Here's What's Been Happening
Okay so it's Friday, and this afternoon seemed a little quieter but with move heavy-hitting star power.
So, last nigh, Al Pacino attended a special 50th-anniversary screening of "The Godfather" at United Palace theater. Very cool that his good friend Robert De Niro introduced him. Pacino even participated in a Q&A about the legendary film and sounded like it was just yesterday that he shot the film. I love how unassuming these two look on the red carpet prior to the event (all images here, courtesy of Getty Images).
Meanwhile, another reunion took place at SVA with the cast and crew of "Eve's Bayou," including the film’s star Lynn Whitfield, director Kasi Lemmons, and special guest Jurnee Smollet. Phil Rosenthal participated in a “Storytellers” conversation over at SVA, with moderator and comedian Alex Edelman. Downtown at BMCC, W. Kamau Bell, Alonzo Bodden, Rain Prior (looking fab below)...
...and others gathered for "Right to Offend: The Black Comedy Revolution - Part 1" moderated by Janine Rubenstein. Fans were screaming for Sigourney Weaver who attended the screening of "The Good House." (below)
Rumor has it that "The Heat" reunion is tomorrow night!!!!! More on this later.
Now, about a couple of screenings. I saw "American Dreamer" which has a massive buzz due to the massive lead acting talent: Peter Dinklage and Shirley Maclaine. The theater was completely packed, complete with a crying infant (!?!). I think many are in agreement that one could watch Dinklage recite the alphabet and be entertained. He does not disappoint here. Though when I asked a few people what they thought, we all came to the same conclusion: a bit of ambiguity in the script. I got to interview the film's editor, Lisa Robison, and her work is really amazing. Check it out for yourself, and see what you think.
I'm off to "The YouTube Effect" shortly and will update. Interested to see how this is. A lot of buzz on this one.
(* now updated: Sadly, this turned out to be yet another film about how a particular platform, in this case, YouTube is slowly but surely killing society. The movie is happy to throw every scary element at its audience without so much as the hint of both a solution and balance about any good that the platform brings. What I always find interesting is that those who are chosen to actually speak, not pictured mind you, speak are overwhelming Caucasian and male. This, too, is the case with "Tik Tok: Boom." These subject are also way, way too wide and deep for a two-hour docu and is definitely better served as a docu-series going forward. Had to walk into the street to get to this theater that was in the next block after what was a sea of people in line for the Sinead O'Connor docu, "Nothing Compares." Saw it during Sundance. Loved it!)
Oh, a word or two about audience voting. It's interesting in that it seems a bit random, and the way one votes, unlike Sundance with a scale, is just if you get the QR tag on your phone scanned by a staffer it means you like it. If you don't get it scanned, then you don't. Guess the winner will just be whoever gets the most scans? I have to say I miss the intense pressure to vote on a separate slip for almost every film at Sundance. But this is NYC, and this is how we do it, so let's roll with it.
Gotta run. More soon.