CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI director Roger Spottiswoode sat down with us to talk about his new film. View the full entry to watch.
ELSA AND FRED director Marcos Carnevale took some time to answer a few of our questions about the film. The film, an uplifting tale of two completely different people who yearn for the same thing as they approach the end of their lives: one last chance to find happiness, opens at the Angelika New York on June 27.
Q: Can you describe ELSA AND FRED in your own words?
A: Elsa & Fred is a story about two people who, at the end of the road, discover that itâ??s never too late to love or to dream. Elsa always dreamed of a moment that Fellini had already envisaged: the scene of â??La Dolce Vitaâ? at the Fontana di Trevi. The same scene without Anita Ekberg in it but Elsa instead. Without Marcello Mastroiani but with that love that took so long to arrive. Elsaâ??s dream was also my dream: all my life I wanted to meet Fellini. Itâ??s a story that teaches us that itâ??s never too late to live what we haven´t lived yet.It invites us to live with no fears.
Q: Why do you think that the emotional conquests of elderly people are always so endearing?
A: Elderly people are endearing because of their vulnerability and their need to be protected. Elderly people and children can awaken our tenderness; they are touching and they reach our feelings easily. Everything is magnified at these ages. Everything takes on a higher value. Love between two elderly people has a greater dimension because it is unlikely to happen. In younger people it’s normal to happen.
Q: The film makes reference to the Fellini classic LA DOLCE VITA â?? is that a film close to your heart?
A: LA DOLCE VITA was the first Fellini movie I saw and it changed my life. Since then I became his greatest fan. I even got his address and wrote letters to him. I keep two letters he wrote to me and they are my biggest treasures.
Q: Why was there a three year gap between the making of the film and the American release?
A: Latin-American movies must go a long way before having access to American screens. And during that process –than can take several years– the film must prove that it has achieved an enormous interest from the public.
Q: What inspired you to make this filmâ?¦ were there any influential people in your own life?
A: There are two people that inspired me to make this film: one was Fellini, who I never met personally and with whom I only kept an epistolary relationship. This movie besides making my dream of shooting in the Fontana di Trevi with my own Anita and Marcello come true, is a tribute to he â??Maestroâ?. The second person is my mother, who taught me to live without fear.
Q: What was the casting process like?
A: China Zorrilla was always Elsa, from the beginning, even before we started to write the script. I could never imagine another actress for that role. Elsa is a lady with a body 82 years old and head of a girl of 20. China is like that also in real life. As for Manuel Alexandre it was a suggestion made by the Spanish producer José Antonio Félez. Manuel is a great actor; he has worked in 320 films. He is a little bit like Mickey Rooney in Spain.
Q: Who are your biggest influences as a director?
A: Federico Fellini, Roman Polanski, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen.
Q: What do you most want audiences to get out of the film?
A: I would like them to realize that the moment to live is now. Future and past donâ??t exist; we must live our moment and make our dreams come true now.
We had the privilege of interviewing Guy Maddin, director or BRAND UPON THE BRAIN and MY WINNIPEG and one of the most interesting minds in the film world. He talked about everything from his neediness as a narrator, to what it means to be Canadian, to how he feels about blindingly hot underwear models. Check it out below.
Why do you like to do the live performer/orchestra thingâ?¦Why include live elements?
BRAND UPON THE BRAIN was the first time I did it and I kind of liked the transformation going on inside of me. I have all these state supported films and artists, so [normally]you feel like a filmmaker, with all the bad connotations that word has, and you feel like youâ??re making film for yourself – self-absorbed, selective, for a small audience. But when you introduce the live element, all of a sudden you feel like a showman and you really do want to make a connection with an audience. You really feel it when itâ??s live, because you donâ??t want any of the live performers to die on stage, so you really do become a showman that gives a shit. You just really care a lot, and at the end of the show the beer tastes unbelievable because youâ??re so relieved that you got through it, and then the adrenaline is there for the next time and usually I just finish a movie and watch it once or twice at the most and then file it away, but live shows, I was going nuts, I was watching them every night because each one is a different narrator and each one is a little different, itâ??s like a real experiment and experience to see the tiny differences, because the narrator plays such a small role, but makes a huge impact to set the tone for the whole thing -so itâ??s this big experience to me.
But I also just realized that there was far more or fewer empathy, I guess because they were scared something might happen, or desired that something might go wrongâ?¦ maybe a certain part of everyone wanted something to go wrongâ?¦everyone sort of wants to see someone fall flat on their face- I donâ??t know, this kind of weird suspense you get from watching someone live.
How do you pick your performers?
That was a weird process, because I’m not exactly a household name, it wasnâ??t like I just chose my favorite list and they all said yes.
You do have a following thoughâ?¦
Yeah, and that started to feel good and that really expanded it a lot and then I became good friends with a lot of the narrators. With MY WINNIPEG, I always knew it was going to be small, and the Toronto Film Festival was going to play it for sure, because they always play my movies. But I just kind of thought that after BRAND UPON THE BRAIN, they would maybe just slop this in some quiet place. I knew it was kind of a distant relative to a travelogue, and Iâ??d seen some travelogues as a kid with live narration and I thought, â??This really has to be narrated liveâ?, at least for some sort of flippant, retro reason, but I didnâ??t want to do itâ?¦.
But you did it in Toronto, right?
Yeah, and I did it in Sydney a couple nights ago, so Iâ??m a little bit deliriousâ?¦ it was fun, because you tend to do it in big movie palaces- film festivals always set nice places aside. I did it at the Village East, at Tribeca, but once again, I think that people who might have normally attempted to walk out, might just be scared youâ??ll see them walking out, and go â??Wait a minute!â? So people tend to stay to the end, and if you stay to the end, you might end up liking it more. So Yeah, I keep the cowards in their seats! And usually when youâ??re vacillating about whether to stay or not, if you see other people leaving, youâ??ll just go too. I know, because Iâ??ve studied the patterns of walkouts early in my career, when I had high walkout ratios all the time
How do you do thatâ?¦ like observational studies?
Yeah, I would go to my own movies, and I would notice, â??Hey no oneâ??s walking out of this oneâ?, then all of a sudden one person would get up and leave and then you give courage to about 10 other people too and you go â??Oh manâ?â?¦
So just one ballsy person can ruin the whole night.
Yeah exactlyâ?¦so if I can just feel the energy in the room just dipping a little bit, and Iâ??m no actor, but if I can just feel that, you can actually change your performance. In acting youâ??re told not to do that, not to play to the audience, I know that for a fact. But not me, Iâ??ll always be a big slut up there! If I can feel audience engagement sort of sagging a bit, I try harder, so it might stink of desperation after a while, but at least it gives me a chance to control it a little bit, and I find that even though I wrote the lines myself, I can re-interpret them a bit. Or that I actually finally understood what the hell I wrote, like it will come to me, Iâ??ll go, â??Wait a minute, this is what I meant!â?, and Iâ??ll actually say it that way and it makes a big difference. You can just hear it somehow, itâ??s kind of crazy. I donâ??t mean to sound like an actor, I kind of pity actors and their needinessâ?¦ but boy have I become a needy person when Iâ??m narrating,
Like you just want the audience to love you?
Yeah, and then I need some sort of reinforcement after that it was okay.
Do you think the neediness is because so many of your films are autobiographical, like MY WINNIPEG even has a main character named Guy Maddinâ?¦
Yeah probably, although I donâ??t need them to approve of me as a person, I know Iâ??m pretty reprehensible! So I just want them to hate me in the right way.
Hate you for the reasons you hate you.
Yeah exactly. Just sort of get on board the self-loathing train.
Do you feel like making autobiographical films helps you understand your life a little bit better?
It has a little bit, but itâ??s also turned elements of my life into so much footage that needs to be edited that I kind of get a little sick of it. Itâ??s kind of like a therapy, like aversion therapy. I just donâ??t feel like thinking about that part of my life anymore. Itâ??s like Iâ??ve just done it already. Then I have to talk about it and do screenings of it. So Iâ??m happy not to talk about my childhood anymore, because Iâ??ve made a couple movies about it, and I think Iâ??ve buried my mother finally -if not literally, at least â??filmicallyâ?. So, Iâ??ve moved on. Yeah it helps.
People are calling MY WINNIPEG maybe your most Canadian filmâ?¦and I read that youâ??ve said things like maybe you donâ??t want something to be too Canadianâ?¦ so what does that mean?
Yeah, it probably can mean many thingsâ?¦probably when I first started using that term, when I first began, I probably just didnâ??t want it to be bad! I just didnâ??t want it to be full of sincere performances that are falling short of the mark, you know, so I was probably hedging my bets with irony and stuff, stylizations. Now it might mean most honest or most regionally specific -Iâ??m not sure. Or maybe it captures the spirit of Canadian identity, whatever the hell that is, but thereâ??s some kind of self-loathing and self-deprecation, self-erasing qualities in most Canadians – hello look at me- so I donâ??t know. Canadians define themselves as â??not Americanâ? â?? they canâ??t define themselves because theyâ??re too similar, virtually identical, so they just go, â??Well weâ??re not Americanâ?.
Do you find the audiences are different?
Theyâ??re identical. Exactly the same TV shows and moviesâ?¦ we donâ??t watch Canadian films.
What do you watch? Like if youâ??re in your house.
Iâ??m a little bit different because I watch older cinema and stuff, but I do go out on a Friday night to a premiere of a Will Ferrell movie, Iâ??m just a regular moviegoer. Iâ??ll also go to some indie stuff and some European stuff – the best of the film festivals, plus just mainstream crap…and I canâ??t wait for BATMAN to come out.
Do you have any particular directors or actors – or maybe you pity actors – but directors or filmmakers or anyone in the business that you really admire?
I really like Paul Thomas Anderson a lot, I really enjoyed THERE WILL BE BLOOD. Also Wes Andersonâ?¦some experimental filmmakers in Austriaâ?¦Martin Arnold, Mattias Mueller. And Iâ??ll check out any Will Ferrell or Jack Black movie, no matter how good or bad. There are too many to name really, but itâ??s not that bizarre a profile. It would be like a hipsterâ??s MySpace list of favorite movies and directors.
Are you working on anything now?
Yeah but I just donâ??t have that obsessive compulsion to make it. So I think Iâ??m going to spend the summer daydreaming. Iâ??m going to be coming to the end of a long road. I made a couple of movies back to back and Iâ??ve been promoting them, so Iâ??m looking forward to going to the summer cottage and reading from books. Itâ??s where most of my ideas come from, little lateral thoughts that step out of the pages.
But I do have a couple of projects. Iâ??m collaborating with Kazuo Ishiguro, a British Pulitzer Prize winner on a feature script. Iâ??m making a ballet version of SVENGALI, and Iâ??m making an internet interactive â??choose your own adventureâ? narrative, so that will be fun. For that, Iâ??m working with a Pulitzer Prize winning poet, John Ashbury. I wanted to have that made for his 80th birthday, but I didnâ??t quite get my act together, so itâ??s going to have to be for his 82nd birthday or something like that. Iâ??m not sure which one Iâ??ll make first.
Oh and I also got a commission to make a low budget feature from the Wexner Center in Ohio. The Wexner guy is the guy behind Abercrombie and Fitch and Victoriaâ??s Secret underwear.
About him, or with him?
I think whatever I want, so I might just make a big underwear melodrama or something like thatâ?¦.I cant wait to shoot it.
It should be a fun casting callâ?¦
Yeah those fantastic peopleâ?¦you just donâ??t even care what gender they are after a certain point, theyâ??re that prettyâ?¦just find out when you take their clothes off, like â??I cant tell what gender that is but letâ??s just strip it down now and find out!â?
Academy Award winning director Errol Morris sat down with us in Dallas to discuss STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE, his latest documentary that explores the horrors behind the Abu Ghraib prison torture photographs that shocked the nation. Backed by a two-year research arsenal, Morris’s film probes the prison policies in Iraq to prove that the torture at Abu Ghraib was in no way an isolated incident.
Watch the exclusive interview footage below.
SEX AND THE CITY blew away competition and expectations this weekend with an estimated box office of almost 56 million dollars. Scads of women (and men!) dressed up and came out to support their favorite television series-turned-big screen smash, probably leaving sad street-cleaners and janitors to clean up the the debris of shattered martini glasses and broken high heels that the crowds left behind.
For the past three weeks, the Angelika Film Center hosted its own SATC column/look-a-like contest, and it’s time to announce the winners. Posted below are the first prize winners of our photo and column categories – enjoy!
Winning Photo Entry: Sarah Bergervoet
Winning Column
Going To Extremes by Amy Adams
When dealing with the aftermath of a love affair gone wrong, there are several coping strategies available to todayâ??s female. Thereâ??s the tearfully – eat – ice – cream – straight – from – the – carton – while – watching – bad – television approach. This lies in stark contrast with the troll – bars – for – attractive – strangers – with – whom – to – engage – in – meaningless – revenge – sex tactic.
Most of us gravitate to one extreme or the other. But the question remains, do extreme measures ever make us feel better?
The rational side of our brains tells us that time heals all wounds. After all, most of us arenâ??t still pining for Todd, our high school boyfriend who dumped us right before the prom in order to escort the slutty cheerleader best known for her ability to camouflage hickeys with BonneBell concealer. Yet, in the throes of extreme despondency, rational thinking rarely prevails. So we engage in behavior that serves to distract us, often to the detriment of our mental Â- or physical Â- health.
Because none of us want to stand idly by and wait to feel better. We want to hasten the healing process by doing something tangible! After all, the things-will-get-better-soon attitude is often what got us where we are today: dumped by a jerk. We ignored the warning signs and waited for an impossible situation to improve. When it didnâ??t, we compounded the problem by drunkenly assuming a compromising position on a strangerâ??s futon, trying desperately to forget about Mr. Aforementioned Jerk. Perhaps the most extreme measure would be learning to avoid him in the first place.
We hope you enjoyed them and remember, SEX AND THE CITY is now playing at the Angelika Dallas and Houston.
The New York Daily News did a little pre-summer movie theater analysis, and luckily the outcomes were in our favor. Below is what they had to say:
BEST KEPT SECRET: CITY CINEMAS VILLAGE EAST, THEATER #1
The first screening room in this landmark building still houses pieces of its Yiddish theater past. Check out the Star of David and the elegant chandelier adorning the ceiling, as well as its grand balcony. The recently renovated auditorium seats 370 in refurbished chairs, and there’s new carpeting. 181 Second Ave., atE. 12th St. (212-529-6998).
ANGELIKA FILM CENTER
This cool corner independent theater’s got a cafe that’s almost good enough for a trip of its own. The focus is on items made in the city, so there’s a full espresso bar serving Puerto Rican beans, Sedutto ice cream shakes and sandwiches, some organic, from Karen’s on LaGuardia Place.
For Village East Cinema showtimes and tickets, visit www.villageeastcinema.com. For Angelika showtimes and tickets, visit www.angelikafilmcenter.com.
If youâ??ve ever sat around and wondered why you canâ??t make your living writing sex columns, or looked in the mirror and sworn you were Samantha Jonesâ?? long lost twin, the Angelika Film Center is giving you the chance to prove your case.
SEX AND THE CITY finally hits the big screen on Friday, May 30th, and in honor of the long-awaited, much anticipated release, the Angelika Film Center invites you to participate in our exclusive SEX AND THE CITY LOOK-A-LIKE contest.
Patrons are invited to either write their own Carrie Bradshaw-style column, or dress up like their favorite character – send us your column or your photo, and weâ??ll pick our favorites. One winner in each category gets $150 in Angelika Cinemoney and their entry featured on this blog. Two runners up in each category get $75 worth of Cinemoney. Please send all submissions to angelikasubmissions@gmail.com.
Also in honor of the big premiere, the Angelika Dallas will be serving cosmos all week long, so make sure to join us! SEX AND THE CITY opens on Friday, May 30th. See you there!
CONTEST DETAILS
How to enter:
You can enter in either one (but not both) of the below categories:
Write your own Carrie Bradshaw-style column. While the topic choice is yours, please keep it under 350 words. If the written word isn’t your thing, you can also try dressing up as your favorite SATC character – snap a photo of yourself and e-mail it to us (clothing required).
Official Rules:
Lloyd Kaufman’s latest Troma flick POULTRYGEIST: NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD won a thumbs up from New York Mag. Featuring no shortage of zombie chickens, a few song and dance numbers and a serious fast-food scandal, the campy cult legend will not disappoint his followers and fans.
Click here to read the review from NY Mag, and don’t miss POULTRYGEIST, opening this Friday, May 9 at the Village East Cinema.
Love it, hate it….pretend to hate it but really love it… whatever your feeling is, there’s a good chance you probably feel something about the upcoming SEX AND THE CITY movie. But if you’re still undecided, it seems that it won’t be too tough to find ample assistance in making up your mind. The first reviews, articles and “extended teasers” have popped-up this week, showing early signs of what’s bound to be a havoc-reeking Gucci-storm of reviews, press and non-stop media coverage until the May 30th premiere.
FoxNews.com called it “the Neiman Marcus catalog on steroids”, which, depending on your interests/values/opinion of steroids, is [intentionally?] vague and kind of indeterminate. New York Magazine also ran a feature-story on Sarah Jessica Parker in which they conclude that she is a total down to earth New Yorker- mom-at-the-playground lady who acts and “looks her age” (although the cover-photo seems to indicate she is still smitten with her favorite “glam-freak” Carrie Bradshaw pose), and YouTube has come upon a four-and-a-half minute sneak peak/press junket extravaganza that might have uber-fans tripping over their Manolos on the way to be first at the box office.
Glamorous, fun movie-version of the best television series ever created? It’s too early to say, but either way, you should probably still check it out, or risk feeling socially irrelevant until mid-June.
SEX AND THE CITY: THE MOVIE opens Friday, May 30 at the Angelika Dallas & Houston and at the Cinemas 1,2,3 and East 86th St. Cinemas in NYC.
Full articles/video at:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354130,00.html
http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/46660/
Director Bruce Burgess’ controversial new film investigates the existence of a Jesus Christ/Mary Magdalene bloodline, a subject that has been at the head of a swirling debate for centuries. Below are two clips from Burgess and his film crew.
The first follows an exploration into underground tomb in the mountains of the Languedoc region of southwest France has been discovered, which may help substantiate the existence of a Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene bloodline.
[QUICKTIME http://www.angelikablog.com/_Content/Bloodlinetomb.mov 320 257]
The second features Bruce Burgess as he reflects on his meetings with members of the Priory of Sion.
[QUICKTIME http://www.angelikablog.com/_Content/Bloodlinepriory.mov 320 257]
BLOODLINE opens May 9 at the Village East Cinema.