Edited by Adam Cook
News.
- Above: Martin Scorsese has sent a letter to NYC's City Planning Commission, protesting the gentrification of the Bowery. If only every city had a master of cinema protecting the heritage of its neighborhoods...
- Above: Quinzane des Réalisateurs have unveiled their poster for the upcoming edition this May in Cannes.
- According to The Wrap, William Friedkin's misunderstood 1976 film Sorcerer will be re-released after undergoing a remastering.
- Above: Tilda Swinton has been sleeping in a box as part of an exhibition at MoMA entitled "The Maybe", but even though this was unannounced, can any of us really say it's surprising?
Finds.
- Above: Harmony Korine discusses his approach to Spring Breakers.
- Speaking of Korine, in what will likely go down as one of the most entertaining Reddit AMAs ever, the filmmaker fielded questions (sort of) from curious fans, resulting in exchanges such as this one:
"tetegomme: was Spring Breakers at all influenced by Tree of Life?
Harmony Korine: miami vice"
- The Criterion Collection has released Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux on DVD & Blu-Ray, and our very own Ignatiy Vishnevetsky has contributed an essay to the liner notes—it can be read online here.
- Orson Welles in 1938, photographed by Harry Warnecke with his one-shot color camera (thanks to Hillary Hess for this one).
- Via Cinema Blend, Terrence Malick has selected some films as a guest curator for the "Films on the Lawn" series at the Philbrook Museum of Arts in Tulsa. Among them? Ben Stiller's Zoolander.
- Over at The Seventh Art's blog, Spencer Everhart has turned his attention to a new short film from none other than MUBI's own Kurt Walker (which you can view above):
"With Everything Is Embarrassing (Neonlight), Walker appropriates a self-shot living room hangout for a recounting of a friend’s night out at a club that ended in heartbreak and disappointment, culled from the story’s original telling in a Skype conversation between the two. The text from that chat session is at one point superimposed over the image, bringing about a sense of how communication styles can traverse different modes of interpersonal contact. Walker’s camera is observational and the tone is appropriately patient, evoking the relaxed mood of the social interactions on display. It’s a small work of personal proportions and a naturalistic atmosphere bolstered by modest formal flourishes – the opening colors, the cut to a video game, ending shots of the club, etc. – that enticingly compliment the moods and moments being recorded."
- In a follow-up to his talk with James Gray (which we shared last week) about the late Ric Menello, Richard Brody speaks to Rick Rubin, another close friend of Menello's.
From the archives.
- Above: Petula Clark singing "C'est ma chanson", which Charlie Chaplin wrote for A Countess From Hong Kong.