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BEN HARPER , LANCE ARMSTRONG, BONNIE HUNT, BILL MURRAY, TRACY POLLAN JOIN MICHAEL J. FOX IN HIS INSPIRING ABC SPECIAL EXPLORING HOPE AND OPTIMISM, “MICHAEL J. FOX: ADVENTURES OF AN INCURABLE OPTIMIST,” THURSDAY, MAY 7

BEN HARPER , LANCE ARMSTRONG, BONNIE HUNT, BILL MURRAY, TRACY POLLAN JOIN MICHAEL J. FOX IN HIS INSPIRING ABC SPECIAL EXPLORING HOPE AND OPTIMISM,
“MICHAEL J. FOX: ADVENTURES OF AN INCURABLE OPTIMIST,” THURSDAY, MAY 7

Grammy Award winner Ben Harper, seven-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, talk show host/actress Bonnie Hunt, actor Bill Murray, and actress Tracy Pollan are among those joining Michael J. Fox as he travels across the globe to explore the enduring strength of hope and optimism, returning triumphantly to the ABC Television Network for a one-hour primetime special, “Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist,” THURSDAY, MAY 7 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET). The same indomitable spirit, amazing enthusiasm and warmth that made Fox a fan favorite on ABC’s “Spin City,” NBC’s “Family Ties” and the blockbuster “Back to the Future” movies are evident during his conversations with Armstrong, Hunt, Murray, Pollan and Harper.

Fox travels to Austin, Texas to pay a visit to Armstrong, where the two friends talk about overcoming adversity and how their life-altering challenges have made them who they are. Fox gets a look at Armstrong’s vintage car and those seven yellow Tour de France champion jerseys.

He also meets up with long-time Cubs fan Hunt (“The Bonnie Hunt Show”) at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. She is wry about how she remains optimistic when the baseball team she roots for hasn’t won the World Series in a century. Then on game-day, Fox goes one-on-one with Cubs manager Lou Piniella, pitcher Ryan Dempster and center fielder Reed Johnson to understand how the team stays focused and confident, handling the pressure of their “historic” record. In a surprise, Cubs fans are treated to Fox serenading them with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch.

On the fairway with his golfing buddy, Bill Murray, Fox, who took up the game after his Parkinson’s diagnosis, discovers how to stay optimistic about a challenging game that doesn’t come easy to anyone. And Grammy Award-winning musician Ben Harper and Fox have an opportunity to jam together and discuss the effect of music on mood.

Viewers also get a touching look at Fox’s at-home life with his wife, Tracy, including her humorous perspective on living with an “incurable optimist.”

During this entertaining, uplifting and poignant one-hour telecast, Fox talks to everyday people as well, venturing from President Barack Obama’s inauguration in Washington to the secluded Himalayan nation of Bhutan, considered by many to be “the happiest country on earth.” He also meets doctors and scientists who share lively insight on the cutting edge science that’s helping us better understand the nature of optimism in all of us.

Fox introduces his audience to people – from newspaper vendors to dairy farmers – who haven’t let difficulties stand in the way of their happiness. He himself says the past 10 years, dealing with Parkinson’s disease and setting up The Michael J. Fox Foundation, the world’s largest non-profit funder of Parkinson’s research, have been among his happiest and his best.

In 1998 Fox publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease and, two years later, made the difficult decision to walk away from a highly successful acting career. His triumphant spirit and positive attitude, considering his daily fight against the symptoms of a complex and incurable neurological syndrome, may make you wonder: How does he remain an “incurable optimist”?

Fox, whose new bestselling memoir of his last ten years, Always Looking Up, was published on March 31, also authored the bestseller “Lucky Man,” which was published in 2002. Both books are from Hyperion.

Michael J. Fox, Nelle Fortenberry and Rudy Bednar are executive producers of “Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist,” a collaboration between Northern Fox Productions and Lincoln Square Productions.

“Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist,” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with stereo sound. A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate.

“Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist” will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.

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Amalgam Digital partners with UStream to broadcast Joe Budden studio session live, Thursday, August 21, 2008

Amalgam Digital partners with UStream to broadcast Joe Budden studio session live, Thursday, August 21, 2008

On Thursday, August 21, 2008, Hip-Hop fans will have the opportunity to chat with Joe Budden before watching the Grammy-nominated rapper live in studio as he puts the finishing touches to his highly anticipated album “Padded Room”.

Budden’s new record label, Amalgam Digital is responsible launching Hip-Hop’s first digital retail store and is recognized for employing highly innovative new media marketing initiatives.

Setting a new precedent Amalgam Digital will be teaming up with interactive broadcast company UStream, to broadcast three hours of Joe Budden’s final studio session for “Padded Room” on Thursday August 21st.

The live webcast will air from 4-7 PM (ET) at www.AmalgamDigital.com/TV. Starting at 4:00 PM, fans will have the opportunity to chat with Joe Budden online, ask him questions, and watch him respond live. After the Q & A, fans will be able to watch Joe in the studio, as he put’s the finishing touches on his highly anticipated sophomore album “Padded Room” which will hit stores worldwide on 10-28-2008 on the Amalgam Digital label.

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Mary J. Blige Press Releases

MARY J. BLIGE NEW ALBUM GROWING PAINS IN STORES DECEMBER 18TH APPLE I-POD AND CHEVROLET AD CAMPAIGNS ROCK WITH MARY AT THE FOREFRONT CHECK OUT PERFORMANCES BY MARY THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6TH ON “CNN HEROES: ALL-STAR TRIBUTE” AND FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7TH ON “MOVIES ROCK” ON CBS

MARY J. BLIGE NEW ALBUM GROWING PAINS IN STORES DECEMBER 18TH APPLE I-POD AND CHEVROLET AD CAMPAIGNS ROCK WITH MARY AT THE FOREFRONT CHECK OUT PERFORMANCES BY MARY THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6TH ON “CNN HEROES: ALL-STAR TRIBUTE” AND FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7TH ON “MOVIES ROCK” ON CBS

Geffen Records superstar and hit-making songwriter Mary J. Blige, is set to follow-up the most successful album of her career, the triple platinum The Breakthrough, with her eighth (8th) studio CD Growing Pains on Tuesday, December 18th, one week before Christmas.

Growing Pains includes her top ten single “Just Fine” which has become an instant favorite on radio enjoyed by over 20 million listeners. “Just Fine” is in heavy rotation on MTV, BET and VH-1, and Mary recently shot the video for her second single, “Work That,” which is currently featured in an Apple iPod commercial.

After selling over 40 million CDs and garnering six Grammy Awards during her phenomenal 15-year career, Mary is confident that her fans will not be disappointed with Growing Pains. “They’re going to get a sense of what my state of mind is and how I view the world,” she says. “And hopefully, most of all, they’re going to hear just the sincere honesty and love that I have for them.” She adds, “Growing Pains represents accepting that there’s pain that goes along with growing and change. No pain, no gain.”

Growing Pains, with Mary co-writing most of the songs on the album, features guest appearances by Ludacris and Usher and production by The Neptunes, Jazze Pha, Johnta Austin, Neyo, Stargate, Bryan-Michael Cox, Dre and Vidal, Tricky, Dream, and Sean Garrett.

Mary makes her message loud, clear and seriously funky on the first release “Just Fine” produced by Jazze Pha and Tricky and co-written by Mary and Dream. A celebration of life, “Just Fine” gives you Mary fierce, and as the video shows, glamorous. The song’s vibe? “Sometimes it feels like you’re having this miserable time, like all 365 days of the year are tough. But then, you get one of those days; maybe when your hair is great, or you’re not stuck in traffic; where it’s a ‘just fine’ day. At some point,” Mary laughs, “You’ve got have one or two of those.”

The party and positivity keeps on keeping on with the rump shaking second single “Work That.” Mary comments, “When I meet a woman who doesn’t know what to do about her weight or her hair I always say – ‘whatever it is that you have, make that work for you, Work what you got.’”

After releasing her bestselling anthology Reflections last year, Growing Pains is Mary’s first CD of new material since The Breakthrough debuted at #1 in 2005, selling over 700,000 copies its first week — the best opening week for a solo R&B female artist in SoundScan history. The album’s first single, “Be Without You,” also made chart history by holding down the #1 spot on the Billboard R&B charts for a record breaking 16 straight weeks; making it the longest-running No. 1 song on the R&B chart in over 40 years. Mary led all artists with eight 2007 Grammy nominations for the landmark album, and she took home honors for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song (both for “Be Without You”), and Best R&B Album. After earning three Grammy Awards, she continued her award show domination by winning nine Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, two BET Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and a Soul Train Award. The Breakthrough lived up to its name selling over seven million copies worldwide.

You can witness the incredible magic of Mary J. Blige on television this week as she performs on “CNN Heroes: All All-Star Tribute” on December 6th and “Movies Rock!” on CBS on December 7th (both at 9 PM Eastern time).

Mary will also bring in 2008 on New Year’s Eve on MTV.