Amstel Malta, a brand of the Nigerian Breweries Plc, has launched a new campus show called ‘Amstel Malta Showtime’.
A statement from
the marketing director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Jacco van der Linden,
disclosed that the show was established to showcase the best of the
Nigerian youth. “We are focusing on university students who think they
have what it takes to be the best. They will get a chance to perform on
the same stage with the best of stars in various entertainment genres
such as music, poetry, comedy and dance,” he said.
The show is
expected to kick off on Friday, May 20, at the University of Abuja and
will cover six other Nigerian universities including Ahmadu Bello
University, the University of Nigeria, and the universities of Calabar,
Benin, Ibadan and Lagos.
‘Amstel Malta
Showtime’ will also feature musical performances from artists such as
MI, Banky W, Whizkid, Mo Chedda, Kas, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince and Skuki,
and comedians Omobaba, Gandoki, Seyi Law and Bovi.
There will also be
dance performances from Dance Na the Main Thing (DNMT) and Xplicit
group while Jeffrey Plumbline and Sage are expected to “recite
thought-provoking poems.”
In addition to the
show, Nigerian Breweries Plc further promised that ‘Amstel Malta
Showtime’ will reward final-year students of these universities with
the highest cumulative grade point average.
Havana Music Carnival gets a new date
Organisers of the
Havana Music Carnival have slated the 45th edition of the show for
Friday, June 17. A statement from Michael Dada, the executive director
of Zmirage Marketing Communications, the official producers of
the event, notes that the carnival which was earlier postponed due to
the ongoing elections in its host state, Oyo State, is expected to be
fun-filled.
“We are working
round the clock to ensure that this year’s event is replete with all
the thrills and excitement that participants have come to expect and
more,” he says.
Mr Dada also added
that the weeklong event will include a mentoring session, Walk for
Life, trade fairs and an exhibition, as well as the Havana Music
Carnival.
The Havana
carnival has been a production of the Sigma Club, which was founded at
the University of Ibadan, since 1955. The Sigma Club is a social and
philanthropic organisation that was registered in University of Ibadan
five years earlier, in 1950. The event is being sponsored by MTN and
Zmirage in partnership with Gennie and Lafface.
Basket Mouth brings back ‘Laffs n Jamz’
Ace comedian Basket
Mouth, whose real name is Bright Okpocha, has announced that his
monthly comedy show ‘Laffs n Jamz’ will kick off again on Saturday,
June 25. Through his Twitter page, the comedian revealed that the show
will hold at Ember Creek in Lagos and will periodically feature foreign
comedians and musicians.
“Laffs n Jamz
kicks off on d 25th of June @ ember creek, Awolowo road, Ikoyi. More
details will be available soon,” the comedian tweeted in the afternoon
of Thursday May 5.
‘Laffs n Jamz’ is
a monthly comedy show that has featured several celebrities including
Asa, Tuface, P-Square, Teju Babyface, Basorge, Okey Bakassi and I Go
Dye.
Arnold Schwarzenegger picks drama for comeback
Arnold
Schwarzenegger has zeroed in on the film that will mark his return to
the big screen: ‘Cry Macho’, a drama about a down-on-his-luck horse
trainer who is hired to kidnap a 9-year-old boy.
Filming is set to
begin in September. Brad Furman (“The Lincoln Lawyer”) will direct.
Producer Al Ruddy, an Oscar winner for both ‘The Godfather’ and
‘Million Dollar Baby’, has been nurturing the project for years.
“I guarantee that
you’ll get another look at Arnold Schwarzenegger in this movie,” Ruddy
said. “Arnold always plays these big muscular guys, but there’s a
sweetness to Arnold in real life, and we want to bring that sweetness
to the screen. Now that Brad’s met with Arnold, he’s convinced there’s
an accessibility and vulnerability there that he wants to bring out.”
The project’s financier, QED International, will begin offering it to
international buyers at the Cannes Film Festival next week.
Schwarzenegger’s
deal calls for the actor to receive $12.5 million plus 25% of gross
ticket sales from the first dollar. Ruddy and Schwarzenegger also will
end up co-owning the negative of the film.
While the former
governor also is attached to a ‘Terminator’ package that is being
offered to studios, with ‘Macho’, he is opting for a movie that is more
a character study than a full-blown action piece – although some action
elements have been added to accommodate the star.
The film is based
on the 1975 novel, ‘Cry Macho’, by N. Richard Nash, who also wrote the
play ‘The Rainmaker’. Nash, who died in 2000, wrote the screenplay,
which Ruddy has re-optioned over the years.
“I just would
never let go of this one,” Ruddy, 81, said. Actors ranging from Burt
Lancaster to Pierce Brosnan expressed interest in the lead role. And at
one point, it looked as if Clint Eastwood might star in the film and
direct.
Because he didn’t
want to lose control of the property, Ruddy said, he never took it to a
studio but continued to look for ways to package it independently.
Schwarzenegger,
63, will play Mike, a horse trainer whose wife and son have died. His
former boss makes him an offer he can’t refuse: $400,000 to kidnap the
boss’ trust-fund son, who is living with the man’s ex-wife in Mexico.
But when Mike locates the boy, a real troublemaker, the ex-wife doesn’t
want the kid. But as Mike and the boy head back to the States, with the
Federales on their trail, they develop a father-son bond.
“If it works, and I think it will,” Ruddy said, “this could be a
classic. There’s an emotional line to the story that really works. At
the end of the movie, I’m hoping audiences will be laughing and crying
at the same time.”
