After looking at the screening schedule and reading about each film, I decided to create my own schedule based on the films that sound interesting and whether I can make the start times between the two locations. Inevitably, I will miss some films since screenings take place in two theaters, and none of the feature films are repeated, except for Man in the Chair, starring Christopher Plummer and Robert Wagner.
Several films have appealing casts and intriguing storylines that should make for a good time. I'm definetly making time to attend the screenings for Black Irish, Falling, Fido, Jindabyne, Lonely Hearts, Man in the Chair, Mentor, Trade Routes, and Waitress. The good news is that none of these films overlap each other's screenings. Other films in consideration are All the Days Before Tomorrow, LA Blues, and Tomorrow is Today. The bad news is that I will most likely miss films like Charlie, Dead Man's Cards, The Silence, and Steel Toes, among others, because they overlap with screenings of the films above, unless I change my plans at the last minute. With some help from MovieFreak writer George Schmidt, the films Just Like the Son and Divergence will get coverage on this blog as they are being provided as screeners.
The short films are divided into eleven programs or categories, each showing several shorts in one block. A shorts program usually runs between 90 to 120 minutes in length, and more than half of the shorts appear in two different categories. Among the categories are 2 entries for Student Shorts, a Shorts Sampler, and programs with such titles as My America, Heroes & Villains, The Actor's Life, The Way We Were, and My World.
Tonight marks the opening of the festival with the film Waitress, which starts in just a few hours. On that note, I should get ready...
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Welcome to Method Fest
The 9th Annual Method Fest (www.methodfest.com) starts today and continues until April 5th. Named for the famous school of acting, this year's festival will screen 28 feature films and 45 short films to be shown at two locations, the Louis B. Mayer Theatre in Woodland Hills, and the Carlson Family Theatre in Calasbasas, California. To get a glimpse at some of the selected films, check out the Method Fest 2007 trailer, provided by ImageAlive.net.
During the course of the festival, I will be attending as many screenings as I can and take some pictures (not of the movie, of course), and give you the lowdown about them the next day. Are the films worth watching, and if so, what makes them good? If a film turns out to disappoint, it's probably "back to the cutting room," but I'll be more specific than that if that should be the case. The line-up of films looks promising as you can see on this webpage.
And that's not all. There is more to the Method Fest, and what better way to tell you all about it with a press release:
Waitress, the late actress/filmmaker Adrienne Shelly's romantic comedy starring Keri Russell, has been selected as the Opening Night film of the 9th annual The Method Fest independent film festival. The film will screen Thursday, March 29, at 7 pm at the Motion
Picture and Television Fund's Louis B. Mayer Theatre.
Waitress had its premiere at the 2007 Sundance film festival only a few weeks after Shelly, who also stars in the film, was found dead in her New York apartment, victim of an apparent murder. The film was acquired by Fox Searchlight at Sundance and will be released later this year.
Also added to The Method Fest lineup was director Andrew Currie's Canadian film Fido, starring Carrie-Ann Moss and Billy Connolly, a public favorite at both the Toronto and Sundance film festivals.
The Method Fest -- the annual celebration of performance, discovery and independent film -- will open its ninth season with the strongest lineup ever, one that reflects excellence not just in American cinema, but worldwide as well. Strong storytelling, always a hallmark of The Method Fest, will be found in such standouts as Jindabyne, starring Laura Linney and based on Raymond Carver story, Lonely Hearts which features Salma Hayek, Jared Leto and a revelatory performance by John Travolta; and Man in the Chair, in which Christopher Plummer shows why he's been the acting legend he is today.
World Premieres include, Divergence, Charlie, and Schooled. U.S. premieres include Bridge 13 from Iran, El Carnaval de Sodoma from Mexico, and the Bulgarian film, Trade Routes.
The Method Fest is the only major film festival in the U.S. focusing on acting, celebrating breakout acting performances in story driven independent films. In only eight years, more than 80 films that have played / premiered at The Method Fest have gained theatrical release and/or TV and home video distribution.
*Short disclaimer: A few sentences from the press release have been omitted for this reproduction. For the full press release, visit the festival's website.
During the course of the festival, I will be attending as many screenings as I can and take some pictures (not of the movie, of course), and give you the lowdown about them the next day. Are the films worth watching, and if so, what makes them good? If a film turns out to disappoint, it's probably "back to the cutting room," but I'll be more specific than that if that should be the case. The line-up of films looks promising as you can see on this webpage.
And that's not all. There is more to the Method Fest, and what better way to tell you all about it with a press release:
Waitress, the late actress/filmmaker Adrienne Shelly's romantic comedy starring Keri Russell, has been selected as the Opening Night film of the 9th annual The Method Fest independent film festival. The film will screen Thursday, March 29, at 7 pm at the Motion
Picture and Television Fund's Louis B. Mayer Theatre.
Waitress had its premiere at the 2007 Sundance film festival only a few weeks after Shelly, who also stars in the film, was found dead in her New York apartment, victim of an apparent murder. The film was acquired by Fox Searchlight at Sundance and will be released later this year.
Also added to The Method Fest lineup was director Andrew Currie's Canadian film Fido, starring Carrie-Ann Moss and Billy Connolly, a public favorite at both the Toronto and Sundance film festivals.
The Method Fest -- the annual celebration of performance, discovery and independent film -- will open its ninth season with the strongest lineup ever, one that reflects excellence not just in American cinema, but worldwide as well. Strong storytelling, always a hallmark of The Method Fest, will be found in such standouts as Jindabyne, starring Laura Linney and based on Raymond Carver story, Lonely Hearts which features Salma Hayek, Jared Leto and a revelatory performance by John Travolta; and Man in the Chair, in which Christopher Plummer shows why he's been the acting legend he is today.
World Premieres include, Divergence, Charlie, and Schooled. U.S. premieres include Bridge 13 from Iran, El Carnaval de Sodoma from Mexico, and the Bulgarian film, Trade Routes.
The Method Fest is the only major film festival in the U.S. focusing on acting, celebrating breakout acting performances in story driven independent films. In only eight years, more than 80 films that have played / premiered at The Method Fest have gained theatrical release and/or TV and home video distribution.
*Short disclaimer: A few sentences from the press release have been omitted for this reproduction. For the full press release, visit the festival's website.
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