AFI Celebration, Pile On The President, and More!
November 2006 News
A Celebration of Film: The American Film Institute is celebrating its 20th year of existence in a gala festival from October through November. It wouldn't be Hollywood without stars, of course, and this is the place to see and be seen... at least until the next party rolls by. Be that as it may, at least a good variety of films will be shown, 149 stories from over 40 countries. The festival actually goes back more than 30 years, named FILMEX then but got a name change when AFI took over in 1987. Some of the highlights are: David Lynch's Inland Empire, Penelope Cruz in Volver, and Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain. The festival will end with Curse of the Golden Flower by Zhang Yimou. Peter Bogdanovich perhaps best sums up the festival with this: "Sundance, while they draw a local audience, AFI is much like festivals in San Francisco, Seattle, the Tribeca festival in New York. These are big metropolitan festivals that draw large audiences of everyday moviegoers alongside the industry. That's what I think singles out AFI and makes it unique."
Shut Out: At least by one major network. The Dixie Chicks are in the news again, this time their movie Shut Up & Sing acting as a lightning rod. If you remember (maybe you don't!), Natalie Maines (the lead singer) made the comment that she was "ashamed" President Bush (right) was a fellow Texan, and she was and is critical of the war in Iraq. The movie premiered late October in New York and Los Angeles, and due to contractual obligations, network affiliates had to run them. The problems began when the producing company, Weinstein Co., wished the ads to roll into national subscription. CBS agreed to run the add, Fox and ABC are undecided as of this printing, but NBC firmly declined. Just a publicity stunt? Or wimping out of a network? Probably a bit of both.
Speaking of...: The Chicks' film is nothing compared to Death of a President, a small indie offering by Gabriel Range that postulates the assassination of President Bush. A fake documentary done very cleverly, mixing real news clips, edited images, and actors playing commentators and other "experts". The director states that he wants to "offer another perspective on what's happened in the last five years" since 9-11. The President is gunned down after a rousing speech in a Chicago hotel in late 2007... and soon after Dick Cheney is sworn in. Personally I think that qualifies this as a horror film!
More Horror!: No, not more Dick (ahem), but more blood and guts. Comcast Corp. is rolling out FEARnet.com on Halloween (of course!), a multimedia extravaganza devoted to the thriller/horror genre. It will offer video and movie content through Internet, VOD, and mobile platforms. Sony and Lionsgate have already signed up, obviously showcasing their Saw and Grudge platforms, but there will also be more than 200 titles a year and 70 hours of content a month. The president of the division behind this offering in Comcast, Diane Robina, states: "This generation wants content when they want it, how they want it and where they want it. To me, besides usage and revenue numbers, these channels in general will be successful if fans embrace them and like what we've created for them." Embrace? Hey, a call for Dracula here!
