An article in The Guardian raises some interesting questions about the motivation for foreign film panels Oscar submissions. Nigel Smith makes the point that all the Directors chosen produce singular work that’s often brazen and uncompromising. Compare that with the relatively safe films promoted by Hollywood. The European vs American Films chapter in Vibes From… Continue Reading
The Queen is not a Dark Horse
From IMDb.com The Dark Horse (2014) “A brilliant but troubled New Zealand chess champion finds purpose by teaching underprivileged children about the rules of chess and life.” Queen of Katwe (2016) “An Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.” The similarities between these two movies is quite… Continue Reading
So what’s been happening at Toronto?
Have you been wondering what’s happening at the Toronto festival (TIFF)? Not much. TIF played hardball again this year and threatened films if they showed at Telluride first. There are rumors that they even threatened some films against showing at the Venice Film Festival. So what did TIFF get? A whole bunch of films with… Continue Reading
WOW – Some film festival in London!
I am tempted to fly home for this one. BFI London film Festival has announced its full program for October. The Festival will screen a total of 193 fiction and 52 documentary features, including 18 World Premieres, 8 International Premieres, 39 European Premieres. There will also be screenings of 144 short films, including documentary, live… Continue Reading
Report from Telluride Days 1 & 2
Seen 6 films in day and a half. went from 7:00 a.m. untl 10:30 p.m. and saw 4 films today. The reason so few is that Telluride has an atrocious entry system. All a $800 pass entitles you to is the right to stand in line for 2 hours before each movie and hope that… Continue Reading
Report from Telluride Pre-fest D2
Spent the day visiting Mesa Verde Nat’l Park. Returned to Telluride to find the 32 film announced festival lineup. Amy Adams is being honored with a showing of Arrival. Missing is her other new film, Nocturnal Animals, which received positive response a the Venice Film Festival Thursday. In a similar vein one of my favorite… Continue Reading
Report from Telluride — Pre-Fest D1
Spent the day getting acclimated – bot to the altitude and the town. People are really nice and friendly. Did not see any notables yet. Visited “Between the Covers Bookstore” and got a fantastic surprise when I found my book on display both in the window and at the front register. There are posters put… Continue Reading
The Book is available – NOW!
It is finally here. Official publication date is August 23rd. You can get your copy immediately. Click HERE to order and get 30% off of retail – use code “launch1” Continue Reading
Guardian provides glimpse into upcoming festival fights for the gold
Interesting summary preview from The Guardian (8/10/16) And the Oscar might go to: 25 sure bets and underdog films premiering this fall “We’re three weeks away from the awards season onslaught, when studios release their biggest hopes for Oscars gold – from a Jackie O biopic to book adaptations” Continue Reading
Even This We Get to Experience – Norman Lear Documentary Excels
Television Writer and Producer Norman Lear titled his autobiography “Even This I Get to Experience“. That fit my thoughts perfectly as I watched the new documentary Norman Lear : Just Another Version of You. I do not normally write about documentaries in this blog, but this film deserves special attention. I first saw the film… Continue Reading