Posted on April 13, 2016 at 2:11 pm
Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, now known as Ebertfest, officially begins today, but last night hosted a screening of the delightful “Everybody Wants Some!!” Here’s the Q&A that followed, led off by Chaz Ebert.
I’ll be there tomorrow! I’m looking forward to a great lineup of films, and am thrilled and honored to be moderating the Q&A with director Kasi Lemmons after a showing of her brilliant film, Eve’s Bayou.
Posted on December 17, 2015 at 3:55 pm
I am so honored to appear in this video from last spring’s Roger Ebert Film Festival. Many thanks to Luke Boyce and his awesome team of filmmakers and of course to Chaz Ebert, Nate Kohn, Mary Susan Britt, and all of my Ebert-buddies. Please join us next April.
Ebertfest 2015 from Shatterglass Studios on Vimeo.
Posted on March 26, 2015 at 3:49 pm
Passes are on sale for Ebertfest 2015! I’ll be there! From Chaz Ebert’s blog:
We are opening with Jean-Luc Godard’s silent opus in 3D, “Adieu Au Langage” (“Goodbye To Language”). Some have complained that you were against 3D films, but we know that you were against 3D when it was used only as a gimmick to charge more money, or when it wasn’t done well. Indeed you praised 3D in “Avatar“, “Hugo” and “Cave of the Forgotten Dreams.” I daresay you would find Godard’s use of 3D here refreshing. It creates 3D imagery that adds to the movie-going experience. And actressHeloise Godet will experience it with us.
We are also presenting a tribute to Harold Ramis, that Renaissance man who was as meticulous about other aspects of his life as he was about building his comedies. The beloved director and actor passed away in February 2014. Displayed at his funeral was a violin that Harold had made by hand and taught himself to play. It was on a table. But Harold had to first teach himself to build the table in order to have a surface on which to construct the violin. That’s the kind of man Harold was. We will welcome Harold’s widow, Erica Ramis, andTrevor Albert, the producer who worked with Harold on several of his masterpieces, including “Groundhog Day,” which has been adopted by a Buddhist organization as a template for life (reliving it over and over again until we get it right).
Ramis also wrote the scripts for such classic hits as “Animal House,” “Stripes” and “Ghostbusters,” and directed comedy classics including “Caddyshack” and “Analyze This.” We will celebrate his life with never-before-seen clips and other remembrances from surprise guests. One of the last conversations you and Harold had was about the transcendent nature of Charlie Kaufman’s movie “Synecdoche, New York.” You both saw a higher meaning in every frame. We get to glimpse some of the inner workings of Ramis’ mind when we analyze the profound life lessons he secretly embedded in some of his most entertaining movies.
On the heels of gaining a well-deserved reputation as one of the hottest tickets on the festival circuit, James Ponsoldt’s “The End of the Tour” will screen at Ebertfest, marking the director’s second visit following his appearance a few years ago with actress Shailene Woodley for his film much-admired by you, “The Spectacular Now.” “The End of the Tour” features a richly anticipated performance by Jason Segel as David Foster Wallace, and co-stars Jesse Eisenberg, Anna Chlumsky and Joan Cusack.
The highlights in Segel’s career are numerous: starring in Judd Apatow’s cult classic sitcom, “Freaks and Geeks”; earning raves for his boldly comedic nude scene in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall“; crooning the Oscar-winning tune, “Man or Muppet,” in 2012’s hit, “The Muppets“; and winning the hearts of viewers during all nine seasons of “How I Met Your Mother.” Segel can now add another achievement to this formidable list, when he accepts the Golden Thumb at this year’s festival, along with Ponsoldt.
Another returning guest this year is Ramin Bahrani, who dedicated his latest film, “99 Homes,” to you. Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield and Laura Dernheadline the impressive cast of this timely drama, a film you would have loved to review.
After all, it was you who declared Bahrani “a great American director,” and indeed he has earned multiple awards, including the FIPRESCI prize in Venice for “Goodbye Solo” (which screened at last year’s Ebertfest) and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Accompanying Bahrani onstage will be one of the film’s stars, accomplished 13-year-old actorNoah Lomax, who has appeared in everything from “The Walking Dead” and “The Middle” to “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.” Lomax is one of the first child actors to attend the festival, and we are eager to view the filmmaking process through his perspective.
Like Bahrani, former Chicagoan Alan Polsky has dedicated his career to making and supporting films of exceptional quality.
His company, Polsky Films, which he created with his brother, Gabe (director of last year’s celebrated documentary, “Red Army“), has produced several important pictures. One that you absolutely loved was Werner Herzog’s spectacularly entertaining “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” starring Nicolas Cage in one of his most unforgettable performances.
In 2013, Alan and Gabe co-directed a fine character study, “The Motel Life,” pairingStephen Dorff and Emile Hirschas brothers on the run. The film also stars Dakota Fanning. We look forward to welcoming Alan to our festival.
Posted on April 28, 2014 at 11:07 am
Many thanks to Roger Ebert’s favorite reporter covering Ebertfest, Melissa Merli, for a wonderful interview.
This is her third year at Ebertfest, where she handled the onstage Q-and-A after “Short Term 12” was shown Thursday afternoon. That movie made her Top 10 list last year. As for Ebertfest, she “absolutely” loves it.
“What I love most about it is there is no intense air of competition. Everybody watches the same movies together and talks about them afterward,” she said Friday between screenings.
And for the most complete coverage, be sure to check out rogerebert.com. Hope to see you all there in 2015!
Posted on April 27, 2014 at 10:11 pm
As several people noted, 1989 was a remarkable year for movies and Ebertfest paid tribute to two of the best, Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” and Oliver Stone’s “Born on the 4th of July.” Even for those who know the films well, seeing them projected onto the Virginia Theater’s giant screen was revelatory. “It’s criminal to watch a movie on your iPhone,” said Lee, who was especially happy to have a pristine 35 mm print to show.
Lee spoke about the reaction to his film when it was released, from Roger Ebert angrily saying he would never return to Cannes because they passed over “Do the Right Thing” to give their top award to “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” to other critics who worried that the movie would inspire riots. Many talked about the destruction of the pizzeria owned by the Italian character. But none mentioned the police brutality that led to the death of the black character. (Chaz Ebert said that she still has Lee’s letter to Ebert, telling him to go back to Cannes, despite the snub for the film.) His next film, “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus,” was funded via Kickstarter. He told the audience that was just a high-tech version of the kind of crowd-funding he has done with all of his films. “It just used to be phone calls and postcards.”
Oliver Stone, whose career will be covered in a new book from rogerebert.com editor Matt Zoller Seitz, appeared with his 1989 classic, “Born on the 4th of July.”
One of the highlights of each Ebertfest is a silent film accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra. This year, we saw “He Who Gets Slapped,” the first film completed by the brand-new studio MGM, with breakthrough performances by Norma Schearer, Lon Chaney, and John Gilbert and stunning direction from Swedish director Victor Seastrom (Sjöström).
Three of the films presented at Ebertfest were directed by women. Haifaa Al-Mansour’s “Wadjda,”the story of young girl struggling against the restrictions imposed on women in Saudi Arabia, was a favorite of the crowd. Al-Mansour, who also wrote the film, spoke about the restrictions she herself faced. She had to sit inside a van to direct the film so she would not be seen giving orders to men. She was grateful for the support of her family, who believed she could do whatever she wanted. “The little freedom I had allowed me to dream.”
Director Ann Hui appeared with “A Simple Life,” based on the true story of the reversal of roles when a long-time domestic servant has a stroke and the man she has cared for all his life must take care of her. She told us, “I was more moved by Roger Ebert’s review of my film than by my film itself.”
Lily Keber presented her documentary about New Orleans musician James Booker, “Bayou Maharajah,” followed by a live performance by one of the musicians featured in the film, Henry Butler.
A trailer for the festival by Michael Marisol was played before each film. A commencement address by Roger Ebert with his thoughts on the way movies contribute to empathy and understanding is intercut with scenes from the selected films, including the documentary about Ebert, “Life Itself.” It became one of the festival’s most beloved entries.
