Zombie Fever

We have made so many announcements this week, my head is swimming. But we still have one more item to plug. For the next six Sundays at 10pm, the zombies from AMC Television's new series The Walking Dead will be taking over. We've had so much fun showing one-off tv shows that we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to air a complete series. (It helps that it is on Sunday night and doesn't conflict with our regular film programming). Not to mention The Walking Dead has a film connection...it was written and executive produced by Frank Darabont...the man behind The Shawshank Redemption. Check out the review in the Wall Street Journal.

So to really go all out in honor of The Walking Dead we've got some things up our sleeve and I'll let you in on a few:

1.) Dressing up as a zombie is highly encouraged. Check out the photo below of the staged zombie invasion in London for ideas...

Even better...check out the photo of our staff decked out as a/perture zombies...

2.) For those diehards who are able to visit us for all six episodes....there will be a reward. We've created a special punch-card and if you visit our concession stand for a treat each Sunday you will get "punched." If you get all six punches, you will receive a gift card for two movie tickets, a large popcorn and two fountain drinks!

3.) Following episode 5 (November 28), we are excited to be hosting our very first ever skype q&a with former Winston-Salem resident Jeryl Prescott Sales who has a recurring role as "Jacqui" in the series. Check out our friend Tim Clodfelter's interview with Jeryl here.

4.) Ssalefish Comics is providing us with coupons to give away and a prize for the best dressed zombie (10/31 only). We'll also have some issues of the first comic in The Walking Dead series for sale.

5.)????

Hope to see your zombified face soon!

these guys said it all when they said it...

intrigued...click here

It's just too heavy for Superman to lift

As the father of a now three year old who has already been forced to think about where his kid is going to school, I feel pretty fortunate to have some good options here for Jake in our fair city. The documentary opening up this Friday at a/perture chronicles some kids whose opportunities could be determined by the drop of a ball. Waiting for "Superman" is the latest documentary from Davis Guggenheim, who last got the nation riled up about the environment in An Inconvenient Truth. "Superman" explores the current state of the public education system in the US, and how it is affecting our children.

I had an idea for Jake's future - I was going to head up to Atlantic City, heed Wesley Snipes's advice to always bet on black, but take it a step further because 50/50 odds are too good and put my life savings on 26 (happy birthday Jake!) to determine whether or not he gets the opportunity to make something of himself. Sound preposterous? Apparently Bill Gates and Oprah agree, and Guggenheim shares the story of five kids trying to find their future. Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post probably captures the urgency of the subject matter of the movie better than I do in his review. Watch this trailer and tell me you don't get a little stirred up from just this snippet:

The movie's title came from a Harlem educator's belief that Superman would fix the problems affecting his area, and while the film leaves one with the impression that we're still waiting, the optimist in me believes we're getting closer. But like any good documentary, this one gets you thinking, and kick starts the discussions that we need to be having, so don't be left out in the cold when the rest of this town is talking about this movie.

s/ix films in s/ix days

We are very excited to announce our participation in the third annual Six Days in November celebration. From November 16-21, Winston-Salem will be the center of cultural and arts activity in North Carolina as we celebrate the themes of arts, crafts and innovation. Six Days will offer more than 165 arts, cultural and cutting-edge technology opportunities in the week before Thanksgiving. Just think, you'll be so busy burning calories jumping from one Six Days activity to another, you can enjoy even more turkey and stuffing this year.

a/perture will present s/ix original and ground-breaking films celebrating the theme of innovation (in addition to our regular film programming):

Tuesday, November 16 @ 8pm - Objectified

presented by DAT'S 10 - Design, Art & Technology Symposium

all tickets $10

Following the 2007 release of Helvetica, director Gary Hustwit has created Objectified as the next film in his trilogy about design. Objectified is a feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. Check out the trailer:

Wednesday, November 17 @ 3pm - A New Dance for America

all tickets $6.50

The story of the life and works of Doris Humphrey (1895 - 1958), a seminal figure in modern dance, is the focus of this 80-minute documentary: A New Dance for America: The Choreography, Teachings and Legacy of Doris Humphrey. Her importance to the development of a uniquely American art form cannot be overstated. She, along with other pioneers (Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Helen Tamiris and Charles Weidman), changed forever the way dancers move, the way choreography is conceived and the way audiences look at dance.

Following the film, Robert Lindgren, founding dean of the UNCSA School of Dance will lead a q&a session. Mr. Lindgren has enjoyed a distinguished career in the field of dance and it is an honor to have him join us for this screening.

Thursday, November 18 @ 3pm - Tall: The American Skyscraper and Louis Sullivan

all tickets $6.50

It was around the turn of the last century that American architecture suddenly grew up. With the invention of the elevator, plus the development of iron and steel as construction materials, there was nothing to stop buildings from scraping the sky ' "castles in the air," they were called, skyscrapers. But how did you design a skyscraper so as to express its newness, its vertiginous height, its good ol' American know-how? Chicago's Louis Sullivan spent the better part of his career trying to answer that question, and what he came up with is the subject of Manfred Kirchheimer's documentary, Tall: The American Skyscraper and Louis Sullivan.

Friday, November 19 @ 3pm - Visual Acoustics

presented by Leonard Ryden Burr Real Estate

all tickets $6.50

Visual Acoustics celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the world's greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream. Shulman, who passed away this year, captured the work of nearly every modern and progressive architect since the 1930s including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Frank Gehry. His images epitomized the singular beauty of Southern California's modernist movement and brought its iconic structures to the attention of the general public. This unique film is both a testament to the evolution of modern architecture and a joyful portrait of the magnetic, whip-smart gentleman who chronicled it with his unforgettable images. Check out the trailer:

Saturday, November 20 @ 5pm - Patty: This is My Normal

all tickets - FREE

A 20-minute documentary from local photojournalist Martin Tucker. Patty is a hobo and has been jumping trains alone since she was thirteen. She is a fascinating woman and this film follows her around downtown Winston-Salem as she narrates her views on religion, politics, relationships and most interestingly, jumping trains.

Sunday, November 21 @ 8pm - Movies by Movers

all tickets $5

A collection of innovative shorts featuring the art of movement. Curated and including works by local filmmaker Cara Hagan, founder and director of 87 Dance Productions.

Followed by a q&a will the filmmakers moderated by Cara Hagan.

So there you have it! Hopefully you'll fancy visiting us for one or two or all six of these films. For more information about other 6 Days in November events please visit cityofthearts.com.

the quintessential allen

For all of you who have been waiting patiently for the past 9.5 months for our showtimes to be in print...you are in luck. As of today, October 21, our showtimes are now appearing weekly in Relish. Proof is in the photo below:

Even better, go pick up your own copy because now not only are they available in the Thursday edition of the WS Journal, but they are also available around town throughout the week in very stylish news-racks.

Now to the films...we are holding over It's Kind of A Funny Story and Never Let Me Go for one more week for all of those who haven't been able to make it to a screening yet. On the other screen we are excited to be opening our very first (and hopefully not last) Woody Allen film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Personally, I am very excited to welcome Woody to a/perture since he is responsible for one of my more recent favorite films..Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

In one sentence You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger follows a pair of married couples, Alfie (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and Helena (Gemma Jones), and their daughter Sally (Naomi Watts) and husband Roy (Josh Brolin), as their passions, ambitions, and anxieties lead them into trouble and out of their minds. Here is a great article in Cinematical about Woody Allen and the review of the film from the New York Times. Check out the trailer below...

Coming in the next week...a ton of blogs...lots to announce...

Welcome Back Miss. Mulligan

This Friday, October 15 we are very excited to welcome back Carey Mulligan to the screen. She helped open our doors this past January with her celebrated role in An Education and now she is back with her new role in Never Let Me Go. Carey is joined on screen by Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield (currently on screen in The Social Network). Even more exciting though is that Never Let Me Go is an adaptation of the novel by one of contemporary fiction's most celebrated authors, Kazuo Ishiguro. The screenplay was adapted by novelist Alex Garland who also just happened to write a little cult classic called The Beach. These are serious credentials here. To top it off Never Let Me Go was directed by Mark Romanek whose previous film One Hour Photo gave Robin Williams the chance to play his creepiest role ever.

So enough with the resume, let's talk about the film itself. Never Let Me Go centers around Kathy (Mulligan), Ruth (Knightley) and Tommy (Garfield), who become entangled in a love triangle complicated by the fact that all three are laboratory specimens, raised in order to provide their organs to severely ill patients. Though it's subject matter is the stuff of science fiction, it is far from it. Never Let Me Go is a beautiful and tragic love story, in the old school sense. Check out the trailer below:

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I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the premiere of Never Let Me Go when I was in Toronto and thought it was one of the best of this year's festival. Andrew O'Heheir from salon.com agrees and trust me he is able to capture his thoughts on paper much better than I.

Help us welcome Carey back!

Indie Heartbreaking Fun Stories

The best part of this past week's Glee (from a non-fan's perspective)...was that this preview came on...

My man crush on Zach has been well documented, so you may be thinking to yourself "why should I trust this dude?" Well, the rest of the world is catching on. Check out USA Today for an article about Mr. Galifianakis. While he's not the focus of the film It's Kind of a Funny Story, I can only hope it will be his Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, convincing the rest of the world he's more than a pager carrying wolfpack of one. If you don't get that joke, stop reading now and watch The Hangover. Seriously, I'll wait...

Alright, as you can see from the trailer, the movie's a look into an overstressed teen, both through internal and external forces, who ends up in a psych ward. Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum's review gives you a little more insight, and as a movie that Lawren and I were lucky enough to see in Toronto, I have to agree. I never thought I'd see the words John Hughes and psych ward drama in the same sentence, actually making sense. Throw in a score from Broken Social Scene, the protagonist Keir Gilchrist's parents played by Jim Gaffigan and Lauren Graham, Julia Roberts's niece, the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, and the scribes of Half Nelson, and how can you say no?

But that's not all we have to offer this week. How about Johnny Depp's real life wife, trying to have her pending nuptials sabotaged by a debonair Frenchmen? Keep your undergarments on ladies, Johnny Depp isn't in this movie, but Romain Duris could be a more than capable substitute. Here's the Los Angeles Times review, and the trailer.

Who says indie movies can't be fun and light-hearted?

So long summer...

Now that we have crossed over into October and it looks like the 90 degree days are behind us, I thought it would be appropriate to post some of the extracurricular highlights of our summer.

A visit from Camp Jump Start who enjoyed a screening of The Triplets of Belleville

We had three separate visits from YMCA day camps, below are students from Philo Middle

Our youngest patrons enjoyed Kirikou & the Sorceress

Jigar with director Richie Mehta at the RiverRun & AFI Project 20/20 screening of Mehta's film Amal

It was a great summer and expect this Fall to be even better....

I'm all out of love...

Gentlemen, tired of the movies slanted towards the double x chromosomes your female counterparts have been dragging you too? Me too. Redemption is on hand. This weekend, Guy Pearce is a cop, hunting down the most vicious family since the Tanners from Full House (I stand by my theory that this family was the most evil entity ever...twins who pretend to be one kid? A ventriloquist with a woodchuck? KIMMY GIBBLER?!??!?!) in Animal Kingdom. But wait, ladies, it has Guy Pearce, who's absolutely dreamy (and he's sporting a mustache). Something for everyone! Except your kids, take them to our other studio to watch Mao's Last Dancer. Wait, that does mean we have something for everyone.

This has the feel of another movie we showed a couple of months back, Un Prophete, another gritty gangster movie, that was phenomenal but sparsely attended. I take full blame, but this time it's on you if you miss this gem. The reviews in Relish from the Winston-Salem Journal and Mark Burger in Yes! Weekly agree with me. Don't be left by yourself on the wrong side of the street. See this movie. Preview below:



Air Supply in the previews...another win for both males and females.

Annual pilgrimage to Toronto...

So I have been back from my annual expedition to the Toronto International Film Festival (okay it was only the second time, but I hope to make it yearly) a little over a week and now that I have caught up on most of my emails and cleared my head...I'm ready to get my thoughts down in a blog.

My mom accompanied me for part of the trip and Jigar joined me for a couple of days towards the end. I saw some really remarkable films and had a whirlwind time this year. I was able to meet some other industry folks and do a bit of networking for a/perture. I enjoyed every single minute!

Here are my thoughts in list form, same categories as last year:

Longest time spent in line: 1.5 hours for Dhobi Ghat. Dhobi Ghat is Aamir Khan’s new film and if you don’t know who Aamir Khan is think Tom Cruise on the Indian subcontinent. A mad frenzy of devoted fans greeted Mr. Khan on his arrival…it was pure chaos. My in-laws were super-impressed.

Buckets of popcorn consumed: more than last year….in fact some of it tasted like it was leftover from last year.

Coolest Q&As: there were actually a lot more at this year’s festival. Directors and cast were more available and were totally stoked to talk about their films. Here were some highlights:

1.) Tom Hooper, director of The King’s Speech, who brought along Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush…What can I say, The King’s Speech is my pick to win the Best Picture Oscar, so just imagine how excited the audience was and how engaging the talent was as a result.

2.) Stephen Frears, director of Tamara Drewe, who brought along Gemma Arterton and Dominic Cooper. Stephen Frears is perhaps the funniest man alive. He had the audience in stitches. I fantasize about Mr. Frears coming to attend a q&a at a/perture when we open Tamara Drewe.

3.) Never Let Me Go - Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, author Kazuo Ishiguro, screenwriter Alex Garland (author of a great little book called The Beach) and director Mark Romanek were all in attendance. The film was simply beautiful. I have to admit that I didn’t read the novel, but judging by the audience reaction they really thought the adaptation lived up.

Biggest surprise hit: Dirty Girl – honestly I could just sit and watch this loveable film over and over again. Juno Temple (you may remember her from Atonement) and newcomer Jeremy Dozier play unlikely friends in this quirky love story/comedy/salute to the Midwest in the eighties. Director Abe Sylvia is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Celebrity sightings: So we lucked out this year and got hooked up with an invite to a Fox Searchlight party honoring some of their films…here is just a sampling of who we were in the same room with: Vincent Cassel(swoon), Danny Boyle, Maria Bello, Michael Sheen, Minnie Driver, Tony Goldwyn, Hillary Swank, Andrew Garfield (who you can check out soon in Never Let Me Go).

Best photo-op: my mom at the Fox Searchlight party…don’t we look like celebs

New favorite song: I actually have two favorite soundtracks this year…Submarine, featuring music by Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys & It’s Kind of a Funny Story with some great songs from Broken Social Scene

Number of visits to Starbucks for coffee: at least a dozen

Number of visits to Starbucks for free wifi: none because my iphone was telling me Toronto had “free wifi”…not true…should have stuck with Starbucks

World Premieres: Black Swan…. pretty amazing being there with Darren Aronofsky, Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel (swoon again). It didn’t matter that we were sitting up practically in the sky watching the film.

Films I hope to bring to a/perture: (click on title for link to film's website)

1.) The King’s Speech – finger’s crossed that it stays in the arthouse circuit!!!

2.) Made in Dagenham – this is just genuinely a fun and uplifting film based on a true story – and I am totally calling Sally Hawkins to be nominated for Best Actress…her performance was pitch-perfect.

3.) Tamara Drewe – don’t really have to hope since we already have it booked for November…did I mention this is an ensemble piece with a great supporting cast?

4.) Dirty Girl – William H. Macy, Mary Steenburgen and Dwight Yoakam are also cast-members.

5.) Beautiful Boy – Maria Bello and Michael Sheen give riveting performances as two grieving parents. The film is by first time director Shawn Ku and at the q&a Maria Bello said that he was honestly the best director she had ever worked with. We saw Shawn Ku on his way out at the airport and he was super nice and humble and just impressed me even more…

6.) SUPER - Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page play superheroes in this dark “live-action” comedy…sold? The animation in the title sequence is a bonus and is brought to you by some of the folks responsible for Yo Gabba Gabba…thank you so much to IFC films for picking up this gem.

7.) Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer – this documentary by director Alex Gibney is insightful, engaging, humorous and above all timely.

8.) 127 Hours – based on the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston, the man who was forced to self-amputate his arm. Director Danny Boyle and James Franco, who plays Ralston, hold nothing back.

9.) Black Swan – how could I pass up the opportunity (if I am lucky enough) to bring a Darren Aronofsky film to a/perture? Barbara Hershey (star of one of the best films ever made - Hoosiers) is superb in the role of Natalie Portman's mother.

10.) Rabbit Hole – how could I pass up the opportunity (if I am lucky enough) to bring a John Cameron Mitchell film to a/perture? Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart are perfectly cast and have great on-screen chemistry. This film is nothing like Hedwig and the Angry Inch… which really goes to show you how talented Mitchell is.

11.) Life, Above All – this film was just nominated to represent South Africa in the Foreign Language Oscar race. I predict it makes the short-list at least. It takes a real and honest look at how AIDS affects one family in rural South Africa.

12.) It’s Kind of a Funny Story – opening October 8!!!! starring Jigar's man-crush Zach Galifinakis.

13.) Never Let Me Go – opening October 15!!!

Film I will never in a million years bring to a/perture: Julia’s Eyes

Films with the most buzz that I wish I could have seen: Inside Job, Heartbeats, Barney’s Version, Of God’s and Men, Incendies and Blue Valentine... just to name a few...

Proof that Jigar was in attendance....Benihana in Toronto...where Jigar took me for my birthday dinner...