Spring 2004

5/24 -Broadway: The Golden Age

“ Broadway” is the most important, ambitious and comprehensive film ever made about America’s most celebrated indigenous art form. It is award-winning filmmaker Rick McKay’s journey over 4 continents and 5 years to find out whether there had been a golden age of theatre and why it had never been documented. He soon learned that great films can be restored, fine literature can be kept in print – but historic Broadway performances of the past are the most endangered. They leave only memories that, while more vivid, are more difficult to preserve. In their own words – and not a moment too soon - “Broadway” tells the stories of our theatrical legends, how they came to New York, and how they created this legendary century in American theatre.

Directed by: Rich McKay
Produced by:
Anne L. Bernstein,
Rick McKay,
Albert Tapper

Guest: Director Rick McKay

Cast: Jeremy Irons, Jerry Orbach, Eva Marie Saint, Bea Arthur, Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Shirley MacLaine, Angela Lansbury, Maureen Stapleton, Julie Harris, Rick McKay, Elaine Stritch, Frank Langella, Kaye Ballard, Tommy Tune, Chita Rivera, Stephen Sondheim, Charles Durning, Robert Goulet, Jerry Herman, Fay Wray

Host: Peter Travers
Official Site: here and here

Links: here here

5/17 – FACE

"This independently-produced drama tells the dual stories of Kim (Bai Ling), a woman who becomes pregnant when she is very young and not psychologically ready to raised a child, and Genie (Wu), the modern teenager her baby grew up to become, after being abandoned by Kim to be raised by Genie's grandmother. Now the same age as her mother when she was born, Genie's love for an African-American boy (Treach) threatens to upset the very traditional mindset of her Asian-American family." Greg Dean

Cast:
Kim: Bai Ling
Genie: Kristy Wu
Mrs. Liu: Kieu Chinh
Michael: Treach
Daniel: Will Yun Lee

Director: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan

Producers:
Alexa L. Fogel,
Joseph Infantolino
Screenwriter-director: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan
Director of photography: John Inwood

GUESTS:

DIRECTOR: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan
WRITER: Oren Moverman
Anthony 'Treach' Criss

HOST – DAVID EDELSTEIN

Links: here here here

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BONUS DOUBLE FEATURE:

The Mother

Directed by:
Roger Michell

Cast:
Anne Reid
Daniel Craig

Link

5/10 -Coffee and Cigarettes

"The fine, funky cool of Jim Jarmusch permeates this lyrically funny cluster of eleven stories that Jarmusch began filming in 1986. Sure, it’s just two or three people bonding over the twin addictions of the title. But Jarmusch makes it a feast that plays like a haunting concept album. I liked some tracks more than others. Bill Murray is hilarious serving java to RZA and GZA; Cate Blanchett scores a tour de force playing herself and her black-sheep cousin; Tom Waits memorably encounters Iggy Pop. Best of all is a chat between Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan that slyly sticks it to Hollywood. Jarmusch is still the indie soul incarnate."

PETER TRAVERS
(April 29, 2004)

Directed by:
Jim Jarmusch

Writing credits:
Jim Jarmusch

Cast (in alphabetical order)
Roberto Benigni
Cate Blanchett
Steve Buscemi
Steve Coogan .... Himself
Isaach De Bankolé
Alex Descas
Renee French
Genius/GZA
Cinqué Lee
Joie Lee
Taylor Mead
Alfred Molina
Bill Murray
Iggy Pop
William Rice
Joseph Rigano
E.J. Rodriguez
RZA
Vinny Vella Jr.
Vinny Vella
Tom Waits
Jack White .... Himself
Meg White .... Herself
Steven Wright

Hosted by DAVID EDELSTEIN

GUESTS:

Producer, Jason Kliot
Producer, Joana Vicente

Official Site: here
Trailer: here

5/3 – OFF THE MAP

Cast:
Valentina de Angelis
Joan Allen
Sam Elliott
Amy Brenneman
J.K. Simmons
Jim True-Frost
Kevin Skousen

Director: Campbell Scott
Screenwriter: Joan Ackermann

Guests:

VALENTINA DE ANGELIS:
Off the Map marks the motion picture debut of 13-year-old Valentina de Angelis. An outstanding student and accomplished equestrian rider, de Angelis resides with her parents and two sisters in New York.

JOAN ACKERMANN:
Joan Ackermann co-founded and serves as co-artistic director of Mixed Company, the Great Barrington, Massachusetts-based theatre now in its 20th year. In addition to Off the Map, Ackerman wrote the plays Zara Spook and Other Lures (1990 Humana Festival at Actor's Theatre of Louisville), Stanton's Garage (1993 Humana Festival), The Batting Cage (1999 Humana Festival), Don't Ride the Clutch, Bed and Breakfast, Rescuing Greenland, Isabella, A Knight at the Theatre and Back Story. Ackermann's work has also been produced off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in New York, Circle Rep, the George Street Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Shakespeare & Company, The Berkshire Theatre Festival and the Mark Taper Forum. In addition to her stage work, she has written and produced for television. A special contributor to Sports Illustrated for six years, Ackermann freelanced for The Atlantic, Audubon, GQ, New York Magazine, Time, and other periodicals.

HOST: GODFREY CHESHIRE

:

GODFREY CHESHIRE is a Manhattan-based film critic whose writings have appeared in the New York Times, Variety, the Village Voice, New York Press, Newsweek, Interview magazine, Film Comment and other publications. His areas of special interest include Iranian cinema, American independent films and the transition to digital cinema; in 2000, the Museum of Modern Art and the Sundance Film Festival both presented special discussions of his writings about the issues surrounding digitization. A former chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle and a member of the National Society of Film Critics, he currently writes for The Independent Weekly, is working on a book about Iranian cinema, and is producing two films. information, Interview

Links: here, here

4/26 -VALENTIN

Set in turbulent 1969 Argentina, Valentin is a coming-of-age story about a young boy named Valentin, who longs for a stable family life and spends most of his time daydreaming about being an astronaut. When a visit from his father doesn't go as planned and his grandmother, with whom he has been living, falls ill, Valentin puts a plan in motion to create a family for himself.

Cast:
Julieta Cardinali,
Carmen Maura,
Jean Pierre Noher,
Mex Urtizberea,
Rodrigo Noya,
Alejandro Agresti

Director: Alejandro Agresti
Screenwriter: Alejandro Agresti

GUEST: Alejandro Agresti Director/Star (Valentin's Father).

Alejandro Agresti

HOST: THELMA ADAMS

Offical Site: here

Trailer: here

Links: here here

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BONUS DOUBLE FEATURE

SUPER SIZE ME

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock hit the road and interviewed experts in 20 U.S. cities, including Houston, the "Fattest City" in America. From Surgeon Generals to gym teachers, cooks to kids, lawmakers to legislators, these authorities shared their research, opinions and "gut feelings" on our ever-expanding girth.

During the journey, Spurlock also put his own body on the line, living on nothing but McDonald's for an entire month with three simple rules:

1) No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
2) No supersizing unless offered
3) No excuses: he had to eat every item on the menu at least once

It all adds up to a fat food bill, harrowing visits to the doctor, and compelling viewing for anyone who's ever wondered if man could live on fast food alone.

Official site here

4/19 -SAVED

Good girl Mary (Jena Malone) can't believe it when she gets pregnant by her newly-gay boyfriend. She also can't believe the actions of her popular, relentlessly devout best friend, Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), who's looking after her wheelchair-bound brother Roland (Macaulay Culkin), attempting to convert adamantly Jewish Cassandra (Eva Amurri), and trying to snag cute newcomer Patrick (Patrick Fugit), a hip skateboarding missionary. By the time Mary's secret is revealed, Hilary Faye has gone to extremes to get the outsiders expelled from school, with spectacular results, and Mary is forced to decide what's worth believing in the first place. In this dark comedy, a young, talented cast comes together to get Saved. -- © United Artists

Cast:
Jena Malone
Mandy Moore
Macaulay Culkin
Patrick Fugit
Heather Matarazzo
Mary Louise Parker
Eva Amurri
Chris Evans

GUEST: DIRECTOR Brian Dannelly
HOST: PETER TRAVERS

Official Site: here
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*Bonus Double Feature:

Laws of Attraction

Maybe getting married first is the best way to fall in love. As divorce attorneys, Audrey and Daniel have seen love gone wrong in all its worst case scenarios. So, how bad could their chances be? Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan star in Laws of Attraction, directed by Peter Howitt (Sliding Doors). The script is based on a story by David Friendly, written by Aline Brosh McKenna, Karey Kirkpatrick, Robert Harling, Peter Howitt and Douglas McFerran.
Offical Site

4/12 -THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD

"Winnipeg, 1933, during the depths of the Great Depression, Lady Port-Huntley (Isabella Rossellini), a beer magnate who has had both legs amputated after a car accident, aware that sad songs drive people to drink more and mindful that prohibition in America is coming to end, organises an international contest offering $25,000 to the nation who plays the saddest music in the world. Among the contestants is the man responsible for the loss of her legs – her former husband Fyodor (David Fox), representing Canada. Also competing are his son and former lover of Lady Port-Huntley, Chester (Mark McKinney) with his amnesiac girlfriend Narcissa (Maria de Medeiros) both representing the United States of America, and the mysterious Serbian contestant Gavrilo the Great (Ross McMillan), who keeps his dead son’s heart in a jar of tears and plays a haunting melody on a cello in memory of the nine million killed in the Great War." Noel Megahey

Director: Guy Maddin
Screenplay by George Toles, Guy Maddin
Based on a screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro
Producer(s) Niv Fichman, Jody Shapiro
Executive producer(s) Atom Egoyan, Daniel Iron

Cast:
Isabella Rossellini,
Mark Mckinney,
Ross McMIllan,
Claude Dorge,
David Fox,
Maria de Medeiros

Guest: IFC Film's Greg Forston

Hosted by Thelma Adams

Official Site: here
Review:here

OPENING NIGHT :

4/7 - MORLANG

Morlang, based on a true story, is a chilling, psychological drama about the effects of jealousy, betrayal and revenge. Ellen is the beautiful wife, manager and inspiration of successful art photographer Julius Morlang. Morlang is very proud, independent. Ellen is feeling less important to him. She is flattered when the hot newcomer artist Robbert Jansen asks her to manage him and pose for him too. Morlang stays silent and seeks refuge in the new admirer and sexy Ann. The strain between Ellen and Julius is tested to the limit when an unexpected and deathly event forces the two to trust each other implicitly. But once betrayed—can you trust the on you love?

Cast:

Paul Freeman
Diana Kent
Susan Lynch
Eric van der Donk
Marcel Faber

Directed by: Tjebbo Penning
Produced by: Petra Goedings
Executive Producer: Vibeke Windeløv, San Fu Maltha

Guest: Director: Tjebbo Penning.

Hosted by Jamie Bernard of The NY Daily News.

Official Site: here