As we told you here Leonardo DiCaprio’s Titanic co-star, Kate Winslet was on hand for the grand opening of Sir Richard Branson’s Spaceport America – the world’s only commercial space destination port, back in 2011.
Well now one of the biggest stars on earth is slated to take to the heavens with three generous bidders who collectively paid $3.8M to launch from Spaceport New Mexico with the actor.
The galaxy bound foursome was assembled as a top offering of the Cinema Against AIDS Charity Auction held on Thursday night at the Cannes Film Festival’s amfAR Gala. This year the annual event raised a record $25M to fund AIDS research.
As predicted this is just one in the beginning of many major celebrity visits and tourism prospects the spaceport lends to New Mexico!
LAS CRUCES, Sun-News report – Will Smith and his son, Jaden, star together in the film “After Earth” which is scheduled to open on May 31. On Friday, though, the father-and-son duo were in southern New Mexico at Spaceport America to help promote the film as well as promote a pact between Virgin Produced – the film and television arm of Virgin Group – with Overbrook Entertainment.
Virgin Galactic is a tenant at Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport, about 40 miles north of Las Cruces.
Overbrook Entertainment will support the “After Earth” franchise, according to a release. The movie’s plot involves a crash landing that leaves the two main characters stranded on earth 1,000 years after humanity left the planet.
Timely – Charming moment of the month, brought to you by a NMFilm actor who should go ahead and remit his check back to the state if it’s so unbearable here.
New York, NY (JFK) and Albuquerque, NM (ABQ) starts April 23, 2013
As we told you here, a recent run-in with one hunky super-star led to the disclosure that the ease of “getting back home” is a big plus while filming projects here in the Land of Enchantment.
Well now California isn’t the only major entertainment, media, tourist hub with di-rect access to NM.
The Only Nonstop Service Between New York and Albuquerque, New Mexico to Begin April 22, 2013
In celebration of the new route, and as a nod to the historic Route 66, customers can book sale fares as low as $66 through Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 at www.jetblue.com for travel April 22 to May 22, 2013 (a) -, — Southwestern gem is JetBlue’s 77th destination.
(Nasdaq: JBLU), New York’s Hometown Airline™, today announces it will offer New York’s only nonstop service to the sun-drenched southwestern city of Albuquerque starting April 22, 2013. Mayor Richard J. Berry recently announced the airline’s intent to serve New Mexico’s largest city with a daily flight between John F. Kennedy International (JFK) Airport and Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) during the annual State of the City address.
Albuquerque is JetBlue’s first destination in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, and will be the 77th destination served in the airline’s growing route network. To celebrate, today through Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 customers can book flights between Albuquerque and New York for as low as $66 one way at www.jetblue.com (a), in a nod to the historic Route 66 that runs through the heart of Albuquerque. The special fares are available for travel between April 22 and May 22, 2013.
“JetBlue is pleased to offer customers the only nonstop service from the Big Apple to the beautiful, blue skies city of Albuquerque,” said Dave Barger, CEO and president of JetBlue Airways Corp. “The city is a popular vacation and business destination, rich in culture and arts, heritage and history, and home to the world’s largest hot air balloon festival. We look forward to earning the loyalty of even more customers in the southwest with our new service to New Mexico.”
“This is a huge step for Albuquerque that will add to our opportunities for business and leisure travel. New York City is the largest market in the country and we now have non-stop service. This will make us more business, convention and tourist friendly, which is good news for us all,” said Mayor Richard J. Berry. “The JetBlue brand is a tremendous product and the city looks forward to a long-term partnership and additional growth opportunities with the airline.”
JetBlue’s schedule between New York and Albuquerque:
JFK to ABQ: ABQ to JFK:
Depart – Arrive Depart – Arrive
8:25 p.m. – 11:04 p.m. 11:55 p.m. – 5:57 a.m.
– Flights operate year round beginning Monday, April 22, 2013 –
Customers traveling between Albuquerque and New York can conveniently connect onwards to dozens of other cities in JetBlue’s route network: Aruba; Bermuda; Boston, Mass.; Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y.; Burlington, Vt.; Charleston, S.C.; Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach, Florida; Grand Cayman; Kingston, Jamaica; La Romana, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Samana, Santiago and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic; Nantucket, Mass. (eff. May 16); Nassau, The Bahamas; Portland, Maine; Providenciales, Turks and Caicos; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and St. Maarten.
JetBlue’s flights from Albuquerque will be operated with its 150-seat Airbus A320 fleet complete with the carrier’s well-known premium offerings, including a first checked bag free (b), assigned leather seating with legroom to spare, and more than 140 channels of complimentary live television and radio on personal seatback screens (c). All flights also include JetBlue’s superior and personable customer service and free and unlimited assortment of name brand snacks and drinks for the ride.
About JetBlue Airways JetBlue is New York’s Hometown Airline™ with other focus cities in Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Juan. Known for its award-winning service and free TV as much as its low fares, JetBlue offers the most legroom in coach of any U.S. airline (based on average fleet-wide seat pitch) as well as super-spacious Even More Space seats. JetBlue is also America’s first and only airline to offer its own Customer Bill of Rights, with meaningful and specific compensation for customers inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue’s control. Visit www.jetblue.com/promise for details. JetBlue serves 74 cities with 750 daily flights and plans to launch service to Providence, Rhode Island on Nov. 29, 2012 and Charleston, South Carolina in early 2013. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information call +1 800-538-2583 (TTY/TDD +1 800-336-5530) from the USA, or visit www.jetblue.com.
(a) Fare includes government taxes/fees and must be purchased by 11/23/12 (the earlier of 11:59 PM ET or local) for flights between New York, NY (JFK) and Albuquerque, NM (ABQ) on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday only between 4/22/12 – 5/22/12. 14-day advance purchase required. Fare is subject to availability; may not be available on all flights; may change without notice; must be purchased at time of reservation; and is one-way, nonstop, nonrefundable and nontransferable. Reservations made one week or more prior to a flight’s scheduled departure may be canceled without penalty up to 24 hours after the reservation is made. First checked bag is free (weight and size limits and exceptions for itineraries including flights marked or operated by other airlines apply). Fare does not include fees for oversized/overweight/extra baggage or other fees for products/services sold separately. To view baggage fees and other optional services and fees, click here. $20 fee per person applies to fares (not Award flights) purchased by phone or at an airport or ticket office. Cancellations/changes must be made prior to scheduled departure (otherwise all money for fare is forfeited); $100 change/cancel fee per person will apply, and for changes, there may be a fare adjustment. Cancellations receive JetBlue travel credit, valid for one year. Proper documentation required for boarding. Other restrictions apply.
(b) Weight and size limits apply. Bag fee may apply to itineraries including flights operated or marketed by other airlines.
(c) Live satellite TV and radio programming is not available on flights outside the continental U.S.
Wahlberg in Albuquerque, NM last month for Lone Survivor
Study or no study, New Mexico banks on long running series like Breaking Bad, In Plain Sight, Crash and Longmire as the life’s blood of its film production jobs and statewide peripheral spending. Mega hits like The Avengers and the hotly anticipated, Lone Ranger film spike excitement and international recognition of the state.
Repeat appearances too, of stars like Ed Harris who’s heading back for a third run in NMFilm, boost awareness of the local industry. Following his turn as John McCain in the Emmy winning HBO movie “Game Change”, and work on the recently wrapped period western “Sweetwater” with January Jones, Harris is now making news with his latest NM project, “Frontera” – costarring the lovely Eva Longoria.
Superstar Mark Wahlberg is watched the world over, and as we told you here, is now a two-term NMFilm star. At OHI we hear nothing but praise from cast & crew who have worked with the actor/producer (The Fighter, The Perfect Storm/Boardwalk Empire, Entourage) and proud family man, who is genuinely interested and concerned about those around him. The star has been quick to praise the state’s film crews and locales – he’s one of the good guys who are lending the state some positive notoriety with his return to local sets for his back-to-back turn in the NM productions, “2Guns” and “Lone Survivor”.
NMFILM PRODUCTIONS – KEEP ‘EM COMING & GET INTO IT!
Well, the President should have WON over EVERY true New Mexican this week. While in Pueblo, Colorado a few days ago, a guy was bragging to him on how great the Burritos were, and how Nothing beats Colorado Green Chile…. To which he replied, “I won’t tell the folks in New Mexico you said that!” -McG
[Latitude Media] is working on Australian writer/director Husein Alicajic’s Divine Shadows. The drama/thriller is set in the US Bible Belt where dark secrets are revealed. WME is packaging the project – with Alfred Molina attached — and SC Films International is handling sales. The film will shoot in New Mexico later this year.
“This is one of the most thought provoking and intriguing projects I have read in a long time, and I am looking forward to the prospect of working with such an exciting new talent” said Simon Crowe of SC Films. “Having Alfred Molina already attached speaks volumes for the quality of the script.”
“Despite this being Alicajic’s first feature, he has an incredibly strong filmmaking pedigree” added Jovicic. “His inimitable talent has only been enhanced by directing award winning international shorts and commercials, as well as working with such diverse filmmakers as Alex Proyas and Steven Soderberg along the way.”
Jovicic’s Latitude is also working on The Lost Honor of Katherina Bloom and Place, both to be shot in New York.
UPDATE 6/20/12: Robert Baxter is CASTING 18 – 20 YEAR OLDS TO BE IN A SCHOOL SCENE FRIDAY JUNE 22ND IF INTERESTED AND YOU FIT THE DESCRIPTION PLEASE SEND A PICTURE AND PHONE NUMBER TO robertbaxtercasting@gmail.com
The hottest NM topic around the globe is the new hit series, soon to be phenomenon, that is the New Mexico production of A&E’s Longmire!
Here, local Ryan Begay (far right) is on set with series stars Lou Diamond Phillips and “Walt Longmire” himself! The show is just days away from calling Season one, a great-big successful WRAP!
As web searches abound regarding the series, here’s a local bit of trivia for the masses from NM Film pro Stuart Goswick:
The Longmire pilot filmed in part at the Madrid Mineshaft Tavern and Santa Fe Studio sets were built based on the local hot spot and inspired destination “watering hole”.
Once the season wraps and we all go into Longmire withdrawal, come on down to New Mexico to contempo-cowboy up just like Walt & co.!
Not since Breaking Bad MADNESS first broke wide open, has our traffic meter hit the kind of highs it’s hitting with the quick success of the A&E series Longmire.
Since its “distinctive premiere”, the quickly green-lit, highly anticipated, contemporary western drama set in WYO is exploding in our search terms, “where is Longmire filmed?”, “Stars of Longmire”, and “Longmire Television Series”.
Goooooooooooooal New Mexico! After the sad goodbye to In Plain Sight earlier this year and the absolutely heart wrenching, impending farewell to our beloved Breaking Bad, Longmire is a bright light in #NMFilm futures sights!
To feed you more awesome, upon awesome in touting New Mexico Film, all reports coming in here say that the CBS series pick-up of the Dennis Quaid 60s era drama will return to New Mexico to shoot! Here’s hoping those (multiple) rumors are TRUE!
In any case we can confirm, proof positive that once again…the WORLD is watching New Mexico Film!
The film, starring Holly Hunter, follows Dutch twin sisters who travel to America to look for their long-lost mother, played by Hunter. The siblings are played by real-life sisters Carice van Houten (Blackbook) and Jelka van Houten (The Domino Effect).
Beumer, whose own sister is X-Men star Famke Janssen, is an established director of mainstream features in the Netherlands. Her last two films – the thriller Loft and the romantic comedy The Happy Housewife, the latter also starred Carice van Houten, were local box office hits.
Billy Shakespeare: Writer and director Deborah Voorhees calls her film, Billy Shakespeare a modern Shakespearean comedy.
The writer not only liberally uses the Bard’s improbable comic devices such as the love triangle, mistaken identity, and the disguised heroine but Voorhees also melds today’s conversational speak with Shakespeare’s elevated and often [bawdy] vernacular.
This contemporary comedy of errors seeks to answer: What if Shakespeare never lived in the 1500s but lived in L.A. today peddling his screenplays?
Renaissance and modern sensibilities clash when an all-male stage version of Macbeth and the misogynistic low-budget film The Taming of the Shrew open simultaneously. The combustion makes “The Bard” the most controversial screenwriter in Hollywood.
The all New Mexican staffed & cast film will premiere at The Misty Moon Gallery in London this May.
Contact writer, director, producer Deborah Voorhees, at deborah.voorhees1961@gmail.com for more information about domestic screenings and distribution.
For upcoming “Acting for Film” workshops for students in Ruidoso and London contact: Voorhees Films
131 Cedar Crest, Nogal, NM 88341
214.982.1787
deborah.voorhees1961@gmail.com
In a quest to push American music beyond the stratosphere, the Foo Fighters have announced their intentions to record their next album in outer space!
Why not? Their fans and the Grammys were “over the moon” (forgive me M.K) for the back to basics garage band recording methods on their most recent album…
As you and the whole wide world ought to know, there’s only one way to launch the Foos into space and that means first stop, NEW MEXICO baby!
Yes, the one and only commercial spaceport on the planet calls The Land of Enchantment home. So, in addition to the Foo ties that bind our great state to the band, their galactic transit aspirations would bring them our way again!
DATELINE AUSTRALIA, (not part of the USA) – No wonder no one can find NM on a map of North America (I’m looking at you USA Today of the early 90s, which reversed NM & AZ…At least you had the pre-cognition to cite the future likeness in immigration “standards”).
Anyhoo, SPACEPORT AMERICA has had its grand opening…complete with celebrity, actual astronaut and Royal sightings alike. NM Tourism much? No? Well it happened, with but a blip (à la the AP/Associated Press news wire in most cases), on the NM news scene back on Monday.
From a current 500 jobs, sky rocketing (wink) to a whopping 2K future (forecasted) jobs, the NM spaceport has been officially christened! EVEN our own Governess was there!
The “Keys to a New Dawn” event has already gone down but the future upscale launches can only take NM up!
New Mexico Tourism much? Not likely, but AMC has something to entice Breaking Bad addicts the world over, right here to the “Q-Spot”.
In the words of Jesse Pinkman, “It’s on, YO!” Enter the sweepstakes here for your chance to visit the picturesque backdrop of the Emmy winning series you covet!
One grand prize winner will be selected to receive a walk-on role in Breaking Bad next season and a four-day, three-night trip to the set in Albuquerque, New Mexico. All entries must be received by 11:59:59AM | 10:59:59C on Mon., Jan. 16, 2012.
Eh-em, Dear NM State Government, are we in on this action as a people? A few more suggestions to add to my lowly (vastly untapped) suggestion box are to get in on merchandising and tourist attraction licensing…oh and also keep bringing productions to the state…of course I can’t even afford to subscribe to AMC so maybe apply a grain of salt, on the rim preferably ;)
In the meantime, naysayers and Doubting Thomases revel in the obvious fact that AMC is bringing THE BEST SHOW EVER SCRIPTED back to NM (as if they could possibly go elsewhere).
And the rest of you…ENTER to win…and even if you don’t, book your flights to Nuevo México, because I’m armed with a location list and a only half broke-down, but insured (that’s big time here), mode of transportation to haul you and yours from season one through four!
Because NM doesn’t play host to pappers or stalkerazzi (like those fiends pictured in thumb 4) nor well publicize when & where we have gaggles of worldwide superstars (good deal?) big cities (even Cleavland) still have us beat for all the great set pics.
Here from NYC, courtesy of my brother from another mother, are a boatload of Labor Day weekend pics of the WHOLE AVENGERS cast all suited-up.
Though just a babe himself, remember my beloved uses A LOT of salty language not suitable for young readers…ENJOY the pics and save your dlisted reading enjoyment to times away from preschool eyes, like at WORK.
Here are a few thumbnails from Michael K‘s gallery with which you can whet your eyes anytime…
