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May 2012
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AFI’S MASTER CLASS AIRS MAY 8TH ON TCM
AFI and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) continue the series of specials exploring some of the greatest artistic collaborations in film on Tuesday, May 8, at 10 p.m. (ET). In the second in a series of specials, TCM PRESENTS AFI’S MASTER CLASS – THE ART OF COLLABORATION: DAVID O. RUSSELL AND MARK WAHLBERG, the two men discuss their collaborations in front of an audience comprised of AFI Fellows studying filmmaking at AFI Conservatory. Wahlberg and Russell's work together includes the Iraq-set drama THREE KINGS (1999), which co-starred Wahlberg, George Clooney and Ice Cube; the offbeat comedy I ♥ HUCKABEES (2004), with Wahlberg, Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman and Naomi Watts; and the Oscar-nominated THE FIGHTER (2010), with Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. Tune in!
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AFI RETURNS TO THE WHITE HOUSE
The President was at the White House – hardly news, but this time we mean AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale, who joined President Obama on April 5 for a special screening of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962), directed by Robert Mulligan and produced by Alan J. Pakula, in celebration of the film's 50th anniversary.
The audience for the event, held in the White House Family Theater, also included local students from Washington-Lee High School; Mary Badham, who portrayed Scout in the film; Gregory Peck's family, including wife Veronique; and AFI Trustees Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman of Sony Corporation and Ron Meyer, President and COO of Universal Studios.
The screening was a homecoming of sorts for AFI, which was created in the White House Rose Garden in 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson set a national mandate to "bring together leading artists of the film industry, outstanding educators and young men and women who wish to pursue the art form as their life's work."
"TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is an American treasure – a film of family and fatherhood, justice and equality – all so richly embodied in the character of Atticus Finch," said Gazzale. "We are honored to screen the film in the White House, where AFI was born, and to partner with USA Network and Universal Pictures to inspire generations of movie lovers to discover and rediscover this classic American film." President Obama introduced the film at the White House and when it aired on USA Network on April 7.
"I'm deeply honored that President Obama will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by introducing it to a national audience," said Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel on which the movie is based. "I believe it remains the best translation of a book to film ever made, and I'm proud to know that Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch lives on – in a world that needs him now more than ever."
The screen adaptation of Lee's novel ranks 25th on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list of greatest American films, and AFI named Atticus Finch the greatest hero in the history of American film when it announced its AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains list in 2003. Peck was the Founding Chair of the AFI Board of Trustees.
(For more on TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, see our AFI Exclusive in this issue of American Film™.)
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UPGRADE DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING FOR MACLAINE TRIBUTE
May 18 is the deadline for upgrading to Five-Star membership and receiving two tickets to the pre-reception as well as the star-studded tribute honoring Shirley MacLaine, the 40th recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award. If you wish to upgrade, please call us today at 1.800.744.4AFI or give here and, before you know it, you'll be on the red carpet singing "If My Friends Could See Me Now."
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MACLAINE AND MORE AT AFI'S SILVER THEATRE
The Shirley MacLaine retrospective continues at the AFI Silver Theatre this month with screenings of THE CHILDREN'S HOUR (1961) on May 14 and 16; GAMBIT (1965), May 15 and 16; THE APARTMENT (1960), May 17, 18 and 19; BEING THERE (1979), May 25 and 27; THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955), May 28, 30 and 31; and THE TURNING POINT (1977), May 29, 30 and 31. Check the show times here.
Affectionados of documentary films won't want to miss the 10th edition of the AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Film Festival from June 18-24. An advance purchase window for all Silverdocs programming will be open from May 29 to June 1 for AFI members at the Three-Star level and higher. Remember, all AFI members receive discounts on program passes — on sale now. Visit silverdocs.com for internship applications and information as it becomes available about this year's festival.
On May 16 and June 1, Three-Star and higher members will receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the AFI Silver Theatre, led by its Director, Ray Barry. Look for your invitation to attend soon. For more information, call 301-495-6739.
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YOUR LINK TO AFI ONLINE ACCESS (TAKE TWO)
Do you have an online account on AFI.com? If not, please sign up here and we'll link it to your membership. Starting this summer, your AFI.com account will help you register for AFI events and renew your membership.
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AFI CLOSEUP: LANE KNEEDLER
We caught up with Lane Kneedler, Associate Director of Programming for AFI Fest on the AFI Campus. With the Cannes Film Festival just around the corner, we knew he'd be ready for his AFI CLOSEUP.
1. Where are you from? I'm from Charlottesville, Virginia. Growing up there, I attended the Virginia Film Festival, which is a funny coincidence because (AFI President and CEO) Bob Gazzale used to run the Virginia Film Festival. Our paths had crossed when I was not even a teenager!
2. Where did you go to school? I went to the University of Colorado in Boulder. And while I was there Stan Brakhage, whose experimental films are preserved in the Library of Congress, was there. I got to take a few classes with him. He's passed on now, but that was really an incredible opportunity.
3. What did you do before you came to AFI? When I first came to Los Angeles, I started off volunteering for the Sundance Film Festival, answering phones and working my way through that organization. Eventually, it got to the point where I was doing what I do here at AFI, watching films and helping them select films.
4. How long have you been at AFI? I came here in 2005, so this will be my eighth festival in November.
5. What do you do at AFI? As the Associate Director of Programming for AFI Fest, I'm in charge of the department that selects the films. You can see last year's stats right behind me: 70 feature films and 40 short films from 3,000 films that were submitted to us. (Festival Director) Jacqueline Lyanga and I travel to a lot of festivals to screen films. AFI Fest is in November, so we choose the films that we loved most from across the year to screen in Los Angeles. So that's what I spend most of the year doing – watching films and selecting the ones to then present at the festival. Watching films is a pretty fun job. It's crazy long hours, but it's pretty hard to complain about.
6. How does what you do benefit our members? We open a window of opportunity for AFI members the day before tickets are released to the general public. AFI members are some of the most passionate, wonderful audience members that we have at the festival. They come and see tons of movies, from our big gala red carpet presentations to our new filmmaker competitions, short film programs and world cinema offerings. They have really eclectic tastes, and the festival helps to serve this audience, bringing films from around the world to Los Angeles.
7. What was your best day at AFI? Last year I got to share the stage with Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly. We were doing a Q & A for their film, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (2011), and Tilda Swinton is just such an incredible, powerful presence. To just even stand next to her is a thrill, but to be there asking her about this film that I have so admired and so loved was really a tremendous evening for me.
8. What are you working on today? Today I am booking my flight to the Cannes Film Festival. Cannes is among the largest film festivals in the world. We get a ton of our movies from screenings at Cannes. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN was from Cannes last year. Also, since we recently announced our Call For Entries, I'm responding to a lot of filmmaker questions about how to submit a film, whether their film is right for the festival, what sort of sections they should submit under, what sort of films we're looking for and so on. Then, at the end of the day, I'm going to Beverly Hills to screen a new film for consideration.
9. What don't your colleagues know about you? I'm a pretty big online over-sharer, so they know too much about me! Well… my wife and I are raising chickens. We have four little chickens – we got them when they were only a day old. So we're going to be having eggs in a few months!
10. What's your favorite film? I used to say my favorite film was NETWORK (1976) because that's probably my favorite script and Paddy Chayefsky's such an amazing writer. But these days I go back to THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928). To think that in 1928 we had maybe the best performance we're ever going to capture on screen is incredible.