Ring In Year Of The Dog

Ring In Year Of The Dog

by | Jan 29, 2018 | Travel

Have A Dog-Gone-Good Time At Chinese Bark In The Park Party

Bowwow The Night Away At Chinese New Year Gala

With Your Puppy Love, Pampered Pals At McNichols Feb. 9

One of the most internationally celebrated events of the year, the Cherry Creek Valley’s Chinese New Year Celebration hosted by the Nathan Yip Foundation has become one of the biggest and best in the nation. This year’s event commemorates the Year of the Dog — the 11th in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac

Party Palace: The Cherry Creek Valley’s Chinese New Year Celebration is in the McNichols Bldg. on the northwest corner of Civic Center Park, Feb. 9, 6 p.m.

sign events — in the McNichols Bldg. on the northwest corner of Civic Center Park, Feb. 9, 6 p.m.

No bones about it, attendees will get caught up in the energy as they chase after their dreams in the Valley’s first and original Chinese party. Now in its 15th year, it is one of the biggest of its kind outside of China. Spread over three floors of the McNichols Party Palace, the multitude will have a “dog-gone-good time” enjoying food, interactive entertainment, plus an authentic Chinese Night Market.

All proceeds from the evening will benefit the Foundation’s funding of educational projects for the most vulnerable children in rural Colorado and China. Last year’s Chinese New Year Party raised more than $250,000. The Foundation is named for the son of Denver residents and founders Linda and Jimmy Yip. The Yips lost their only son Nathan in a 2002 car accident. For years the Yips, with a team of volunteers and friends, built schools and provided supplies to rural, forgotten areas in China. Now they are putting that same effort into rural Colorado communities.

Run With Big Dogs

Dog is man’s good friend who can understand the human’s spirit and obey its master, whether he is wealthy or not. The Chinese regard it as an auspicious animal. If a dog happens to come to a house, it symbolizes th

Chinese Characters: Attendees at Nathan Yip Foundation Chinese New Year Celebration will meet colorful characters at party Feb. 9. Now in its 15th year, it is one of the biggest events of its kind outside of China.

e coming of fortune. The invincible God Erlang in Chinese legend used a loyal wolfhound to help him capture monsters.

According to Lunar New Year pros, the Year of the Dog will be a good year for action and should offer new business opportunities and, furthermore, is conducive to festivals, especially fundraisers such as the Nathan Yip Foundation celebration.

Guests will run with the big dogs at this year’s canine carnival featuring world-class performers including lion dancers, a karaoke stage, silent disco, fortune teller, Chinese calligraphers and portrait artists. More: This year guests will also be blessed watching the “im’paws’ible” as dogs entertain. Acro Dogs — good doggies performing for this good year — are an added attraction. It’s the Year of the Dog after all, and you’ll discover dogs have talents ranging from Yoga and Irish dancing to painting and more.

Indoor Street Party

Tree Of Luck: According to Lunar New Year pros, the Year of the Dog will be a good year for action and should offer new business opportunities.

East Meets West: The biggest and most colorful celebration in the East is now one of Denver’s biggest party events. The Nathan Yip Foundation celebration provides funding for educational projects for the most vulnerable children in Colorado and China.

Dog-Day Night: This year’s event commemorates the Year of the Dog, the 11th in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac sign events.

Night Market: Spread over three floors, attendees will have a “dog-gone-good time” enjoying food, interactive entertainment, plus an authentic Chinese Night Market.

This year’s colorful celebration is getting an exciting twist of the dog’s tail: The festive, fun-filled Chinese-themed Night Market has been expanded. It’s a new-fangled version of a street party complete with troupes of acrobats, Chinese lion dancers, and of course tasty themed food stations. It features fabulous foods, thrilling lion dances, and shock-red lanterns.

In addition to themed food stations and full open bars, the Indoor Night Market offers fun wares for sale, just like travelers see throughout Asia.

The delicious and diverse tasting stations will feature food prepared by Denver’s Catering by Design. The Seattle Fish Company is sponsoring the marketplace. The company’s CEO James Iain went to school with Nathan Yip.

Helping At Home

Because the annual event celebrates Chinese New Year, many people think all of the Foundation’s work is still in China. However, as the world has changed, so has the focus of Foundation’s effort.

In the metro area the Foundation continues supporting such groups as the George Washington High School’s Mentoring Program, Patriot Pairs. The Foundation contributes all of the expensive graphing calculators for the all mentees plus finds the most overlooked areas to help. At East High School, Nate’s Pass Program supplements bus passes for students that need transportation to school.

“But the real forgotten areas of Colorado are the rural areas,” according to Board Member Denise Gliwa. There are not many organizations traveling to the far corners of our state and learning and recognizing the educational needs of these students and school districts, she notes. With a “hands on” approach, Jimmy and Linda Yip travel to these areas and really find out their educational needs.

Country School Upgraded

Some of the work the Foundation did during the past year included a Technology Grant to Eads High School to upgrade its science classes so students can actually do experiments. The ventilation in the classroom was so bad students could not do the necessary work.

At San Luis Valley’s Center Consolidated School District the Foundation provided funding for teacher pay so that every teacher could do family Home Visits in the small agricultural community.

The Foundation also urbanized a professional development partnership between the schools in Montezuma-Cortez with the STEM School in Highlands Ranch. The STEM teachers visited Montezuma-Cortez and the MC teachers and admin visited STEM to learn and share ideas.

Providing Computers

A team of volunteers last year traveled to the San Luis Valley and dropped off 40 laptop computers to the San Luis Valley Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES). The computers were distributed to students in the area who do not have a computer at home.

Following that, the team delivered another 40 laptop computers to the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, for the same purposes.

An additional 40 computers were distributed to Colorado’s Eastern Plains plus 18 to Eads. This was done in cooperation with Rose Keating and her organization Tech For All. The decision to provide the computers was made because students without computers at home are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to computer literacy. Information: 303-817-8400.

Denver Film Society Sues Landmark Theatres

Denver Film Society Sues Landmark Theatres

by | Jan 29, 2018 | Feature Story Bottom Left

Antitrust Allegations On Preventing Films From Being Shown And State Audit Find Colorado Film Commission Little More Than A Scam

by Glen Richardson

Regal Deal: Regal Entertainment Group owned by Denver’s Philip Anschutz sold at year-end in a transaction valued at $5.9 billion. Anschutz’s nine theaters in Denver operated under the brand names of Regal Cinemas and United Artists.

The Denver Film Society, along with three other independent film groups, filed an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Landmark Theatres, a national specialty theater chain, claiming violations of federal antitrust law. The lawsuit asserts that Landmark engages in anticompetitive practices that have unfairly and illegally prevented theaters like the one run by the Denver Film Society from programming specialty films for its audiences.

Since opening the Sie FilmCenter (2510 E. Colfax) seven years ago, the Society claims it has been blocked from booking and showing countless films that local audiences have requested due to Landmark’s practice of enforcing “clearances.” These are restrictions that Landmark imposes on the film distributors it works with, preventing other theaters in an area from showing a film simultaneously with them. In fact, not once has DFS been allowed to show a film simultaneously to Landmark at the Sie FilmCenter. “They have enacted a complete and total blockade on our ability to show films that the Denver film community wants to see,” DFS Board President Robert Clasen alleges.

Chain Clout

Landmark can demand this from distributors because of their clout as a national chain and we believe abuses that clout to get what they want, explains DFS Executive Director Andrew Rodgers. Landmark currently operates 51 theaters with 242 screens in 22 major metro areas, making them the largest chain showing independent movies. Landmark owns the Esquire, Mayan and Chez Artiste theatres in Denver. Most of their competition comes from small mom-and-pop theaters or nonprofits like the Sie FilmCenter.

Quite understandably, many small businesses and non-profits are nervous to put up a fight against the industry’s 800-lb. gorilla. But after years of trying to work within the system and talking with partners and peers about how to overcome the unfair competition, Rodgers says they “came to the conclusion that the only way we can serve our audiences is to seek a remedy through the courts.” Washington, D.C.-based law firm Hausfeld is representing DFS, along with the other plaintiffs. The law firm specializing in antitrust litigation is taking the case on a contingency fee basis.

The suit also alleged the process is reducing output, restricting price competition, and denying moviegoers their choice of theaters to see films. Landmark is a private corporation that makes up a group of companies owned by venture capitalist Mark Cuban. It is the self-described dominant theater chain dedicated to showing specialty films in the U.S.

Troubling Picture

The troubling picture of money and movie madness in Denver steamed up even more at year’s end with the announcement that United Kingdom-based Cineworld Group PLC acquired Regal Entertainment Group owned by Denver’s Philip Anschutz. Regal has nine theaters in greater Denver compared to DFS’s single three-screen Sie FilmCenter.

The $3.61 billion deal adds to Cineworld’s already huge global movie footprint. Cineworld operates 2,227 screens in nations across the globe including the U.K., Ireland, Poland, and Slovakia. Cineworld paid $23 cash per Regal share, an 11% premium over the closing price. The transaction is valued at $5.9 billion.

The group owned by Anschutz operated a total of 561 theaters with 7,315 screens. The Anschutz theaters operated in Denver under the brand names of Regal Cinemas and United Artists.

Megaplex Or Spoof?

Orchestrating yet another Cherry Creek Valley movie drama that created headlines last summer was Redbarre Digital Media’s announcement of a proposed 70-acre film and television facility in Parker. Last August Governor John Hickenlooper, Parker Mayor Mike Waid and Redbarre CEO Don Levy held a press conference announcing plans for a $1 billion Media & Technology Campus. Levy, Redbarre’s CEO-founder, has a home in Denver. Evergreen resident Phillip Infelise is chief operations officer for the Los Angeles headquartered firm.

According to Redbarre’s presentation last summer the planned 1.9 million sq. ft. site would have multiple recording studios and a 75,000-square-foot soundstage, creating 4,000 full-time jobs. Officials stated the project would break ground early this year (2018) and begin operating in 2020. Site plans, however, had not been submitted to the City of Parker by the first of the year.

Architectural renderings of the facility show a multi-building campus that would also include retail, office, hotel and exhibition space. The site is west of Chambers Rd. in what is known as the Compark Village subdivision. Should it become operational the town of Parker might potentially become a national destination for film and television production.

Film Flimflam

After a state audit revealed the Colorado Film Commission paid $1.9 million to production companies that didn’t qualify

Sie Film Buffs: The Sie FilmCenter opened seven years ago on E. Colfax by the Denver Film Society has become a major movie Denver draw. The Society has joined a lawsuit against Landmark Theatres claiming it has blocked them from booking and showing countless films.

for the tax incentives, the state legislature cut $3 million from the state’s film incentive budget. The 20% cash rebate for production spending for films shot in Colorado started in 2012. However, the $500,000 operating budget for the state office managed by film commissioner Donald Zuckerman was preserved. Records show the state film office awarded approximately $2 million to 17 projects in 2016.

The nearly $2 million was paid to production companies without signing formal contracts, and the Commission generally decides whether to offer subsidies based on talks with producers rather than ensuring economic benefits, the auditor’s office found. Reportedly the $5 million in tax breaks the state gave to The Hateful Eight, a film produced in Telluride, motivated the rebate audit.

Due to the legislature leaving as much as $3 million on the cutting room floor, Zuckerman’s Film Commission has significantly less money to entice filmmakers. Neighboring states, furthermore, offer appreciably more “ready for action” incentives to filmmakers. New Mexico, for example, has a $50 million budget for film production incentives plus providing up to 30% in tax rebates to filmmakers.