Thursday, May 18, 2017

American Cinematheque interview about Louise Brooks

Ahead of its May 20th screening of a pair of Louise Brooks films, Beggars of Life (1928) and Diary of a Lost Girl (1929)  in Hollywood, the American Cinematheque ran an interview about Brooks on its blog, "Movies on the Big Screen." The interview, conducted by former Los Angeles Times journalist Susan King, features comments from acclaimed film historian Cari Beauchamp, author of Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood and other books, and myself, Thomas Gladysz, author of Beggars of Life, A Companion to the 1928 Film, and editor of the "Louise Brooks edition" of The Diary of a Lost Girl.


Check out the interview, "The Eternal Louise Brooks," HERE.




DIARY OF A LOST GIRL / BEGGARS OF LIFE
Screening format: DCP

Join us in the courtyard at 6:15 PM, when The Chapwinds will perform music from Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera (which premiered in Germany the year before DIARY OF A LOST GIRL) and Samuel Barber’s “Summer Music,” the most prominent American work in the wind quintet canon.
DIARY OF A LOST GIRL

DAS TAGEBUCH EINER VERLORENEN
1929, Kino Lorber, 112 min, Germany, Dir: G.W. Pabst 
Seduced and abandoned by her father’s assistant, Louise Brooks descends into a lurid hell of reformatories and whorehouses. For a debauched party scene, Pabst insisted on realism – so Brooks complied by playing “the whole scene stewed on hot, sweet German champagne.” // New 2K Restoration!



BEGGARS OF LIFE
1928, Kino Lorber, 100 min, USA, Dir: William A. Wellman 
Rough-and-tumble writer Jim Tully’s autobiography served as the basis for what many consider Louise Brooks’ best American film. She plays a young woman who kills her abusive stepfather and hits the road (in the company of Richard Arlen) hoping to make it to safety in Canada. Wallace Beery delivers a memorable performance as hobo Oklahoma Red in this beautifully shot silent. // New 2K Restoration!

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Louise Brooks related book launch in NYC on May 24th

What happens when an Irish author 
living in Australia is so taken by an 
American painter's work that he writes 
60 short stories inspired by his paintings?
The result is 

LULU IN NEW YORK & OTHER TALES
Words by Robert Power  -  Paintings by Max Ferguson



UNICORN PUBLISHING GROUP


Book Launch
Wednesday, May 24th
6:30-9:00 PM

Readings by the author and DJ Ken Dashow
Models dressed as they are in the paintings
Unveiling of a new painting
A splendid time is guaranteed for all!


Books may also be ordered from:

STRAND  |  

In conjunction with the book launch, 
there is an exhibition of Max Ferguson paintings.

MAX FERGUSON
SOLO EXHIBTION

Through May 27th

37 West 57th Street
New York

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Louise Brooks story THE CHAPERONE to air on PBS Masterpiece

Hooray. This PBS press release relays some good news from the Public Broadcasting System:

San Diego, CA; May 16, 2017—PBS and MASTERPIECE have announced that MASTERPIECE is producing its first feature film which will reunite the writer, director and star of Downton Abbey.

The Chaperone, based on Laura Moriarty’s best-selling American novel, will be scripted by Julian Fellowes, directed by Michael Engler, and star Elizabeth McGovern, who played Lady Grantham in the hit series. It will air on PBS stations nationwide after its initial theatrical run.


The Chaperone takes place against the backdrop of the tumultuous times of the early 1920’s. A Kansas woman (McGovern) is forever changed when she chaperones a beautiful and talented 15-year-old dancer (Julia Goldani Telles, The Affair) named Louise Brooks to New York for the summer. One of them is eager to fulfill her destiny of dance and movie stardom; the other is on a mission to unearth the mysteries of her past.


Speaking at the PBS Annual Meeting in San Diego, MASTERPIECE Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton said, “It feels so right to reunite Julian Fellowes, Elizabeth McGovern, and director Michael Engler for our first feature film. Like Downton Abbey, The Chaperone is a beautifully told period drama set in a changing world, but now the setting is New York City.”

Arclight Films is financing and is handling international sales for The Chaperone. PBS Distribution will distribute the film theatrically and to home entertainment markets in the U.S. UTA Independent Film Group handled North America rights. The finance for The Chaperone is provided by Altus Media of which Paul Brett and John Fields are directors and for which Peter Nichols acts as a consultant. The Chaperone is a coproduction of MASTERPIECE and Rose Pictures, in association with Anonymous Content.

Julian Fellowes said, “I am absolutely delighted to be working with MASTERPIECE and Elizabeth McGovern on The Chaperone, based on Laura Moriarty’s novel, which is captivating and beguiling and resonant in so many ways.”

“It is a thrill and an honor to be working with MASTERPIECE and Julian again on his beautiful adaptation of The Chaperone, and to be in the expert hands of director Michael Engler,” said McGovern.

“We’re honored to be working with the legendary Julian Fellowes, MASTERPIECE, and the entire team behind The Chaperone,” said Gary Hamilton, Managing Director of Arclight Films.

 
The Chaperone is a coproduction of MASTERPIECE and Rose Pictures in association with Anonymous Content. The Executive Producers are Rebecca Eaton, Simon Curtis, Eli Selden and Adam Shulman. The producers are Elizabeth McGovern, Rose Ganguzza, Kelly Carmichael, Victoria Hill and Gary Hamilton. It is adapted by Julian Fellowes from the novel by Laura Moriarty. The director is Michael Engler.

Julian Fellowes and Simon Curtis are represented by UTA. Elizabeth McGovern is represented by UTA and Anonymous Content. Multiple Emmy® and DGA-nominated director Michael Engler is represented by WME, Anonymous Content, and Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal Laviolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman LLP.

Arclight Films is presenting the film to distributors in Cannes this month.


Monday, May 15, 2017

Win tickets to world premiere of the restored Now We're in the Air, starring Louise Brooks

How would you like to win a pair of tickets to the world premiere of the recently found & newly restored Louise Brooks' film Now We're in the Air (1927)? The 23-minute fragment will be shown with the recently recovered Clara Bow film, Get Your Man (1927), on Friday June 2nd at the historic Castro Theater in San Francisco. To enter, simply email the Louise Brooks Society (LouiseBrooksSociety AT gmailDOTcom) a sentence or two or three stating as to why you would like to see this very special program. (This contest does not provide transportation to the theater, simply entrance in.) The winner will be picked and announced on Saturday, May 27th.

Imagine being among the first people in the world to see these two films 90 years after they were first released--and what's more, to see them on the big screen in a silent era theater and with live musical accompaniment! It's almost like time travel. Here is a little more about this very special event.

FRIDAY, JUNE 2
1:00 pm  $16 / $14
direct ticket link

GET YOUR MAN with live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne
Directed by Dorothy Arzner | USA, 1927 | 53 m.
With Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Josef Swickard

Silent-era “It” girl Clara Bow falls for French aristocrat (Buddy Rogers!) after they are locked overnight in a Paris wax museum. There’s a sticking point, though—Rogers’s blueblood is betrothed to another! The Library of Congress has reconstructed the film from recovered materials, filling in missing sequences with key photos and intertitles—and in the process rescuing Bow’s incandescent performance for posterity.
Restored by the Library of Congress
Presented in 35mm



NOW WE'RE IN THE AIR with live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne
Directed by Frank Strayer | USA, 1927 | 23 m.
With Wallace Beery, Raymond Hatton, Louise Brooks

Plus: SFSFF’s Rob Byrne made a remarkable discovery in the National Film Archive of the Czech Republic—footage from the lost Wallace Beery/Louise Brooks comedy, Now We’re in the Air! He was able to restore the 23-minute fragment in time for its premiere in this program.
Restored by San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Presented in 35mm



Remember, to enter, simply email the Louise Brooks Society (LouiseBrooksSociety AT gmailDOTcom) a sentence or two or three stating as to why you would like to see this very special program.

Friday, May 12, 2017

Tomorrow: Beggars of Life with Louise Brooks in the UK

The outstanding 1928 Louise Brooks film, Beggars of Life, will be shown at Stoller Hall in Manchester, England on Saturday, May 13th. This screening will feature live music and will be accompanied by The Dodge Brothers and the fabulous Neil Brand. More information about this event can be found HERE.



The Stoller Hall web page reads:

25% discount when you book full price tickets for both Beggars of Life and the Dodge Brothers at 9pm. That means you can see the brilliant Dodge Brothers for just £5.50 each!

The classic silent film with live music from the Dodge Brothers and Neil Brand.

Film and cinematic landscapes come together when The Dodge Brothers – Mike Hammond, Mark Kermode, Aly Hirji and Alex Hammond – join forces with premiere Silent Film pianist Neil Brand to accompany rare Silent features. Their accompaniment to the Louise Brooks/Wallace Beery 1928 film Beggars of Life was greeted with great acclaim. Performing this at The British Silent Cinema Festival, The Barbican & The BFI Southbank has prompted glowing reviews and the band became the first ever to accompany a silent film at Glastonbury Festival in 2014.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Louise Brooks Double Feature in Los Angeles on May 20

New 2K restoration of two Louise Brooks films, Beggars of Life (1928) and Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) will be shown at the Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Boulevard) in Hollywood, California on Saturday, May 20th at 7:30 pm. More information may be found HERE.

DIARY OF A LOST GIRL
DAS TAGEBUCH EINER VERLORENEN

1929, Kino Lorber, 112 min, Germany, Dir: G.W. Pabst

Seduced and abandoned by her father’s assistant, Louise Brooks descends into a lurid hell of reformatories and whorehouses. For a debauched party scene, Pabst insisted on realism – so Brooks complied by playing “the whole scene stewed on hot, sweet German champagne.” See the movie, read the book.



BEGGARS OF LIFE

1928, Kino Lorber, 100 min, USA, Dir: William A. Wellman

Rough-and-tumble writer Jim Tully’s autobiography served as the basis for what many consider Louise Brooks’ best American film. She plays a young woman who kills her abusive stepfather and hits the road (in the company of Richard Arlen) hoping to make it to safety in Canada. Wallace Beery delivers a memorable performance as hobo Oklahoma Red in this beautifully shot silent. See the movie, read about the movie.



Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Restoring Treasures of the Silent Screen talk May 4

San Francisco Silent Film Festival Board President and noted preservationist Rob Byrne will lead a talk at the gorgeously restored Presidio Officers' Club in San Francisco on Thursday, May 4, at 6:00 pm. In his presentation, "Restoring Treasures of the Silent Screen," Byrne will give a sneak peek into the three SFSFF restoration projects that will have their world premieres at the festival in June. More information about the talk can be found HERE.
"Only ten to fifteen percent of the motion pictures created during the silent film era still survive in complete form today. The other 85-90% of all motion pictures created prior to 1930 are considered “lost” – titles for which not a single surviving print is known to exist in any form. Fortunately, remnants of these long-lost treasures occasionally come to light, providing the opportunity to restore and enjoy films that have not been seen for generations.

Just as diverse as the films themselves are the various techniques employed to recover, reconstruct, and restore them, a process that unites scholarship, technical skill, luck, and fascinating detective work. Join film restorer Robert Byrne as he presents a sneak peek into three recent restoration efforts, all of which will have their world premieres at the 2017 San Francisco Silent Film Festival, June 1 to 4 at the Castro Theatre:

The Three Musketeers (1921): Douglas Fairbanks original swashbuckling saga, restored from a copy of Fairbanks’s own 35mm negative that had been donated to the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Silence (1926): Produced by Cecil B. DeMille, this classic melodrama had been considered lost for generations until a complete tinted nitrate copy of the film surfaced in Paris at the Cinémathèque Française.

Plus a special surprise – fragments of a previously lost feature, Now We're in the Air (1927), provide a tantalizing glimpse of one of the silent screen’s greatest icons (Louise Brooks).

Robert Byrne specializes in the restoration of early and silent era motion pictures, and also serves as President of the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. This special event is presented in association with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival."


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