TV / Film News

The Other Side of Hugh Hefner

Source: All About Jazz
August 28, 2009

The (Not So) Dirty Secrets of Hugh Hefner

The name Hugh Hefner is all but synonymous with debauchery - the 'Playboy' founder is equally famous for his racy publication as his simultaneous relationships with young, blonde women and the notoriously raucous parties held at Playboy Mansion. But the 83-year-old ladies' man has a history of putting his money where his mouth is, politically speaking. “One of the things I find really curious is when people say I've lived an amoral ...

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Playing for Change Tour PBS Doc Airs This Month

Source: JamBase
August 18, 2009

PLAYING FOR CHANGE ANNOUNCES NATIONWIDE FALL TOUR KICKING OFF OCTOBER 20 DOCUMENTARY “PLAYING FOR CHANGE: PEACE THROUGH MUSIC" AIRS NATIONALLY IN AUGUST ON PBS

Playing For Change After a series of shows that generated rave reviews in Los Angeles, New Orleans and the U.K., it was announced that Playing For Change will launch a national concert tour. Kicking off October 20 at The Birchmere in Washington, DC, the fall tour will bring the Playing For Change movement to ...

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Van Morrison Rediscovers "Astral Weeks" in "To Be Born Again" Doc

Source: All About Jazz
August 17, 2009

What started as a few shows to revisit Van Morrisons 1968 classic Astral Weeks an album hed never previously performed live has blossomed into a much larger celebration of the LP.

First, Morrison turned a November 2008 performance in Los Angeles into the live film/album Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Now hes on a full-blown “Astral Weeks" tour that will run at least through this fall, and there are more related releases in the near future: Morrison is ...

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Making Movies the Old Way: On Film

Source: Michael Ricci
August 16, 2009

Digital video? No, thanks. 'Beeswax's' Andrew Bujalski and other indie directors shoot old school. 'I love how it feels on-screen,' he says.

At a time when many top-shelf Hollywood directors -- names such as Michael Mann, Steven Soderbergh, David Fincher and Francis Ford Coppola -- are proselytizing the advantages of shooting on high-definition digital video, a small, dedicated band of independent filmmakers is championing the seemingly outdated idea of actually shooting on film.

“Beeswax," which opens in L.A. on Friday ...

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New Jazz It Up! Episode Features: Cyrus Chestnut, Jon Gordon, First Lady Michelle Obama, Cannonball Adderley and Todd Barkan

Source: Michael Ricci
August 11, 2009

New York, NY -- The good news of jazz is the musical message of season 2, episode 7 of Jazz it Up! Pianist Cyrus Chestnut performs an uplifting jazz rendition of the gospel classic “We Fall Down, But We Get Up" (by Donnie McClurkin) outdoors in Harlem. The other featured artist is alto saxophonist Jon Gordon, who blows fire from his horn in Greenwich Village during a hip, backbeat jazz tune he arranged for nonet. In the second part of ...

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Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY Screen's and Discusses Woody Guthrie Documentary, "Ain't Got No Home"

Source: Michael Ricci
August 8, 2009

On Tuesday, July 14th, at Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York about a hundred ticket holders found residence in Peter Frumkin's biographical documentary on Woody Guthrie called “Ain't Got No Home." Opening the evening, which included a discussion from Mr. Frumkin and Guthrie's daughter Nora, Jacob Burn's program director, Brain Ackerman described the initiative of this forefather of American popular song. “He didn't just read the headlines, he found the battle lines of where things were happening and ...

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"Brownie Speaks" Documentary: Delaware Premiere on August 18th

Source: Michael Ricci
August 6, 2009

The Delaware Historical Society Presents The Delaware Premiere of Brownie Speaks August 18, 2009 at 6:00pm In celebration of the reopening of its newly renovated research library, the Delaware Historical Society will present a screening of Brownie Speaks, Don Glanden's feature length documentary about Clifford Brown, the legendary trumpeter from Wilmington. The event will take place on August 18 at the Delaware Historical Society Research Library, 505 Market Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. The evening ...

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Seeger and 'The Power of Song' Tonight's 'Great Performances' Special

Source: Michael Ricci
August 5, 2009

Pete Seeger has never paid attention to demographics or audience segments. His message has always been about inconclusiveness as a performer. And he's a performer in many senses of the word.

“A musician, singer, songwriter, folklorist, labor activist, environmentalist, peace advocate," listed Tim Robbins at the start of an all-star gathering at Madison Square Garden last May to celebrate Seeger's 90th birthday.

This celebration has been captured as a “Great Performances" special, and it's full of passion and ideals, nostalgia ...

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