american film institute Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The American Film Institute has announced its picks for the ten best films of 2007, and once again it favors Judd Apatow over Joe Wright. Back in 2005, the organization named The 40-Year-Old Virgin as one of the best films of that year, while ignoring Wright's Pride & Prejudice. This time, the AFI has included Knocked Up and left out Atonement, despite the latter's huge presence in the Golden Globe nominations and very probable huge presence in the Oscar race. So, what's going on? Does the AFI really have something against Wright and his very Anglocentric filmmaking? Well, kind of, but only because the organization concentrates on American films (it is, after all, the American Film Institute). To be eligible for the year-end honors, a movie has to have "significant creative and/or production elements from the United States." The movie can even be in a foreign language (non-English, that is) if it is "incontrovertibly American."

Tom O'Neil at the Gold Derby blog still sees some controversy, though. He points out that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which the AFI included this year, was primarily an American production (from Kennedy/Marshall Co. and American director Julian Schnabel) yet had seven foreign partners, while Atonment (directed by a Brit) was also produced by an American company (Relativity Media) and had two foreign partners. I'd add that The Diving Bell is no more "incontrovertibly American" in its subject matter than Atonement -- or even Ratatouille for that matter. While I'm not arguing that Atonement deserved to make the list, I'd assume American Gangster would deserve it more than The Diving Bell, regardless of how much better the latter film may be. At least comedy fans should be happy with the inclusion of Knocked Up, which has so far been left out of most awards season honors.

The complete list is as follows: Knocked Up; Juno; Before the Devil Knows You're Dead; No Country for Old Men; There Will Be Blood; Into the Wild; Ratatouille; The Savages; Michael Clayton; The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

I live a ten minute walk from the Arclight Cinema in Los Angeles, easily one of the best movie theaters in the country. The American Film Institute hosts awesome screenings of new and classic films there weekly, and I try to see as many as I can. Just last week, I enjoyed the new Michael Douglas flick King of California, which was followed by an enlightening talk with the movie's writer and director -- Mike Cahill. Neat, right? But nothing could prepare me for the event that hit my inbox just now. Had I been a cartoon character, my bow tie would have spun around rapidly and smoke would have blasted out of my ears. Readers, if you live in Los Angeles -- KEEP OCTOBER 3RD FREE!

The AFI is celebrating its 40th anniversary with an almost unbelievably cool event. On October 3rd, they will screen eleven classic movies at the Arclight, all at the same time. But what truly sets this event apart are the people they've booked to host the screenings. Check this lineup out, and try to keep your jaw attached to your face: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, presented by Jack Nicholson. Spartacus, presented by Kirk Douglas. The Birds, presented by Tippi Hedren. The Sound of Music, presented by Julie Andrews. Bonnie and Clyde, presented by Warren Beatty. Rocky, presented by Sylvester Stallone. Star Wars, presented by George Lucas (settle down!). When Harry Met Sally, presented by Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal. Beauty and the Beast, presented by Angela Lansbury. The Shawshank Redemption, presented by Morgan Freeman. And Unforgiven, presented by Clint Eastwood. Um...wow. Just wow.

Here is the official site for the event. Tickets go on sale September 19th. which is this Wednesday. Tickets are $25, and include popcorn and soda. The first 100 people to show up for each screening get a 40th Anniversary AFI Book. Dress is "festive attire," all screenings begin at 7PM, and doors are at 5:30. For you non-Angelinos, which screening would you choose if you could go? And if you plan on attending, which one are you going to? I'll be at either Unforgiven or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for sure. Both movies are in my personal top ten, and where else am I going to be up close and personal with Jack Freaking Nicholson or Clint Freaking Eastwood? This is going to be a tough choice! See you there?

Over at The Guardian, blogger Ronald Bergan has written an incredibly snobby article called "Dumb Hollywood is Forever In Debt to Europe." The purpose of the piece seems to be to anger readers -- I assure you it's no accident that he published an article trashing American film on Independence Day. Bergan starts by taking aim at The Guardian's recent list of 1,000 Films to See Before You Die. He says, presumably while wearing a beret and enjoying a snifter of brandy: "A list that includes Dumb and Dumber and not Boudu Saved from Drowning renders itself worthless." He adds, presumably while cleaning his monocle with his ascot: "looking at the American Film Institute's recent list of Top 100 American Films made me think how much richer in masterpieces would be a similar list of non-American films." Please go and read the tremendously one-sided, reductive, dismissive article, which closes: "I suggest that American cinema -- with exceptions that prove the rule -- still lags behind the times. For anyone with an interest in films that explore the cinematic language and who sees film as a radical, contemporary art form on a par with the other arts, American cinema holds little interest."

Does Bergan think any American filmmakers are worthwhile? Yes -- three of them. "The only American-born film directors that truly belong in the Film Pantheon are John Ford, Howard Hawks and Orson Welles." Oh, and according to Bergan, Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz Lang, Douglas Sirk, Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock don't count, because they're "emigres" who "brought what they had learnt in Europe with them to America." Does he respect any living American directors? Not a one: "By the highest standards of cinema, American films fall short. There are no living American directors who can compete in innovation and depth with the likes of Theo Angelopoulos, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Marie Straub, Bela Tarr, Pedro Costa, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Abbas Kiarostami, Manoel de Oliveira, Alexander Sokurov, Jia Zhang Ke or Tsai Ming-liang."

Now, I majored in film in college, and I love foreign cinema, but I'm fairly certain he made a couple of those names up. David Lynch? The Coen Brothers? Stanley Kubrick? Spike Lee? Steven Spielberg? None of these guys impress him? Bergan's failure to even mention Martin Scorsese is particularly inexcusable. By the way, there's the author's photograph in the upper right corner. Do you really think that dude's even seen Dumb and Dumber? Going off of that mug shot, I'd imagine Bergan also doesn't enjoy ice cream, sunsets, and the laughter of children.

Well, I know what I'll be doing tonight! The American Film Institute is announcing its new "100 Years...100 Movies" list this evening, and as much as I tend to disagree with their annual lists, I can't wait. The special airs at 8PM on CBS, and will be hosted by...you guessed it, Morgan Freeman. Yes, they already did this list once before, in 1998. Tonight's special marks the 10th anniversary, and there was an entirely new vote conducted this time out. The previous list caused quite a controversy because of what it included (British films on an American list?) and what it left off, specifically films by black or female directors (the snub of Do the Right Thing still stings). 1998's top ten were as follows: 10) Singin' in the Rain, 9) Schindler's List, 8) On the Waterfront, 7) The Graduate, 6) The Wizard of Oz, 5) Lawrence of Arabia, 4) Gone with the Wind, 3) The Godfather, 2) Casablanca, 1) Citizen Kane. It's hard to imagine tonight's top ten list will change drastically, although I'd expect Schindler's List to drop a few spots.

As limited in scope as these lists can be, I eagerly look forward to every one. I can recall excitedly printing out the 1998 list and seeking out the few I hadn't seen. The lil' film fans of today need this sort of thing to know where to start with an appreciation of American film. The AFI intends to "refresh" the list once a decade -- 43 newer movies are in contention this time that weren't last time around, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Finding Nemo, L.A. Confidential, Fight Club, Spider-Man 2, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Brokeback Mountain, Chicago (Oh please), Crash (Oh please!), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Oh, puh-leeeeease!!!). Over at AFI.com, you can watch videos of stars talking about their favorite movies, as well as download a ballot for yourself, select your favorite 100, and see how well you match up tonight.

The American Film Institute is getting ready for its tenth annual 100-movie countdown TV special, and for its tenth year, it has decided to re-do the original 100 Greatest American Films list, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The idea is, like the Sight & Sound Magazine poll, to get a fresh snapshot of film culture every ten years. More than 1500 jurors will vote from a pre-selected ballot of 400 films. The new ballot includes 44 films released since the 1998 list. The final list will be unveiled in June.

For many film buffs, this news is bittersweet. For a brief second, it raises hope that this list will be far more interesting and daring than the last list, which was mainly comprised of Oscar-winners, plus a few flops (It's a Wonderful Life, Bringing Up Baby, The Wizard of Oz) that have been redeemed and canonized over time. Perhaps this is a chance to add some of Jean Renoir's American films, or James Whale's Bride of Frankenstein (1935) or Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux (1947), or Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) or Max Ophuls' Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), or Josef von Sternberg's American films with Marlene Dietrich, or Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989), or Jim Jarmusch or David Lynch, or...

The American Film Institute will announce today the launching of the spandy-new Dallas International Film Festival, a ten-day fest which will kick off next year, running March 22-April 1, 2007. The inaugural fest will showcase some 150 films, with a focus on international film. Michael Cain, who directed the 2006 Sundance film TV Junkie, has been named artistic director of the fest. Cain previously founded and ran the Deep Ellum Film Festival in Dallas, which is expected to take a bow as the new fest builds up momentum.

The Dallas International Film Festival marks the third fest the AFI has been involved with; the organization already runs the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival and SilverDocs. Target is already on board as a major sponsor for the Dallas fest, and will be providing awards to winners in the narrative and doc categories. The festival will run in venues throughout Dallas, including AMC Northpark Theaters, Landmark Magnolia and Inwood Theaters, and other locations, with discussions ongoing for other venues, including art museums and Southern Methodist University.

As a former Dallas resident with family living four hours north in Oklahoma City, I am thrilled at the news that Dallas will have its own major film festival. Now my family back in OKC will be able to make the short trip down to Dallas to see what I expect will be a lot of quality films. Dallas has a strong film and arts community, and that part of the country seems to be getting more access to quality film of late. In Oklahoma City, for example, when I moved from there 12 years ago, you weren't likely to see any independent films in theaters at all. Now Oklahoma City is showing indie films at both the Oklahoma City Art Museum and Quail Springs Cinemas, and my family is actually able to see many of the films I write about.

The American Film Institute held its Annual Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony Thursday night, and Sean Connery was honored. But the big news of the night was that AFI's chief executive, Jean Picker Firstenberg, resigned and will be leaving her post at the end of this year. She stated that her reason for departing has to do with the new digital age, which she is too old to lead her organization into. The 70-year-old has served as AFI's head since 1980.

Most people don't really understand what AFI does these days besides making unnecessary 100-best lists that are better left to the pop magazines to compile. It is actually an accredited graduate film school and also a non-profit that focuses on film preservation and history. So, while Firstenberg may have problems comprehending the digital filmmaking going on in the classrooms, I think she must also see herself becoming obsolete as films enter easier preservation in the form of data rather than celluloid. Or, she's actually as tired of those stupid lists as I am.