#AFI, American Film Institute, DWW

LUCIA ANIELLO TO BE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT AFI DWW+ SHOWCASE

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES

EMMY® AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER LUCIA ANIELLO AS

KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT AFI DWW+ SHOWCASE

DWW+ Class of 2025 to Debut New Films

Alums of the DWW+ Directing Program Include Lesli Linka Glatter, Siân Heder, Dime Davis, Cicely Tyson, Lee Grant, Gandja Monteiro, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Maya Angelou and More

OR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Los Angeles, CA, March 4, 2025 – Today, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced that Emmy® Award-winning writer/director/producer Lucia Aniello (HACKS, BROAD CITY, ROUGH NIGHT) will deliver the keynote address at the AFI DWW+ Showcase for the Class of 2025 which will take place on Wednesday, March 5 at 7:00 p.m. at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles.

The DWW+ Showcase is an integral part of the AFI DWW+ program and provides an opportunity for the graduating cohort to premiere their short films to an audience of agency and studio representatives, as well as working artists from throughout the creative community.

The presenting directors from the Class of 2025 include Julia Bales, Jahmil Eady, MG Evangelista, Marissa High, Jasmine J. Johnson, Natasha Mynhier, Karina Lomelin Ripper and Ezra Rose. The directors were mentored by AFI DWW+ Guest Artistic Director Hanelle M. Culpepper (STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE, STAR TREK: PICARD, WESTWORLD) who also oversaw the artistic curriculum for the 2024–2025 program.

“Lucia Aniello is an imperative and dynamic voice in today’s storytelling landscape, and we are honored to welcome her as this year’s keynote speaker at the AFI DWW+ Showcase,” said Susan Ruskin, Dean of the AFI Conservatory and Executive Vice President of the American Film Institute. “We look forward to bringing the entertainment community together to celebrate the DWW+ Class of 2025 directors and their bold new films.”

Emmy® and Golden Globe winner Lucia Aniello is a writer, director, producer, performer and one half of the comedy team Paulilu with her partner, Paul W. Downs.

Aniello and Downs have achieved critical acclaim and commercial success writing, directing, producing and acting in comedies such as HACKS, BROAD CITY, TIME TRAVELING BONG, NORA FROM QUEENS, THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB and more.

Aniello is currently writing, directing and executive producing the fourth season of Max’s Original comedy series, HACKS, starring Jean Smart, which she also co-created alongside Downs and Jen Statsky. HACKS has received 48 Emmy® nominations and nine wins across its three seasons, including wins for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series as well as wins for four Golden Globe Awards, four Writers Guild of America Awards and a Peabody Award; and Aniello has won two Directors Guild of America Awards in the category of Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series. The series was honored as one of the Outstanding Television Programs of the Year at the AFI AWARDS for seasons one, two and three. HACKS has also received various award nominations and wins at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics Choice Awards, Producers Guild of America Awards and the Gotham Awards, among others. Season three of the show premiered on May 2, 2024, on Max with season four premiering in the Spring of 2025.

After the success of HACKS in 2021, Downs and Aniello signed a multiyear overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. Most recently, in November of 2024, HBO landed KANSAS CITY STAR, a half-hour comedy starring and executively produced by Kaley Cuoco, created by the Hacks trio of Aniello, Downs and Statsky.

Aniello also served as executive producer and director on Comedy Central’s series AWKWAFINA IS NORA FROM QUEENS and Netflix’s THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB. Aniello previously served as a writer, executive producer and director on Comedy Central’s beloved series BROAD CITY, which ran for five seasons. On the big screen, Aniello directed Sony’s ROUGH NIGHT starring Scarlett Johansson which she also co-wrote and produced with Downs. Other past projects include the Comedy Central miniseries TIME TRAVELING BONG, which was created and written by Aniello, along with Downs and Ilana Glazer.

Download photo of Lucia Aniello (photo credit: Ryan Pfluger)

RSVPs are required for the AFI DWW+ Showcase on March 5.

As one of the longest-running and preeminent film and television workshops nationwide, AFI DWW+ has trained hundreds of artists whose directorial work has entertained global audiences and defined our collective cultural landscape. Distinguished Alums of the AFI DWW+ program include Maya Angelou, Anne Bancroft, Neema Barnette, Pippa Bianco, Tessa Blake, Tricia Brock, Ellen Burstyn, Rebecca Cammisa, Dyan Cannon, Dime Davis, Jan Eliasberg, Naomi Foner, Jennifer Getzinger, Lesli Linka Glatter, Lyn Goldfarb, Randa Haines, Siân Heder, Victoria Hochberg, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Matia Karrell, Maggie Kiley, Lynne Littman, Nancy Malone, Gandja Monteiro, Amber Sealey, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, Becky Smith, Cicely Tyson, Jude Weng and Joanne Woodward. View full list of 350+ AFI DWW+ Alums here.

AFI DWW+ is part of the AFI Conservatory’s Department of Innovative Programs, which also includes the AFI Cinematography Intensive Workshop. Through a range of learning opportunities, Innovative Programs serves a diverse community of aspiring visual storytellers to cultivate cutting-edge technological and media-making skills, bridge access to professional networks and place participants on an upward career trajectory.

Learn more at Conservatory.AFI.com/Innovative-Programs/.

About the American Film Institute (AFI)

The American Film Institute (AFI) is a nonprofit organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form. Established in 1967, AFI launched the first comprehensive history of American film and sparked the movement for film preservation in the United States. In 1969, AFI opened the doors of the AFI Conservatory, a graduate-level program to train narrative filmmakers. The Conservatory, which counts Deniese Davis, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison as Alumni, is ranked one of the top film schools in America. AFI’s enduring traditions include the AFI Life Achievement Award, which honors the masters for work that has stood the test of time; AFI AWARDS, which celebrates the creative ensembles of the most outstanding screen stories of the year; and scholarly efforts such as the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive that preserve film history for future generations. AFI exhibition programs include AFI FEST Presented by Canva and year-round exhibition at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Maryland. AFI Movie Club is a destination for movie lovers from around the world to celebrate and engage with the art form every day. Other pioneering programs include workshops aimed at elevating emerging storytellers and technology, including AFI DWW+ and the AFI Cinematography Intensive Workshop. Read about all of these programs and more at AFI.com and follow us on social media at Facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, YouTube.com/AFI, X.com/AmericanFilm, TikTok.com/@americanfilminstitute and Instagram.com/AmericanFilmInstitute.

About the AFI Conservatory

The AFI Conservatory opened its doors in 1969 to an inaugural class that included Terrence Malick, Caleb Deschanel and Paul Schrader. Today, the Conservatory offers a two-year MFA degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. In a collaborative production environment, AFI Fellows learn to master the art of storytelling, collectively creating up to 175 films a year. Fellows actively participate in the entire life cycle of a film, from development through production and exhibition.

Alumni of this elite program, ranging from modern masters to bold new voices defining the state of the art form, include Andrea Arnold, Darren Aronofsky, Ari Aster, Deniese Davis, Sam Esmail, Brad Falchuk, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Liz Hannah, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas, Polly Morgan, Rachel Morrison and Wally Pfister, among others.

Press contact: American Film Institute

Shari Mesulam, Shari@themesulamgroup.com

Academy Awards, Documentary

CAIR Calls on U.S. Film Companies to Distribute ‘No Other Land’ After Oscar Win

1 Comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on U.S. film distributors and streaming platforms in the United States to pursue rights to distribute the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” a joint Palestinian-Israeli production which chronicles Israeli settler violence and military demolitions of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said:

“Any other documentary this highly acclaimed would have been picked up by a major film company long ago. In the wake of No Other Land’s Oscar win, the unprecedented censorship of this film must end. We call on U.S. film companies and streaming services to pursue this Oscar-winning documentary and quickly make it available to the American public. Palestinian stories have been ignored amid the far-right Israeli government’s campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out with American taxpayer dollars. The American people deserve the right to see this film.”

The film, which has won dozens of prizes since its release last year, was awarded the Oscar for Best Documentary last night at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. The film was produced from 2019 to 2023 and comprises mostly personal camcorder footage filmed by Palestinian activist Basel Adra, 28, who documents the Israeli military’s destruction of his hometown, Masafer Yatta in a small, rugged region in the southern occupied West Bank.

CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com

Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscar

Oscar Winners 2025

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

It was quite a night at the 97th Academy Awards inside the Dolby Theatre at Ovation in Hollywood, California. Indie filmmaker Sean Baker walked away with four Oscars for his latest work, Anora. Meanwhile, his lead actress, Mikey Madison, walked away with an Oscar of her own, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, for her portrayal of sex worker Anora. There were many highlights to the evening including a stand up performance by Conan O’Brien as this year’ s host, a magical opening montage, A-list presenters, song and dance routines, a tribute to the late Quincy Jones, and a “wicked” performance from Arianna Grande and Cynthia Erivo. A complete list of Oscar winners is below:

Oscar Winners 2025

Best Picture

  • Anora – WINNER
  • The Brutalist
  • A Complete Unknown
  • Conclave
  • Dune: Part Two
  • Emilia Pérez
  • I’m Still Here
  • Nickel Boys
  • The Substance
  • Wicked

Best Director

  • Sean Baker (Anora) – WINNER
  • Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)
  • James Mangold (A Complete Unknown)
  • Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez)
  • Coralie Fargeat (The Substance)

Actor in a Leading Role

  • Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) – WINNER
  • Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
  • Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
  • Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
  • Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice)

Actress in a Leading Role

  • Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)
  • Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez)
  • Mikey Madison (Anora) – WINNER
  • Demi Moore (The Substance)
  • Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here)

Actor in a Supporting Role

  • Yura Borisov (Anora)
  • Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) – WINNER
  • Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)
  • Guy Pearce (The Brutalist)
  • Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)

Actress in a Supporting Role

  • Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown)
  • Ariana Grande (Wicked)
  • Felicity Jones (The Brutalist)
  • Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)
  • Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) – WINNER

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

  • A Complete Unknown
  • Conclave – WINNER
  • Emilia Pérez
  • Nickel Boys
  • Sing Sing

Writing (Original Screenplay)

  • Anora – WINNER
  • The Brutalist
  • A Real Pain
  • September 5
  • The Substance

Cinematography

  • The Brutalist – WINNER
  • Dune: Part Two
  • Emilia Pérez
  • Maria
  • Nosferatu

Animated Feature Film

  • Flow – WINNER
  • Inside Out 2
  • Memoir Of A Snail
  • Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
  • The Wild Robot

Music (Original Score)

  • The Brutalist – WINNER
  • Conclave
  • Emilia Pérez
  • Wicked
  • The Wild Robot

Music (Original Song)

  • El Mal (Emilia Pérez) – WINNER
  • The Journey (The Six Triple Eight)
  • Like A Bird (Sing Sing)
  • Mi Camino (Emilia Pérez)
  • Never Too Late (Elton John: Never Too Late)

Production Design

  • The Brutalist
  • Conclave
  • Dune: Part Two
  • Nosferatu
  • Wicked – WINNER

Film Editing

  • Anora – WINNER
  • The Brutalist
  • Conclave
  • Emilia Pérez
  • Wicked

Documentary Feature Film

  • Black Box Diaries
  • No Other Land – WINNER
  • Porcelain War
  • Soundtrack To A Coup D’Etat
  • Sugarcane

Documentary Short Film

  • Death By Numbers
  • I Am Ready, Warden
  • Incident
  • Instruments Of A Beating Heart
  • The Only Girl In The Orchestra – WINNER

International Feature Film

  • I’m Still Here (Brazil) – WINNER
  • The Girl With The Needle (Denmark)
  • Emilia Pérez (France)
  • The Seed Of The Sacred Fig (Germany)
  • Flow (Latvia)

Makeup and Hairstyling

  • A Different Man
  • Emilia Pérez
  • Nosferatu
  • The Substance – WINNER
  • Wicked

Visual Effects

  • Alien: Romulus
  • Better Man
  • Dune: Part Two – WINNER
  • Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
  • Wicked

Costume Design

  • A Complete Unknown
  • Conclave
  • Gladiator II
  • Nosferatu
  • Wicked – WINNER

Animated Short Film

  • Beautiful Men
  • In The Shadow Of The Cypress – WINNER
  • Magic Candies
  • Wander To Wonder
  • Yuck!

Live-Action Short Film

  • A Lien
  • Anuja
  • I’m Not A Robot – WINNER
  • The Last Ranger
  • The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Sound

  • A Complete Unknown
  • Dune: Part Two – WINNER
  • Emilia Pérez
  • Wicked
  • The Wild Robot
#TCM, 31 Days of Oscar

Who is Ninotchka? Greta Garbo

1 Comment

Written and reviewed by Larry Gleeson during the annual TCM 31 Days of Oscar

Ninotchka, is a black and white, 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch  (The Shop Around the Corner) and starring Greta Garbo (Camille, Grand Hotel) and Melvyn Douglas. Billy Wilder was one of the writers along with Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch. One of the film’s best lines came in the form of a question and answer. When Ninotchka was asked how things were in Russia, her response was, ” Very Good. The last mass trials were a great success. There are going to be fewer but better Russians.”

Lubitsch and Garbo

The film featured a  rare comedic performance by Garbo. It was also the first time I have seen Garbo onscreen. Poster’s advertising the film read “Garbo Laughs.” Garbo received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her depiction of the lead character, “Envoy Extraordinary” Nina Ivanovna Yakushov, known simply as Ninotchka.

The film has special relevance as it was the first film to depict a stolid and rigid Stalinist Russia in juxtaposition to the free and open lively Pre-war, Parisian backdrop.  The film itself is much lighter and is regarded as a light satirical romantic comedy. Garbo portrays a stern and cold-hearted Russian woman,  set to Paris to oversee the sale of jewels stolen from the Russian nobility after three Russian comrades muff the sale and are held to task for staying at a luxurious French hotel instead of a cheap one. Not that the film needs it but these three comrades add refreshing comedic relief.

Comrades

While waiting for the sale Ninotchka busies herself visiting and studying the architecture and engineering in Paris. Enter  Count Leon, Melvyn Douglas, a suave and sophisticated Westerner, who is also the retainer of the Russian Duchess , the rightful  owner of the jewels who is refusing to let the jewels go without a fight willing to forego the her jewels if Ninotchka leaves Paris.

Garbo, Douglas, and Claire

But Leon and Ninotchka have chemistry. It is undeniable. Hats off to Douglas and Garbo. Yet Ninotchka represses her attraction as she epitomizes Walter as a representation of Western cultural demise. While Leon pursues  Ninotchka full force and even manages to steal a few kisses with full force. It isn’t until Leon falls off his chair in a humorous moment that causes Ninotchka to laugh hysterically allowing her to open up psychologically. Nevertheless, Ninotchka is a dutiful soldier and returns to Russia. The time the film was made, 1939, Hollywood demanded happy endings and more often than not, Hollywood got its way. And Ninotchka is no exception.

Garbo and Lugosi

Ninotchka was nominated for four Oscars; best Picture, Best Actress in a leading role and two for writing, Original Story and Screenplay. The film was shot at the MGM Studio in Culver City, Calif. A 1960 television movie remake starring  Maria Schell as Ninotchka and Gig Young as Leon Dolga, featured Zsa Zsa Gabor, and an appearance towards the end of the film by Bela Lugosi (Count Dracula)

With a runtime of one hour and fifty minutes, Ninotchka is fun and wholeheartedly entertaining with that sweet and endearing Lubitsch touch. Warmly recommended unless you haven’t seen Greta Garbo onscreen in which case it’s a “must-see!”

 

 

 

 

 

#TCM, 31 Days of Oscar, television

Double Indemnity doubles down with double entendres

Leave a comment

Written and reviewed by Larry Gleeson during the annual TCM 31 Days of Oscar (2025)

Double Indemnity, possibly the definite film that firmly establishes the tenants of film noir with its dark visuals and dark narrative with an unflinching pitch-black worldview reminiscent of German Expressionism. Fred MacMurray (Walter Neff) a successful insurance salesman crosses path with femme fatale, Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck). Neff isn’t a bad sort of a person. Unfortunately, he finds himself at the whims of Phyllis who wants her husband dead. Phyllis entices Neff with just a towel and a pair of gams. What unfolds is a blueprint for as close to a perfect film noir as there is.

Film noir typically uses a voice-over narration, flashbacks, low-key lighting, shadows that conceal emotion, rain-slicked pavements representing fragmented psyches all wrapped around a criminal act with a woman who leads an unsuspecting man down the prim rose path. Double Indemnity has all of this and more. Boasting an excellent cast headlined by Stanwyck, MacMurray, and Edward G. Robinson, and one of the most talented and enigmatic comedic writer/directors in cinematic history, Billy Wilder. Art direction was headed by two German Weimar cinema artists, Hans Drier and Hal Pereira, steeped in German Expressionism. Pioneering low-key lighting cinematographer, John F. Seitz joined in to create visual and thematic motifs from the very beginning of the film.

Every detail of the coldly expressed, mise-en-scen reveals Walter, driving on a rain slicked road in the dark of night. As he makes his way into his insurance office, the illusory visuals of Walter as imprisoned inside a prison yard with prisoners. As Walter begins his flashback via a Dictaphone, a representational handgun, his imprisonment is unabashedly confirmed. Most of Double Indemnity comes through from Walter’s voice-over narrated flashback. His ironic tone and viewpoint enable him to comment on his actions from an informed point of view. As Phyllis puts on a fresh set of clothes after dazzling Walter with just a towel from her open-air, second floor. The use of overhead lighting added an alluring aura. Walter’s desire is undeniable as he voices, “I wanted to see her again without that silly staircase between us.” As the double entendres fly, Walter has taken the bait, hook line and sinker.

Most interesting, is Wilder’s use of doubles, or the doubling effect linking crime and narrative, used widely by Alfred Hitchcock. In a suspenseful moment following Walter and Phyllis’s murder of Phyllis’s husband, Walter’s boss, Mr. Keyes (Robinson) has dropped by Walter’s apartment unexpectedly to inform Walter of doubts of an accidental death for Mr., Dietrichson . Walter listens fully aware Phyllis is on her way over. Phyllis hears Keyes inside Walter’s apartment before he walks out, she hides behind the door. Walter holds open the door chatting as Keyes starts to leave. This is the pivotal moment of truth for Walter. Whose side will Walter’s soul choose? Does he even have a choice? His unconscious, animalistic attraction to Phyllis dictates Walter’s doom and demise. Being under the Production Code, Phyllis needs to be punished. What will Walter do? Tune in and find out! Nominated for seven Oscars, Double Indemnity is highly recommended.

 

 

#TCM, #TCMFF, Robert Osborne Award, TCM Classic Film Festival

The 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival Presenting GRAND ILLUSIONS

1 Comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

The 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival will open in Hollywood, California, from April 24–27. The festival’s theme is:

GRAND ILLUSIONS: FANTASTIC WORLDS ON FILM

The festival will include films such as:

GEORGE STEVENS: A FILMMAKER’S JOURNEY (1984)

George Stevens, Jr., produced and narrates this look at his father’s life and work. It includes interviews with Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Hermes Pan, Frank Capra, John Huston, Alan J. Pakula and Fred Astaire, and features previously unreleased footage of Stevens’ cinematic efforts during World War II; found only after his death, this footage is the only full-color film ever shot during the war. Stevens will be bestowed with this year’s Robert J. Osborne Award, given annually at the TCM Classic Film Festival honoring those who preserve classic film. The award is named after Robert Osborne, a longtime host of Turner Classic Movies.

 

Car Wash (1976)

A groundbreaking comedy directed by 2025 TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL HONOREE, Michael Schultz, that follows a day in the lives of a group of employees at a Los Angeles car wash played by a “who’s who” cast of notable entertainers including Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Franklyn Ajaye, and The Pointer Sisters.

 

Beau Geste (1926)

A silent adventure drama starring Ronald Colman as a man who joins the French Foreign Legion . World premiere restoration presented with live accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

Ben-Hur (1959)

An epic starring Charlton Heston as a Jewish prince, Judah Ben-Hur, who is betrayed and enslaved by a Roman friend. World premiere restoration.

The Big Combo (1955)

A film noir starring Cornel Wilde as a police detective determined to take down a crime boss. World premiere 4K Ignite Films restoration created by the UCLA Film and Television Archives with funding from the Film Foundation.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction epic about humanity’s evolution and the mysteries of space and time.

Festival passes are on sale: Click here

 

Stay tuned!

 

Larry Gleeson, left, with Hollywood starlet, Angie Dickinson. (Photo credit: HollywoodGlee)

 

 

Academy Awards, Oscar, television

Who’s taking Oscar home?

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

As we inch closer to the 97th Academy Awards, one can only guess who will be taking Oscar home. Here are my top picks leading into Sunday evening’s event.

My best guess for Best Picture is Anora

Best Actor Adrian Brody (The Brutalist)

Best Actress Demi Moore (The Substance) (Mikey Madison is my personal favorite- she’s just fun!)

Best Supporting Actress Ariana Grande (Wicked) (I love Isabella Rossellini –The Conclave)

Best Supporting Actor Kieran Culkin. (A Real Pain)

Best Director Sean Baker (Anora) (Coralie Fargeat obliterated The Substance – in a good kind of way!

Ok. There you have it. And please keep in mind everyone deserves a chance to fly!

Conan O’Brien is hosting the 97th Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. Hollywood. The event will be televised live on ABC, streamed live on Hulu.

#TCM, #TCMFF, TCM Classic Film Festival

Michael Schultz 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival Honoree

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

The TCM Classic Film Festival, April 24-27, 2025, in Hollywood California,  has selected Michael Schultz as this year’s honoree

Michael Schultz’s work has consistently drawn praise for its humane qualities, humor, warmth, and life-affirming optimism.

Michael Schultz

Mr. Schultz achieved a distinguished career in the New York theater in the late 1960s early ‘70s. He began directing regional theater at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, with critically acclaimed productions of Waiting for Godot and The Emperor Jones. His off-Broadway debut in 1968 was in the world-famous Negro Ensemble Company’s inaugural season. A founding member of the company, he directed Kongi’s Harvest by renowned Nigerian author Wole Soyinka and Song of the Lusitanian Bogey by Peter Weiss (for which he won the Obie Award for Best Director).

Mr. Schultz also directed plays at New York Shakespeare Festival, Lincoln Center, The Public Theater, the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and the World Theatre Festival in London and Rome. One such production had a command performance in Munich during the Olympic Games in 1972.

In 1991, he directed Mule Bone for Lincoln Center on Broadway, the world premiere of a 60-year-old literary treasure written by Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes.

He made the transition from theater to film in 1972, adapting and directing the off-Broadway play To Be Young, Gifted, and Black for PBS television.

His first feature, Together for Days (1972), was followed quickly by a romantic adventure filmed in Beirut, Lebanon: Honeybaby, Honeybaby (1974). He also directed Ceremonies in Dark Old Men (1975) for ABC Theater, which won him the Christopher Award.

His Hollywood career began in 1975 with Cooley High for American International Pictures, which became a cultural classic and a landmark film in Black cinema. It was also the hit of the 1976 Dakar Film Festival and the 1978 Telluride Film Festival. The critical and box-office success of Cooley High firmly launched Mr. Schultz’s film career.

Car Wash

CAR WASH, another classic for Universal Pictures, followed in 1976. It, too, was a critical and box-office success. In 1977, it was the first film directed by an African American to be accepted to compete at the Cannes Film Festival. The film won the Best Music award for Norman Whitfield and a Technical Grand Prize for Mr. Schultz, as well as competing for the Palme d’Or.

In 1977, he directed Greased Lightning for Warner Bros. and another box-office hit for Universal, Which Way Is Up? Both of these films were star vehicles for Richard Pryor.

He then directed Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978); Scavenger Hunt (1979); Carbon Copy (1981), the film debut of Denzel Washington; and Bustin’ Loose (1981), another Richard Pryor vehicle. In 1985, he directed THE LAST DRAGON for Tri-Star Pictures and the Warner Bros. rap musical film Krush Groove, which introduced LL Cool J and Blair Underwood. In 1987, Mr. Schultz produced and directed the Warner Bros. comedy Disorderlies.

The Last Dragon

Mr. Schultz and his wife Gloria formed Crystalite Productions, Inc., to develop film and television properties. Through this company, he financed, produced, and directed Earth, Wind & Fire in Concert (1982). His latest feature film, Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004), won the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

For more information on how to attend click here.

Robert Osborne Award, TCM Classic Film Festival

George Stevens Jr., set to Receive the Robert Osborne Award

Leave a comment

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Turner Classic Movies pays tribute , Robert Osborne, the late and long time host, with the Robert Osborne Award, presented annually at the TCM Classic Film Festival. The award is bestowed upon an individual whose work has helped preserve the cultural heritage of classic film for future generations. In 2025, TCM honors writer, director, producer and author George Stevens, Jr. in recognition of a career that has celebrated and championed American film. Past recipients have included: Martin Scorsese, Kevin Brownlow, Leonard Maltin, Donald Bogle, and Jeanine Basinger.

Donald Bogle on the red carpet at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival (Photo cr. Larry Gleeson)

On January 4, 2025, President Joe Biden awarded Stevens the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor. The White House recognized Stevens for his “dedication to preserving and celebrating American film and the performing arts…and his creativity and vision that have helped redeem the soul of a nation founded on the power of free expression.” 

Stevens forged his own unique path in film, public service, and the arts during the Kennedy Administration as the director of the Motion Picture Service at the United States Information Agency (USIA). His productions established what has been called the “golden era” of USIA filmmaking. 

Stevens recounts his creative life in MY PLACE IN THE SUN: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington, an intimate account of his show business family spanning five generations, and his own career in Hollywood and Washington. Historian Michael Beschloss praised Stevens “…for not only writing a great book but for being a great artist, a great statesman, and a great friend of democracy in a time that needs it.” Steven Spielberg observed: “George Stevens, Jr. created his own place in the sun and has stood the test of time through his contribution to the culture of the motion picture and all forms of the creative arts.” Stevens’ memoir, recently released in paperback, is also available on Audible and Amazon as recorded by the author. 

George Stevens, Jr. receives honorary Oscar

Stevens has earned 15 Emmys; two Peabody Awards for Meritorious Service to Broadcasting; the Humanitas Prize; 8 awards from the Writers Guild of America; National Board of Review’s William K. Everson Award for contributions to film history; the Paul Selvin Award for writing that embodies civil rights and liberties; the 2009 Spirit of Anne Frank Award for work upholding Frank’s ideals of hope, justice, and equality; and the Legion d’honneur presented by the Government of the Republic of France. In 1997 Stevens received an Honorary Life Achievement Award from The American Film Institute and in 2012 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with an Honorary Oscar for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement.” 

Photo from AFI.com

Stevens’ appointment in 1967 as the Founding Director of the American Film Institute (AFI) placed him at the forefront of culture, politics, and film preservation. During his tenure, more than 45,000 irreplaceable American films were rescued to be enjoyed by future generations. In 1969 he established the AFI Conservatory which gained a reputation as the finest learning opportunity for aspiring filmmakers. 

George Stevens, Jr. is a writer, director, producer, playwright, author, and champion of American film. He has achieved an extraordinary creative legacy spanning more than 60 years, encompassing enduring cinematic and artistic productions that have enlightened audiences worldwide, and enriched the nation’s cultural heritage.

You don’t want to miss this event!

*For more information on attending the Robert Osborne Award Program click here

 

 

 

#TCM, 31 Days of Oscar, television

The Maltese Falcon, It’s What Dreams Are Made Of

Leave a comment

Reviewed by Larry Gleeson during the annual TCM 31 Days of Oscar.

The Maltese Falcon (1941), directed by John Houston, tells the story of hard-boiled detective, Sam Spade, hired for a missing person case. When his partner is murdered, the stakes are raised. What unfolds is a tale of Spade, his partner’s wife (Gladys George), a stunningly beautiful liar (Mary Astor), two police detectives, and three eccentric criminals. In what could consider an homage to Alfred Hitchcock, Huston uses a McGuffin. In addition, the film is shot by cinematographer, Arthur Edeson, with impeccable attention to detail. The film is based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett. What really makes The Maltese Falcon are the characters. All the actors seem to embody their respective characters with an attitude. In retrospect, American society was emerging from the Depression. Men are hardened and society is full of greed. And, as The Maltese Falcon shows, murder is not out of the question.

Interestingly, The Maltese Falcon was John Huston’s first shot at directing. The film allowed Huston the opportunity to continue making films for the next forty years with the same distinctive style. Bogart would take his performance as Sam Spade and reprise it several times over. The role also elevated Bogart to a starring leading man. Additionally, the film introduced Sydney Greenstreet, the Fat Man, Mr. Gutman. Greenstreet would go on top make several more films with Peter Lorre, including Casablanca starring Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The Maltese Falcon was nominated for three Oscars; Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing, Screenplay.

Some film historians argue The Maltese Falcon marks the arrival of film noir. There is a criminal element. The music creates suspense. The use of heavy shadows and low-key lighting define it further. Costuming (Orry Kelly) is befitting with the use of overcoats and fedoras. Undoubtedly,  the most telling characteristic is the mise-en-scen. Additionally, when the detectives visit Spade for the first-time, both detectives leave their coats and hats on. Edeson catches the sergeant in a terrific Rembrandt shot as they question Spade about the murder of his partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan). Film noir was staring back into the camera lens.

Both Huston and Hammett are credited with writing the screenplay. The dialogue makes Spade a tough, cynical, and hard character. Much like the unforgettable line from Lauren Bacall’s character (“You know how to whistle, don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow,” in To Have and Have Not (1944), The Maltese Falcon delivers several. Most cinephiles go verbatim with Spade’s opening response to the beautiful liar, Brigid O’Shaunessy, pleading with Spade to help her:

“You won’t need much of anybody’s help. You’re good. You’re very good. It’s chiefly your eyes, I think, and that throb you get in your voice when you say things like ‘Be generous, Mr. Spade.”

Spade’s ending response is considered classic as well:

“Well, if you get a good break, you’ll be out [of prison] in twenty years and you can come back to me then. I hope they don’t hang you, precious, by that sweet neck. The chances are you’ll get off with life. If you’re a good girl, you’ll be out in twenty years. I’ll be waiting for you. If they hang you, I’ll always remember you.”

and, just before the elevator bars close across O’Shaunessy’s face, foreshadowing a long prison sentence, the police sergeant asks Spade what the falcon is “for.” Spade responds,

“It’s the stuff dreams are made of.”

A telling ending. Huston had been a writer at Warner Bros, before directing The Maltese Falcon. The studio wanted a happy ending. Huston argued against it. There is a lot to unpack in the one hour and forty-minute film. Yes, the characters are an eyeful. And the plot has more than a few twists. Pay attention, it’s worth it. Highly recommended.

Film Review and Marketing