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News Alerts Week of January 24, 2012
PHOTO EXHIBIT JAN. 27: Our "cousin" John Vlahakis - entrepreneur, author, publisher, ecological blogger - is also gaining notoriety for his esthetic photography. On Friday, January 27, his images will be exhibited at ZIA Gallery (548 Chestnut St., Winnetka, IL) from 5-7 pm. This opening night reception is a public event. Visit Zia Gallery and JohnVlahakis.com. At left is a photo taken by John of the Acropolis in Athens
REFAKES HITS "THE BIG TIME"!! This is big, that much we promise. Our "cousin" Brittney Refakes will be appearing on the network ABC show "The Big Time" on Saturday, February 4 at 4 pm EST to compete on a Budweiser-sponsored national social reality show. Brittney is a 25-year old actress/model who graduated with both a Bachelors and Masters degree from the University of Illinois. She has also acted in a few indie films and participated in stage theater and commercial acting, in addition to improv at Second City Chicago and classes at Acting Studio Chicago.
Brittney Refakes (left photo), based upon her body of work and education, has been chosen to appear on the new ABC show "The Big Time," which pits contestants against one another in various genres (acting, sports, etc.). Participants compete for a chance to win career support and the potential for ever-so-elusive fame and fortune
ROARING 20'S GALA JAN. 28: Roaring 20's marks 20th anniversary! The nationally-recognized and critically-acclaimed Thodos Dance Chicago, founded by our Chicago "cousin" Melissa Thodos, is celebrating its 20th anniversary season in 2012 and kicks it off with a gala benefit Saturday, January 28 at the Chicago Cultural Center, beginning 6:30 pm. The event's Honorary Chair is legendary choreographer, Tony Award winner, and frequent Thodos collaborator Ann Reinking, who will be on hand to meet and greet well-wishers. On tap is a dance sampling, video montage titled "20 years in 20 minutes" of dance, and more! Another of our many "cousins," NBC5 anchor/reporter Kim Vatis, is a member of Thodos' Board of Directors. Melissa is a former award-winning dancer, a world-renowned choreographer, and dance educator. The gala includes cocktails, sit-down dinner, silent auction, and wine roulette. Tickets are $250 individually. Purchase tickets at ThodosDanceChicago.org or phone (312) 266-6255.
ELLEN KARIS DVD DEBUT: Comedian Ellen Karis this week officially released her latest, the hilarious DVD "Greek Chicks Rule!!" The standup artist and FOX News Channel political satirist - an MBA Wall Street finance associate in a previous life - performed live November 5 at the gala grand opening benefit for the brand new National Hellenic Museum, an event attended by nearly 1000 and held at Millenium Park on Chicago's majestic lakefront.
GOLDEN GLOBES: The annual Golden Globe awards were held last Sunday and our "cousin" Anastasios Papapostolou, publisher of GreekReporter.com, was front and center on the red carpet getting interviews with such A-list stars as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, Gerarrd Butler (Mr. "300" himself), Sofia Vergara, and Christopher
Plummer, as well as Greek American celebrities Maria Menounos and Alexander Payne (won best picture for "The Descendents"). Watch Anastasios get their take on Greece here. All had glowing things to say about Greece, a few interesting asides about the current economic situation, and told of their many visits to the "motherland."
CHICAGO FILM CRITICS AWARDS: The annual Chicago Film Critics Association awards were held January 7 at the Broadway in Chicago Theater at Water Tower Place. The event also introduced the all-new Chicago Comedy Awards. Co-producers were Sherry Pemberton and Daily Herald film critic Dan Gire, and emcees were WLS radio hosts Roe Conn and Richard Roeper. Receiving special recognition or honors were Hollywood legend James Earl Jones, comedic actor Jason Segel, and actor and Chicago native Dennis Farina. The audience was treated to a surprise visit by actors Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrance Howard, in town to promote the new film "Red Tails." Second City Chicago improv founder Andrew Alexander was yet another special guest. Two of our "cousins" are voting members of the Chicago Film Critics Association, WGN radio/TV reporter Dean Richards and Journal & Topics film critic Michael Poulos, and Christian Century Broadcasting's John Petrakis is another Greek American voting member of the Association. Winner of the inaugural prize for "Best Director/Comedy" was Greek American Alexander Payne for "The Descendants." The GMC thanks our "cousin" Sharon Tyk for special considerations.
SAVALAS MUSIC VIDEO ON E! Our close "cousin," singer/songwriter Ariana Savalas, just had the music video for her (soon-to-be-hit) single "Perfect Man" featured on E! Entertainment News. Co-starring in the video is "Dr. McSteamy" from "Grey's Anatomy." Ariana is a repeat performer at GMC functions!!
WITHOUT BORDERS BEATS CRUISE, SCARLET: We're told the new Greek American film "Without Borders," which debuted locally the weekend of January 14 at Pickwick Theater, grossed more at the Pickwick box office that weekend than blockbuster mega-budget flicks "Mission Impossible" (starring Tom Cruise) and "We Bought a Zoo" (Matt Damon, Scarlet Johansen). Without Borders stars Seymour Cassell, Peter Nikkos, Yorgo Voyagis, and George Corraface. Check it out at IMDB. Our "cousin" Paul Lillios has a role in the film.
Upwards of 300 attended the GMC's 5th annual Christmas party December 15, 2011 at the brand new, just-opened National Hellenic Museum in Greektown Chicago (photo courtesy of John Vlahakis). For more photos and the full event scoop, click Events
Next event late February or early March
Network NBC's "Access Hollywood" visited NBC Tower in Chicago in 2007 and GMC "cousin" Spiro Papadopoulos (co-founder of DailyFrappe.com) got an exclusive with Access Hollywood co-host Maria Menounos
PHOTO EXHIBIT JAN. 27: Our "cousin" John Vlahakis - entrepreneur, author, publisher, ecological blogger - is also gaining notoriety for his esthetic photography. On Friday, January 27, his images will be exhibited at ZIA Gallery (548 Chestnut St., Winnetka, IL) from 5-7 pm. This opening night reception is a public event. Visit Zia Gallery and JohnVlahakis.com. At left is a photo taken by John of the Acropolis in AthensREFAKES HITS "THE BIG TIME"!! This is big, that much we promise. Our "cousin" Brittney Refakes will be appearing on the network ABC show "The Big Time" on Saturday, February 4 at 4 pm EST to compete on a Budweiser-sponsored national social reality show. Brittney is a 25-year old actress/model who graduated with both a Bachelors and Masters degree from the University of Illinois. She has also acted in a few indie films and participated in stage theater and commercial acting, in addition to improv at Second City Chicago and classes at Acting Studio Chicago.
Brittney Refakes (left photo), based upon her body of work and education, has been chosen to appear on the new ABC show "The Big Time," which pits contestants against one another in various genres (acting, sports, etc.). Participants compete for a chance to win career support and the potential for ever-so-elusive fame and fortune
ROARING 20'S GALA JAN. 28: Roaring 20's marks 20th anniversary! The nationally-recognized and critically-acclaimed Thodos Dance Chicago, founded by our Chicago "cousin" Melissa Thodos, is celebrating its 20th anniversary season in 2012 and kicks it off with a gala benefit Saturday, January 28 at the Chicago Cultural Center, beginning 6:30 pm. The event's Honorary Chair is legendary choreographer, Tony Award winner, and frequent Thodos collaborator Ann Reinking, who will be on hand to meet and greet well-wishers. On tap is a dance sampling, video montage titled "20 years in 20 minutes" of dance, and more! Another of our many "cousins," NBC5 anchor/reporter Kim Vatis, is a member of Thodos' Board of Directors. Melissa is a former award-winning dancer, a world-renowned choreographer, and dance educator. The gala includes cocktails, sit-down dinner, silent auction, and wine roulette. Tickets are $250 individually. Purchase tickets at ThodosDanceChicago.org or phone (312) 266-6255.ELLEN KARIS DVD DEBUT: Comedian Ellen Karis this week officially released her latest, the hilarious DVD "Greek Chicks Rule!!" The standup artist and FOX News Channel political satirist - an MBA Wall Street finance associate in a previous life - performed live November 5 at the gala grand opening benefit for the brand new National Hellenic Museum, an event attended by nearly 1000 and held at Millenium Park on Chicago's majestic lakefront.
GOLDEN GLOBES: The annual Golden Globe awards were held last Sunday and our "cousin" Anastasios Papapostolou, publisher of GreekReporter.com, was front and center on the red carpet getting interviews with such A-list stars as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, Gerarrd Butler (Mr. "300" himself), Sofia Vergara, and Christopher
Plummer, as well as Greek American celebrities Maria Menounos and Alexander Payne (won best picture for "The Descendents"). Watch Anastasios get their take on Greece here. All had glowing things to say about Greece, a few interesting asides about the current economic situation, and told of their many visits to the "motherland."CHICAGO FILM CRITICS AWARDS: The annual Chicago Film Critics Association awards were held January 7 at the Broadway in Chicago Theater at Water Tower Place. The event also introduced the all-new Chicago Comedy Awards. Co-producers were Sherry Pemberton and Daily Herald film critic Dan Gire, and emcees were WLS radio hosts Roe Conn and Richard Roeper. Receiving special recognition or honors were Hollywood legend James Earl Jones, comedic actor Jason Segel, and actor and Chicago native Dennis Farina. The audience was treated to a surprise visit by actors Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrance Howard, in town to promote the new film "Red Tails." Second City Chicago improv founder Andrew Alexander was yet another special guest. Two of our "cousins" are voting members of the Chicago Film Critics Association, WGN radio/TV reporter Dean Richards and Journal & Topics film critic Michael Poulos, and Christian Century Broadcasting's John Petrakis is another Greek American voting member of the Association. Winner of the inaugural prize for "Best Director/Comedy" was Greek American Alexander Payne for "The Descendants." The GMC thanks our "cousin" Sharon Tyk for special considerations.SAVALAS MUSIC VIDEO ON E! Our close "cousin," singer/songwriter Ariana Savalas, just had the music video for her (soon-to-be-hit) single "Perfect Man" featured on E! Entertainment News. Co-starring in the video is "Dr. McSteamy" from "Grey's Anatomy." Ariana is a repeat performer at GMC functions!!WITHOUT BORDERS BEATS CRUISE, SCARLET: We're told the new Greek American film "Without Borders," which debuted locally the weekend of January 14 at Pickwick Theater, grossed more at the Pickwick box office that weekend than blockbuster mega-budget flicks "Mission Impossible" (starring Tom Cruise) and "We Bought a Zoo" (Matt Damon, Scarlet Johansen). Without Borders stars Seymour Cassell, Peter Nikkos, Yorgo Voyagis, and George Corraface. Check it out at IMDB. Our "cousin" Paul Lillios has a role in the film.Upwards of 300 attended the GMC's 5th annual Christmas party December 15, 2011 at the brand new, just-opened National Hellenic Museum in Greektown Chicago (photo courtesy of John Vlahakis). For more photos and the full event scoop, click Events
Next event late February or early March
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The GMC's wide spectrum
The GMC's wide spectrum
(LEFT PHOTO) At our August 2011 event benefitting the all-new Greek Film Fest Chicago. Jane Monzures, host of WGN TV's "Living Healthy Chicago," and Lou Canellis, weeknight sports anchor on the 9 pm newscast for FOX32 Chicago
A few "cousins" at Vertigo Sky Lounge, which attracted more than 300 to benefit the film fest. L-R front: Teddy Dres, Andrea Dres (Harpo Studios associate producer), Terry Poulos (GMC co-director), Cathy Demetropoulos (executive editor of Chicago Bride magazine). L-R back: Patricia Kara, ("Deal or No Deal," actress/TV host, celeb fitness spokesmodel), "Beatle" Tony Kidonakis (musician and music professor), singer/songwriter Ariana Savalas (hiding in back, we've got lots of pics of you Ari), Steven Livaditis (Portokalada Productions), and friends
NBC "Access Hollywood" co-host Nancy O'Dell takes some time out to pose with GMC co-director George Bliss when Menounos & Co. visited NBC5 Chicago in 2007
