We Are Movie Geeks

Fantastic Fest 2014: NIGHTCRAWLER – The Review

His name may be Lou Bloom but a more accurate name for Jake Gyllenhaal would be the title of Dan Gilroy’s debut feature film. Lou is a creature of the night – like a wolf scrounging for scraps in order to survive another day. It isn’t until he discovers the seedy world of late-night accident and crime-reporting that he feels his skills are finally being utilized. By imitating fellow reporter Joe (Bill Paxton) and following the guidance of his new boss Nina (Rene Russo), Lou’s “business” begins to take-off. Soon he is hiring an assistant (Riz Ahmed) for his late night reporting and rising to the top above his competition. It isn’t until a deadly murder that he catches on tape that places his life and everyone around him in jeopardy.

With a shit-eating grin, greasy hair, and bulging eyes that showcase the character’s eagerness for fame and fortune, Gyllenhaal feels like the car accidents his character goes to examine – he’s a complete wreck but you don’t want to look away. It’s a role that demands attention and Gyllenhaal gives his all and then some into the role (apparently he needed stitches after a run-in with a bathroom mirror in one scene). Even through all of the animal like comparisons one can make to his character, there’s still a level of intelligence that is relayed through several thought-provoking monologues. Some of these speeches feel like your watching an infomercial as Lou sells himself as a hard worker and a businessman. In a filmic career filled with ups and downs, Gyllenhaal delivers his finest and most complex performance to date.

Rene Russo is in top form as well playing a news producer who is trying to maintain ratings amid stiff competition. She serves as a reflection to Lou’s character but in a way that’s somewhat disguised due to her more conventional status in society. They both pine for money even at the cost of sacrificing their moral code – which as the film progresses becomes even harder to gauge. Russo plays the part with intimidating gravitas. Her scenes where she plays opposite Gyllenhaal ignite the screen with even more sparks and fire than some of the on-screen car crashes. One scene in particular where the two “working professionals” go on a date to a Mexican restaurant feels ever the power struggle as each side tries to control the situation, leaving the audience to feel the tension while being in awe of the deft wordplay. Thankfully both actors are up to the challenge of creating characters that the audience can love to hate.

This is also due to a tight script by Dan Gilroy. After sharpening his teeth by working on more Hollywood fare like REAL STEEL and THE BOURNE LEGACY, Gilroy finally shows he can write something with bite. NIGHTCRAWLER imparts a healthy amount of social commentary into what is essentially a dark character study on the surface. It is through Lou’s journey into the depths of the crime world that Gilroy is able to speak about the dog-eat-dog world of business and the political slant of the media. Lou is constantly racing against the clock to be the first one on the crime scene so to beat out the other reporters. Gilroy uses this as a metaphor for the current business world and the struggle to get your foot in the door that so many young people face on an everyday basis. Once Lou finally gets his foot in the door the script unveils some of the dark secrets behind the “real stories” we watch every night on our televisions. Gilroy does have a tendency to shine an overly negative light on these players in order to get his point across, which some might see as a little too one-sided

Aside from the hard-hitting themes at times, the other element that makes its presence far too known is James Newton Hoawrd’s score. At times it utilizes tribal like drums to great effect, other times there’s violins or electronic sounds, while other times the score plays like a melodic almost contradictory joy to the macabre proceedings. Sadly, Howard’s score is one of the most distracting scores I have ever heard! There are times in the second half where it sets the tone of the film perfectly, but the first half is littered with a number of scenes where Howard tries out different styles with obnoxious results.

NIGHTCRAWLER reveals a world where everyone is either the hunter or the prey. It shows us that we are all animals at heart looking to not just better ourselves, but will ultimately do anything to get ahead of the pack. Gilroy stages his crime drama in a way that recalls 70’s films like NETWORK and THE CHINA SYNDROME with a dash of BLOW-UP. The film is unintentionally broken into two parts (Gilroy admitted to me in an interview that it was not necessarily written this way) by a gruesome event that happens halfway through the film that triggers a second half that ramps up the excitement. If the first hour or so shows how well Gilroy can handle dialogue, it’s the last 30 minutes that shows how confident he is in the directing seat. Intense, nail biting, and shocking, NIGHTCRAWLER delivers an explosive finale that will leave you shaken. Aside from a misguided score, NIGHTCRAWLER proves Gilroy is more than just a writer. In fact, he’s a director that isn’t afraid to venture into the dark of the night.

Overall score: 4 out of 5

NIGHTCRAWLER opens in theaters everywhere on October 31

Check Out The New Behind-The-Scenes Photos From INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3

Prepare yourself for the next chapter of INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3. Focus Features has released a slew of behind-the-scenes photos from the set of the upcoming film.

Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, the film stars Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell and Lin Shaye.

(l-r.) Actress Stefanie Scott confers with director/screenwriter Leigh Whannell.

(l-r.) Lin Shaye and Dermot Mulroney.

The first INSIDIOUS told the story of Josh and Renai Lambert and their son Dalton, confronting the demons that possess the young boy. It was released on April 1, 2011, and grossed $97 million worldwide.

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2, the terrifying sequel, followed the haunted Lambert family as they sought to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Ty Simpkins, and Barbara Hershey reprised their roles in the film directed by James Wan, who also directed the first installment. The film grossed $160 million worldwide.

Actress Stefanie Scott completes a take.

The crew of Insidious: Chapter 3 dresses the outside of Elise Rainier’s (Lin Shaye) house.

Actor Dermot Mulroney and director/screenwriter Leigh Whannell on the set.

This chilling prequel, set before the haunting of the Lambert family, reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl (Stefanie Scott) who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3 opens in theaters on May 29, 2015.

For more information:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsidiousMovie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InsidiousMovie
#Insidious

Production photos from the set(s).

Composer Steven Price Talks The Sounds, Themes And Heart Of FURY

Director David Ayer’s gripping World War 2 film, FURY, is now in cinemas and took in $23.5M at the box office to claim the #1 spot this weekend.

Over the course of 24 fateful hours, five men of the Sherman Tank “Fury” – Wardaddy, the commander; Boyd Swan, the gunner; Grady Travis, the loader; Trini Garcia, the driver; and Norman, the assistant driver – take on 300 enemy German troops in a desperate battle for survival. Ayer’s movie resonates with common themes of brotherly love, friendship, and trust.

The closing night film at the BFI London Film Festival, Sony Pictures’ FURY stars Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs, and Scott Eastwood. FURY opens in UK cinemas on October 22.

The creative behind the scenes artists are cinematographer Roman Vasyanov, production designer Andrew Menzies, film editors Dody Dorn, ACE and Jay Cassidy, ACE, costume designer Owen Thornton, and composer Steven Price.

Price’s haunting score is filled with machine-like sounds, Germanic chants and intimate themes. Last year, I spoke with the Academy Award winning composer prior to the release of Edgar Wright’s AT WORLD’S END and Alfonso Cuaron’s GRAVITY.

Just as Price did on his Oscar-winning score for GRAVITY, where the sounds of radio waves were incorporated into the score, Price was able to find a distinctive voice for the music of FURY by using unusual and unconventional instruments in a fusion with the orchestral, choral and solo writing featured throughout.

Having not slowed down since his Oscar win six months ago, WAMG recently discussed with Steven Price his work on FURY, collaborating with David Ayer and a trip to Downing Street.

WAMG: The last time we spoke at The Academy’s “Oscar Concert” you were Steven Price… composer. Now you’re Academy Award winner Steven Price.

I hope AMPAS continues every year with that concert.

Steven Price: That was one of the great memories for me from the week.

WAMG: Now you have FURY. I have to tell you, for those of us whose grandfathers served in WWII…

SP: I’m one of them too.

WAMG: It’s very personal. It’s very emotional.

SP: Absolutely! Certainly made me wish I had the presence of mind when they were around to ask them some questions. No one in my family ever discussed it.

WAMG: My grandfather was a survivor of a ship that was sunk in the English Channel on Christmas Eve 1944, recovered, and then kept trudging along up to Battle of the Bulge.

SP: You can only imagine what they must have gone through. It was never discussed for the next 30 years, as in my granddad’s case. Definitely makes you think.

WAMG: From the first note of the score, you don’t pull any punches. Did you read the script beforehand?

SP: Once again, I was involved quite early on. I got some of the script when they just started shooting. It turned out they were filming 40 minutes away from where I live, so I was on set a couple of times. I was able to watch a couple of scenes being shot and spent a bit of time with David Ayer. We were discussing it in October of last year which gave me lots of time to do research and working out how I was going to help tell David’s story with the score.

WAMG: What did you think of the set and location where David Ayer was shooting?

SP: It was remarkable. The first time I went, they were doing long shots on the first big battle of the film. Basically what you see in the film is what I drove into. Huge, big tanks with the troops lined up behind them – it was like entering a war zone. The explosions were real. No CGI. It was a very weird thing I drove into.

You got a sense at what David was going for – a real authenticity. When I met the man himself, you got the sense of this being a very honest look at a very dark time in the War. He told me, as he was hitting his stomach, “I want to feel, I want to feel.” That was the agreement we had, music-wise, to help take you on that kind of journey. It was clear from the start that it was going to be quite an emotional score to do.

WAMG: World War II Soldiers were in the rain, mud, and sleep-deprived. 1940’s War Movies were almost too clean, too sanitized. FURY is definitely not.

SP: It’s really very brutal and visceral in many ways. Every now and then I would see a scene and think, “was that real – that guy getting run over by a tank?” Ayer’s research on the photography of the time was incredible. He’s kind of a huge expert on military history of that time anyway, so there’s nothing there that’s gratuitous really. FURY is a small window on how horrible it was. It was hell basically.

In the film, the American tank column faces their most deadly threat: a German Tiger tank – ultimate tank of war. A Sherman really stood very little chance against a Tiger – it’s set up as a formidable weapon.

On this film, Price had access to recordings made on the set, and later, weapons, and parts of the tank itself were called back into duty as percussion equipment in the studio.

WAMG: You can hear a lot of different elements with your score, including the tanks, the metal and even the dogtags.

SP: One of the crucial ideas behind the score was this was a war of mass mechanization where everyone was building these machines to kill. You were there to kill your opponents before they killed you with these tanks. Within those tanks were the humans trudging forward and the guys in Fury who had been working together and living together for 3 or 4 years, were exhausted and broken down. It was a way of finding music that encompassed all of that.

The music constantly grinds forward. There’s metallic, grinding noises and some were derived from actual source recordings off the tanks themselves.

Then you’ve got the choir which is constantly chanting in German. The idea being there, whilst three weeks away from the end of the War, you assume for the Allies, victory was in sight, when actually they were surrounded in Nazi Germany. They were totally unsafe every single moment. The choir is the embodiment of evil – chanting sometimes far away, sometimes close whispering – with the constant unsettling presence.

The orchestra is carrying more emotional ideas, more character themes. All of those ideas to give the sense of the hell they’re in, in the midst of exhaustion and constant motion.

WAMG: The echoes of that Germanic chanting are chilling. When did you decide to utilize that effective theme?

SP: That was quite early on. One of the cues halfway through the film, one where they’re travelling in the tanks to the next horrible thing, I wanted this sense of threat and exhaustion. I fell upon the idea of this inhuman chanting, followed by the idea that it could be this German chanting where they’re constantly singing and reciting extracts from the Lutheran Bible. It has lots of references to invasion and the pain of war, so it felt kind of timeless and accurate to what we were doing.

Really until we got to the recording session for it, I wasn’t totally sure it was going to work. But I got it all set up in the studio with big charts and all of these phrases that I had selected and literally going through it cue by cue. With each scene, for this one we’re going to use this bit, and we did this through the whole thing. There are no emotions in their voices – it was meant to sound like this machine.

The first moment that we did it, there was a shiver in the control room. It felt very unnerving. It became a feature of the score from then on.

WAMG: You added some beautiful piano solos in two tracks – “Wardaddy” and particularly my favorite “Norman”.

SP: That was one of the earlier themes I wrote.

WAMG: Both just about bring you to tears. These themes and their relationship are the soul of the film. Both tracks are so pure.

SP: A lot of the work on the film was their relationship and introducing them at the very start. We don’t know Wardaddy – he’s very cold and abstract. As we see more aspects of him, that develops. When we first meet Norman, his theme is this skittish kind of thing. He’s very unsettled. His eyes are flickering around all over the place. He’s landed in this place he never expected to be. It’s only later in the film that he develops more of a sense of where he is and it’s there that his theme evolves.

WAMG: FURY is the closing night selection at the BFI Film Festival. Plus you’ll be making a special trip.

SP: My wife and I are off to Downing Street, which is something I never thought I’d say, for an Academy Event to initiate the new members. It’ll be a bit weird being in the home of British government.

WAMG: What was Oscar week like for you both?

SP: It was a totally surreal experience. It’s a lot longer than what you see at home. We were told at the start, it would be two and a half hours before they call your category. As the time went on, it became more surreal and after two hours into it, it became more amusing. I’ve seen the clip when the announcement is made and I’m still not totally convinced it’s me. I have very little recollection of it.

WAMG: And then they swoop you back stage.

SP: The room for the photos was the most blinding room I’ve ever been in. The whole thing was such a wonderful experience and a very fun night.

The FURY original motion picture soundtrack is available now from Varese Sarabande Records: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fury-original-motion-picture/id922668968

86th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, CA.

Listen to the soundtrack on Spotify.

Documentary Short Subject Hopefuls For 87th Oscars Narrowed To Eight

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 87th Academy Awards has been narrowed to eight films, of which three to five will earn Oscar nominations.

Voters from the Academy’s Documentary Branch viewed this year’s 58 eligible entries and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers for tabulation.

The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1,” Perry Films
“Joanna,” Wajda Studio
“Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace,” Show of Force
“The Lion’s Mouth Opens,” Tree Tree Tree
“One Child,” New York University
“Our Curse,” Warsaw Film School
“The Reaper (La Parka),” Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica
“White Earth,” Weary Traveler

The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1: DISTRICT VOICES Five Episode Series on YouTube

Lionsgate is teaming with Google to introduce DISTRICT VOICES, the latest campaign in Google’s Art, Copy & Code project to promote The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, the two companies announced today. Mockingjay – Part 1 is the third film in the global blockbuster Hunger Games franchise that has already grossed more than $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office.

DISTRICT VOICES is a five episode series on YouTube that brings to life Panem, the fictional world of The Hunger Games, through videos featuring popular YouTube creators. Each episode of the series was created with a different creator, whose channel content aligns with a specific industry from one of the districts of Panem.

The videos were concepted and developed with the team from the YouTube Space LA and filmed on location there, and around Los Angeles. They provide a window into an expanded world of The Hunger Games and deliver original content to the passionate fan bases of both the films and the individual YouTube creators. Presented as programming from CAPITOL TV, the government-sanctioned television network of The Hunger Games, DISTRICT VOICES is a leading example of how YouTube is emerging as the best place to reach the key 18-34 year-old audience.

Global fan communities are watching more than 9 billion hours of video each month on YouTube, and the creators who participated in DISTRICT VOICES have a combined base of over 4.9 million subscribers and more than 550 million video views.

“Our mission has always been to engage our Hunger Games fans in the most innovative and authentic ways possible,” said Lionsgate’s EVP of Digital Marketing Danielle De Palma. “We cannot think of a better partner than these incredible YouTube stars, who truly bring new content to life in the world of Panem and extend our storytelling to online audiences in exciting new directions.”

Google’s Art, Copy & Code is a series of projects that explore new ways for brands to connect with consumers through experiences that people love, remember and share. Said Google’s Director of Creative Partnerships, Ben Malbon: “YouTube is the best place to build a fanbase. This collaboration with Lionsgate showcases how brands can harness the power of Google and YouTube to reach their core audience when they are engaging with the content they are most passionate about and where they are spending the majority of their time.”

View the DISTRICT VOICES trailer now and tune-in to Capitol TV each day this week starting at 4pm ET/ 1pm PT:

Monday, October 20 – District 8: Rob Czar & Corinne Leigh, co-helmers of the ‘Threadbanger’ YouTube channel, show how to best make use of excess Peacekeeper armor.

Tuesday, October 21 – District 2: Shane Fazen, of the ‘fightTIPS’ YouTube channel, showcases the training and techniques required to be a Peacekeeper in Panem.

Wednesday, October 22 – District 5: Derek Muller, known for the mind-blowing experiments and scientific discussions on his YouTube channel ‘Veritasium’, demonstrates new ways in which the Capitol may generate its electricity in the future.

Thursday, October 23 – District 9: Jimmy Wong & Ashley Adams, best known for their ‘Feast of Fiction’ YouTube channel, demonstrate baking techniques from Panem’s Grain District.

Friday, October 24 – District 6: iJustine’s Justine Ezarik, gives a glimpse at the driving force that proudly supports the transportation needs of Panem’s vaunted Peacekeepers.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 opens in theatres everywhere on November 21.

The worldwide phenomenon of The Hunger Games continues to set the world on fire with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, which finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and a nation moved by her courage. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong, from an adaptation by Suzanne Collins and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the third in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has over 65 million copies in print in the U.S. alone.

Walt Disney Animation Studios Reveals Plans For CG-Animated Comedy-Adventure MOANA

Walt Disney Animation Studios revealed plans today for MOANA, a sweeping, CG-animated comedy-adventure about a spirited teenager on an impossible mission to fulfill her ancestors’ quest. In theaters in late 2016, the film is directed by the renowned filmmaking team of Ron Clements and John Musker (“The Little Mermaid,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “Aladdin”).

“John and I have partnered on so many films—from ‘The Little Mermaid’ to ‘Aladdin’ to ‘The Princess and the Frog,’” said Clements. “Creating ‘Moana’ is one of the great thrills of our career. It’s a big adventure set in this beautiful world of Oceania.”

In the ancient South Pacific world of Oceania, Moana, a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her incredible journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui, to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.

“Moana is indomitable, passionate and a dreamer with a unique connection to the ocean itself,” Musker said. “She’s the kind of character we all root for, and we can’t wait to introduce her to audiences.”

Win Tickets To The Advance Screening of NIGHTCRAWLER in St. Louis

NIGHTCRAWLER is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling — where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents.

Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.

From director Dan Gilroy, NIGHTCRAWLER will have you on the edge of your seat when it hits the big screen on Halloween, October 31st.

WAMG invites you to enter for a chance to win passes (Good for 2) to the advance screening of NIGHTCRAWLER on Tuesday, October 28th at 7PM in the St. Louis area. We will contact the winners by email.

Answer the following:

Jake Gyllenhaal played a NASA engineer in what film?

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.

2. ENTER YOUR NAME AND ANSWERS IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.

3. YOU MUST SUBMIT THE CORRECT ANSWER TO OUR QUESTION ABOVE TO WIN. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

Rated R

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightcrawlerMovie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/seenightcrawler
Instagram: http://instagram.com/nightcrawlermovie
#NightcrawlerMovie

James Newton Howard’s NIGHTCRAWLER score is available to pre-order on AMAZON and download on iTunes. Listen to a preview HERE.

Director Dan Gilroy and actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

GIVEAWAY: Win A SNOWPIERCER Prize Pack – Available on DVD & Blu-Ray October 21

SNOWPIERCER will be available on Blu-ray and DVD October 21, 2014. Visionary director Bong Joon Ho’s “enormously ambitious and visually stunning,” (Scott Foundas, Variety) film has been widely praised as “a superb masterpiece of science fiction” (MTV).

WAMG is giving away prizepacks to celebrate the film’s Blu-ray/DVD release.

Two (2) of our lucky readers will win –

Copy of the graphic novel that inspired the film
Snowpiercer buttons and stickers
Copy of the DVD

Read Jim Batts’ review HERE.

ENTER YOUR NAME AND E-MAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW. WE WILL CONTACT YOU IF YOU ARE A WINNER.

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES. NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.

2. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.

*Prizepacks are subject to change. No purchase necessary. Contest ends Friday, Nov. 7

Anchor Bay Entertainment and RADiUS are proud to announce the home entertainment release of the post-apocalyptic thriller, SNOWPIERCER. Chris Evans leads the all-star cast of Song Kang Ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ewen Bremner, John Hurt, and Ed Harris. RADiUS released the film theatrically on June 27, 2014.

A box office success, the film has amassed $4.4 million to date, making it one of the top ten highest grossing independent films of the year.

After a failed global-warming experiment, a post-apocalyptic Ice Age has killed off nearly all life on the planet. All that remains of humanity are the lucky few survivors that boarded the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe, powered by a sacred perpetual-motion engine. A class system has evolved aboard the train, fiercely dividing its population—but a revolution is brewing.

The lower-class passengers in the tail section stage an uprising, moving car-by-car up toward the front of the train, where the train’s creator and absolute authority resides in splendor. But unexpected circumstances lie in wait for humanity’s tenacious survivors…

SNOWPIERCER has a running time of 126 minutes and is rated R for violence, language and drug content. Blu-Ray and DVD special features include a Critics’ Commentary hosted by Scott Weinberg and a second disc jam-packed with special features comprised of The Birth of Snowpiercer, The Characters, Animated Prologue, Concept Art Galleries, Chris Evans & Tilda Swinton on Snowpiercer, The Train Brought to Life: Behind the Scenes of a Special Screening, and TRANSPERCENEIGE: From the Blank Page to the Black Screen.

For more information on the film, please visit TheSacredEngine.com

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW Midnights at The Tivoli This Weekend – and Next!

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW plays midnights at the Tivoli October 25-26 and November 1-2

They come wearing bustiers, corsets, and great gouts of eyeliner. And some women get into the act too! THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, the longest-running midnight and audience partici-(SAY IT!)-pation movie of them all, will play at Landmark’s Tivoli Theater in St. Louis over the next two weekends at midnight (October 24-25, October 31-November 1). The Tivoli does this every year and the shows are often sell-outs, so get your tickets early! The Tivoli does a great job of making ROCKY HORROR an interactive movie experience with a live “Shadow Cast” known as The Samauri Electricians who perform scenes during the movie and of course the audience is encouraged to respond to the on-screen action as well. The street party always starts early as attendees dressed as Frank N. Furter, Riff Raff, Magenta, and the gang line up outside the Tivoli hours before showtime and We Are Movie Geeks will be there to snap pics and help get the audience riled up. The Tivoli encourages folks to attend in costume, but does not allow outside props. They do sell an essential “prop bag” for only two dollars. The bag contains rice, toilet paper, Glow Sticks, Time Warp Fliers, Rubber Gloves, Noisemakers, Confetti, and everything you’ll need even if you’re a ROCKY HORROR “Virgin” experiencing the fun for the first time. I used to see ROCKY HORROR at the (now-defunct) Varsity theater down the street in the late 1970′s and not much has changed in 30+ years, my only observation being that this new generation of fans is even less inhibited and likes to show off more skin (not that I’m complaining – they’re in better shape!) We hope to see everyone at the Tivoli (6350 Delmar Boulevard) October 25-26 and November 1-2 at Midnight!

The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE

http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/st.louis/tivolitheatre.htm

Check back here at We Are Movie Geeks next week for some new photos of the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW Midnight show taking place this weekend

Here are some photos taken by the staff of We Are Movie Geeks at last year’s ROCKY HORROR festivities:

Trio of Movie-Related Authors at the 2014 Jewish Book Festival Next Month in St. Louis

What do actor Theodore Bikel, author Steven Pressman, who wrote the HBO Holocaust documentary Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus, and Tracey Davis, daughter of Sammy Davis Jr. and May Britt, have in common? They will all three be guests at this year’s St. Louis Jewish Book Festival! More than 49 writers make up this year’s lineup including award-winning producers, novelists, bakers, historians, and humorists – there’s something for everyone but We Are Movie Geeks is most interested in these three guests because of their contributions to cinema.

The venue is the Jewish Community Center – Staenberg Family Complex – 2 Millstone Campus Drive in St. Louis

Details and ticket info can be found at the Fest’s site HERE

http://www.stljewishbookfestival.org/index.html

Theodore Bikel will speak Sunday, November 2, at 7pm – Tickets are $40

It’s not mentioned in the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival press release, but Theodore Bikel co-starred in one of the scariest movie ever – I BURY THE LIVING. The 1958 shocker was about a director of a cemetery director (Richard Boone) who begins to believe that he can cause the deaths of living owners of burial plots by merely changing the push-pin color from white (living) to black (dead) on a large wall map of the cemetery that notes those plots. Theodore Bikel played Andy MacKee, the Groundskeeper Willie-esque caretaker of the cemetery. It’s one of those movies I saw on TV when I was about 7 years old that terrified me.

Theodore Bikel graces the stage of the 36th annual St. Louis Jewish Book Festival on the occasion of his 90th birthday year, a year in which he expanded his autobiography and stars in a new film, Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof, in which Theo has performed the role of Tevye more than 2,000 times! To define versatility is to capture the essence of Theo Bikel: the actor on stage, screen and television; the folksinger and guitarist; the author, lecturer and raconteur; and the activist and arts advocate.

Bikel’s career is illuminated by superior stage, screen and television portrayals. In London, he won acclaim playing the Russian Colonel in The Love Of Four Colonels, and on Broadway his roster of memorable performances includes Tonight In Samarkand, The Rope Dancers, The Lark and the original Broadway production of The Sound Of Music in which he created the role of Baron von Trapp. Bikel’s accomplished screen roles include The Defiant Ones (for which he received an Academy Award nomination), The African Queen, My Fair Lady, and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. Bikel’s television career in the United States spans some 35 years with roles in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Law and Order, Murder She Wrote, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and many others.

Born in 1924 in Vienna, Theo Bikel was thirteen when he and his parents left Austria for Palestine. Bikel is fluent in Hebrew, Yiddish and German, with a respectable command of English and French, too. He has recorded 20 albums, mostly for the Elektra label, and co-founded the Newport Folk Festival. Don’t miss this living legend!

Steven Pressman will speak Monday, November 10, 7:30pm – Tickets are $10

Steven Pressman is the author of 50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple’s Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany, the astonishing true story of how one American couple transported fifty Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Austria to America in 1939 – the single largest group of unaccompanied refugee children allowed into the United States. Pressman also wrote, directed, and produced the acclaimed HBO documentary about this heroic tale. Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus tells the story of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, a Jewish couple from Philadelphia who traveled to Nazi-controlled Vienna in spring 1939 to save a group of children. Amidst the impending horrors of the Holocaust, they put themselves in harm’s way to bring what would become the single largest-known group of children allowed into the U.S. during that time. Narrated by Alan Alda, with Mamie Gummer reading from the memoir of Mrs. Kraus, this documentary, co-presented by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, debuts on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Monday, April 8, on HBO.

Several years before he began filming in 2010, first-time filmmaker Steven Pressman received Eleanor Kraus’ unpublished memoir from his wife, Liz Perle, who was the Krauses’ granddaughter. Written decades earlier, the manuscript spelled out in rich detail the Krauses’ amazing mission. 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus weaves together excerpts from Eleanor’s journals, archival footage of Vienna and Berlin under Hitler’s rule and rare photographs of the children who would be rescued. In addition to interviews with Holocaust historians, including Paul Shapiro, director of the Center for Advanced Holocaust studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Krauses’ granddaughter, much of this bittersweet tale is told by some of the surviving children, who are now in their 70s and 80s.

Tracey Davis will speak Thursday, November 13, at 7:30pm – Tickets are $15

In the book Sammy Davis Jr., a personal Journey with My Father, Tracey Davis recounts her father’s adventures through the Rat Pack era and the extraordinary obstacles he overcame to become a 5’6”, 120-pound legend. Across six decades, Sammy packed in more than forty albums, seven Broadway shows, twenty-three films, and countless concert performances. This uniquely intimate book includes rare family photos and a compelling narrative based on conversations between father and daughter.

Davis will be interviewed by Dennis Owsley, radio host, KWMU 90.7.

Congratulations to the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival for scoring such a fine trio of movie-related guests for this year’s event and in the meantime, go check out I BURY THE LIVING!

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