QPORIT

Saturday, April 12, 2014

SNL 2014-04-12 SETH ROGEN

SETH ROGEN ON SNL
2014-04-12

All in all, after a bad start, nearly every skit was funny and quite a few were hilarious. Seth was in many sketches and hit the marks every time.

RECAP NOTES, more or less LIVE (thanks to a lot of commercials I never fell too far behind writing these notes!)_

This show gets off to a terrible start with a lame COLD OPEN about "new"
Republicans. Lots of funny things to say about them. SNL didn't

But the show began to be redeemed with a nice monolog, in which Seth was assisted by cameos from That Girl, James Franco, and Taylor Swift.

The first sketch, a classroom lecture on drug use... JUST SAY NO(W) was hilarious. And the CNN spoof on pregnancy was great also.

Then, an amusingly gross sketch about a guy (Seth) who is tired of caring for his wife whose hands are broken and useless.

MONSTER PALS is a nice reflexion on the real person inside a monster.

BLUE RIVER DOG FOOD is another classic sketch tonight... about people who care, really CARE, PASSIONATELY CARE, CARE CARE!!! that their dogs get real chicken in their dogfood.

WEEKEND UPDATE - fairly funny jokes... ORTIZ on commercial messages... Best line... "Do you suffer from depression? ... Don't" He was good. BAR MITZVAH BOY not so much.

And this next sketch is what happens when you did it ONE TIME and your cousin comes to your engagement party.

UNDERCOVER SHARPTON was funny but, actually, it made no sense at all. Neither did 420, even if you know what they're talking about. "Stop Making Sense" appropriately is the leadoff to one of the next commercials.

HERMAN & SONS going out of business sale has sperm to go.

And that's a wrap. Good show!

Labels: Saturday Night Live, Seth Rogen, SNL

# posted by QPORIT @ 11:57 PM 0 comments

Monday, April 07, 2014

STAGE17.TV

STAGE 17

www.stage17.tv

Making a serious attempt to create a new platform for streaming web series, centered on the Broadway talent base for generating content; and targeted at the Broadway audience demographic for its viewers, STAGE17.TV held an impressive launch event last week. Their friends in the Broadway community, and friends of their friends, filled Alice Tully Hall to capacity to see a preview of the initial content.

Behind Stage 17 are a group of people well positioned for the project. The Chairman, David Stoller, comes from a background of theater advertising, so he knows where theater ads come from, how they are effectively placed, and a lot about the target demographic.

(l) Ondine Landa Abramson - President/Executive-Producer

(r) David Stoller - Chairman

STAGE 17.TV

Stage 17 is creating completely new webisodes and producing new seasons of existing web series. And they contemplate forming a greater Broadway community including both the talent and the audience.

Their motto is "The show must go on... line." They hope to merge the quality and sensibility of Broadway with the new venue of the Internet, to create online theater, online shows, and online content about shows and theater.

They describe the project as half content and half web startup.

It is a daunting task, and they have a long way to go. Though well positioned for understanding the business, they seem currently less skilled in the execution.

Of the initial shows, the clear winners are TERRIBLE BABYSITTERS, picked up for its second season, an hilarious web series created by two veterans of improv, and IT’S COMPLICATED, a well written, well acted show by a multi-talented veteran of online comedy.

Sandy Rustin

IT'S COMPLICATED

STAGE 17

Most of the other shows seem to be very well acted, with a cast of Broadway actors, and nicely shot, but some are -- from the evidence of previews and random scenes (to be fair, we'll have to wait for the full shows for an actual review) -- mostly not very interesting to me, somewhat sour, and very bland. (I was actually offended by the falseness and prudery of a scene in the preview which seemed to show a couple making love... but when the camera pulled back the woman was neither topless nor bottomless. How do you do it with your clothes on?) Hey, this is the audience that reads "50 Shades of Grey")

But, full disclosure, I am just a niche demographic in their target audience:

They describe their shows variously, specifically, and explicitly (in the Press Kit) as targeted to:

1) 25-54 Female

2) Broadway lovers
3) LGBT
4) Theatre lovers
5) "The evolved male" and

6) Also, "Parents"

Notes:

Observationally, this order above seems to be the order of importance they assign to their demographic targets;
As for “LGBT”, “G T B L”, in that order, seemed to me a more accurate description of their priority.
They write "theatre," not theater.
Missing from this list is that extremely important part of the Broadway demographic: Visitors to New York.
Parents" is mentioned as a target demographic only by "IT'S COMPLICATED" --- which is written and performed by Sandy Rustin who writes a blog called "Rated P... for Parenthood. " In fact, both “IT'S COMPLICATED” and “TERRIBLE BABYSITTERS,” the best two shows, are both fine destinations for “parents". Still, the connection between “parents” and Broadway seems tenuous. (That could either a bad thing – weak branding – or a good thing – expanding their reach.)
As for me, in addition to belonging to that last rated target audience, "parent," I'm in that niche group of "evolved male," or what an article in Variety about Stage 17 referred to dismissively as... "Those relatively rare straight guys who like theater as much as (or more than) football.

As a niche bystander, please take my affection -- or lack of it -- for some of Stage 17's shows with a grain or six of salt.

Summing up this part of the discussion… For the content, the acting is fine; and the technical credits are fine; but the writing and direction are weak in too many shows. They need a harder edge on the writing and direction of the shows they directly create, to match at least the level of IT’S COMPLICATED and TERRIBLE BABYSITTERS (which are essentially pick-ups). Fundamentally, they need someone with a poet's ear for language, an artist's eye for images, an expert storyteller’s edge for plot and character, and a website architect's sense of usability, to oversee the content and its presentation on the site.

D'Arcy Carden and Michael Kayne

TERRIBLE BABYSITTERS

STAGE 17

They also need lots more shows, but that will come -- they have many shows in development.

The website needs some more tweaking, though it is improving day by day.

Here are some thoughts about the platform as it now exists, and as it could develop:

Obviously, the website needs to be complete with full episodes of all their initial shows -- not just "trailers". (It is filling up day by day.)
It is also missing "house seats" and "shop" but that will come too. (One of Stoller’s companies handles theatrical merchandise.)
For "community" it needs more than just buttons for sharing (Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, etc). It should have a chat room, perhaps Google hangouts with casts, creators and fans; and other social media elements directly on the site.
Confusing elements need to be cleaned up -- What exactly are "Collections"? What is a "Stage 17 Original"? On the home page, what are "Recent videos"? What are "Popular shows"? Why do "Popular shows" include lots of early episodes of shows that are not on Stage 17 (yet). (I'm guessing that "Popular shows" and "Recent videos" are classifications/section-titles that will make sense when more shows are live, but why use such inaccurate terms now?)
The navigation is difficult. It's hard to go back to HOME. It's not hard to end up lost somewhere in Vimeo.
One of the nice features on the site is a matrix of the creative "stageists" that have worked on the webisodes and the site. Even more could be made of this section, actively promoting the participants. (But I'm not keen on the lame word "stageist”, or the awkward navigation to get to this page on the site.)
It's not clear whether Stage 17 (S17) is (or plans to be) hosting videos directly on its site and streaming the videos itself, or just embedding Vimeo and YouTube videos on their site.
It's not clear how it will handle SEO, since googling “Stage" or "Stage 17" does not bring up Stage17.TV at the top (at least not yet, tho' I've been watching as it creeps up higher and higher in the results); it will probably have to buy ads for those keywords.
STAGE17.TV is not the first place one would look to find the website for "Stage 17". In fact, much of S17’s target demographic would definitely not think of looking for that ".TV" extension. Related URL, Stage17.org, is a cycling site. But STAGE17.COM may actually be available. They should buy it right away. (It can then, of course, be re-directed to stage17.tv.)
To the extent that they are showcasing many web series, PLUS many episodes from those series, S17 would do well to develop a really fine search and navigation tool. In my opinion, that is a great opportunity. I do not think anyone has yet created a really good search tool for video.

Here’s some content I'd like to see added to Stage 17...

Personally, perhaps as a consequence of my niche demographic, I'd like to see more content with a nod to some of the exciting, innovative trends On, Off, and Off-Off Broadway, including immersive theater, theater that interacts with the audience, and "personalized theater".

Since the very concept of Stage 17, combining content and technology, is a variety of TRANSMEDIA, S17 might think in terms of more direct connections between the content and the technology, such as interactive storytelling, and live shows streaming live, with live social interaction built into the show.
While S17 seems now to be thinking rather narrowly in terms of Broadway, the whole community of actors, and theater people, including students and aspiring future theater professionals is an important target audience.
Stars are always an attraction.
In serving and supporting the Broadway community, a show with news and interviews related to current and newly opening shows would be valuable as well as very interesting.
Also, as part of developing a community, "reality shows" with aspiring actors, writers and directors, will bring people in and help many talented people get started.

But about that “niche demographic”…

I’m not entirely sure Stage 17 needs to restrict itself to the demographic priorities they described above. Certainly many shows, like WICKED, are attracting a large audience of females younger than 25. Exciting new shows like SLEEP NO MORE are attracting a completely different kind of audience. Just because some (not so great?) shows “targeted” at men (described in the NYT article below) failed to attract men does not mean that a superior show (or webiseries) with an interesting subject would not be a hit among men.

In seeing how Stage 17 develops, I am curious about what their business strategy might be. Certainly building up traffic is a pre-requisite to any strategy.

One path they might take is to build up an ad base targeted at the community and a subscription base from the community (as well as a “shop”) that allows Stage 17 to profitably run on its own. As noted above, Stoller and Reach 4 Entertainment understand theatrical ads and merchandise.
Another path is to sell itself to a site like Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, Microsoft or Google, that is already developing communities.
A third is to develop content that is so outstanding, it can itself be licensed/resold to TV, or to some other exhibition channel.

Stage 17 is, I believe, looking into developing more venues/outlets/distribution channels, such as mobile on a small screen, or smart-TV / TV-box on the large screen TV in the home. (One of most exciting – and attention getting -- potential new venues is to produce a version of a show that can be seen on Facebook’s new Oculus Rift platform – which allows a very intimate kind of 3D as-if-you-were-there relation with the action.)

I'm looking forward to the development of Stage 17. It is a very interesting project! While it may not yet be ready for major awards, it deserves a citation for “Most Likely To Succeed!”

LINKS

STAGE 17 LINKS

STAGE 17 HOME PAGE
www.stage17.tv

STAGE 17 ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/Stage17

STAGE 17 ON TUMBLR
http://area17tv.tumblr.com/

STAGE 17 ON TWITTER
@stage17tv

DAVID STOLLER AND REACH 4 ENTERTAINMENT LINKS

REACH 4 ENTERTAINMENT HOME PAGE
http://www.r4e.com/

R4E SUBSIDIARIES SPOTCO, THEATERMERCHANDISE.COM, & MORE
http://www.r4e.com/our-companies/

REACH 4 ENTERTAINMENT & PROFILE OF DAVID STOLLER
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=6329481&ticker=R4E:LN

LINKS TO ARTICLES ABOUT STAGE 17

REACH 4 ENTERTAINMENT DEAL FOR % OF STAGE 17
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=11842454

ARTICLE IN VARIETY ABOUT STAGE 17
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/new-digital-platform-stage-17-bets-on-the-broadway-demographic-1201068138/

NYT ON BROADWAY DEMOGRAPHICS
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/theater/in-broadway-seats-few-guys-among-the-dolls.html

QPORIT TRANSMEDIA LINKS

What is TRANSMEDIA? ...

INTRODUCTION TO TRANSMEDIA & Preview: TRANSMEDIA AT NYFF 50
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/09/transmedia-at-nyff-50.html

SLEEP NO MORE -- REVIEW & GUIDE
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/05/sleep-no-more-review-guide.html

DIANE PAULUS AND RANDY WEINER
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/07/diane-paulus-and-randy-weiner.html

Labels: D'Arcy Carden, David Stoller, Michael Kayne, Ondine Landa Abramson, Sandy Rustin, Stage 17, stage17.tv

# posted by QPORIT @ 1:51 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

THE SECOND FIRST TIME FEST

The FIRST TIME FEST (FTF) (STARTS THURSDAY APRIL 3!) is a very special festival devoted to first time filmmakers. It consists of a COMPETITION, in which the grand prize for the winning first time filmmaker is that the film receives distribution; a series of FIRST EXPOSURE screenings, at which distinguished filmmakers present and discuss their first films; and other special events. Last year's FIRST TIME FEST (the first!) was very successful (see below for some stories about the first FTF in QPORIT).

This year's festival (THE SECOND FIRST TIME FEST) promises to be very exciting, with appearances by JULIE TAYMOR, TOM MCCARTHY, and LAKE BELL (among others) and a very promising looking lineup of films in competition.

I'm particularly interested in a film of Strindberg's MISS JULIE, to compare it with the coming version of MISS JULIE currently being shot by Liv Ullmann, starring Jessica Chastain. And I'm very interested in seeing FALL TO RISE, directed by Jayce Bartok, who wrote the brilliant script for THE CAKE EATERS, directed by Mary Stuart Masterson, (and starring Kristen Stewart).

Here's some more information about the FIRST TIME FEST - 2014

FIRST TIME FEST
The Second Time Around
April 3-7, 2014

http://www.firsttimefest.com

CELEBRATING FIRST-TIME FILMMAKERS
WITH A GRAND PRIZE OF THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION
10 NEW INTERNATIONAL FILMS IN COMPETITION
Voted On By Industry Professionals & FTF Audience

‘FIRST EXPOSURE’
RETROSPECTIVE PROGRAM
PRESENTING DEBUT FILMS BY NOW PROMINENT DIRECTORS

Appearing In Person
Peter Bogdanovich, Frederick Elmes, Albert Maysles, Michael Moore,
Kelly Reichardt, James Toback, Julie Taymor,

and Jennie Livingston

with our Opening Night presentation,
PARIS IS BURNING

PANELS AND CONVERSATIONS:
“How They Did It” &
“Stand Alone! Conversations with the Outstanding”

Peter Bogdanovich, Michael Moore

Among Our Special Guests
Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbett, Daphne Rubin-Vega,

Slash, Tamara Tunie, Brooke Shields, Carol Alt

First Time Fest Partnering With
Royal Bank of Canada, Scandinavian Locations &
Village Voice
Hosted By NeueHouse

2014 JOHN HUSTON AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMA

Recipient

JULIE TAYMOR

Additional

‘FIRST EXPOSURE’ Filmmakers

Presenting Debut Films By Now Prominent Directors

Appearing In Person

TOM MCCARTHY (Station Agent)

LAKE BELL (In A World)

Films Presented At Loews Village VII

Tony Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated director Julie Taymor will be the FIRST TIME FEST’S 2014 John Huston Award For Achievement In Cinema recipient, announced FTF Co-Founders Johanna Bennett and Mandy Ward. Ms. Taymor will also be represented in the Fest’s ‘First Exposure’ Retrospective Program where she will attend to present and discuss with the audience her first feature film, Titus.

JULIE TAYMOR

Photo by Eric Roffman

Presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the art of cinema, and whose presence in our community has offered leadership and inspiration to other cinema artists, the John Huston Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema is named in honor of one of America's greatest filmmakers.

Julie Taymor is one of the most adventurous directors working today, known for her visionary work on stage and screen. She is a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and won two Tony Awards – including Best Director – for The Lion King, which is the highest grossing Broadway show of all time. Her most recent stage triumph was the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Theater for a New Audience. Taymor is also an accomplished director of opera, with productions including an astounding realization of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (broadcast on PBS) in Matsumoto, Japan; The Magic Flute for the Metropolitan Opera and The Flying Dutchman and Elliot Goldenthal’s Grendel for the LA Opera. Taymor made an astonishing debut as a film director with her adaptation of Shakespeare’s Titus (screening on Friday at FTF), starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange, and has directed three other films: Frida – the story of Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, starring Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina (which earned six Oscar nominations and won two); Across the Universe, a phantasmagorical musical featuring the music of the Beatles that was a Golden Globe nominee for Best Picture; and The Tempest – her second reinvention of Shakespeare – starring Helen Mirren as Prospera. With her boundless imagination and originality, she is the ideal recipient of our John Huston Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema.

Johanna Bennett and Mandy Ward also are pleased to announce two additional participants in the Fest’s ‘First Exposure’ Retrospective Program Presenting Debut Films By Now Prominent Directors. Tom McCarthy will be attending FTF with his first film, The Station Agent (also expected to attend are some of his great cast including Michele Williams, Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, and Bobby Cannavale); and Lake Bell will be on hand to discuss with the audience her first directorial effort In A World (she starred as well and won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance for her script).

FIRST TIME FEST is a unique film festival celebrating first-time feature filmmakers. Aimed at discovering and providing exposure for the next generation of great filmmakers from around the world, FTF is a five-day event with a competition section showcasing new and exciting debut films, and a series of screenings and discussions with now-prominent filmmakers presenting their first films and then mentoring the first-timers.

The Second Time Around for FIRST TIME FEST is set for April 3 – 7, 2014, and it will be based at NeueHouse (110 East 25^th St.). NeueHouse will be the location for panels, workshops, selected film presentations, parties and the filmmaker lounge. Most screenings, including all the competition films, will take place at the AMC Loews Village 7 (11^th St. & Third Ave.)

FTF will present ten Competition Films, which will be judged by a panel of industry luminaries and the FTF audience. All of the films in competition at FTF are the very first feature of the writer, director, producer, editor, cinematographer or composer of each film. All competition screenings will be followed by “Hot-Seat” discussions between the jury and filmmakers, and all audience members will vote on the films as well. Together, the jury and audience will ultimately select the Grand Prize winner, which is offered theatrical distribution and international sales representation from the renowned American film distributor, Cinema Libre Studio. And with FTF’s new relationship with Scandinavian Locations - the consortium of Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Danish film commissioners - the winning filmmaker will also receive a trip to Norway and Sweden to spend a week at a writer’s cottage in Northern Sweden to work on their next project. Scandinavian Locations will also be hosting our Filmmaker Kick-Off event on April 2 at NeueHouse.

Tom McCarthy and Lake Bell join FIRST TIME FEST’s retrospective series, First Exposure which showcases the auspicious and ambitious debuts by artists who went on to become major filmmakers, with personal appearances by the filmmakers. Also appearing this year: our Opening Night director Jennie Livingston presenting Paris is Burning, Albert Maysles (Salesman), Julie Taymor (Titus), Michael Moore (Roger & Me), Kelly Reichardt (River of Grass), Cinematographer Frederick Elmes (Eraserhead), James Toback (Fingers), and Peter Bogdanovich (Targets).

FTF’s Stand Alone series will feature incredible conversations with Peter Bogdanovich, and Michael Moore.

Between films, we will be hosting an array of Industry Panels with notable producers, financiers, agents, composers, critics and other members of the entertainment industry. Panels at FTF are intimate gatherings between attendees and special guests where questions are encouraged and discussion is lively. Among the panels are “What’s Up, Doc;” “Help Me Help You;” “Show Me the Money;” “We Need a Bigger Boat – producing Independent Cinema;” “The Critical Eye;” “From Rock to Score” presented by the Grammys; and “Sell Baby Sell.”

A special panel, Women in Entertainment and Media, sponsored by the by the Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management Group, will include Brooke Shields, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Carol Alt.

The films in competition are:

1982 USA. Director, Tommy Oliver. Set in Philadelphia at the onset of the crack epidemic, 1982 follows a father's efforts to protect his 10-year-old daughter from her drug-addled mother, while trying to steer her towards recovery. A grant recipient from the San Francisco Film Society and winner of the US in Progress award, 1982 premiered to great acclaim at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival.

Bittersweet USA/Netherlands. Director, Marieke Niestadt. A thrilling, intimate, and unpredictable sports documentary follows Australian kickboxer and WIBA World Champion Diana Prazik's seemingly impossible quest to defeat Frida Wallberg of Sweden.

Butter on the Latch USA. Director, Josephine Decker. At a Balkan music camp, one woman's respite devolves into a thrilling, psychosexual drama as her friendship and sanity are tested to extremes. Butter on the Latch had its international premiere at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival, alongside Decker's second film, Thou Wast Mild and Lovely.

Class Enemy Slovenia. Director, Rok Bicek. A group of students rallies against their new German professor when one of their classmates commits suicide. The film premiered at the 2013 Venice Film Festival, and was Slovenia's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.

Fall to Rise USA. Director, Jayce Bartok. In this multi-layered and absorbing New York drama, a famous principal dancer (Daphne Rubin-Vega) struggles to uphold her identity when a knee injury relegates her to motherhood.

Farewell, Herr Schwarz Germany, Israel. Director, Yael Reuveny. A brother and sister survive the concentration camps, but are separated in 1945. This epic documentary is a journey spanning three generations, two countries, and one fateful decision.

Getting to the Nutcracker USA. Director, Serene Meshel-Dillman. This behind-the-scenes look at The Marat Daukayev School of Ballet’s herculean efforts to stage The Nutcracker is an absorbing, intimate documentary that looks at the sacrifices and passion of its children dancers, ages three to eighteen.

Love Steaks Germany. Director, Jakob Lass. She is an alcoholic chef, he, a sensitive masseur. Together they forge an unlikely relationship in this energetic and darkly comic romance set at a sea-side resort, which won the Lions Film Award at the 2014 Rotterdam Film Festival.

Miss Julie Sweden. Director, Mikael Berg. A beautiful and bold new adaptation of Strindberg's classic battle of the sexes play set on a Midsummer’s night in a rustic mansion in 1920s Europe.

The Sleepwalker USA/Norway. Director, Mona Fastvold. A young couple's renovation plans are thwarted by the unexpected arrival of her estranged sister in this thriller starring co-screenwriter Brady Corbett, Christopher Abbott and Gitte Witt, which premiered in Competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

FTF will also be presenting, in out-of-competition Special Screenings:

See You Next Tuesday USA. Director, Drew Tobia. A pregnant and abrasive grocery store clerk draws her troubled family close as she spirals toward her due date in this moving, dark comedy that recalls the films of John Waters and Todd Solondz.

Nothing Left To Fear USA, Director, Anthony Leonard III. Producer/Composer, Slash. In this thrilling horror film, a family's journey toward a better life is interrupted by an unstable man of the cloth.

ABOUT THE FIRST TIME FEST

Johanna Bennett and Mandy Ward are the co-founders of FIRST TIME FEST. As an accomplished philanthropist, actor, and social entrepreneur, as well as the daughter of singer Tony Bennett, Johanna Bennett has immersed herself within the entertainment and artistic community her entire life. Mandy Ward has worked in the film industry for the past decade in varied capacities, namely as a film producer of several projects. Mitch Levine, CEO of The Film Festival Group, is producing the festival. Through his company, Mitch offers consulting services and expertise to film festivals, film commissions, distribution companies and filmmakers around the world, and was formerly the CEO and Executive Director of the renowned Palm Springs International Film Festival. The Festival’s Director of Programming is David Schwartz, the Chief Curator of Museum of the Moving Image.

Among FIRST TIME FEST’s wonderful sponsors and supporters are: NeueHouse, Scandinavian Locations and the Village Voice.

For Tickets, Passes, Program, Schedule and Additional Festival Information - Visit The Festival Website at

http://www.firsttimefest.com

To download the complete program booklet,

go to the calendar link

and scroll to the bottom of the page:

http://www.firsttimefest.com/ftf-2014-calendar/:

Here are some related links from QPORIT:

QPORIT PHOTO GALLERY

http://qporit-index.blogspot.com/2013/12/photo-gallery-index.html

THE FIRST FIRST TIME FEST

FIRST TIME FEST WINNERS
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/03/first-time-fest-winners.html

THE FIRST TIME FEST IS A BIG WINNER
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-first-time-fest-is-winner.html

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN AT THE FIRST TIME FEST
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/03/philip-seymour-hoffman-at-first-time.html

JULIE TAYMOR

A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/11/julie-taymors-exuberant-midsummer.html

SPIDERMAN
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2011/06/spider-man-turn-off-dark-is-thrilling.html

THE TEMPEST
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2010/12/tempest-julie-taymor.html

Labels: Albert Maysles, FIRST TIME FEST Julie Taymor, Jayce Bartok, Kelly Reichardt, Michael Moore, Miss Julie, Peter Bogdanovich, TITUS

# posted by QPORIT @ 6:12 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 09, 2014

SARA FORESTIER - "SUZANNE" & "LOVE BATTLES"

SARA FORESTIER

Sara Forestier
SHOOTING STAR - 2005
European Film Promotion

SUZANNE
LOVE BATTLES
LOVE IS THE PERFECT CRIME

RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2014

THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
UNIFRANCE FILMS

www.filmlinc.com

Sara Forestier has a small role in LOVE IS THE PERFECT CRIME, but she jumps out of the picture.

It turns out that she is one of the most important current young French film actresses.

In the 2014 RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA it she appears in THREE films, with major, starring roles in SUZANNE, for which she was nominated for Best Actress at the French Cesar Film Awards, and in LOVE BATTLES, a film with such sexual energy it makes BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR seem quite tame.

In SUZANNE, Sara drifts into crime. The film covers decades of her life in a sweeping, penetrating study of her life. It is a very fine and interesting film, though not very pleasant.

In LOVE BATTLES, which makes more metaphorical than literal sense, she engages in a series of increasingly intense wrestling skirmishes with a man who seems to infuriate her because they are not able to connect any other way. Until the wrestling leads to intense coupling.

Sara won the Cesar for Most Promising Actress in 2005 for L'Esquive (GAMES OF LOVE AND CHANCE, (directed by Abdellatif Kechiche) and in 2011 for Best Actress in "Le nom des gens" (THE NAMES OF LOVE).

What makes Sara such a special actress is that she does not get cinematically beautiful for her roles (well... see the music video below for an exception). She seems extremely real, natural, alive, while inhabiting her characters completely, characters who are nevertheless extremely intense.

SARA FORESTIER - LINKS

SARA FORESTIER ON IMDB
www.imdb.com/name/nm1271759

SARA FORESTIER ON WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Forestier

SARA FORESTIER - SHOOTING STAR 2005
http://www.shooting-stars.eu/en/shooting/7145/sara-forestier.htm
http://www.efp-online.com/en/actors/7145/Sara-Forestier.html

SARA FORESTIER ON AMAZON

SUZANNE

Sara Forestier and Adele Haenel

SUZANNE

RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2014

SUZANNE (2013) 94m
Katell Quillévéré, France, 2013, 94m
In French with English subtitles

A coming-of-age story takes on epic proportions in Katell Quillévéré’s follow-up to her lauded debut, Love Like Poison. Suzanne (first played by Apollonia Luisetti and then by Sara Forestier) is a wild child who becomes a mother at 15 and takes up with a local bad boy not long after. Through it all, her widowed father (comic actor François Damiens, in a rare dramatic role) and older sister (Fanie Zanini and Adèle Haenel) try their best to keep the family together. Brilliantly acted, especially by Forestier, Damiens, Hamy and Haenel, Quillévéré’s film, which compresses some 25 years into an hour and a half, proceeds at a furious pace, episodically and elliptically. What sounds melodramatic on paper is never less than urgent and compelling on screen: each decisive moment in this family saga lands with tremendous emotional force.

Sara Forestier and Paul Hamy

SUZANNE

RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2014

Nominated for five 2014 César Awards: Sara Forestier (Best Actress), Adele Haenel (Best Supporting Actress WINNER!), François Damiens (Best Supporting Actor), Paul Hamy (Most Promising Actor), and Katell Quillévéré and Mariette Désert (Best Original Screenplay).

Saturday, March 8, 2:30pm – IFC;
Sunday, March 9, 4:30pm – WRT;
Wednesday, March 12, 4:00pm - EBM

In Person: Katell Quillévéré

SUZANNE IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2298416/

KATELLE QUILLEVERE IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1580395/

SARA FORESTIER TALKS ABOUT SUZANNE (IN FRENCH)

SARA FORESTIER TALKS ABOUT SUZANNE(IN FRENCH)

LOVE BATTLES

James Thierree and Sara Forestier

LOVE BATTLES

RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2014

LOVE BATTLES (MES SÉANCES DE LUTTE)
Jacques Doillon, France, 2013, 99m
In French with English subtitles

“All my strength, all the force of my love… if I heaped it on you, I’d demolish you”: Jacques Doillon’s latest is a bruising investigation into the fault lines that both separate and connect eroticism and violence. James Thiérrée (an acrobat and performance artist, and also Charlie Chaplin’s grandson) and Sara Forestier play Lui and Elle (“Him and Her”), almost-lovers unable to get on the same page, psychosexually speaking. In regular meetings they strive to resolve the impasse (or perhaps, just to expend pent-up energy) through no-holds-barred wrestling matches. Their “battles” grow in frequency and force, testing the lovers’ bodies as much as their souls. Doillon’s camera captures the astonishing physicality of their lengthy struggles less as a voyeur than as a third, invisible combatant. And as the film intensifies, it evolves from a metaphoric exploration of the nature of human sexuality into something far more visceral and affecting. An Adopt Films release.

James Thierree and Sara Forestier

LOVE BATTLES

RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2014

Sunday, March 9, 7:30pm – BAM;
Monday, March 10, 6:30pm – WRT;
Tuesday, March 11, 8:00pm - IFC

In Person: Jacques Doillon

SARA FORESTIER TALKS ABOUT LOVE BATTLES (IN FRENCH)

SARA FORESTIER AND DIRECTOR JACQUES DOILLON TALK ABOUT LOVE BATTLES AT BERLINALE 2013
(She is speaking English with French subtitles.) (He is speaking French with English subtitles.) (unfortunately the video original is improperly scaled: squashed a bit)

OTHER FILMS

CLIPS FROM LE NOM DES GENS (with brief nudity)

MUSIC VIDEO: CYCLOPS & JULIEN RIBOT / LOVE - Featuring Sara Forestier

(Official Video - with nudity)

STORIES IN QPORIT ON

RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2014

COMPLETE PROGRAM - RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2014
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/03/rendez-vous-with-french-cinema-2014.html

FRENCH CESAR FILM AWARDS
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-2014-cesar-french-movie-awards.html

LOVE IS THE PERFECT CRIME
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/02/love-is-perfect-crime.html

GRAND CENTRAL
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/02/love-is-perfect-crime.html

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Labels: LOVE BATTLES, LOVE IS THE PERFECT CRIME, Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, Sara Forestier, Suzanne, The Film Society of Lincoln Center

# posted by QPORIT @ 2:22 PM 0 comments

Saturday, March 08, 2014

SNL -- MAR 8, 2014 -- HOST: LENA DUNHAM with musical guest THE NATIONAL

-- SNL --

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

MAR 8, 2014

HOST: LENA DUNHAM

with musical guest

THE NATIONAL

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/

Lena Dunham, of course, is the creator and star of GIRLS on HBO.

The National is a Brooklyn based, indie rock band.

RECAP:

This was a better than average show. Lena Dunham was quite excellent in her ability to play diverse characters honestly, performing unusually complex dialog without seeming to read it much at all, doing impressions, and appearing in a huge number of sketches.

Had all the scripts been at the same level it would have been a great show.

However, one sketch in particular was mean spirited and unpleasant misandy (that's like misogyny, but against men). Had the genders been reversed, the outcry would have been strong. The sketch wasn't funny, either.

COLD OPEN - Obama gets Liam Neeson (the real one), a man outraged that Crimea could be "taken," to craft a Hollywood image for Obama -- riding horseback bare chested, fighting a bear bare handed -- to counter Putin's press photos. (I call it the Obamimage.) Amusing. Short. Always fun when there's a surprise guest. (NOTE -- No surprise: Liam's NON-STOP ran several ads during the show.)

MONOLOG: Amusing riffs on people coming up to Lena and asking questions or talking about sex.

SINGING IN THE CAR: A strange sketch. Four people in the car singing. Whenever Lena sings the GPS voice interrupts and gives traffic directions. When they reach their destination, a fifth person, bound and gagged, is revealed. Amusing, but it didn't make any sense.

SCANDAL: Hilarious sketch parody of Scandal. The team dispatches every task with unbelievable efficiency and speed. Lena, as a new team member, just wants simple answers to her follow-up questions: For example, she is supposed to go to Mexico, plant a bug, and return in a few hours; she just wants to know how to get the ticket.

MTV2 - WHAT'S POPPIN? : A bad rap group on a bad show about rap (in a bad sketch).

ADAM AND EVE: Lena and Adam Driver in a preview for a prequel to NOAH, "ADAM & EVE" (a film about Adam & Eve, of course, but with a modern sense of trying to understand the situation). As one reviewer says, "There's a lot of nudity, even for Adam & Eve." A bit confusing, but gutsy, interesting, and funny.

WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING, YOU'RE BEING CRAZY: Two Jr High girls doing the stupid talk show. Some cute and funny moments (including another guest: Jon Hamm), but it made even less sense than is usual for this type of sketch.

AMY POEHLER in an efficient, short and funny. (real) commercial for Old Navy.

THE NATIONAL: One of the better musical interludes. They have a nice sound. Mostly kinda soft, except for a couple moments at the end. A highlight was when they turned an instrument upside down and tapped it on the floor, to create a kind of percussive yet musical sound.

WEEKEND UPDATE: One new, one old anchor. The jokes were sharp. MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY was hilarious. But VLADIMIR PUTIN'S CHILDHOOD FRIENDS (with a guesting Fred Armison) was incoherent.

JEWELRY PARTY: I hated this sketch. It spoiled the show. It was not funny. It was mean spirited, and seriously unpleasant misandry.

PIMPIN' PIMPIN' PIMPIN: The THIRD sketch in this evening built around a bad interview/variety/TV/web show. The better moments included an ad for "weed that your hair smokes so it can relax." Liza Minnelli was very good; Harrison Ford was fair.

E-MAILS: An amusing parody of how office e-mails can be misused. There was a great sketch idea here that, sadly -- in the writing, directing, and acting -- didn't quite get realized into something better than a pretty good sketch.

The show seemed to almost go over its time: I don't think they had time for the whole usual list of credits after the last batch of commercials.

All in all, "amusing" seems to be the word that describes most of the sketches. But ADAM AND EVE and SCANDAL were clear highlights. And Lena was a fine Host, taking on more sketches -- and more complex sketches -- than most Hosts, and performing them very well.

LINKS

LENA DUNHAM ON WIKIPEDIA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Dunham

LENA DUNHAM ON IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2501633/

LENA DUNHAM ON AMAZON

THE NATIONAL ON WIKIPEDIA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_%28band%29

THE NATIONAL ON AMAZON

Here are links to some other SNL stories on QPORIT:

SNL -- JAN 25, 2014 -- HOST: JONAH HILL with musical guest BASTILLE

http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/01/snl-jan-25-2014-host-jonah-hill-with.html

SNL-- JAN 18, 2014 -- HOST: DRAKE with musical guest DRAKE
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2014/01/snl-jan-18-2014-host-drake-with-musical.html

SNL -- DEC 21, 2013 -- HOST: JIMMY FALLON with musical guest JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/12/snl-dec-21-2013-host-jimmy-fallon-with.html

SNL - DEC 14, 2013 -- HOST: JOHN GOODMAN with musical guest KINGS OF LEON
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/12/snl-dec-14-2013-host-john-goodman-with.htm

SNL - DEC 7, 2013 -- HOST: PAUL RUDD with musical guest ONE DIRECTION
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/12/snl-dec-7-2013-host-paul-rudd-with.html

SNL - NOV 16, 2013 - LADY GAGA with musical guest LADY GAGA
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/11/snl-nov-16-2013-lady-gaga-with-musical.html

SNL -- OCT 5, 2013 -- HOST: MILEY CYRUS with musical guest MILEY CYRUS
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/10/snl-oct-5-2013-host-miley-cyrus-with.html

SNL -- MAY 18, 2013 -- HOST: BEN AFFLECK with musical guest KANYE WEST -- SEASON FINALE
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/05/snl-may-18-2013-host-ben-affleck-with.html

SNL -- MAY 11, 2013 -- HOST: KRISTEN WIIG with musical guest... VAMPIRE WEEKEND (Fun Show!)
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/05/snl-may-11-2013-host-kristen-wiig-with.html

SNL -- APR 13, 2013 -- HOST: VINCE VAUGHN with musical guest... MIGUEL
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/04/snl-apr-13-2013-host-vince-vaughn-with.html

SNL -- MAR 9, 2013 -- HOST: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE with musical guest... JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/03/snl-mar-9-2013-host-justin-timberlake.html

SNL -- FEB 9, 2013 -- HOST: JUSTIN BIEBER with musical guest... JUSTIN BIEBER
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2013/02/snl-feb-9-2013-host-justin-bieber-with.html

SNL OFFICIAL SITE

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/

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Labels: Lena Dunham, Saturday Night Live, SNL, The National

# posted by QPORIT @ 6:57 PM 0 comments

QPORIT

Saturday, April 12, 2014

SNL 2014-04-12 SETH ROGEN

Monday, April 07, 2014

STAGE17.TV

STAGE 17

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

THE SECOND FIRST TIME FEST

Sunday, March 09, 2014

SARA FORESTIER - "SUZANNE" & "LOVE BATTLES"

Saturday, March 08, 2014

SNL -- MAR 8, 2014 -- HOST: LENA DUNHAM with musical guest THE NATIONAL

visit...

BOBOOBLOG:

THE
Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway
BLOG

CONTACT US AT

About Me

ARCHIVES... see below:

ABOUT THIS BLOG

HOW TO PREDICT THE FUTURE

TWITTER UPDATES:

Twitter Updates

QPORIT --

(c) Copyright 2005-2009 Eric H. Roffman
All rights reserved

QPORIT

Saturday, April 12, 2014

SNL 2014-04-12 SETH ROGEN

Monday, April 07, 2014

STAGE17.TV

STAGE 17

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

THE SECOND FIRST TIME FEST

Sunday, March 09, 2014

SARA FORESTIER - "SUZANNE" & "LOVE BATTLES"

Saturday, March 08, 2014

SNL -- MAR 8, 2014 -- HOST: LENA DUNHAM with musical guest THE NATIONAL

visit... BOBOOBLOG: THEBroadwayOff-Broadway Off-Off-Broadway BLOG

CONTACT US AT

About Me

ARCHIVES... see below:

ABOUT THIS BLOG

HOW TO PREDICT THE FUTURE

TWITTER UPDATES:

Twitter Updates

QPORIT --

(c) Copyright 2005-2009 Eric H. Roffman All rights reserved

visit...

BOBOOBLOG:

THE
Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway
BLOG

(c) Copyright 2005-2009 Eric H. Roffman
All rights reserved