The Screening Room

When it comes to art films, Dallas is truly blessed. We have not one but two Angelika theaters, plus the Magnolia, plus the Inwood. Truly an embarrassment of riches. At the risk of offending those of you who dig such commercial fare as Miss March, I contend that art houses offer the best cinema by far. We're also in a cool position these days when it comes to film festivals. We have the AFI Dallas International Film Festival, the Dallas Video Festival and the Jewish Film Festival of Dallas, whose season opens at 9 p.m. Saturday at Studio Movie Grill Dallas. I have seen all eight movies in this year's festival, and they're terrific. More than that, however, I want to commend the 18 people who screen the movies under the direction of Trace Ordiway, who, along with his wife, Lori, volunteers his services to the Jewish Community Center of Dallas. They also deserve credit for their artistic bravery. (Please click below to read on!)

Photo: Secular Jewish boy from Moscow falls in love with Orthodox Jewish girl in the Romeo-and-Juliet-like story at the heart of A Touch Away

It was December 1971. I was spending the holidays in New York City, where I decided to go to the opening night of a new movie set in Texas, titled The Last Picture Show. As a native Texan, it blew me away. I had no idea what a national sensation it would become, launching the careers of Cybill Shepherd, Timothy Bottoms and Jeff Bridges and giving director Peter Bogdanovich his best film ever. And no one, of course, can underestimate the genius of author Larry McMurtry, who wrote the novel in 1966. It was "lovingly dedicated" to McMurtry's hometown, Archer City, where the movie was filmed. He co-wrote the screenplay with Bogdanovich, earning the pair one of the film's eight Oscar nominations. And that's why Thursday night's screening of The Last Picture Show, and post-film discussion with Bogdanovich at the Nasher Sculpture Center, was so memorable. It proved to be one of the highlights of the AFI Dallas International Film Festival and served as a sublime beginning to the Nasher's new series, Free Films on First Thursdays. (See previous Playlist item for further details on the series and click below to read on!)

Photo: Peter Bogdanovich

You only have a few more hours to get over to the Nasher Sculpture Center to see the Hollywood classic The Last Picture Show, filmed in Archer City, Texas, the hometown of author Larry McMurtry, who wrote the novel from which the movie was made. He also co-authored the screenplay with director Peter Bogdanovich, who will be at the Nasher. Actor Timothy Bottoms was supposed to be there, but I'm told he won't be able to make it. It's all part of a new program, in which a Hollywood classic will be screened at the Nasher on the first Thursday of each month. Upcoming movies include The Graduate (May 7); M*A*S*H* (June 4), Jaws (July 2), The Grapes of Wrath (Aug. 6), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Sept. 3), The Maltese Falcon (Oct. 1), All the President's Men (Nov. 5) and It's a Wonderful Life (Dec. 3). Tonight's presentation will include dining and cocktails at the Nasher Cafe by Wolfgang Puck beginning at 5 p.m., followed by a "film chat" with WFAA-TV (Channel 8) movie critic Gary Cogill from 6:30 to 7. The "movie introduction" takes place at 7, followed by the screening from 7 to 9. From 9 to 9:30, there will be a post-film discussion with the special guest, Bogdanovich. Wonder how many people will ask not about The Last Picture Show but about his recurring role on The Sopranos as Dr. Melfi's psychiatrist.

Photo: Cybill Shepherd in a scene from The Last Picture Show

Along with the best-bet trailers and other tidbits over at Quick's Nightlife blog, we've just posted a Q&A with smart-as-a-whip Dallas native Keven McAlester. His documentary The Dungeon Masters -- about adults who are crazy for Dungeons & Dragons -- will screen today and tomorrow at AFI. See you there?

Today on Quick's Nightlife blog, we have reviews of Say My Name, 500 Days of Summer, Hellcats and more. We talk to Tony Wann, one of the editors of the insanely compelling documentary about 1968, One Nation. And the main event? A fascinating Q&A with Doug Pray, the director of Art & Copy (which screens tonight and tomorrow). Join us!

The must-see film today is Valentino: The Last Emperor. The documentary about the fashior designer legend is a fascinating study for reasons that go way beyond fashion. There's the beautiful love story between Valentino Garavani and his lifelong partner. But most of all, there is the chronicling of a life and world that will be gone once the people in it have passed. You see this group of older women who have been with Valentino from the beginning, hand stitching his creations. Their art and craft will die with them. Valentino, meanwhile, lives like some renaissance king. You can't believe this is the 21st century.

Great stuff and this is likely your only chance to see it on the big screen in a theater full of people.

Valentino: The Last Emperor, 7:30 pm NorthPark

The must-see film today is Valentino: The Last Emperor. The documentary about the fashior designer legend is a fascinating study for reasons that go way beyond fashion. There's the beautiful love story between Valentino Garavani and his lifelong partner. But most of all, there is the chronicling of a life and world that will be gone once the people in it have passed. You see this group of older women who have been with Valentino from the beginning, hand stitching his creations. Their art and craft will die with them. Valentino, meanwhile, lives like some renaissance king. You can't believe this is the 21st century.

Great stuff and this is likely your only chance to see it on the big screen in a theater full of people.

Valentino: The Last Emperor, 7:30 pm NorthPark

The daily coverage of AFI Dallas continues at Quick's Nightlife blog. Today we have a Q&A with Food, Inc. director Robert Kenner, as well as reviews of Rudo y Cursi and Zombie Girl: The Movie. More to come throughout the day: Join us!

The last few days have been a blur of films so I thought I'd start Sunday with one of the festival's panels at the Nasher. I must admit that the Nasher location provided the swing vote on my decision, since it was one of those riotously beautiful North Texas spring days -- what better place to enjoy the break in the weather than the Nasher Sculpture Garden. Unless, of course, the event you're going to is held in the Nasher's basement (lower level), then you're trapped indoors with a wall of glass looking out on the beautiful outdoors to torment you.

Over at Quick's Nightlife blog, we've got today's best trailers, snap judgment reviews (Hurt Locker, Alien Trespass, Grace and more) and a Q&A with the directors of the documentary short Push Button House (showing tonight and tomorrow at the Magnolia). Join us!

The only screening of 500 Days of Summer is at 3:30 at the Magnolia. It's one of two movies at the festival starring Zooey Deschanel (the other is Gigantic). It's a romantic comedy. I've heard good things about this movie about romantic uncertainty (don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone, or something like that), so I think I'll risk the 90 minutes.

That is, unless I decide to go to Pearl, the film based on the life of Eula "Pearl" Carter Scott, a Chickasaw American Indian and aviation pioneer who got her pilot's license at 13. It screens at NorthPark at 3:15.

I'm definitely seeing Say My Name, the documentary about young women rappers and r&b singers featuring MC Lyte, Eryka Badu, Estelle, Big Manda, Chocolate Thai and Monie Love. It screens at 10:30 at the Magnolia.

Unless I end up going to Peter and Vandy, a film about a Manhattan couple whose relationship has become one continuous argument. The film goes back to the beginning and shows how love can curdle into something very much like contempt. Sounds hilarious. There was a long line for today's screening and an older woman spoke very persuasively about it. So who knows. Maybe I'll flip a coin, since it's also screening at 10:30, but at NorthPark.

The only screening of 500 Days of Summer is at 3:30 at the Magnolia. It's one of two movies at the festival starring Zooey Deschanel (the other is Gigantic). It's a romantic comedy. I've heard good things about this movie about romantic uncertainty (don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone, or something like that), so I think I'll risk the 90 minutes.

That is, unless I decide to go to Pearl, the film based on the life of Eula "Pearl" Carter Scott, a Chickasaw American Indian and aviation pioneer who got her pilot's license at 13. It screens at NorthPark at 3:15.

I'm definitely seeing Say My Name, the documentary about young women rappers and r&b singers featuring MC Lyte, Eryka Badu, Estelle, Big Manda, Chocolate Thai and Monie Love. It screens at 10:30 at the Magnolia.

Unless I end up going to Peter and Vandy, a film about a Manhattan couple whose relationship has become one continuous argument. The film goes back to the beginning and shows how love can curdle into something very much like contempt. Sounds hilarious. There was a long line for today's screening and an older woman spoke very persuasively about it. So who knows. Maybe I'll flip a coin, since it's also screening at 10:30, but at NorthPark.

Maybe it was just my uncanny knack for picking the hot screenings (given my track record, that seems unlikely) or maybe it's just that this year's festival is a hot ticket. But every screening -- 3 -- I went to today was sold out with people sitting on the aisle stairs and peering in from the doorways.

Head over to Quick's Nightlife blog daily throughout the AFI fest for reviews, previews and interviews. Today we've got a short Q&A with Gigantic director Matt Aselton, as well as capsule reviews of Rock Prophecies, At the Edge of the World, The Missing Person, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead and Gigantic. Join us.

Some films to see today:

The Eyes of Me, 12:30, Magnolia
Moving documentary following four students at the Texas School for the Blind. They're kids with dreams, kids with problems and kids who happen to be blind. Smart, imaginative and inspiring.

Another chance to see Haze screening at 3:15 at the Magnolia

The Missing Person, 4 pm, NorthPark
Friday night's 10:30 screening was sold out and there was a line of people trailing through the lobby of people hoping to get in. You can see it this afternoon and watch a great private eye story starring Michael Shannon and Amy Adams.

This is the third year for the festival, but the first year I've really immersed myself in it. While the festival actually kicked off yesterday, this was the first full day of screenings and events and I'll confess I was feeling a bit ...skeptical.

You'll want to check in with our Nightlife blog throughout the festival for daily picks, reviews and interviews with filmmakers. Today you'll find a review of last night's opening-night festivities (featuring Adrien Brody, right), Q&As with actor Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, Lightbulb) and director Jordan Galland (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Undead), and several other AFI-related features. Join us!

AFI announced The Brothers Bloom as the opening-night gala presentation. The film, directed by Rian Johnson and starring Adrien Brody (right) and Rachel Weisz, will kick off the Dallas film festival, which is scheduled to run from March 26-April 2.

(Find the complete schedule here.)

Brody will be honored with the AFI Dallas Star Award before the opening-night screening of Bloom. Other honorees include Kathryn Bigelow, Robert Towne and a posthumous award to Rita Hayworth. Hayworth's daughter, Princess Aga Khan, will receive her mother's award before a special screening of Gilda.

Henry Selick, the director behind The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, will receive the Texas Avery Animation Award.

The opening-night screening will be at AMC NorthPark 15 on Thursday, March 26. The festival will feature 173 films and shorts with 150 screenings.

(Photo by Lucas Jackson)

AFI Dallas announced today 15 of the films that will screen at this year's festival, which runs March 26 through April 2. Passes (on sale Feb. 6) and tickets (on sale March 2) will be available at www.afidallas.com, by calling 214-720-0663 and at the AFI Dallas box offices at NorthPark Center and Victory Park.

The fifteen announced selections are:

ART & COPY (USA)
Director: Doug Pray
Documentary explores the creation of the modern advertising industry, the people behind it, and its influence on popular culture.

THE BURNING PLAIN (USA)
Director: Guillermo Arriaga
Cast: Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger
A drama with employs multiple storylines featuring a mother and daughter who try to form a bond after the young woman's difficult childhood.

CHILDREN OF INVENTION (USA)
Director: Tze Chun
Cast: Cindy Chung, Michael Chen, Crystal Chiu
Drama follows a Chinese American family as they struggle to achieve the American Dream in suburban Boston.

FOOD, INC. (Canada)
Director: Robert Kenner
Documentary takes a look at food preparation, industrialized and otherwise for the mass population.

GIGANTIC (USA)
Director: Matt Aselton
Cast: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Jane Alexander, Ed Asner
Comedy is centered around a mattress salesman and a young woman he meets at his store.

As the Morning News writer who reviewed both The Reader and Frozen River, I was thrilled to see that Kate Winslet and Melissa Leo both earned nominations for Best Actress. And believe me, "earned" is the operative verb. I don't envy Academy voters having to choose between those two. Initially, I was surprised to see that Clint Eastwood was shut out for Gran Torino (a fine film), but I, for one, can't think of anyone more deserving of Best Actor nominations than the five who earned them. I was surprised Bruce Springsteen didn't get a nod for Best Song (for The Wrestler). My biggest objection came in the documentary category, involving snubs for two films with Texas connections. (Please click below to read on!)

Photo: David Kross and Kate Winslet in The Reader

AFI Dallas announced that its third film festival will go from March 26-April 2 and announced a new presenting sponsor, NorthPark Center.

NorthPark Center has hosted several central films in the first two years of the festival. Now, as a presenting sponsor, they will hold more screenings and it's also where you will find the the AFI DALLAS box office, a film festival lounge, galas. NorthPark will also host some red-carpet and other events.

Victory Park will again serve as the "epicenter" of the festival, with some screenings shown on its big screens.

If you didn't make it out to the AFI Dallas International Film Festival this spring, the organization is offering a second chance to see its best films.
AFI Dallas will begin a four-week series on Thursday that showcases the "Best of the Fest." The free event will take place each week at the Studio Movie Grill in Dallas at Royal Lane and Central Expressway. Audience members will have the chance to enter a drawing for a variety of prizes, including passes to the 2009 festival.
Thursday's screenings include:
Fields of Fuel -- The winner of the Current Energy Earth Friendly Award, this documentary looks at U.S. dependence on foreign oil and offers a plan to solve the problem. 5:30 p.m.
Amal -- When a rickshaw operator in New Delhi allows a man to skip his fare, both of their lives are changed. 7:30 p.m.
Shorts winners -- Winners of the festival's shorts program screen. 9:30 p.m.
For more information, go to www.afidallas.com.

It's off-season for AFI-Dallas (as if any festival had an actual off-season), but there are still major doings at the top of the organizational pyramid. According to a press release received today, Stephanie Hunt will assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors while festival founder, chairman and director Liener Temerlin will become Chairman Emeritus. The change is effective Sept. 1.

Said Hunt, a Dallas native and founding board member, "I'm honored and humbled to be asked to follow Liener. He has made such an incredible contribution to Dallas with this film festival. I have learned a great deal from working closely with Liener over the past year and he has assured me that he will always be available to continue to provide the board with his advice, counsel, and creative input."

In other words, Temerlin will stay involved. In fact, as he put it, "I hope to be involved with AFI-Dallas for the rest of my life."

Did you catch Food Fight at AFI Dallas? It's a work in progress doc about the sustainable agriculture movement (or lack there of), and it caught the attention of our restaurant critic Bill Addison. He says over on the food blog that there's a lot to be learned from the film.

So on Saturday I moderated an AFI Dallas panel at the Nasher with the esoteric title "Listening to the Crowd: How Much Does the Audience Influence the Artist's Voice?"
My co-panelists were Michael Addis, who made the documentary Heckler; Jewel, who is featured in said documentary; and the great Dolph Lundgren, killer of Apollo Creed and the man behind the new film Missionary Man.

There were some interesting moments.

Did you miss any of our coverage from AFI Dallas International Film Festival? Want to catch up? Relive the glory? You'll find all of our coverage below, in one easy-to-access location. Click "Continue reading: AFI Dallas: Wrap up" to read the stories.

Blog: AFI Dallas on The Screening Room

Video: AFI Dallas opens with bright lights and a red carpet

Video: On the red carpet: Charlize Theron

Slideshow: Through The Lens Clearly: Icons and Images from the Harry Ransom Center

After working Saturday night's red carpet, the fourth one I've done in the last nine days or so, I was a little AFI'd out -- so much so that I was planning to skip the closing night party at the House of Blues. But that would have been a mistake. The Polyphonic Spree took the stage about 11:15, clad in their new all black military inspired uniforms and put on a show full of the band's usual joyous energy.
And this being a film festival party, the band included a nod or two to the cinematic landscape. First, frontman Tim DeLaughter said they were going to play a song from "one of the world's great bands" before launching into "About the Movies" from his previous act, Tripping Daisy. Then he announced they would play a song from another of the world's great bands, Wings, before ripping through "Live and Let Die."
But the highlight was during the encore, when the band returned to the stage clad in their original choir robes for a take on "Lithium." If Nirvana were the masters of the soft-loud-soft dynamic, the Spree proved the perfect successors with Mr. DeLaughter leading the crowd through the verses before being overtaken by the wall of sound from the 25 members onstage.
At other times during the show, the band froze in place, Mr. DeLaughter invited anyone with a camera to join him onstage and he offered a warm hug to really just anyone who felt like venturing up the steps toward him. It made for an energetic, communal and, most fitting, cinematic night.

The final red carpet for AFI Dallas on Saturday night at NorthPark featured plenty of famous faces, highlighted by the night's Star Award recipient, Charlize Theron. Though previously announced attendees Woody Harrelson and Andre Benjamin (a.k.a. Andre 3000) were no-shows, Ms. Theron was joined by her Battle in Seattle co-stars Michelle Rodriguez and Martin Henderson, Battle's director (and Ms. Theron's longtime significant other) Stuart Townsend, Jewel and Ron Livingston.
Battle in Seattle, which centers on the massive protest in 1999 of the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, has been making the festival circuit rounds since playing at last year's Toronto Interntational Film Festival. So I asked Charlize how AFI Dallas so far had compared with the reception they had gotten from previous stops. But before I asked the question, she was bombarded with a multiple male chorus of "WE LOVE YOU CHARLIZE!" from the upperdeck at NorthPark. She gamely blew a kiss upstairs and made a few guys' weeks.
"There's been a great energy in the audience, so we'll see how Dallas does tonight. But I have a feeling it's gonna be good. People are yelling they love me, so it can't be that bad, right?"

The star of the AFI Dallas International Film Festival Wednesday night at the Magnolia was not an actor, or a filmmaker, or even a person. It was a chimpanzee named Rickey.

Public Enemy (minus Flava Flave) was in town yesterday to promote the documentary Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome playing at AFI. And as long as they were here, they decided they may as well play a set, which is exactly what they did Tuesday night at the Ghostbar.
As someone who grew up during a time when Public Enemy was at its peak, it was a thrill to see Chuck D busting out those 20-year-old rhymes on stage with DJ Lord providing the backing tracks. The hourlong set covered most of the PE catalog, though some songs only got the snippet treatment. But the most refreshing thing to see was at the end, when Chuck plopped down on the edge of the stage to meet fans, pose for pictures and generally hang with his public. Nice to see the star of the show also play a gracious host.

Has it really been 20 years since Public Enemy was the most incendiary and relevant thing in pop music? Damn you, old age. But you can relive the glory days, kind of, with the documentary Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome. It shows tonight at 7:15 at the Angelika, and Chuck D is slated for a red carpet walk earlier in the evening at North Park. Chuck will also rock Ghost Bar after the movie with PE's prime provocateur, Professor Griff, and DJ Lord. (Where's Terminator X at?).

As for the film, I wanted a little more. The interviews are candid enough, but I wanted to be picked and put back down in the late '80s/early '90s Fear of a Black Planet days. The live footage is mostly from the last few years, well after PE's heyday, and the editing is pretty pedestrian. Still, this is PE, and I'll be raising my fist tonight in the presence of the great Chuck. Too black. Too strong.

The lineup at the festival today seems pretty music heavy. Among the options:
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, a documentary about the composer Philip Glass. It screens at 4:30 p.m. at the Angelika
Bowling For Soup: Live And Very Attractive, a doc about the locally based band. It shows at 7:15 p.m. at the Angelika
And topping it all off is Joy Division, a look at the influential Manchester band that previously screened to warm reception at the Toronto Film Festival. It shows at 9:45 p.m. at the Angelika.
And if all that weren't enough, Paul Oakenfold will attend the red carpet festivities tonight at 6 p.m. at the Magnolia Theatre. He's here in support of Vexille, an anime movie that he scored that will play free on the huge outdoor screens at Victory Park tonight at 7. Here's hoping the skies stay clear.

Just hung out with Alex Gibney, who has become a major stud in the documentary world. His Taxi to the Dark Side won the doc Oscar this year, and his new film, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson, plays AFI Dallas at 7:30 tonight and 12:15 Saturday at the Magnolia.

Among the surprising interview subjects in the film is Pat Buchanan, a Nixon man whom Thompson met covering politics for Rolling Stone (read Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, if you haven't). Gibney told me Buchanan originally declined to participate in the film, but changed his mind when the filmmaker reminded him that the great Gonzo's work spoke to folks of all political stripes and ideologies. (Apparently Thompson and Buchanan were known to knock back a beer or ten together).

Gonzo will be released by Marc Cuban and Todd Wagner's HDNet Films later this year.

Want to snap some pictures of the famous folks dropping into town this weekend? Here's a guide to the gawking:
Saturday night's red carpet lineup is highlighted by Mischa Barton, who will be here for her film Assassination of a High School President. You might also recognize Ms. Barton's co-star, Reece Thompson, who starred in the acclaimed Rocket Science from last year. It all goes down at 6 p.m. at the Magnolia Theatre in the West Village.
Then on Sunday, one of the festival's big gets, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, will walk the red carpet in support the documentary Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome. That event is at the Angelika Film Center at Mockingbird Station beginning at 6 p.m. Bring those cellphone camera.

Thursday night at the Majestic Theatre, Helen Hunt screened her directorial debut, Then She Found Me, as the festival's opening night movie. But her fellow Star Award recipient, Mickey Rooney, was really the one who held the spotlight the most.
The 87-year-old legend took the stage and told stories about his life and career in showbiz. And then he told some more. And then a few more after that. If you've ever listened to your grandpa talk about the olden days, it was kind of like that.
Which is not to say it wasn't both entertaining and heartfelt.

AFI Dallas is ready to roll through April 6 and we'll be all over it like Jerry Jones on Darren McFadden. Peep our preview of the many small town Texas films on display here. Stevie Becker will be covering the opening night festivities at guidelive.com (I'll be reviewing Chris Rock. Very stoked). Check The Screening Room every day for news, reviews and all the AFI you can handle.

It's time for round two of the AFI Dallas International Film Festival, and I have to admit I'm pretty excited about this year's offerings. What I have seen of the films (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the opening night Then She Found Me) I liked very well, and it looks like there are other promising titles on the slate. I'm looking forward to getting a look at Tulia, Texas and Crawford, two documentaries that Chris Vognar will be profiling in a story running in Thursday's paper (on 1A, God willing). And it also looks like some pretty high-profile guests will be hitting our fair burg, including Helen Hunt, Mickey Rooney, Charlize Theron, Robert De Niro, Woody Harrelson and others. If you want to plan your festival going, head over to the AFI Dallas Web site to make a run through their schedule.

AFI Dallas anounced today that local act Polyphonic Spree will play the festival's closing night party on April 5 at the House of Blues. Anyone with a premiere pass to the festival is invited to the event. The festival kicks off its run on Thursday, March 27.

Last year, Universal brought the Judd Apatow comedy Knocked Up to SXSW, creating a buzz that propelled it to one of the biggest comedy hits of the year. And the studio seems to be sticking to the formula, as its Forgetting Sarah Marshall, also produced by Apatow, had its world premiere Monday night at the Paramount Theatre.
As much as I loved Knocked Up (it made my top 10 list this year), Forgetting Sarah Marshall is at least its equal.

The marquee film at the Paramount on Saturday night was Helen Hunt's directorial debut, Then She Found Me. Why should you care? Well, for one, it will open the AFI Dallas Film Festival in a few weeks. And another reason is: it's a pretty good movie.
In addition to directing, Ms. Hunt adapted the screenplay and stars as a woman with a whole life's worth of drama coming at her at once. First her new husband decides married life isn't for him. Then her adopted mother dies. And if that weren't enough, she's contacted by the birth mother (a show-stealing Bette Midler) she never knew who all the sudden wants a relationship with her daughter.

Star power doesn't hurt when it comes to getting people out to a film festival, and the crew over at AFI-Dallas has certainly recognized that. The festival announced this morning that it will present its Star Award to festival attendees Helen Hunt, Mickey Rooney, Todd Wagner and Charlize Theron. Jack Lemmon will also receive the award, accepted by his widow, Felicia Farr.