Posts tagged with “Ebertfest”
These Were the Days: Ebertfest 2013 (Days 1-3)
THE 15TH ANNUAL ROGER EBERT’S FILM FESTIVAL (DAYS 1-3)
Champaign, IL / April 17-21, 2013
The Virginia Theatre
Arriving so soon (a mere 13 days) after the festival’s founder and namesake Roger Ebert’s death from cancer, the 15th Annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival (aka Ebertfest) could very well have been a week-long memorial service. Luckily, the Man’s wife and fest host Chaz Ebert set the tone immediately to the contrary—this was not going to be a week of mourning, but a celebration of her “boyfriend”’s generous spirit and contagious love for the art of cinema. After a short remembrance from Chaz—taking a handheld mike downstage “like Oprah”—she announced an unusual event that Roger himself specifically masterminded, inviting a choral group from the University to lead the crowd in a rousing sing-along version of “Those Were the Days,” with cinema-centric lyrics modified by Ebert*, followed by this short clip from Orson Welles’ Chimes at Midnight. After this oddly touching presentation, Chaz said, “Well. That Roger,” shook her head and moved on.
Ebertfest 2013: This Is Going to Be Tough
So this is not exactly the post we had planned a couple of weeks ago. Serious Movie Lover is heading to Ebertfest for our fourth (!) time, and while we’re thrilled to get to experience more of Roger Ebert’s carefully selected gems, we can’t help but think it will be very sad to turn around not see him sitting in his comfy recliner in the back of the Virginia Theatre. We feel honored to be able to celebrate Ebert’s life in a town that genuinely revered him.
You can keep up with the fest by following @ebertfest (they have linked to some lovely tributes over the last couple of weeks), and we’re sure there will be a hashtag of some kind? We will totally figure this Twitter thing out as soon as it isn’t cool anymore.
We’ll have a review of the entire experience for you on April 26–and some photos of the newly restored Virginia Theatre! Please forgive us if we’re a little oversentimental. The official schedule:
April 17
7 p.m.: “Days Of Heaven”
Followed by: “I Remember”
April 18
1 p.m.: “Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh”
4 p.m.: “In The Family”
9 p.m.: “Bernie”
April 19
1 p.m.: “Oslo, August 31st”
4 p.m.: “The Ballad of Narayama”
8:30 p.m.: “Julia”
April 20
11 a.m.: “Blancanieves”
2 p.m.: “Kumar”
5 p.m.: “Escape From Tomorrow”
9 p.m.: “The Spectacular Now”
April 21
Noon: “Not Yet Begun To Fight”
Ebertfest Day 3: LL Cool P Rules This Thing
Coffee mug w/ unlimited refills, commemorative hats, bookworms. (photo courtesy of Thompson McClellan/Ebertfest)
Having kept a low profile thus far due to a recent fall, Roger Ebert started day 3 with a brief and very welcome onstage appearance to read (via his laptop’s soothing, otherworldly voice) the introduction he had written for his good friend Paul Cox, who was in attendance (heck, the whole festival was dedicated to him) to accompany the 2011 feature documentary by David Bradbury about Cox’s recent health struggles, On Borrowed Time. After only a minute or two standing at the podium, Ebert had to step down and content himself with sitting next to his wife and fest host, Chaz Ebert, who finished reading his introduction. Read more »
Ebertfest Day 1: Champaign’s Favorite Son Returns With More Overlooked Gems
It is cold here! Send mittens!
While Ebertfest 2012 started out with a disappointing announcement—one of this year’s big name guests, comedian/actor Patton Oswalt, cancelled his fest appearances only minutes before opening night remarks by producer/co-host Chaz Ebert—the capacity crowd’s unbridled enthusiasm in Champaign, Illinois’ gloriously shabby chic Virginia Theatre was in no way diminished.
While SML wasn’t initially super excited about revisiting opening night feature Joe Versus the Volcano, the quirky fantasy was enthusiastically received, and won our hearts with its surreal staging, quirky, absurd dialogue, and top notch comic performances–Tom Hanks, his mullet wig, and Meg Ryan, a comedy knockout playing three very different and well defined characters. In the following Q&A with Joe Director of Photography Stephen Goldblatt, when panelist Christy Lemire mentioned that Goldblatt’s most recent works were Julie & Julia and The Help, the people sitting behind SML cried out, “Wow!” and “Oh my God!” for altogether different reasons than had SML upon discovering this info weeks before.
A comedic short film preceded the next feature, entertaining internet personality spoof The Truth About Beauty & Blogs, amounts to a fun homemade actor’s reel, which is pretty much what it was, according to very smartly dressed writer/co-producer/actor Kelechie Ezie in the Q&A.
Closing out opening night was Phunny Business: A Black Comedy, a laugh a minute, but often too slick by half documentary about entrepreneur Raymond Lambert’s famous Chicago comedy club All Jokes Aside, a spectacular crossroads of black comedy partly responsible for helping launch heavyweights like Steve Harvey, Dave Chappelle, Bernie Mac, and Cedric the Entertainer. While there are plenty of laughs throughout, the onscreen narration by subject/writer/producer Lambert felt forced and oversold, and exactly like the talking heads in today’s crop of “unscripted” reality shows. The result felt self-aggrandizing and a little phony. But luckily, with so many interesting, funny interviews and consistently hilarious clips from the club’s early ’90s heyday, this can only be a very minor complaint.
In the following Q&A, director John Davies told a funny story about when he worked as a Production Assistant for “Sneak Previews” back in its early public television days and once rewrote part of an Ebert review while transcribing it for the teleprompter. When Ebert reached the new lines he called over Davies and gave him a few stern words, followed by the christening of a new nickname: Functional Illiterate.
Stay tuned for recaps of Days 2 through 5, featuring the Alloy Orchestra, momentary eye contact with Doug Benson of “Doug Loves Movies,” and an all-strings version of “Smooth Criminal”!
Champaign-Urbana or Bust: A Preview of Ebertfest 2012
Image by Kagan McLeod, courtesy of Ebertfest.com
To a certain breed of film nerd (myself included), the yearly unveiling of the Ebertfest lineup is a time of great excitement and just a little chin scratching. And, true to form, the newly revealed list of films/guests scheduled for this April’s Ebertfest is sure to raise plenty of yays and maybe only a couple ehs. Such is the spice and homespun charm of this very unusual film festival. Beyond a couple of E-fest programming staples, say, including at least one classic and one or two Africa-related VERY SERIOUS dramas (this year, Citizen Kane and Kinyarwanda, respectively), there’s really no way of guessing what will turn up. These are films Ebert digs, period, and this festival in his hometown of Champaign, IL is his equivalent of the cool grad student deejaying for a party of adoring underclassmen.
Screenings generating the most buzz so far are 2011′s fabulously unsettling Take Shelter, with actor Michael Shannon and director Jeff Nichols in the house for a Q&A (although I tend to think of Ebertfest Q&A more as Kn’A) and 2009′s indie Big Fan featuring a Q&A with star actor/comedian Patton Oswalt. Oswalt’s pulling double duty at the fest, also hosting a separate, free late night screening (at the nearby university’s Foellinger Auditorium) of a film he handpicked: the 1949 Alec Guinness comedic gem Kind Hearts and Coronets. According to Ebert, when Oswalt agreed to attend with Big Fan, “he went one additional step (saying): ‘I’d like to personally choose a film to show to the students, and discuss it.’” Ebert, forever a film professor at heart, was quick to comply. Read more »
On Our Radar: Roger Ebert presents…At the Movies
Sarah: Kimberly! Finally our cries are answered! Roger Ebert announced his new movie review show this week, to begin airing on PBS in January. I am super sad to see that our pals A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips won’t be involved in this new version of the show. And I’ll admit that I don’t know much about either of the new hosts, Christy Lemire of the Associated Press and Elvis Mitchell of NPR, except to say that I hardly ever agree with movie reviews I hear on NPR. Regular contributors Kim Morgan (wait, was she the be-pig-tailed object of your derision at Ebertfest this year?) and Omar Moore are also a mystery to me, and the bits I saw of them in the preview Ebert posted (linked above, take a look) don’t make me want to get to know them, exactly. Morgan’s special lesson about the historic value of The Third Man is especially off-putting, because I tend to resent this sort of “re-examination” of cultural objects that have already been widely accepted as really great. Like when Oprah told us all we should read Steinbeck. Should we, Oprah? What a totally edgy and unusual opinion to share! If only that author could somehow be incorporated into the curriculum of most high school literature courses! HOWEVER (all caps, getting back on track), I am still excited to watch this show based entirely on my trust in Mr. Ebert, National Treasure™. I wasn’t sure I’d like Richard Roeper or Phillips when they started hosting their versions of the show, and damn, if I didn’t enjoy both of them after a short adjustment period. Plus, disagreeing with the reviewers isn’t always a bad thing, as long as they have some insight to share. Most of all, the short clip in the preview of Ebert typing his review of a documentary I’ve never heard of, with his computer voice reading as he types, and giving it a thumbs up made me a little teary with joy. That segment alone will make this show worth tuning in for each week. This TV format of film reviewing has been sorely missed in my house since the sad last episode of Scotlips’ “At the Movies.” Can’t wait! You? Read more »
