One World Cinema

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR NEW YORK’S DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL!!!  

“DOC NYC,” WILL BE HELD AT NYU AND IFC ON NOVEMBER 2-10, 2011!!!

Documentaries are extremely difficult to get made!  Show your support by clicking on  www.docnyc.net, and going to see all of the films that might interest you!!!  Educate yourself on something new, or travel to a new country,  all within 2 hours, and all without leaving NYC!!!

OPENING NIGHT:  WERNER HERZOG IN PERSON, “INTO THE ABYSS”  WED, NOV 2, 2011 @ 7:30pm

(NYU SKIRBALL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: 566 Laguardia Place @ Washington Square South)

CENTERPIECE:  “LEMON” Introduced by RUSSELL SIMMONS,  FRIDAY, NOV 4, 2011 @ 6:30pm

(NYU EISNER/KIMMEL CENTER: 60 Washington Square South @ Laguardia Place)

CLOSING NIGHT: “THE ISLAND PRESIDENT”, IN PERSON: Moderator: MICHAEL MOORE and Director: JON SHENK

TUES, NOV 8, 2011 @ 8:30pm

(NYU SKIRBALL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: 566 Laguardia Place @ Washington Square South)

Some additional recommended films in between:

“CHARLOTTE RAMPLING: THE LOOK”:  IN PERSON: CHARLOTTE RAMPLING AND DIRECTOR: ANGELINA MACCARONE

“GIRL WITH BLACK BALLOONS”: An inside look at the Chelsea Hotel from a resident who has lived there for over 4 decades.

“GRACE AND MERCY”:  A brother and sister team who run an orphanage in Haiti.

“I WANT MY NAME BACK”: The story of “The Sugar Hill Gang”.

“DEPECHE MODE 101”:  Follow the 80’s band on the road!

“BROOKLYN BOHEME”, Explore Fort Greene, Brooklyn

AND A TRIBUTE TO RICHARD LEACOCK: British documentary film director and one of the founders of Cinema verite.

For the ENTIRE  list of films and events go to:  www.docnyc.net

Article by Sharon Abella

http://www.1worldcinema.wordpress.com

“OPEN MINDS, OPEN BORDERS”

With globalization and frequent international travel,  social media, and worldwide failing economies, we barely have time to say, “hello”, to one another, let alone have deep conversations about how to solve international conflicts and  understand one another’s cultural differences.

To avoid conflict, miscommunication, and misunderstandings, we can understand one another’s cultural differences, through better communication. Face to face dialogue could be a solution to solving many of our nations concerns.

“DIALOGUE OF CULTURES INTERNTIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:  is the world’s first film festival dedicated to the recent global phenomenon.  It’s goal is to jump-start communication between cultures through the universal language of cinema. The festival itself is based on this international spirit.  After this years first edition in NYC (Oct 20-27, 2011), DCIFF will move to a different continent every year, with France and the UAE planned as its next locations.”

Films showing over the course of the next week include: “Bride Flight”, starring Rutger Hauer, “Even the Rain”, with Gael Garcia Bernal, “Dooman River”, “Cirkus Columbia”,  “Bollywood Dream”, and “Transit Cities”.  They are all screening conveniently at the School of Visual Arts/SVA Theater 333 West 23rd Street and the Quad Cinema 34 West 13th Street and are only $5.00.  www.dciff.net

Closing night’s film, “Sketch of Mujo”, demonstrated 75 minutes of up close footage and interviews, one month after the tsunami in March 11, 2011  Japan, Miyagi, Sendai.   Although there will be a handful of films about the events, “Sketch of Mujo” is the first.

Click on the links below for an interview with “The Mill and the Cross”, “Hobo with a Shotgun”, and “Black Butterflies” star,  Rutger Hauer !!!

The winners of the festival were announced Sunday evening, and will continue to run this week at the Quad cinema.

WINNER: BEST DIRECTOR: “DOOMAN RIVER”/SOUTH KOREA/FRANCE

WINNER: JURY AWARD: “EVEN THE RAIN”/FRANCE/MEXICO/SPAIN, HONORABLE MENTION TO “HI-SO”/THAILAND.

PRESIDENT AWARD: “TRANSIT CITIES”/JORDAN

Videography by Sharon Abella

“George Harrison: Living in the Material World”, directed by Martin Scorsese, airs on HBO tonight, Wednesday, October 5th and Thursday, Oct 6th at 9pm.  Last night at the New York premiere, Martin Scorsese explained that , “the film took over 6 years to make and fifty people worked on it”, while Oliva Harrison shared, “I never imagined this film would get finished. It could not be rushed. It had to just sit. In the last five years we have what George would call, ‘the support of nature’.  George’s true essence was so elusive and subtle. His life was so known and so big, but his inner self was very difficult to capture. I don’t think anyone but Marty could capture it.”

BRUCE SPIZER, IS A BEATLES HISTORIAN AND  THE AUTHOR OF, “THE BEATLES’ STORY ON CAPITOL RECORDS”, “THE BEATLES ARE COMING: THE BIRTH OF BEATLEMANIA IN AMERICA”,  “BEATLES FOR SALE ON PARLOPHONE RECORDS”,  and five other books pertaining to the iconic band. He took the time out of his very busy schedule to answer the following questions listed below.   www.beatle.net

Q: SHARON ABELLA: “What can you tell me that has rarely, if ever, been said about, “The Beatles”?

A: BRUCE SPIZER: “With so much already written about “The Beatles”, that is hard to do. I was fortunate to uncover some very interesting and little known facts when researching my books. I came across an interview made during “The Beatles” first U.S. visit in February, 1964, in which New York TV reporter Gabe Pressman asks Paul, “What effect do you think “The Beatles” will have on Western culture?” Paul is amused by the question and responds, “I don’t know. You must be joking with that question. It’s not culture.” When asked what it is, Paul replies, “It’s a laugh”. This shows the innocence of the times. While Gabe Pressman’s question now appears to be very astute, he was being sarcastic, as if to say, “Where do you think you will be in a few months?”  But as we know now, “The Beatles”, have had a tremendous impact on Western culture.

I also uncovered the fact that CBS broadcasted a five-minute feature story on “The Beatles” on the  CBS Morning News with Mike Wallace in November, 1963. No one, including, Mike Wallace, remembered the broadcast because President Kennedy was shot a few hours later.

“The Beatles” first U.S. single, “Please, Please Me”, was released on February  7, 1963, exactly one year prior to the group arriving in America for the first time. While the record was largely ignored at the time, “The Beatles” arrival exactly one year later, was national news.”

Q: SHARON ABELLA:  “When did the John/Paul competition start?”

A: Bruce Spizer: “I would imagine that the competition between John and Paul was there from the very beginning. When John first met Paul, he was impressed with Paul’s abilities. He had to decide whether to take Paul into his band and no longer be the most talented musician in the group, or decline to let Paul join the band and remain the group’s best musician. John chose to take in Paul because he knew it would improve the band.

There was always competition between John and Paul over getting the A-sides of singles. In the early days, John normally had the A-side, although some songs were true John and Paul compositions. John also insisted that songs be credited to “Lennon-McCartney”. This was done for the first two singles, but producer, George Martin, listed songs as “McCartney-Lennon” for the group’s first LP and the third single. At John’s insistence, all future records said “Lennon-McCartney”.  It was a friendly competition in that John and Paul pushed each other to write better songs. When Paul came up with a great song like “Hey Jude”, John would admit it should be the A-side even though he initially wanted his “Revolution” as the A-side. Their competition brought out the best in them as songwriters.”

Q: SHARON ABELLA: How did it grow (before Yoko ever came in)?

A: BRUCE SPIZER: “It wasn’t so much that Yoko increased the completion between John and Paul, it was more a case of John electing to spend all of his time with Yoko, which meant he had little time for Paul. During the “Let It Be” project, there was very little competition for songs as John had only a few new songs to offer. For “Abbey Road,” John pushed for an album of separate songs, while Paul liked George Martin’s idea for a long medley or suite of songs. A compromise was reached where side one was separate songs and side two was dominated by a huge medley.”

Q: SHARON ABELLA: “Was Ringo ever replaced during the studio recording process by another drummer?”

A: BRUCE SPIZER:

“Ringo played drums during “The Beatles” first proper EMI recording session held on September 4, 1962. “Love Me Do”, and “How Do You Do It?” a non-Lennon-McCartney song, were recorded that day. Neither George Martin, nor his assistant, Ron Richards, were pleased  with the drum sound, so Ron Richards brought in a session drummer, Andy White, when the group was sent back into the studio one week later, on September 11th.  They re-recorded, “Love Me Do”, and recorded another Lennon-McCartney original, “P.S. I Love You.” Andy White played drums on both tracks, while Ringo played tambourine on “Love Me Do” and shook maracas on “P.S. I Love You.”  The group’s first single used the version of “Love Me Do” with Ringo on drums coupled with “P.S. I Love You.”  When the group’s first album was compiled, the version of “Love Me Do” with Andy White on drums was used.

During the recording of “The White Album” in 1968, Ringo temporarily quit the group after an argument with Paul over the drumming on “Back In The U.S.S.R.” McCartney played drums on that song, along with “Dear Prudence,” before Ringo returned to the sessions. Paul also played drums on “Wild Honey Pie,” an experimental piece he knocked out himself during the “White Album” sessions.

Paul was the drummer on “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” which was recorded entirely by John and Paul in April 1969. John was in a hurry to record the song, so he and Paul did it by themselves because Ringo was busy filming “The Magic Christian” and George was out of the country.”

Q: SHARON ABELLA: “Why didn’t Paul show up to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction?”

Q: SHARON ABELLA: “How did George Martin get involved?”

A: BRUCE SPIZER:

“All decisions of the Beatles were normally made with all four in agreement,
though John and Paul were influential enough so that if the two of them were
in favor of something, George and Ringo often capitulated even though they
did not necessarily agree. An example of this was the use of the Butcher
photo on the cover of the album “Yesterday And Today.” John came up with the idea to use the photo for the cover and Paul thought it would be cool.
Although Ringo and George did not like the idea, they did not formally
object to its use. John did not always get his way. The song “Revolution”
was re-recorded to get a faster version of the song for the single. John was
unable to get the song “What’s The New Mary Jane?” on “The White Album.” The
group was deeply split on the hiring of Alan Klein to manage Apple and the
Beatles. Paul objected and never signed an agreement with Klein”.

A: BRUCE SPIZER:

“As the group’s producer and the head of the Parlophone label, George Martin
was responsible for deciding what songs the group would record and what
would end up on the records. Although he forced the Beatles to record “How
Do You Do It,” a song written by a professional songwriter, for the group’s
first session, he never did so again, allowing the Beatles to chose the
songs to record. He wisely recognized the group’s talent and saw no need to
select songs for them.”

A: BRUCE SPIZER:

“George Martin selected the running order of the songs on the group’s albums
released from 1962 – 1966. By the time “Sgt. Pepper” was recorded, John and
Paul were heavily involved in selecting the running order of the songs with
George Martin.”

A: BRUCE SPIZER:

“After Ringo’s brief probationary period with the band ended, all group
income was split equally. John and Paul made more money due to songwriter’s
royalties.”

A: BRUCE SPIZER:

“The Cavern, John and Paul’s houses, Penny Lane, Strawberry Field, the church
were John met Paul. Just walk around and get the flavor of the city. Also go
to the Beatles museum.”

A: BRUCE SPIZER:

“Of course. I am looking forward to it. A great film maker doing a
documentary on a great man and musician.”

Article by Sharon Abella

www.1worldcinema.wordpress.com