Pete's Dragon, an American fantasy

Pete's Dragon is an upcoming American fantasy adventure film directed by David Lowery from a screenplay written by David Lowery and Toby Halbrooks. Produced by James Whitaker for the Walt Disney Pictures, Pete's Dragon is a remake of the 1977 film of the same name. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Oakes Fegley, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, Oona Laurence, and Robert Redford. Music by Daniel Hart, the film is scheduled to be released in the Disney Digital 3-D and RealD 3D formats on August 12, 2016.

In the Pacific Northwest United States, forest ranger Grace Meacham (Bryce Dallas Howard) finds a young boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley) who lived in the woods for six years with a mysterious dragon named Elliott. With help from her wood-carver father (Robert Redford) and Natalie (Oona Laurence), the daughter of lumber mill owner Jack (Wes Bentley), Grace sets out to find out Pete's identity and the truth about Elliott. But problems arise when hunter Gavin (Karl Urban), Jack's brother and Natalie's uncle, plans to capture Elliott.

The animated dragon, Elliott, was entirely animated by Weta Digital in CGI (Computer-generated imagery) instead of the usual hand-drawn animation. Weta Digital is a digital visual effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand.

Filming began on January 26, 2015 in New Zealand. Shooting was taking place in and around Wellington, which was intended to move later to Rotorua area, and then to Tapanui, where the old Blue Mountain Lumber mill was the mill in the film, and the main street became Millhaven for two weeks. Production concluded on April 30, 2015.

Launch of Khemadasa's Secrets of Love:

Listen to him to reach Alfa

The internationally renowned Sri Lankan Maestro, Dr.Premasiri Khemadasa, also known as Khemadasa Master's last address to the world, in the universal language, will be launched as a special collection with a Concert, in October this year. Secrets of Love is a collection of twenty songs composed by Dr. Khemadasa; and the entire collection is written by Nishantha Wijesinghe. The twenty songs, also included in a CD version, will be launched at Nelum Pokuna on October 23 at 6.30 p.m. with the performance of the respective artists of the individual songs. Popular artists such as Amarasiri Peiris, T. M. Jayarathne, Kasun Kalhara, Indika Upamali, Umaraiya Sinhawansa, W. D. Ariyasinghe, Umali Thilakarathne, Subuddi Lakmali and many others will perform at the concert.

Maestro Khemadasa was one of the most influential composers in Sri Lankan music, who explored various styles of music around the world, and endeavoured to develop a unique style. He combined Sinhala folk tunes, Hindustani music, Western music and many other streams of music in his compositions while adapting them to fit contemporary music. Dr. Khemadasa emphasized the 'difference' to differentiate his musical project from those of other Sri Lankan musicians, the majority of whom still think music and song are the same. Many listeners enjoy a different music when they hear Khemadasa.

His initial escape from the confines of orthodox music, which argued for the importance of the Indian musical traditions for the development of Sri Lankan music, made him a great musician. He was working on the boundaries of Eastern and Western traditions and carefully avoided plunging into either tradition. Therefore, a broad and critical reflexivity is required to appreciate him as a truly Sri Lankan master. He avoided not only traditional music, but also the crude mixture of both, known today as, fusion music.

Compositions

The organizers said, according to music experts, the compositions of Secrets of Love album is scientifically proven to carry frequency range variations that can trigger a maximized performance of the human brain. While listening to the music, brainwaves trance towards the Alfa state and stabilize in that state.

The Alfa state is the stage where the human brain maximizes its performance in higher brain functions, such as memory, intelligence, creativity and imagination skills. Frequent listening to the musical masterpieces of Dr. Khemadasa can progressively elevate the brain performance of the listener.

Apart from the concert and CD, a separate book on Secrets of Love will also be launched, in which the songs in the album are scientifically explained through psychological insights with a dedicated chapter to each song. Each chapter, psychologically analyses and explains the spiritual background of human love from birth to death. The knowledge shared in the book is a powerful key on how to face life successfully and enhance one's personality. The book is a must read, especially, for parents, teenagers, young adults and students of Psychology.

Producer

The producer of the concert, Mahen Jecob is a famous Science teacher hailing from Kandy; who is also a former lecturer at the University of Peradeniya. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Electrical Electronic Engineering, Peradeniya University, with First Class Honours.

Speaking at the event, Jecob highlighted, that since his childhood, he was passionate about Art and Literature and took part in several English and Sinhala Literature competitions in school at the Gampola Jinaraja Maha Vidyalaya. "I always wanted to do something great in the field of Art,` when I have enough financial strength.

So, when Nishantha Wijesinghe invited me to sponsor this event I said 'Yes' without any hesitation, since Dr. Premasiri Khemadasa is the most universal music master Sri Lanka has ever produced" Jecob added.

A substantial portion of the proceeds of the concert will be contributed to the Scholarship Fund of the Khemadasa Foundation established in 1992 by Dr. Premasiri Khemadasa to foster the musical talents of low-income youth, especially from the underprivileged parts of the country. All training and courses conducted for students have been free of charge.

Concert

Furthermore, the Khemadasa Foundation intends to launch a new Music Course Program for the development of Sri Lankan music, from the funds raised from the concert. Since its inception the Foundation has trained hundreds of singers and musicians, who have performed at major compositions in Sri Lanka and abroad.

The opera Doramandala, which made 3.7 million rupees on the opening night, the renowned Buddhist cantata Pirinivan Mangalyaya, and the operas, Sonduru Varnadasai, Manasavila and Agni, are a few of the acclaimed productions. Many students of the Khemadasa Foundation have become veteran performers across the country. Since the death of Premasiri Khemadasa, the "Maestro," in 2008, the Foundation has been reorganized under a new board of directors and strives to continue its work of musical charity and artistic bridge-building.