The Screening Room

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.