Early on in “Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things,” singer Patti Austin tells the story of how Fitzgerald — traveling with a big band in the 1930s and apparently the only one on the bus with no interest in getting high — would sit in the back with her coat over her head to act as her “own personal filtration system.” That’s good for a laugh, and it’s also good for a sense of relief, in being reminded that this will be the rare film about a 20th century jazz giant that doesn’t have to worry about when to start in on the tragic foreshadowing. Living to a ripe old age, in this genre of documentary, is not just one of those things.
It’s suggested in director Leslie Woodhead’s film that Fitzgerald lived a fairly lonely life when she was off the road — but it’s...
It’s suggested in director Leslie Woodhead’s film that Fitzgerald lived a fairly lonely life when she was off the road — but it’s...
- 6/27/2020
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Whiplash has had the film festival circuit buzzing for some time, and is finally in select theaters, with a wider release this Friday. Recently, Wamg attended the Los Angeles press day where writer/director Damien Chazelle joined stars Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons and Melissa Benoist talked to a small room of press about the film. Check it out below!
Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life. Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession,...
Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life. Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession,...
- 10/15/2014
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The second best thing about this week's Nyff screening of The Savoy King: Chick Webb and the Music that Changed America might have been the audience -- a fire-hazard crowd of friends, family and jazz enthusiasts ready to laugh, hoot, and more than once, sing along to the music. But the first best thing was 92-year-old Norma Miller, a delightful presence both on film and live on-stage, where she joined director Jeff Kaufman for a lively but all-too brief Q&A. Nattily dressed in a black cap and sequined, sparkling jacket, the Queen of Swing spoke passionately about the power of jazz, the thrill of her days as a dancer at Harlem's legendary Savoy Ballroom and of course her love for the bandleader and drummer Chick Webb, who succumbed at age 30 from complications from tuberculosis. He died far too early for his fans but not too early to have built...
- 10/5/2012
- by Sheerly Avni
- Thompson on Hollywood
A trailer has surfaced for the Swing-era feature documentary The Savoy King: Chick Webb & The Music That Changed America, which screens at the New York Film Festival starting this month. Last month we posted some clips from the upcoming the the New Heritage Theatre Group co-production, directed/produced by Jeff Kaufman and edited by Jamal El-Amin. Described as "a meditation on the transformative power of art," Savoy King follows the short life of drummer Chick Webb, who suffered from Spinal Tuberculosis since he was a child, as he built the hottest American Jazz orchestra based at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, NY. The doc, which also tells the story of...
- 9/10/2012
- by Vanessa Martinez
- ShadowAndAct
Screening at the New York Film Festival this October as part of the fest's "On The Arts" Special Events, the Swing-era feature documentary The Savoy King: Chick Webb & The Music That Changed America, follows the short life of drummer Chick Webb, who suffered from Spinal Tuberculosis since he was a child, as he built the hottest American Jazz orchestra based at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, NY. Described as "a meditation on the transformative power of art," the New Heritage Theatre Group co-production is directed/produced by Jeff Kaufman and edited by Jamal El-Amin. The Savoy King, which also tells the story of Ella Fitzgerald, quotes the greatest legends in...
- 8/21/2012
- by Vanessa Martinez
- ShadowAndAct
You could count me as enthusiastic for this year’s initial New York Film Festival lineup — no, I won’t even bother listing all the auteurs — so hats off to Lincoln Center for making it all the better. In unveiling their Masterworks, Cinema Reflected, On the Arts, and Special Events selection, it’s become evident that 2012 will bring forth a glut of outside-the-lines works.
The most notable of these would be an 8k Lawrence of Arabia restoration; a documentary “preview” from Oliver Stone; Odd Man Out, the follow-up to 2008′s excellent Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired; the acclaimed Kubrick documentary, Room 237; something about Ingmar Bergman & Liv Ullmann; and even The Princess Bride. Talk about something for everybody.
Read the list below:
Masterworks
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962, UK/USA)
The screen’s greatest epic returns in a magnificent 8K restoration. A Sony Pictures Repertory release.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (David Hand,...
The most notable of these would be an 8k Lawrence of Arabia restoration; a documentary “preview” from Oliver Stone; Odd Man Out, the follow-up to 2008′s excellent Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired; the acclaimed Kubrick documentary, Room 237; something about Ingmar Bergman & Liv Ullmann; and even The Princess Bride. Talk about something for everybody.
Read the list below:
Masterworks
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962, UK/USA)
The screen’s greatest epic returns in a magnificent 8K restoration. A Sony Pictures Repertory release.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (David Hand,...
- 8/21/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
HollywoodNews.com: The 38th Seattle International Film Festival, the largest and most highly-attended event of its kind in the United States concluded today with the announcement of the Siff 2012 Competition Awards and Golden Space Needle Audience Awards. The 25-day Festival, which began May 17, featured over 460 films from more than 70 countries, including 65 feature premieres (24 World, 25 North American, 16 U.S.) and over 700 screenings. Additionally, Siff brought in more than 300 directors, actors and industry professionals.
“A festival’s success is dependent on two basic principles: providing a platform for filmmakers to be celebrated and connecting them to audience members that would not otherwise be aware of their remarkable stories,” said Siff Artistic Director Carl Spence. “This year a record number of filmmakers participated in person and online with virtual Q&A’s successfully expanding the conversation around the best in cinema with passionate audiences, illuminating guests and distinguished industry in attendance.”
Siff Managing Director Deborah Person said,...
“A festival’s success is dependent on two basic principles: providing a platform for filmmakers to be celebrated and connecting them to audience members that would not otherwise be aware of their remarkable stories,” said Siff Artistic Director Carl Spence. “This year a record number of filmmakers participated in person and online with virtual Q&A’s successfully expanding the conversation around the best in cinema with passionate audiences, illuminating guests and distinguished industry in attendance.”
Siff Managing Director Deborah Person said,...
- 6/10/2012
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
I can't remember a time I went to the Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) press launch and looked over the list of films and saw so many I was interested in seeing. The claim to fame for over the years is to call it the largest and most-highly attended festival in the United States. This is a fact I've often taken issue with as I don't equate quantity with quality. Granted, there has been a large number of quality features to play the fest over the years, including Golden Space Needle (Best Film) winners such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), My Life as a Dog (1987), Trainspotting (1996), Run Lola Run (1999), Whale Rider (2003) and even recent Best Director winner, Michel Hazanavicius's Oss 117: Nest of Spies in 2006. That said, looking over this year's crop of films I see a lot of films I will be doing my absolute best to see.
- 4/27/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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