American Modern Opera Company (Amoc*) celebrates Latin American poets and the voices of women with its production of John Adams’ El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered, a chamber-music arrangement that will tour around the United States before returning for its second annual presentation by The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. With libretto by Peter Sellars and concept by Amoc* member Julia Bullock, the piece will tour from December 11-21, 2023 at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska; Stanford Live in Stanford, California; Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut; and finally presented by The Cathedral of St. John the Divine as a new holiday tradition where they will be joined by New York guest musicians and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street.
El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered features Amoc* members soprano Julia Bullock, guest soloist contralto Jasmin White, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, violinists Keir GoGwilt and Miranda Cuckson,...
El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered features Amoc* members soprano Julia Bullock, guest soloist contralto Jasmin White, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, violinists Keir GoGwilt and Miranda Cuckson,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Music Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
The great promise of streaming video was that we would have unlimited, universal access to nearly every movie ever created. We might expect difficulty finding some niche titles from independent filmmakers, but the most important films should always be available. Unfortunately, as streamers look to save money, it seems they’re cutting back on the crown jewels of cinema. Today, if you want to stream “The Godfather,” “Taxi Driver,” “Apocalypse Now,” or even “Citizen Kane,” you’re going to come up empty.
If you love movies, this is a frightening prospect. What’s the point in signing up for a year-long streaming contract if the service you choose is going to throw important titles out the door? Paramount+ is an especially frustrating service. Although Paramount owns the rights to “The Godfather” series, those films frequently bounce around to competing streamers. If you wanted to watch them today, they’re not...
If you love movies, this is a frightening prospect. What’s the point in signing up for a year-long streaming contract if the service you choose is going to throw important titles out the door? Paramount+ is an especially frustrating service. Although Paramount owns the rights to “The Godfather” series, those films frequently bounce around to competing streamers. If you wanted to watch them today, they’re not...
- 5/25/2023
- by Ben Bowman
- The Streamable
There are many stories about Jean-Luc Godard in Cannes, like the year he helped to shut it down (1968) because of the civil unrest that was sweeping France at the time. Then there was the time when (in 1985) he was ambushed in the Palais by a Belgian anarchist and hit in the face with a custard pie after the premiere of Détective. And, as recently as 2018, there was the time he conducted a press conference for his film The Image Book via FaceTime from Switzerland, making journalists line up to speak into a mobile phone.
But the story that endures the most is the time in 1985 he signed a contract on a napkin with Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, CEOs of The Cannon Group, whose big hits that year were Invasion U.S.A., starring Chuck Norris, and Death Wish 3, with Charles Bronson. Godard — who died last year at age...
But the story that endures the most is the time in 1985 he signed a contract on a napkin with Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, CEOs of The Cannon Group, whose big hits that year were Invasion U.S.A., starring Chuck Norris, and Death Wish 3, with Charles Bronson. Godard — who died last year at age...
- 5/17/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmakers and executives, creatives of music, theater and art remembered Tom Luddy as friend and mentor, tastemaker and cultural force who deployed an astonishingly vast network to nurture talent and bring people and projects together over decades.
The co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival passed away in February.
“I am thinking of getting a tattoo of you on my arm,” said Irish director Mark Cousins at tribute event at the Paris Theatre over the weekend. “Here is Hitchcock on my arm, and here is and Kira Muratova. Maybe you would fit between the two?” He added, “For the rest of my life, I will see partly through your eyes. I miss you and I love you.”
“Tom Luddy was a constant presence. The sun around which so many of us have revolved,” said Ken Burns. The two met when Burns screened Huey Long at Telluride in 1985. “For the next 35-plus years,...
The co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival passed away in February.
“I am thinking of getting a tattoo of you on my arm,” said Irish director Mark Cousins at tribute event at the Paris Theatre over the weekend. “Here is Hitchcock on my arm, and here is and Kira Muratova. Maybe you would fit between the two?” He added, “For the rest of my life, I will see partly through your eyes. I miss you and I love you.”
“Tom Luddy was a constant presence. The sun around which so many of us have revolved,” said Ken Burns. The two met when Burns screened Huey Long at Telluride in 1985. “For the next 35-plus years,...
- 4/17/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Tom Luddy wasn’t famous exactly. But he had a huge impact on film culture via Uc Berkeley’s Pacific Film Archive in the ’60s and the Telluride Film Festival in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and up to his death in February at age 79. And while he was based in the Bay Area, a theater full of Luddy-philes from both coasts turned up for his tribute at New York’s packed Paris Theater on April 15. They represented the cross-cultural network that Luddy created over decades of introducing people, sharing his favorite film gems, and luring folks to Telluride by inviting their films or bringing them in as guest directors (like Stephen Sondheim or Salman Rushdie) or tributees (like Athol Fugard or Michael Powell). Once they came, they usually came back.
Five of the stalwarts in the Luddy family, who have supported the festival on the Telluride board of directors and in other ways,...
Five of the stalwarts in the Luddy family, who have supported the festival on the Telluride board of directors and in other ways,...
- 4/16/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
From “Walk on By” to “The Look of Love” to “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” to “The Blob,” Burt Bacharach composed indelible pop songs that became staples of the soundtrack of their eras.
The prolific tunesmith, who died Feb. 8 at age 94, grew to prominence early in his career by penning film scores and hits (with lyricist partner Hal David) for movies such as “Casino Royale,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Alfie,” “What’s New Pussycat,” “After the Fox,” “Arthur” and “Night Shift.” And yes, Bacharach and lyricist Mack David (brother of Hal) wrote the late 1950s novelty hit “The Blob,” which stemmed from the 1958 horror comedy that helped propel Steve McQueen to stardom.
From the March 24, 1954, edition of weekly Variety
Bacharach’s first reference in Variety came in the March 24, 1954, edition of weekly, when he was name-checked as the musical director for the Ames Brothers, as part of a...
The prolific tunesmith, who died Feb. 8 at age 94, grew to prominence early in his career by penning film scores and hits (with lyricist partner Hal David) for movies such as “Casino Royale,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Alfie,” “What’s New Pussycat,” “After the Fox,” “Arthur” and “Night Shift.” And yes, Bacharach and lyricist Mack David (brother of Hal) wrote the late 1950s novelty hit “The Blob,” which stemmed from the 1958 horror comedy that helped propel Steve McQueen to stardom.
From the March 24, 1954, edition of weekly Variety
Bacharach’s first reference in Variety came in the March 24, 1954, edition of weekly, when he was name-checked as the musical director for the Ames Brothers, as part of a...
- 2/11/2023
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Works & Process at the Guggenheim announces the long await return of Peter & the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev with Isaac Mizrahi. Tickets available now at www.worksandprocess.org.
Peter & the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev with Isaac Mizrahi
Saturday, December 10 & Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 1 pm, 2:30 pm & 4 pm
Tickets 35, Choose What You Pay
Isaac Mizrahi narrates and directs Sergei Prokofiev’s charming children’s classic, accompanied by Ensemble Connect conducted by Michael P. Atkinson, Associate Conductor, The Knights. The cast, wearing costumes by Mizrahi, performs choreography by John Heginbotham, bringing the 30-minute story to life for the young and young at heart.
No matter how tall or small, everyone needs a ticket.
Works & Process At The Guggenheim
1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
Isaac Mizrahi (libra) has directed numerous theatrical productions and operas including a 2014 production of The Magic Flute at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Mizrahi has worked extensively in the theater both...
Peter & the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev with Isaac Mizrahi
Saturday, December 10 & Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 1 pm, 2:30 pm & 4 pm
Tickets 35, Choose What You Pay
Isaac Mizrahi narrates and directs Sergei Prokofiev’s charming children’s classic, accompanied by Ensemble Connect conducted by Michael P. Atkinson, Associate Conductor, The Knights. The cast, wearing costumes by Mizrahi, performs choreography by John Heginbotham, bringing the 30-minute story to life for the young and young at heart.
No matter how tall or small, everyone needs a ticket.
Works & Process At The Guggenheim
1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
Isaac Mizrahi (libra) has directed numerous theatrical productions and operas including a 2014 production of The Magic Flute at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Mizrahi has worked extensively in the theater both...
- 10/22/2022
- by Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
Selection of Kantemir Balagov and Kira Kovalenko to be unveiled on September 2 opening day.
Telluride Film Festival will run from September 2-5 this year and has invited dissident Russian filmmakers Kantemir Balagov and Kira Kovalenko to be its guest directors.
Balagov directed Cannes 2017 Un Certain Regard Fipresci winner Closeness and followed that up with Beanpole, which premiered in the same section in 2019 and also won Fipresci, as well as the best director prize and made the shortlist as Russia’s Oscar submission. His next project, TV series The Last Of Us, is set to premiere on HBO in 2023.
Kovalenko’s...
Telluride Film Festival will run from September 2-5 this year and has invited dissident Russian filmmakers Kantemir Balagov and Kira Kovalenko to be its guest directors.
Balagov directed Cannes 2017 Un Certain Regard Fipresci winner Closeness and followed that up with Beanpole, which premiered in the same section in 2019 and also won Fipresci, as well as the best director prize and made the shortlist as Russia’s Oscar submission. His next project, TV series The Last Of Us, is set to premiere on HBO in 2023.
Kovalenko’s...
- 6/14/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
With Peter Jackson’s re-cut of The Beatles: Get Back coming at the end of November, we are reminded the Beatles were cinematic stars as well as musical artists. Beyond the group’s films, John Lennon played Private Gripweed in Richard Lester’s How I Won the War, and Ringo Starr acted in quite a few films. His choices were far more in keeping with the underground and independent air of the time. Starr starred with Peter Sellars in the anti-capitalist satire The Magic Christian, as the villain in the Spaghetti Western Blindman, and the voyeuristic Mexican gardener Emmanuel in the sex farce Candy. But his most counterculture and independent nod was as Frank Zappa in the film 200 Motels (1971). A special edition of its soundtrack, Frank Zappa 200 Motels 50th Anniversary Edition, is coming out on Dec. 17.
Written by Zappa, who co-directed with Tony Palmer, 200 Motels is a musical...
Written by Zappa, who co-directed with Tony Palmer, 200 Motels is a musical...
- 11/17/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
David H. DePatie, the the animation producer who, along with partner Friz Freleng created one of the most enduring and recognizable cartoon characters of the last century in the Pink Panther, died Sept. 23 of natural causes in Gig Harbor, Washington. He was 91.
His death was announced in a Seattle Times obituary.
In addition to the Pink Panther, which started as part of the main title credits for Blake Edwards’ 1963 heist comedy starring Peter Sellars before spinning off into its own cartoon shorts throughout the ’60s and ’70s, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises generated such instantly identifiable characters as StarKist Tuna’s Charlie Tuna, the cartoon versions of Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman for the opening credits of I Dream of Jeannie, and such children’s staples as The Ant and the Aardvark; Roland and Rattfink and Tijuana Toads, Here Comes the Grump, What’s New Mr. Magoo, Return to the Planet of the Apes,...
His death was announced in a Seattle Times obituary.
In addition to the Pink Panther, which started as part of the main title credits for Blake Edwards’ 1963 heist comedy starring Peter Sellars before spinning off into its own cartoon shorts throughout the ’60s and ’70s, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises generated such instantly identifiable characters as StarKist Tuna’s Charlie Tuna, the cartoon versions of Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman for the opening credits of I Dream of Jeannie, and such children’s staples as The Ant and the Aardvark; Roland and Rattfink and Tijuana Toads, Here Comes the Grump, What’s New Mr. Magoo, Return to the Planet of the Apes,...
- 10/14/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”
It’s official! Charlize Theron tells me that the script is done for the sequel to “The Old Guard,” her Netflix film adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name. Cameras will start rolling in the first quarter of 2022. The gay couple, played by Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli, will be back, too. “Oh, yeah!” Theron says. “They’re definitely there.” Meanwhile, Vin Diesel tells me that he has writers working on a “Fast & Furious” spinoff for Theron’s character, Cipher. One thing the Oscar winner won’t be doing is guest hosting “The Bachelor.” You’d think producers of the romance reality show would have asked Theron, an unabashed and vocal fan of the franchise. “They have not, goddamn it,” she cracked at her Africa Outreach Project benefit. Would she do it? “No!” she said. “I’d make a terrible host.
It’s official! Charlize Theron tells me that the script is done for the sequel to “The Old Guard,” her Netflix film adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name. Cameras will start rolling in the first quarter of 2022. The gay couple, played by Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli, will be back, too. “Oh, yeah!” Theron says. “They’re definitely there.” Meanwhile, Vin Diesel tells me that he has writers working on a “Fast & Furious” spinoff for Theron’s character, Cipher. One thing the Oscar winner won’t be doing is guest hosting “The Bachelor.” You’d think producers of the romance reality show would have asked Theron, an unabashed and vocal fan of the franchise. “They have not, goddamn it,” she cracked at her Africa Outreach Project benefit. Would she do it? “No!” she said. “I’d make a terrible host.
- 6/30/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins will serve as the guest director of this year’s Telluride Film Festival, the festival announced on Thursday.
Jenkins will select a series of films to present at the 48th Telluride Film Festival, which will take place Sept. 2-6, 2021.
“Each year as we think about who a good Guest Director would be, Tom and I weigh different factors,” executive director Julie Huntsinger said in a statement. “Many are based in the intellectual realm: film knowledge, appreciation and, of course, serious talent. But our recipe always includes something more ephemeral – something that has to do with the quality of the human heart. Rare is the person who exceeds on each of these criteria. Barry Jenkins checks every box and more. We feel lucky and a little incredulous that our long-time friend and very talented colleague has agreed to join us as Guest Director this year. The...
Jenkins will select a series of films to present at the 48th Telluride Film Festival, which will take place Sept. 2-6, 2021.
“Each year as we think about who a good Guest Director would be, Tom and I weigh different factors,” executive director Julie Huntsinger said in a statement. “Many are based in the intellectual realm: film knowledge, appreciation and, of course, serious talent. But our recipe always includes something more ephemeral – something that has to do with the quality of the human heart. Rare is the person who exceeds on each of these criteria. Barry Jenkins checks every box and more. We feel lucky and a little incredulous that our long-time friend and very talented colleague has agreed to join us as Guest Director this year. The...
- 6/17/2021
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Jerome Hellman, the producer of landmark films such as Midnight Cowboy and Coming Home has died. The Oscar winner’s wife, Elizabeth Empleton Hellman, confirmed Hellman’s May 26 passing saying simply, “we will miss him terribly.” He was 92.
Hellman’s films helped define the “New Hollywood” of the 1970s. He tended to work repeatedly with a circle of top-notch collaborators and the films Hellman produced came from iconic directors such as John Schlesinger, Hal Ashby, George Roy Hill, Irvin Kershner and Peter Weir.
That Hellman would win Best Picture for Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy in 1970 was, at the very least, improbable. Hellman was going through a tough divorce. The film was based on a little-known novel. Schlesinger didn’t think Dustin Hoffman was right to play Ratso Rizzo. But Hellman fought for the Graduate actor. Also, the film was X-rated and dealt with homosexuality, prostitution and a gritty slice of...
Hellman’s films helped define the “New Hollywood” of the 1970s. He tended to work repeatedly with a circle of top-notch collaborators and the films Hellman produced came from iconic directors such as John Schlesinger, Hal Ashby, George Roy Hill, Irvin Kershner and Peter Weir.
That Hellman would win Best Picture for Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy in 1970 was, at the very least, improbable. Hellman was going through a tough divorce. The film was based on a little-known novel. Schlesinger didn’t think Dustin Hoffman was right to play Ratso Rizzo. But Hellman fought for the Graduate actor. Also, the film was X-rated and dealt with homosexuality, prostitution and a gritty slice of...
- 5/28/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
And now the 93rd Annual Oscars are finished. Another one for the records books, it is now history. But how to quench your thirst for a bit more Hollywood history? Here’s the perfect refresher. It’s a warm, interview and clip-filled look back at one of the motion picture industry’s greatest producers. As a matter of fact (and it’s hammered home here) he was the head (or close to) of four of the major studio. Oh, and he’s still with us, offering his sage advice and counsel to filmmakers and stars. So we’re not talking about the cigar-chomping Golden Age studio moguls who are usually vilified in the non-fiction books and films (The biggest villain of Mank may be the ruthless and controlling Louis Mayer). No, this is about a man whose influence may have ushered in, maybe not a silver, but a bronze age,...
- 4/26/2021
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
If you were thinking of attending this year’s annual Labor Day weekend cinephile celebration high in the Rocky Mountains, it’s too late. Coveted passes to the 46th Telluride Film Festival sold out months ago, and the Los Angeles charter flights to Montrose, Colorado are booked.
Every year the Telluride Film Festival welcomes a new round of filmmakers and cinephiles seeking mutual satisfaction. And it marks the real start of the Oscar conversation. Sure, Sundance launched “The Farewell,” “The Report,” and “Clemency” and a raft of strong documentaries, and Cannes yielded “Rocketman” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and a rich crop of likely foreign-language contenders. But all these films must withstand a powerful riptide of Oscar-bound movies with massive awards campaigns behind them. Distributors don’t head for Telluride if they aren’t confident that their entries will emerge with buzz and momentum heading into Toronto.
Some...
Every year the Telluride Film Festival welcomes a new round of filmmakers and cinephiles seeking mutual satisfaction. And it marks the real start of the Oscar conversation. Sure, Sundance launched “The Farewell,” “The Report,” and “Clemency” and a raft of strong documentaries, and Cannes yielded “Rocketman” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and a rich crop of likely foreign-language contenders. But all these films must withstand a powerful riptide of Oscar-bound movies with massive awards campaigns behind them. Distributors don’t head for Telluride if they aren’t confident that their entries will emerge with buzz and momentum heading into Toronto.
Some...
- 6/19/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
If you were thinking of attending this year’s annual Labor Day weekend cinephile celebration high in the Rocky Mountains, it’s too late. Coveted passes to the 46th Telluride Film Festival sold out months ago, and the Los Angeles charter flights to Montrose, Colorado are booked.
Every year the Telluride Film Festival welcomes a new round of filmmakers and cinephiles seeking mutual satisfaction. And it marks the real start of the Oscar conversation. Sure, Sundance launched “The Farewell,” “The Report,” and “Clemency” and a raft of strong documentaries, and Cannes yielded “Rocketman” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and a rich crop of likely foreign-language contenders. But all these films must withstand a powerful riptide of Oscar-bound movies with massive awards campaigns behind them. Distributors don’t head for Telluride if they aren’t confident that their entries will emerge with buzz and momentum heading into Toronto.
Some...
Every year the Telluride Film Festival welcomes a new round of filmmakers and cinephiles seeking mutual satisfaction. And it marks the real start of the Oscar conversation. Sure, Sundance launched “The Farewell,” “The Report,” and “Clemency” and a raft of strong documentaries, and Cannes yielded “Rocketman” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and a rich crop of likely foreign-language contenders. But all these films must withstand a powerful riptide of Oscar-bound movies with massive awards campaigns behind them. Distributors don’t head for Telluride if they aren’t confident that their entries will emerge with buzz and momentum heading into Toronto.
Some...
- 6/19/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s film and visual art exhibition has assumed near-mythic status as one of the strangest endeavours in European film history.
Dau, the long-gestating and controversial series of feature films and visual art projects and live installations by Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky, is gearing up to launch in the neighbouring Theatre du Chatelet and Theatre de la Ville theatres in Paris on January 24. The event will run non-stop, for 24 hours a day, until February 17.
The project, originally conceived as a $3m arthouse film biopic about the Nobel prize-winning Russian physicist Lev Landau in 2006, has assumed near-mythic status as one...
Dau, the long-gestating and controversial series of feature films and visual art projects and live installations by Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky, is gearing up to launch in the neighbouring Theatre du Chatelet and Theatre de la Ville theatres in Paris on January 24. The event will run non-stop, for 24 hours a day, until February 17.
The project, originally conceived as a $3m arthouse film biopic about the Nobel prize-winning Russian physicist Lev Landau in 2006, has assumed near-mythic status as one...
- 1/10/2019
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The Telluride Film Festival has selected novelist Jonathan Lethem as its guest director for its 45th annual fest.
The festival, running over Labor Day weekend on Aug. 31 to Sept. 3, announced the selection on Friday. Lethem will pick a series of films to screen at the festival and plans to participate in discussions at the screenings.
Lethem has written 10 novels, five short story collections, a novella, two books of essays, a comic series, and articles in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and McSweeney’s. He’s best known for his fifth novel, “Motherless Brooklyn,” the 1999 book that won the National Book Critics Circle Award, Macallan Gold Dagger for Crime Fiction, and Salon Book Award.
The film adaptation of “Motherless Brooklyn” — directed by Edward Norton, and starring Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, and Leslie Mann — is currently in production and slated for release in 2019. Lethem’s more recent novels include New York Times...
The festival, running over Labor Day weekend on Aug. 31 to Sept. 3, announced the selection on Friday. Lethem will pick a series of films to screen at the festival and plans to participate in discussions at the screenings.
Lethem has written 10 novels, five short story collections, a novella, two books of essays, a comic series, and articles in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and McSweeney’s. He’s best known for his fifth novel, “Motherless Brooklyn,” the 1999 book that won the National Book Critics Circle Award, Macallan Gold Dagger for Crime Fiction, and Salon Book Award.
The film adaptation of “Motherless Brooklyn” — directed by Edward Norton, and starring Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, and Leslie Mann — is currently in production and slated for release in 2019. Lethem’s more recent novels include New York Times...
- 6/15/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Author’s breakout novel Motherless Brooklyn in production.
Telluride Film Festival presented by National Film Preserve Ltd announced on Friday (June 15) that novellist Jonathan Lethem will be the festival’s 2018 guest director.
Lethem will select a series of films to present at the 45th Telluride Film Festival that runs over Labor Day Weekend from August 31-September 3.
In keeping with Telluride Film Festival tradition, the festival will attempt to keep secret Lethem’s film selections, along with the rest of its line-up, until opening day.
“Tom and I first met Jonathan through Criterion Collection,” Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger said.
Telluride Film Festival presented by National Film Preserve Ltd announced on Friday (June 15) that novellist Jonathan Lethem will be the festival’s 2018 guest director.
Lethem will select a series of films to present at the 45th Telluride Film Festival that runs over Labor Day Weekend from August 31-September 3.
In keeping with Telluride Film Festival tradition, the festival will attempt to keep secret Lethem’s film selections, along with the rest of its line-up, until opening day.
“Tom and I first met Jonathan through Criterion Collection,” Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger said.
- 6/15/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Merman becomes a critic, discussing the new Angles in America, praising Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane takes on Peter Sellars, Stritch goes multi-cam, Lucy plays Dolly, Madeline Kahn takes a walk, Elaine conquers the West End, the legacy of Elaine Stritch, accentuating the positive, being on the line for real, how a revival comes to life, the A Chorus Line legacy, the secret passageways of Broadway, loving Michael Bennett, Freddie Martinez makes a comeback, and Rob brings out new impressions.
- 4/4/2018
- by Behind the Curtain
- BroadwayWorld.com
At this year’s Telluride Film Festival, the “Wonder Woman” effect continues to send ripples throughout the industry. Case in point: Saturday’s hugely attended “Wonder Women” panel, moderated by director Peter Sellars and boasting a panel that included actress and filmmaker Angelina Jolie, lauded chef and restaurateur Alice Waters, tennis champ Billie Jean King (the subject of the Telluride premiere “Battle of the Sexes”), and actress and filmmaker Natalie Portman.
Jolie was at the annual Colorado film festival to bow her latest directorial effort, “First They Killed My Father,” which debuted the night before the panel. It will be available on Netflix later this month, after screening at Tiff next week.
Read More:‘First They Killed My Father’ Review: Angelina Jolie’s Cambodian Drama Is Her Best Film
In our review, Eric Kohn praised it as being “a more focused, involving work than any of her earlier efforts, a...
Jolie was at the annual Colorado film festival to bow her latest directorial effort, “First They Killed My Father,” which debuted the night before the panel. It will be available on Netflix later this month, after screening at Tiff next week.
Read More:‘First They Killed My Father’ Review: Angelina Jolie’s Cambodian Drama Is Her Best Film
In our review, Eric Kohn praised it as being “a more focused, involving work than any of her earlier efforts, a...
- 9/3/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
There’s nothing revelatory or new about adding a dose of the comedic to a crime picture, but the heist comedy is just a small corner of a vast and beloved cinematic landscape, as of recently, dominated by one filmmaker: Steven Soderbergh.
Responsible for four acclaimed entries in the genre, including Out of Sight and the Ocean’s 11 trilogy, Soderbergh has thankfully ended his so-called retirement and returned to film and the world of heist comedies with his newest, Logan Lucky, now playing in theaters. The film’s plot follows Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) a family man who plans to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, only to find he and his crew (Adam Driver, Daniel Craig and Riley Keough) must do the job while a Nascar race is underway.
To celebrate Soderbergh’s return with Logan Lucky, we’ve decided to look back at the greatest heist comedies of all-time.
Responsible for four acclaimed entries in the genre, including Out of Sight and the Ocean’s 11 trilogy, Soderbergh has thankfully ended his so-called retirement and returned to film and the world of heist comedies with his newest, Logan Lucky, now playing in theaters. The film’s plot follows Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) a family man who plans to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, only to find he and his crew (Adam Driver, Daniel Craig and Riley Keough) must do the job while a Nascar race is underway.
To celebrate Soderbergh’s return with Logan Lucky, we’ve decided to look back at the greatest heist comedies of all-time.
- 8/23/2017
- by Tony Hinds
- The Film Stage
Containing multitudes is a time-honored cinematic tradition.
Sure, featuring a single actor as more than one character in your movie smells a bit like a gimmick—but at the end of the day, it’s an efficient and often effective means of showcasing the versatility of a performer. And that can hardly be faulted. We caught a whiff of it with Split this year, though McAvoy might be disqualified for being a Legion of One rather than a cast with a shared face. Personally, I had no idea the trend cast such a wide-reaching historical net — I’d stupidly assumed it was something made possible by the advent of modern makeup and digital tech. Again, stupidly.
Be it gimmick or something more nuanced (or both!) — it’s particularly fascinating that it has such a long standing history as a marketing device. Film quality aside, the main draw is often the performative tour-de-force itself. Some...
Sure, featuring a single actor as more than one character in your movie smells a bit like a gimmick—but at the end of the day, it’s an efficient and often effective means of showcasing the versatility of a performer. And that can hardly be faulted. We caught a whiff of it with Split this year, though McAvoy might be disqualified for being a Legion of One rather than a cast with a shared face. Personally, I had no idea the trend cast such a wide-reaching historical net — I’d stupidly assumed it was something made possible by the advent of modern makeup and digital tech. Again, stupidly.
Be it gimmick or something more nuanced (or both!) — it’s particularly fascinating that it has such a long standing history as a marketing device. Film quality aside, the main draw is often the performative tour-de-force itself. Some...
- 4/13/2017
- by Meg Shields
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Dci John Luther (Idris Elba) speaks in terse, staccato sentences, as if to match the impression his heavy gait and muscular frame leave on his interlocutors: “Aight mate?” the owner of a gangland watering hole asks him in the fourth installment of “Luther.” “Lookin’ a bit militant there.”
Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), by contrast, speaks in stem-winding, breathless paragraphs, holding his reedy figure still as if to conserve energy for his acumen: “You’re clearly acclimatized to never getting to the end of a sentence,” he tells Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) in “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride.” “We’ll get along splendidly.”
This battle of British detectives, in which we might include “The Night Manager”‘s Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), recruited by British intelligence to infiltrate the inner circle of an international arms dealer (Hugh Laurie), points to a few of the complicating factors in the race for Outstanding...
Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), by contrast, speaks in stem-winding, breathless paragraphs, holding his reedy figure still as if to conserve energy for his acumen: “You’re clearly acclimatized to never getting to the end of a sentence,” he tells Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) in “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride.” “We’ll get along splendidly.”
This battle of British detectives, in which we might include “The Night Manager”‘s Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), recruited by British intelligence to infiltrate the inner circle of an international arms dealer (Hugh Laurie), points to a few of the complicating factors in the race for Outstanding...
- 9/14/2016
- by Matt Brennan
- Indiewire
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column.
– Exclusive: The 6th Annual Lower East Side Film Festival and their 2016 panel of judges, including Ethan Hawke, Cindy Tolan, Steve Farneth and Raul Castillo have announced their winners. Check them out below.
Best Feature Film – “Americana” – By Zachary Shedd
Best Live Action Short Film – “Killer” – By Matt Kazman
Best Animated Short Film – “The Mega Plush: Episode I” – By Matt Burniston
Best Music Video – The Knocks’ “Collect My Love” – By Austin Peters, Music by The Knocks, featuring Alex Newell
Best Documentary Short Film – “Erosion” – By Brandon Bloch, Tim Sessler and Brandon Bray
The Advocacy Award Presented by Here TV – “Video” – By Randy Yang
The Lesff Neighborhood Award – “Streit’s: Matzo and the American Dream” – By Michael Levine
Best of Fest, The Lesff Prix D’Or – “Art of the Prank” – By Andrea Marini
Audience Award...
– Exclusive: The 6th Annual Lower East Side Film Festival and their 2016 panel of judges, including Ethan Hawke, Cindy Tolan, Steve Farneth and Raul Castillo have announced their winners. Check them out below.
Best Feature Film – “Americana” – By Zachary Shedd
Best Live Action Short Film – “Killer” – By Matt Kazman
Best Animated Short Film – “The Mega Plush: Episode I” – By Matt Burniston
Best Music Video – The Knocks’ “Collect My Love” – By Austin Peters, Music by The Knocks, featuring Alex Newell
Best Documentary Short Film – “Erosion” – By Brandon Bloch, Tim Sessler and Brandon Bray
The Advocacy Award Presented by Here TV – “Video” – By Randy Yang
The Lesff Neighborhood Award – “Streit’s: Matzo and the American Dream” – By Michael Levine
Best of Fest, The Lesff Prix D’Or – “Art of the Prank” – By Andrea Marini
Audience Award...
- 6/17/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Public Theater played host to an awards ceremony honoring one of its own Nov. 30. Suzan-Lori Parks, groundbreaking playwright, novelist, musician, and the Public’s master writer chair, accepted the esteemed Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, winning $300,000 and becoming the 22nd recipient of the award. Given to such innovative artists as Bob Dylan, Arthur Miller, Peter Sellars, Anna Deavere Smith, and Spike Lee, the prize was established posthumously by Lillian Gish in 1994. In her opening remarks, Jacqueline Elias of JPMorgan Chase Bank, trustee of the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize Trust, read an excerpt from the legendary actor’s will. “It has been my desire to contribute through the performing arts to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life. I have also sought to assist and encourage others who share the desire to contribute to these ends,” Gish wrote. Oskar Eustis, artistic director of the Public,...
- 12/2/2015
- backstage.com
Sophia Loren talks to Ian Woodward about Peter Sellars, Richard Burton and overcoming her shyness on screen
There are those who maintain that Sophia Loren is all fuse and no bang: she never seems to be ill, or fed up, or bored. Her answer is that she has never suffered from the feeling that she is missing something, for the simple reason that she knows she is not. It takes a lifetime’s wisdom, or a healthy bank balance, to reach that sort of conclusion.
Four years ago the Rome municipal tax collector’s office declared La Loren as the woman with the biggest income in Rome - a taxable figure of £231,100. Incidentally (because it helps feed the mouth of wisdom), the second highest income earner in the city was her husband, director Carlo Ponti, with a figure of £188,000. You can see how, with a cool £400,000 between you, it is...
There are those who maintain that Sophia Loren is all fuse and no bang: she never seems to be ill, or fed up, or bored. Her answer is that she has never suffered from the feeling that she is missing something, for the simple reason that she knows she is not. It takes a lifetime’s wisdom, or a healthy bank balance, to reach that sort of conclusion.
Four years ago the Rome municipal tax collector’s office declared La Loren as the woman with the biggest income in Rome - a taxable figure of £231,100. Incidentally (because it helps feed the mouth of wisdom), the second highest income earner in the city was her husband, director Carlo Ponti, with a figure of £188,000. You can see how, with a cool £400,000 between you, it is...
- 8/29/2015
- by Ian Woodward
- The Guardian - Film News
This week, Vulture will be publishing our critics' year-end lists. 1. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Metropolitan Opera The Met had a rough year: the threat of a strike, conflict over the allegedly terrorist-loving The Death of Klinghoffer, and a nauseating deficit ($22 million!). But once the curtain goes up, such trivial problems fade in favor of much worse ones, like those playing out in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. In Graham Vick’s long-absent vintage production, the soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek made killing your husband, banging his employee, poisoning his father, and going on a death march to Siberia into a hugely entertaining evening.2. St. Matthew Passion, Peter Sellars and the Berlin Philharmonic Sellars reconfigured both the Park Avenue Armory and Bach’s oratorio, performing the piece in the round and bringing out the intimate human currents in a monumental, scriptural score. Led by Simon Rattle, it was also terrific theater. 3. Salome,...
- 12/11/2014
- by Justin Davidson
- Vulture
Anne Marie from the AFI Fest on an International Legend...
At age 80, Sophia Loren is still magnetic. When the Academy Award-winning actress appeared onstage at the Dolby Theatre on Wednesday night for an AFI Fest tribute to her career, she received a two-minute long standing ovation. The audience whooped and yelled "Bellisima" before Loren, elegant in a black gown studded with crystals, could do more than walk onstage and smile. Once the furor died down, Rob Marshall, her director for Nine, interviewed Sophia Loren about her career, co-stars, and controversies.
“When I saw the movies, I forgot the war, forgot hunger. It was possible to believe there was another life than the one I was in.”
Despite her glamorous image, Loren's description of her early life growing up poor in the slums of Italy was bleak. When she met her husband, producer Carlo Ponti (who passed away in 2007), he took...
At age 80, Sophia Loren is still magnetic. When the Academy Award-winning actress appeared onstage at the Dolby Theatre on Wednesday night for an AFI Fest tribute to her career, she received a two-minute long standing ovation. The audience whooped and yelled "Bellisima" before Loren, elegant in a black gown studded with crystals, could do more than walk onstage and smile. Once the furor died down, Rob Marshall, her director for Nine, interviewed Sophia Loren about her career, co-stars, and controversies.
“When I saw the movies, I forgot the war, forgot hunger. It was possible to believe there was another life than the one I was in.”
Despite her glamorous image, Loren's description of her early life growing up poor in the slums of Italy was bleak. When she met her husband, producer Carlo Ponti (who passed away in 2007), he took...
- 11/14/2014
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
When director Peter Sellars and composer John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer had its initial runs in Brussels and New York in 1991, it caused a sensation and a furor. The subject matter, still fresh in the public consciousness, was the 1985 hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro by the Palestinian Liberation Front, and the ruthless murder of 69-year-old Jewish —and wheelchair-bound — passenger Leon Klinghoffer. Considering, for instance, that the aftermath of the public uproar left talented librettist Alice Goodman virtually unable to work, the piece languished for two decades, with major opera houses
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- 10/22/2014
- by Ken Scrudato
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Every musician returning to a familiar masterwork claims fresh insight — details that suddenly reveal themselves, a new understanding buried in the score’s infinite riches. Great art is always changing, we’re told, which is what makes it great. This is often hogwash. Symphonic music’s most loyal audiences rely on the fact that most of it sounds mostly the same most of the time. Somehow, though, the Berlin Philharmonic made Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, that old collection of cumbersome glories, feel like a stunningly contemporary drama.The astonishment began before the first note had sounded. The director Peter Sellars had tailored his staging for the Berliner Philharmonie, so the only way to import the spectacle was to bring the hall along, too. In the Park Avenue Armory, someone had assembled immense quantities of scaffolding into a nearly full-scale mock-up of the orchestra’s famous home. Seating encircled the...
- 10/14/2014
- by Justin Davidson
- Vulture
Opera is waking up to the power of video. For his new production of Don Giovanni, the Royal Opera House's Kasper Holten collaborated with a designer who turned U2 tours and the 2012 Olympics into visual spectaculars. Stuart Jeffries goes behind the screens
"Don Giovanni is called the director's graveyard," says Kasper Holten. "It's impossible to do a perfect production. The existential moral journey of the seducer to hell is hard enough to make convincing – without having to juggle all the farcical elements, too."
So why is Holten, the Royal Opera House's director of opera, returning to Mozart's work for the third time (he has already directed it on stage and on film)? And why is he ratcheting up the risk with some of the tricksiest, most perilous video design ever seen on the British opera stage?
"It makes sense marrying video technology and Mozart," he explains. "If he were alive,...
"Don Giovanni is called the director's graveyard," says Kasper Holten. "It's impossible to do a perfect production. The existential moral journey of the seducer to hell is hard enough to make convincing – without having to juggle all the farcical elements, too."
So why is Holten, the Royal Opera House's director of opera, returning to Mozart's work for the third time (he has already directed it on stage and on film)? And why is he ratcheting up the risk with some of the tricksiest, most perilous video design ever seen on the British opera stage?
"It makes sense marrying video technology and Mozart," he explains. "If he were alive,...
- 2/11/2014
- by Stuart Jeffries
- The Guardian - Film News
On stage, Philip Seymour Hoffman excelled playing characters driven by desire. As a theatre director, he pushed his actors towards abandon
Although best known for his Oscar-nominated turns in films such as Capote and The Master, Philip Seymour Hoffman was also a visceral stage actor and a sensitive, vigorous theatre director. On stage, he had a savage, vital and vulnerable presence that his film appearances approached, but never really equalled. He traded in a kind of heightened naturalism that made even the most absurd scenarios seem likely. Doughy, slouchy, unhandsome and unkempt, Hoffman distinguished himself with his fierce commitment to preparing roles and his lack of vanity in playing them.
A graduate of New York University, he cut his theatrical teeth downtown, in plays including Caryl Churchill's The Skriker and Mark Ravenhill's Shopping and Fucking, before assuming more high-profile roles. He alternated with John C Reilly as Austin...
Although best known for his Oscar-nominated turns in films such as Capote and The Master, Philip Seymour Hoffman was also a visceral stage actor and a sensitive, vigorous theatre director. On stage, he had a savage, vital and vulnerable presence that his film appearances approached, but never really equalled. He traded in a kind of heightened naturalism that made even the most absurd scenarios seem likely. Doughy, slouchy, unhandsome and unkempt, Hoffman distinguished himself with his fierce commitment to preparing roles and his lack of vanity in playing them.
A graduate of New York University, he cut his theatrical teeth downtown, in plays including Caryl Churchill's The Skriker and Mark Ravenhill's Shopping and Fucking, before assuming more high-profile roles. He alternated with John C Reilly as Austin...
- 2/3/2014
- by Alexis Soloski
- The Guardian - Film News
Park Avenue Armory announced today its 2014 season, an unprecedented mix of presentations and commissions ranging from Kenneth Branagh's highly-anticipated New York stage debut in an immersive and visceral staging of Macbeth to the London-based trio The xx in a performance that alters the interaction and relationship of the audience with the band to a visual art commission by artist Douglas Gordon and classical pianist Helene Grimaud that will transform the drill hall into a water-filled environment to Peter Sellars's staging of St. Matthew Passion which fuses the audience, the orchestra, and soloists into one dramatic, unified assembly.
- 12/12/2013
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Scherbachenko/Cernoch/Blanc/Groves/Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus/Currentzis
(Teatro Real)
Directed by Peter Sellars and conducted by Teodor Currentzis, this unusual double bill, from Madrid's Teatro Real, pairs Tchaikovsky's last opera, Iolanta, with Perséphone, Stravinsky's 1934 melodrama for singers, dancers and actors. Sellars, uncompromising as always, views each heroine in political-religious terms: Iolanta, the blind girl who wills herself to see so as to experience love, represents human striving towards God; Perséphone, descending to the underworld to relieve the suffering of its inhabitants, embodies belief in action. The Tchaikovsky, though musically strong, is at times too didactic. Perséphone, however, is extraordinarily beautiful. There are fine performances from Dominique Blanc in the title role and Paul Groves as Eumolpe. The real touch of genius, though, is Sellars' decision to reimagine the piece in terms of eastern dance rather than ballet, and the choreography, by Cambodia's Amrita Performing Arts, is exquisite.
(Teatro Real)
Directed by Peter Sellars and conducted by Teodor Currentzis, this unusual double bill, from Madrid's Teatro Real, pairs Tchaikovsky's last opera, Iolanta, with Perséphone, Stravinsky's 1934 melodrama for singers, dancers and actors. Sellars, uncompromising as always, views each heroine in political-religious terms: Iolanta, the blind girl who wills herself to see so as to experience love, represents human striving towards God; Perséphone, descending to the underworld to relieve the suffering of its inhabitants, embodies belief in action. The Tchaikovsky, though musically strong, is at times too didactic. Perséphone, however, is extraordinarily beautiful. There are fine performances from Dominique Blanc in the title role and Paul Groves as Eumolpe. The real touch of genius, though, is Sellars' decision to reimagine the piece in terms of eastern dance rather than ballet, and the choreography, by Cambodia's Amrita Performing Arts, is exquisite.
- 12/13/2012
- by Tim Ashley
- The Guardian - Film News
Over the years, many friends and colleagues had mentioned the cinephile haven that is Telluride, but I was either too busy or too far to make the trip to the mountain tops. Finally I caved in to the (positive) peer pressure and applied to be a volunteer for the 39th Telluride Film festival over Labor Day. The deal is simple: work 40 hours over 4 days and you will eat for free, see incredible films and probably get hooked for the rest of your life. Enticing.
Telluride is not easy to get to: you will need multiple connecting flights, an extra car ride, and everyone is scrambling to secure a roof over their heads. But putting aside the financial and time commitments, arriving in beautiful Telluride, you will soon know it was all worth it. The magical scenery is not only complimented by a great community of film devotees, the experience of the festival itself is unique.
Telluride is not easy to get to: you will need multiple connecting flights, an extra car ride, and everyone is scrambling to secure a roof over their heads. But putting aside the financial and time commitments, arriving in beautiful Telluride, you will soon know it was all worth it. The magical scenery is not only complimented by a great community of film devotees, the experience of the festival itself is unique.
- 9/3/2012
- by Camille Bertrand
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The Telluride Film Festival has announced that award-winning writer Geoff Dyer will be the Guest Director at the 39th edition of the festival, which runs this August 31-September 3. The Guest Director serves as "a key collaborator in the Festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas and overlooked films to Telluride." Dyer follows last year's director, Alexander Payne, as well as long line of esteemed people from around the world. Past Guest Directors include Caetano Veloso, Michael Ondaatje, Salman Rushdie, Peter Bogdanovich, B. Ruby Rich, Phillip Lopate, Errol Morris, Bertrand Tavernier, John Boorman, John Simon, Buck Henry, Laurie Anderson, Stephen Sondheim, G. Cabrera Infante, Peter Sellars, Don DeLillo, J.P. Gorin, Edith Kramer and Slavoj Zizek. More information and the full press release below. Berkeley, CA – Telluride Film Festival, presented by National Film Preserve Ltd., is thrilled to announce its 2012 Guest Director, Geoff...
- 6/11/2012
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
Andreas Knapp Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena kneels in concert.
The performance of sacred music in concert halls has become so common that we rarely pause to reflect on what is lost in translation. Outside its intended context, church music, like a Madonna displayed on a museum wall, loses its ritual power. What was conceived as an act of communal worship – a mass for the dead, a re-enactment of the Passion – becomes a professional spectacle offered up for the edification of a passive audience.
The performance of sacred music in concert halls has become so common that we rarely pause to reflect on what is lost in translation. Outside its intended context, church music, like a Madonna displayed on a museum wall, loses its ritual power. What was conceived as an act of communal worship – a mass for the dead, a re-enactment of the Passion – becomes a professional spectacle offered up for the edification of a passive audience.
- 4/19/2012
- by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Richard Paul Fink
Richard Paul Fink said he cried after he learned that “Doctor Atomic,” John Adams’s opera about the creation of the atomic bomb, had won the 2012 Grammy award for Best Opera Recording. “This never happens to me. I’m a 56-year-old opera singer and I’m thinking, Ok, how many years do I have left? To be treated to a Grammy is something else,” said the operatic baritone, who is in New York preparing to perform in...
Richard Paul Fink said he cried after he learned that “Doctor Atomic,” John Adams’s opera about the creation of the atomic bomb, had won the 2012 Grammy award for Best Opera Recording. “This never happens to me. I’m a 56-year-old opera singer and I’m thinking, Ok, how many years do I have left? To be treated to a Grammy is something else,” said the operatic baritone, who is in New York preparing to perform in...
- 3/31/2012
- by Mariam Brillantes
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Telluride Film Festival 2011, Day 1
The first day of the festival proper also means the first round of Symposium speakers have arrived, and two of them are program fixtures. The first is documentarian Ken Burns, who’s spoken to the Symposium students every year since the second edition; the second is theater director / arts professor Peter Sellars, who’s become a regular over the last few years thanks to his unique speaking style. (More on that later.)
Burns, who’s also on the fest’s Board of Governors, was up first. Each speaker – and this goes for the entire Symposium – gets a 45-minute slot. Burns, whose 35 years as America’s foremost documentary chronicler of American history made him the most familiar of the three speakers to the bulk of the group, opened himself up to questions right away, rather than setting the agenda. Burns would often relate his answer to his latest epic-length production,...
The first day of the festival proper also means the first round of Symposium speakers have arrived, and two of them are program fixtures. The first is documentarian Ken Burns, who’s spoken to the Symposium students every year since the second edition; the second is theater director / arts professor Peter Sellars, who’s become a regular over the last few years thanks to his unique speaking style. (More on that later.)
Burns, who’s also on the fest’s Board of Governors, was up first. Each speaker – and this goes for the entire Symposium – gets a 45-minute slot. Burns, whose 35 years as America’s foremost documentary chronicler of American history made him the most familiar of the three speakers to the bulk of the group, opened himself up to questions right away, rather than setting the agenda. Burns would often relate his answer to his latest epic-length production,...
- 9/3/2011
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
Getty
September 2 marks the beginning of the four-day Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado. Now in its 38th year, the festival had enjoyed a long tradition of enlisting filmmakers and other artists as a Guest Director, who programs screenings of films personally important to them. This year, Brazilian music icon Caetano Veloso joins the festival directors as Telluride’s Guest Director, assembling a slate of six films to be shown along with the rest of Telluride’s programming. Festival co-founder...
September 2 marks the beginning of the four-day Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado. Now in its 38th year, the festival had enjoyed a long tradition of enlisting filmmakers and other artists as a Guest Director, who programs screenings of films personally important to them. This year, Brazilian music icon Caetano Veloso joins the festival directors as Telluride’s Guest Director, assembling a slate of six films to be shown along with the rest of Telluride’s programming. Festival co-founder...
- 9/1/2011
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
The guest director for the 38th Telluride Film Festival is Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso. He'll curate a special program for the four-day Labor Day weekend festival. I've seen Veloso in concert; I can't wait to see what he comes up with. Attendees at the Colorado Rocky Mountain fest won't find out the program until they arrive on opening day September 2. Congrats to fest directors Tom Luddy, Gary Meyer and Julie Huntsinger for thinking outside the box. Former guest director Peter Sellars suggested Veloso, who is a major film fan. Past Guest Directors include Michael Ondaatje, Alexander Payne, Salman Rushdie, Peter Bogdanovich, B. Ruby Rich, Phillip Lopate, Errol Morris, Bertrand Tavernier, John Boorman, John Simon, Buck Henry, Laurie Anderson and Stephen Sondheim. The Guest Director ...
- 6/28/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
When Danny Boyle walked away with the biggest prizes of 2008 for Slumdog Millionaire, he reaffirmed his status as one of the best directors currently working, and would surely have had his pick of projects. One thing was certain: whatever he chose would have to be story-driven with an obvious and strong human element running throughout, following the trend of even his most genre of works.
And in 127 Hours Boyle found a project that met those specifications perfectly: based on the harrowing and astounding story of Aron Ralston, the Oscar winner is available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD now.
The plot has been massively over-trodden by now, so I’ll keep it brief: a mountain climber – Aron Ralston (James Franco) – becomes trapped in a narrow passage when a boulder falls and pins his arm. Helpless and seemingly hopeless, he makes a video diary, until he eventually is forced to cut...
And in 127 Hours Boyle found a project that met those specifications perfectly: based on the harrowing and astounding story of Aron Ralston, the Oscar winner is available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD now.
The plot has been massively over-trodden by now, so I’ll keep it brief: a mountain climber – Aron Ralston (James Franco) – becomes trapped in a narrow passage when a boulder falls and pins his arm. Helpless and seemingly hopeless, he makes a video diary, until he eventually is forced to cut...
- 6/8/2011
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
Programme includes theatre productions starring Juliette Binoche and Cate Blanchett, and major Bauhaus exhibition
The Barbican arts centre in London will celebrate next year's Olympics with an "unparalleled" lineup of international stars, including the actors Juliette Binoche and Cate Blanchett; stage directors Yukio Ninagawa and Peter Sellars; and the first UK performance of Einstein on the Beach, the opera that four decades ago made the reputations of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson.
The centre will host the biggest exhibition in the UK for 40 years on the Bauhaus design school, which flourished in the 1920s and early 30s.
"In 2012, London welcomes the world for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Barbican will be at the forefront of that international moment with an extraordinary range of cultural experiences for all," said Barbican director Sir Nicholas Kenyon.
He predicted that London will "punch above its weight" in the arts festival, and promised...
The Barbican arts centre in London will celebrate next year's Olympics with an "unparalleled" lineup of international stars, including the actors Juliette Binoche and Cate Blanchett; stage directors Yukio Ninagawa and Peter Sellars; and the first UK performance of Einstein on the Beach, the opera that four decades ago made the reputations of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson.
The centre will host the biggest exhibition in the UK for 40 years on the Bauhaus design school, which flourished in the 1920s and early 30s.
"In 2012, London welcomes the world for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Barbican will be at the forefront of that international moment with an extraordinary range of cultural experiences for all," said Barbican director Sir Nicholas Kenyon.
He predicted that London will "punch above its weight" in the arts festival, and promised...
- 5/24/2011
- by Maev Kennedy
- The Guardian - Film News
The Metropolitan Opera.s premiere production of John Adams. Nixon in China, conducted by the composer and staged by director Peter Sellars, will air in primetime on Thirteen.s Great Performances at the Met Wednesday, June 1 at 9 p.m. Et on PBS (check local listings). In New York, Thirteen will present an encore broadcast on Sunday, July 3 at 12:30 p.m. The program was originally seen live in movie theaters on February 12, 2011 as part of the groundbreaking series, The Met: Live in HD, which transmits live performances to more than 1500 movie theaters and performing arts centers in 46 countries around the world. This broadcast of Nixon in China will immediately follow James Levine: America.s...
- 5/10/2011
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
With reports out of France that Woody Allen is shooting a cameo for the film "Paris Manhattan," a comedy from first-time director Sophie Lellouche in which part of the plot revolves around a pharmacist (Alice Taglioni) so obsessed with his work she prescribes DVDs of his films to patients, the 75-year-old filmmaker continues a tradition of picking peculiar projects to appear in outside of his own.
In a career that's entering its fifth decade, Allen has starred in just six films he hasn't directed ("Play It Again, Sam," "The Front," "Scenes From a Mall," the 1996 "Sunshine Boys" TV remake, "Antz" and "Picking Up the Pieces") and limited himself to a handful of other uncredited cameos. Though he's scarcely performed in anything in recent years - his last role as an actor was in 2006's "Scoop" - some of his most intriguing roles have come in the films in which he's scarcely seen,...
In a career that's entering its fifth decade, Allen has starred in just six films he hasn't directed ("Play It Again, Sam," "The Front," "Scenes From a Mall," the 1996 "Sunshine Boys" TV remake, "Antz" and "Picking Up the Pieces") and limited himself to a handful of other uncredited cameos. Though he's scarcely performed in anything in recent years - his last role as an actor was in 2006's "Scoop" - some of his most intriguing roles have come in the films in which he's scarcely seen,...
- 4/5/2011
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Blu-ray Review
127 Hours
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Cast: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara
Running Time: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: R
Due Out: March 1, 2011
Plot: A mountain climber (Franco) becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.
Who’S It For? People who appreciate true adventure; active enthusiastic explorers will relate most to 127 Hours. The film does rely entirely on universal themes, and as such, people who like to live vicariously through their 1080p should also find this film moving — that is, of course, assuming they’re not claustrophobic or turned off by self-mutilation and spraying blood.
Movie: I honestly have never felt more happy to be alive than I did after first seeing this film. With the closing credits completed, I walked out of the theater with an extra bounce in my step. I inhaled deeply the cold nighttime air,...
127 Hours
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Cast: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara
Running Time: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: R
Due Out: March 1, 2011
Plot: A mountain climber (Franco) becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.
Who’S It For? People who appreciate true adventure; active enthusiastic explorers will relate most to 127 Hours. The film does rely entirely on universal themes, and as such, people who like to live vicariously through their 1080p should also find this film moving — that is, of course, assuming they’re not claustrophobic or turned off by self-mutilation and spraying blood.
Movie: I honestly have never felt more happy to be alive than I did after first seeing this film. With the closing credits completed, I walked out of the theater with an extra bounce in my step. I inhaled deeply the cold nighttime air,...
- 3/10/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
Peter Sellars and Blake Edwards on the set of The Pink Panther, 1964. From United Artists/Photofest. On the evening of September 30, 2010, I participated in a program at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences called “An Evening with Blake Edwards.” Blake and I were seated side by side on the stage of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater before an enthusiastic audience of approximately 1,000, to discuss his life and career. Our relationship had started a long time before that night. In 1960, Blake was one of the earliest targets of the newly formed Mirisch Company’s campaign to add the services of the industry’s most talented directors to our roster of Billy Wilder, John Sturges, William Wyler, and Robert Wise. I had met Blake in 1948, when we were both beginning our careers at the little Monogram Studios, but our careers—his as a writer-director, mine as a producer—had gone in...
- 12/17/2010
- Vanity Fair
Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue in The King’s Speech. The King’s Speech, which opens Friday in limited release, has already taken its place alongside The Social Network as a film to beat this Oscar season for best picture. If you want to know why, just look at the cast. With masterful performances by Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech is something of a master class of great acting. Little Gold Men had the pleasure of talking with Rush, who won best actor in 1996 for his portrayal of the prodigy David Helfgott in Shine and hasn’t let up since. In the new film, Rush plays Lionel Logue, an Australian actor who is hired to help Prince Albert (Firth) overcome his speech impediment before being crowned King George VI. Little Gold Men: From Peter Sellars to the Marquis de Sade, and now with...
- 11/24/2010
- Vanity Fair
A very serious question for How To Start Your Own Country director Jody Shapiro: Have you received a phone call from BBC copyright lawyers yet? Because if you haven't, there's a fighting chance you will. Why? Because they already made this, with the exact same concept and the exact same title as a six part mini-series in 2005 with Danny Wallace. Someone, somewhere, at some point, probably should have run your title through Google.
Here's the official Tiff write up for Shapiro's movie:
Jody Shapiro's ultra-sharp documentary How to Start Your Own Country examines micro-nations - tiny states seldom recognized by better-known, more conventionally established countries. Traversing the globe, Shapiro introduces us to several states you've almost certainly never heard of.
Somewhere in Nevada is the Republic of Molossia. Its land mass is 1.3 acres, it's population six (basically the president and his pets). There's also the Principality of Seborga,...
Here's the official Tiff write up for Shapiro's movie:
Jody Shapiro's ultra-sharp documentary How to Start Your Own Country examines micro-nations - tiny states seldom recognized by better-known, more conventionally established countries. Traversing the globe, Shapiro introduces us to several states you've almost certainly never heard of.
Somewhere in Nevada is the Republic of Molossia. Its land mass is 1.3 acres, it's population six (basically the president and his pets). There's also the Principality of Seborga,...
- 8/10/2010
- Screen Anarchy
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