Two Q-C natives, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, won over the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, this weekend as the film they wrote, “A Quiet Place,” opened the festival and wowed audiences. The duo began making films as teenagers in Bettendorf, moved on to create a number of short films that won regional acclaim and worked on a number of projects around the area (including short films with QuadCities.com co-owner Sean Leary and columnist Tristan Tapscott) before heading to Hollywood. After a decade on the coast, things have started to break in a huge way for them, and we were happy to meet up with... Read More

After a year hiatus, Countryside Community Theatre is ready to rock the Quad Cities with a legendary musical from a legendary composer. Opening a new era of Countryside Community Theatre is the Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin) Tony Award©-nominated classic, Godspell. Told through an exciting array of music and dance, the parables of Jesus Christ come to life in this modern take on a timeless tale of friendship, loyalty, and love. The cast features newcomer Drake Mason as Jesus and Quad City staples Nate Karstens (John the Baptist/Judas), Sara Diericx and Cindy Ramos. Jessica Tapscott, Gage... Read More

Sunday night, the Academy Awards will be given out in Los Angeles as millions watch from their homes. And the Oscars will go to…   Best Picture: “Call Me by Your Name” “Darkest Hour” “Dunkirk” “Get Out” “Lady Bird” “Phantom Thread” “The Post” “The Shape of Water” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”   I think we are going to be surprised when the coveted “Three Billboards” and “The Shape of Water” get La-La-Landed on Sunday night. “Get Out” is the one that really hits this year and deals with all the right issues in all the right... Read More

Ever see 50 mics drop at once? Watch “The Shape of Water” and you will. Guillermo del Toro drops them all and probably secures his Oscar win. The man is genius. Period. I’ve always know that. You’ve always known that. After all, Pan’s Labryinth is one of the beautiful and important films of all time. But this is different. Very different… in every way. On paper, this Amazon monster-romance-horror-fantasy-heist (yes, it’s all those and more) seems an unlikely smash hit but on the screen it sizzles and inspires. “The Shape of Water” is the year’s... Read More

The lucky nominees of the 90th Annual Academy Awards will be announced Tuesday, January 23 at 7:22pm central time. Will The Shape of Water break a record? Will The Florida Project fail to secure a Best Picture nomination? Will Sebastian Stan slide into the Best Supporting Actor category at the last minute? It’s been one of the best years for film in a decade and I am positive there will snubs and surprises galore come Tuesday morning! How do I think it will all shake down? Let’s check it out….   BEST PICTURE Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri The Shape of Water The... Read More

Sunday, the Golden Globes will be awarded, with a ceremony hosted by Seth Meyers airing at 7 p.m. CST on NBC. You really never what the hell will happen with the Golden Globes. To quote three time host Ricky Gervais, the Golden Globes are “a bit louder, a bit drunker,” and it always shows, especially in the nominations. I always read the nominees with a plethora of WTF’s. This year is no different and this year is even harder to figure out. I sat down and did my best to sttay one step ahead and so… here are my predictions for Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards:   Best Picture... Read More

Prairie Players Civic Theatre offer a different holiday treat this season! Taking a diversion from the usual holiday fair, the 102 year old organization will present David Sedaris’s Seasons Greetings and The Santaland Diaries on Friday, December 15 and Saturday, December 16. In Season’s Greetings, Jocelyn Dunbar writes this dark version of a holiday newsletter. She opens with warm wishes to her readers and acknowledges their certain shock that after the tumultuous year that the Dunbars have had that Jocelyn would still produce a holiday newsletter. The Santaland Diaries chronicles David... Read More

As if we’ve never said goodbye… With a twist. When we last saw our beloved Will & Grace, their kids were grown up and marrying each other. Naturally a reboot was expected to stay on course and reveal what’s happened to everyone, right? Wrong. What is revealed in a hysterical game of Heads Up – and one of the best openings in sitcom history – is that all of that nonsense was the product of one drunken Karen Walker and her wandering mind. Within seconds, the Will & Grace creators crossed that off the list of their viewers score cards and moved on. It was It... Read More

When you think of Colona, you think of . . . well, you don’t think of perfectly charming, creative and quirky concerts featuring indie folk pop darlings. But, Jessica and Tristan Tapscott, the founders of Colonastock, are known for thinking out of the box, so, there you go. Colonastock. Part Woodstock, part little indie show in a barn on a hayrack, part something that’s rarely if ever been done before, all offbeat fun. Colonastock, which, truth be told, was also sponsored by your beloved QuadCities.com, got off to a rousing start in its inaugural year with a brilliant and bouncy show on Wednesday,... Read More

Ready for a Sandwich? Well, too late, Danielle ate it. But don’t be salty, she’s providing you with some great music in exchange, to soothe your feelings, if not your empty stomach. Danielle Ate The Sandwich will be headlining at the debut edition of Colonastock at 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 16. Colonastock is an outside concert series that will be held on a hay-rack in a front yard in Colona, Illinois. The brainchild of husband and wife team Tristan and Jessica Tapscott, Colonastock aims to present 2-3 outdoor concerts a year with focus on up and coming indie acts from across the nation. The... Read More