HELLO! FILMS is actively engaged in entertaining the world via production of inspirational content. The department finds innovative ways to produce, finance, and market entertainment with our outstanding creative partners.
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From HELLO! Vault Manager Blake Salzman:
“panda bear’s ‘tomboy’ is easily one of the most anticipated albums in recent memory for me…even if you’re not a huge AC junkie like myself, you have to admit there’s no one really making music quite like panda bear and the rest of animal collective. coming off of one of my favorite and down-right spiritual albums i’ve ever heard (‘person pitch’), the live bootlegs and performances of panda’s newest material harkens to some pretty melancholic and even dark places…imagine brian wilson harmonizing over arthur russell’s most intense and mournful beats and your somewhat there. the new direction isn’t such a surprise, considering these guys change sounds at a drop of a hat, but considering the hype and the singles he’s released in the last year, i’m extremely excited/anxious to hear this album as a whole. i’m not sure if the RSVP’s have filled up yet, but anyone with a minor penchant for experimental or alternative music should really take advantage of this exclusive listen in los angeles.”
You can RSVP to one of the listening parties this Monday, 2/28, by emailing the addresses on the flyer above.
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With an amazing year coming to a close, HELLO!’s own staff and directors share their favorite films and music from 2010. Below are a few of our company’s picks. We’ll be back in the new year to share even more exciting work and blog-exclusive content. Season’s greetings and happy holidays!
Michael Karbelnikoff (Director/Co-Founder):
Music: Panda Bear, Endless Boogie, Tommy Guerrero (plus “old forgotten songs from my childhood”)
Film: A Prophet
Mark Gilbert (Director):
Music: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below, Beirut - The Flying Club Cup, The Temper Trap - Conditions, the xx - xx, Patrick Watson - Close to Paradise
Film: An Education, Never Let Me Go, The Social Network
Justin Francis (Director):
Music: Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me, Roc Marciano - Marcberg, Working for Nuclear Free City - Businessmen & Ghosts, Arcade Fire - The Suburbs, Ahmad - The Death of Me, Grouplove - Grouplove EP, Nas + Damian Marley - Distant Relatives, Atticus Ross + Trent Reznor - The Social Network (Music From the Motion Picture)
Kurt Nishimura (Director):
Music: Brandon Flowers - Flamingo, Sara Barellies - Kaleidoscope Heart, Lissie - Catching The Tiger, Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives, The Roots - How I Got Over
Film: The Other Guys, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Inception, Hot Tub Time Machine, Kick-Ass
Dawn Fanning Moore & David Moore (CAPTURE @ HELLO! Executive Producers):
Movies: The Runaways, Inception, Hot Tub Time Machine, Alice in Wonderland, Race to Nowhere
Music: Florence & The Machine - “Dog Days Are Over”, The Black Keys - “Tighten Up”, Cee-Lo Green - “Fuck You”, Rhianna (ft. Eminem) - “Love the Way You Lie”, OK GO - “This Too Shall Pass”
Alexandra Chamberlain (Head of Production):
Art: “Engaged Observers: Documentary Photography Since the Sixties” Exhibit at the Getty.
“Sabastiao Salgado and James Nactwey are my current favorites, but this exhibit offered much more. The Getty also exhibited Irving Penn’s “Small Trades” series, which among other things showed jobs that are obsolete now. Nevertheless there was a time when even the street sweeper and the butcher wore dress shoes and ties. Incredible.”
Music: Gorillaz (ft. Little Dragon) - “Empire Ants”
Movie: Avatar
“It’s only sooooo yesterday now, but it came out at the perfect time of year and did it’s job. It definitely got the 3-D ball rolling.”
Video: The Color of Paradise (1999)
“It’s a foreign film but really, it reaches so deep into your heart that it’s not foreign at all.”
Book: Alan Moore & David Gibbons - Watchmen
Blake Salzman (Vault Manager):
Albums:
1. Beach House - Teen Dream , 2. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, 3. How to Dress Well - Love Remains, 4. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me, 5. Caribou - Swim
EP: Twin Sister - Colour Your Life
Song: Kurt Vile - “I Know I Got Religion”
“it was a great year for music (and hip hop/R&B…a lot of great albums such as the-dream’s ‘love king’ and tyler, the creator’s ‘bastard’ nearly missed the list)…a big honorable mention goes to james blake for his incredible string of eps this year…go seek out ‘cmyk’ and ‘klavierwerke’, they are truly amazing stuff. ’i only know (what i know now)’ takes easy honors for one of the most soulful songs i’ve ever heard”
Films:
1. Enter The Void, 2. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, 3. Piranha 3D, 4. The Social Network, 5. Inception
“it’s hard to say that ‘enter the void’ was the best film of the year - it has a lot of pacing problems and its incredibly self-indulgent. if i had to pick ‘the best’, it would probably be ‘the social network’. but ‘enter the void’ is definitely my favorite - there is truly nothing else like it. one of the most psychedelic films ever created (yes, quite possibly moreso than ‘2001’)…’piranha 3D’ is the best comedy i’ve seen since ‘the hangover’ and that is a sincere compliment. other honorable mentions include ‘black swan’ and ‘toy story 3’”
Video: Hausu (1977)
“released in the united states just this year, this has got to be one of the coolest, strangest and downright craziest films ever made. fans of horror, comedy, and the experimental - do yourself a favor and seek this out”
Book: Jonathan Safran-Foer - Tree of Codes
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From Blake Salzman, Vault Manager at HELLO!:
“awesome eclectic new mix/compilation from a great new indie label, true panther sounds (home of girls, delorean, teengirl fantasy and many other recent indie heavyweights). honoring its hometown (also, my hometown) for its FIRST world series win with a good humanitarian cause to boot…ill let the label do the talking. get listening.”
“A couple of weeks ago the San Francisco Giants defied all odds and expectations and brought THE WORLD SERIES to SF for the first time ever. This year’s Giants, a scraggly and eccentric bunch of dudes that most other teams didn’t want have made us so proud!!!! Needless to say, the city exploded. While True Panther is currently based in New York, the label was started in SF and we left our heart there. Looking at photos (and listening to the police scanner) it felt sad to not be back home surrounded by friends dancing on firetrucks, and celebrating the city with lots of sports and non-sports fans. So we thought we’d join in the celebration and take this opportunity to put a spotlight on the great music scene that is currently marinating there. A late-night idea, some frantic emails and a couple of weeks later we have this great mix of San Francisco musicians (some of whom recorded songs specifically for this compilation) to share with you.
Our jubilation was tempered the day after the World Series victory, when San Francisco passed Proposition L, also known as the Sit/Lie Ordinance. Prop L makes it a crime to sit or lie down on any sidewalk or on top of any object (blanket, lawn chair, milk crate, etc.) from 7am-11pm, punishable by a $100 fine for first offense and up to 30 days in jail for a second. This is a law that in our opinion criminalizes the poor without coming up with solutions but also makes a potential offender out of anyone wanting to relax in a lawnchair in front of their house. While we initially planned on making this compilation available for free, we ultimately decided to charge $1 and donate 100% of the proceeds to the SF Coalition on Homelessness in recognition of their new challenge. We want this contribution to help COHSF continue their outreach, peer support, leadership development, public education, advocacy, and community organizing especially in the wake of an inevitable rise in persecution of the city’s poor.
Thank you to the Bay Area musicians that submitted tracks for this compilation, thank you to the San Francisco Giants for bringing the World Series home, and thank you for listening! GO GIANTS!!!!
More info on Prop L HERE”
Learn more about True Panther and their roster of artists at their website.
