about the events. Tell them to keep checking www.greekmediaclub.com. We post event info on the home page. Current personal emails help too.
LAST EVENT AND NEXT: Great showing July 3. It was Independence Day weekend, with fireworks galore and many were simply out of town. So we were elated to greet 70 or more on the Pegasus rooftop in Greektown. Opaa! Save Thursday, September 18 for the next go-round, a comp affair to reward our hardcore media regulars that we promise will be an enchanting affair. For a clue visit www.resolutiondigitalstudios.com.
#9 LANDS COVETED DAYTIME TV ROLE: Could we have the next Vanna White among us? With the success of NBC’s “Deal or No Deal,“ combined with the all-around talent of the show's Patricia Kara, our cross-country GMC `cousin’ who's a Chicago native, this gal might even best Vanna's long and successful career. Patricia has been holding the #9 briefcase model slot on NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” going on three years. Now comes word she officially landed one of two coveted model positions for the new daytime version of the hit network game-show, hosted by Howie Mandel. Patricia, who bested more than 20 of the show's models for the daytime role, is also a film actress, commercial spokesperson, and former international model. Her sister is Morton Grove, IL resident and expert hair stylist Joanna Karamouzis, a loyal GMCer. Visit www.patriciakara.com.
FAMOUS AUTHOR VISITING: Uber-famous author and NPR essayist David Sedaris, who is part Greek and works that angle into many of his humorist essays, appears at Elgin Community College, IL Oct. 8 for a live reading at 7:30 pm. Tickets available www.elgin.edu/arts. Some of us have seen David live and he’s hilarious reading his material aloud. His sister is Amy Sedaris, actress/author and domesticity-entertaining humorist.
MORE CHI-TOWN BAT FANDOM: The new Batman flick “The Dark Knight” is setting the box office on fire with record receipts, and Chicago is the featured Gotham. With interest in all-things-Bat and Chicago (think 2016 Summer Olympics and that Obama guy) at an all-time high, Chicagoan and GMC regular Jerry Vasilatos took the initiative to create his very own Dark Knight fan film (see www.darkknightproject.com). Jerry is a veteran documentary filmmaker/director whose projects include the History Channel, among others. He exec produced this project and our Zoe Triantafillou was co-producer. We had the chance to view Jerry’s 12-minute fan film and can tell you it’s very professional and that you will also be surprised at how a low-budget project could pull off such special effects. We also recommend a trip to Jerry's website www.nitestar.com. He‘s trying to get the Bat film screened at independent festivals. The film short, billed as a `bridge’ between the last Bat sequel and current one, was previewed July 12 at Chicago’s Portage Theater as part of the “Best of Chicago 48-hour Film Project Screening”…As a reminder, there is yet another Chicago connection to The Dark Knight that's breaking box office records. Native Chicagoan Adam Kalesperis, cousin to our own Kathy Smith of the Hellenic Museum in Chicago, has a speaking role in the film. You can get more on Adam at www.myspace.com/adamkalesperis.
RADIO/TV TO “INSURE MY DEDUCTIBLE”: Our GMC “cousin” John Papas , a veteran radio/TV guy, is now marketing a promising new venture that involves insuring automobile deductibles. John was GM at WRKO-Boston before returning to his native Chicago at the former WFYR oldies station. He was also general sales manager at WHDH-Boston and KNST-Tucson, and ultimately worked in ad sales at CNN-Chicago (at the personal behest of Ted Turner himself). That job led to stints with MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and Nick-at-Nite. He was also involved in ad research for Media Central, various computer ventures, and he created a retail `hot-link’ for Peapod, the online grocery shopper. John had an “itching” for a new challenge so this May he began with the internet venture Insure My Deductible (IMD), a creative niche service that saves money on premiums. John is in the process of arranging a Greek Media Club promotional code. Visit www.insuremydeductible.com.
FASHION MAG LAUNCH: Recent GMC `recruit’ Angeliki Garris, at the tender age of 24, launched her own fashion magazine in 2008, called MODA Fashion Gazette. The U. of Illinois grad has always been a fashionista and while in college she began writing an email newsletter that quickly caught on among clothes-conscious students. When she graduated, Angeliki turned the newsletter into a full-fledged magazine. She's the president and Editor-in-Chief. The mag launched in Chicago with more than 5000 subscribers, and is also available in four other markets and growing! Check out www.modafg.com. We’ll have more on her in future profiles both here and in print.
`GREEN’ PROF IN CRAINS: He’s not green with envy, he’s green with cleanliness. GMCer George Nassos, a professor at the IIT School of Business who’s in charge of the environmental masters program, and a regular columnist for the Greek Press in Chicago www.greekpressonline.com, was recently profiled by Crains Chicago Communications about the exponentially-growing “green movement.” He was quoted saying “I have more internships and job opportunities than I have students to fill them.” View the Crains article at www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?id=30211.
NEW DIGS FOR HELLENIC HEARTBEAT TV: Chicagoland’s longest-running Greek TV program, Hellenic Heartbeat, underwent a programming change at their carrier, Channel 48 over-the-air. The program still broadcasts every weekday 4:30 to 5 pm and Sundays 2:30 to 6 pm, but now can be found on digital channel 26.6 FBT. It’s accessible on digital and analog with converter box. The show is also aired on Comcast cable channel 248 and RCN cable channels 175 and 35. The station’s longtime face, and heady business mind, is veteran TV personality Vicki Kornetas. For more, visit www.hellenicheartbeat.com.
ATTENTION FILMMAKERS: Are you an aspiring filmmaker with an awesome concept, yet have little funding to bring your idea to fruition? A great new upstart venture may be just what you’ve been waiting for. AOL internet pioneer Ted Leonsis, who recently turned to filmmaking to produce “Rape of Nanking,” a critically-acclaimed `docu-drama’ on the 20th century Japanese exploitation of China, was permanently bitten by the film bug and he wants to help talented artists realize their dreams. He’s using his tech prowess to create an online video market that sets up site-to-stream documentary feature films, called SnagFilms. As reported in www.thehellenicvoice.com, Leonsis’ venture is “adopting a YouTube-esque route and allowing users to embed films on their own web pages or Facebook and Myspace pages. Snagfilms has about 200 documentaries, such as `Super Size Me’ and `State of the Union’ and films from reputed outlets Arts Alliance America, PBS and Seventh Art Releasing, available to stream for free.” Only professionally-produced videos can be submitted and accepted. The Hellenic Voice reports that “The company promises filmmakers 50-percent of ad revenue generated from 90 seconds of advertising threaded into each hour of film…The advertising is sold through AOL, which will have rights to use SnagFilms content on AOL sites.” The site urges users to become “Filmanthropists,” and “will also allow viewers to support the causes promoted by featured documentaries by linking them to participating nonprofits,” writes The Hellenic Voice. Check out www.snagfilms.com
LOVE AND THE GMC: The GMC love boat soon will be making another run. Greek Circle magazine publisher Alexa Ganakas and her fiancee Chris Ganas, a GC mag exec, are set for wedded bliss (and we don’t mean George) this November 22 in Wisconsin. Visit www.greekcircle.com for the first scoop, we presume. Another wedding is in the offing when our fellow GMC director Spiro Papadopoulos jets to Greece this August for his honeymoon with his new bride. While these two couples met independently of our little social-networking club, we are boastful, nonetheless, that the GMC, now four and one-half years old, was directly responsible for at least one wedding, which took place nearly three years ago between Documentum’s Greg Alexopoulos (a former sports radio host) and real estate exec KimberlyKozlowski. The couple‘s four eyes first met at one of our functions and it‘s been `lights, cameras, action‘ ever since. The coo-some twosome await their first child, expected soon!!! The very first baby GMCer. A future news anchor, we’d like to think. Or at least the town crier, for now (that’s a baby joke, folk). . Misc. happenings: Stage actress Helen Manassas is in the new Macbeth play that runs August 1-24 at www.candidtheater.com …Harpo Studios staffer and GMC regular Andrea Dres emailed from Florence, Italy, where she vacationed this July, and was also set to travel to Rome on her way to Venice, Athens, Mykonos, and Rhodes…Found another Greek media link www.athina984.gr, radio in Greece…In July, filling in as news anchor on WXRT 93.1-AM was GMC co-founder Anna Davlantes, an anchor/reporter at NBC5 Chicago…At the National Association of Women Business Owners (www.nawbochicago.com) local chapter annual banquet July 10, reporter Kim Vatis of NBC5 wowed a crowd of more than 100 with a glib and insightful speech on ways of getting your business noticed in a down market…Another funny zinger from our resident comedian Skip Griparis. The man who brought us “If I can only make ONE person laugh, I’ve had a really crappy show” now informs us “If I can make just ONE person cry, I hope it’s not me.” Check out this hilarious Zanies headliner at www.skipgriparis.com …If you haven’t been reading Maria Karamitsos in The Greek Star newspaper in Chicago, you’ve been missing a whole lot of gems about `hidden’ Greeks you’d never know about due to their `Americanized‘ names. Of recent: Many actors/actresses and other celebs, including a former Oscar Meyer wiener boy. Check out www.thegreekstar.com.
SEND US STUFF!!! ANYTHING REMOTELY RELATED TO MEDIA OR ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT. DOESN‘T HAVE TO BE FROM CHICAGO. WE APPRECIATE ITEMS FROM OUR NON-GREEK “PHIL-HELLENE“ COUSINS TOO!!! WE STRIVE TO BE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PUSHER OF ALL THINGS GMC AND THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE US…
THURSDAY, JULY 3 on the rooftop of Pegasus restaurant
GREEK MEDIA CLUBSummer `Independence From Outer Layers of Clothing’ partyTHIS THURSDAY, JULY 3 on the rooftop of Pegasus restaurant in Greektown (on Halsted Street at intersection of Monroe) from 7 pm until 11 pm or even later. Cash bar, attire light. We’ll be in the area by the rooftop bar that is cordoned off from the general seating area. Visit www.pegasuschicago.com.
Scroll down for July newsletter. Hope to see all our `cousins' this Thursday!!!
GMC Directors: George Bliss (312) 217-0510 Terry Poulos (708) 975-0571 Spiro Papadopoulos Nick Mantis Kyriakos Mellos
