TWIN GALAXIES — Among the many tournaments slated for DreamHack Dallas, it looks like EA Sports' Madden 19 will be a marquee event over the weekend.

DreamHack is a place to make gaming prowess known. Among the fighting game tournaments featuring pros like Justin Wong, PUBG tournaments featuring shroud and Dr DisRespect, Bring-Your-Own-Computer (BYOC) events and more, there’s plenty of opportunity to show you’re the best at any level of gaming. It would seem fans of EA’s virtual turf are about to get their chance at DreamHack too. Madden 19 is joining the DreamHack Dallas circuit in a tournament running through the weekend.

The Madden 19 tournament at DreamHack Dallas was announced on April 9, 2019 in a press release and on the DreamHack website. For the entire weekend of the DreamHack Dallas festival, May 31 to June 2, registered players will engage in a contest to see who handles the virtual pigskin best. A prize pool of $25,000 will be up for grabs for anyone that can rise through the brackets and come out on top. Registration has opened for the tournament today. A DreamHack Dallas ticket is required to participate.

[MORE]

PATCH — One of Atlanta's most distinguished residents is marking her 97th birthday on Thursday, while the city itself continues its effort to demolish her Peoplestown community of more than 50 years through eminent domain. Mattie Jackson has been an informal advisor to Atlanta mayors, city council members and others for decades. During her storied life, Jackson was part was part of a delegation that met with President Lyndon B. Johnson's cabinet about policies to protect the poor, which informed Johnson's signature legislation waging war on poverty in the U.S.

Jackson was also the community action leader for Equal Opportunity Atlanta from 1964 to 1988, and served on the Fulton Atlanta Community Action Authority for more than 30 years. In 1968, Jackson was awarded the Atlanta Journal Woman of the Year Cup for her efforts organizing and empowering southeast Atlanta communities. And she was a board member of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in 1996, and was instrumental in securing a community benefits agreement when the Olympic Stadium was constructed. Jackson even ran with the Olympic torch that same year while in her 70s.

Now, Jackson's home is at the center of a massive urban renewal effort undertaken by the city. Over the past six years, the city's use of eminent domain has allowed it to take ownership of more than 20 houses on Jackson's block, all of which it has demolished. Plans are to build a park and retention pond to address water runoff issues, but Jackson is one of a handful of homeowners who has refused to sell.

[MORE]

GEORGIA ENTERTAINMENT NEWS — Creative Collective Capital Corp. (C3) will present its first Sound and Screen Finance Convention from Friday, May 3 through Sunday, May 5, 2019. The event, a first in the Southeast, will be a gathering of creative and strategic influencers and financiers who move the needle in the film, TV, music and digital entertainment (esports, video gaming, virtual reality, etc.) arenas.  [MORE]

ATLANTA MUSIC GRAPEVINE — John Driskell Hopkins is an artist who likes to wear many hats. While he certainly has a fondness for millinery, he also applies his talents to a wide scope of interests. “Hop” is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and founding member of multi-Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band. You will also find him behind the board as an engineer and producer in his own studio, Brighter Shade Studios, leading the John Driskell Hopkins Band, and serving as a leader in the Atlanta chapter of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. (MORE)

WXIA 11-ALIVE, “THE A-SCENE” — Students from two DeKalb schools were the big winners at the first “DeKalb Student Film Festival” on Feb. 21, bringing home awards in the ““Best of Show” and “Audience Choice” categories. The DeKalb School of the Arts was named the “Overall Winner” for their film, “Locked Out.”

The Academy Awards are Sunday, but these local students were the focus of paparazzi on the red carpet. The DeKalb Entertainment Commission (DEC) partnered with the DeKalb County School District for this first-ever film festival highlighting student productions.

OZ MAGAZINE — Dekalb Entertainment Commission has partnered with Dekalb County School District to create the first annual Dekalb Student Film Festival. The event will allow local students to showcase their film productions, competing in three difficulty levels. Students can win an award for Best of Show,” “Audience Choice” for their difficulty level, and there will be one “Overall Winner.”

Fourteen high schools as well as one middle school within the DCSD will submit work from their schools AV and Film programs. The event is free of charge and the public is encouraged to come and support local youth. The event takes place at the Dekalb County School District Office on Thursday February 21st. The red carpet ceremony will include fun and excitement starting at 5:30pm, followed by the festival from 6 to 8 in the evening. 

STOMP AND STAMMER — John Driskell Hopkins of the Zac Brown Band’s on-screen band from the forthcoming independent film Adolescence, The Bloody Wolves of Venice, proves to be a formidable, real-life creative force on its debut recording, The Revelation EP.

Hopkins teams up with bassist Greg Lee (Yacht Rock Revue), drummer Mike Rizzi (Sweet Tea Project), guitarist Mark Dannells (Yacht Rock Revue) and California guitarist Mick Murphy (My Ruin, Teenage Time Killers, Chevy Metal). The five-piece doubles as the on-screen bandmates of former Sons of Anarchy actor Tommy Flanagan.

OZ Magazine — In November 2018, that same Georgia World Congress Center hosted DreamHack 2018 as Atlanta joined Valencia, Marseilles and Stockholm as past host cities of this major three-day festival that brings gamers together for competitions, networking and more. DreamHack turns its venues into small cities with a popular 24-hour Local Area Network (LAN) area, Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) section with catering and sleeping amenities, and a number of eSports tournaments.

It may surprise some, but the video game industry made more than twice as much as the global box office for films in 2017, reaping $70.4 billion versus cinema's $35.9 billion. Video gaming grew by 18%, while the world box office fell $1 billion short when it came to projections.

Elena Quevedo has been named chief development officer at Miami City Ballet. She was most recently senior vice president of advancement for The New Jewish Home, Inc. She has also worked with the New York city Ballet. Quevedo, a former academic, has a master’s in medieval architecture, and a Ph.D. in art history, from New York University.

VARIETY — The DreamHack Open is stopping in Rio de Janeiro for the first time ever in 2019, and tickets go on sale Jan. 5, the city announced on Friday. The Rio de Janeiro State eSports Federation confirmed the three-year contract and believes it’s an opportunity to increase the number of competitions within the city.

DreamHack, which launched in 2012, is an annual esports circuit for the online shooter “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.” Rio is the first of seven stops and takes place Apr. 19-21 at the Olympic Park. Another new location, the Netherlands, will host the event in October.

“Visiting new places is always our goal, and with new stages in Brazil and the Netherlands, we are sure next year will be unforgettable,” said DreamHack’s Michael Van Driel.

“ATLANTA & COMPANY” WXIA-11 ALIVE — Joe Gransden and John Driskell Hopkins perform a Christmas classic LIVE on 'Atlanta & Company'

ESPORTS INSIDER — Sweden-based tournament organiser DreamHack is wrapping up the year by looking ahead to the next – announcing its full line-up of events for 2019.

DreamHack will host its multi-event festivals in three continents next year, marking its entry into South America. DreamHack Rio, hosted in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, will take place over April 19-21.