RobertMapplethorpe Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Snag This: 'Black, White and Gray'
Filed under: Documentary », Gay & Lesbian », Independent », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie », Trailers and Clips »
With Valentine's Day looming at the end of the week -- don't forget your lovey-dovey gifts, boys and girls, or Saturday night might end up extra cold, if you know what I mean -- why not go beyond the superficial and consider the meaning of true love. Our friends at SnagFilms are featuring two "true love stories," and we've embedded one of them below in its entirety for your viewing pleasure (US only).
Black, White and Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe is an absorbing look at the controversial photographer and his longtime lover and patron. Mapplethorpe was transformed by art curator and collector Wagstaff, and their relationship was a complex one; Wagstaff's interest in photography was matched by Mapplethorpe's galvanizing artistic vision. The two men also shared a close friendship with poet / musician Patti Smith throughout the 1970s and into the 80s.
James Crump's doc features new interviews with Smith, writer Dominick Dunne, and many others, plus archival interviews with the two subjects, rare footage, and a bevy of gorgeous photographs. It's probably most illuminating for the focus on Wagstaff, a figure who is now forgotten but who, the film argues, deserves much greater recognition. The title refers to a hugely influential exhibition that Wagstaff staged in the early 60s.
Note: the documentary includes brief instances of frontal nudity (in photographs), so it may not be safe for work.
Eliza Dushku Producing Mapplethorpe Biopic
Filed under: Drama », Deals », Sundance »
You probably wouldn't expect a fine art biopic from the gal best known as the bad girl on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but stranger things have happened at Sundance. Eliza Dushku (star of Joss Whedon's upcoming series, Dollhouse) recently announced to E! online that she would be co-producing a biopic of the acclaimed photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe. Dushku tells E, "Literally this week after quite some time, we finalized the deal with the Mapplethorpe estate,"Mapplethorpe earned fame in the 1970's when his portraits of his socialite friends earned the notice of the New York 'scene' -- some of you might even have some of his art and don't even know it; that is if you own a copy of Patti Smith's debut album. But for most of us the name of Mapplethorpe probably brings to mind his controversial later works. In the early 90's there was no more contested artist than Mapplethorpe, he was known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and naked men -- and let's just say his nudes weren't for the 'faint of heart'. His work was a lightening rod for the debate on public funding for the arts and when Mapplethorpe displayed sexually explicit photographs that were supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, it caused an outcry over what exactly our tax dollars are supporting.
Dushku has already made a few in-roads to big-screen stardom, and some have been more successful than others. Maybe she has found her stride as a producer, and so like any good producer she already has her star in mind. The actress confirmed that her brother Nate would be playing the renowned photog. Dushku told E, "Nate physically has an uncanny resemblance to Robert, some pictures are really eerie" -- proving once again that in Hollywood, it really is who you know.
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