#Philadelphia Film Festival

[therafanatics]

RAFAEL CASAL & DAVEED DIGGS - PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL (2018)

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal at the Philadelphia Film Festival Springfest preview screening of "Blindspotting."

For Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, it all goes back to Oakland. That was where they grew up, where they first met as kids and became life-long friends. Now, all these years later, long after both of them have moved away, Oakland has become the site, the subject and a virtual character in their first film together, Blindspotting.

Diggs and Casal came up together in the underground poetry world of Oak Town (a local nickname for the city). As teens they used to hang out at the local poetry slams; Diggs jokingly said that underground poetry is to Oakland as going to basketball games is to Philadelphia. This started getting both of them some notice, first locally and then they exploded out of the Bump City, going world-wide.

Full article: Pop Entertainment

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

CONCLAVE (2024)

Starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini, Lucian Msamati, Carlos Diehz, Brían F. O'Byrne, Merab Ninidze, Thomas Loibl, Jacek Koman, Rony Kramer, Valerio Da Silva, Joseph Mydell, Vincenzo Failla, Garrick Hagon, Merab Ninidze, Madhav Sharma, Loris Loddi, Roberto Citran, Antonio Toma and Balkissa Maiga.

Screenplay by Peter Straughan.

Directed by Edward Berger.

Distributed by Focus Features. 110 minutes. Rated PG.

Who would have imagined that one of the most intriguing and suspenseful films of this year would be about a bunch of cardinals sequestered in the Vatican to vote on a new Pope? In fact, intriguing and suspenseful is not giving Conclave its full due. This is simply one of the best films of the year. Don’t be surprised to see it on a bunch of best films of the year lists and also for it to get a whole bunch of award nominations.

It's that good. Who would have guessed?

Again, it was about a bunch of cardinals in the Vatican. Blessed are the believers, indeed.

Conclave is based on the novel by Robert Harris and shows us – very forcefully and at the same time very subtly – that some very devout and proper people can still have some skeletons in their closets. In fact, pretty much everyone here, and they are mostly good and spiritual followers of Christ, has some serious secrets which they are not willing to allow to see the light of day.

Many of the deadly sins – lust, greed, pride, envy and wrath – all show up at different points in the story. (Gluttony and sloth don’t seem to be on the menu but give it time.) The final twist – which I will certainly not spoil – is not even on that deadly sins scale and may even go too far afield dramatically for a chunk of the film’s potential audience. Yet somehow it does make a certain strange sense for the story.

Even arguably the most devout person of all – Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) – the man in charge of making sure the conclave runs smoothly and essentially the moral center of the story (assuming you don’t count the dead Pope) makes some dubious moves and forms some sketchy alliances. And yet you can tell he is doing these things for the right reasons.

Or is he?

The choosing of the Pope itself turns out to be oddly like an extremely solemn reality show. Cardinals take the lead in the votes, make alliances with (and against) each other, sabotage each other’s campaigns and as their secrets meet the light of day, they are basically voted off the island.

There is much more subterfuge and backstabbing than you would expect from such a serious pursuit, but that just points out the humanity of the process.

The acting here is unfailingly spectacular, particularly Fiennes, Stanley Tucci as a moderate cardinal and particularly Isabella Rossellini as a quiet but steely head nun, who is mostly ignored by the men, until she finally has to take some moral stands to keep the process going fairly. Seriously, Rossellini should definitely be in line for a Best Supporting Actress nominee.

Like I said earlier, don’t be surprised if that is only one of many Oscar nominations.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 23, 2024.

[dd-is-my-guiltypleasure]

Anyone around Philly ?

[phillypeel]

10.27.22, N. 15th Street, 8:22 pm

on my way to see Weird: the Al Yankovic Story at the Philadelphia Film Festival

[filmnoirfoundation]

NOIR CITY Philadelphia schedule and tix: https://bit.ly/3XHIvYm Hosted by Eddie Muller.

[schlock-luster-video]

On July 14, 2001, Elvira's Haunted Hills was screened at the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

[ritahayworrth]

anyway grace kelly in high society (1956) is actually good. while as far as she is from being a Comedienne™, she totally could have become one if she had had the chance to. like isolating her performance, her tracy is charming and funny, and i think her spin on tracy works and she is able to make it her own especially when you consider that tracy was originally written specifically with kate in mind. its just totally undermined by the fact that when unavoidably you compare the film as a whole to the 1940 version, the film is just not as good because the pacing of high society is horrible, and really just feels like they just cut and pasted the quippiest lines from the original and added some cole porter songs in between. and then of course there is bing crosby...........

[tinseltine]

We're 2 days from Oscar Sunday!  And I finally finished MiniMovieReview Extravaganza 19

Here's short summary, longer posts on tinseltine.com/reviews

WONKA| Warner Bros Pictures  | Writer/Director Paul King  Co-Writer Simon Farnaby

A waste of a prequel. There were so many ways to approach this material and they went with the most unimaginative display of froth imagined.

THE COLOR PURPLE| Warner Bros Pictures | Director Blitz Bazawule Screenplay Marcus Gardley | Based on Alice Walker’s Novel

Perfectly cast.  Spectacularly designed, wonderful musical numbers, it still had heart and struggle, and yet, it was just good, not great.

LEO| Netflix | Directors Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, David Wachtenheim | Writers Robert Smigel, Adam Sandler, Paul Sado

This should have gotten so much more attention.  Please do yourself a favor and watch it on Netflix on a Saturday afternoon, you'll be very delighted with this little tale.

THE IRON CLAW| A24 | Writer/Director Sean Durkin

Some true stories just shouldn't be true. So sorry for this cursed family. Would have been a better Oscar Best Picture nominee than The Holdovers.

SALTBURN| MGM Studios/Amazon | Writer/Director Emerald Fennell

If only Emerald Fennell could have restrained herself from going sensational in the 3rd act, this also could have been a Best Picture contender.

ZONE OF INTEREST|  A24 | Writer/Director Jonathan Glazer

So effective. So meaningful. So boring.

[mediabureau]

Best of… PIFF #16. May 16 - 20, 2023 posted to all social media channels!

Welcome back! We have posted the Best of… PIFF #16. May 16 – 20, 2023. We want to thank everyone who participated in this years PIFF. Thank you!

[ajepyx]

Pics from "Sleep Until Noon" Screening at Philadelphia Independent Film Festival

Pics from "Sleep Until Noon" Screening at Philadelphia Independent Film Festival

Thank you Philadelphia Independent Film Festival for screening Milan Martin’s “Sleep Until Noon” music video and thanks to everyone who enjoyed it!

[sharonallen246]

The Best-Dressed Celebs At Cannes 2023 So Far!

Do you like to keep track of Cannes looks every year? Want to know which celebs ruled the red carpet?

[seeminglyranch87]

Taylor & Travis Timeline

April 2024 - Part 1

April 1 - iHeart Radio Music Awards (x)

Taylor won the following iHeart Awards for 2024

Artist of the Year

Pop Artist of the Year

Tour of the Year

Best Lyrics - Is It Over Now

TikTok Bop of the Year - Cruel Summer

Favorite Tour Style

Taylor accepted these awards remotely

April 2 - Travis speaks to People promoting Kelce Jam music festival (x)

Kelce, 34, tells PEOPLE, "I'm the happiest I've ever been. I'm a guy that some people say is glass half full, half empty, and my glass is all the way full. It's all the way full." "I'm oozing life right now,"

"It's just so much fun getting into when you win the Super Bowl, all these doors open, and so I've just been going through all these open doors, experiencing life and just appreciating the people that have got me here and also staying high and meeting new faces."

"It doesn't feel like there's much chill in my life. Everything seems to be full throttle and just moving at the speed of light, and that's how I kind of like it. I like it to be up pace. I like to have just exciting things going on. And sure enough, I'm out here in the entertainment world trying to dabble into that before I get back locked in on football and knowing that that's going to be my focus until I'm done playing."

"But to dabble around in the entertainment space is something that I'm really interested in, it's just going to be an amazing opportunity to get out in front of Kansas City and just celebrate the Super Bowl win one more time." Travis says referring to Kelce Jam.

ETonline release 8 minute interview with Travis (x)

Speaking of his trip to the Bahamas with Taylor Travis says "t's just a lovely place down there isn't it you can get it all down there, all the love in the world 

"you make it all work is it just you prioritize what's important yeah I mean I think we're both very career driven, I think we both love what we do and you know any chance that I can you know show my support to her and knowing that she's shown me all the support in the world throughout the season it's just been an amazing experience you know getting to know Tay"

Travis spoke to Associated Press (x)

"The only thing I can learn from [Taylor] that translates into how I can perform is just how relatable she is on stage. She’s very comfortable. She brings everybody into the room with her. She makes it an intimate setting even though there’s 70,000 people at every show. It’s pretty impressive.”

Travis speaks with The Hollywood Reporter (x)

You’re producing your second festival and taking part in the live music space, while Taylor Swift put on one of the biggest live music events of all time last year with her Eras Tour. Did you learn anything from watching her do that? (Laughs.) I did: Don’t try and be Taylor, that’s what I learned. Yeah, she’s on a whole other stratosphere. She’s the best at what she does for a reason. It’s because she’s so articulate and just very dialed into every single thing that she does. And that’s the beauty of it. I’d be silly if I ever tried to take anything from what she does, other than just enjoy the people that show up. I think that’s one thing I could probably take away: She really relates to the people she’s performing in front of, and so I’ll take that. Her four-hour concert is not easy to do … It’s impressive.

April 3 - New Heights Ep. 84 airs with special guest Arnold Schwarzenegger. Jason & Travis Kelce film episode in LA after flying in from Philadelphia together with Taylor.

April 4 - Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis confirmed to host

TikTok - waitress who served Travis over the weekend in Ohio shares that Travis knows all 300 Taylor Swift songs in sweet interaction (x)

April 5 - Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity day 2 filming in LA - Travis to host.

Taylor promotes her up coming album The Tortured Poets Department according to Billboard (x)

The two week countdown to 'The Tortured Poets Department' is on — and to celebrate, Taylor Swift unveiled five new playlists featuring songs from her first 10 albums representing a distinct phase of heartbreak. ⁠ ⁠ Four of the playlists are named after the taglines of previously announced deluxe editions: “I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life," “You Don’t Get to Tell Me About Sad,” “Am I Allowed to Cry?” and “Old Habits Die Screaming." The fifth one is dubbed “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” after one of the song titles on 'Tortured Poets.' ⁠ ⁠ Each playlist also features a voice note in which Swift speaks about her personal experiences with each phase, inspired by the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.⁠

Just checking in, how is everyone?

Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis is host

April 8 - Taylor reveals lyrics to TTPD (x)

Perfectly timed with the solar eclipse - personal photo taken on iPhone today - USA

Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis is hosting

April 9 - Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis is host

Travis & Taylor papped driving in LA (x)

April 10 - New Heights Ep. 85 airs with guest Dave "Lil Dicky" talking about Travis dating Taylor (x)

1:16:50 (x)

LD: how you guys doing with all this? Travis beams; "I'm having a blast in life baby, just flying high, enjoying it all!" Lil Dicky says "your most popular Popstar and beloved musician somehow met your most popular beloved athlete and they actually fell in love..." Travis replies "I don't know how I did it because she does not, she wasn't into sports so I don't know how the f**k I did it? Lil Dicky responds "well you did it because you said you called her out on..." Travis answers "I know exactly how I did it!"

Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis is host.

April 11 - New Heights podcast recorded live with Jason & Travis Kelce at Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Travis dances to Shake It Off and tells the audience this is one of his favourite songs, Jason says it's Wyatt's favourite too (x)

April 12 - Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity filmed in LA - Travis confirmed to host

Taylor & Travis seen leaving Sushi Park restaurant - LA

April 13 - Taylor posts (x) with lyrics “I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all.”

The photo reveals that Aaron Dessner is a collaborator.

Travis & Taylor attend Day 2 of Coachella. They are first seen side stage for Bleachers with Jack Antonoff then escorted to the pit for Ice Spice and others through out the night. (x x x x x) Taylor is wearing a New Heights cap

April 14 - Taylor releases another clue in the lyrics of Peace - CONDUCT on Apple Music.

April 17 - New Heights Ep. 86 airs. Jason & Travis Kelce talk about experiencing Coachella (01:07:50) (x)

Jason "we know who you went with, we saw the pictures. All right we know who you went with"

Travis "She's [Taylor] supporting the New Heights"

Jason "Big New Heights supporter - yeah sold out of the green hat real quick"

Travis "It's a good color green"

Jason "How was Coachella different? I expected you guys to be backstage like mostly with the musicians right but it seemed like you guys are in the crowd?"

Travis "I'd like to see it front from the fans perspective like the people that actually cuz I am a fan of music I'm a fan of live shows. I want to see it from the front of the stage. We probably could have finessed it that way but I think it's just that much more of an experience if you're in the uh if you're in the pit man if you're in the the madness with all the uh all the fans. It was awesome though."

Go to previous update -> March 2024 part 3

Go to next update -> April 2024 part 2

Return to the timeline

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

DREAMING OF YOU (2024)

Starring Jack McCafferty, Lauren LaVera, Ian Ross, Jake Westphal, Katie Marovitch, Liz Priestley & Kevin Giles.

Screenplay by Jack McCafferty.

Directed by Jack McCafferty.

Distributed by Rinky Dink Kitchen Sink Productions. 95 minutes. Not Rated.

Screened at the 2024 Philadelphia Film Festival.

This local Philly-based debut surreal romantic comedy from writer / director / star / animator Jack McCafferty is a lot of fun and often very funny, even if you know it’s just wish fulfillment rather than an even slightly realistic look at a relationship.

It tells the story of Miles (McCafferty) and Ren (Lauren LaVera of the currently white-hot Terrifier movies). They meet in a medical waiting room because they are both having issues with sleep problems. Not surprisingly, Miles is immediately smitten with the gorgeous Ren. (Somewhat more surprisingly, the feeling seems to be mutual.)

Much of Miles’ world is broken up by nightmares, and he is rarely able to sleep through the night. (Several of these dream sequences are shown in animated sections done by McCafferty, who is not a great artist, but has a certain style in his work). In these animated dreams, suddenly Ren is in all of them. However, Miles can’t reach her, or even talk to her, as a subconscious representation of his anxiety and shyness. Which is kind of strange, because she’s pretty much throwing herself at him in the waking world.

In one of these dreams, he is on a game show called What Doe She See in Him? and Miles has no answer to this question. Nor does the gameshow host, it’s audience (which is made up of turkeys… don’t ask, it’s sort of a reference to something that happened earlier), or even his sidekick stuffed bear. And honestly, neither can the filmgoers.

It’s not just that she’s massively hotter than he is – and that is very much the case – but he’s also a complete mess. He has problems with anxiety and no self-esteem. He has no job (well he has one he hates early on, but is quickly fired), no money and lives in his late uncle’s garage, which is filled with creepy knickknacks. He also can’t sleep through the night, having nightmares which cause him sleep paralysis, and he often imagines he is being attacked by a demon during these occurrences.

Comparatively, she has an ex-boyfriend who is kind of a dick, and she is dealing with sleep apnea, which causes her to sleep with a CPAP machine. On the plus side, she flirts with him first in the awkward meet cute (in the waiting room of a medical sleep study). She tracks him down in the parking lot and offers him a ride home. She adds him on Facebook first. She texts him first. On their first date, she eventually tells him to make the first move and then has to pretty much talk him into it. Then she even kisses him first.

And why does she fall so hard for him? Well, she says it is because he doesn’t smother her with affection, and he is just himself with her. Yeah, that’s how it usually works with gorgeous women.

Okay, so it’s a nerd romantic fantasy. The hot chick who falls for and seduces the geek. It’s not overly realistic, but it still can be fun to watch. Hell, Judd Apatow made his early career pretty much on similar storylines.

Made on a shoestring budget, Dreaming of You actually turns out to be a pretty impressively well-made film for such an obvious indie. And like I said, it’s often pretty damned funny. Which in the end is all you can ask for in a comedy. I’m looking forward to seeing what McCafferty comes up with next, hopefully with a bit more of a budget.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 28, 2024.

[justforbooks]

Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American engineer, political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", the Party's main practice was monitoring police activities and challenging police brutality in black communities, first in Oakland, California, and later in cities throughout the United States.

Seale was one of the eight people charged by the US federal government with conspiracy charges related to anti-Vietnam War protests in Chicago, Illinois, during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Seale's appearance in the trial was widely publicized and Seale was bound and gagged for his appearances in court more than a month into the trial for what Judge Julius Hoffman said were disruptions.

Seale's case was severed from the other defendants, turning the "Chicago Eight" into the "Chicago Seven". After his case was severed, the government declined to retry him on the conspiracy charges. Though he was never convicted in the case, Seale was sentenced by Judge Hoffman to four years for criminal contempt of court. The contempt sentence was reversed on appeal.

In 1970, while in prison, Seale was charged and tried as part of the New Haven Black Panther trials over the torture and murder of Alex Rackley, whom the Black Panther Party had suspected of being a police informer. Panther George Sams, Jr., testified that Seale had ordered him to kill Rackley. The jury was unable to reach a verdict in Seale's trial, and the charges were eventually dropped.

Seale's books include A Lonely Rage: The Autobiography of Bobby Seale, Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton, and Power to the People: The World of the Black Panthers (with Stephen Shames).

In 1978, Seale wrote an autobiography titled A Lonely Rage. Also, in 1987, he wrote a cookbook called Barbeque'n with Bobby Seale: Hickory & Mesquite Recipes, the proceeds going to various non-profit social organizations. Seale also advertised Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

In 1998, Seale appeared on the television documentary series Cold War, discussing the events of the 1960s. Bobby Seale was the central protagonist alongside Kathleen Cleaver, Jamal Joseph and Nile Rodgers in the 1999 theatrical documentary Public Enemy by Jens Meurer, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. In 2002, Seale began dedicating his time to Reach!, a group focused on youth education programs. He has also taught black studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. Also in 2002, Seale moved back to Oakland, working with young political advocates to influence social change. In 2006, he appeared in the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon to discuss his friendship with John Lennon. Seale has also visited over 500 colleges to share his personal experiences as a Black Panther and to give advice to students interested in community organizing and social justice.

Since 2013, Seale has been seeking to produce a screenplay he wrote based on his autobiography, Seize the Time: The Eighth Defendant.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[nataliadyernews]

Chestnut will be premiering at the Frameline47 Film Festival on June 15th, 2023.

“Named for a street in Philly’s Castro-equivalent neighborhood, Chestnut is an emotional drama steeped in sodium street lights and bar-sign neon, following a young woman through the complex, sexually charged liminal space between college and full adulthood.

Reluctant to leave Philadelphia to take the finance job waiting for her in Los Angeles, aspiring writer Annie (Stranger Things’ Natalia Dyer) meets party girl Tyler (Fargo’s Rachel Keller) and the more reserved, thoughtful Danny (Top Gun: Maverick’s Danny Ramirez), employees of a nearby restaurant, out at a bar. Annie is immediately attracted to Tyler, who pulls Annie into her social circle of locals. Compelled but also confused by where she stands with code-switching Tyler, Annie spends the summer bar-hopping, ghosting her college bestie Jason (Titans’ Chella Man), and avoiding her father’s long-distance career encouragement. But Annie knows she’s on borrowed time, and making a choice about her future is inevitable.”

[filmnoirfoundation]

2024 NOIR CITY DATES:

NOIR CITY Xmas added

NOIR CITY: D.C.: Oct 11-24

AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

Silver Spring, MD

NOIR CITY: Philadelphia: Nov 15-17

The Colonial Theatre

Phoenixville, PA

NOIR CITY XMAS: Dec 18

Grand Lake Theater

Oakland, CA