1939 is often called Hollywood’s Greatest Year, and it is indisputable that a huge number of America’s greatest classics were produced in that single year. A usually ignored element of that greatness is that 1939 was also the year that Hollywood resumed production on horror films after a two-year pause. In late 1936 two major factors led to the practical death of the genre: the Laemmle family, of whom Carl Laemmle’s, Jr. was horror’s greatest advocate, lost control of Universal and the British Board of Censors began enforcing the “H” certificate, which for all practical purposes banned horror for its target audience in Britain. The loss of this lucrative market combined with dropping box-office receipts and mounting pressure from American religious groups, Hollywood saw no reason to continue producing horror. The phrase “horror is dead” has often been thrown around over the decades but in 1937 and 38, it was actually true.
- 4/17/2024
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
“I’ve seen Paris, France, and Paris, Paramount Pictures,” Ernst Lubitsch said, or so they say, “and on the whole I prefer Paris, Paramount Pictures.”
The great director’s preference for the Hollywood city of lights over the French one expresses a common enough affinity for illusion over reality, but the studio in question was not chosen for alliteration alone. If gritty Warner Bros. specialized in mean streets and threadbare apartments and glitzy MGM spent big on grand hotels and emerald cities, Paramount transported moviegoers into realms of dreamy exoticism, allegedly set in Vienna, Budapest or St. Petersburg, but conjured with better-than-the-original costuming, set design, lighting and dialogue. In an age before jumbo jets, who was to quibble over verisimilitude?
A new version of Paramount looks to be a-borning: Controlling stakeholder Shari Redstone may put her company on the auction block. Whatever conglomerate or mogul buys the assets, it’ll...
The great director’s preference for the Hollywood city of lights over the French one expresses a common enough affinity for illusion over reality, but the studio in question was not chosen for alliteration alone. If gritty Warner Bros. specialized in mean streets and threadbare apartments and glitzy MGM spent big on grand hotels and emerald cities, Paramount transported moviegoers into realms of dreamy exoticism, allegedly set in Vienna, Budapest or St. Petersburg, but conjured with better-than-the-original costuming, set design, lighting and dialogue. In an age before jumbo jets, who was to quibble over verisimilitude?
A new version of Paramount looks to be a-borning: Controlling stakeholder Shari Redstone may put her company on the auction block. Whatever conglomerate or mogul buys the assets, it’ll...
- 2/29/2024
- by Thomas Doherty
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Martin Moszkowicz, the outgoing chairman of the executive board of leading German film and TV company Constantin Film, will be honored with the Carl Laemmle Producer Award at a gala ceremony on May 16.
The award, presented by the Alliance of German Producers – Film & Television e.V. (Produzentenallianz) and the city of Laupheim, Germany, honors Moszkowicz for his life-time achievements.
The award recognizes his “versatile, impressive body of work as a producer of numerous nationally and internationally successful feature films and television productions,” according to the organizers.
Among the films Moszkowicz has overseen are “Fack Ju Göhte,” “The Collini Case,” “Resident Evil” and “Monster Hunter.”
The award is endowed with 40,000 euros and will be presented in Laupheim, the birthplace of Carl Laemmle, the co-founder of Universal Pictures, in front of invited guests from the worlds of film, politics and business.
Moszkowicz was unanimously chosen as this year’s winner by the 10-member jury.
The award, presented by the Alliance of German Producers – Film & Television e.V. (Produzentenallianz) and the city of Laupheim, Germany, honors Moszkowicz for his life-time achievements.
The award recognizes his “versatile, impressive body of work as a producer of numerous nationally and internationally successful feature films and television productions,” according to the organizers.
Among the films Moszkowicz has overseen are “Fack Ju Göhte,” “The Collini Case,” “Resident Evil” and “Monster Hunter.”
The award is endowed with 40,000 euros and will be presented in Laupheim, the birthplace of Carl Laemmle, the co-founder of Universal Pictures, in front of invited guests from the worlds of film, politics and business.
Moszkowicz was unanimously chosen as this year’s winner by the 10-member jury.
- 1/29/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Hit Bollywood Movie ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ Remade As TV Series
Mansoor Khan’s hit Bollywood movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak has been remade as a TV series by BBC Studios India for Viacom 18 network Colors. Starring Karamm Rajpal and Trupti Mishra and launching today, the Romeo and Juliet-esque show chronicles the immortal love story of Rajneesh, a city-bred medical student, and Poornima, a resilient village girl; they fall for each other and unite with an eternal promise, to stay together forever. The show draws inspiration from true events of reincarnation and is based on November Rain by Mrinal and Abhigyan Jha. BBC Studios said the show “marks a new move for the Global Entertainment business into continuing drama internationally.” Global entertainment recently restructured under Matt Forde. “It is often said that there are very few wholly original stories, and, well, this one, Qayaamat Se Qayaamat Tak, is the mother of them all,...
Mansoor Khan’s hit Bollywood movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak has been remade as a TV series by BBC Studios India for Viacom 18 network Colors. Starring Karamm Rajpal and Trupti Mishra and launching today, the Romeo and Juliet-esque show chronicles the immortal love story of Rajneesh, a city-bred medical student, and Poornima, a resilient village girl; they fall for each other and unite with an eternal promise, to stay together forever. The show draws inspiration from true events of reincarnation and is based on November Rain by Mrinal and Abhigyan Jha. BBC Studios said the show “marks a new move for the Global Entertainment business into continuing drama internationally.” Global entertainment recently restructured under Matt Forde. “It is often said that there are very few wholly original stories, and, well, this one, Qayaamat Se Qayaamat Tak, is the mother of them all,...
- 1/29/2024
- by Max Goldbart and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Hollywood, with its lengthy list of Jewish founders, flourished during an era of rampant antisemitism. In recent years, the Anti-Defamation League has said anti-Jewish sentiment has hit levels unseen since after the Great Depression, a time when Jewish studio moguls had difficulty securing bank loans as many lenders would not work with Jews. Now, in Los Angeles specifically, an Adl report (released months before the Israel-Hamas conflict) found harassment and vandalism increasing to highs.
On Nov. 8, the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance hosted a screening of footage produced by Hamas to brag about murdering Jews. During the screening, the head of the Museum of Tolerance, Rabbi Marvin Hier, reminded viewers that if not for atrocities like the one on Oct. 7, the Jewish global population should be 200 million today, but “there are only 14 million because we are the leftovers of pogroms.” The screening, organized in part by Gal Gadot, saw protestors...
On Nov. 8, the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance hosted a screening of footage produced by Hamas to brag about murdering Jews. During the screening, the head of the Museum of Tolerance, Rabbi Marvin Hier, reminded viewers that if not for atrocities like the one on Oct. 7, the Jewish global population should be 200 million today, but “there are only 14 million because we are the leftovers of pogroms.” The screening, organized in part by Gal Gadot, saw protestors...
- 11/27/2023
- by Chris Yogerst
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we look at Oscars categories from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winners stand the test of time.)
If you were to guess who the most nominated director was in the history of the Academy Awards, who would you guess? Maybe you'd say Steven Spielberg, who has made films for a half-century that have been beloved by millions. Or maybe you're inclination was to guess Martin Scorsese, given his level of simultaneous mainstream acclaim and critical adoration. Or maybe you'd go back to the golden age of Hollywood and guess someone like Frank Capra or John Ford, filmmakers fundamental to establishing what popular American cinema was and directed many films still revered today. In reality, it's not any of these people.
It may come as a surprise to learn that the most nominated director of all time is William Wyler.
If you were to guess who the most nominated director was in the history of the Academy Awards, who would you guess? Maybe you'd say Steven Spielberg, who has made films for a half-century that have been beloved by millions. Or maybe you're inclination was to guess Martin Scorsese, given his level of simultaneous mainstream acclaim and critical adoration. Or maybe you'd go back to the golden age of Hollywood and guess someone like Frank Capra or John Ford, filmmakers fundamental to establishing what popular American cinema was and directed many films still revered today. In reality, it's not any of these people.
It may come as a surprise to learn that the most nominated director of all time is William Wyler.
- 10/15/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
When the City of Los Angeles dubbed a square mile of North Hollywood the NoHo Arts District in 1992, the area was becoming home to an ever-increasing number of small theaters and art galleries, as well as dance, acting and film academies. The neighborhood gained even more cachet in 2000 as an attractive haunt for creatives when a new Metro subway stop opened, providing affordable transportation to the center of the neighborhood at Lankershim and Magnolia.
When the storied, family-owned Laemmle Theatres arthouse chain opened the NoHo 7 in 2011, it brought even more arts street cred to the block. The theater doesn’t have the architectural glamor of downtown’s old movie palaces, but it quickly became a neighborhood favorite with its attractive blend of blockbusters and arthouse fare, film festivals and other indie events.
However, the beloved NoHo 7 may be gone by year end, sacrificed to keep the rest of Laemmle’s theaters open.
When the storied, family-owned Laemmle Theatres arthouse chain opened the NoHo 7 in 2011, it brought even more arts street cred to the block. The theater doesn’t have the architectural glamor of downtown’s old movie palaces, but it quickly became a neighborhood favorite with its attractive blend of blockbusters and arthouse fare, film festivals and other indie events.
However, the beloved NoHo 7 may be gone by year end, sacrificed to keep the rest of Laemmle’s theaters open.
- 9/15/2023
- by Diane Haithman
- The Wrap
When motion pictures first transitioned to the sound era, film studios were divided about how to use music in the cinema. Should it only be diegetic (as in emanating from a source onscreen that the characters can hear)? Would non-diegetic music distract from the dialogue and characters? Universal mogul Carl Laemmle famously decreed that movies like 1931’s Frankenstein and Dracula should have no background whatsoever after their opening titles.
Of course it didn’t take long for producers, and more importantly composers, to figure out that was nonsense. Musical compositions, leitmotifs, and even well-known songs can be a shorthand to heighten the drama onscreen—or to knowingly undercut it. And arguably few filmmakers would come to understand that better than Quentin Tarantino. The iconoclastic auteur who cut his teeth at the drive-in and video store is famous for not only his meticulously crafted screenplays and camera movements, but even how...
Of course it didn’t take long for producers, and more importantly composers, to figure out that was nonsense. Musical compositions, leitmotifs, and even well-known songs can be a shorthand to heighten the drama onscreen—or to knowingly undercut it. And arguably few filmmakers would come to understand that better than Quentin Tarantino. The iconoclastic auteur who cut his teeth at the drive-in and video store is famous for not only his meticulously crafted screenplays and camera movements, but even how...
- 4/1/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Oscar voters rewarded “All Quiet on the Western Front” with nine nominations, including best picture and international film. But aside from the great work seen onscreen, the film is notable for what it doesn’t do.
There are no heroic acts, no sense of adventure, no cheering when the enemy dies. It’s a true anti-war film.
Producer Malte Grunert says: “There are a lot of things that do not follow the normal dramatic structure that you would expect in a war movie.”
He and director Edward Berger discussed the depiction of violence, since Erich Maria Remarque’s 1927 novel about World War I vividly describes atrocities. “We wanted to keep it violent because a war film has to be. It’s about young boys, just out of school, going to the Western Front and being thrown into violence and pain,” says Grunert. “But we never wanted it to be exploitative.
There are no heroic acts, no sense of adventure, no cheering when the enemy dies. It’s a true anti-war film.
Producer Malte Grunert says: “There are a lot of things that do not follow the normal dramatic structure that you would expect in a war movie.”
He and director Edward Berger discussed the depiction of violence, since Erich Maria Remarque’s 1927 novel about World War I vividly describes atrocities. “We wanted to keep it violent because a war film has to be. It’s about young boys, just out of school, going to the Western Front and being thrown into violence and pain,” says Grunert. “But we never wanted it to be exploitative.
- 3/2/2023
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
As movie lovers, and especially as movie lovers who value the theatrical experience, it’s been a hard few years, even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, which seemed the death knell of the theatrical experience. Movie theaters, those great gathering places to be together, or alone together, taking in big screen dreams, closed as the airborne virus swept the globe, and streaming behemoths filled the void with a never-ending beam of content pointed directly into our homes.
Would movie theaters survive? What of the theaters that specialize in arthouse, international and indie content? Would anyone ever want to leave their house for a movie again? These questions plagued the industry, cinephiles and especially exhibitors in the rocky period of 2020-2021, and we’re not out of the woods just yet.
This is the harrowing context of Rafael Sbarge’s documentary, “Only in Theaters,” which is half celebration of...
Would movie theaters survive? What of the theaters that specialize in arthouse, international and indie content? Would anyone ever want to leave their house for a movie again? These questions plagued the industry, cinephiles and especially exhibitors in the rocky period of 2020-2021, and we’re not out of the woods just yet.
This is the harrowing context of Rafael Sbarge’s documentary, “Only in Theaters,” which is half celebration of...
- 1/19/2023
- by Katie Walsh
- The Wrap
Click here to read the full article.
The new All Quiet on the Western Front, Germany’s Oscar submission for best international feature film, is an adaptation of the 1929 World War I novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. That best-seller, based on Remarque’s experiences in the German Army, moved 3 million copies in 22 languages in its first two years in print and remains one of the great works about the trauma of war.
It and its 1930 sequel, The Road Back, were banned and burned in Nazi Germany. In the U.S., All Quiet on the Western Front was adapted for the screen in 1930, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. — son of Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle — and directed by Lewis Milestone, who the following year would helm the landmark media satire The Front Page. Made in the days of pre-Code Hollywood, before censorship guidelines were enforced, All Quiet...
The new All Quiet on the Western Front, Germany’s Oscar submission for best international feature film, is an adaptation of the 1929 World War I novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. That best-seller, based on Remarque’s experiences in the German Army, moved 3 million copies in 22 languages in its first two years in print and remains one of the great works about the trauma of war.
It and its 1930 sequel, The Road Back, were banned and burned in Nazi Germany. In the U.S., All Quiet on the Western Front was adapted for the screen in 1930, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. — son of Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle — and directed by Lewis Milestone, who the following year would helm the landmark media satire The Front Page. Made in the days of pre-Code Hollywood, before censorship guidelines were enforced, All Quiet...
- 12/12/2022
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Although Universal had struck on big hits with "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" in 1923 and "The Phantom of the Opera" in 1925, studio honcho Carl Laemmle, Sr. was no fan of the horror genre. It was his monster-obsessed son, Carl Laemmle, Jr., that encouraged the studio to adapt the then-popular stage production of "Dracula" to film. The movie, released in 1931 and directed by Tod Browning, was stagey and nightmarish, and it deeply burned itself into the collective unconscious. Bela Lugosi, as Dracula, taught the world how vampires behave.
"Dracula" was one of Universal's biggest hits, and Carl Jr. knew that multiple more monster projects could be instantly pushed into the pipeline. The 1930s saw the release of "Frankenstein," "Dracula's Daughter," "The Invisible Man," "Bride of Frankenstein," "The Black Cat," "The Invisible Ray," "Werewolf of London," "The Raven," and scads of others. Horror became the studio's niche.
The wave of popular horror films at Universal,...
"Dracula" was one of Universal's biggest hits, and Carl Jr. knew that multiple more monster projects could be instantly pushed into the pipeline. The 1930s saw the release of "Frankenstein," "Dracula's Daughter," "The Invisible Man," "Bride of Frankenstein," "The Black Cat," "The Invisible Ray," "Werewolf of London," "The Raven," and scads of others. Horror became the studio's niche.
The wave of popular horror films at Universal,...
- 11/11/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the glory days of Universal Pictures, the studio had two big things going for it at the box office: the Universal Monsters, and a comedy duo known as Abbott and Costello. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello met on the burlesque circuit — the story goes that one day, Costello's regular comedy partner got sick, allowing Abbott to step in and begin a long, prosperous partnership. Abbott, tall and thin, was the straight man; a surly, frowning bully who frequently had it up to here with his sidekick. Costello, short and stout, was the fool; the childlike clown who was prone to falling down and acting like a buffoon, all to Abbott's annoyance. The act worked like gangbusters, with the duo moving on to radio before landing a movie contract in 1940. By 1942, they were considered to be the top box office stars in the country.
As for the Universal Monsters, they...
As for the Universal Monsters, they...
- 10/11/2022
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Paramount’s Smile, in theaters Sept. 30, is the latest fright flick to benefit from a sinister grin. But the granddaddy of all scary smile films dates back to 1928, when Universal Pictures released The Man Who Laughs, an adaptation of the 1869 Victor Hugo novel.
The studio had success with another Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which it had adapted into a Lon Chaney showcase in 1923. Chaney would physically transform once again into a deformed gothic antihero — this time, Gwynplaine, a nobleman’s son who is hideously disfigured when the king orders a permanent smile carved into his face. But the project was sidelined because of a rights issue, and Chaney instead made 1925’s The Phantom of the Opera, based on the 1910 Gaston Leroux novel. That film was a hit, too, so Universal chief Carl Laemmle resurrected Laughs for its next “super-production.”
To direct,...
Paramount’s Smile, in theaters Sept. 30, is the latest fright flick to benefit from a sinister grin. But the granddaddy of all scary smile films dates back to 1928, when Universal Pictures released The Man Who Laughs, an adaptation of the 1869 Victor Hugo novel.
The studio had success with another Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which it had adapted into a Lon Chaney showcase in 1923. Chaney would physically transform once again into a deformed gothic antihero — this time, Gwynplaine, a nobleman’s son who is hideously disfigured when the king orders a permanent smile carved into his face. But the project was sidelined because of a rights issue, and Chaney instead made 1925’s The Phantom of the Opera, based on the 1910 Gaston Leroux novel. That film was a hit, too, so Universal chief Carl Laemmle resurrected Laughs for its next “super-production.”
To direct,...
- 9/30/2022
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
“We’d rather march to hear Willkie on national unity than be marched into a concentration camp,” Harry Warner firmly stated in the summer of 1941. The mogul was responding to criticism for his encouraging studio employees to attend a rally at the Hollywood Bowl featuring 1940 Republican presidential candidate Wendell Willkie, a strong advocate for U.S. intervention in World War II. That same summer, a competing rally was held at the Hollywood Bowl on behalf of the America First movement. The keynote speaker was famed aviator and eugenics enthusiast Charles Lindbergh. The same aviator who, at an America First rally in Des Moines on Sept. 11, 1941, argued that one of the biggest threats to the United States was the Jewish-controlled media. Lindbergh’s hate-fueled rhetoric is covered at length in the new PBS docuseries, The U.S. and the Holocaust, produced by Ken Burns,...
“We’d rather march to hear Willkie on national unity than be marched into a concentration camp,” Harry Warner firmly stated in the summer of 1941. The mogul was responding to criticism for his encouraging studio employees to attend a rally at the Hollywood Bowl featuring 1940 Republican presidential candidate Wendell Willkie, a strong advocate for U.S. intervention in World War II. That same summer, a competing rally was held at the Hollywood Bowl on behalf of the America First movement. The keynote speaker was famed aviator and eugenics enthusiast Charles Lindbergh. The same aviator who, at an America First rally in Des Moines on Sept. 11, 1941, argued that one of the biggest threats to the United States was the Jewish-controlled media. Lindbergh’s hate-fueled rhetoric is covered at length in the new PBS docuseries, The U.S. and the Holocaust, produced by Ken Burns,...
- 9/22/2022
- by Chris Yogerst
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
“Out Jews!” howled Josef Goebbels. “A dirty film made in America!” The Nazi propagandist was on his feet in the front row of the balcony at Berlin’s ornate Mozartsaal, frothing at the motion picture screen. Behind Goebbels, dozens of brown shirted thugs joined in the jeering — and released white mice and set off stink bombs. Women screamed and stood on their seats. Moviegoers bolted for the exits; several patrons, taken for Jews, were beaten up. The house lights went up, the theater was cleared, and the show was shut down. [*]
The date was December 5, 1930, and the American-made film was All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Universal Pictures’ epic version of German novelist Erich Maria Remarque’s antiwar best seller. Eight years shy of a century later, the Germans have gotten around to making their own version — a Netflix production, directed by Edward Berger,...
“Out Jews!” howled Josef Goebbels. “A dirty film made in America!” The Nazi propagandist was on his feet in the front row of the balcony at Berlin’s ornate Mozartsaal, frothing at the motion picture screen. Behind Goebbels, dozens of brown shirted thugs joined in the jeering — and released white mice and set off stink bombs. Women screamed and stood on their seats. Moviegoers bolted for the exits; several patrons, taken for Jews, were beaten up. The house lights went up, the theater was cleared, and the show was shut down. [*]
The date was December 5, 1930, and the American-made film was All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Universal Pictures’ epic version of German novelist Erich Maria Remarque’s antiwar best seller. Eight years shy of a century later, the Germans have gotten around to making their own version — a Netflix production, directed by Edward Berger,...
- 9/13/2022
- by Thomas Doherty
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
William Wyler was a three-time Oscar winner who crafted several classics during Hollywood’s Golden Age, adapting his style to a wide variety of genres. Let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1902 in Germany, Wyler immigrated to the U.S. when his cousin, Universal Studios chief Carl Laemmle, hired him as an errand boy. He quickly moved up the ranks, directing shorts during the silent era before transitioning into features. It was with the advent of sound that he hit his stride, displaying an ear for dialogue that would serve him well in lofty literary adaptations produced by his longtime partner, independent mogul Samuel Goldwyn.
Wyler quickly became an Oscar mainstay, earning a record-breaking 12 nominations for Best Director: “Dodsworth” (1936), “Wuthering Heights” (1939), “The Letter” (1940), “The Little Foxes” (1941), “Mrs. Miniver” (1942), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), “The Heiress” (1949), “Detective Story” (1951), “Roman Holiday...
Born in 1902 in Germany, Wyler immigrated to the U.S. when his cousin, Universal Studios chief Carl Laemmle, hired him as an errand boy. He quickly moved up the ranks, directing shorts during the silent era before transitioning into features. It was with the advent of sound that he hit his stride, displaying an ear for dialogue that would serve him well in lofty literary adaptations produced by his longtime partner, independent mogul Samuel Goldwyn.
Wyler quickly became an Oscar mainstay, earning a record-breaking 12 nominations for Best Director: “Dodsworth” (1936), “Wuthering Heights” (1939), “The Letter” (1940), “The Little Foxes” (1941), “Mrs. Miniver” (1942), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), “The Heiress” (1949), “Detective Story” (1951), “Roman Holiday...
- 6/29/2022
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz will co-write and co-direct Spanish Dracula, the true story about how silent film star and Mexican actress Lupita Tovar found a second wind starring in Spanish-language versions of Hollywood films like the Universal classic Dracula. The Weitz brothers are her grandsons, and they will produce with their Depth of Field cohort Andrew Miano, along with Pancho Kohner. He is their uncle and author of The Sweetheart of Mexico, a memoir he helped his mother write about her most fascinating life.
Tovar, who moved from Mexico to Hollywood, would go on to become a wildly successful actress back home where she was known as The Mexican Rose. Their grandfather is Paul Kohner, Universal Pictures chief Carl Laemmle’s right-hand man who ran the studio’s international film production business.
Falling head over heels in love with Tovar — as did many others including John Huston and a Mexican general,...
Tovar, who moved from Mexico to Hollywood, would go on to become a wildly successful actress back home where she was known as The Mexican Rose. Their grandfather is Paul Kohner, Universal Pictures chief Carl Laemmle’s right-hand man who ran the studio’s international film production business.
Falling head over heels in love with Tovar — as did many others including John Huston and a Mexican general,...
- 2/15/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
(Spoiler alert: Do not read on if you haven’t seen David Fincher’s “Mank.”)
In David Fincher’s “Mank,” Lily Collins’ character Rita Alexander hears that her boss, “Citizen Kane” screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, helped 100 people flee out of Nazi Germany. But is that true?
Somewhat. In Richard Meryman’s biography “Mank: The Wit, World and Life of Herman Mankiewicz,” Meryman wrote, “Herman became the official sponsor for hundreds of German refugees and took responsibility for total strangers fleeing to America. Sam Jaffe protested that he could not possibly fulfill these obligations. Herman continued to sign a stack of affidavits and said, ‘Yes, but the government doesn’t know that.'”
According to “Film History Vol. 1, No.4,” Mankiewicz was among others in Hollywood like Carl Laemmle and William Wyler who were involved in rescuing German refugees. Wyler, for example, was involved in trying to rescue 25 people, while Laemmle helped 300 people; for each case,...
In David Fincher’s “Mank,” Lily Collins’ character Rita Alexander hears that her boss, “Citizen Kane” screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, helped 100 people flee out of Nazi Germany. But is that true?
Somewhat. In Richard Meryman’s biography “Mank: The Wit, World and Life of Herman Mankiewicz,” Meryman wrote, “Herman became the official sponsor for hundreds of German refugees and took responsibility for total strangers fleeing to America. Sam Jaffe protested that he could not possibly fulfill these obligations. Herman continued to sign a stack of affidavits and said, ‘Yes, but the government doesn’t know that.'”
According to “Film History Vol. 1, No.4,” Mankiewicz was among others in Hollywood like Carl Laemmle and William Wyler who were involved in rescuing German refugees. Wyler, for example, was involved in trying to rescue 25 people, while Laemmle helped 300 people; for each case,...
- 12/3/2020
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Greg Laemmle, who runs L.A.-based Laemmle Theatres art-house movie chain with his father, Robert, was on the fast track to expand the family business in early 2020, determined to recover from a reported 30% drop in revenue in early 2019 that raised the possibility the chain would be sold. Then the pandemic hit. Now the company is still in shutdown mode with its seven theaters and 41 screens, including a new seven-screen complex in Newhall that has yet to open to the public. The cause? What Laemmle calls “stupid” L.A. County Covid-19 protocols that do not allow outdoor movie screenings, even at limited capacity, while restaurants are allowed that privilege. “It gets a little frustrating when you think someone can go to a place, sit outdoors and watch a football game on a big screen, but then that same facility can’t put a big screen up and start showing movies,...
- 10/29/2020
- by Diane Haithman
- The Wrap
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. A show of hands: how many remember trick-or-treating when a tampered-with candy bar was the biggest fear? Should a surgical mask be worn inside or outside the scary character mask?
The 1925 version of Phantom of the Opera predates a handful of other remakes and even different editions of this film. Phantom has been remade more times than a motel bed. The takeaway from Carl Laemmle’s roaring twenties epic is: when you buy a theater and the seller tells you it’s haunted, what’s the harm in believing him?
Lon Chaney as the Phantom devised his own makeup for the gig and pretty much did whatever else he wanted. The Man of a Thousand Faces reportedly told the director to “go to hell” whenever he dared to give him any direction.
The 1925 version of Phantom of the Opera predates a handful of other remakes and even different editions of this film. Phantom has been remade more times than a motel bed. The takeaway from Carl Laemmle’s roaring twenties epic is: when you buy a theater and the seller tells you it’s haunted, what’s the harm in believing him?
Lon Chaney as the Phantom devised his own makeup for the gig and pretty much did whatever else he wanted. The Man of a Thousand Faces reportedly told the director to “go to hell” whenever he dared to give him any direction.
- 10/29/2020
- by Randy Fuller
- Trailers from Hell
A near-spotless restoration on the 104 year-old adaptation of the Jules Verne classic finally presents it in a form where we can judge its merits. The screenplay is an erratic jumble, imposing serial thrill elements onto an undigested amalgam of Vingt mille lieues sous les mers with its sequel L’Ile mystérieuse. But the physical production is state of the art for 1916, with an impressive live action submarine mockup and even more impressive scenes filmed underwater, reportedly a feature film first. Even better than the vivid restoration is a fact-filled commentary by film expert Anthony Slide. It’s no casual conversational chat track, but a wealth of good information about every aspect of the film, all delivered in good humor.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Blu-ray
Kino Classics
1916 / B&w / 1:33 Silent Ap / 86 105 min. / Street Date July 28, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Dan Hanlon, Edna Pendleton, Curtis Benton, Allen Holubar, Matt Moore,...
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Blu-ray
Kino Classics
1916 / B&w / 1:33 Silent Ap / 86 105 min. / Street Date July 28, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Dan Hanlon, Edna Pendleton, Curtis Benton, Allen Holubar, Matt Moore,...
- 7/21/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Laemmle Theatres is considering unloading at least one of its theaters that has been sitting idle for the past four months amid the pandemic-induced shutdown.
The Claremont 5 theater has already been put up for sale and the company is mulling shopping one or more of the six other theaters the 82-year-old business owns and operates in California, according to CEO Greg Laemmle.
“The only lifeline that we have as a company is that we happen to own a lot of our dirt, the theaters where we are located,” he said in an interview on the latest episode of the Variety podcast “Strictly Business.” “So we are looking at options for selling maybe even in this market.”
Listen to the podcast here:
Like many exhibitors large and small nationwide, Laemmle Theatres has been out of commission since March, forcing the company to lay off nearly all of approximately 200 full-time and part-time employees.
The Claremont 5 theater has already been put up for sale and the company is mulling shopping one or more of the six other theaters the 82-year-old business owns and operates in California, according to CEO Greg Laemmle.
“The only lifeline that we have as a company is that we happen to own a lot of our dirt, the theaters where we are located,” he said in an interview on the latest episode of the Variety podcast “Strictly Business.” “So we are looking at options for selling maybe even in this market.”
Listen to the podcast here:
Like many exhibitors large and small nationwide, Laemmle Theatres has been out of commission since March, forcing the company to lay off nearly all of approximately 200 full-time and part-time employees.
- 7/8/2020
- by Andrew Wallenstein
- Variety Film + TV
Even after being released nearly 95 years ago now, Rupert Julian’s adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera remains a crowning achievement in gothic storytelling. Its production history is a storied one, with there being a great deal of drama both in front of and behind the camera, but without a doubt, there’s no denying the power that this iteration of Phantom wielded, as not only did it act as the catalyst for Universal Studio’s monster movies, but its legacy still carries on today as one of the most influential horror films of all time.
The first time I ever watched this iteration of Phantom was when I was an extremely young genre fan (I think I was maybe seven or eight at the time), and it was my first experience watching a silent movie ever. In fact, I distinctly remember that I couldn’t read all of...
The first time I ever watched this iteration of Phantom was when I was an extremely young genre fan (I think I was maybe seven or eight at the time), and it was my first experience watching a silent movie ever. In fact, I distinctly remember that I couldn’t read all of...
- 5/4/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
For the Deadline record, the Laemmle family will not be selling their 81-year old Los Angeles arthouse chain and will remain in control. We first broke the news that they were looking at suitors back in August.
Today, we also exclusively learned that the Music Hall in Beverly Hills is technically not closing. Laemmle will no longer lease the theater, rather the venue is expected to open sometime soon under the new management of former employees possibly as soon as Next Friday. Laemmle had operated the Music Hall since 1974 on a month-by-month lease. The theater is one of the city’s oldest movie houses having been around since the late 1930s.
Several sources had been telling me over the last month that Laemmle was on the verge of selling to Reading Cinemas out of NY which owns and operates the Angelika Film Center. What the Laemmles have that most major theater chains do not, are the property deeds to most of their locations, including the upcoming Newhall venue down the street from me. With property ownership comes the power to reap one’s own profits. Reading Cinema is a circuit that also owns their theaters; taking over leases I hear was not in the cards for them. Then, of course, there was no agreement in regards to the chain’s price. At the end of the day, it was better for the Laemmle family, which employs around 200, to maintain the beloved brand they built and control their own destiny. “Their heart is truly in the business, and they want to make sure this works,” says one major distribution booker who like many adores working with the family.
The indie circuit, based in the film capital of the world, counts the Claremont 5 in Claremont, the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, the Glendale, the Monica Film Center in Santa Monica, the Noho 7 in North Hollywood, the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, the Royal in West Los Angeles and the Town Center 5 in Encino. New theaters are being developed in Azusa and Bellflower, and the Newhall location is expected to open in Q1 2020 or hopefully sooner.
The Newhall venue is located on the historic main street not far from Melody Ranch where Quentin Tarantino shot Django Unchained and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and HBO shoots Westworld and Deadwood. The Newhall site remained under construction during the sales talks and will offer Dolby 5.1 sound, digital projection, 7 auditoriums, lots of leg room and possibly beer and wine (an application is being reviewed). Plush seats are still being considered, but the location is expected to be more luxurious than their North Hollywood site, on par with Glendale.
Q4 this year has been a money-maker for Laemmle, another factor for keeping their doors open. Despite the dry spell at the indie B.O. throughout this year, pics like Parasite, The Lighthouse, Jojo Rabbit have bounced it back. And get this, even Netflix is an ample provider of income whether they’re four-walling or providing generous rental terms (which can best other specialty theatrical distributors). Separately, Indie B.O. sources tell us that The Irishman alone is approaching a national B.O. gross of $5M, and most of that cash for the $150M-$200M 3 1/2 hour Martin Scorsese production is in the hands of exhibitors. This weekend, The Irishman goes to 300 runs. Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story we hear is earning around $1M to date. And more Netflix pics are on the way with The Two Popes. The Netflix truncated theatrical pipeline is apparently not bad for business, and Netflix’s decision to crush windows provides more sway to exhibition when haggling over rental terms.
The Laemmle circuit was started in 1938 by Max Laemmle, and it has spanned three generations, including Max’s son Robert, and Robert’s son, Greg, now operating the business. Robert’s father Max and uncle Kurt were cousins of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle. Robert bought his first movie theater in Highland Park of Los Angeles.
Today, we also exclusively learned that the Music Hall in Beverly Hills is technically not closing. Laemmle will no longer lease the theater, rather the venue is expected to open sometime soon under the new management of former employees possibly as soon as Next Friday. Laemmle had operated the Music Hall since 1974 on a month-by-month lease. The theater is one of the city’s oldest movie houses having been around since the late 1930s.
Several sources had been telling me over the last month that Laemmle was on the verge of selling to Reading Cinemas out of NY which owns and operates the Angelika Film Center. What the Laemmles have that most major theater chains do not, are the property deeds to most of their locations, including the upcoming Newhall venue down the street from me. With property ownership comes the power to reap one’s own profits. Reading Cinema is a circuit that also owns their theaters; taking over leases I hear was not in the cards for them. Then, of course, there was no agreement in regards to the chain’s price. At the end of the day, it was better for the Laemmle family, which employs around 200, to maintain the beloved brand they built and control their own destiny. “Their heart is truly in the business, and they want to make sure this works,” says one major distribution booker who like many adores working with the family.
The indie circuit, based in the film capital of the world, counts the Claremont 5 in Claremont, the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, the Glendale, the Monica Film Center in Santa Monica, the Noho 7 in North Hollywood, the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, the Royal in West Los Angeles and the Town Center 5 in Encino. New theaters are being developed in Azusa and Bellflower, and the Newhall location is expected to open in Q1 2020 or hopefully sooner.
The Newhall venue is located on the historic main street not far from Melody Ranch where Quentin Tarantino shot Django Unchained and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and HBO shoots Westworld and Deadwood. The Newhall site remained under construction during the sales talks and will offer Dolby 5.1 sound, digital projection, 7 auditoriums, lots of leg room and possibly beer and wine (an application is being reviewed). Plush seats are still being considered, but the location is expected to be more luxurious than their North Hollywood site, on par with Glendale.
Q4 this year has been a money-maker for Laemmle, another factor for keeping their doors open. Despite the dry spell at the indie B.O. throughout this year, pics like Parasite, The Lighthouse, Jojo Rabbit have bounced it back. And get this, even Netflix is an ample provider of income whether they’re four-walling or providing generous rental terms (which can best other specialty theatrical distributors). Separately, Indie B.O. sources tell us that The Irishman alone is approaching a national B.O. gross of $5M, and most of that cash for the $150M-$200M 3 1/2 hour Martin Scorsese production is in the hands of exhibitors. This weekend, The Irishman goes to 300 runs. Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story we hear is earning around $1M to date. And more Netflix pics are on the way with The Two Popes. The Netflix truncated theatrical pipeline is apparently not bad for business, and Netflix’s decision to crush windows provides more sway to exhibition when haggling over rental terms.
The Laemmle circuit was started in 1938 by Max Laemmle, and it has spanned three generations, including Max’s son Robert, and Robert’s son, Greg, now operating the business. Robert’s father Max and uncle Kurt were cousins of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle. Robert bought his first movie theater in Highland Park of Los Angeles.
- 11/23/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
On this day in 1931: Frankenstein premiered in theaters. One of the most famous horror films of all time, Frankenstein came about because in 1930, Universal Studio had lost $2.2 million. With Dracula debuting in February 1931, the film earned $700,000. Carl Laemmle, the head of Universal, immediately put more horror films into production. Bela Lugosi, fresh off his fame from Dracula, […]
The post This Day in Horror: Frankenstein Premiered in Theaters appeared first on Dread Central.
The post This Day in Horror: Frankenstein Premiered in Theaters appeared first on Dread Central.
- 11/21/2019
- by Alyse Wax
- DreadCentral.com
The Laemmle Theatres still take newspaper ads, which proclaim its slogan: “Not Afraid of Subtitles.” A family-owned theater circuit that operates 42 screens in nine Los Angeles locations, it’s maintained a commitment to specialized film for decades. However, sources confirm that the circuit is now for sale, and potential buyers have been quietly examining its financials for some time. (A Laemmle representative did not respond to a request for comment.)
A Laemmle sale would be meaningful on the basis of history alone; the company was founded in 1938 by Max and Kurt Laemmle, cousins of Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle. Their theaters remain a mainstay of specialized exhibition in Los Angeles, where they provide the top platform for foreign-language films and for awards-qualifying documentary engagements year round. They’re also a major source of revenue for smaller distributors. If a company without the same programming interests acquired the Laemmle chain, it...
A Laemmle sale would be meaningful on the basis of history alone; the company was founded in 1938 by Max and Kurt Laemmle, cousins of Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle. Their theaters remain a mainstay of specialized exhibition in Los Angeles, where they provide the top platform for foreign-language films and for awards-qualifying documentary engagements year round. They’re also a major source of revenue for smaller distributors. If a company without the same programming interests acquired the Laemmle chain, it...
- 8/7/2019
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Deadline hears that family-owned Los Angeles-based arthouse chain Laemmle Theatres is up for sale.
At this point in time, it’s not clear whether it will be a portion or the entire 41-screen chain.
Laemmle Theatres also touts an upcoming new 7-plex with a 500-seat auditorium in Newhall, CA, not far from the Melody Ranch where Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Django Unchained, as well as HBO’s Westworld and Deadwood were filmed. Laemmle’s Newhall cinema is expected to open toward the end of the year.
The chain has been renowned throughout its history for booking Oscar qualifying runs for contenders, including independent pics, shorts and documentaries.
Note this is poised to be a very different sale from the recent Landmark Theatres one, which saw its 252 screens in 27 markets purchased by Cohen Media Group for a reported $100M in cash and stock, from...
At this point in time, it’s not clear whether it will be a portion or the entire 41-screen chain.
Laemmle Theatres also touts an upcoming new 7-plex with a 500-seat auditorium in Newhall, CA, not far from the Melody Ranch where Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Django Unchained, as well as HBO’s Westworld and Deadwood were filmed. Laemmle’s Newhall cinema is expected to open toward the end of the year.
The chain has been renowned throughout its history for booking Oscar qualifying runs for contenders, including independent pics, shorts and documentaries.
Note this is poised to be a very different sale from the recent Landmark Theatres one, which saw its 252 screens in 27 markets purchased by Cohen Media Group for a reported $100M in cash and stock, from...
- 8/3/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
William Wyler would’ve celebrated his 117th birthday on July 1, 2019. The three-time Oscar winner crafted several classics during Hollywood’s Golden Age, adapting his style to a wide variety of genres. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1902 in Germany, Wyler immigrated to the U.S. when his cousin, Universal Studios chief Carl Laemmle, hired him as an errand boy. He quickly moved up the ranks, directing shorts during the silent era before transitioning into features. It was with the advent of sound that he hit his stride, displaying an ear for dialogue that would serve him well in lofty literary adaptations produced by his longtime partner, independent mogul Samuel Goldwyn.
SEEBette Davis movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Wyler quickly became an Oscar mainstay, earning a record-breaking 12 nominations for Best Director: “Dodsworth...
Born in 1902 in Germany, Wyler immigrated to the U.S. when his cousin, Universal Studios chief Carl Laemmle, hired him as an errand boy. He quickly moved up the ranks, directing shorts during the silent era before transitioning into features. It was with the advent of sound that he hit his stride, displaying an ear for dialogue that would serve him well in lofty literary adaptations produced by his longtime partner, independent mogul Samuel Goldwyn.
SEEBette Davis movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Wyler quickly became an Oscar mainstay, earning a record-breaking 12 nominations for Best Director: “Dodsworth...
- 7/1/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The 24th Annual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival opens with two exciting films on Sunday, June 2nd at the Landmark Plaza Frontenac Cinema. The first film at 4:00Pm is called Carl Laemmle, a documentary film about the founder of Universal Pictures, a rags to riches story of a poor immigrant who became a Hollywood movie mogul and a man who saved 300 German Jewish families during the Holocaust.
The opening day continues at 7:00pm with Golda’s Balcony, The Film with special guest Dave Fishelson, and producer of the original Broadway production. Starring Tovah Feldshuh as Golda Meier, the film version of the Broadway play follows Golda’s journey from Russian immigrant to leader of international politics as Prime Minister of Israel.
The St. Louis Jewish Film Festival continues through Thursday, June 6 with its celebration of Jewish life through 16 documentary and feature films. While all films depict a slice of the Jewish experience,...
The opening day continues at 7:00pm with Golda’s Balcony, The Film with special guest Dave Fishelson, and producer of the original Broadway production. Starring Tovah Feldshuh as Golda Meier, the film version of the Broadway play follows Golda’s journey from Russian immigrant to leader of international politics as Prime Minister of Israel.
The St. Louis Jewish Film Festival continues through Thursday, June 6 with its celebration of Jewish life through 16 documentary and feature films. While all films depict a slice of the Jewish experience,...
- 5/16/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Lore in my wife’s family says that her mother, a beautiful Jewish immigrant fleeing grief in the Ukraine about a century ago, ran into someone named Carl Laemmle on a ship crossing the Atlantic. As the story goes, Laemmle asked her to check in with his still-young Universal film company, as she might have a future in the movies.
Once in the United States, friends and relatives advised the young woman against it. This was probably a white slavery racket, they warned. Maybe they’d been watching pictures like Traffic In Souls, Universal’s first full-length feature, which in 1913 dramatized the trade in immigrant girls who were routed from Ellis Island to the bordellos.
At any rate, my late mother-in-law took a pass. And when I once described the episode to Lew Wasserman, then chief executive of Universal’s McA Inc. parent corporation, he said: “Too bad. You could have been one of us.
Once in the United States, friends and relatives advised the young woman against it. This was probably a white slavery racket, they warned. Maybe they’d been watching pictures like Traffic In Souls, Universal’s first full-length feature, which in 1913 dramatized the trade in immigrant girls who were routed from Ellis Island to the bordellos.
At any rate, my late mother-in-law took a pass. And when I once described the episode to Lew Wasserman, then chief executive of Universal’s McA Inc. parent corporation, he said: “Too bad. You could have been one of us.
- 4/17/2019
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Opening Night features the Los Angeles Premiere of the new documentary ‘Carl Laemmle’ on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theater, Beverly Hills will honor Peter Bogdanovich who also appears in the film.
Since 2006, the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, has presented successful programs while filing a cultural void in the Los Angeles community for affiliated Jews, unaffiliated Jews and non-Jews. It offers an opportunity to open up new dialogues, meet emerging filmmakers, Jewish scholars and celebrities and have a first look at the latest feature films, documentaries and shorts all dealing with Jewish thought, tradition, history and culture. The festival attempts to show the universality of Jewish values and experience through the diversity of the subjects of the films screened annually.
This year’s crop of films has some surprising and inspiring subjects, starting with Los Angeles icon, ‘Carl Laemmle’ whose son and grandson continue running the Laemmle...
Since 2006, the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, has presented successful programs while filing a cultural void in the Los Angeles community for affiliated Jews, unaffiliated Jews and non-Jews. It offers an opportunity to open up new dialogues, meet emerging filmmakers, Jewish scholars and celebrities and have a first look at the latest feature films, documentaries and shorts all dealing with Jewish thought, tradition, history and culture. The festival attempts to show the universality of Jewish values and experience through the diversity of the subjects of the films screened annually.
This year’s crop of films has some surprising and inspiring subjects, starting with Los Angeles icon, ‘Carl Laemmle’ whose son and grandson continue running the Laemmle...
- 4/15/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
We may not have film of the legendary actresses Lily Langtree or Sara Bernhardt to enjoy, but now we can see the famed Anna Pavlova dance and act, in an epic-length revolutionary saga inspired by a Grand Opera. In conjunction with the BFI and the New York Public Library, The Milestone Cinematheque gives us the full 2015 restored feature. A second disc offers more vintage film clips of the world’s first ballerina with an international touring company.
The Dumb Girl of Portici
Blu-ray
The Milestone Cinematheque
1916 / B&W / 1:33 Silent Aperture / 112 min. / La muette de Portici / Street Date February 6, 2018 / 26.38
Starring: Anna Pavlova (Pavlowa), Rupert Julian, Wadsworth Harris, Douglas Gerrard, John (Jack) Holt, Nigel De Brulier, Lois Wilson.
Cinematography: Dal Clawson, Allen G. Siegler, R. W. Walter
Written by Lois Weber from the opera byDaniel Auber, Germain Delavigne, Eugène Scribe
Produced by Carl Laemmle
Directed by Lois Weber & Phillips Smalley
The...
The Dumb Girl of Portici
Blu-ray
The Milestone Cinematheque
1916 / B&W / 1:33 Silent Aperture / 112 min. / La muette de Portici / Street Date February 6, 2018 / 26.38
Starring: Anna Pavlova (Pavlowa), Rupert Julian, Wadsworth Harris, Douglas Gerrard, John (Jack) Holt, Nigel De Brulier, Lois Wilson.
Cinematography: Dal Clawson, Allen G. Siegler, R. W. Walter
Written by Lois Weber from the opera byDaniel Auber, Germain Delavigne, Eugène Scribe
Produced by Carl Laemmle
Directed by Lois Weber & Phillips Smalley
The...
- 3/10/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Since he first haunted the Palais Garnier opera house, The Phantom has captivated and chilled readers of Gaston Leroux's classic novel and viewers of its many film adaptations. The most memorable translation from page to screen is widely considered to be the first one, thanks in large part to Lon Chaney Sr.'s stunning, skeletal transformation into The Phantom. Nearly a century later, Black Heart Enterprises, LLC is celebrating the actor's iconic appearance in The Phantom of the Opera with a new life-size bust coming next year from Sideshow Collectibles.
Meticulously sculpted by Jeff Yagher, the new life-size bust of Lon Chaney Sr. is a detailed depiction of the actor as he appeared in the classic 1925 movie The Phantom of the Opera. Standing approximately 17 inches tall, the life-size bust gorgeously displays Chaney Sr.'s haunted expression under ghoulish makeup that forever cemented the tragic character in horror film history.
Meticulously sculpted by Jeff Yagher, the new life-size bust of Lon Chaney Sr. is a detailed depiction of the actor as he appeared in the classic 1925 movie The Phantom of the Opera. Standing approximately 17 inches tall, the life-size bust gorgeously displays Chaney Sr.'s haunted expression under ghoulish makeup that forever cemented the tragic character in horror film history.
- 12/26/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Projected on the screen behind his podium, the title card for James Schamus’ keynote at Saturday’s Produced By conference read: “Can Cinema Be Saved? Probably not, but let’s give it one last try.”
The even-keeled former head of Focus Features is widely respected as being one of the most knowledgable figures in film — mixing a deep appreciation for the art form and an even deeper understanding of the history and economics of movie distribution — but started his talk on a surprisingly alarmist note.
“It’s too late [to save cinema], but if we have a chance to do it, this coming year is probably the last chance we will ever have,” said Schamus. “Last year, as I will demonstrate shortly, was most likely the turning point where the actual strings of American cinema’s actual death knell could honestly be heard by those with their ears to the ground.”
Staying in character,...
The even-keeled former head of Focus Features is widely respected as being one of the most knowledgable figures in film — mixing a deep appreciation for the art form and an even deeper understanding of the history and economics of movie distribution — but started his talk on a surprisingly alarmist note.
“It’s too late [to save cinema], but if we have a chance to do it, this coming year is probably the last chance we will ever have,” said Schamus. “Last year, as I will demonstrate shortly, was most likely the turning point where the actual strings of American cinema’s actual death knell could honestly be heard by those with their ears to the ground.”
Staying in character,...
- 10/29/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The 2016 blu ray release of the Frankenstein and Wolf Man Legacy Collections was a moment of celebration for movie and monster lovers everywhere, bringing together all the golden age appearances of Frankenstein’s misbegotten creation and Larry Talbot’s hairy alter-ego. Universal Studios treated those dusty creature features to luminous restorations; from Bride of Frankenstein to She Wolf of London, these essential artifacts never looked less than impeccable and, at times, even ravishing. Colin Clive’s frenzied declaration, “It’s Alive!”, never felt more appropriate.
Now Universal has turned their attention to their other legendary franchise players, Dracula, the sharp-dressed but undead ladies’ man and Im-ho-tep, the cursed Egyptian priest who loved not wisely but too well.
Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection
Blu-ray
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
1931, ’36, ’43, ’44, ’45, ’48 / 449 min. / B&W / 1:33 / Street Date May 16, 2017
Starring: Actors: Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. , Boris Karloff, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
Cinematography: Karl Freund,...
Now Universal has turned their attention to their other legendary franchise players, Dracula, the sharp-dressed but undead ladies’ man and Im-ho-tep, the cursed Egyptian priest who loved not wisely but too well.
Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection
Blu-ray
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
1931, ’36, ’43, ’44, ’45, ’48 / 449 min. / B&W / 1:33 / Street Date May 16, 2017
Starring: Actors: Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. , Boris Karloff, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
Cinematography: Karl Freund,...
- 5/29/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
It’s an art film boom time in New York City. With more and more theaters cropping up than one could try and name off the top of their heads, citizens of The Big Apple have everything from the retrospective-centric programming of The Metrograph to their very own Alamo Drafthouse to give their money to in hopes of making a great cinematic discovery. However, don’t forget the museum scene.
As we make our way through the month of May, The Museum of Modern Art has scheduled two fantastic retrospective series, running back to back, that couldn’t be more different. Looking at the worlds of pre-Code Hollywood and African animation, May at MoMA is one of the most interesting repertory lineups seen yet this year.
Running May 5-16, MoMA follows-up their beloved 2016 series Universal Pictures: Restorations and Rediscoveries, 1928-1937 with a return to the studio, this time looking...
As we make our way through the month of May, The Museum of Modern Art has scheduled two fantastic retrospective series, running back to back, that couldn’t be more different. Looking at the worlds of pre-Code Hollywood and African animation, May at MoMA is one of the most interesting repertory lineups seen yet this year.
Running May 5-16, MoMA follows-up their beloved 2016 series Universal Pictures: Restorations and Rediscoveries, 1928-1937 with a return to the studio, this time looking...
- 5/8/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
The Fault Is Not In Our Stars, But In Ourselves.
I recently had a discussion with a friend, on a subject discussed quite a bit in recent years among cinephiles or movie geeks or whatever we people who prefer to spend our time in dark rooms watching shadows flicker on screens prefer to call ourselves. My friend, with the heavy sigh of the no longer young, asked “What the hell happened to movie stars?” and proceeded to run down a number of current Hollywood A-listers. I mostly listened and made occasional non-verbal “I’m listening” noises, because I didn’t agree but also didn’t have a fully-formed rebuttal at hand. Later, I remembered there was a movie with Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, and John Boyega coming out in a few days, about which I’d seen a total of three ads, and which I had to Google just now to remember it was called The Circle. At...
I recently had a discussion with a friend, on a subject discussed quite a bit in recent years among cinephiles or movie geeks or whatever we people who prefer to spend our time in dark rooms watching shadows flicker on screens prefer to call ourselves. My friend, with the heavy sigh of the no longer young, asked “What the hell happened to movie stars?” and proceeded to run down a number of current Hollywood A-listers. I mostly listened and made occasional non-verbal “I’m listening” noises, because I didn’t agree but also didn’t have a fully-formed rebuttal at hand. Later, I remembered there was a movie with Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, and John Boyega coming out in a few days, about which I’d seen a total of three ads, and which I had to Google just now to remember it was called The Circle. At...
- 4/26/2017
- by Danny Bowes
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Last fall, Universal Studios Home Entertainment gave horror fans an early Halloween treat with their Complete Legacy Collection Blu-ray box sets for Frankenstein's monster and The Wolf Man. This spring, two more Universal Monsters will get their due, as Dracula and The Mummy are also getting the Complete Legacy Collection Blu-ray treatment.
The respective Complete Legacy Collection Blu-ray box sets for Dracula and The Mummy are scheduled for a May 16th release. Although the full list of films for each collection have not been announced, it's likely that they will contain the same films featured on the DVD versions:
Dracula Complete Legacy Collection:
Dracula (1931) Dracula's Daughter Son of Dracula House of Frankenstein House of Dracula Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein Dracula (1931) - Spanish version
The Mummy Complete Legacy Collection:
The Mummy (1932) The Mummy's Hand The Mummy's Tomb The Mummy's Ghost The Mummy's Curse Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy
And for additional details,...
The respective Complete Legacy Collection Blu-ray box sets for Dracula and The Mummy are scheduled for a May 16th release. Although the full list of films for each collection have not been announced, it's likely that they will contain the same films featured on the DVD versions:
Dracula Complete Legacy Collection:
Dracula (1931) Dracula's Daughter Son of Dracula House of Frankenstein House of Dracula Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein Dracula (1931) - Spanish version
The Mummy Complete Legacy Collection:
The Mummy (1932) The Mummy's Hand The Mummy's Tomb The Mummy's Ghost The Mummy's Curse Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy
And for additional details,...
- 2/23/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman. A Facebook invite for the event can be found Here
Here’s a comprehensive look at the life and career of King Baggot
Article by Tom Stockman
They gathered to see the stars at St. Louis Union Station on Saturday March 25th 1910. President Taft had made a stop near the Twentieth Street entrance ten days earlier, but the crowd this day was much larger. Thousands, mostly excited women wearing ankle-length dresses and waving felt pennants lined up hoping for a glimpse, or perhaps...
Here’s a comprehensive look at the life and career of King Baggot
Article by Tom Stockman
They gathered to see the stars at St. Louis Union Station on Saturday March 25th 1910. President Taft had made a stop near the Twentieth Street entrance ten days earlier, but the crowd this day was much larger. Thousands, mostly excited women wearing ankle-length dresses and waving felt pennants lined up hoping for a glimpse, or perhaps...
- 9/28/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman. A Facebook invite for the event can be found Here
Here’s a look at the final phase of King Baggot’s career.
King Baggot, the first ‘King of the Movies’ died July 11th, 1948 penniless and mostly forgotten at age 68. A St. Louis native, Baggot was at one time Hollywood’s most popular star, known is his heyday as “The Most Photographed Man in the World” and “More Famous Than the Man in the Moon”. Yet even in his hometown, Baggot had faded into obscurity.
Here’s a look at the final phase of King Baggot’s career.
King Baggot, the first ‘King of the Movies’ died July 11th, 1948 penniless and mostly forgotten at age 68. A St. Louis native, Baggot was at one time Hollywood’s most popular star, known is his heyday as “The Most Photographed Man in the World” and “More Famous Than the Man in the Moon”. Yet even in his hometown, Baggot had faded into obscurity.
- 9/20/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman. A Facebook invite for the event can be found Here
Okay, technically I didn’t ‘discover’ it. I actually bought it off eBay and I guess it wasn’t really lost…but I thought it was so that counts for something!
King Baggot was a silent film star from St. Louis. He was a major player in the early days of silent film, known as the first ‘King of the Movies’ He was the first actor to have his name above a movie...
Okay, technically I didn’t ‘discover’ it. I actually bought it off eBay and I guess it wasn’t really lost…but I thought it was so that counts for something!
King Baggot was a silent film star from St. Louis. He was a major player in the early days of silent film, known as the first ‘King of the Movies’ He was the first actor to have his name above a movie...
- 9/15/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman.
While cleaning out an old barn in New Hampshire recently, a man named Peter Massie discovered an old silent film projector and seven reels of nitrate films hidden in the shadows of a corner of the structure. Among these old reels was a 30-minute 1913 film titled When Lincoln Paid starring Francis Ford (older brother of director John Ford). It was one of six silent films, all presumed lost, in which Ford played Abraham Lincoln. It is stories like this that give hope to silent film fans.
While cleaning out an old barn in New Hampshire recently, a man named Peter Massie discovered an old silent film projector and seven reels of nitrate films hidden in the shadows of a corner of the structure. Among these old reels was a 30-minute 1913 film titled When Lincoln Paid starring Francis Ford (older brother of director John Ford). It was one of six silent films, all presumed lost, in which Ford played Abraham Lincoln. It is stories like this that give hope to silent film fans.
- 9/13/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The King Baggot Tribute will take place Wednesday September 28th at 7pm at Lee Auditorium inside the Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The 1913 silent film Ivanhoe will be accompanied by The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra and there will be a 40-minute illustrated lecture on the life and career of King Baggot by We Are Movie Geeks’ Tom Stockman.
By 1913, the American film industry had been around for over twenty years. In 1909 Carl Laemmle, a renegade and maverick movie mogul and film distributor, founded his own company in New York — the Yankee Film Company. Laemmle also started producing movies in Fort Lee, New Jersey that same year. His first company was called the Independent Motion Pictures (Imp) Company, aka Imp Studios. Soon however, Laemmle would be making plans to journey West where he would expand his film production and in 1912 co-founded the Universal Film Manufacturing Co.
By 1913, the American film industry had been around for over twenty years. In 1909 Carl Laemmle, a renegade and maverick movie mogul and film distributor, founded his own company in New York — the Yankee Film Company. Laemmle also started producing movies in Fort Lee, New Jersey that same year. His first company was called the Independent Motion Pictures (Imp) Company, aka Imp Studios. Soon however, Laemmle would be making plans to journey West where he would expand his film production and in 1912 co-founded the Universal Film Manufacturing Co.
- 8/4/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This is a "go to" festival for international filmmakers with Jewish films who want to have their films premiere in Hollywood. The 11th L.A. Jewish Film Festival May 18th through May 25.
Opening night on May 18 will be a grand, red carpet, star-studded gala at the Steve Tisch Cinema Center at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills. Lajff will recognize the Laemmle Theater family with a special honor for their ongoing commitment to film and filmmakers. This family, headed by legendary Universal studio owner, Carl Laemmle and continuously run by subsequent three generations of Laemmles, is truly a force of nature. The Laemmle Theaters is a 75+ year old family run business which has established a sense of community through film in every neighborhood of Los Angeles they touch. The Laemmle family also supports many local organizations.
Watch this wonderful history of the Laemmle theaters in which Gregory Laemmle, the President of Laemmle Theaters, gives the Beverly Hills Historical Society a summary of the Laemmle family movie theater's history and his programming of the Fine Arts and Music Hall theaters in Beverly Hills.
Opening night film is the North American premiere of “False Flag” /”Kfulim”, a gripping espionage thriller TV series (now known as “filmed entertainment”) which premiered at the Berlinale’s inaugural Special Series section and won the Grand Prize at Series Mania. It comes from the makers of “Homeland” as it first appeared in Israel in 2015 before being remade for U.S. audiences.
Created by Amit Cohen and Maria Feldman, Amit will be present after the screening for a Q&A with actor Angel Bonanni.
Variety, October 2015 called it a “Thrill Ride. Keshet’s hot strike may continue with False Flag”
C21 Hot Picks for Mipcom 2015 said, “’False Flag’ has a touch of ‘Homeland’ about it and could be the next big Israeli drama”.
Directed by Oded Ruskin, it stars Ishai Golan, Ania Bukstein, Angel Bonanni, Roy Assaf and Orna Salinger who play five Israeli citizens who find themselves plunged into a gripping international espionage affair overnight. These ordinary people, going about their daily business, wake up one morning to discover that they are implicated in a ruthless kidnapping operation following the disappearance of the Iranian Defense Minister while on a secret visit to Moscow. News bulletins repeatedly flash their names and passport photos on screen, linking them to video footage from the kidnapping.
French pay TV channel Canal Plus acquired exclusive rights to “False Flag” for France from Keshet International. Will it be remade for U.S.??? We shall see.
In addition to the opening night ceremony, this year will be the first year for a new award. Lajff will establish the Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award. Marvin Paige who died in 2014 was a classic Hollywood casting director, the go-to Hollywood star wrangler of anybody and everybody needing to get a hold of a celebrity. He worked with Lajff for its entire 11 years and his work continues with his former protégé.
Read Leonard Maltin on Marvin Paige
The Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award will be presented on closing night, Wednesday, May 25th, at the iconic Beverly Hills theater, The Fine Arts, to legendary actress Marsha Hunt, formerly blacklisted and still known as a free speech and humanitarian activist today at age 98!).
Closing night film Wednesday, May 25th is the classic, 72 year old movie ”None Shall Escape” starring Marsha Hunt and directed by André De Toth, starring Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox, Henry Travers, and written by Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than (Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story.)
"None Shall Escape" is a 1944 war film. Even though the film was made during World War II, the setting is a post-war Nuremberg-style war crimes trial. Production began August 31, 1943 and finished October 26, more than eighteen months before the war in Europe ended. About the career of a Nazi officer as shown as flashbacks from his trial as a war criminal, the film will be discussed by film historian, Professor Jan Christopher Horak with Marsha Hunt in person.
There will also be a very special screening of Israel’s beloved, 1966 film musical, “Sheni Kuni Lemel”/ “The Flying Matchmaker” featuring an appearance from L.A. local celebrity and star of the film, Mike Burstyn who starred in the film when he was just 19 years old. This is the first screening of the newly restored print from Israel - the first to be shown in the U.S. Lajff will honor this classic Israeli star with an award on the first night of the screening for “Sheni Kuni Lemel”. (Learn more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Matchmaker)
Another film definitely to be seen is the first film made by Oscar-winning director of “Son of Saul”, László Nemes. The 2008,14 minute short, “ With a Little Patience” will be playing before “Fever at Dawn” on May 23. Director László Nemes fixes the camera on the evocatively stoic face of a young female office clerk, capturing her every nuance as she methodically goes about her daily routine, which leads to a solemn revelation just outside the window, where a man is waiting. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival
and was the winner at the 14th Drama International Short Film Festival.
Monday, May 23, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills program introduction by Consul General of Hungary, Laszlo Kalman
Another top film here is “The People Vs. Fritz Bauer”. If you saw the German submission for the Academy Award this year, “Labyrinth of Lies” you will know the story, but will find this film much,much more authentic and engrossing. It is the real story of the boss of the young man “Labyrinth” who is the true life hero.
Audience Award Winner at the Locarno International Film Festival, World Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2015. Cohen Media has U.S. rights.
Its L.A. premiere will be Tuesday, May 24, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall. Drama, Germany, 2015, 105 minutes, Director: Lars Kraume, in German with English subtitles
Top German actors Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”) and Ronald Zehrfeld (“Barbara”, “Phoenix”) star in this riveting historical thriller, which chronicles the staggering efforts of German district attorney Fritz Bauer to bring Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann to justice.
Few figures encapsulate the conflicted character of postwar Germany better than Fritz Bauer, the Attorney General who was instrumental in bringing the elusive Adolf Eichmann to trial in Israel. This film is both a portrait of this complex man and a riveting historical thriller that chronicles the Herculean efforts and tremendous risks undertaken en route to apprehending the chief engineer of the Nazis' Final Solution.
In the late 1950s, Germany flourishes under the economic miracle, and grows increasingly apathetic about confronting the horrors of its recent past. Nevertheless, Fritz Bauer (Burghart Klaussner) relentlessly devotes his energies to bringing the Third Reich to justice. One day Bauer receives a letter from Argentina, with information about Adolf Eichmann. He is excited by the promising lead, but obstructed at every turn by authorities with Nazi ties, many of them former higher-ups under Hitler, now in top government positions. Bauer journeys to Jerusalem to seek alliance with Mossad, the Israeli secret service. This is an act of treason — yet committing treason is the only way Bauer can serve his country.
Fritz Bauer was the Attorney General portrayed in “Labyrinth of Lies.” This is the story that led up to the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials.
Introduction: Deputy Consul General Stefan Biedermann of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany. Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
“A La Vie” / “To Life”
Drama, France, 2014, 104 minutes
Director: Jean-Jacques Zilbermann
Starring: Julie Depardieu, Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément
Audience Award Winner at Warsaw Jewish Ff 2015
Breaking Glass has U.S. rights.
Veteran French writer/director Jean-Jacques Zilbermann (“He’s My Girl” - Lajff 2011) sets his engaging new drama in postwar Paris where Hélène (Julie Depardieu), a young Auschwitz survivor rebuilds her life while searching for her friends from the camp, Lily and Rose (Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément). When the women are finally reunited, they share a watershed vacation in 1962 in a seaside resort, enjoying the intimacies of life, love and faith. This emotionally complex film about the sustaining power of women’s friendship was inspired by the director’s mother and her annual vacation with the friends she made in the camps. Don’t miss this masterful film starring a trio of award-winning actresses.
“Children Of Giant”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqBYPp8IfQw
La Premiere
Documentary, United States 2015, 85 minutes
Director: Hector Galan
Thursday, May 19 at the Laemmle's Town Center, Encino at 7:30 pm
Marilyn Moss, George Stevens biographer, M.G. Lord, Elizabeth Taylor biographer Plus Earl Holliman (actor from the film) and Jim Silke join the panel discussion, moderated by Nick Redman.
Sixty years after the Hollywood blockbuster that dared tackle the issue of prejudice against Mexican-Americans, “Children Of Giant” explores the cultural and social legacy of the landmark 1956 drama. Starring a legendary trio—Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean—Giant is the epic story of a powerful West Texas ranching dynasty, and the Anglo-Latino tensions their characters encounter. Edna Ferber, the daughter of a Hungarian-born Jewish storekeeper, whose own encounters with discrimination informed her work, bases the film on the novel. Similarly stirred to address human rights issues after his WWII military service, Oscar-winning director George Stevens embraced the book’s controversial themes of feminism, class division and racism in the post-war American Southwest. The lavish production had an enormous impact on the dusty little town of Marfa, Texas, and the Mexican-Americans who saw it as a first exposure to their second-class status.
Rare behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the movie complement interviews with surviving cast and crew, film historians, as well as residents whose lives mirrored the social issues explored onscreen.
“Golan: A Farewell To Mr. Cinema”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evRsJy8GxrU&spfreload=10
La Premiere
Documentary, UK/Israel, 74 minutes
Directed by Christopher Sykes
Sunday, May 22, 7:00 pm, Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Speakers for Golan: Farewell to Mr. Cinema. Sam Firstenberg and Sybil Danning.
This film is the final chapter in the extraordinary life and career of Menahem Golan, Israeli movie director, producer, mogul and 'madman'. Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus, pursued the American Dream and turned the Hollywood power structure upside down, producing over 300 films and becoming the most powerful independent film company in the world; Cannon Films. Golan produced movies featuring such stars as Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Charles Bronson.
In his eighties and living in Jaffa, Golan looks back to his great days in Hollywood, forward to a new blockbuster, and dreams of the Oscar he has always wanted...
“In Search Of Israeli Cuisine”
La Premiere
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOd6cyFvBr8
Documentary, United States 2015, 97 minutes
Thursday, May 19, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hill
Q&A with Amelia Saltsman, cookbook author and personality and Rob Eshman, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal.
Sunday, May 22, 4:30 pm, Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
Q&A with Elana Horwich, owner of Meal with a Spiel
Director: Roger Sherman
Starring: Michael Solomonov
Michael Solomonov, the James Beard award-winning celebrity chef-restaurateur travels across Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition. Developed in only the last 30 years and using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations, Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries to street bazaars, Israeli-American Solomonov interviews chefs, home cooks, farmers, vintners, and cheese makers drawn from the more than 100 cultures that make up Israel today — Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, and Druze. This journey to his homeland reaffirms that Israeli cuisine is a beautiful and delectable reflection of the country’s unique diversity.
In a gastronomical expedition, celebrity chef-restaurateur Michael Solomonov zigzags Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition.
Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world, extending beyond falafel and hummus to include tasty ethnic and regional specialties. Having won the James Beard award for embracing these authentic flavors, Israeli-American Solomonov returns to his homeland to discover his culinary heritage anew. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries, to street bazaars, to simmering pots in family kitchens, “In Search Of Israeli Cuisine” excites the taste buds with multi-cultural recipes passed on and elevated. But even food is not immune to sectarian conflict, as Palestinian cooks chafe when their savory secrets are adapted by Jewish chefs. Equally eye-opening is the story behind the ingredients that Israel produces using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations. Combining a procession of mouthwatering dishes and interviews with chefs, home cooks and farmers of all backgrounds, Oscar-nominated documentarian Roger Sherman presents a diverse portrait of the Israeli people told through the very personal language of food.
Rob Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal, Blog “Foodaism” to lead discussion. Additional guests Tbd. Sponsored by the Jewish Journal and the Consulate General of Israel
Food sponsored by Mickey Fine Pharmacy & Grill and Yrf Darca
For the full array of programming go to: http://lajfilmfest.org/...
Opening night on May 18 will be a grand, red carpet, star-studded gala at the Steve Tisch Cinema Center at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills. Lajff will recognize the Laemmle Theater family with a special honor for their ongoing commitment to film and filmmakers. This family, headed by legendary Universal studio owner, Carl Laemmle and continuously run by subsequent three generations of Laemmles, is truly a force of nature. The Laemmle Theaters is a 75+ year old family run business which has established a sense of community through film in every neighborhood of Los Angeles they touch. The Laemmle family also supports many local organizations.
Watch this wonderful history of the Laemmle theaters in which Gregory Laemmle, the President of Laemmle Theaters, gives the Beverly Hills Historical Society a summary of the Laemmle family movie theater's history and his programming of the Fine Arts and Music Hall theaters in Beverly Hills.
Opening night film is the North American premiere of “False Flag” /”Kfulim”, a gripping espionage thriller TV series (now known as “filmed entertainment”) which premiered at the Berlinale’s inaugural Special Series section and won the Grand Prize at Series Mania. It comes from the makers of “Homeland” as it first appeared in Israel in 2015 before being remade for U.S. audiences.
Created by Amit Cohen and Maria Feldman, Amit will be present after the screening for a Q&A with actor Angel Bonanni.
Variety, October 2015 called it a “Thrill Ride. Keshet’s hot strike may continue with False Flag”
C21 Hot Picks for Mipcom 2015 said, “’False Flag’ has a touch of ‘Homeland’ about it and could be the next big Israeli drama”.
Directed by Oded Ruskin, it stars Ishai Golan, Ania Bukstein, Angel Bonanni, Roy Assaf and Orna Salinger who play five Israeli citizens who find themselves plunged into a gripping international espionage affair overnight. These ordinary people, going about their daily business, wake up one morning to discover that they are implicated in a ruthless kidnapping operation following the disappearance of the Iranian Defense Minister while on a secret visit to Moscow. News bulletins repeatedly flash their names and passport photos on screen, linking them to video footage from the kidnapping.
French pay TV channel Canal Plus acquired exclusive rights to “False Flag” for France from Keshet International. Will it be remade for U.S.??? We shall see.
In addition to the opening night ceremony, this year will be the first year for a new award. Lajff will establish the Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award. Marvin Paige who died in 2014 was a classic Hollywood casting director, the go-to Hollywood star wrangler of anybody and everybody needing to get a hold of a celebrity. He worked with Lajff for its entire 11 years and his work continues with his former protégé.
Read Leonard Maltin on Marvin Paige
The Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award will be presented on closing night, Wednesday, May 25th, at the iconic Beverly Hills theater, The Fine Arts, to legendary actress Marsha Hunt, formerly blacklisted and still known as a free speech and humanitarian activist today at age 98!).
Closing night film Wednesday, May 25th is the classic, 72 year old movie ”None Shall Escape” starring Marsha Hunt and directed by André De Toth, starring Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox, Henry Travers, and written by Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than (Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story.)
"None Shall Escape" is a 1944 war film. Even though the film was made during World War II, the setting is a post-war Nuremberg-style war crimes trial. Production began August 31, 1943 and finished October 26, more than eighteen months before the war in Europe ended. About the career of a Nazi officer as shown as flashbacks from his trial as a war criminal, the film will be discussed by film historian, Professor Jan Christopher Horak with Marsha Hunt in person.
There will also be a very special screening of Israel’s beloved, 1966 film musical, “Sheni Kuni Lemel”/ “The Flying Matchmaker” featuring an appearance from L.A. local celebrity and star of the film, Mike Burstyn who starred in the film when he was just 19 years old. This is the first screening of the newly restored print from Israel - the first to be shown in the U.S. Lajff will honor this classic Israeli star with an award on the first night of the screening for “Sheni Kuni Lemel”. (Learn more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Matchmaker)
Another film definitely to be seen is the first film made by Oscar-winning director of “Son of Saul”, László Nemes. The 2008,14 minute short, “ With a Little Patience” will be playing before “Fever at Dawn” on May 23. Director László Nemes fixes the camera on the evocatively stoic face of a young female office clerk, capturing her every nuance as she methodically goes about her daily routine, which leads to a solemn revelation just outside the window, where a man is waiting. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival
and was the winner at the 14th Drama International Short Film Festival.
Monday, May 23, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills program introduction by Consul General of Hungary, Laszlo Kalman
Another top film here is “The People Vs. Fritz Bauer”. If you saw the German submission for the Academy Award this year, “Labyrinth of Lies” you will know the story, but will find this film much,much more authentic and engrossing. It is the real story of the boss of the young man “Labyrinth” who is the true life hero.
Audience Award Winner at the Locarno International Film Festival, World Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2015. Cohen Media has U.S. rights.
Its L.A. premiere will be Tuesday, May 24, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall. Drama, Germany, 2015, 105 minutes, Director: Lars Kraume, in German with English subtitles
Top German actors Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”) and Ronald Zehrfeld (“Barbara”, “Phoenix”) star in this riveting historical thriller, which chronicles the staggering efforts of German district attorney Fritz Bauer to bring Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann to justice.
Few figures encapsulate the conflicted character of postwar Germany better than Fritz Bauer, the Attorney General who was instrumental in bringing the elusive Adolf Eichmann to trial in Israel. This film is both a portrait of this complex man and a riveting historical thriller that chronicles the Herculean efforts and tremendous risks undertaken en route to apprehending the chief engineer of the Nazis' Final Solution.
In the late 1950s, Germany flourishes under the economic miracle, and grows increasingly apathetic about confronting the horrors of its recent past. Nevertheless, Fritz Bauer (Burghart Klaussner) relentlessly devotes his energies to bringing the Third Reich to justice. One day Bauer receives a letter from Argentina, with information about Adolf Eichmann. He is excited by the promising lead, but obstructed at every turn by authorities with Nazi ties, many of them former higher-ups under Hitler, now in top government positions. Bauer journeys to Jerusalem to seek alliance with Mossad, the Israeli secret service. This is an act of treason — yet committing treason is the only way Bauer can serve his country.
Fritz Bauer was the Attorney General portrayed in “Labyrinth of Lies.” This is the story that led up to the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials.
Introduction: Deputy Consul General Stefan Biedermann of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany. Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
“A La Vie” / “To Life”
Drama, France, 2014, 104 minutes
Director: Jean-Jacques Zilbermann
Starring: Julie Depardieu, Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément
Audience Award Winner at Warsaw Jewish Ff 2015
Breaking Glass has U.S. rights.
Veteran French writer/director Jean-Jacques Zilbermann (“He’s My Girl” - Lajff 2011) sets his engaging new drama in postwar Paris where Hélène (Julie Depardieu), a young Auschwitz survivor rebuilds her life while searching for her friends from the camp, Lily and Rose (Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément). When the women are finally reunited, they share a watershed vacation in 1962 in a seaside resort, enjoying the intimacies of life, love and faith. This emotionally complex film about the sustaining power of women’s friendship was inspired by the director’s mother and her annual vacation with the friends she made in the camps. Don’t miss this masterful film starring a trio of award-winning actresses.
“Children Of Giant”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqBYPp8IfQw
La Premiere
Documentary, United States 2015, 85 minutes
Director: Hector Galan
Thursday, May 19 at the Laemmle's Town Center, Encino at 7:30 pm
Marilyn Moss, George Stevens biographer, M.G. Lord, Elizabeth Taylor biographer Plus Earl Holliman (actor from the film) and Jim Silke join the panel discussion, moderated by Nick Redman.
Sixty years after the Hollywood blockbuster that dared tackle the issue of prejudice against Mexican-Americans, “Children Of Giant” explores the cultural and social legacy of the landmark 1956 drama. Starring a legendary trio—Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean—Giant is the epic story of a powerful West Texas ranching dynasty, and the Anglo-Latino tensions their characters encounter. Edna Ferber, the daughter of a Hungarian-born Jewish storekeeper, whose own encounters with discrimination informed her work, bases the film on the novel. Similarly stirred to address human rights issues after his WWII military service, Oscar-winning director George Stevens embraced the book’s controversial themes of feminism, class division and racism in the post-war American Southwest. The lavish production had an enormous impact on the dusty little town of Marfa, Texas, and the Mexican-Americans who saw it as a first exposure to their second-class status.
Rare behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the movie complement interviews with surviving cast and crew, film historians, as well as residents whose lives mirrored the social issues explored onscreen.
“Golan: A Farewell To Mr. Cinema”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evRsJy8GxrU&spfreload=10
La Premiere
Documentary, UK/Israel, 74 minutes
Directed by Christopher Sykes
Sunday, May 22, 7:00 pm, Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Speakers for Golan: Farewell to Mr. Cinema. Sam Firstenberg and Sybil Danning.
This film is the final chapter in the extraordinary life and career of Menahem Golan, Israeli movie director, producer, mogul and 'madman'. Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus, pursued the American Dream and turned the Hollywood power structure upside down, producing over 300 films and becoming the most powerful independent film company in the world; Cannon Films. Golan produced movies featuring such stars as Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Charles Bronson.
In his eighties and living in Jaffa, Golan looks back to his great days in Hollywood, forward to a new blockbuster, and dreams of the Oscar he has always wanted...
“In Search Of Israeli Cuisine”
La Premiere
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOd6cyFvBr8
Documentary, United States 2015, 97 minutes
Thursday, May 19, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hill
Q&A with Amelia Saltsman, cookbook author and personality and Rob Eshman, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal.
Sunday, May 22, 4:30 pm, Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
Q&A with Elana Horwich, owner of Meal with a Spiel
Director: Roger Sherman
Starring: Michael Solomonov
Michael Solomonov, the James Beard award-winning celebrity chef-restaurateur travels across Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition. Developed in only the last 30 years and using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations, Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries to street bazaars, Israeli-American Solomonov interviews chefs, home cooks, farmers, vintners, and cheese makers drawn from the more than 100 cultures that make up Israel today — Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, and Druze. This journey to his homeland reaffirms that Israeli cuisine is a beautiful and delectable reflection of the country’s unique diversity.
In a gastronomical expedition, celebrity chef-restaurateur Michael Solomonov zigzags Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition.
Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world, extending beyond falafel and hummus to include tasty ethnic and regional specialties. Having won the James Beard award for embracing these authentic flavors, Israeli-American Solomonov returns to his homeland to discover his culinary heritage anew. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries, to street bazaars, to simmering pots in family kitchens, “In Search Of Israeli Cuisine” excites the taste buds with multi-cultural recipes passed on and elevated. But even food is not immune to sectarian conflict, as Palestinian cooks chafe when their savory secrets are adapted by Jewish chefs. Equally eye-opening is the story behind the ingredients that Israel produces using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations. Combining a procession of mouthwatering dishes and interviews with chefs, home cooks and farmers of all backgrounds, Oscar-nominated documentarian Roger Sherman presents a diverse portrait of the Israeli people told through the very personal language of food.
Rob Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal, Blog “Foodaism” to lead discussion. Additional guests Tbd. Sponsored by the Jewish Journal and the Consulate General of Israel
Food sponsored by Mickey Fine Pharmacy & Grill and Yrf Darca
For the full array of programming go to: http://lajfilmfest.org/...
- 5/5/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
By 1934 Boris Karloff was certainly no stranger to great movie entrances. In 1931, under the direction of James Whale, he seared his image, and that of the monstrous creation of Dr. Henry Frankenstein, into the collective consciousness by shuffling on screen and staring down his creator, and of course the terrified audience, embodying and fulfilling unspeakable nightmares. Frankenstein, an instant phenomenon, was one of 16 pictures Karloff made that were released in 1931.
And in the following year, 1932, in addition of Howard Hawks’ Scarface, Whale’s The Old Dark House and Charles Brabin’s The Mask of Fu Manchu, Karloff had another terrifying entrance in cinematographer-turned-director Karl Freund’s horror landmark The Mummy. As the title fiend, Imhotep, Karloff is first glimpsed in full bandage, sarcophagus laid open behind an unfortunate archaeologist who, engrossed in the parchments he’s discovered, doesn’t notice the mummy’s arm slide down from its bound position.
And in the following year, 1932, in addition of Howard Hawks’ Scarface, Whale’s The Old Dark House and Charles Brabin’s The Mask of Fu Manchu, Karloff had another terrifying entrance in cinematographer-turned-director Karl Freund’s horror landmark The Mummy. As the title fiend, Imhotep, Karloff is first glimpsed in full bandage, sarcophagus laid open behind an unfortunate archaeologist who, engrossed in the parchments he’s discovered, doesn’t notice the mummy’s arm slide down from its bound position.
- 3/27/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
For Easter weekend, here's Kyle Stevens author of Mike Nichols: Sex, Language and the Reinvention of Psychological Realism". You can read more about our team members here.
Stars are our larger-than-life figures. We worship them. We tell stories about them and fancy ourselves made in their images. In fact, bona fide movie star celebrity dates all the way back to 1909, when Carl Laemmle (who would later co-found Universal Studios) placed false notices of the tragic death of “the Biograph girl” in a street car accident. When it was revealed that she was alive and well, the nation rejoiced and everyone cesuddenly knew the name of Florence Lawrence. In this way, Hollywood stardom has always had not just a religious flavor but a Christian Messianic one at that.
Over the next century, countless stars have profited from the love of the resurrection narrative. Remember the elation when Barbra Streisand announced...
Stars are our larger-than-life figures. We worship them. We tell stories about them and fancy ourselves made in their images. In fact, bona fide movie star celebrity dates all the way back to 1909, when Carl Laemmle (who would later co-found Universal Studios) placed false notices of the tragic death of “the Biograph girl” in a street car accident. When it was revealed that she was alive and well, the nation rejoiced and everyone cesuddenly knew the name of Florence Lawrence. In this way, Hollywood stardom has always had not just a religious flavor but a Christian Messianic one at that.
Over the next century, countless stars have profited from the love of the resurrection narrative. Remember the elation when Barbra Streisand announced...
- 3/26/2016
- by Kyle Stevens
- FilmExperience
This year the Art House Convergence has seen a huge jump in attendance. Eleven years ago when Sundance initiated the Art House Convergence a small handful of arthouse theater owners were in attendance. Five years ago when I began coming, there were more exhibitors plus the distributors of art house cinema began to come to chat and discuss their offerings. The congenial mix of the two charmed me. It reminded me of the early days of Sundance in the late 80s when acquisitions execs all knew and liked each other and we were able to cover all the ground without stress.
This year there were so many more people - about 600 total - including vendors of everything an exhibitor must need plus a parallel event of the Film Festival Alliance, a great initiative of Ifp established in 2010 in which festivals get together to discuss mutual interests.
The confluence of the smaller regional festivals and the art house theaters is a natural fit since the festivals are held in the theaters and bring in the community, obviously a desired outcome of art house exhibitors. All that combined makes for a much larger event than ever before and points toward even greater growth for Ahc, something perhaps to be desired but also something which perhaps will not be quite so welcoming for newcomers as the earlier events.
The topics covered in the break out sessions are a large part about the logistics of U.S. art house operations from creating fan bases and membership. Another large part focuses on festival logistics from starting a film festival – and here I want to give a plug to Jon Gann, the founder of DC Shorts Film Festival for his new book, So, You Want to Start a Film Festival: Conversations with Top Festival Creators -- to the panel “Conversation with Sundance Senior Manager Adam Montgomery” in which Montgomery discussed Sundance’s process of accepting submissions, the work flow, planning, technology, usage tips and more.
Some awards by way of recognition to those who established indies as a going concern and are keeping it going through their hard work and devotion were Gary Meyer, founder of Landmark Theaters in 1975, Jan Klingenhofer and Chapin Cutter.
Niches and small business introducing themselves included the former Emerging Pictures executive Barry Rebo with his new startup CineConductor, along with his international partner Ymagis. The service for a $75 per month fee allows theaters to download unlimited DCPs (The Digital Cinema Package is a collection of digital files used to store and convey digital cinema (DC) audio, image, and data streams.) from all distributors – an easy and cheaper way for theaters to show more films at various times during the week.
Barry Rebo of CineConductor says, “We had a terrific Art House Convergence. We arrived with 51 high profile arthouse members and left with close to 65, maybe more once we re-connect with ones now tied up at the actual festival.
Current venues are both evangelizing our value to new venues and lobbying rights holders to deliver their booked film via the CineConductor service rather than hard drives. It not only save the venues money it makes their day-to-day operations ever more efficient.
We also have two high profile international film agencies we are servicing via the portal - UniFrance’s ongoing Young French Cinema 2 and Tiff & TeleFilm Canada’s upcoming See The North series.
More information about CineConductor: Click this link.
Considering we only debuted the system - really a 'soft opening' - at last year’s Ahc and connected the first batch of venues beginning in June of ‘15 getting to 51 quality sites by the end of the first indicates the service is being seen as being both highly cost effective (venues join on a Network Access Fee basis - no charge for equipment and only $75.00 per month for Unlimited Dcp deliveries of Specialty Film & Event Cinema programs offered by their rights holder via CineConductor.
Rights Holders (Rh) - traditional distribution companies; international film advocacy groups; international sales agents; the filmmakers themselves pay nothing today to post on the CineConductor portal. They pay only $50.00 per feature Dcp delivery Includes Kdm if requested) and $10.00 per Dcp trailer set (flat and scope) once they accept an engagement directly from a participating venue. It’s a great deal for both the exhibition and distribution sides of the arthouse field.
For the broader arthouse community - exhibitors, distributors and audiences - our decision to go this way was based on our belief that by offering a flat fee, more valuable content is made available on more screens. More onscreen diversity will drive a more diverse audience. I’m happy to report it’s already working as planned.
What we have created is truly and international platform. My investor/ parent company, Ymagis, is Paris-based and operates all across Europe. See www.ymagis.com "
Another endeavor of note is Benjamin Oberman’s (Film Festival Flix) mountain climbing film “Citadel” around which he can mobilize literally millions of outdoors sports folk through organizations he has formed alliances with in every region of the U.S. This type of specialized distribution is one excellent way into the future! Compared to his development of this last year, he has moved miles ahead.
Another to watch is Bobbi Thompson as she creates pop-up theaters in studio spaces with art exhibition for adults with learning disabilities and other handicaps.
An example of the new types of festivals is that of Gary Meyer, always a pioneer from his launching of Landmark theaters, of animation showcases, of Telluride Film Festival programming to his newest, Eat Drink Films. Based in a San Francisco his site discusses film and food and hosts recently Real Food Media also announced the launch of its third-annual contest with a call for submissions of super-short films on underreported issues, unique change-makers and creative solutions to foster a broad, public conversation about solving our global food system’s most intractable problems – from hunger to diet-related illnesses to environmental crises.
And Ahc has gone international. Last year a few folks from France, Europa Cinemas and the U.S. in Progress in Poland (American Film Festival’s Ula Sniegowska) and in France (Adeline Monzier of Unifrance) were here. This year they are here again and joined by Brigitte Hubmann of Telefilm Canada with film packages available directly to theaters via Barry Rebo’s CineConductor, a model that German films and all other national film entities should emulate. Also attending this year is Europa International, a consortium of 40 European international sales agents from 13 European countries looking to find direct outlets to theaters without the distribution middleman. This will become increasingly important at Netflix swopes down on worldwide digital rights acquisitions. TrustNordisk’s head of sales, Susan Wendt from Denmark represented Europa International here.
Europa International’s panel presented European case studies on ways to attract new audiences in the era of social media with an eye toward directing young people towards “quality” cinema and fostering critical minds while forming partnership strategies included Justin Camileri of Euro Media Forum, Fatima Djoumer of Europa Cinemas, Matts Gillmor of Palladium, Elisa Giovannelli of Cineteca Bologna and Justyna Kociszewska of Kino Lab.
U.S. distributor Neil Friedman’s Menemsha Films is here with the Jonathan Pryce film “Dough” a funny and feel-good trans-cultural mix proving ‘you don’t have to be Jewish’ to love this film. Representing Menemsha at Ahc is former United King acquisitions executive from Israel, Oded Horowitz, who has now moved to California with his partner and their 6 year old twin girls. Diarah N’Daw-Spech of ArtMattan is here among now old friends managing to inject some diversity into a little too homogenous population of film lovers.
This place is full of 'our' people, that is, we-the-now-older generation who got this thing going in the 80s: those I mentioned above plus Paul Cohen, Ira Deutchman, Anne Thompson, Mj Pekos (Dada Films), Larry Greenberg (Momentum/ eOne), Richard Abramowitz (Abramarama), Cary Jones (IFC), Peter Baxter (Slamdance), Peter Becker (Janus) (who was a young one when we began but was there - and our sympathy to him for his father’s passing… whose colleague Jonathan Turrell whose father Saul in those days in print distribution at Janus Films was one of New York’s most colorful figures), Ron Diamond (Animation Show of Shows), Peter Belsito (SydneysBuzz), Mark Fishkin (California Film Institute), Christian Gaines (ArtPrize), Larry Kardish (Board member and former head of NY Film Society, Lincoln Center, now with Chatham Film Club), Greg Laemmle of Laemmle Theaters, Los Angeles’ preeminent indie arthouse started by his grandfather Carl Laemmle, former head of Universal (!), Richard Lorber (Kino Lorber), Scott Mansfield (monterey media), Mike Thomas (Theatre Properties) and Michael Donaldson (Donaldson & Callif).
After the panel “Why Critics Matter: A Conversation with Anne Thompson and Sam Adams” moderated by Ira Deutchman, a discussion of contemporary film criticism and its importance within the independent exhibition community created a flurry of comments on the Ahc newsletter which you can read along with other year round commentaries of importance by subscribing to Google Groups "Art House Convergence". Sam Adams himself writes,
“In a national survey covering 25 art house theaters and 20,000 patrons, Avenue Isr's Woody Smith said that reviews were the third-most important tool in drawing audiences to theaters, just behind recommendations from friends. (Most-effective, by a wide margin: trailers.) 41 percent of respondents listed print reviews among the most important factors, with online reviews at 35 percent, although the former number drops dramatically when limited to viewers 35 or younger.
Speaking anecdotally to me, many exhibitors told me that Rotten Tomatoes plays a huge role in what films audiences select. In one medium-sized market, the local paper, which no longer employs its own critics, uses the Tomatometer to decide which review to pull from the wire services: If it's "fresh," they run a positive review; if it's "rotten," they run a pan. By pretty much any measure, that's a huge dereliction of duty — not to mention incredibly lazy journalistic practice — but the good news is that same exhibitor sought me out later to tell me he going to start a criticism contest for local students, bringing back dialogue to a community that's lost an outlet for those voices.”
At Ahc with a new panel discussion, one most worthy of notice is Hollie Mahadeo, General Manager of Enzian Theater in Maitland Florida. Her initiative, Starting Young: Hooking Youth on Cinema, discussed cultivating the next generation of filmgoers and film lovers. Amy Averett of Alamo Drafthouse, Mats Gillmor of Palladium and Hollie Mahadeo of Enzian spoke of their successes in this crucial area.
Hollie has spent 17 years building a home for youth in cinema. Art houses do not generally think about kids because the ones working in them are usually young and single and the ones attending them are usually grandparents. As Hollie and her colleagues grew, they married and now have children and so are concerned with how cinema and their own children will interact. Six years ago their audience was all over 40 and so they began programming to get 20-somethings in.
Then they started courting the children with their Peanut Butter Matinees, programming films to appeal to the children and their parents, like “Neverending Story”. These monthly matinees work well for parents with children from five to ten years who would not ordinarily go to cinemas. The room seats 220 but is filled with tables and chairs so some play while others eat and others sit enraptured by the cinema. They have 1,200 screenings in a year and are a $3.5 million organization in all.
The Peanut Butter Matinee has a kid friendly menu, balloons to take away, raffles to take part in and the film, always projected digitally. It has grown to special holiday celebrations for Christmas, Halloween, Easter and the children have also grown. The events are free for children under 12; all others buy $8 tickets.
Amy of Alamo states that it is cheaper to bring kids to the movies than to hire a babysitter.
Enzion has also instituted a Filmmaking Camp, a summer day camp now in its seventh year. It began as a one-week camp for 10 kids but now has a four-week camp, Thirty-two kids go to a two-week session in Camp 1 and another 32 go to a second two-week session. They have temporary staff of two filmmakers who bring in the equipment and one head instructor, a teacher from a local film school and a counselor to help with the scheduling, meals, and other issues. There are volunteer filmmakers from college and a junior counselor program for kids too old to be campers but too young to be filmmakers (yet). The oldest graduate of the camp is now in high school and looking at film schools. The youngest camper is in the fifth grade. At the end of the camp there are at least two world premiers.
Now they also have youth acting Programs. For grades 2 through 12, classes are held after school twice a week.
All in all, the Ahc was full and fun. The cold was bitter and when we left to go down the road to Sundance, about half of us were nursing our first winter colds which made for an even more fun filled Sundance Film Festival…well for me at least, my low energy level was no match of the excitement of the festival this year.
This year there were so many more people - about 600 total - including vendors of everything an exhibitor must need plus a parallel event of the Film Festival Alliance, a great initiative of Ifp established in 2010 in which festivals get together to discuss mutual interests.
The confluence of the smaller regional festivals and the art house theaters is a natural fit since the festivals are held in the theaters and bring in the community, obviously a desired outcome of art house exhibitors. All that combined makes for a much larger event than ever before and points toward even greater growth for Ahc, something perhaps to be desired but also something which perhaps will not be quite so welcoming for newcomers as the earlier events.
The topics covered in the break out sessions are a large part about the logistics of U.S. art house operations from creating fan bases and membership. Another large part focuses on festival logistics from starting a film festival – and here I want to give a plug to Jon Gann, the founder of DC Shorts Film Festival for his new book, So, You Want to Start a Film Festival: Conversations with Top Festival Creators -- to the panel “Conversation with Sundance Senior Manager Adam Montgomery” in which Montgomery discussed Sundance’s process of accepting submissions, the work flow, planning, technology, usage tips and more.
Some awards by way of recognition to those who established indies as a going concern and are keeping it going through their hard work and devotion were Gary Meyer, founder of Landmark Theaters in 1975, Jan Klingenhofer and Chapin Cutter.
Niches and small business introducing themselves included the former Emerging Pictures executive Barry Rebo with his new startup CineConductor, along with his international partner Ymagis. The service for a $75 per month fee allows theaters to download unlimited DCPs (The Digital Cinema Package is a collection of digital files used to store and convey digital cinema (DC) audio, image, and data streams.) from all distributors – an easy and cheaper way for theaters to show more films at various times during the week.
Barry Rebo of CineConductor says, “We had a terrific Art House Convergence. We arrived with 51 high profile arthouse members and left with close to 65, maybe more once we re-connect with ones now tied up at the actual festival.
Current venues are both evangelizing our value to new venues and lobbying rights holders to deliver their booked film via the CineConductor service rather than hard drives. It not only save the venues money it makes their day-to-day operations ever more efficient.
We also have two high profile international film agencies we are servicing via the portal - UniFrance’s ongoing Young French Cinema 2 and Tiff & TeleFilm Canada’s upcoming See The North series.
More information about CineConductor: Click this link.
Considering we only debuted the system - really a 'soft opening' - at last year’s Ahc and connected the first batch of venues beginning in June of ‘15 getting to 51 quality sites by the end of the first indicates the service is being seen as being both highly cost effective (venues join on a Network Access Fee basis - no charge for equipment and only $75.00 per month for Unlimited Dcp deliveries of Specialty Film & Event Cinema programs offered by their rights holder via CineConductor.
Rights Holders (Rh) - traditional distribution companies; international film advocacy groups; international sales agents; the filmmakers themselves pay nothing today to post on the CineConductor portal. They pay only $50.00 per feature Dcp delivery Includes Kdm if requested) and $10.00 per Dcp trailer set (flat and scope) once they accept an engagement directly from a participating venue. It’s a great deal for both the exhibition and distribution sides of the arthouse field.
For the broader arthouse community - exhibitors, distributors and audiences - our decision to go this way was based on our belief that by offering a flat fee, more valuable content is made available on more screens. More onscreen diversity will drive a more diverse audience. I’m happy to report it’s already working as planned.
What we have created is truly and international platform. My investor/ parent company, Ymagis, is Paris-based and operates all across Europe. See www.ymagis.com "
Another endeavor of note is Benjamin Oberman’s (Film Festival Flix) mountain climbing film “Citadel” around which he can mobilize literally millions of outdoors sports folk through organizations he has formed alliances with in every region of the U.S. This type of specialized distribution is one excellent way into the future! Compared to his development of this last year, he has moved miles ahead.
Another to watch is Bobbi Thompson as she creates pop-up theaters in studio spaces with art exhibition for adults with learning disabilities and other handicaps.
An example of the new types of festivals is that of Gary Meyer, always a pioneer from his launching of Landmark theaters, of animation showcases, of Telluride Film Festival programming to his newest, Eat Drink Films. Based in a San Francisco his site discusses film and food and hosts recently Real Food Media also announced the launch of its third-annual contest with a call for submissions of super-short films on underreported issues, unique change-makers and creative solutions to foster a broad, public conversation about solving our global food system’s most intractable problems – from hunger to diet-related illnesses to environmental crises.
And Ahc has gone international. Last year a few folks from France, Europa Cinemas and the U.S. in Progress in Poland (American Film Festival’s Ula Sniegowska) and in France (Adeline Monzier of Unifrance) were here. This year they are here again and joined by Brigitte Hubmann of Telefilm Canada with film packages available directly to theaters via Barry Rebo’s CineConductor, a model that German films and all other national film entities should emulate. Also attending this year is Europa International, a consortium of 40 European international sales agents from 13 European countries looking to find direct outlets to theaters without the distribution middleman. This will become increasingly important at Netflix swopes down on worldwide digital rights acquisitions. TrustNordisk’s head of sales, Susan Wendt from Denmark represented Europa International here.
Europa International’s panel presented European case studies on ways to attract new audiences in the era of social media with an eye toward directing young people towards “quality” cinema and fostering critical minds while forming partnership strategies included Justin Camileri of Euro Media Forum, Fatima Djoumer of Europa Cinemas, Matts Gillmor of Palladium, Elisa Giovannelli of Cineteca Bologna and Justyna Kociszewska of Kino Lab.
U.S. distributor Neil Friedman’s Menemsha Films is here with the Jonathan Pryce film “Dough” a funny and feel-good trans-cultural mix proving ‘you don’t have to be Jewish’ to love this film. Representing Menemsha at Ahc is former United King acquisitions executive from Israel, Oded Horowitz, who has now moved to California with his partner and their 6 year old twin girls. Diarah N’Daw-Spech of ArtMattan is here among now old friends managing to inject some diversity into a little too homogenous population of film lovers.
This place is full of 'our' people, that is, we-the-now-older generation who got this thing going in the 80s: those I mentioned above plus Paul Cohen, Ira Deutchman, Anne Thompson, Mj Pekos (Dada Films), Larry Greenberg (Momentum/ eOne), Richard Abramowitz (Abramarama), Cary Jones (IFC), Peter Baxter (Slamdance), Peter Becker (Janus) (who was a young one when we began but was there - and our sympathy to him for his father’s passing… whose colleague Jonathan Turrell whose father Saul in those days in print distribution at Janus Films was one of New York’s most colorful figures), Ron Diamond (Animation Show of Shows), Peter Belsito (SydneysBuzz), Mark Fishkin (California Film Institute), Christian Gaines (ArtPrize), Larry Kardish (Board member and former head of NY Film Society, Lincoln Center, now with Chatham Film Club), Greg Laemmle of Laemmle Theaters, Los Angeles’ preeminent indie arthouse started by his grandfather Carl Laemmle, former head of Universal (!), Richard Lorber (Kino Lorber), Scott Mansfield (monterey media), Mike Thomas (Theatre Properties) and Michael Donaldson (Donaldson & Callif).
After the panel “Why Critics Matter: A Conversation with Anne Thompson and Sam Adams” moderated by Ira Deutchman, a discussion of contemporary film criticism and its importance within the independent exhibition community created a flurry of comments on the Ahc newsletter which you can read along with other year round commentaries of importance by subscribing to Google Groups "Art House Convergence". Sam Adams himself writes,
“In a national survey covering 25 art house theaters and 20,000 patrons, Avenue Isr's Woody Smith said that reviews were the third-most important tool in drawing audiences to theaters, just behind recommendations from friends. (Most-effective, by a wide margin: trailers.) 41 percent of respondents listed print reviews among the most important factors, with online reviews at 35 percent, although the former number drops dramatically when limited to viewers 35 or younger.
Speaking anecdotally to me, many exhibitors told me that Rotten Tomatoes plays a huge role in what films audiences select. In one medium-sized market, the local paper, which no longer employs its own critics, uses the Tomatometer to decide which review to pull from the wire services: If it's "fresh," they run a positive review; if it's "rotten," they run a pan. By pretty much any measure, that's a huge dereliction of duty — not to mention incredibly lazy journalistic practice — but the good news is that same exhibitor sought me out later to tell me he going to start a criticism contest for local students, bringing back dialogue to a community that's lost an outlet for those voices.”
At Ahc with a new panel discussion, one most worthy of notice is Hollie Mahadeo, General Manager of Enzian Theater in Maitland Florida. Her initiative, Starting Young: Hooking Youth on Cinema, discussed cultivating the next generation of filmgoers and film lovers. Amy Averett of Alamo Drafthouse, Mats Gillmor of Palladium and Hollie Mahadeo of Enzian spoke of their successes in this crucial area.
Hollie has spent 17 years building a home for youth in cinema. Art houses do not generally think about kids because the ones working in them are usually young and single and the ones attending them are usually grandparents. As Hollie and her colleagues grew, they married and now have children and so are concerned with how cinema and their own children will interact. Six years ago their audience was all over 40 and so they began programming to get 20-somethings in.
Then they started courting the children with their Peanut Butter Matinees, programming films to appeal to the children and their parents, like “Neverending Story”. These monthly matinees work well for parents with children from five to ten years who would not ordinarily go to cinemas. The room seats 220 but is filled with tables and chairs so some play while others eat and others sit enraptured by the cinema. They have 1,200 screenings in a year and are a $3.5 million organization in all.
The Peanut Butter Matinee has a kid friendly menu, balloons to take away, raffles to take part in and the film, always projected digitally. It has grown to special holiday celebrations for Christmas, Halloween, Easter and the children have also grown. The events are free for children under 12; all others buy $8 tickets.
Amy of Alamo states that it is cheaper to bring kids to the movies than to hire a babysitter.
Enzion has also instituted a Filmmaking Camp, a summer day camp now in its seventh year. It began as a one-week camp for 10 kids but now has a four-week camp, Thirty-two kids go to a two-week session in Camp 1 and another 32 go to a second two-week session. They have temporary staff of two filmmakers who bring in the equipment and one head instructor, a teacher from a local film school and a counselor to help with the scheduling, meals, and other issues. There are volunteer filmmakers from college and a junior counselor program for kids too old to be campers but too young to be filmmakers (yet). The oldest graduate of the camp is now in high school and looking at film schools. The youngest camper is in the fifth grade. At the end of the camp there are at least two world premiers.
Now they also have youth acting Programs. For grades 2 through 12, classes are held after school twice a week.
All in all, the Ahc was full and fun. The cold was bitter and when we left to go down the road to Sundance, about half of us were nursing our first winter colds which made for an even more fun filled Sundance Film Festival…well for me at least, my low energy level was no match of the excitement of the festival this year.
- 2/2/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The symbiotic relationship between film studios and fan magazines ensured the cinema-going public was fed a diet of Hollywood glamour and celebrity gossip
From press junkets to gossip blogs to the Forbes list, celebrity culture seeps into every corner of the modern film business. Star worship, like almost everything else in Hollywood, was born as a studio boss’s cynical wheeze. It all began in 1910 when the name of the Biograph Girl was released to the public. The Independent Moving Pictures studio boss, Carl Laemmle, went so far as to spread a rumour that the Girl had been killed in a traffic accident, before taking out adverts in newspapers calling the story a lie and announcing that she was, in fact, alive and about to play the lead in a film made by his company, which had lured her away from its rival, Biograph. And by the way, her name was Florence Lawrence.
From press junkets to gossip blogs to the Forbes list, celebrity culture seeps into every corner of the modern film business. Star worship, like almost everything else in Hollywood, was born as a studio boss’s cynical wheeze. It all began in 1910 when the name of the Biograph Girl was released to the public. The Independent Moving Pictures studio boss, Carl Laemmle, went so far as to spread a rumour that the Girl had been killed in a traffic accident, before taking out adverts in newspapers calling the story a lie and announcing that she was, in fact, alive and about to play the lead in a film made by his company, which had lured her away from its rival, Biograph. And by the way, her name was Florence Lawrence.
- 1/26/2016
- by Pamela Hutchinson
- The Guardian - Film News
The symbiotic relationship between film studios and fan magazines ensured the cinema-going public was fed a diet of Hollywood glamour and celebrity gossip
From press junkets to gossip blogs to the Forbes list, celebrity culture seeps into every corner of the modern film business. Star worship, like almost everything else in Hollywood, was born as a studio boss’s cynical wheeze. It all began in 1910 when the name of the Biograph Girl was released to the public. The Independent Moving Pictures studio boss, Carl Laemmle, went so far as to spread a rumour that the Girl had been killed in a traffic accident, before taking out adverts in newspapers calling the story a lie and announcing that she was, in fact, alive and about to play the lead in a film made by his company, which had lured her away from its rival, Biograph. And by the way, her name was Florence Lawrence.
From press junkets to gossip blogs to the Forbes list, celebrity culture seeps into every corner of the modern film business. Star worship, like almost everything else in Hollywood, was born as a studio boss’s cynical wheeze. It all began in 1910 when the name of the Biograph Girl was released to the public. The Independent Moving Pictures studio boss, Carl Laemmle, went so far as to spread a rumour that the Girl had been killed in a traffic accident, before taking out adverts in newspapers calling the story a lie and announcing that she was, in fact, alive and about to play the lead in a film made by his company, which had lured her away from its rival, Biograph. And by the way, her name was Florence Lawrence.
- 1/26/2016
- by Pamela Hutchinson
- The Guardian - Film News
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