Podcasts about chicago film festival

HLM Pussy es la ópera prima de Nora El Hourch. Tras su paso por D’A Film Festival, la cinta ha obtenido el Premio del Público con una puntuación de 9,01 otorgado por los asistentes. La cineasta franco-marroquí ya debutó con el cortometraje Quelques secondes (2015), presentado en la Quincena de Realizadores del Festival de Cannes y, con este largometraje presentado previamente en reconocidos festivales como TIFF (Toronto Film Festival) o Chicago Film Festival, se ha convertido en una de las grandes revelaciones del año. Cuenta con las debutantes Leah Aubert, Salma Takaline y Médina Diarra, en el papel del trío de amigas protagonistas, y la reconocida Bérénice Bejo (The Artist, La contadora de películas), entre otros. El primer largometraje de Nora El Hourch aborda temas de tremenda actualidad como las denuncias de abuso y acoso sexual, el uso de las redes sociales entre los y las adolescentes o la amistad y la sororidad en la generación actual, y lo hace desde una perspectiva vitalista y luminosa.

Hay personas que simplemente nacieron para hacer cine. Y ese es el caso de Michelle Garza. Nacida en la CDMX y egresada del Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, su talento la llevó a recibir una beca para estudiar en La Universidad de Londres, así como la prestigiosa beca momentum del Festival de Sundance. Su ópera prima: Huesera, ganó dos premios en el Festival Internacional de Cine de Tribeca, dos premios en el Festival Sitges y 4 premios Ariel. Además, estuvo también nominada en los Gotham Awards y en el Chicago Film Festival, Estos reconocimientos vienen por la increíble y valiente visión que impregnó en su cinta, pues nos hizo debatir temas feministas sobre la autonomía del cuerpo de la mujer y la maternidad. Ya laureada como una de las nuevas cineastas que llegaron para transformar el cine mexicano, Cinéfilos, démosle la bienvenida a HDC…

Kirk and Jeff D. Lowe are in Chicago for the Barstool Film Festival. (8:00) Nick Cattles joins to hash out his recent Twitter beef with Kirk. (12:00) Cattles didn't like getting notifications. (19:00) Cattles' endless Belichick talk. (29:20) Cattles asks Kirk about Murchison. (31:30) Kirk condemns the show account attacking Cattles' Patreon. (39:17) Big Cat joins the show. (40:50) Big Cat announces that he will be going on Gaming w/ Gus this summer. (43:50) A discussion of Puff Puff Piece makes Big Cat reflect on potentially problematic PMT interviews. (46:40) Kirk discusses the time he masturbated in a theater. (49:30) Kirk asks Big Cat's take on boutique hotels. (51:30) Big Cat reflects on the Bears taking Caleb Williams. (53:30) Remembering Prince. (55:50) The Vegas Sphere. (57:00) Beer Olympics talk. (58:40) Dozen talk. (01:03:15) Kirk and Big Cat preview the Chicago Film Festival. (01:08:50) Rico talk. (01:16:45) Kirk and Big Cat discuss wet dreams. (01:20:10) After Jeff leaves, Big Cat and Kirk talk more about the Dozen. (01:24:30) Remembering athletes that wore 55. (01:25:20) Big Cat tells a story about Aaron Hernandez. (01:27:20) Coleman may be the most hated person who's been a part of the show. (01:32:00) Big Cat makes his guess as to who messaged Paige Spiranac. (01:33:30) Kirk discusses Dave's story about Stu Feiner without going into details. (01:57:40) Big Cat reveals Chicago is planning a Yak Olympics. (01:40:10) Mick calls in and goes at it with Jeff D. Lowe over his disgusting text message. (01:45:40) Steve From Glosta news. (02:04:00) Kirk gives the schedule for next week's shows. (02:13:00) Big Cat and Kirk discuss team owners.You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/kminshow

*Sigh*You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/barstoolyak

SciFi Movies & Edward Zwick Hollywood Director AZ TRT S05 EP09 (224) 3-3-2024  What We Learned This Week Ed Zwick Hollywood Director & Producer with 40 years in the industry ILM - Industrial Light & Magic is the premiere special fx company created by George Lucas SciFi Movies predicted the Future – what has become reality? The Internet & Choice – How the Martix movie showed us a new reality of virtual worlds that seem too real AI Man vs Machine – Blade Runner and The Terminator movies give terrifying scenarios of AI run amok     Guest: Edward Zwick, Hollywood Director ED ZWICK BIO (FROM TRIBUNE.CA)   More Bio Info from IMDB: HERE         Ed Zwick first hit the Hollywood radar screen as the producer/writer/director of the award-winning drama series Family, starring James Broderick (Matthew Broderick's father). Zwick landed the job after his short film, Timothy and the Angel, won first place in the student film competition at the 1976 Chicago Film Festival, catching the attention of the Family producers. He began as a story editor, then moved on to become a director and producer of the show, which ran from 1976 to 1980. Zwick went on to work on other critically-acclaimed series, including thirtysomething (for which he won an Emmy), My So-Called Life and Once and Again. In 1984, he won an "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials" Directors Guild of America award for the TV movie Special Bulletin.   His first venture into feature film directing came with About Last Night (1986), starring Demi Moore and Rob Lowe, then received a Golden Globe nomination for "Best Director -- Motion Picture" for the Academy-Award® winning Glory (1989) starring Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington. He has also directed the major motion pictures Leaving Normal (1992), Legends of the Fall(1994) starring Brad Pitt and Courage Under Fire (1996) starring Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington. Zwick worked with Washington yet again in The Siege (1998), then directed The Last Samurai (2003), starring Tom Cruise.   In 2006, Ed directed the Oscar-nominated Blood Diamond and followed that up with the 2008 drama Defiance, which also earned an Oscar nomination. Two years later, he helmed Love and Other Drugs.   In 2014, Ed brought the story of American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer to the screen in Pawn Sacrifice. Ed's latest film reunited him with Tom Cruise. The men worked together on Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016). Ed was also executive producer of the TV series Nashville from 2016-2018.   As a producer of the 1999 Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love, Zwick won an Academy Award®. He is also the recipient of the American Film Institute's Franklin J. Schaffner Award, a Lone Star Film & Television Award Best Director award, the Humanitas Award and a Writers Guild of America award.     ABOUT ED ZWICK AND HITS, FLOPS AND OTHER ILLUSIONS: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood   This heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, About Last Night, and Glory, creator of the show thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.   "I'll be dropping a few names," Ed Zwick confesses in the introduction to his book. "Over the years I have worked with self-proclaimed masters-of-the-universe, unheralded geniuses, hacks, sociopaths, savants, and saints."   He has encountered these Hollywood types during four decades of directing, producing, and writing projects that have collectively received eighteen Academy Award nominations (seven wins) and sixty-seven Emmy nominations (twenty-two wins). Though there are many factors behind such success, including luck and the contributions of his creative partner Marshall Herskovitz, he's known to have a special talent for bringing out the best in the people he's worked with, especially the actors. In those intense collaborations, he's sought to discover the small pieces of connective tissue, vulnerability, and fellowship that can help an actor realize their character in full.   Talents whom he spotted early include Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Claire Danes, and Jared Leto. Established stars he worked closely with include Leonardo DiCaprio, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Connelly. He also sued Harvey Weinstein over the production of Shakespeare in Love-and won. He shares personal stories about all these people, and more.   Written mostly with love, sometimes with rue, this memoir is also a meditation on working, sprinkled throughout with tips for anyone who has ever imagined writing, directing, or producing for the screen. Fans with an appreciation for the beautiful mysteries-as well as the unsightly, often comic truths-of crafting film and television won't want to miss it.       Notes:   Seg 1 Special FX ILM   George Lucas Company, industrial light and magic   Built the company with money made from Star Wars, on Skywalker Ranch Revolutionized, special effects, and movies first with Star Wars, then beyond, use of green screen and practical effects with models miniature creatures   Disney bought Lucas film and ILM Studios in 2012   long history for special effects with many famous directors using IM from George Lucas to Ron Howard to Steven Spielberg to James Cameron   Digital effects and computer graphics On famous movies like the abyss, Jurassic Park, Star Wars movies, Conan, ET, Star Trek movies, poltergeist, Indiana Jones, movies, back to the future, Spaceballs, ghost, and for October, T2, etc.   TV Amazing stories, the Mandalorian, Big Bang theory, Star Trek, the next generation, tales from the crypt     Animation Wall E     Many famous special effects, people, and even some future directors like Joe Johnson, started at industrial light and magic studios, also much of the cast of MythBusters worked there     Eras of Special Effects Practical Effects Wizard of Oz SciFi movies in 1950s 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1969 Star Wars in 1977 ILM Studios of 1980s to 1990s T2 in 1991 Jurassic Park in 1993 The Matrix in 1999 Modern Marvel Movies – computer digital effects / green screen movies     More on ILM from Wikipedia: HERE         Seg 2   Interview w/ Hollywood Director Ed Zwick   Ed joins the show to promote his Hollywood book on his 40 year career as a writer, producer and director in both movies and TV.     Seg 3 & 4 Did Sci Fi Movies predict the Future? Talking AI, Internet and Choice   Guest: Eric Almassy  LinkedIn: HERE Eric is a regional sales director, & also a part time Actor Eric joins the show to discuss sci-fi movies, and what predictions about the future have come true.     Seg 3 - Internet & Choice   The Internet has created a connected world through cyberspace.   Now virtual reality and relationships online exist through dating websites and social media. The irony is people may be less social, as they still have trouble connecting despite more access to technology. An example is people text more than they talk.   The Internet has added new types of addictions, like just staying home and being online all the time, pornography & gaming addictions, where people get lost in virtual world.   The Matrix - virtual reality & the internet   People in the movie choose a fantasy ‘comfortable' world (blue pill) vs a harsh and tough reality world. They would rather just plug into the Matrix and be in denial.   The problem of choice, as there are consequences with choices in the real world. The Matrix world provides all of your needs.   Matrix in the current modern world, a world where people would not leave their house and just build an entire alternate life online. You can work from home, and get anything you need delivered.   Another movie about tech and internet connection is Minority Report. This is government surveillance to extremes. It also discusses the choices we make, and control of our lives. Freedom vs danger is another theme. All themes that apply in a dangerous modern world.   Totalitarian governments like China are literally spying on their people, through what they search for on the Internet, their social media, and surveillance of cameras   Many western governments use surveillance through drone, satellites, and cameras. Also, sometimes protecting people, and sometimes intruding on their rights.       Seg 4 - AI Man vs. Machine   Blade Runner - staying human in AI & tech dependent world.   Blade Runner is a movie about androids and what constitutes being a human.   The android characters seem to have more soul than the humans, as the world of Blade Runner is cold and depressing. Androids or AI life forms have been created to do the dirty work, mining, prostitution and fighting wars, then, when not needed they are terminated.   The Terminator - AI and drones   Terminator movie came out in the 1980s and was an allegory about the fear of nuclear war. Will advanced weapons kill everybody? Cyberdyne Systems uses sentient AI machines who take over and build robots who try to exterminate the human race.   The irony is the humans initially created the AI to have more technology and better weapons, and it winds up wiping them out.   Raises questions about - just because we can, should we be building the weapons. With the same themes, as Jurassic Park, Wargames, or any biological type movie, basically science run amok.   Modern armies, have drown and surveillance equipment, and can hunt down people and kill them from a great distance. An operator of a drone could literally be on the other side of the world. The morality of these weapons is an issue today.   People choose technology out of laziness, and often give little thought to how it affects their lives. They do not want to do the task, make it easier.     Past AZ TRT Shows on AI: Software Delivered AI w/ Brian Stevens of Neural Magic AZ TRT S05 EP08 (223) 2-25-2024    Full Show: HERE       Artificial Intelligence (AI) – how the Algorithm Connects Us All - BRT S02 EP43 (90) 10-24-2021   Full Show: HERE     Tech Themed Show: HERE     If you enjoyed this show, you may like:  BRT Sports:  HERE  BRT Hollywood: HERE BRT Marketing: HERE BRT Business: HERE  More - BRT Best of: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+Of     Thanks for Listening. Please Subscribe to the BRT Podcast.      Business Roundtable with Matt Battaglia The show where Entrepreneurs, High Level Executives, Business Owners, and Investors come to share insight and ideas about the future of business. BRT 2.0 looks at the new trends in business, and how classic industries are evolving.  Common Topics Discussed: Business, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Stocks, Cannabis, Tech, Blockchain / Crypto, Real Estate, Legal, Sales, Charity, and more…  BRT Podcast Home Page: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/ ‘Best Of' BRT Podcast: Click Here BRT Podcast on Google: Click Here BRT Podcast on Spotify: Click Here                    More Info: https://www.economicknight.com/podcast-brt-home/ KFNX Info: https://1100kfnx.com/weekend-featured-shows/   Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the Hosts, Guests and Speakers, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent (or affiliates, members, managers, employees or partners), or any Station, Podcast Platform, Website or Social Media that this show may air on. All information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes. Nothing said on this program should be considered advice or recommendations in: business, legal, real estate, crypto, tax accounting, investment, etc. Always seek the advice of a professional in all business ventures, including but not limited to: investments, tax, loans, legal, accounting, real estate, crypto, contracts, sales, marketing, other business arrangements, etc.  

It's a mega episode! Film critic Russell Miller returns to the show and we talk about all the films we've been seeing at film festivals the last few months. We cover Filmland, Filmland: Arkansas, the Charlotte Film Festival, the Nashville Film Festival, and the Chicago Film Festival.Movies We Talk About in this Episode Chronicle of a Summer Day The Memo Buy Sell Trade Daughter of the White River Ghosts of the Void Unfix Perfect Days Robot Dreams Fallen Leaves Silver Dollar Road Foe Nyad Hard Miles Eric LaRue The Bikeriders in water Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry Green Border The Mission The Zone Of Interest Because We Have Each Other Pictures Of Ghosts SaltburnLinks Russell Miller's review blog Russell Miller on TwitterConnect with Arthouse Garage Support us on Patreon Arthouse Garage shop Instagram Facebook Twitter Letterboxd Email us at Andrew@ArthouseGarage.com Subscribe to the email newsletter: arthousegarage.com/subscribe Try Opopop popcorn! Get 10% off your first order Theme music by Apauling Productions

Host Frankie Picasso and Chicago Movie Critic Brent Marchant discuss new movies from both the LGBTQ Film Festival and The Chicago Film Festival. Also a few movies on Prime --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/frankiesense/message

Host Frankie Picasso and Chicago Movie Critic Brent Marchant discuss new movies from both the LGBTQ Film Festival and The Chicago Film Festival. Also a few movies on Prime --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/frankiesense/message

Also in the news: Two men fatally shot in altercation at store; No civilian injuries reported after explosion levels house in Woodstock; Local director's film to premiere at Chicago Film Festival and more.

Also in the news: Two men fatally shot in altercation at store; No civilian injuries reported after explosion levels house in Woodstock; Local director's film to premiere at Chicago Film Festival and more.

Also in the news: Two men fatally shot in altercation at store; No civilian injuries reported after explosion levels house in Woodstock; Local director's film to premiere at Chicago Film Festival and more.

Cindy Pearlman, senior writer for the New York Times and entertainment columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, joins Bob Sirott to talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new book, Paul McCartney’s visit to Las Vegas, and the opening of the Chicago Film Festival. We also hear Dean’s streaming picks and monologues from the late night hosts.

This week, we continue out look back at the films released by Miramax in the 1980s, focusing on 1987. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT   From Los Angeles, California. The Entertainment Capital of the World. It's the 80s Movie Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   On this episode, we are continuing our miniseries on the movies released by Miramax Films in the 1980s, concentrating on their releases from 1987, the year Miramax would begin its climb towards the top of the independent distribution mountain.   The first film Miramax would release in 1987 was Lizzie Borden's Working Girls.   And yes, Lizzie Borden is her birth name. Sort of. Her name was originally Linda Elizabeth Borden, and at the age of eleven, when she learned about the infamous accused double murderer, she told her parents she wanted to only be addressed as Lizzie. At the age of 18, after graduating high school and heading off to the private women's liberal arts college Wellesley, she would legally change her name to Lizzie Borden.   After graduating with a fine arts degree, Borden would move to New York City, where she held a variety of jobs, including being both a painter and an art critic for the influential Artforum magazine, until she attended a retrospective of Jean-Luc Godard movies, when she was inspired to become a filmmaker herself.   Her first film, shot in 1974, was a documentary, Regrouping, about four female artists who were part of a collective that incorporated avant-garde techniques borrowed from performance art, as the collective slowly breaks apart. One of the four artists was a twenty-three year old painter who would later make film history herself as the first female director to win the Academy Award for Best Director, Kathryn Bigelow.    But Regrouping didn't get much attention when it was released in 1976, and it would take Borden five years to make her first dramatic narrative, Born in Flames, another movie which would also feature Ms. Bigelow in a supporting role. Borden would not only write, produce and direct this film about two different groups of feminists who operate pirate radio stations in New York City which ends with the bombing of the broadcast antenna atop the World Trade Center, she would also edit the film and act as one of the cinematographers. The film would become one of the first instances of Afrofuturism in film, and would become a cultural touchstone in 2016 when a restored print of the film screened around the world to great critical acclaim, and would tie for 243rd place in the 2022 Sight and Sound poll of The Greatest Films Ever Made. Other films that tied with include Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels, Woody Allen's Annie Hall, David Cronenberg's Videodrome, and Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. A   Yes, it's that good, and it would cost only $30k to produce.   But while Born in Flames wasn't recognized as revolutionary in 1983, it would help her raise $300k for her next movie, about the lives of sex workers in New York City. The idea would come to her while working on Born in Flames, as she became intrigued about prostitution after meeting some well-educated women on the film who worked a few shifts a week at a brothel to earn extra money or to pay for their education. Like many, her perception of prostitution were women who worked the streets, when in truth streetwalkers only accounted for about 15% of the business. During the writing of the script, she began visiting brothels in New York City and learned about the rituals involved in the business of selling sex, especially intrigued how many of the sex workers looked out for each other mentally, physically and hygienically.   Along with Sandra Kay, who would play one of the ladies of the night in the film, Borden worked up a script that didn't glamorize or grossly exaggerate the sex industry, avoiding such storytelling tropes as the hooker with a heart of gold or girls forced into prostitution due to extraordinary circumstances. Most of the ladies playing prostitutes were played by unknown actresses working off-Broadway, while the johns were non-actors recruited through word of mouth between Borden's friends and the occasional ad in one of the city's sex magazines.   Production on Working Girls would begin in March 1985, with many of the sets being built in Borden's loft in Manhattan, with moveable walls to accommodate whatever needed to be shot on any given day. While $300k would be ten times what she had on Born in Flames, Borden would stretch her budget to the max by still shooting in 16mm, in the hopes that the footage would look good enough should the finished film be purchased by a distributor and blown up to 35mm for theatrical exhibition.   After a month of shooting, which involved copious amounts of both male and female nudity, Borden would spend six months editing her film. By early 1986, she had a 91 minute cut ready to go, and she and her producer would submit the film to play at that year's Cannes Film Festival. While the film would not be selected to compete for the coveted Palme D'Or, it would be selected for the Directors' Fortnight, a parallel program that would also include Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy, Denys Arcand's The Decline of the American Empire, and Chantel Akerman's Golden Eighties.   The film would get into some trouble when it was invited to screen at the Toronto Film Festival a few months later. The movie would have to be approved by the Ontario Film and Video Review Board before being allowed to show at the festival. However, the board would not approve the film without two cuts, including one scene which depicted the quote unquote graphic manipulation of a man's genitalia by a woman. The festival, which had a long standing policy of not showing any movie that had been cut for censorship, would appeal the decision on behalf of the filmmakers. The Review Board denied the appeal, and the festival left the decision of whether to cut the two offending scenes to Borden. Of all the things I've researched about the film, one of the few things I could not find was whether or not Borden made the trims, but the film would play at the festival as scheduled.   After Toronto, Borden would field some offers from some of the smaller art house distributors, but none of the bigger independents or studio-affiliated “classics” divisions. For many, it was too sexual to be a straight art house film, while it wasn't graphic enough to be porn. The one person who did seem to best understand what Borden was going for was, no surprise in hindsight, Harvey Weinstein. Miramax would pick the film up for distribution in late 1986, and planned a February 1987 release.   What might be surprising to most who know about Harvey Weinstein, who would pick up the derisive nickname Harvey Scissorhands in a few years for his constant meddling in already completed films, actually suggested Borden add back in a few minutes of footage to balance out the sex with some lighter non-sex scenes. She would, along with making some last minute dialogue changes, before the film opened on February 5th, not in New York City or Los Angeles, the traditional launching pads for art house films, but at the Opera Plaza Cinema in San Francisco, where the film would do a decent $8k in its first three days.   Three weeks after opening at the Opera Plaza, Miramax would open the film at the 57th Street Playhouse in midtown Manhattan. Buoyed by some amazing reviews from the likes of Siskel and Ebert, Vincent Canby of the New York Times, and J. Hoberman of The Village Voice, Working Girls would gross an astounding $42k during its opening weekend. Two weeks later, it would open at the Samuel Goldwyn Westside Pavilion Cinemas, where it would bring in $17k its first weekend. It would continue to perform well in its major market exclusive runs. An ad in the April 8th, 1987 issue of Variety shows a new house record of $13,492 in its first week at the Ellis Cinema in Atlanta. $140k after five weeks in New York. $40k after three weeks at the Nickelodeon in Boston. $30k after three weeks at the Fine Arts in Chicago. $10k in its first week at the Guild in San Diego. $11k in just three days at the TLA in Philly.   Now, there's different numbers floating around about how much Working Girls made during its total theatrical run. Box Office Mojo says $1.77m, which is really good for a low budget independent film with no stars and featuring a subject still taboo to many in American today, let alone 37 years ago, but a late June 1987 issue of Billboard Magazine about some of the early film successes of the year, puts the gross for Working Girls at $3m.   If you want to check out Working Girls, the Criterion Collection put out an exceptional DVD and Blu-ray release in 2021, which includes a brand new 4K transfer of the film, and a commentary track featuring Borden, cinematographer Judy Irola, and actress Amanda Goodwin, amongst many bonus features. Highly recommended.   I've already spoken some about their next film, Ghost Fever, on our episode last year about the fake movie director Alan Smithee and all of his bad movies. For those who haven't listened to that episode yet and are unaware of who Alan Smithee wasn't, Alan Smithee was a pseudonym created by the Directors Guild in the late 1960s who could be assigned the directing credit of a movie whose real director felt the final cut of the film did not represent his or her vision. By the time Ghost Fever came around in 1987, it would be the 12th movie to be credited to Alan Smithee.   If you have listened to the Alan Smithee episode, you can go ahead and skip forward a couple minutes, but be forewarned, I am going to be offering up a different elaboration on the film than I did on that episode.   And away we go…   Those of us born in the 1960s and before remember a show called All in the Family, and we remember Archie Bunker's neighbors, George and Louise Jefferson, who were eventually spun off onto their own hit show, The Jeffersons. Sherman Hemsley played George Jefferson on All in the Family and The Jeffersons for 12 years, but despite the show being a hit for a number of years, placing as high as #3 during the 1981-1982 television season, roles for Hemsley and his co-star Isabel Sanford outside the show were few and far between. During the eleven seasons The Jeffersons ran on television, from 1975 to 1985, Sherman Hemsley would only make one movie, 1979's Love at First Bite, where he played a small role as a reverend. He appeared on the poster, but his name was not listed amongst the other actors on the poster.   So when the producers of the then-titled Benny and Beaufor approached Hemsley in the spring of 1984 to play one of the title roles, he was more than happy to accept. The Jeffersons was about to start its summer hiatus, and here was the chance to not only make a movie but to be the number one listed actor on the call sheet. He might not ever get that chance again.   The film, by now titled Benny and Buford Meet the Bigoted Ghost, would shoot in Mexico City at Estudios America in the summer of 1984, before Hemsley was due back in Los Angeles to shoot the eleventh and what would be the final season of his show. But it would not be a normal shoot. In fact, there would be two different versions of the movie shot back to back. One, in English, would be directed by Lee Madden, which would hinge its comedy on the bumbling antics of its Black police officer, Buford, and his Hispanic partner, Benny. The other version would be shot in Spanish by Mexican director Miguel Rico, where the comedy would satirize class and social differences rather than racial differences. Hemsley would speak his lines in English, and would be dubbed by a Spanish-speaking actor in post production. Luis Ávalos, best known as Doctor Doolots on the PBS children's show The Electric Company, would play Benny. The only other name in the cast was boxing legend Smokin' Joe Frazier, who was making his proper acting debut on the film as, not too surprisingly, a boxer.   The film would have a four week shooting schedule, and Hemsley was back to work on The Jeffersons on time. Madden would get the film edited together rather quick, and the producers would have a screening for potential distributors in early October.   The screening did not go well.   Madden would be fired from the production, the script rewritten, and a new director named Herbert Strock would be hired to shoot more footage once Hemsley was done with his commitments to The Jeffersons in the spring of 1985. This is when Madden contacted the Directors Guild to request the Smithee pseudonym. But since the film was still in production, the DGA could not issue a judgment until the producers provided the Guild with a completed copy of the film.   That would happen in the late fall of 1985, and Madden was able to successfully show that he had directly a majority of the completed film but it did not represent his vision.   The film was not good, but Miramax still needed product to fill their distribution pipeline. They announced in mid-March of 1987 that they had acquired the film for distribution, and that the film would be opening in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Nashville, St. Louis, and Tampa-St. Petersburg FL the following week.    Miramax did not release how many theatres the film was playing in in those markets, and the only market Variety did track of those that week was St. Louis, where the film did $7k from the four theatres they were tracking that week. Best as I can tell from limited newspaper archives of the day, Ghost Fever played on nine screens in Atlanta, 4 in Dallas/Fort Worth, 25 screens in Miami, and 12 in Tampa-St. Pete on top of the four I can find in St. Louis. By the following week, every theatre that was playing Ghost Fever had dropped it.   The film would not open in any other markets until it opened on 16 screens in the greater Los Angeles metro region on September 11th. No theatres in Hollywood. No theatres in Westwood. No theatres in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica or any major theatre around, outside of the Palace Theatre downtown, a once stately theatre that had fallen into disrepair over the previous three decades. Once again, Miramax didn't release grosses for the run, none of the theatres playing the film were tracked by Variety that week, and all the playdates were gone after one week.   Today, you can find two slightly different copies of the film on a very popular video sharing website, one the theatrical cut, the other the home video cut. The home video cut is preceded by a quick history of the film, including a tidbit that Hemsley bankrolled $3m of the production himself, and that the film's failure almost made him bankrupt. I could not find any source to verify this, but there is possibly specious evidence to back up this claim. The producers of the film were able to make back the budget selling the film to home video company and cable movie channels around the world, and Hemsley would sue them in December 1987 for $3m claiming he was owed this amount from the profits and interest. It would take nine years to work its way through the court system, but a jury in March 1996 would award Hemsley $2.8m. The producers appealed, and an appellate court would uphold the verdict in April 1998.   One of the biggest indie film success stories of 1987 was Patricia Rozema's I've Heard the Mermaids Singing.   In the early 1980s, Rozema was working as an assistant producer on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation current affairs television show called The Journal. Although she enjoyed her work, she, like many of us, wanted to be a filmmaker. While working on The Journal, she started to write screenplays while taking a classes at a Toronto Polytechnic Institute on 16mm film production.   Now, one of the nicer things about the Canadian film industry is that there are a number of government-funded arts councils that help young independent Canadian filmmakers get their low budget films financed. But Rozema was having trouble getting her earliest ideas funded. Finally, in 1984, she was able to secure funding for Passion, a short film she had written about a documentary filmmaker who writes an extremely intimate letter to an unknown lover. Linda Griffiths, the star of John Sayles' 1983 film Lianna, plays the filmmaker, and Passion would go on to be nominated for Gold Hugo for Best Short Film at the 1985 Chicago Film Festival.   However, a negative review of the short film in The Globe and Mail, often called Canada's Newspaper of Record, would anger Rozema, and she would use that anger to write a new script, Polly, which would be a polemic against the Toronto elitist high art milieu and its merciless negative judgements towards newer artists. Polly, the lead character and narrator of the film, lives alone, has no friends, rides her bike around Toronto to take photographs of whatever strikes her fancy, and regularly indulges herself in whimsical fantasies. An employee for a temporary secretarial agency, Polly gets placed in a private art gallery. The gallery owner is having an off-again, on-again relationship with one her clients, a painter who has misgivings she is too young for the gallery owner and the owner too old for her.    Inspired by the young painter, Polly anonymously submits some of her photographs to the gallery, in the hopes of getting featured, but becomes depressed when the gallery owner, who does not know who took the photos, dismisses them in front of Polly, calling them “simple minded.” Polly quits the gallery and retreats to her apartment. When the painter sees the photographs, she presents herself as the photographer of them, and the pair start to pass them off as the younger artist's work, even after the gallery owner learns they are not of the painter's work. When Polly finds out about the fraud, she confronts the gallery owner, eventually throwing a cup of tea at the owner.   Soon thereafter, the gallery owner and the painter go to check up on Polly at her flat, where they discover more photos undeniable beauty, and the story ends with the three women in one of Polly's fantasies.   Rozema would work on the screenplay for Polly while she was working as a third assistant director on David Cronenberg's The Fly. During the writing process, which took about a year, Rozema would change the title from Polly to Polly's Progress to Polly's Interior Mind. When she would submit the script in June 1986 to the various Canadian arts foundations for funding, it would sent out with yet another new title, Oh, The Things I've Seen.   The first agency to come aboard the film was the Ontario Film Development Corporation, and soon thereafter, the National Film Board of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council would also join the funding operation, but the one council they desperately needed to fund the gap was Telefilm Canada, the Canadian government's principal instrument for supporting Canada's audiovisual industry. Telefilm Canada, at the time, had a reputation for being philosophically averse to low-budget, auteur-driven films, a point driven home directly by the administrator of the group at the time, who reportedly stomped out of a meeting concerning the making of this very film, purportedly declaring that Telefilm should not be financing these kind of minimalist, student films. Telefilm would reverse course when Rozema and her producer, Alexandra Raffé, agreed to bring on Don Haig, called “The Godfather of Canadian Cinema,” as an executive producer.   Side note: several months after the film completed shooting, Haig would win an Academy Award for producing a documentary about musician Artie Shaw.   Once they had their $350k budget, Rozema and Raffé got to work on pre-production. Money was tight on such an ambitious first feature. They had only $500 to help their casting agent identify potential actors for the film, although most of the cast would come from Rozema's friendships with them. They would cast thirty-year-old Sheila McCarthy, a first time film actress with only one television credit to her name, as Polly.   Shooting would begin in Toronto on September 24th, 1986 and go for four weeks, shooting completely in 16mm because they could not afford to shoot on 35mm. Once filming was completed, the National Film Board of Canada allowed Rozema use of their editing studio for free. When Rozema struggled with editing the film, the Film Board offered to pay for the consulting services of Ron Sanders, who had edited five of David Cronenberg's movies, including Scanners, Videodrome and The Fly, which Rozema gladly accepted.   After New Years 1987, Rozema has a rough cut of the film ready to show the various funding agencies. That edit of the film was only 65 minutes long, but went over very well with the viewers. So much so that the President of Cinephile Films, the Canadian movie distributor who also helped to fund the film, suggested that Rozema not only add another 15mins or so to the film wherever she could, but submit the film to the be entered in the Directors' Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. Rozema still needed to add that requested footage in, and finish the sound mix, but she agreed as long as she was able to complete the film by the time the Cannes programmers met in mid-March. She wouldn't quite make her self-imposed deadline, but the film would get selected for Cannes anyway. This time, she had an absolute deadline. The film had to be completed in time for Cannes.   Which would include needing to make a 35mm blow up of the 16mm print, and the production didn't have the money. Rozema and Raffé asked Telefilm Canada if they could have $40k for the print, but they were turned down.   Twice.   Someone suggested they speak with the foreign sales agent who acquired the rights to sell the film at Cannes. The sales agent not only agreed to the fund the cost from sales of the film to various territories that would be returned to the the various arts councils, but he would also create a press kit, translate the English-language script into French, make sure the print showing at Cannes would have French subtitles, and create the key art for the posters and other ads. Rozema would actually help to create the key art, a picture of Sheila McCarthy's head floating over a body of water, an image that approximately 80% of all buyers would use for their own posters and ads around the world.   By the time the film premiered in Cannes on May 10th, 1987, Rozema had changed the title once again, to I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. The title would be taken from a line in the T.S. Eliot poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, which she felt best represented the film.   But whatever it was titled, the two thousand people inside the theatre were mesmerized, and gave the film a six minute standing ovation. The festival quickly added four more screenings of the film, all of which sold out.   While a number of territories around the world had purchased the film before the premiere, the filmmakers bet big on themselves by waiting until after the world premiere to entertain offers from American distributors. Following the premiere, a number of companies made offers for the film. Miramax would be the highest, at $100,000, but the filmmakers said “no.” They kept the bidding going, until they got Miramax up to $350k, the full budget for the film. By the time the festival was done, the sales agent had booked more than $1.1m worth of sales. The film had earned back more than triple its cost before it ever opened on a single commercial screen.   Oh, and it also won Rozema the Prix de la Jeunesse (Pree do la Jza-naise), the Prize of the Youth, from the Directors Fortnight judges.   Miramax would schedule I've Heard the Mermaids Singing to open at the 68th Street Playhouse in New York City on September 11th, after screening at the Toronto Film Festival, then called The Festival of Festivals, the night before, and at the Telluride Film Festival the previous week. Miramax was so keen on the potential success of the film that they would buy their first ever full page newspaper, in the Sunday, September 6th New York Times Arts and Leisure section, which cost them $25k.   The critical and audience reactions in Toronto and Telluride matched the enthusiasm on the Croisette, which would translate to big box office its opening weekend. $40k, the best single screen gross in all Manhattan. While it would lose that crown to My Life as a Dog the following week, its $32k second weekend gross was still one of the best in the city. After three weekends in New York City, the film would have already grossed $100k. That weekend, the film would open at the Samuel Goldwyn West Pavilion Cinemas, where a $9,500 opening weekend gross was considered nice. Good word of mouth kept the grosses respectable for months, and after eight months in theatres, never playing in more than 27 theatres in any given week, the film would gross $1.4m in American theatres.   Ironically, the film did not go over as well in Rozema's home country, where it grossed a little less than half a million Canadian dollars, and didn't even play in the director's hometown due to a lack of theatres that were willing to play a “queer” movie, but once all was said and done, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing would end up with a worldwide gross of more than CAD$10m, a nearly 2500% return on the initial investment. Not only would part of those profits go back to the arts councils that helped fund the film, those profits would help fund the next group of independent Canadian filmmakers. And the film would become one of a growing number of films with LGBTQ lead characters whose success would break down the barriers some exhibitors had about playing non-straight movies.   The impact of this film on queer cinema and on Canadian cinema cannot be understated. In 1993, author Michael Posner spent the first twenty pages of his 250 plus page book Canadian Dreams discussing the history of the film, under the subtitle “The Little Film That Did.” And in 2014, author Julia Mendenhall wrote a 160 page book about the movie, with the subtitle “A Queer Film Classic.” You can find copies of both books on a popular web archive website, if you want to learn more.   Amazingly, for a company that would regularly take up to fourteen months between releases, Miramax would end 1987 with not one, not two, but three new titles in just the last six weeks of the year. Well, one that I can definitely place in theatres.   And here is where you just can't always trust the IMDb or Wikipedia by themselves.   The first alleged release of the three according to both sources, Riders on the Storm, was a wacky comedy featuring Dennis Hopper and Michael J. Polland, and supposedly opened in theatres on November 13th. Except it didn't. It did open in new York City on May 7th, 1988, in Los Angeles the following Friday. But we'll talk more about that movie on our next episode.   The second film of the alleged trifecta was Crazy Moon, a romantic comedy/drama from Canada that featured Keifer Sutherland as Brooks, a young man who finds love with Anne, a deaf girl working at a clothing store where Brooks and his brother are trying to steal a mannequin. Like I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, Crazy Moon would benefit from the support of several Canadian arts foundations including Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board of Canada.   In an unusual move, Miramax would release Crazy Moon on 18 screens in Los Angeles on December 11th, as part of an Oscar qualifying run. I say “unusual” because although in the 1980s, a movie that wanted to qualify for awards consideration had to play in at least one commercial movie theatre in Los Angeles for seven consecutive days before the end of the year, most distributors did just that: one movie theatre. They normally didn't do 18 screens including cities like Long Beach, Irvine and Upland.   It would, however, definitely be a one week run.   Despite a number of decent reviews, Los Angeles audiences were too busy doing plenty of other things to see Crazy Moon. Miramax, once again, didn't report grosses, but six of the eighteen theatres playing the film were being tracked by Variety, and the combined gross for those six theatres was $2,500.   It would not get any award nominations, and it would never open at another movie theatre.   The third film allegedly released by Miramax during the 1987 holiday season, The Magic Snowman, has a reported theatrical release date of December 22, 1987, according to the IMDb, which is also the date listed on the Wikipedia page for the list of movies Miramax released in the 1980s. I suspect this is a direct to video release for several reasons, the two most important ones being that December 22nd was a Tuesday, and back in the 1980s, most home video titles came out on Tuesdays, and that I cannot find a single playdate anywhere in the country around this date, even in the Weinstein's home town of Buffalo. In fact, the only mention of the words “magic snowman” together I can find for all of 1987 is a live performance of a show called The Magic Snowman in Peterborough, England in November 1987.   So now we are eight years into the history of Miramax, and they are starting to pick up some steam. Granted, Working Girls and I've Heard the Mermaids Singing wasn't going to get the company a major line of credit to start making films of their own, but it would help them with visibility amongst the independent and global film communities. These guys can open your films in America.   Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again next week, when we continue with story of Miramax Films, from 1988.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

This week, we continue out look back at the films released by Miramax in the 1980s, focusing on 1987. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT   From Los Angeles, California. The Entertainment Capital of the World. It's the 80s Movie Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   On this episode, we are continuing our miniseries on the movies released by Miramax Films in the 1980s, concentrating on their releases from 1987, the year Miramax would begin its climb towards the top of the independent distribution mountain.   The first film Miramax would release in 1987 was Lizzie Borden's Working Girls.   And yes, Lizzie Borden is her birth name. Sort of. Her name was originally Linda Elizabeth Borden, and at the age of eleven, when she learned about the infamous accused double murderer, she told her parents she wanted to only be addressed as Lizzie. At the age of 18, after graduating high school and heading off to the private women's liberal arts college Wellesley, she would legally change her name to Lizzie Borden.   After graduating with a fine arts degree, Borden would move to New York City, where she held a variety of jobs, including being both a painter and an art critic for the influential Artforum magazine, until she attended a retrospective of Jean-Luc Godard movies, when she was inspired to become a filmmaker herself.   Her first film, shot in 1974, was a documentary, Regrouping, about four female artists who were part of a collective that incorporated avant-garde techniques borrowed from performance art, as the collective slowly breaks apart. One of the four artists was a twenty-three year old painter who would later make film history herself as the first female director to win the Academy Award for Best Director, Kathryn Bigelow.    But Regrouping didn't get much attention when it was released in 1976, and it would take Borden five years to make her first dramatic narrative, Born in Flames, another movie which would also feature Ms. Bigelow in a supporting role. Borden would not only write, produce and direct this film about two different groups of feminists who operate pirate radio stations in New York City which ends with the bombing of the broadcast antenna atop the World Trade Center, she would also edit the film and act as one of the cinematographers. The film would become one of the first instances of Afrofuturism in film, and would become a cultural touchstone in 2016 when a restored print of the film screened around the world to great critical acclaim, and would tie for 243rd place in the 2022 Sight and Sound poll of The Greatest Films Ever Made. Other films that tied with include Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels, Woody Allen's Annie Hall, David Cronenberg's Videodrome, and Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. A   Yes, it's that good, and it would cost only $30k to produce.   But while Born in Flames wasn't recognized as revolutionary in 1983, it would help her raise $300k for her next movie, about the lives of sex workers in New York City. The idea would come to her while working on Born in Flames, as she became intrigued about prostitution after meeting some well-educated women on the film who worked a few shifts a week at a brothel to earn extra money or to pay for their education. Like many, her perception of prostitution were women who worked the streets, when in truth streetwalkers only accounted for about 15% of the business. During the writing of the script, she began visiting brothels in New York City and learned about the rituals involved in the business of selling sex, especially intrigued how many of the sex workers looked out for each other mentally, physically and hygienically.   Along with Sandra Kay, who would play one of the ladies of the night in the film, Borden worked up a script that didn't glamorize or grossly exaggerate the sex industry, avoiding such storytelling tropes as the hooker with a heart of gold or girls forced into prostitution due to extraordinary circumstances. Most of the ladies playing prostitutes were played by unknown actresses working off-Broadway, while the johns were non-actors recruited through word of mouth between Borden's friends and the occasional ad in one of the city's sex magazines.   Production on Working Girls would begin in March 1985, with many of the sets being built in Borden's loft in Manhattan, with moveable walls to accommodate whatever needed to be shot on any given day. While $300k would be ten times what she had on Born in Flames, Borden would stretch her budget to the max by still shooting in 16mm, in the hopes that the footage would look good enough should the finished film be purchased by a distributor and blown up to 35mm for theatrical exhibition.   After a month of shooting, which involved copious amounts of both male and female nudity, Borden would spend six months editing her film. By early 1986, she had a 91 minute cut ready to go, and she and her producer would submit the film to play at that year's Cannes Film Festival. While the film would not be selected to compete for the coveted Palme D'Or, it would be selected for the Directors' Fortnight, a parallel program that would also include Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy, Denys Arcand's The Decline of the American Empire, and Chantel Akerman's Golden Eighties.   The film would get into some trouble when it was invited to screen at the Toronto Film Festival a few months later. The movie would have to be approved by the Ontario Film and Video Review Board before being allowed to show at the festival. However, the board would not approve the film without two cuts, including one scene which depicted the quote unquote graphic manipulation of a man's genitalia by a woman. The festival, which had a long standing policy of not showing any movie that had been cut for censorship, would appeal the decision on behalf of the filmmakers. The Review Board denied the appeal, and the festival left the decision of whether to cut the two offending scenes to Borden. Of all the things I've researched about the film, one of the few things I could not find was whether or not Borden made the trims, but the film would play at the festival as scheduled.   After Toronto, Borden would field some offers from some of the smaller art house distributors, but none of the bigger independents or studio-affiliated “classics” divisions. For many, it was too sexual to be a straight art house film, while it wasn't graphic enough to be porn. The one person who did seem to best understand what Borden was going for was, no surprise in hindsight, Harvey Weinstein. Miramax would pick the film up for distribution in late 1986, and planned a February 1987 release.   What might be surprising to most who know about Harvey Weinstein, who would pick up the derisive nickname Harvey Scissorhands in a few years for his constant meddling in already completed films, actually suggested Borden add back in a few minutes of footage to balance out the sex with some lighter non-sex scenes. She would, along with making some last minute dialogue changes, before the film opened on February 5th, not in New York City or Los Angeles, the traditional launching pads for art house films, but at the Opera Plaza Cinema in San Francisco, where the film would do a decent $8k in its first three days.   Three weeks after opening at the Opera Plaza, Miramax would open the film at the 57th Street Playhouse in midtown Manhattan. Buoyed by some amazing reviews from the likes of Siskel and Ebert, Vincent Canby of the New York Times, and J. Hoberman of The Village Voice, Working Girls would gross an astounding $42k during its opening weekend. Two weeks later, it would open at the Samuel Goldwyn Westside Pavilion Cinemas, where it would bring in $17k its first weekend. It would continue to perform well in its major market exclusive runs. An ad in the April 8th, 1987 issue of Variety shows a new house record of $13,492 in its first week at the Ellis Cinema in Atlanta. $140k after five weeks in New York. $40k after three weeks at the Nickelodeon in Boston. $30k after three weeks at the Fine Arts in Chicago. $10k in its first week at the Guild in San Diego. $11k in just three days at the TLA in Philly.   Now, there's different numbers floating around about how much Working Girls made during its total theatrical run. Box Office Mojo says $1.77m, which is really good for a low budget independent film with no stars and featuring a subject still taboo to many in American today, let alone 37 years ago, but a late June 1987 issue of Billboard Magazine about some of the early film successes of the year, puts the gross for Working Girls at $3m.   If you want to check out Working Girls, the Criterion Collection put out an exceptional DVD and Blu-ray release in 2021, which includes a brand new 4K transfer of the film, and a commentary track featuring Borden, cinematographer Judy Irola, and actress Amanda Goodwin, amongst many bonus features. Highly recommended.   I've already spoken some about their next film, Ghost Fever, on our episode last year about the fake movie director Alan Smithee and all of his bad movies. For those who haven't listened to that episode yet and are unaware of who Alan Smithee wasn't, Alan Smithee was a pseudonym created by the Directors Guild in the late 1960s who could be assigned the directing credit of a movie whose real director felt the final cut of the film did not represent his or her vision. By the time Ghost Fever came around in 1987, it would be the 12th movie to be credited to Alan Smithee.   If you have listened to the Alan Smithee episode, you can go ahead and skip forward a couple minutes, but be forewarned, I am going to be offering up a different elaboration on the film than I did on that episode.   And away we go…   Those of us born in the 1960s and before remember a show called All in the Family, and we remember Archie Bunker's neighbors, George and Louise Jefferson, who were eventually spun off onto their own hit show, The Jeffersons. Sherman Hemsley played George Jefferson on All in the Family and The Jeffersons for 12 years, but despite the show being a hit for a number of years, placing as high as #3 during the 1981-1982 television season, roles for Hemsley and his co-star Isabel Sanford outside the show were few and far between. During the eleven seasons The Jeffersons ran on television, from 1975 to 1985, Sherman Hemsley would only make one movie, 1979's Love at First Bite, where he played a small role as a reverend. He appeared on the poster, but his name was not listed amongst the other actors on the poster.   So when the producers of the then-titled Benny and Beaufor approached Hemsley in the spring of 1984 to play one of the title roles, he was more than happy to accept. The Jeffersons was about to start its summer hiatus, and here was the chance to not only make a movie but to be the number one listed actor on the call sheet. He might not ever get that chance again.   The film, by now titled Benny and Buford Meet the Bigoted Ghost, would shoot in Mexico City at Estudios America in the summer of 1984, before Hemsley was due back in Los Angeles to shoot the eleventh and what would be the final season of his show. But it would not be a normal shoot. In fact, there would be two different versions of the movie shot back to back. One, in English, would be directed by Lee Madden, which would hinge its comedy on the bumbling antics of its Black police officer, Buford, and his Hispanic partner, Benny. The other version would be shot in Spanish by Mexican director Miguel Rico, where the comedy would satirize class and social differences rather than racial differences. Hemsley would speak his lines in English, and would be dubbed by a Spanish-speaking actor in post production. Luis Ávalos, best known as Doctor Doolots on the PBS children's show The Electric Company, would play Benny. The only other name in the cast was boxing legend Smokin' Joe Frazier, who was making his proper acting debut on the film as, not too surprisingly, a boxer.   The film would have a four week shooting schedule, and Hemsley was back to work on The Jeffersons on time. Madden would get the film edited together rather quick, and the producers would have a screening for potential distributors in early October.   The screening did not go well.   Madden would be fired from the production, the script rewritten, and a new director named Herbert Strock would be hired to shoot more footage once Hemsley was done with his commitments to The Jeffersons in the spring of 1985. This is when Madden contacted the Directors Guild to request the Smithee pseudonym. But since the film was still in production, the DGA could not issue a judgment until the producers provided the Guild with a completed copy of the film.   That would happen in the late fall of 1985, and Madden was able to successfully show that he had directly a majority of the completed film but it did not represent his vision.   The film was not good, but Miramax still needed product to fill their distribution pipeline. They announced in mid-March of 1987 that they had acquired the film for distribution, and that the film would be opening in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Nashville, St. Louis, and Tampa-St. Petersburg FL the following week.    Miramax did not release how many theatres the film was playing in in those markets, and the only market Variety did track of those that week was St. Louis, where the film did $7k from the four theatres they were tracking that week. Best as I can tell from limited newspaper archives of the day, Ghost Fever played on nine screens in Atlanta, 4 in Dallas/Fort Worth, 25 screens in Miami, and 12 in Tampa-St. Pete on top of the four I can find in St. Louis. By the following week, every theatre that was playing Ghost Fever had dropped it.   The film would not open in any other markets until it opened on 16 screens in the greater Los Angeles metro region on September 11th. No theatres in Hollywood. No theatres in Westwood. No theatres in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica or any major theatre around, outside of the Palace Theatre downtown, a once stately theatre that had fallen into disrepair over the previous three decades. Once again, Miramax didn't release grosses for the run, none of the theatres playing the film were tracked by Variety that week, and all the playdates were gone after one week.   Today, you can find two slightly different copies of the film on a very popular video sharing website, one the theatrical cut, the other the home video cut. The home video cut is preceded by a quick history of the film, including a tidbit that Hemsley bankrolled $3m of the production himself, and that the film's failure almost made him bankrupt. I could not find any source to verify this, but there is possibly specious evidence to back up this claim. The producers of the film were able to make back the budget selling the film to home video company and cable movie channels around the world, and Hemsley would sue them in December 1987 for $3m claiming he was owed this amount from the profits and interest. It would take nine years to work its way through the court system, but a jury in March 1996 would award Hemsley $2.8m. The producers appealed, and an appellate court would uphold the verdict in April 1998.   One of the biggest indie film success stories of 1987 was Patricia Rozema's I've Heard the Mermaids Singing.   In the early 1980s, Rozema was working as an assistant producer on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation current affairs television show called The Journal. Although she enjoyed her work, she, like many of us, wanted to be a filmmaker. While working on The Journal, she started to write screenplays while taking a classes at a Toronto Polytechnic Institute on 16mm film production.   Now, one of the nicer things about the Canadian film industry is that there are a number of government-funded arts councils that help young independent Canadian filmmakers get their low budget films financed. But Rozema was having trouble getting her earliest ideas funded. Finally, in 1984, she was able to secure funding for Passion, a short film she had written about a documentary filmmaker who writes an extremely intimate letter to an unknown lover. Linda Griffiths, the star of John Sayles' 1983 film Lianna, plays the filmmaker, and Passion would go on to be nominated for Gold Hugo for Best Short Film at the 1985 Chicago Film Festival.   However, a negative review of the short film in The Globe and Mail, often called Canada's Newspaper of Record, would anger Rozema, and she would use that anger to write a new script, Polly, which would be a polemic against the Toronto elitist high art milieu and its merciless negative judgements towards newer artists. Polly, the lead character and narrator of the film, lives alone, has no friends, rides her bike around Toronto to take photographs of whatever strikes her fancy, and regularly indulges herself in whimsical fantasies. An employee for a temporary secretarial agency, Polly gets placed in a private art gallery. The gallery owner is having an off-again, on-again relationship with one her clients, a painter who has misgivings she is too young for the gallery owner and the owner too old for her.    Inspired by the young painter, Polly anonymously submits some of her photographs to the gallery, in the hopes of getting featured, but becomes depressed when the gallery owner, who does not know who took the photos, dismisses them in front of Polly, calling them “simple minded.” Polly quits the gallery and retreats to her apartment. When the painter sees the photographs, she presents herself as the photographer of them, and the pair start to pass them off as the younger artist's work, even after the gallery owner learns they are not of the painter's work. When Polly finds out about the fraud, she confronts the gallery owner, eventually throwing a cup of tea at the owner.   Soon thereafter, the gallery owner and the painter go to check up on Polly at her flat, where they discover more photos undeniable beauty, and the story ends with the three women in one of Polly's fantasies.   Rozema would work on the screenplay for Polly while she was working as a third assistant director on David Cronenberg's The Fly. During the writing process, which took about a year, Rozema would change the title from Polly to Polly's Progress to Polly's Interior Mind. When she would submit the script in June 1986 to the various Canadian arts foundations for funding, it would sent out with yet another new title, Oh, The Things I've Seen.   The first agency to come aboard the film was the Ontario Film Development Corporation, and soon thereafter, the National Film Board of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council would also join the funding operation, but the one council they desperately needed to fund the gap was Telefilm Canada, the Canadian government's principal instrument for supporting Canada's audiovisual industry. Telefilm Canada, at the time, had a reputation for being philosophically averse to low-budget, auteur-driven films, a point driven home directly by the administrator of the group at the time, who reportedly stomped out of a meeting concerning the making of this very film, purportedly declaring that Telefilm should not be financing these kind of minimalist, student films. Telefilm would reverse course when Rozema and her producer, Alexandra Raffé, agreed to bring on Don Haig, called “The Godfather of Canadian Cinema,” as an executive producer.   Side note: several months after the film completed shooting, Haig would win an Academy Award for producing a documentary about musician Artie Shaw.   Once they had their $350k budget, Rozema and Raffé got to work on pre-production. Money was tight on such an ambitious first feature. They had only $500 to help their casting agent identify potential actors for the film, although most of the cast would come from Rozema's friendships with them. They would cast thirty-year-old Sheila McCarthy, a first time film actress with only one television credit to her name, as Polly.   Shooting would begin in Toronto on September 24th, 1986 and go for four weeks, shooting completely in 16mm because they could not afford to shoot on 35mm. Once filming was completed, the National Film Board of Canada allowed Rozema use of their editing studio for free. When Rozema struggled with editing the film, the Film Board offered to pay for the consulting services of Ron Sanders, who had edited five of David Cronenberg's movies, including Scanners, Videodrome and The Fly, which Rozema gladly accepted.   After New Years 1987, Rozema has a rough cut of the film ready to show the various funding agencies. That edit of the film was only 65 minutes long, but went over very well with the viewers. So much so that the President of Cinephile Films, the Canadian movie distributor who also helped to fund the film, suggested that Rozema not only add another 15mins or so to the film wherever she could, but submit the film to the be entered in the Directors' Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. Rozema still needed to add that requested footage in, and finish the sound mix, but she agreed as long as she was able to complete the film by the time the Cannes programmers met in mid-March. She wouldn't quite make her self-imposed deadline, but the film would get selected for Cannes anyway. This time, she had an absolute deadline. The film had to be completed in time for Cannes.   Which would include needing to make a 35mm blow up of the 16mm print, and the production didn't have the money. Rozema and Raffé asked Telefilm Canada if they could have $40k for the print, but they were turned down.   Twice.   Someone suggested they speak with the foreign sales agent who acquired the rights to sell the film at Cannes. The sales agent not only agreed to the fund the cost from sales of the film to various territories that would be returned to the the various arts councils, but he would also create a press kit, translate the English-language script into French, make sure the print showing at Cannes would have French subtitles, and create the key art for the posters and other ads. Rozema would actually help to create the key art, a picture of Sheila McCarthy's head floating over a body of water, an image that approximately 80% of all buyers would use for their own posters and ads around the world.   By the time the film premiered in Cannes on May 10th, 1987, Rozema had changed the title once again, to I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. The title would be taken from a line in the T.S. Eliot poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, which she felt best represented the film.   But whatever it was titled, the two thousand people inside the theatre were mesmerized, and gave the film a six minute standing ovation. The festival quickly added four more screenings of the film, all of which sold out.   While a number of territories around the world had purchased the film before the premiere, the filmmakers bet big on themselves by waiting until after the world premiere to entertain offers from American distributors. Following the premiere, a number of companies made offers for the film. Miramax would be the highest, at $100,000, but the filmmakers said “no.” They kept the bidding going, until they got Miramax up to $350k, the full budget for the film. By the time the festival was done, the sales agent had booked more than $1.1m worth of sales. The film had earned back more than triple its cost before it ever opened on a single commercial screen.   Oh, and it also won Rozema the Prix de la Jeunesse (Pree do la Jza-naise), the Prize of the Youth, from the Directors Fortnight judges.   Miramax would schedule I've Heard the Mermaids Singing to open at the 68th Street Playhouse in New York City on September 11th, after screening at the Toronto Film Festival, then called The Festival of Festivals, the night before, and at the Telluride Film Festival the previous week. Miramax was so keen on the potential success of the film that they would buy their first ever full page newspaper, in the Sunday, September 6th New York Times Arts and Leisure section, which cost them $25k.   The critical and audience reactions in Toronto and Telluride matched the enthusiasm on the Croisette, which would translate to big box office its opening weekend. $40k, the best single screen gross in all Manhattan. While it would lose that crown to My Life as a Dog the following week, its $32k second weekend gross was still one of the best in the city. After three weekends in New York City, the film would have already grossed $100k. That weekend, the film would open at the Samuel Goldwyn West Pavilion Cinemas, where a $9,500 opening weekend gross was considered nice. Good word of mouth kept the grosses respectable for months, and after eight months in theatres, never playing in more than 27 theatres in any given week, the film would gross $1.4m in American theatres.   Ironically, the film did not go over as well in Rozema's home country, where it grossed a little less than half a million Canadian dollars, and didn't even play in the director's hometown due to a lack of theatres that were willing to play a “queer” movie, but once all was said and done, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing would end up with a worldwide gross of more than CAD$10m, a nearly 2500% return on the initial investment. Not only would part of those profits go back to the arts councils that helped fund the film, those profits would help fund the next group of independent Canadian filmmakers. And the film would become one of a growing number of films with LGBTQ lead characters whose success would break down the barriers some exhibitors had about playing non-straight movies.   The impact of this film on queer cinema and on Canadian cinema cannot be understated. In 1993, author Michael Posner spent the first twenty pages of his 250 plus page book Canadian Dreams discussing the history of the film, under the subtitle “The Little Film That Did.” And in 2014, author Julia Mendenhall wrote a 160 page book about the movie, with the subtitle “A Queer Film Classic.” You can find copies of both books on a popular web archive website, if you want to learn more.   Amazingly, for a company that would regularly take up to fourteen months between releases, Miramax would end 1987 with not one, not two, but three new titles in just the last six weeks of the year. Well, one that I can definitely place in theatres.   And here is where you just can't always trust the IMDb or Wikipedia by themselves.   The first alleged release of the three according to both sources, Riders on the Storm, was a wacky comedy featuring Dennis Hopper and Michael J. Polland, and supposedly opened in theatres on November 13th. Except it didn't. It did open in new York City on May 7th, 1988, in Los Angeles the following Friday. But we'll talk more about that movie on our next episode.   The second film of the alleged trifecta was Crazy Moon, a romantic comedy/drama from Canada that featured Keifer Sutherland as Brooks, a young man who finds love with Anne, a deaf girl working at a clothing store where Brooks and his brother are trying to steal a mannequin. Like I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, Crazy Moon would benefit from the support of several Canadian arts foundations including Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board of Canada.   In an unusual move, Miramax would release Crazy Moon on 18 screens in Los Angeles on December 11th, as part of an Oscar qualifying run. I say “unusual” because although in the 1980s, a movie that wanted to qualify for awards consideration had to play in at least one commercial movie theatre in Los Angeles for seven consecutive days before the end of the year, most distributors did just that: one movie theatre. They normally didn't do 18 screens including cities like Long Beach, Irvine and Upland.   It would, however, definitely be a one week run.   Despite a number of decent reviews, Los Angeles audiences were too busy doing plenty of other things to see Crazy Moon. Miramax, once again, didn't report grosses, but six of the eighteen theatres playing the film were being tracked by Variety, and the combined gross for those six theatres was $2,500.   It would not get any award nominations, and it would never open at another movie theatre.   The third film allegedly released by Miramax during the 1987 holiday season, The Magic Snowman, has a reported theatrical release date of December 22, 1987, according to the IMDb, which is also the date listed on the Wikipedia page for the list of movies Miramax released in the 1980s. I suspect this is a direct to video release for several reasons, the two most important ones being that December 22nd was a Tuesday, and back in the 1980s, most home video titles came out on Tuesdays, and that I cannot find a single playdate anywhere in the country around this date, even in the Weinstein's home town of Buffalo. In fact, the only mention of the words “magic snowman” together I can find for all of 1987 is a live performance of a show called The Magic Snowman in Peterborough, England in November 1987.   So now we are eight years into the history of Miramax, and they are starting to pick up some steam. Granted, Working Girls and I've Heard the Mermaids Singing wasn't going to get the company a major line of credit to start making films of their own, but it would help them with visibility amongst the independent and global film communities. These guys can open your films in America.   Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again next week, when we continue with story of Miramax Films, from 1988.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

Paul and Mia sit down with director Sinéad O Shea to chat about her fascinating career and her stunning new feature documentary. Pray For Our Sinners tells the story of a group of citizens who resisted the status quo of systematic brutality against women and children when the Catholic church was at the height of its power in Ireland. We strongly urge you to catch this one in the cinema if you can. Also, tonight is the night of FNI's Spring Networking Event. https://app.eventsframe.com/app/event/5423978594172928/ Sinéad O' Shea's second feature documentary, Pray For Our Sinners, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival 2022 and won acclaim on the US festival circuit. It was a nominee for Best Documentary at Chicago Film Festival and winner of Best Documentary at the Hamptons Film Festival.    Sinéad's first feature documentary A Mother Brings her Son to be Shot premiered at CPH:DOX 2018 where it was nominated for a FACT Award and won worldwide acclaim.  She was named as one of the top 10 European female filmmakers to watch by the European Film Network and Screen International and has also directed and produced films with Al Jazeera English, BBC, Channel 4 and RTE. Her first short drama, Humblebrag premiered at London BFI Festival 2019.  Pray For Our Sinners is to be released nationwide in Ireland from April 21st.  FNI Wrapchat is Produced by PBL, Paul Webster and Edited and Mixed by Mark Monks in the heart of Dublin City Centre at the Podcast Studios. Check out Film Network Ireland at https://wearefni.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/filmnetworkireland https://twitter.com/fni_film Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul and Mia sit down with director Sinéad O Shea to chat about her fascinating career and her stunning new feature documentary. Pray For Our Sinners tells the story of a group of citizens who resisted the status quo of systematic brutality against women and children when the Catholic church was at the height of its power in Ireland. We strongly urge you to catch this one in the cinema if you can. Also, tonight is the night of FNI's Spring Networking Event. https://app.eventsframe.com/app/event/5423978594172928/ Sinéad O' Shea's second feature documentary, Pray For Our Sinners, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival 2022 and won acclaim on the US festival circuit. It was a nominee for Best Documentary at Chicago Film Festival and winner of Best Documentary at the Hamptons Film Festival.    Sinéad's first feature documentary A Mother Brings her Son to be Shot premiered at CPH:DOX 2018 where it was nominated for a FACT Award and won worldwide acclaim.  She was named as one of the top 10 European female filmmakers to watch by the European Film Network and Screen International and has also directed and produced films with Al Jazeera English, BBC, Channel 4 and RTE. Her first short drama, Humblebrag premiered at London BFI Festival 2019.  Pray For Our Sinners is to be released nationwide in Ireland from April 21st.  FNI Wrapchat is Produced by PBL, Paul Webster and Edited and Mixed by Mark Monks in the heart of Dublin City Centre at the Podcast Studios. Check out Film Network Ireland at https://wearefni.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/filmnetworkireland https://twitter.com/fni_film

The 58th annual Chicago International Film Festival closes out the fall fest season with screenings of highly anticipated titles from Sarah Polley, Rian Johnson, Martin McDonagh, Park Chan-wook, Noah Baumbach, and others. But with 90+ features playing over CIFF's ten days - many of them available via streaming - there are countless under-the-radar films worth checking out. Adam and Josh highlight some of those titles in their fest preview. Plus, a review of Anna Rose Holmer ("The Fits") and Saela Davis's GOD'S CREATURES, and listeners respond to our request to name the most quotable movie of the '80s. 0:00 - Billboard 1:03 - Preview: Chicago Int'l Film Festival 26:44 - Feedback: Quotable '80s Movies 41:24 - Next Week / Notes  51:09 - Massacre Theatre 59:19 - Review: “God's Creatures" 1:13:19 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode, Mari and Jeff discuss last month's Chicago International Film Festival, ranking their favorites and discussing the award potential of each.

The Gaming Hut axes of RPG design series turns toward setting for its next opposition, Canon vs. Open. Ken is back from the Chicago Film Festival to report on his findings in the Cinema Hut. In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, Tristan Zimmerman of the Molten Sulfur Blog talks up his game, Shanty […]

Michael is back from visiting John, who went back out on the road for this week's episode of the show. We talk about our time hanging out together and Michael's Chicago Film Festival trip before getting into Set It Up on this week's Movie Club.

It's hard to believe that Berlin is right around the corner, but we kick off this week by looking at the Euro fest's announced Jury President, M. Night Shyamalan, and what movies might be in the mix to compete for the Golden Bear. Then it's a visit to a local fest: Cullen has seen several virtual screenings at the Chicago Film Festival and he details the lows and highs. Finally, we ponder Todd Haynes and his new music documentary THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, getting into the sights, the sounds, and the writing credits of the former Palme D'Ollie winner's first foray into the world of documentaries. Our twitter is @CannesIKickIt Our letterboxd is CIKIPod Enjoying the show? Feel free to send a few bucks our way on Ko-fi. Thanks to Tree Related for our theme song Our hosts are @andytgerm @clatchley @imlaughalone @jcpglickwebber

On a chilly November night in 1987, Chicagoans watching the 9 p.m. news on WGN were met with a disturbing sight. They saw a person in a rubber mask bouncing in front of a spinning metallic background over some garbled sound. Two hours later, Doctor Who fans saw something similar on WTTW. Someone had hacked into the stations' broadcast signals. But to this day, we have no idea who did it…or why. The new film “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” was inspired by the real-life Max Headroom mystery. It stars Harry Shum Jr. and was directed by Jacob Gentry. Ahead of the film's theatrical release tomorrow, Shum and Gentry tell us why the incident remains fascinating for internet sleuths and why the videos are so unsettling. Guests: Harry Shum Jr. — Actor/Producer, “Broadcast Signal Intrusion" Jacob Gentry — Director, “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” is out in select theaters tomorrow. It's also one of the virtual offerings from the Chicago Film Festival, available through Sunday. A little bit of news, y'all: A public viewing for the late historian Timuel Black will take place today in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. The Chicago Public Library is screening Halloweentown I & II Saturday in the East Side neighborhood. Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicago Sign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fm

Love this episode! Producer/Director/Filmmaker REBECCA HALPERN joins "No Script, No Problem" to talk about her new documentary film: "Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter," which premieres 10/18/21 at the Chicago Film Festival.

In other news tonight: Mayor Lightfoot, FOP at odds over vaccine mandate; new documentary on Pete Pete Buttigieg debuts at Chicago Film Festival; former cop shop in northwest suburbs becoming a brew pub; and more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In other news tonight: Mayor Lightfoot, FOP at odds over vaccine mandate; new documentary on Pete Pete Buttigieg debuts at Chicago Film Festival; former cop shop in northwest suburbs becoming a brew pub; and more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In other news tonight: Mayor Lightfoot, FOP at odds over vaccine mandate; new documentary on Pete Pete Buttigieg debuts at Chicago Film Festival; former cop shop in northwest suburbs becoming a brew pub; and more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The day this episode drops, Michael's on his way to Chicago to visit John and attend the Chicago Film Festival. We talk about the weird reactions Michael gets about going to watch movies by himself, talk about obsessions with true crime and much more!

Director and producer Joe Winston joins Jon Hansen (filling-in for Steve Bertrand) on Chicago’s Afternoon News to talk about the worldwide premiere of Punch 9 For Harold Washington at the Chicago Film Festival. Follow Your Favorite Chicago’s Afternoon News Personalities on Twitter:Follow @SteveBertrand Follow @kpowell720 Follow @maryvandeveldeFollow @LaurenLapka

Michael is getting ready to head to Chicago to visit John (and go to the Chicago Film Festival), we talked about getting to go to games and then discussed 2005's Will Smith classic Hitch!  

In the Gaming Hut, beloved Patreon backer David Sowa asks us how to incorporate machine politics into an F20 game. Ken beckons us into the Cinema Hut to discuss his discoveries at this year’s virtual edition of the Chicago Film Festival. Ask Ken and Robin features a request from flinty Patreon backer to find the […]

In the Gaming Hut, beloved Patreon backer David Sowa asks us how to incorporate machine politics into an F20 game. Ken beckons us into the Cinema Hut to discuss his discoveries at this year’s virtual edition of the Chicago Film Festival. Ask Ken and Robin features a request from flinty Patreon backer to find the […]

In this week’s episode we are discussing Chicago Film Festival and FilmFest 919, giving you some of our mini reviews and early reactions for Farewell Amor, Uncle Frank, One Night in Miami, Summer of 85 and Rebecca. In the news we talk about: NY theatres opening and the effects on the industry. New release dates for MGM and Sony. Zach Snyder’s Cut: The Never-ending budget. We also discuss the trailer for Disney Animation Studios’ “Raya and the Last Dragon”. Don't miss out on the conversation! Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all the other popular podcast apps. Check our website for full reviews and updates at mreportpod.com and follow us on Twitter @MReportFilm and Instagram @MReportFilm

Loretta Sarah Todd and Face2Face host David Peck talk about Monkey Beach, indigenous storytelling, delicate spaces, narrative anchors, displacement and why it’s in the bones and blood.TrailerMore about the film hereSynopsis:Waking up in her East Van apartment nursing another hangover, Lisa (Grace Dove) is served notice by her cousin’s ghost (Sera-Lys McArthur), "Your family needs you." Reunited with her Haisla kin in Kitimaat Village, she realizes that she’s meant to save her brother (Joel Oulette) from a tragic fate she’s foreseen since childhood. Of course, there’s also the matter of contending with the mystical creatures lurking in the nearby woods. And so begins a captivating allegory about learning to coexist with both the ghosts that haunt us and spirits who might enlighten us.In bringing Eden Robinson’s beloved novel to the screen, Loretta S. Todd offers us a modern epic underpinned by themes that have long defined heroic journeys. Todd’s first feature narrative unfolds through a thrilling array of temporal shifts and stylistic flourishes. A film about reconnection with the land, its denizens and the secrets it holds, Monkey Beach is also a testament to Indigenous women’s ability to not just endure trials but emerge from them empowered.About Sarah:Female. Cree. Metis. White. Writes (been to Sundance Writer's Lab). Directs (many films, lots of festivals). Thinks (essays full of tersely cogent remarks or flamboyantly theoretical analysis). Produces (she understands the labyrinth). Challenges herself and others and makes things happen. And yes, she has many awards and accolades. Known for lyrical, expressionistic imagery combined with strong storytelling skills, Todd tells truths that are haunting, funny and real.Ms. Todd credits include award-winning documentaries, such as Forgotten Warriors, The People Go On and Hands of History, with the NFB of Canada, digital media work and television. She created, produced and directed Tansi! Nehiyawetan, a Cree children’s series on APTN. And, she created MyCree, a Cree language learning app – and which has over 20,000 downloads. Currently she is in production with Season 3 of Coyote’s Crazy Smart Science, the award-winning children’s series about Indigenous science. Ms. Todd was invited to speak at Kidscreen 2019 on the Indigenous Representation: Getting it Right Panel. And Coyote Science was also invited to MIPJr, on a panel on diversity in Canadian children's programming. And she created, produced, wrote and directed Skye and Chang, a martial arts sci-fi mash-up that one Best Drama at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco.This fall, Ms. Todd is releasing Monkey Beach, her first feature film based on the iconic Canadian novel by Eden Robinson, And she created Fierce Girls, a webseries and transmedia project for Indigenous girls about Indigenous girl superheroes. She is also in development with a new animated children's series called Nitanis & Skylar.Selected Festivals include: Toronto International Film Festival, American Indian Film Festival, Sundance Festival, Yamagata Documentary Festival, the Museum of Modern Art, Hot Docs, Vancouver Film Festival, Chicago Film Festival, etc, etc. Other significant honours for her work include the 2018 Women in Film Artistic Innovation Award, NYU Rockefeller Fellowship, participation at the Sundance Scriptwriter’s Lab, Mayor’s Awards for Media Arts (City of Vancouver), as well as numerous film awards, such as Best History Documentary at Hot Docs Festival, Special Jury Citation at Toronto International Film Festival, Best Documentary at the American Indian Festival, as well as awards from the Chicago Film Festival, Taos Talking Film Festival, Yorkton Film Festival – to name a few.In demand as a writer and lecturer on arts and media, Ms. Todd spoke at the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations, as well as other prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the American Indian and numerous conferences on Indigenous language to AI and Immersive technology. Her essays appear in many publications from MIT Press to UBC Press.Ms. Todd also initiated organizational change within cultural practice in Canada, helping to develop media training programs, reviewing policy through various committees and creating the IM4 Lab – a VR/AR Lab in collaboration with Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Recently she was chosen as a Lead Fellow to MIT, through the Indigenous Screen Office.Image Copyright and Credit: Sparrow and Crow Films and Sarah Loretta Todd.F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Taking influences from dreams rather than films, Michael Venus and Thomas Friedrich came up with the script for their film, "Sleep". The writer/director duo joins the boys this week to talk about their first feature film and the challenges of showcasing a film during a quarantine. In the intro, Randy talks Frederick Wiseman...again. Clark and Randy have differing views on Antonio Campos' new film and Russ covers "Eli Roth's History of Horror". NOTE: In the interview, there were connectivity issues with our guests. Randy did his finest and we are comfortable releasing it. Just giving you a heads up. Because I love you.   Sleep will have its US premiere at the Chicago Film Festival in October! Info at https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/    Films: City Hall (2020), The Rider (2017), Nomadland (2020), Cut Bank (2014), The Devil All the Time (2020), Eli Roth's History of Horror (2018), 12 Hour Shift (2020), Roman (2006), Antebellum (2020), Sleep (2020), Nekromatik (1987), The Shining (1980)   Listening on an iPhone? Don't forget to rate us on iTunes!   Fill our FeMail Bag by emailing us at Podcast@TheOverlookTheatre.com  Theme song by Darryl Blood - darrylblood.bandcamp.com/  Reach us on Instagram (@theoverlooktheatre)  Facebook (@theoverlookhour)  Twitter (@OverlookHour) 

Film festivals offer moviegoers a chance to see multiple offerings in myriad genres from countries all over the globe, featuring everything from little-known independent productions to Hollywood blockbusters. And so it is with my hometown event, the Chicago International Film Festival, which just recently completed its 55th edition. In this special edition of The Cinema Scribe, I'd like to briefly examine six of my favorites from this year's event.The Cinema Scribe is a bi-weekly show hosted by Author Brent Marchant. Brent will focus on a specific movie each week and use its context for explaining what some call "law of attraction" and what Brent calls "conscious creation". This is a perfect show for those who enjoy going to the movies and learning how to create our realities.Find more reviews at https://www.bringme2life.com/thecinemascribe

FrankieSense host Frankie PIcasso and The Good Media Networks Movie Critic Brent Marchant discuss movies from the Chicago Film Festival as well as Judy, Joker, Parasite and Jo Jo Rabbit.

PODCAST OF CHARLEY HELFERT – Podcast interview of Charley Helfert conducted by one of his former SMU students - Janielle Kastner, a Dallas-based playwright, podcaster, and performer. She is a proud Meadows Theatre alumnus (Class of ‘13). Charley Helfert joined SMU in 1970; retired in 2013 Professor Emeritus of Theatre: Charles (Charley) Helfert, Associate Professor of Theatre in Meadows School of the Arts, earned a B.A. from St. Norbert College and both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He joined SMU's theatre faculty in 1970. In his early years at SMU, he taught in the Meadows School's experimental arts program, which offered innovative children's classes both on campus and in the community. He was co-creator of a television series that won an award for children's programming at the Chicago Film Festival. Helfert served as both associate dean of Meadows School of the Arts and chair of the Division of Theatre. He has coordinated undergraduate recruiting for theatre during most of his tenure at SMU, and he has seen more than 40,000 high school actors in auditions. He helped theatre majors connect as teaching artists to the Dallas community through a collaborative class with Big Thought, a nonprofit organization that brings the arts to young people. He also taught classes on dramatic arts and creative dramatics within SMU's General Education curriculum. Helfert has been honored with SMU's "M" Award for outstanding service and the Meadows Foundation Distinguished Teaching Professorship. He retires as Professor Emeritus of Theatre.

Booth One's Frank Tourangeau and his husband, filmmaker Dan Pal, who serves as Booth One's film correspondent, have just returned from a trip to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and have much to report! They have been going to film festivals for many years, including several trips to Telluride, Sundance, Toronto, and our very own Chicago Fest. The Chicago Film Festival is happening from October 10 through October 21 at the AMC River East. They also share secrets about how to have a Booth One experience at a festival! Let's cut to the chase. Dan and Frank both LOVED a movie called Roma, written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron, which won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. A story about a domestic worker in Mexico City working for an upper middle-class family, it is said to be the most personal work of Cuaron's career. And also his best. It has a 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Dan, who says it's the best film he's seen this year, thinks it is a shoe-in for Best Foreign Film and also has a chance to win Best Picture. The actress playing the housekeeper has never been in a movie before. So many reasons we can't wait to see it! Frank and Dan saw 14 films in 5 days. The most thrilling thing for them is getting to see movies before anyone else does. Every director was there and did a Q & A. Lots of big time actors too. They shared their reviews and impressions about all the movies they saw, including: Ben is Back, directed by Peter Hedges and starring Julia Roberts & Lucas Hedges. Vox Lux starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law. (They did not like it.) If Beale Street Could Talk, based on a James Baldwin novel, adapted and directed by Oscar winner Barry Jenkins, made its world premiere at Toronto. Dan and Frank say it is an absolute stand-out. Very powerful and more dialogue driven than Moonlight. The score by Nicolas Britell is "spectacular!" One of the stars, Chicago actress Kiki Lane, was in Booth One favorite Byhalia, Mississippi and part of the ensemble of Definition Theatre Company. We are so excited for you. Go Kiki, go! While they weren't able to score tickets to A Star is Born, here's a fun photo of the stars in Toronto: Gary announces that sadly, the wonderful show public access television show, Theater Talk, has ended after 25 years. Because its station wanted to take over editorial control. :( And just after it won an Emmy award! Everyone who's anyone has appeared on Susan Haskins' great interview show, which we think has a lot in common with Booth One. Its last season was distributed to more than a hundred public television stations nationwide. Gary talks about an episode featuring James Grissom, an author who has written a great book called Follies of God: Tennessee Williams and the Women of the Fog, which is based on his many, many hours of conversation with the playwright about his close relationships with a number of women who influenced him.  Other films that are discussed in this episode: The Hummingbird Project starring Jesse Eisenberg The Front Runner with Hugh Jackman as politician Gary Hart Hotel Mumbai featuring Dev Patel and Armie Hammer. This American-Australian thriller was clearly Frank and Dan's front-running favorite. Gary and Frank attended opening night of Indecent at Victory Gardens Theatre, the Paula Vogal play with music, directed by local favorite Gary Griffin. Though they had a few reservations about the production, it's recommended as a piece of theatrical ingenuity and depth. And the Running now through November 4. Kiss of Death Andre Blay, who revolutionized the film industry by introducing the first consumer grade full-length movies on videocassette. His Magnetic Video Corporation created the Video Club of America where subscribers could buy a movie for about half the going retail price in stores. By 1987, home video was generating more revenue than movie-theater ticket sales. Mr. Blay was 81. Full Obit here.

On Today's Show:Democratic lawmakers are concerned about the U.S. military’s support of Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf States’... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

In this episode I’m joined again by my dear tantric brother Lawrence Lanoff. He shares his epic romance with cryptocurrency and blockchain technology leading up to his role in the groundbreaking Token AI platform. We discuss the potential for decentralizing sexuality with smart contracts, reputation algorithms, cryptocurrencies, and beyond. With healthy doses of techno-optimism and spiritual anarchism, we’re able to rejoice in visions of a sexier, freer, more abundant and accountable tantric future. Please follow up with Lawrence here: http://www.lawrencelanoff.com/ http://www.tokenai.io/index.php#TEAM About Lawrence: Lawrence is an award winning filmmaker, successful entrepreneur and early technology adopter who’s been investing in cryptocurrency since 2011. He has directed and produced 11 feature films. Lawrence led a production team that won a Chicago Film Festival award and a United Nations Global 500 Award for writing and creating the documentary “We Can Make a Difference”. Lawrence co-founded Lip Ink, generating upwards of $100mm in revenue and numerous product patents. Lawrence is a best selling author, world renowned life coach, and was a featured expert in Neil Strauss’ New York Times Bestseller “The Truth”. In addition, Lanoff has spent the last 15 years developing a new “theory of consciousness” that is an amalgamation of neuroscience and meditation. This unique perspective, when applied to machine learning, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, provides TokenAI valuable insights in product creation and development.

  Gather in the Gaming Hut but keep an eye on who might be creeping up on you with a knife or candlestick as we riff a cast of murder suspects. Ken then meets you in the Cinema Hut to report on what he saw at this year’s Chicago Film Festival. In Ask Ken and […]

This week I'm joined by Scott Smith, who co-wrote and directed 'Chasing the Blues,' which premieres this weekend at the Chicago Film Festival. He tells me about how he found himself writing and making films, how he met his co-writer Kevin Guilfoile and explains why he looks up to director Steven Soderbergh (it's not just because they have similar glasses). He also explains the film's storyline, talks about why blues is so central to the story and tells me what it's like to work with Jon Lovitz, Catch Scott, Jon and the film at the Chicago Film Festival!

Pancakes in Paris – Living the American Dream in France New York Times best-seller, Independent Booksellers Pick CraigCarlsonAuthor7 ABOUT CRAIG CARLSON With a background in journalism, Craig Carlson received a B.A. from the University of Connecticut. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles where he studied at the University of Southern California, receiving an M.A. in film production. After winning the prestigious John Huston Directing Award, Craig wrote and directed a short film, Wheel of Torture, which went on to win awards at the Chicago Film Festival as well as the Lucille Ball festival of comedy. In addition to being a produced screenwriter, Craig worked as a translator for Letters: Jean Renoir, a book on the famous French director. In 2003, Craig completely shifted gears and decided to open the first American diner in Paris, France. After more than a decade in business, Breakfast in America continues to serve authentic breakfasts and burgers to customers from all over the world. Pancakes in Paris is Craig’s debut memoir, with many more stories to follow. www.Breakfast-in-America.com www.PancakesInParis.com

Ain't It Cool News' Steve Prokopy stops by to talk about choice movies playing Chicago's premier film festival. But first, Erik Childress analyzes the disappointments of the fall box office and is then joined once again by Sergio Mims to talk new Blu-rays by Criterion, Olive Films, Warner Bros., Universal and HBO. 0:00:00 – 0:01:28 – Intro 0:01:28 – 0:27:19 – Box Office Numbers 0:27:19 – 1:35:49 – Blu-rays with Sergio Mims 1:35:49 – 2:47:22 – Chicago Film Festival with Steve Prokopy 2:47:22 – 2:50:25 – Outro

The Total Tutor Neil Haley will interview Marilu Henner of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.  With the energy of a teenager, the wisdom of a sage, and the memory of a superhero, Marilu Henner has deservedly earned the nickname "Perpetual Motion." Along with starring in over thirty films, six Broadway shows, and two hit classic sitcoms, Taxi and Evening Shade, this five-time Golden Globe nominee is also a New York Times best-selling author of 10 books on health, parenting, memory, and lifestyle improvement. Her books include the recent bestseller "Changing Normal: How I Helped My Husband Beat Cancer," "Total Memory Makeover," "Total Health Makeover," "Healthy Life Kitchen," "I Refuse to Raise a Brat" and "By All Means Keep On Moving," and have changed the lives of millions in her quest to make the world a healthier place. Marilu can currently be seen in the Hallmark series Aurora Teagarden, as well as the Hallmark Channel film Love on a Limb and can be seen in the upcoming the theatrical features In-Lawfully Yours and Imperfections, which will premiere at the Chicago Film Festival in October 2016. Marilu has hosted and executive produced two talk shows, Marilu and Shape Up Your Life, and as a two-time competitor on Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice All-Stars, Marilu played for her favorite charities, including The Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and the Alzheimer's Association. In fact, at PCRM's 25th Anniversary Gala, she was awarded their Voice of Compassion Award.    

Director Nate Parker came out of Sundance in January with an award-winning debut film and talk of being an Oscar front-runner. Things got more complicated over the summer when revelations about Parker’s past turned attention away from the film and onto him. Parker’s film THE BIRTH OF A NATION, about Nat Turner’s 1831 slave rebellion, opens this weekend. Adam and Josh have a review. Plus, their most anticipated titles playing this year's Chicago International Film Festival (Oct 13-27). 0:00-1:15 - Billboard 1:15-30:40 - Review: "Birth of a Nation" Chance the Rapper, "How Great" 31:53-44:22 - Notes / Massacre Theatre 44:22-47:12 - Top 5: CIFF Preview Chance the Rapper, "Blessings" 48:12-55:51 - Donations 55:51-1:24:02 - Top 5: CIFF Preview, cont. 1:24:02-1:27:31 - Close / Outtake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, Paco and George discuss the early days of LA's punk rock scene with tech podcaster/writer/founder Peter Rojas. We discuss the influence of college radio to the cult of personality around Darby Crash and pre YouTube digging for clues to the origins of punk.The Decline Movies were a Rosetta stone for many a suburban teen looking for alternatives of expression. Often referred to as a Rock ‘n Roll anthropologist, Penelope Spheeris worked as a waitress at Denny’s and IHOP to put herself through film school. A holder of a UCLA Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Arts, she worked as a film editor and a cinematographer before forming her own company in 1974. She produced, directed, and edited videos for major bands through the Seventies and Eighties, concluding her music video work with the Grammy nominated, Bohemian Rhapsody video for WAYNE’S WORLD. Spheeris’ feature film debut was the 1979 documentary on the Los Angeles punk scene, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION which received stunning and unanimous critical praise. The LAPD shut down Hollywood Boulevard and Chief of Police, Daryl Gates wrote a letter demanding the film not be shown again in L.A. Still fascinated with the subject of punk rock, she wrote and directed SURBURBIA, her first narrative film in 1983. It is a disturbing and somewhat prophetic story of rebellious, homeless kids squatting in abandoned houses, trying to make new families, and protecting one another. SUBURBIA won first place at the Chicago Film Festival. Almost 25 years later her documentary, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, PART III would eerily mirror the events she scripted in SUBURBIA. All three DECLINE movies plus a disc of extra footage were released as a DVD box set by Shout Factory! in 2015. https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/documentary/the-decline-of-western-civilization-collectionPeter Rojas created a few different sites, including Gizmodo (now part of Gawker Media), Engadget (now part of AOL), Joystiq (now part of AOL), RCRD LBL (joint venture with Downtown Music), and gdgt (now part of AOL). After all that he was VP of Strategy at AOL & Co-Director of AOL Alpha, the company's experimental product group. He also hosts the MVP podcast with Ryan Block.**Sup Doc has created a Patreon page for those that can help out. We will also be providing unique Sup Doc content for our contributors. If now is not good for you we always appreciate you listening and spreading the word about Sup Doc! http://www.patreon.com/supdocpodcast Special Thanks to our SUP DOC Patreon supporters, Angi Brzycki, Jaan Shenberger, and Veronica Belmont!Follow Peter Rojas on:Twitter: @peterrojasFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpdocastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.

Please do catch this rare opportunity as I interview the man behind the Oscar nominated The Act of Killing and the soon to be released The Look of Silence.Werner Herzog says, “I have not seen a film as powerful, surreal, and frightening in at least a decade… It is unprecedented in the history of cinema.” Join me as Joshua and I talk about what art is all about, why we have a responsibility not to despair, how he is trying to address the “most urgent questions” and about why he is still hopeful.BiographyBorn 1974, Texas, USA. Joshua Oppenheimer has worked for over a decade with militias, death squads and their victims to explore the relationship between political violence and the public imagination. Educated at Harvard and Central St Martins, London, his award-winning films include The Globalization Tapes (2003, co-directed with Christine Cynn), The Entire History of the Louisiana Purchase (1998, Gold Hugo, Chicago Film Festival), These Places We’ve Learned To Call Home (1996, Gold Spire, San Francisco Film Festival) and numerous shorts. Oppenheimer is Senior Researcher on the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Genocide and Genre project and has published widely on these themes.Filmography (Forthcoming)THE LOOK OF SILENCEFilmography (as Director)SHOW OF FORCE (short, 2007)THE GLOBALIZATION TAPES (documentary, co-directed with Christine Cynn, 2003)LAND OF ENCHANTMENT (short, co-directed with Christine Cynn, 2001)THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE (50 mins, 1997; Gold Hugo, Chicago Film Festival, 1998; Telluride Film Festival, 1997; Best Experimental Film, New England, 1998)THESE PLACES WE’VE LEARNED TO CALL HOME (short, 1997; Gold Spire, San Francisco FilmFestival, 1997) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Telluride, Venice, Toronto, New York… they’ve had their fun. Now it’s Chicago’s turn, as the Fall film festival season sweeps into the Windy City for the 51st annual Chicago International Film Fest. Josh and Adam—with the help of Chicago filmmaker Stephen Cone—sort through the fest's 130 feature titles to offer a few of their most anticipated screenings. Plus, a completely likable review of Ridley Scott's completely likable THE MARTIAN. This episode is brought to you by MUBI and Audible.com. :00-2:38 - Billboard / Squarespace 2:38-21:17 - Review: "The Martian" Music: Ne-Hi, "Turncoat" 22:29-24:42 - MUBI 24:42-37:50 - Notes / Polls 37:50-57:34 - Stephen Cone / Top 5: CIFF Preview Music: Ne-Hi, "Drag" 58:36-1:13:18 - CIFF Preview, cont. 1:13:18-1:16:51 - Close / Outtakes MUSIC - Ne-Hi LINKS - Josh's review of "The Martian" - Henry Gamble's Birthday Party - Phillips' profile of Stephen Cone - "Junun" on MUBI - Kent Jones' Selected Criticism - Top 5 Anticipated CIFF Movies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ken has returned from the Chicago Film Festival to regale the Cinema Hut with demonic pacts, ghost possession, a Kurdish western, and an unusually sympathetic take on the new Dario Argento flick. As prompted by George Pletz, Ask Ken and Robin considers the picaresque and floats various techniques for strictly episodic RPGing. In the Genre […]

If it’s late September, it must be time for Robin to exit bleary-eyed from the Lightbox theater and stumble into the Cinema Hut to regale us with his findings from the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Listen to Ken wish he had more crossover with the upcoming Chicago Film Festival, or follow along at home. […]

Live man-on-the-street coverage from the 45th Annual Chicago Film Festival with roving reporter Pat Diggs. Live from Chicago!