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December 22, 2007
ContentsWhen it comes to recommending Christmas movies, my response is "bah humbug!" ��There's not a Christmas movie been made that hasn't raised my blood sugar to a dangerous level, so I've avoided them since the 1946 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, which is a Christmas movie only because it ��ends (happily, of course) on Christmas Eve.
So since I'm no help as you head to the Christmas movie season, let's look, instead, at what will be available locally this Christmas. Rocky at the Rose Theatre is hedging his bets by offering both a feel-good and a shiver-up-your spine movie. Newcomer Ellen Page wowed them at the Toronto International Film Festival in September in JUNO, a film critic Roger Ebert reported that he didn't "know when I've heard a standing ovation so long, loud and warm (with) �Ķ dialogue �Ķ so quick and funny you feel the actors are performing it on a high wire." It's all about a pregnant 16-year-old and her non-boyfriend. (Times, they are changing.)
At his second theatre, the Rosebud Cinema, Rocky will be continuing NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, the Coen brothers thriller and chase (read stalk) film that is, in Ebert's words "essentially a character study, an examination of how its people meet and deal with a man so bad, cruel and unfeeling that there is simply no comprehending him." (Not a movie Jimmy Stewart would ever have made.)
At the Wiley family's Uptown Theatre, a long-awaited THE GOLDEN COMPASS transfers from the novel with its religious backdrop excised by director/writer Chris Weitz. It stars James Bond and Virginia Woolf (er, I mean Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman). Ebert, who is back in full swing after months of cancer recovery, has seen this too and reports: "'The Golden Compass' is a wonderfully good-looking movie, with exciting passages and a captivating heroine" Ebert wants his readers to know "that the controversy surrounding it (the elimination of religious references) obscures its function as a splendid entertainment. ...that for adults, it will not be boring or too simplistic."
Home theatres are becoming de rigueur. Max and Sherry Grover, local pioneers in this format, solve the problem of Christmas movies by ignoring it���they choose a theme instead and let Christmas fall where it may. Friends and fellow film buffs fill their home theatre for four screenings on Christmas Day and four more the day after. This year's theme is boats, and they have booked the Beatles YELLOW SUBMARINE; Werner Herzog's wild and wonderfully quixotic docudrama, FITZCARRALDO; the 1934 French classic, L'ATALANTE; Steven Spielberg's breakthrough film, JAWS; Henry Fonda, James Cagney, and Academy Award �� winner Jack Lemmon in the bowdlerized screen version of MISTER ROBERTS; Terence Stamp's debut movie, BILLY BUDD; Spencer Tracy and Freddie Bartholomew in the moving CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS; and that ultimate of all river trips, THE AFRICAN QUEEN, with the inimitable Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.
I wonder what Elliott Gould's favorite Christmas movie is?
It's awards season, folks���as if you hadn't noticed���and by January 15 most all will be known but the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Independent Spirit Awards and the Big One ( ol' Oscar�� himself) which won't be announced until January 24, February 23 and 24, respectively.
Some of the special awards already bestowed will be recognized by PTFF fans. Both the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Associations singled out Milestone Films for its work in reviving Charles Burnett's KILLER OF SHEEP (1977) and MY BROTHER'S WEDDING (1983). Milestone Films, which is run out of owner Amy Heller's basement in New Jersey, was instrumental in getting KILLER OF SHEEP transferred from its 16mm origin to a full 35mm, allowing Burnett the rare luxury of a final edit on the 24-year-old MY BROTHER'S WEDDING, and packaging four of Burnett's short films into festivals and theatrical runs. Amy and crew have given a major boost to the career of a underappreciated filmmaker, who one wag recently identified as "being famous for not being famous." In case you missed any of these films at the 2007 fest, all will be screened by Turner Classic Movies on January 21, Martin Luther King Day. All of these films are in the PTFF library, available for check out by members.
And speaking of Turner Classic Movies, primetime host ROBERT OSBORNE has been singled out by the National Board of Review, one of the major award-giving institutions, as its 2007 recipient of the William K. Everson Award. ��Everson was an archivist, author, critic, collector and film historian, who often discovered lost films. "It would be no exaggeration to say that single-handedly, (Everson) transformed the attitude of American film enthusiasts towards early cinema," according to Kevin Brownlow, a silent film historian. Previous honorees have included Richard Schickel, Ted Demme, Martin Scorcese, and Peter Bogdanovich. Nice company, Robert. Congratulations!
Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) has, in recent months, begun an aggressive film schedule at the lecture hall in the Seattle Opera House, showing both art house films and, happily, classics that are hard to find on the big screen. SIFF screened for two weeks the 1966 Russian WAR & PEACE in its 7-hour version. You could see it in two parts, either on different days or, in a few, cases, all in one day, which I did last Wednesday. Arrived at 1 pm, got a break at 3:30, then back till 5:20 at which time we broke for dinner, resuming at 7, breaking at 8:30 and finishing at 10:15. It was a marathon film day and worth every minutes. But, to my point: SIFF has arranged to use PTFF's print of EDEN, our 2007 Audience Favorite, to screen in late February (22-28), so if you missed it yes, some did! you'll have another chance. I'll remind you in forthcoming newsletters.
In case you get too much sugar this season, Peninsula College has just the antidote in Film Noir 2, an eight-week series starting January 16 that follows-up last year's introductory course. ��Teaching the course will be film historian, Bruce Hattendorf, continuing from where Daniel Yezbick, who's now in St. Louis, left off, exploring femme fatales, flawed heroes, shadowy pasts, gin-soaked streets, crimes gone wrong, and labyrinth-like cities in films from the 1940s and 1950s, mostly in color. The noncredit course will be held on Wednesdays, through March 5. Films included are: MURDER, MY SWEET; THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS; BRUTE FORCE; HE WALKED BY ��NIGHT; ACT OF VIOENCE; GUN CRAZY; WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS; PICK UP ON SOUTH STREET. ��One need not have attended last year's course to register for this one. Call 360 385-4605 to register. If you get a recording, leave a message; they will get back to you. ��
Port Townsend's Own Oscar�� Party February 24, 2008 Erickson Building, Jefferson County Fairgrounds
"What If..." Contest Win over $500 in prizes
What if you were nominated for an Academy Award��? What if Julia Roberts announced, "And the Academy Award goes to YOU? What would you wear? What would you SAY?
It's time to enter the What If... Contest, give your unique acceptance speech to an adoring and appreciative audience and win over $500 worth of prizes. It's easy to enter. Write your dream acceptance speech in 250 words or less. Make it serious, make it funny, real or fantastic, and thank whomever you like.
Email your entry to the Port Townsend Film Festival nancy@ptfilmfest.com with the subject line, "What If... Contest". It must arrive no later than noon on Friday, February 1. Please be sure to include your name, address and daytime phone number. Only one speech per person, please.
Three lucky finalists will receive a free ticket (a $65 value) to attend The Envelope Please fundraiser gala as PTFF's honored guests. During this glamorous celebration dinner and live broadcast of the 2008 Academy Awards, the winner will be announced. The winner will give his/her acceptance speech and receive a guaranteed standing ovation!
In addition to adulation, the winner will receive:
- A 2008 Film Festival Producer level pass worth $500,
- An invitation to the 2008 Film Festival VIP Reception,
- A PTFF membership with film and book check out privileges,
- Recognition in the 2008 Festival program.
We will publish the top three entries on February 13. Entries may be reproduced for publicity purposes. ��For more information, contact the PTFF office at 360-379-1333 or email nancy@ptfilmfest.com.
The Envelope Please supports the mission of the nonprofit Port Townsend Film Festival to celebrate and support independent film and filmmakers.
Greetings fellow PTFF fans. As the auction acquisition chair for our annual Oscar night fundraiser, I come to you for assistance. Help me assemble a wonderful array of tempting items for our silent and live auction by making a donation.
For 2008 we want to auction the most interesting and unusual treasures. Business and individuals alike are encouraged to participate. You can even pool your resources with friends! Both items and experiences are desirable. Here are just a few donation ideas:
- Gourmet Thai dinner for eight
- Horseback riding lessons
- Full body massage
- Guided kayaking trip for two
- Irish Getaway
- Organic cheese for a year
Each year the Port Townsend Film Festival produces an amazing weekend of independent films that entertain and challenge. ��This yearly fundraiser is your opportunity to support the Festival with your independent and creative spirit!
In our new venue, the Erickson Building at the Fairgrounds, we have increased our capacity to provide the most offbeat and fun The Envelope Please auction ever. Please contact me with your ideas and donations.
Dianne Diamond
diannejoydiamond@msn.com
360-385-2341