Need a break from the summer heat and blockbusters?
The Metropolitan Opera and NCM Fathom Events once again present the fifth year of Summer HD Encores, a series of encore performances from the groundbreaking Live in HD series, in nearly 400 select U.S. cinemas nationwide including five theaters in St. Louis.
The Summer HD Encore series feature four of the most popular operas from previous seasons:
Tickets for The Met: Live in HD Summer 2013 Encores, shown in cinemas Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in all time zones, are available at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.
The SummerEncore Series will be playing at the following movie theaters in your area:
The Big Lebowski feature documentary, THE ACHIEVERS: The Story of THE BIG LEBOWSKI Fans, is available on the ®iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com) and Amazon.com starting today. After an overwhelming response at film festivals across U.S. and abroad, THE ACHIEVERS is now available for purchase and download.
The Achievers is a one-of-kind feature film about the world’s most dedicated fans of The Big Lebowski, Joel and Ethan Coen’s comedic masterpiece that has become a worldwide cult-classic. In 2002-2003, fans gathered at the first Lebowski Fests in Louisville, Kentucky for three days of white Russians, live music, costume and trivia contests, and of course, bowling. The events were such a smash that they quickly spread to New York, LA, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Chicago, then later toSeattle, Boston, Austin, Orlando and finally, overseas to London, Glasgow and beyond. The Fests continue to this day and tickets often sell out in one day.
The Achievers offers viewers a rare glimpse at the ever-growing fan base who dub themselves “Achievers” and the events that Rolling Stone magazine dubbed a “Top Ten ‘Don’t Miss'” of the year, plus exclusive footage of Jeff Bridges at the Lebowski Fests, live performances by My Morning Jacket and interviews with other cast members. You also get to meet the real “Dude”, the inspiration for the Coen Brothers main character, and their friend Peter Exline, who told them the hilarious story of The Dude’s stolen car and the homework in the plastic baggie.
A film made by Big Lebowski Fans, for Big Lebowski fans, The Achievers is available soon on all other major digital platforms .
The Achievers is $3.99 to rent and $9.99 to purchase.
THE LONE RANGER producer Jerry Bruckheimer received his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday (June 24). Actors Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise, as well as Jon Voight, Marg Helgenberger, Jon Lovitz, George Eads, Martin Lawrence and others, were hand for the ceremony to celebrate Bruckheimer’s 40 year career.
Captain Jack Sparrow came to the podium to honor Bruckheimer.
Johnny Depp and Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO, Bob Iger, helped Bruckheimer unveil his star (the 2,501st) in the category of Motion Pictures at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in front of El Capitan Theatre.
Meanwhile, Armie Hammer, star of THE LONE RANGER, made a surprise appearance to honor outstanding local heroes in New York as part of “The Lone Ranger Ride for Justice” screening series.
Actor Armie Hammer, center, poses with Brendon Hernadez, left, and Israel Hugo.
Photos by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios.
“The Lone Ranger Ride for Justice” series celebrates inspiring local heroes and organizations who stand for justice, integrity and righteousness in their communities.
This series of screenings of THE LONE RANGER took place across the country in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Denver, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Detroit and San Antonio.
The tour also stopped in St. Louis on Monday where life-size statues of the Lone Ranger and Tonto appeared across from the Gateway Arch for an iconic shot of St. Louis.
The tour continues across the country ending in L.A., just in time for the movie’s opening on July 3rd. The Lone Ranger and Tonto will be gracing rooftops, mountaintops and famous landmarks along the way, only staying long enough in each city to be discovered by the locals before they continue their ride westward.
Fans who find the Lone Ranger and Tonto are asked to enter at Disney.com/loneranger/and to Instagram or Tweet a photo or Tweet the location with the hashtag #LRRideforJustice for a chance to win a trip for two to New Mexico. Follow the films’ social channels to participate in the hunt to find the statues, or to guess their location.
No purchase necessary. Void Where Prohibited. Ends 7/8/13 at 11:59:59pm EST. Open to legal residents 13 years or older of U.S. (including D.C.). Restrictions and limitations apply. Sponsor Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ THE LONE RANGER, a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice – taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.
THE LONE RANGER also stars Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson and Helena Bonham Carter. A Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films presentation, “The Lone Ranger” is directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski, with screen story by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Justin Haythe and screenplay by Justin Haythe and Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio.
Disney/Jerry Bruckhemer Films’ THE LONE RANGER opens in U.S. theaters on July 3, 2013 and is rated PG-13.
No one could touch Charles Bronson in terms of global popularity throughout the 1970’s and HARD TIMES was his best film from that decade (my favorite for cinema, the only films from the ‘70s I would personally rate above HARD TIMES are TAXI DRIVER, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and THE GODFATHER). Walter Hill, in his 1976 directorial debut, made a remarkably earthy and entertaining film about illegal bare-knuckle fighting in Depression-era New Orleans. HARD TIMES, whose succinct tag line read “New Orleans 1933, in those days words didn’t buy much”, perfectly exploits Bronson’s granite presence and is a concise, almost mythical celebration of men who only communicate with their fists. Bronson is Chaney, a hardened loner who hops off a freight train in New Orleans where he tries to score some quick cash the only way he knows how-with his fists.
The fight scenes in HARD TIMES, which seem authentic rather over-choreographed, are expertly staged and framed by Hill, especially the films centerpiece; an underground cage match between Bronson and a grinning goon named ‘Skinhead’ played by Robert ‘Mr. Clean’ Tessier. Supporting vets Strother Martin, James Coburn, and Ben Johnson all act up a storm but it’s Bronson, whose expression never changes, that commands all the attention. Bronson’s Chaney is a man of few words and no past and it’s perhaps his most fitting role. Acclaimed in 1976, HARD TIMES is the perfect Charles Bronson movie for people who claim not to like Charles Bronson movies and even critics who had previously overlooked Bronson’s abilities were impressed.
I saw HARD TIMES in 1976 when it was new, riding my bike at 14 to the Des Peres 4 theater with some friends. In the summer of 1978 I attended wrestling camp at the University of Missouri and one night for entertainment, we were screened a 16mm print of HARD TIMES. I have an 18-minute Super-8 condensed version of the film that I’ve shown at my monthly Super-8 Movie Madness show. It’s printed on black-and-white stock and dubbed into German, but it always gets the crowd worked up.
The 2.35:1 1080p transfer of HARD TIMES is immaculate and looks as good as the film ever has, doing justice to Philip Lathrop’s outstanding cinematography. The image is incredibly sharp. The blood and sweat of the boxers comes across nicely and there isn’t a bad looking sequence in the picture. The colors are strong and feature some thick, deep blacks, supplemented with lighter-washed-out tones (stylistically representative of the Depression). The enhanced resolution gives the fighting matches more bounce and with the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround mix, you can almost feel Bronson’s bare fists pounding the bones of his opponents. Barry De Vorzon’s folksy score sounds terrific as well.
If I have a complaint, it’s with the extras on the disc. Aside from a trailer, there aren’t any. A dream release would have deleted scenes. I know Hill shot a lot more footage including a fight with black actor Frank McRae (photos from that excised fight scene are printed in the HARD TIMES paperback tie-in) and I read in an interview with actor Bruce Glover in Shock Cinema magazine that Hill’s original cut ran just over two hours (as opposed to the 94 minutes it clocks in at). Hill is notoriously reticent about discussing his films (he’s never done a commentary) and I wonder where these lost scenes are.
Inside the keepcase alongside the disc is a booklet of liner notes that offer welcome perspective and history on the movie nicely written by Julie Kirgo.
This Blu-ray presentation from Twilight Time is being issued in a limited edition of 3,000 copies, so those who are interested are well-advised to visit the Screen Archives website to confirm that it is still available. Some knuckleheads on ebay are trying to get $60 for it, but I ordered mine from Screen Archives last week for the retail price of $29.99 and it was in my mailbox two days later. Hurry up and grab your HARD TIMES Blu-ray before they’re gone or Charles Bronson will kick your ass.
my Charles Bronson HARD TIMES resin model kit painted by Dan Jorgenson – editor of Kitbuilders Magazine
We’ve lost a genius. Author Richard Matheson influenced a host writers and filmmakers and his output was simply incredible. He wrote the screenplays for six Vincent Price films, including LAST MAN ON EARTH which was based in his novel I Am Legend (filmed two more times with Charlton Heston and Will Smith). THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, SOMEWHERE IN TIME, THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, DUEL, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, STIR OF ECHOES and REAL STEEL were all products of Matheson’s fertile imagination as were many episodes of Twilight Zone, Star Trek, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and Kolchak the Night Stalker. Matheson leaves behind an incredible volume of high-quality writing with hundreds of screenplays, novels, and short stories. He was 87 and there’s not a lot out there as to the cause of his death but I’ll update this story when I get more info. .
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced category submission deadlines for 86th Academy Awards® consideration.
The dates are as follows:
Scientific and Technical Awards
Friday, July 12
Documentary Short Subject
Tuesday, September 3
Documentary Feature
Monday, September 23
Live Action Short Film
Tuesday, October 1
Animated Short Film
Tuesday, October 1
Foreign Language Film
Tuesday, October 1
Animated Feature Film
Friday, November 1
Original Score
Monday, December 2
Original Song
Monday, December 2
Official Screen Credits Form
Monday, December 2
All submissions are due by 5 p.m. PT
For the entire list of key dates and all rules, please visit www.oscars.org/rules.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar® Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
From Exclusive Media, watch the new trailer for the upcoming drama ADORE (previouslyTWO MOTHERS) starring Naomi Watts and Robin Wright.
Naomi Watts and Robin Wright deliver riveting performances in ADORE, a sensual and provocative drama about two lifelong friends who find unexpected happiness in relationships that cross the bounds of convention. An unpredictable tale of misguided love and a heartfelt celebration of the enduring nature of female friendship, the film is the English-speaking directorial debut of distinguished filmmaker Anne Fontaine (COCO BEFORE CHANEL).
It is adapted for the screen by Academy Award®-winning writer Christopher Hampton (DANGEROUS LIAISONS), from a novella by Nobel Prize winner for Literature Doris Lessing.
Set in an Australian seaside town of otherworldly beauty and shot in lush 35mm Cinemascope, ADORE establishes an aura of fable as it follows two women’s plunge into uncharted waters. Watts and Wright fearlessly engage with both the physical and psychological components of the story, capturing the complex emotions and powerful desires driving their characters. Strong performances from relative newcomers Xavier Samuel (THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE) and James Frecheville (ANIMAL KINGDOM) complement Watts and Wright’s and add another layer of intricacy to the story. Under the precise gaze of Fontaine’s camera, ADORE radiates with intoxicating sensuality while exploring the intricacies of love, family, morality and passion.
ADORE will be in theaters and On Demand September 6th.
“I’m sorry that people are so jealous of me… but I can’t help it that I’m so popular.”
MEAN GIRLS may only be nine years old, but this cult film for the current generation, which plays this weekend (June 28th and 29th) at Midnight at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight Series, shows how some things never change. High school comes with cliques, bullies, and memories you want to forget. Every person that has gone through the high school experience can relate. MEAN GIRLS does a good job of over exaggerating the typical dreadful four years. Pre-punchline Lindsey Lohan stars as Cady Heron, an unsocialized teenage girl who grew up in Africa and suddenly finds herself in the midst of high school drama. Cady describes the first few days as “a surreal blur”. She starts out being friends with two losers who let her know she is a “regulation hottie”. Lost and innocent, she soon finds herself part of a group known as “the plastics” ,lead by actress Rachel McAdams a group of beautiful bitchy girls that rule the school. At first she pretends to be friends with them as part of a joke, but soon she becomes caught up in her new found popularity and finds herself as a true plastic. The movie follows Cady’s transformation from an innocent home schooled girl to a self-obsessed mean girl.
While MEAN GIRLS harks back to HEATHERS in delving into the cruel dynamics of high school, it addresses many of the problems that popular girls are faced with. Their vulnerability and fears are dominantly on display. Screenwriter Tina Fey’s (who plays a teacher)smart dialogue and attention to all the supporting characters set the bar higher for subsequent teen comedies and MEAN GIRLS has been surprisingly influential which may explain its cult/midnight status.
I will be there with trivia and prizes so bone up on your teen bitch knowledge!
In theaters July 3rd from From Summit Entertainment, KEVIN HART: LET ME EXPLAIN captures the laughter, energy and mayhem from Hart’s 2012 “Let Me Explain” concert tour, which spanned 10 countries and 80 cities, and generated over $32 million in ticket sales.
WAMG invites you to enter to win a pass (good for 2) to the advance screening of KEVIN HART: LET ME EXPLAIN on July 1stat 7:00 PM in St. Louis.
Answer the following question:
What’s the name of Hart’s 2011 comedy tour that swept the nation and earned more than $15,000,000 in ticket sales?
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. SEND YOUR NAME AND ANSWERS TO: michelle@wearemoviegeeks.com
3. YOU MUST SUBMIT THE CORRECT ANSWER TO OUR TRIVIA QUESTION ABOVE TO WIN.
4. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN THROUGH A RANDOM DRAWING OF QUALIFYING CONTESTANTS. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PASSES WILL NOT BE SUBSTITUTED OR EXCHANGED. DUPLICATE TICKETS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
The is film is rated R for Pervasive Language and Sexual References.
Calling all Beatles fans… the group’s second feature film, 1965’s HELP!, will be released on Blu-ray on Tuesday, June 25 and WAMG is giving away copies to 2 lucky readers.
Directed by Richard Lester, who also directed the band’s debut feature film, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, Help! follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that revolves around Ringo’s possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul and George are chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult members, a mad scientist and the London police.
In addition to starring The Beatles, Help! boasts a witty script, a great cast of British character actors, and classic Beatles songs “Help!,” “You’re Going To Lose That Girl,” “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,” “Ticket To Ride,” “I Need You,” “The Night Before,” and “Another Girl.”
Help! makes its eagerly awaited Blu-ray debut in a single-disc package pairing the digitally restored film and 5.1 soundtrack with an hour of extra features, including a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film, memories of the cast and crew, an in-depth look at the restoration process, an outtake scene, and original theatrical trailers and radio spots. An introduction by the film’s director, Richard Lester, and an appreciation by Martin Scorsese are included in the Blu-ray’s booklet.
Help!’s Blu-ray edition follows the 2012 release of The Beatles’ digitally restored Yellow Submarine and Magical Mystery Tour feature films on Blu-ray, DVD and iTunes with extensive extras. Help!’s restoration for its 2007 DVD debut wowed viewers, earning five-times platinum sales in the U.S. and praise from a broad range of top media outlets around the world, including USA Today heralding the DVD as “a grand re-release,” The Guardian’s appreciation of the film’s director, Richard Lester, saying “Lester matches The Beatles’ ‘star’ power with smart, colourful visuals and casual surrealism,” The Los Angeles Times’ restoration rave: “With dynamic compression that was standard in the 1960s lifted for the digital age, the full range of the group’s musicality comes through – it’s like several coats of dust have been cleaned off an old master’s painting,” and four-star reviews from Rolling Stone and MOJO with the latter saying, “They really don’t make them like this anymore.”
Are you a fan of the Fab Four? Let’s see who really knows all about the world’s greatest pop group!
Answer the following questions:
Which Beatles song did Frank Sinatra describe as the greatest love song ever written?
Norwegian Wood
Yesterday
Why Don’t We Do it in the Road?
Something
Which pop artist designed the cover of the White Album?
Richard Hamilton
Peter Blake
Andy Warhol
Bridget Riley
Who gave the Beatles their name?
George Harrison
Pete Best
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES.
2. SEND YOUR FULL NAME and ANSWER TO: michelle@wearemoviegeeks.com.
3. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PRIZES WILL NOT BE SUBSTITUTED OR EXCHANGED.
The giveaway ends 11:59 a.m. PT on July 8th , 2013.
Help!’s Blu-ray package pairs the digitally restored original film with these extra features:
• “The Beatles in Help!” – a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film with Richard Lester, the cast and crew, including exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of The Beatles on-set.
• “A Missing Scene” – a film outtake, featuring Wendy Richard
• “The Restoration of Help!” – an in-depth look at the restoration process
• “Memories of Help!” – the cast and crew reminisce
• 1965 Theatrical Trailers – two original U.S. trailers and one original Spanish trailer
• 1965 U.S. Radio Spots (hidden in disc menus)
John………..………………………………………………………John Lennon
Paul………………………………………………………………Paul McCartney
George……….…………………………………………………George Harrison
Ringo……….……………………………………………………………Ringo Starr
Cross channel swimmer……………………………………………Mal Evans
Women in street………………Dandy Nichols and Gretchen Franklin
PRODUCTION
Director ……………………………………………………………Richard Lester
Producer …………………………………………………………Walter Shenson
Screenplay…………………………………..Marc Behm and Charles Wood
Story by………………………………………………………………..Marc Behm
Director of Photography…………………………………………David Watkin
Production Manager……………………………………………….John Pellatt
Art Director………………………………………………………Raymond Simm
Colour Consultant and Titles………………………………Robert Freeman
Costume Designer…………………………………………………….Julie Harris
Musical Director………………………………………………………Ken Thorne
Songs composed by…………………..John Lennon and Paul McCartney
and by George Harrison
Songs performed by…………………………………………………The Beatles
Songs produced by……………………………………………..George Martin
Synopsis:
‘Help!’ follows in the great tradition of classic comedy chase movies.
In this instance, John, Paul, George and Ringo, find themselves being pursued across the world by not one but two groups of fanatics with separate agendas.
Ringo possesses a ring with a large red stone set in the middle, sent to him by a fan. Unknown to him this artifact is the sacred sacrificial ring of Goddess Kaili: the deity of an Asian religious cult led by Swami Clang (Leo McKern).
The younger sister of High Priestess Ahme (Eleanor Bron) has been selected by Kaili’s thuggish followers as a human sacrifice. However, panic breaks out when, as she is about to be dispatched by the ceremonial-sword wielding fanatic, Swami Clang, he realizes that she is not wearing this religious bauble.
The human sacrifice is promptly placed on hold. Clang, Ahme and a bunch of bumbling henchmen organized by Blutha (John Bluthal), set about tracking down the wearer with the aim of retrieving the ring by covering Ringo in bright red paint and sacrificing him in the process.
Even before he realizes he is the object of these fanatics attention, Ringo finds that he can’t slip it off his finger. It’s stuck!
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Clang, the lovely Ahme is a secret Beatles fan with a shine for Paul.
These cult followers of Kaili frantically pursue The Beatles first, through London, then up the snow-covered Austrian Alps, followed by Buckingham Palace across Salisbury Plain and finally along the sandy beaches of the Bahamas.
Amidst this turmoil, two scientists named Foot (Victor Spinetti) and Algernon (Roy Kinnear) have become involved, being called in by the Government to try and remove the ring from Ringo’s finger. Algernon is a harmless fool, however, Foot is a megalomaniac and sees the ring as a means to “rule the world!” and is prepared to go to extremes to get his hands on the ring. Following up the rear is dapper Scotland Yard Police Superintendent (Patrick Cargill).
Fortunately, all attempts to remove this religious artifact from Ringo’s hand are thwarted at every turn often by John, Paul and George. This wild chase eventually culminates on a beach in the Bahamas when the ring suddenly falls off Ringo’s finger and those in pursuit are suddenly afraid to pick it up in case they themselves become splattered with red paint and selected as the sacrificial victim!
