Results tagged “tribecafilmfestival”

Back in July, following many years of debate over its future, some new plans for Pier 57 were unveiled.

There was a futile rush-ticket line stretching halfway down the block outside the Director's Guild Theatre on 57th Street last night for the New York premiere of Spike Lee's Passing Strange, which documents the critically acclaimed rock musical using a concert-doc aesthetic not unlike Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense. Tickets to the extremely sold-out Tribeca Film Festival screening were exclusively offered to American Express Cardmembers, but Passing Strange fans shut out last night will at least be able to see it on TV; in a post-show discussion last night, Lee revealed that the film will be broadcast on PBS's Great Performances series, and he added that a theatrical distribution may be in the works. (There is also a second and final screening tonight as part of TFF.)

Set over the course of one weekend in the posh restaurants, hotels and bars of Manhattan, The Girlfriend Experience explores the inner life of a young, high-price call girl as she tries to balance her fraught career path with her seemingly typical long-term relationship with a personal trainer. The action, so to speak, takes place in October 2008—with the financial industry in free-fall, Chelsea, the escort in question, spends less time between the sheets than she does listening to various affluent white guys completely freak out about the economy.

Last night the famous technology pioneer, best-selling author, and controversial prophet Ray Kurzweil participated in a lively discussion with Robert Krulwich (cohost of WNYC's Radiolab) after a screening of the documentary Transcendent Man at the Tribeca Film Festival. The thought-provoking film is both a fascinating character study of Kurzweil, who is obviously a genius, and an entertaining look at the heated debate over where biotechnology and artificial intelligence is taking us.

In 2005 filmmaker Marshall Curry was nominated for an Academy Award for his documentary Street Fight. He recalls his moment of television glory on the big night being when he was "almost hit in the head with a stuffed penguin as the March of the Penguins guys squeezed by on their way to the stage." Now he's back for another round with his new documentary Racing Dreams, currently screening at Tribeca Film Festival. Delving into the world of 11 to 13 year old World Karting Association auto racers (the prequel to NASCAR), the subject matter couldn't be further from downtown New York. Recently the Brooklynite told us about the film, the Oscars, and having his hands on some works-in-progress by The National.

It's been seven years since the Tribeca Film Festival emerged from the devastation of 9/11, and during that time it's grown from celebrity-cultivated urban renewal project into one of the most anticipated cultural events of the year—not just in the neighborhood it was created to help, but throughout New York City and beyond. The big name items this year include the festival opener, the world premiere of Woody Allen's Whatever Works; the premiere of Steven Soderbergh's new film, Girlfriend Experience (starring gifted porn star Sasha Grey!); and the New York premiere of Spike Lee's Passing Strange.

Alexandra Patsavas may be known by some for bringing The Flaming Lips to the Peach Pit After Dark in the 90210 zip code (video). Since then she's been soundtracking shows like The O.C., Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girl -- but her talents extend beyond the small screen. She also just launched her own label, Chop Shop Records; and this year she brings Breaking the Band back to the Tribeca Film Festival. The concert takes place at Webster Hall tonight, and features bands like Bad Veins and The Hold Steady.

It's a long way from MASH to Ocean's 13, but Brooklyn's own Elliott Gould is still in the game, doing everything from the voice of God in the animated Ten Commandments to a forthcoming movie called The Deal, in which he shares the screen with William H. Macy and LL Cool J. The six-time host of Saturday Night Live was back in town over the weekend for the premiere of The Caller at the Tribeca Film Festival.

               

The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival begins April 23rd and runs through May 4th, with over 200 feature length narrative films, documentaries and shorts from around the world. This year also features discussions with filmmakers, music events, a family film series, an ESPN Sports Film Festival and other special presentations. Check out last week's preview of some of the narrative feature films in the festival, or brave the entire program of films.)

              

The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival begins April 23rd and runs through May 4th, with over 200 feature length narrative films, documentaries and shorts from around the world. This year also features discussions with filmmakers, music events, a family film series, an ESPN Sports Film Festival and other special presentations. (Peruse the entire selection of films.)

It was supposed to be an afternoon on the football field during a match-up between the Wadleigh Harlem Hellfighters and McKee/Staten Island Tech Seagulls. Unfortunately, it turned into a terrible day, as the Harlem team found the message "Y'all n-----s suck MSIT" written in black marker on their sideline bench.

Last night at Irving Plaza, Andrew "William Ocean" Litz became the 2007 US Air Guitar Champion. Ocean, who lives in New York City, used his home-field advantage to...his advantage. He had several of his supporters in the crowd to aid his performances - throwing water in the air (like an ocean, we suppose) and supporting him as he crowdsurfed. Ocean's moves were enough to move him from 2nd place entering the finals/compulsory round. He defeated 14 other air guitarists that qualified in regional US Air Guitar events, including 2006 US Champion Craig ‘Hott Lixx Hulahan’ Billmeier and Fatima "Rockness Fucking Monster" Hoang, who was in first entering the finals.

), who've been filming Christo and Jean-Claude's work since in the '70s. They were there with their cameras in '79 when the artists first pitched their idea to the city of installing hundreds of orange gates throughout the park for two weeks in winter. To hear the nay sayers shooting the idea down originally and then to see footage of the rapturous crowds in 2005, is to understand just a little bit better Christo and Jean-Claude's tremendous artistic vision. Ultimately they insist they do their work for themselves alone, but to be reminded how public art enriches our city dwelling experience is really inspiring. We see the gates drawn on photographs, fabricated, constructed, unfurled and then enjoyed against the backdrop of a lush snow storm. Gates from up above, from far away and then from close up--this movie is a gates-gasm. While some of the extensive footage of the orange sails flapping in the winter winds does drag in spots, it's still some very lovely camera work. Maysles and his co-director Antonio Ferrara have done a wonderful job of documenting that particular moment in New York for posterity.

Has the Tribeca Film Festival been using 9/11 as way to garner publicity and interest in their event? NYMag reports that an anonymous emailer sent out a press release today "accusing the Tribeca Film Festival of lying when they claim that Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, and Craig Hatkoff founded the festival in response to the 9/11 attacks."

This was the first film to shut down West 32nd and use it as a backdrop. I think it was very exciting for them to see something like this happening. It was a bit of a mad house at one point when we had Jun Ho Jeong (who is a big star in Korea and has a cameo in this film) show up. That was probably the biggest problem with crowd control we had. I think there were a lot of non-Koreans who came by and saw what was going on and had no idea why everyone was flocking this one Korean guy and then it exploded even more once those people realized John Cho () were there. We really energized three under represented parts of society – Koreans, stoners and sci-fi geeks.

SALE: Our recent interviewees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are having a plant sale today and tomorrow. With .50 cent plants for kids and "new and exclusive varieties [of plants] from Monrovia Growers" for adults. Tomorrow at 10am there's a "Houseplants for Sun or Shade: guided shopping trip," so that may be a good time to go!

THEATER: Biography is a largely forgotten 1932 comedy by S. N. Behrman, who wrote witty and flattering plays for high society. In the Pearl Theatre’s current revival, Carolyn McCormick (Law & Order) plays Marion Froude, a free-spirited, liberated lady in her 40s who draws heat when she decides to write a tell-all about her eccentric life. One of the colorful characters from her past who dreads the exposure is a U.S. Senate hopeful; sparks fly when Ms. Froude refuses to self-edit. Martin Denton calls it “a delightful, giddy, smart screwball comedy of ideas.” - John Del Signore

In the masses of offerings at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, there's quite a few strong New York-centric selections both in and out of competition to seek out. Granted at $25-$14 per, tickets for the festival don't come cheap, so if you're going to see something at the fest make it a local joint.

Are Robert DeNiro and David Bowie battling it out in a sort of festival turf war? Though both turned up at the Vanity Fair party thrown in honor of New York's Tribeca Film Festival - it seems there's some animosity in the air...or at least in the press. Bowie's High Line Festival begins on May 9th, just three days after DeNiro's Tribeca Film Festival ends. NY Mag describes the difference between the two:

We've got a few pairs of passes to give away to the following Tribeca Film Festival events, and we want to give them to you...

PARTY: The L Magazine celebrates their fourth year and 100th issue tonight at their Fourth-Annual Centennial Party. There will be complimentary tequila and goodies from Brooklyn Industries and Crumpler. Come, drink, celebrate and don't think about the hangover you'll have tomorrow.

"It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York. I'm stupid about executions. The idea of being electrocuted makes me sick, and that's all there was to read about in the papers - goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street corner and at the fusty, peanut-smelling mouth of every subway. It had nothing to do with me, but I couldn't help wondering what it would be like, being burned alive all along your nerves.

Mayor Bloomberg and former Vice President Al Gore were on hand for the kick-off of this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Gore and Bloomberg traded compliments: Gore said that the mayor's congesting pricing initiative was "gutsy" and when asked if presidential candidates were talking about environmental issues, Gore said, "Well, I think Mike is." And the AP reported, "The mayor, standing to Gore's right, turned red and laughed."

Hopefully you've been loading up on electrolytes and getting plenty of sleep because the Tribeca Film Festival begins tonight, and boy is it a jam-packed 12 days to come. With 41 countries represented and over two hundred feature as well as short films, this year's Tribeca Film Festival is an impressive (and frankly, a touch overwhelming) array of movie treats. While the fest was started in 2002 as a boost for the depressed downtown area, the festivities have now taken over the whole city screening movies at 17 locations from the Upper West Side down to the Financial district and loads of places in between.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a double shooting on St. Johns Pl. in Brooklyn, a collapse on Grant Ave. in the Bronx, and a barricaded emotionally disturbed person on 102nd St. in Queens.
• Like Robert Moses in reverse, Mayor Bloomberg wants highways to give way to housing by covering roads like the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, as well as rail yards, and constructing housing above them. New York's own Big Dig?
• Ricki Lake's documentary, which is debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival, includes scenes of her giving birth in the bathtub in her West Village apartment. She made her assistant clean the tub afterwards, because there's natural and then there's just gross.
• Attractive adult NYC virgins talk about their decisions to not go all the way in a slideshow presentation.
• NY1 political reporter Dominic Carter requested his mother's medical records after her death. Unbeknownst to him, Carter's mother was a paranoid schizophrenic who once choked him and thought about throwing him out a window when he was a child.
• A Brooklyn yeshiva is serving eviction notices to the residents––many elderly and disabled––of a property it owns to make way for a studyhall and more classrooms.
• 13 miles of mostly straight, flat NY highway that is the site of a disproportionate number of fatal crashes.
• NJ Governor Jon Corzine may just stay in bed and run the state better, faster, and without ribbon cuttings, via video. We have the technology.
• The City Council voted to override Mayor Bloomberg's vetoes on a metal bat ban and pedicab-limiting regulations.

The Tribeca Film Festival is starting this Wednesday night, so you still have a few days to get your tickets and make dinner reservations. The New York Times gave a few local suggestions including Dennis Foy, Mai House, and Turks and Frogs. Cercle Rouge is offering a prix fixe, three-course menus for lunch ($19.95) and for dinner from 4 - 7 p.m. ($34.95), just for the occasion.

The wedding season is in full swing: Second week in a row where there are over 30 weddings in the NY Times Weddings & Celebrations section. Here we go:

In the Seinfeld episode "The Fire", Jerry is furious at a woman Kramer brings to a performance, who heckles him incessantly during his act. Her words succinctly describe the ethos of the heckler: "Well, that's the way I express myself. How are you gonna make it in this business if you can't take it?"