report from NYC
Hi Friends,
Here's a mid-madness update on The Film Company. To begin with, our recent week-long run of the live show of Guy Maddin's BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! in NY.
TWO SHOWS A DAY!
We opened on May 9 at the Village East, with Crispin Glover narrating. After vaulting the usual Insurmountable Hurdles we premiered with a solid, if somewhat tentative, performance. After a brief break Crispin nailed the 9:30 show, infusing the film with an eerie and beautiful strangeness, and the sold-out crowd roared in applause when he finished. Off and running.
On Thursday we were graced with two of America's best stage actors, Anne Jackson at 7 and Eli Wallach at 9:30. Ridiculously, these were our least attended shows, but no matter. I was there! The impish Mr. Wallach is a young 91, and the commanding ease and exhilarating theatricality of his performance in particular made for a night to remember.
Friday brought us an emotionally resonant Interlocution by the resplendent Joie Lee, and the return of Crispin Glover, who by now was making this film his own. On Saturday Laurie Anderson gave us a show that was, naturally, precise and specific, but also charming and surprising, as she delivered many of her lines with a gentle and surpassingly lovely lilt. Lou Reed, perhaps my favorite songwriter of the past half-century, then pitched in with a sometimes quiet (sometimes very quiet), sometimes over-the-top, always fascinating performance.
INTERLUDE
A pause in my recital here to acknowledge the performance of the Ensemble Sospeso, under the baton of conductor David Hatten. By Friday they had hit their stride, and were bringing out the nuances and intricacies of Jason Staczek's remarkable score. Their counterpart Stage Left, the Foley team of Caoimhe Doyle, Marilee Yorston, and Stefan Fraticelli, were, nevitably, the rock stars of every performance, even when Lou Reed was in the house. (A nice photo can be found in this week's New Yorker magazine, and at: www.newyorker.com/arts/events.) And Dov Houle, the Manitoba Meadowlark, never ceased to amaze, nor to receive, after every performance, an intriguing proposal of one kind or another.
THREE SHOWS A DAY!
Sunday was a great day at the Village East in the East Village. Justin Bond's collaboration with Guy's film made this a Mother's Day matinee filled lovingly filled with camp and horror. In the evening, John Ashbery delivered a fine performance to a poetry-lusting audience that paid close attention to EVERY word. And Tunde Adebimpe of the band TV on the Radio sent us home singing.
On Monday Peter Hibbert, a really terrific actor, unleashed his, and the film's, inner melodrama, and Peter Scarlet masterfully picked up where he left off. And then, suddenly, it was Tuesday, and ahhh, Isabella Rossellini. Her combination of smarts, humor, and understanding of Guy's work always gives the film an extraordinary breadth. Add to that her charm and strangely unidentifiable accent and you get an indelible performance.
FIFTY SHOWS A DAY!
A performance which you can now partake of at theaters all across North America! The 35mm print, with Interlocution by Ms. Rossellini, continues its run in the NY area and Chicago, opens on June 8 in Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and New Orleans, On June 15 in Berkeley, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and DC, and on from there. Screening dates and locations are posted at branduponthebrain.com.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED, GRASSHOPPER?
It's a jungle. Anyone who attempts to distribute a film is a fool, and anyone who tries to do it more than once is a hero.
Yours,
Gregg
Gregg Lachow
Co-President
The Film Company
Here's a mid-madness update on The Film Company. To begin with, our recent week-long run of the live show of Guy Maddin's BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! in NY.
TWO SHOWS A DAY!
We opened on May 9 at the Village East, with Crispin Glover narrating. After vaulting the usual Insurmountable Hurdles we premiered with a solid, if somewhat tentative, performance. After a brief break Crispin nailed the 9:30 show, infusing the film with an eerie and beautiful strangeness, and the sold-out crowd roared in applause when he finished. Off and running.
On Thursday we were graced with two of America's best stage actors, Anne Jackson at 7 and Eli Wallach at 9:30. Ridiculously, these were our least attended shows, but no matter. I was there! The impish Mr. Wallach is a young 91, and the commanding ease and exhilarating theatricality of his performance in particular made for a night to remember.
Friday brought us an emotionally resonant Interlocution by the resplendent Joie Lee, and the return of Crispin Glover, who by now was making this film his own. On Saturday Laurie Anderson gave us a show that was, naturally, precise and specific, but also charming and surprising, as she delivered many of her lines with a gentle and surpassingly lovely lilt. Lou Reed, perhaps my favorite songwriter of the past half-century, then pitched in with a sometimes quiet (sometimes very quiet), sometimes over-the-top, always fascinating performance.
INTERLUDE
A pause in my recital here to acknowledge the performance of the Ensemble Sospeso, under the baton of conductor David Hatten. By Friday they had hit their stride, and were bringing out the nuances and intricacies of Jason Staczek's remarkable score. Their counterpart Stage Left, the Foley team of Caoimhe Doyle, Marilee Yorston, and Stefan Fraticelli, were, nevitably, the rock stars of every performance, even when Lou Reed was in the house. (A nice photo can be found in this week's New Yorker magazine, and at: www.newyorker.com/arts/events.) And Dov Houle, the Manitoba Meadowlark, never ceased to amaze, nor to receive, after every performance, an intriguing proposal of one kind or another.
THREE SHOWS A DAY!
Sunday was a great day at the Village East in the East Village. Justin Bond's collaboration with Guy's film made this a Mother's Day matinee filled lovingly filled with camp and horror. In the evening, John Ashbery delivered a fine performance to a poetry-lusting audience that paid close attention to EVERY word. And Tunde Adebimpe of the band TV on the Radio sent us home singing.
On Monday Peter Hibbert, a really terrific actor, unleashed his, and the film's, inner melodrama, and Peter Scarlet masterfully picked up where he left off. And then, suddenly, it was Tuesday, and ahhh, Isabella Rossellini. Her combination of smarts, humor, and understanding of Guy's work always gives the film an extraordinary breadth. Add to that her charm and strangely unidentifiable accent and you get an indelible performance.
FIFTY SHOWS A DAY!
A performance which you can now partake of at theaters all across North America! The 35mm print, with Interlocution by Ms. Rossellini, continues its run in the NY area and Chicago, opens on June 8 in Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and New Orleans, On June 15 in Berkeley, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and DC, and on from there. Screening dates and locations are posted at branduponthebrain.com.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED, GRASSHOPPER?
It's a jungle. Anyone who attempts to distribute a film is a fool, and anyone who tries to do it more than once is a hero.
Yours,
Gregg
Gregg Lachow
Co-President
The Film Company
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