Results tagged “film”

New-music group Fulcrum Point will play a concert tomorrow night to preview their November 12 show at the Harris Theater. While, yes, it is to a large degree "only" a preview concert, the fact is sometimes watching a trailer is pretty cool.

Want to interview Oscar-nominee Michael Shannon in Venice? $1500, please. Want to see him star in the world premiere of a new play here in Chicago? $30. Chicago's sure been getting dissed a lot lately. But a recent news item suggests that perhaps you can still get more bang for your buck right here.

We've mentioned the upcoming film adaptation of the famous childrens book Where The Wild Things Are before. Maybe it's because we're a little skeptical of how writer Dave Eggers and director Spike Jonze will transform a 40-something page book (that's not a whole lot of substance, though we love it dearly) into a 90-plus minute movie. Or maybe it's because we do love the book so much and we're also fans of both Eggers and Jonze and are anxious to see if they worked their magic on this.

Bike commuters, fixie enthusiasts, racehounds and general fans of two-wheeled transportation can rejoice as tomorrow kicks off the Chicago stop of the five day 2009 Bicycle Film Fest. Pump up your tires, grab your U-lock and get ready to cycle the city in the name of film and fun.

Ah, the shopping mall: food courts, chain stores, erstwhile home to zombie uprisings and Tiffany concerts (specifically "The Beautiful You: Celebrating The Good Life Shopping Mall Tour '87"). The first enclosed shopping center, Southdale Mall in Edina, Minnesota (shown above), opened in 1956. Since then they've spread to practically every corner of the globe. In fact the world's largest malls are now in Asia, dwarfing their North American ancestors. Aside from McDonald's perhaps no other American innovation has been so equally reviled and embraced.

Sound Opinions’ co-hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot are presenting A Hard Day's Night at The Music Box tomorrow night. The first, and in our opinion best, Beatles film is required watching for any fan of either music or cinema. It's the kind of film you watch, jaw dropping as you realize just how many movies have ripped off its style, and just how fabulously and caustically witty the Beatles are. It's loopy story will reel you in, um, no pun intended, and we think it's swell there's a chance to see it on the big screen since we've only ever viewed on out telly.

Yesterday, Roger Ebert's boyhood home in Urbana was granted landmark status in a ceremony which included Mayor Laurel Prussing. Ebert and his wife Chaz were present for the placement of a bronze plaque at 410 E. Washington St. where he lived with his parents from 1942 to 1961. He obviously has very fond memories of the place, writing, "I was born at the center of the universe, and have had good fortune for all of my days." The beloved film critic was in town to kick off his 11th Annual Ebertfest, spotlighting underseen and underappreciated movies.

Years ago, we were witness as Miller, Anheuser-Busch, and Coors collected distribution rights or partial ownerships to craft breweries in a high-stakes chess game over control of the beer drinker's dollar. Now there's InBev/A-B, MillerCoors, and a bunch of craft breweries trying like hell to maintain their independence and run successful businesses. Director Anat Baron's "Beer Wars" is being called a "David and Goliath" story, Following Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione and Rhonda Kallman of New Century Brewing, "Beer Wars" takes the viewer into the boardrooms, brewhouses, and follows sales reps on their calls as they fight for space in an already saturated marketplace.

We were running through our video podcasts yesterday and stumbled across this incredible find by Rocketboom. A Micrometer From Here is Israeli artist Amit Zakai's graduate project and it incorporates techniques of math and science, surrealism, philosophy, and Powers Of 10.

WARNING: Spoiler alert! If you haven't seen Watchmen yet, we discuss plot points after the jump, so you may want to hold off reading any further!

We're all angry, frustrated sadsacks here in Chicago, but we also live in a great place that's fertile ground for making movies. Via Reel Chicago, we learn that MovieMaker Magazine has designated Chicago the #1 city for indie filmmaking. The criteria included employment opportunities, cost of living, quality of life, affordable home prices and financial incentives. In this ninth annual ranking we beat out New York City, which wound up #3. Are you an indie filmmaker in Chicago? We'd like to hear from you. Email us and let us know what you're up to.

In another interview with indieWIRE, Cutler gives a few more insights into the film.

Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club, 3700 N. Halsted, Thursdays through February 26, 7 p.m.

The Writer's Guild of America has announced their nominations for "outstanding achievement in TV, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation," and guess which movie got a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay? Why, it would be the same one which received an ASC nomination earlier today and a Producer's Guild of America nomination a few days ago. Depending on how you look at it, these noms could be a harbinger of things to come when the Oscars roll around. Or they could just be acknowledgments that The Dark Knight made boatloads of money (in fact it was last year's highest-grossing film).

As Batfans around the world are giving their Christmas present DVDs of The Dark Knight multiple viewings, rumors are beginning to circulate about the next chapter in the franchise, including filming once again in Chicago. Speculation has included pre-production on the next installment beginning in early 2009 and an office for the production opening here in town as early as February. Of course, most of the rumors are circulating around casting.

The most popular rumors: Johnny Depp as The Riddler alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin. Now, it'd be tough to imagine such campy characters in Nolan's Batman universe, especially since both are basically pale variations of The Joker. In October, "Dark Knight" co-writer David Goyer told MTV that all the rumors were false.

Continue reading "Holy Rumor Mill, Batman!"

Schuba's, 3159 N. Southport, 12/27, Doors at 7:30 pm, show at 8 p.m., $20

Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, Harold Washington Center, 400 S. State St., December 10, 6 p.m., Free

Film

Film

Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Fridays and Saturdays through 12/20, 11:30 p.m., $16

Parkside Pub,11721 E. Main St., Huntley, IL, 11/26, 11 a.m. – early Thanksgiving morning, $10, call (847) 669-8496 for more info.

With a couple of endless wars abroad to discuss, a defenestration-inspiring economy freaking us out and so many dreamboaty candidates and First Spouses to drool over, the War on Drugs -- arguably the nation's longest endless war ever -- didn't receive much spotlight time this election season. But while we were hearing about Sarah Palin’s fancywear and debating the long-ago bombing habits of Bill Ayers, tens of thousands of people ended up spending part of the campaign behind bars for committing nonviolent drug offenses. According to NORML, in 2007 arrests for marijuana violations alone reached 872,721 – about 100 people per hour, an all-time high (no pun intended). Expect 2008 stats to surpass that figure. Oh, and almost 90% of those 2007 arrests were for possession only. "Cha-ching!" says Mr. Cash Register to Mr. Prison-Industrial Complex.

We admit we had no frickin' clue who the hell Robert Pattinson was when we read that his appearance was causing an increase in Orland Square Mall security. Apparently he's in some vampire flick that's coming out and is a tween idol. Whoop-de-do, right?

220 S. Michigan Ave., Symphony Center, tonight, 8:00 p.m., pre-concert conversation from 7 – 7:30 in the Grainger Ballroom, Young Frankenstein screens at 10:00 p.m.

Lectures

Borders, 830 N Michigan Ave., 10/27, 7:30 p.m., $7 - $10

Conventions

Bummed Project Runway is done for the season? Don't worry because there's still some quality viewing for you tonight as Chicago 10, Brett Morgan's film about the 1968 Chicago DNC riots and ensuing trial, gets its television debut courtesy of PBS' series Independent Lens. The film mixes animation with archival footage of the incidents and features the vocal work of Mark Ruffalo, Hank Azaria and Jeffrey Wright. We caught a screening of it at least year's CIFF and, in spite of a few qualms, thought it was worth catching. Chicago 10 airs tonight at 9 p.m. on WTTW Ch. 11, with a replay early Friday morning at 2:30 a.m.

General Arts

As Duke Ellington might have said, Arthur Russell was a musician and composer "beyond category." In his short life (he died of complications from AIDS at the age of 40) he composed and recorded music that could be classified as folk, disco, ambient, classical, pop and even country. He was born in Iowa and followed in his mother's footsteps by taking up the cello as a child. Later he moved to San Francisco (befriending Allan Ginsberg) and then eventually New York City, where he became a catalyst in the art scene of the 70's as musical director of The Kitchen. Ginsberg, who lived in the same apartment building as Arthur for many years, described his music as "Buddhist bubblegum," and it's that sly tension between childlike joy and a more cerebral experimentation that has posthumously made him a favorite of David Byrne, Jens Lekman and Pitchfork.