Posted on September 7, 2013 at 3:59 pm
The Forgiveness Project has assembled some touching and inspiring films about the issues we face around forgiveness, asking for it and giving it. In this film, people find ways to forgive the unforgivable.
“No matter which side of the conflict you’re on, had we all lived each other’s lives, we could all have done what the other did.”
“Forgiveness means giving up all hope of a better past.”
Posted on September 7, 2013 at 8:00 am
Issa Rae is the subversively funny mind who created the web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. She’s now working on writing an HBO series she will also star in. But she is still creating content for the web, including a new comedy series about a choir at a black church, called simply “Choir.”
Posted on September 6, 2013 at 3:44 pm
It’s probably the most beloved family film of all time, and now it is bigger and deeper than ever. “The Wizard of Oz,” starring Judy Garland, is coming to 3D Imax screens for the first time. See the Munchkins, the Wicked Witch of the West, the horse of a different color, the yellow brick road, the ruby slippers, and the flying monkeys — in super-sharp definition and 3D. And hear the classic songs, including “Over the Rainbow.”
The IMAX® release The Wizard of Oz will be digitally remastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX 3D Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Remastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX®’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.
Following the IMAX® theatrical release, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) will release a limited and numbered The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition on October 1, 2013. The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition will debut as a five-disc set that will include Blu-ray 3D TM, Blu-ray TM, DVD and UltraViolet versions of the film; a new documentary, The Making of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; bonus features and premium collectibles, including:
A deluxe Pin Set from The Noble Collection TM , 52-page Hardcover Photo Book, RUBY SLIPPERS TM Sparkle Globe, Hard Covered Journal, a Map of Oz and more! Collection is limited and numbered. Three more editions will be available separately: a 2-disc Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray ($35.99 SRP), a one-disc Blu-ray ($19.98 SRP) and a 2-Disc DVD ($16.95 SRP). All four will contain the new documentary, The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This candid overview details the back story of Oz and describes the manner in which an unprecedented production overcame the odds to become an integral part of American culture. It is narrated by Martin Sheen and features contributions from historians John Fricke and Sam Wasson, composers Stephen Schwartz and Marc Shaiman, critics Leonard Maltin and Michael Sragow, Bert Lahr’s son John, as well as revealing interview clips with Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen, Margaret Hamilton and Mervyn LeRoy, among others. I will have one to give away to a lucky winner, so stay tuned for details.
And I have tickets to give away to a special screening of “The Wizard of Oz 3D” in Northern Virginia on September 15. The first 60 people to log in here will receive passes. Good luck!
Posted on September 6, 2013 at 11:59 am
Coming Oct 29 on DVD: “Coming Home for Christmas,” with George Canyon (Christmas Miracle, Dawn Rider, Man of Steel), Aaron Pritchett, Britt McKillip (Dead Like Me), and Carly McKillip (Hot Rod)
Sisters Kate and Melanie have not spoken to each other in years since a hurtful scene at Melanie’s wedding. Their parents, Wendy and Al, have let the pain of their daughters’ absence drive a wedge between them, and their tensions have led to a separation. Kate is determined to reunite the entire family for Christmas, and has the perfect spot — their old family home. The only problem is there’s someone else living there now.
Posted on September 6, 2013 at 8:00 am
The New York Times is in the business of reporting the facts. And sometimes those facts result in “based on” or “inspired by” movies that have only a homeopathic relationship to what really happened yet are marketed as though they are close to journalism.
Often, in these films, accuracy is sacrificed for drama. But do the makers of films claiming to be based on or inspired by real stories have an allegiance to the truth, or just to the art of storytelling?
The Times invited a screenwriter, an historian, and some critics to talk about the issues raised by some of the most recent “fact-based” movies and it is a fascinating discussion. Screenwriter Pamela Katz wrote:
The facts of any life, of any story, must be honored. But they are like keys on a piano that can be played in a variety of ways until the melody captures the subject truthfully. One must be factually accurate about the important events of someone’s life, but if the film doesn’t illuminate something essential about their life, work and personality, then you have failed to tell the truth. But that, in a way, is also faithful to the truth.
For example, in the movie Katz wrote about Hannah Arendt,
the speech she gives at the end of the movie was based largely upon Arendt’s own writings, but it is not a speech she actually gave. She spoke to students and others in response to the controversy, but these talks were not recorded. We listened to other speeches that were recorded to capture her public speaking style, but ultimately the actress, Barbara Sukowa, made it her own. It seems to have worked, since people sometimes tell Sukowa they were present when Arendt gave “that” speech.
Chasing the Frog is a terrific resource for all questions about what really happened in all those “based on a true story” and “inspired by a true story” movies, from “The Butler” to “The Conjuring,” and even some unexpected story-behind-the-stories like “The Big Lebowski” and “Bloodsport.” It’s especially fun to see the pictures of the real people who inspired these stories. h/t Mark Jenkins — Thanks!
