Few actors have embodied the full range of modern German history on screen as has Christian Friedel.
In Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest — a dark horse candidate for the best picture Oscar this Sunday (where it is also nominated in four other categories, including best international feature), Friedel plays Rudolf Höss, the notorious commandant of Auschwitz who, together with his wife Hedwig (played by Sandra Hüller), built an idyllic villa with a pretty garden for their five children right next to the death camp.
But before Zone, the 45-year-old German actor was best known for playing famed anti-Nazi resistance fighter Georg Elser in 13 Minutes, Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 2015 drama about Elsner’s attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1939, before World War II and before the Holocaust. In 2012’s Closed Season, Friedel plays a young Jewish refugee hiding from the Nazis. And in his film debut, in...
In Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest — a dark horse candidate for the best picture Oscar this Sunday (where it is also nominated in four other categories, including best international feature), Friedel plays Rudolf Höss, the notorious commandant of Auschwitz who, together with his wife Hedwig (played by Sandra Hüller), built an idyllic villa with a pretty garden for their five children right next to the death camp.
But before Zone, the 45-year-old German actor was best known for playing famed anti-Nazi resistance fighter Georg Elser in 13 Minutes, Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 2015 drama about Elsner’s attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1939, before World War II and before the Holocaust. In 2012’s Closed Season, Friedel plays a young Jewish refugee hiding from the Nazis. And in his film debut, in...
- 3/8/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Parquet Courts frontman A. Savage has returned with “Thanksgiving Prayer,” his first new solo music since 2017. Along with the single, he announced a solo tour for this fall. Listen to the song and check out the full list of upcoming dates below.
“Thanksgiving Prayer” is an intimate and intricate composition. While perhaps a bit somber at first listen, the lyrics elevate the song with a sense of hope and wonder, conveying Savage’s knack for speaking to complicated emotions. The song feels like light in the darkness — it doesn’t shy away from the turmoil of life, but still finds a way to embrace its beauty.
The single arrived with a corresponding music video directed by Tiff Pritchett. “She had this idea to sort of do a silent film tribute,” Savage explained. “The scene from Renoir’s film Rules of the Game where Danse Macabre is played was referenced, as was Klaus Nomi.
“Thanksgiving Prayer” is an intimate and intricate composition. While perhaps a bit somber at first listen, the lyrics elevate the song with a sense of hope and wonder, conveying Savage’s knack for speaking to complicated emotions. The song feels like light in the darkness — it doesn’t shy away from the turmoil of life, but still finds a way to embrace its beauty.
The single arrived with a corresponding music video directed by Tiff Pritchett. “She had this idea to sort of do a silent film tribute,” Savage explained. “The scene from Renoir’s film Rules of the Game where Danse Macabre is played was referenced, as was Klaus Nomi.
- 7/13/2023
- by Jo Vito
- Consequence - Music
Spoiler Alert: This interview contains spoilers from “Scream VI,” now playing in theaters.
The casual horror fan probably noticed a few iconic masks and monsters in the “Scream VI” subway scene: There’s Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Pinhead and even modern staples like Florence Pugh’s flower dress from “Midsommar” and a group of tethered people from Jordan Peele’s “Us.” But costume designer Avery Plewes and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett went to extra lengths to pack more than 50 Easter eggs, costumes and blink-and-you-miss-it references into the latest “Scream.”
Tracking down Ghostface in New York City, the “Scream VI” crew, consisting of Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding), Ethan Landry (Jack Champion) and Danny Brackett (Josh Segarra), pile into the subway to confront the latest masked killer. However, it’s Halloween time, which means the train car...
The casual horror fan probably noticed a few iconic masks and monsters in the “Scream VI” subway scene: There’s Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Pinhead and even modern staples like Florence Pugh’s flower dress from “Midsommar” and a group of tethered people from Jordan Peele’s “Us.” But costume designer Avery Plewes and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett went to extra lengths to pack more than 50 Easter eggs, costumes and blink-and-you-miss-it references into the latest “Scream.”
Tracking down Ghostface in New York City, the “Scream VI” crew, consisting of Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding), Ethan Landry (Jack Champion) and Danny Brackett (Josh Segarra), pile into the subway to confront the latest masked killer. However, it’s Halloween time, which means the train car...
- 3/11/2023
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
How do you translate a story about inertia to the screen? And how do you do that when the source material belongs to one of English literature’s most astute chroniclers of the human psyche, in all its intricate mystery? In the case of The Beast in the Jungle, “freely adapted” from Henry James’ 1903 novella of the same name, Austrian filmmaker Patric Chiha has taken a bold creative leap. To tell the story of May Bertram and John Marcher, acquaintances who become soulmates in a strange waiting game, he moves the drama from the rarefied realm of high society to a nightclub in 20th century Paris. The action, to use the term loosely, takes place over 25 years. And it feels like it.
The problem with this version of May and John’s story, scripted by Chiha, Axelle Ropert and Jihane Chouaib, and filmed in Brussels and Vienna, isn’t the...
The problem with this version of May and John’s story, scripted by Chiha, Axelle Ropert and Jihane Chouaib, and filmed in Brussels and Vienna, isn’t the...
- 2/23/2023
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On “Saturday Night Live,” sketch characters arrive, connect with the audience (or not), and hit occasional sustained peaks of popularity, becoming laugh-riot fixtures and old friends. For a while, starting in the ’90s, the highest honor you could bestow upon an “SNL” character was for him or her to be given their own spin-off movie. That era faded, but that was probably a good thing, since most of those movies were notoriously tepid, hit-or-miss affairs.
Now, though, you see original comedies that, in spirit at least, could be “SNL” sketch spin-offs. “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” was one. “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” is another. Only this one isn’t bad. As Barb and Star, a couple of ludicrously fuddy-duddy fortysomething best friends from Soft Rock, Nebraska, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo don’t wear out their welcome, and the movie, while it has more chuckles than belly laughs,...
Now, though, you see original comedies that, in spirit at least, could be “SNL” sketch spin-offs. “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” was one. “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” is another. Only this one isn’t bad. As Barb and Star, a couple of ludicrously fuddy-duddy fortysomething best friends from Soft Rock, Nebraska, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo don’t wear out their welcome, and the movie, while it has more chuckles than belly laughs,...
- 2/12/2021
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Robert Yapkowitz and Rich Peete’s In My Own Time: A Portrait Of Karen Dalton executive producer Wim Wenders on Nick Cave and Karen Dalton: “Just like Nick, Karen’s music had a profound effect on me.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Victor Kossakovsky’s Gunda, co-written with Ainara Vera, executive produced by Joaquin Phoenix, co-produced by Anita Rehoff Larsen from Sant & Usant with Joslyn Barnes and Susan Rockefeller of Louverture Films and a Main Slate selection of the 58th New York Film Festival; Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s ever more timely The Meaning Of Hitler; Malia Scharf and Max Basch’s intimate portrait, Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide, produced with David Koh (featuring remembrances from Kenny of Keith Haring, Klaus Nomi, <a...
Victor Kossakovsky’s Gunda, co-written with Ainara Vera, executive produced by Joaquin Phoenix, co-produced by Anita Rehoff Larsen from Sant & Usant with Joslyn Barnes and Susan Rockefeller of Louverture Films and a Main Slate selection of the 58th New York Film Festival; Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s ever more timely The Meaning Of Hitler; Malia Scharf and Max Basch’s intimate portrait, Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide, produced with David Koh (featuring remembrances from Kenny of Keith Haring, Klaus Nomi, <a...
- 11/15/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Dennis Hopper on Kenny Scharf, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat in Malia Scharf and Max Basch’s documentary, produced with David Koh: “They brought a vitality and an energy to art that just hadn’t been there. The importance of those three artists, they just seemed to bring the eighties alive really.” Photo: Tseng Kwong Chi / Courtesy Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc.
Two of the 2020 Doc NYC highlights are on artists. The world premiere of Chris McKim’s hard-edged Wojnarowicz brings back to life the committed activist/artist/poet/performer David Wojnarowicz who died from AIDS in 1992 at age 37.
Malia Scharf on Kenny Scharf with Keith Haring: "He was and still is such an important part of Kenny and our lives."
And there is Malia Scharf and Max Basch’s intimate portrait, Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide (produced with David Koh), which features remembrances from Kenny of Keith Haring,...
Two of the 2020 Doc NYC highlights are on artists. The world premiere of Chris McKim’s hard-edged Wojnarowicz brings back to life the committed activist/artist/poet/performer David Wojnarowicz who died from AIDS in 1992 at age 37.
Malia Scharf on Kenny Scharf with Keith Haring: "He was and still is such an important part of Kenny and our lives."
And there is Malia Scharf and Max Basch’s intimate portrait, Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide (produced with David Koh), which features remembrances from Kenny of Keith Haring,...
- 11/4/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Blood Orange’s Devonté Hynes will release the score to HBO miniseries We Are Who We Are on October 2nd via Milan Records.
The album features 12 pieces written by Hynes for the coming-of-age drama, along with four previously issued instrumentals from composers Julius Eastman and John Adams. The eight-episode show — co-created, co-written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (2017’s Call Me By Your Name, the 2018 remake of horror classic Suspiria) — debuted September 14th on HBO/HBO Max and airs on Mondays at 10 p.m. Et.
As Pitchfork reports, Milan...
The album features 12 pieces written by Hynes for the coming-of-age drama, along with four previously issued instrumentals from composers Julius Eastman and John Adams. The eight-episode show — co-created, co-written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (2017’s Call Me By Your Name, the 2018 remake of horror classic Suspiria) — debuted September 14th on HBO/HBO Max and airs on Mondays at 10 p.m. Et.
As Pitchfork reports, Milan...
- 9/22/2020
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
Horn has died aged 66.
Tributes have been paid to award-winning New York-born, Berlin-based filmmaker and journalist Andrew Horn, who died from complications relating to chemotherapy treatment for cancer last month aged 66.
Horn won the 2004 Teddy Award at the Berlinale for The Nomi Song, his feature documentary about avant garde New Wave singer and performance artist, Klaus Nomi. He was also the writer and producer of Dana Ranga’s East Side Story, a 1997 documentary about musicals made in the Soviet bloc.
More recently, Horn premiered his Twisted Sister documentary, We Are Twisted Fucking Sister (2014) at International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa). The...
Tributes have been paid to award-winning New York-born, Berlin-based filmmaker and journalist Andrew Horn, who died from complications relating to chemotherapy treatment for cancer last month aged 66.
Horn won the 2004 Teddy Award at the Berlinale for The Nomi Song, his feature documentary about avant garde New Wave singer and performance artist, Klaus Nomi. He was also the writer and producer of Dana Ranga’s East Side Story, a 1997 documentary about musicals made in the Soviet bloc.
More recently, Horn premiered his Twisted Sister documentary, We Are Twisted Fucking Sister (2014) at International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa). The...
- 9/12/2019
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Andrew Horn, the music documentary filmmaker for We Are Twisted F**king Sister, the story of the world’s greatest bar band and its struggle to reach the big time, has died. He was 66 years old and passed from cancer in Berlin, according to friend Rebecca Lieb.
Horn wrote, directed and produced the 2014 documentary about Twisted Sister, a band that dominated the New York/New Jersey metropolitan clubs, but couldn’t get signed by a major record label. Its unique combination of hard rock and visual spectacle finally broke through in the heavy metal era of the 1980s, the band releasing the multi-platinum Stay Hungry on Atlantic Records. The album was fueled by its MTV video for the anthemic song, We’re Not Gonna Take It..
Horn was born in New York in Sept.1952 and graduated from the New York University School of the Arts. He made the 2004 film The Nomi Song,...
Horn wrote, directed and produced the 2014 documentary about Twisted Sister, a band that dominated the New York/New Jersey metropolitan clubs, but couldn’t get signed by a major record label. Its unique combination of hard rock and visual spectacle finally broke through in the heavy metal era of the 1980s, the band releasing the multi-platinum Stay Hungry on Atlantic Records. The album was fueled by its MTV video for the anthemic song, We’re Not Gonna Take It..
Horn was born in New York in Sept.1952 and graduated from the New York University School of the Arts. He made the 2004 film The Nomi Song,...
- 8/31/2019
- by Bruce Haring and Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Andrew Horn, a filmmaker and writer for publications including Variety, died of cancer Aug. 24 in Berlin. He was 66.
Horn directed the 2004 documentary “The Nomi Song,” about the avant-garde German musician Klaus Nomi, who died from AIDS in 1983. In 2014, he released the documentary “We Are Twisted F–king Sister!” about the popular heavy metal band of the 1970s and ’80s. At the time of his death, he was working on a film about Robert Wilson and his experimental performance company Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds.
Horn wrote for publications including Variety, Moving Pictures and Screen International. He also wrote for German television and was an Emmy-winning film researcher for projects for BBC, Zdf, Arte, Channel 4, PBS, HBO, the Paul Robeson Foundation, Michael Moore and Spike Lee.
Born in New York, Horn graduated NYU and moved to Berlin in 1989 for the Daad Berlin Artist Exchange fellowship program. His other films include...
Horn directed the 2004 documentary “The Nomi Song,” about the avant-garde German musician Klaus Nomi, who died from AIDS in 1983. In 2014, he released the documentary “We Are Twisted F–king Sister!” about the popular heavy metal band of the 1970s and ’80s. At the time of his death, he was working on a film about Robert Wilson and his experimental performance company Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds.
Horn wrote for publications including Variety, Moving Pictures and Screen International. He also wrote for German television and was an Emmy-winning film researcher for projects for BBC, Zdf, Arte, Channel 4, PBS, HBO, the Paul Robeson Foundation, Michael Moore and Spike Lee.
Born in New York, Horn graduated NYU and moved to Berlin in 1989 for the Daad Berlin Artist Exchange fellowship program. His other films include...
- 8/30/2019
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Andrew Horn, an independent filmmaker who wrote, directed and produced a 2014 documentary about Long Island club legends Twisted Sister, died Saturday of cancer in Berlin, his friend Rebecca Lieb announced. He was 66.
Horn also was behind the features Doomed Love (1984) and The Big Blue (1988) and the documentaries East Side Story (1997) and The Nomi Song (2004) — a profile of the androgynously operatic underground performer Klaus Nomi — all of which premiered or screened at the Berlin Film Festival.
We Are Twisted Fucking Sister! tells the tale of the fun-loving heavy metal band that, led ...
Horn also was behind the features Doomed Love (1984) and The Big Blue (1988) and the documentaries East Side Story (1997) and The Nomi Song (2004) — a profile of the androgynously operatic underground performer Klaus Nomi — all of which premiered or screened at the Berlin Film Festival.
We Are Twisted Fucking Sister! tells the tale of the fun-loving heavy metal band that, led ...
- 8/30/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Andrew Horn, an independent filmmaker who wrote, directed and produced a 2014 documentary about Long Island club legends Twisted Sister, died Saturday of cancer in Berlin, his friend Rebecca Lieb announced. He was 66.
Horn also was behind the features Doomed Love (1984) and The Big Blue (1988) and the documentaries East Side Story (1997) and The Nomi Song (2004) — a profile of the androgynously operatic underground performer Klaus Nomi — all of which premiered or screened at the Berlin Film Festival.
We Are Twisted Fucking Sister! tells the tale of the fun-loving heavy metal band that, led ...
Horn also was behind the features Doomed Love (1984) and The Big Blue (1988) and the documentaries East Side Story (1997) and The Nomi Song (2004) — a profile of the androgynously operatic underground performer Klaus Nomi — all of which premiered or screened at the Berlin Film Festival.
We Are Twisted Fucking Sister! tells the tale of the fun-loving heavy metal band that, led ...
- 8/30/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michelle Obama kicked things off last night at the 61st Grammy Awards after some “Havana” sizzle, then Lady Gaga continued her Taylor Swift shocked victory look tour and Ariana Grande won, but very clearly wasn’t in the house.
Additionally, during the nearly four-hour CBS broadcast show, Drake showed up last night in a rare award show appearance but got cut off, K-Pop superstars Bts made some history, Jennifer Lopez took center stage for a Motown tribute with Smokey Robinson, and Diana Ross slayed, as she supremely does.
Back in La after last year’s stint in NYC, this year’s Alicia Keys hosted ceremony also saw a Dolly Parton tribute plus a Prince tinged and seemingly Klaus Nomi inspired showstopper by Janelle Monáe. Back on in February after last year’s January airing, last night’s Grammys handed out some hardware too.
There were some big wins by Cardi B,...
Additionally, during the nearly four-hour CBS broadcast show, Drake showed up last night in a rare award show appearance but got cut off, K-Pop superstars Bts made some history, Jennifer Lopez took center stage for a Motown tribute with Smokey Robinson, and Diana Ross slayed, as she supremely does.
Back in La after last year’s stint in NYC, this year’s Alicia Keys hosted ceremony also saw a Dolly Parton tribute plus a Prince tinged and seemingly Klaus Nomi inspired showstopper by Janelle Monáe. Back on in February after last year’s January airing, last night’s Grammys handed out some hardware too.
There were some big wins by Cardi B,...
- 2/11/2019
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
North Carolina punk stalwarts Superchunk teamed with Fucked Up singer Damian Abraham for a new song, “Our Work Is Done.” The track was released via Merge Records as a limited edition seven-inch single with proceeds benefitting Bill McKibben’s climate change organization, 350.org. The b-side boasts a cover of Klaus Nomi’s “Total Eclipse.”
“Our Work Is Done” is a blistering ripper packed with angular guitar riffs that spark around a rush of drums and Mac McCaughan’s urgent vocals. “Time flies when you’re on the run,” McCaughan belts...
“Our Work Is Done” is a blistering ripper packed with angular guitar riffs that spark around a rush of drums and Mac McCaughan’s urgent vocals. “Time flies when you’re on the run,” McCaughan belts...
- 11/14/2018
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
During the Adam Driver-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live, the long-running sketch comedy series paid tribute to David Bowie by having former cast member Fred Armisen return to reminisce about a memorable 1979 episode of SNL where Bowie served as musical guest.
"When I was in high school and living in Long Island, I stayed up to see David Bowie play on Saturday Night Live. Watching him, for me, was a life-changing experience," Armisen told the audience. "David Bowie transformed whatever space he was in, whatever medium he was using,...
"When I was in high school and living in Long Island, I stayed up to see David Bowie play on Saturday Night Live. Watching him, for me, was a life-changing experience," Armisen told the audience. "David Bowie transformed whatever space he was in, whatever medium he was using,...
- 1/17/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Fred Armisen cameoed on last night’s season-return of Saturday Night Live, offering a brief and deeply felt tribute to David Bowie, who died last Sunday of cancer at 69. “When I was in high school and living on Long Island,,” Armisen said, “I stayed up to see David Bowie play on Saturday Night Live.” It was December 15, 1979 and Bowie performed “The Man Who Sold The World” with an assist from German performance artist Klaus Nomi and New York’s own acclaimed drag artist…...
- 1/17/2016
- Deadline TV
I was gutted by the news shared by playwright/producer Jeff Cohen as he and I walked our dogs in Riverside Park early this morning. The Thin White Duke was no more. I struggled to understand the implications of losing a music hero. Rushing home, resigned to reality, I watched his two new videos, the one above and the ablum's title track which I featured on this website last week, both from his 28th studio album, ★(Blackstar), released this past week on January 8th, 2016, the date of Bowie's 69th birthday. As I watched "Lazarus" again, it all made sense.
"Lazarus" is clearly Bowie's epitaph, his final prophetic performance on this mortal coil...
Look up here / I'm in heaven I've got scars that can't be seen I've got drama that can't be stolen Everybody knows me now...
The coins on his eyes, the pallor of his skin, his frail body wrapped in a fashionalbe shroud.
"Lazarus" is clearly Bowie's epitaph, his final prophetic performance on this mortal coil...
Look up here / I'm in heaven I've got scars that can't be seen I've got drama that can't be stolen Everybody knows me now...
The coins on his eyes, the pallor of his skin, his frail body wrapped in a fashionalbe shroud.
- 1/11/2016
- by Dusty Wright
- www.culturecatch.com
The parameters, mutually agreed upon by my editor Danny Kasman and myself, are these: A bi-weekly (every two weeks) column, entitled "On Mubi / Off," covering two films—one currently available on the Mubi streaming platform in the United States, the other screening offsite (in theaters, on VOD, Blu-ray/DVD, etc). The movies may share some similarities in approach, execution and theme, or they may not. Mostly, my own interests and curiosity will dictate what films are covered and in what way, and I hope you'll find the prose, the pairings, and/or the analysis compelling enough to follow along.On MUBITerminal Island (Stephanie Rothman, 1973)Sight unseen, I thought Stephanie Rothman's 1973 exploitation cheapie Terminal Island would make for a good inaugural article lead-off—something Z-grade disreputable to complement the A-level sleaze (not necessarily a criticism) of the other movie covered in this column. (We'll get to you momentarily, Mr. Bond.
- 11/23/2015
- by Keith Uhlich
- MUBI
I’m so thankful for Mad Max: Fury Road—not because it’s a great film or brought back a beloved character from my misspent youth or any other such bullsh*ttery. I’m thankful because it made those sexy bastards o’er at Blue Underground realize that us fiendish fans of ol’ Max would be chompin’ at the bit for more post-apocalyptic monkey-nannigans, and man have they delivered with a 3-course pasta dinner of cinematic gold: Maestro Enzo G. Castellari’s The New Barbarians, 1990: The Bronx Warriors, and Escape From The Bronx—all on Blu-ray/DVD combo packs!
Now before we get into lookin’ at each one of these babies, I’m just going to say in advance that you need each and e’ery one of these flicks in your collection immediately if you are as big a fan of outrageous, over-the-top, flat-out fun-as-hell drive-in flicks as yours cruelly is.
Now before we get into lookin’ at each one of these babies, I’m just going to say in advance that you need each and e’ery one of these flicks in your collection immediately if you are as big a fan of outrageous, over-the-top, flat-out fun-as-hell drive-in flicks as yours cruelly is.
- 7/30/2015
- by DanielXIII
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Some Gentle People There: Johnson’s Sophomore Effort Recalls Place of Fear
Here’s an arresting point of intrigue into the miasma of historical reexaminations of the AIDS onslaught—the fear and trepidation associated with the initial development of the test used to detect infection. Would the government use it to quarantine, as a way to cordon off the diseased before they could spread the virus among others? Would it be information employers could get a hold of? The endless anxieties that resulted from something as simple as confirmation were boundless, and so, Chris Mason Johnson’s sophomore film, Test, manages to gain a unique perspective in this examination of knowing one’s status and the implementation of safe sex. Cineastes may compare its anxious final act to Agnes Varda’s New Wave classic, Cleo From 5 to 7, though Johnson’s film doesn’t quite grapple with its protagonist...
Here’s an arresting point of intrigue into the miasma of historical reexaminations of the AIDS onslaught—the fear and trepidation associated with the initial development of the test used to detect infection. Would the government use it to quarantine, as a way to cordon off the diseased before they could spread the virus among others? Would it be information employers could get a hold of? The endless anxieties that resulted from something as simple as confirmation were boundless, and so, Chris Mason Johnson’s sophomore film, Test, manages to gain a unique perspective in this examination of knowing one’s status and the implementation of safe sex. Cineastes may compare its anxious final act to Agnes Varda’s New Wave classic, Cleo From 5 to 7, though Johnson’s film doesn’t quite grapple with its protagonist...
- 6/4/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Queens have to to shill Ru’s cosmetic line, and perform a standup routine on this week’s Double Episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
In the first episode, the ladies have to pair up to shoot commercials for Ru’s new Glamazon cosmetic line, and naturally, the teams are chosen based on potential for drama, so we get Bianca and Trinity, Joslyn and Courtney, BenDelaCreme and Darienne, and Laganja and Adore. At least one of these Queens is not happy about her pairing.
In the second episode, the Queens have to perform a standup routine for an older audience. One of them is heckled off the stage.
Let’s take a look at how each Queen did in both episodes.
Adore Delano – She was paired up with Laganza for the makeup challenge, and while they were given the win, I think Adore was the stronger of the two,...
In the first episode, the ladies have to pair up to shoot commercials for Ru’s new Glamazon cosmetic line, and naturally, the teams are chosen based on potential for drama, so we get Bianca and Trinity, Joslyn and Courtney, BenDelaCreme and Darienne, and Laganja and Adore. At least one of these Queens is not happy about her pairing.
In the second episode, the Queens have to perform a standup routine for an older audience. One of them is heckled off the stage.
Let’s take a look at how each Queen did in both episodes.
Adore Delano – She was paired up with Laganza for the makeup challenge, and while they were given the win, I think Adore was the stronger of the two,...
- 4/8/2014
- by snicks
- The Backlot
The one-of-a-kind New Wave singer Klaus Nomi was born Klaus Sperber in Bavaria on January 24, 1944. Though his career effectively lasted just five years and he had no hits, he became a beloved cult artist and introduced people outside the realm of classical music to the glories of opera through stunning, highly stylized performances that crushed genre boundaries in a way that the many more calculated "classical crossover" acts since have been unable to achieve, no matter how many more records they may have sold.
Some sources say Nomi (adopted as a stage name as an anagram of "omni") was "classically trained" (though that could just mean piano lessons); Kurt Loder, writing for MTV, calls him "a true, if untrained, countertenor." (A countertenor is basically a male alto.) He did, in his youth, work as an usher at the German Opera in West Berlin, and informally sang there for an audience of his fellow workers.
Some sources say Nomi (adopted as a stage name as an anagram of "omni") was "classically trained" (though that could just mean piano lessons); Kurt Loder, writing for MTV, calls him "a true, if untrained, countertenor." (A countertenor is basically a male alto.) He did, in his youth, work as an usher at the German Opera in West Berlin, and informally sang there for an audience of his fellow workers.
- 1/24/2014
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
The third track on one of my favorite rock records of the last decade, Okkervil River’s The Stage Names, is called “A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene.” Without context, its lyric is a bit of a tough nut to crack. Will Sheff sings about events unfolding on a TV screen in the first verse, recaps a dream in the second, and seems to outline the narrator’s innermost wishes in the third. What’s not immediately apparent is that the first verse outlines scenes from two completely different TV shows – scenes that happened to be scored by Okkervil River songs. The first half of the verse refers to “It Ends With a Fall” (from Down the River of Golden Dreams) and its use on the reality series Breaking Bonaduce. (I don’t have that clip handy.) The second half, and probably the more illustrative of the two in any case,...
- 6/29/2013
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
Set in the neon grime of 1980’s New York City, Liquid Sky focuses on the new wave/punk performance art movement complete with copious amounts of sex and drug use. By today’s standards, I feel like this title may be classified more as sci-fi, but many 80s video stores lumped this into horror, and that is the vein in which I and many cult enthusiasts first viewed it. Just don’t expect any gory gut-bursting action; this one is more weird and shocking than blood-soaked.
Amidst a sea of shiny latex and heroin we find Margaret, a bi-sexual alternative model trying to build her career. She is often confronted by snarky modeling rival Jimmy who is played by the same actress as Margaret, just in drag. (This gets really weird later in the film when Jimmy and Margaret have sex.) Margaret lives in a small apartment with her girlfriend Adrien,...
Amidst a sea of shiny latex and heroin we find Margaret, a bi-sexual alternative model trying to build her career. She is often confronted by snarky modeling rival Jimmy who is played by the same actress as Margaret, just in drag. (This gets really weird later in the film when Jimmy and Margaret have sex.) Margaret lives in a small apartment with her girlfriend Adrien,...
- 5/7/2013
- by Rebekah McKendry
- FEARnet
From the late 1960s onwards David Bowie has been an unavoidable pop culture icon. His variety of musical genres, electric performances and memorable aesthetic have inspired musical artists like Duran Duran, Lady Gaga and even Marilyn Manson. Music, however is not the only thing Bowie has inspired. In everything from comic books to movies, writers and actors have cited David Bowie as a template for their characters.
Sometimes the reference is obvious, at other times it may surprise you to find exactly how David Bowie inspired this character. The following list is just eight examples of how David Bowie is everywhere and you cannot escape him. Although why would you even want to?
8. David Bowie – Venture Bros
Venture Bros doesn’t even try and hide its Bowie influence; instead it goes all-out and has the mysterious character previously known only as “The Sovereign” revealed to be David Bowie himself. Bowie...
Sometimes the reference is obvious, at other times it may surprise you to find exactly how David Bowie inspired this character. The following list is just eight examples of how David Bowie is everywhere and you cannot escape him. Although why would you even want to?
8. David Bowie – Venture Bros
Venture Bros doesn’t even try and hide its Bowie influence; instead it goes all-out and has the mysterious character previously known only as “The Sovereign” revealed to be David Bowie himself. Bowie...
- 2/17/2013
- by Mary Parr
- Obsessed with Film
This remarkable creator – of orchestral pieces and chamber works as well as hybrids of film and performance art – draws on a plethora of influences, yet devises her own astonishing sound
All articles in this series
After Igor Stravinsky, it's a bit of a cliche to think of contemporary composition as making the most of the etymological truism that the roots of the verb "to compose" come from the Latin "componere" meaning "to put together" – ie that you're not creating anything new as a composer, merely creating new combinations of sounds, of things, of ideas, that already exist. But Austrian, er, composer Olga Neuwirth (whose recent viola concerto Remnants of Songs ... An Amphigory will have its first British performance at the Proms on 13 August) perhaps more than any other musician of her generation (she was born in 1968) really does take that principle as her starting point.
What does that mean for how her music sounds?...
All articles in this series
After Igor Stravinsky, it's a bit of a cliche to think of contemporary composition as making the most of the etymological truism that the roots of the verb "to compose" come from the Latin "componere" meaning "to put together" – ie that you're not creating anything new as a composer, merely creating new combinations of sounds, of things, of ideas, that already exist. But Austrian, er, composer Olga Neuwirth (whose recent viola concerto Remnants of Songs ... An Amphigory will have its first British performance at the Proms on 13 August) perhaps more than any other musician of her generation (she was born in 1968) really does take that principle as her starting point.
What does that mean for how her music sounds?...
- 8/7/2012
- by Tom Service
- The Guardian - Film News
The Venture Brothers may have started out as a funny little parody of Johnny Quest and 1960s superhero comics, but over the course of four seasons it's evolved into an incredibly complex and detailed satire of pop culture. It also might be the gayest cartoon on television right now.
The show centers on self-serving super-scientist Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture and his sons Hank and Dean, naïve Hardy Boys wannabes stuck in a permanent state of clean-cut curiosity. But they're just a small slice of a massive ensemble cast that includes some of the most original gay characters we've seen in years.
Without further ado, here are six super gay things about The Venture Brothers.
1. Shore Leave
Shore Leave is a nautical-themed hero who once belonged to a team of G.I. Joe-style agents modeled after the Village People. Presently, he's a member of Sphinx, a secret organization that hunts down unlicensed supervillains.
The show centers on self-serving super-scientist Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture and his sons Hank and Dean, naïve Hardy Boys wannabes stuck in a permanent state of clean-cut curiosity. But they're just a small slice of a massive ensemble cast that includes some of the most original gay characters we've seen in years.
Without further ado, here are six super gay things about The Venture Brothers.
1. Shore Leave
Shore Leave is a nautical-themed hero who once belonged to a team of G.I. Joe-style agents modeled after the Village People. Presently, he's a member of Sphinx, a secret organization that hunts down unlicensed supervillains.
- 10/21/2010
- by Jamie Maurer
- The Backlot
Filed under: Documentaries
Musician Klaus Nomi never became a household name, but as Snagfilms' 'The Nomi Song' shows, his otherworldly live performances and rock-disco-opera hybrid inspired a legion of classic musicians, including David Bowie whom Nomi backed up during Bowie's appearance on 'Saturday Night Live.'
Andrew Horn's award-winning documentary is part concert footage, part interview and part bizarre sci-fi film in line with Nomi's cosmic fixations. As Nomi's music and live performances -- replete with heavy make-up, bizarre hairstyles and multiple costumes -- began to earn him critical acclaim, the singer became the first prominent musician to be killed by AIDS in 1983. 'The Nomi Song' celebrates a truly unique musical figure.
Continue Reading...
Musician Klaus Nomi never became a household name, but as Snagfilms' 'The Nomi Song' shows, his otherworldly live performances and rock-disco-opera hybrid inspired a legion of classic musicians, including David Bowie whom Nomi backed up during Bowie's appearance on 'Saturday Night Live.'
Andrew Horn's award-winning documentary is part concert footage, part interview and part bizarre sci-fi film in line with Nomi's cosmic fixations. As Nomi's music and live performances -- replete with heavy make-up, bizarre hairstyles and multiple costumes -- began to earn him critical acclaim, the singer became the first prominent musician to be killed by AIDS in 1983. 'The Nomi Song' celebrates a truly unique musical figure.
Continue Reading...
- 9/27/2010
- by Jason Newman
- Moviefone
The glam-pop singer's vocal fireworks were as electric as his stage show during a two-night stint in New York City.
By Jim Cantiello
Adam Lambert performs at the Nokia Theatre on the first night of his New York stint
Photo: Getty Images
New York — Adam Lambert brought the drama, the voice to a sold-out two-night stint at New York City's Nokia Theatre, stopping in Times Square on his Glam Nation Tour. Lambert aimed for spectacle with video screens, backup dancers and extravagant costumes and makeup. But as cool as the lasers were, all the bells and whistles were no match for the glam-pop star's vocal fireworks, which were in top-notch condition on his Tuesday and Wednesday dates. His pitch-perfect pipes proved to be the real star of the show.
Pulling liberally from his debut For Your Entertainment, the singer whipped concertgoers into a frenzy during uptempo numbers like the fan fave "Strut,...
By Jim Cantiello
Adam Lambert performs at the Nokia Theatre on the first night of his New York stint
Photo: Getty Images
New York — Adam Lambert brought the drama, the voice to a sold-out two-night stint at New York City's Nokia Theatre, stopping in Times Square on his Glam Nation Tour. Lambert aimed for spectacle with video screens, backup dancers and extravagant costumes and makeup. But as cool as the lasers were, all the bells and whistles were no match for the glam-pop star's vocal fireworks, which were in top-notch condition on his Tuesday and Wednesday dates. His pitch-perfect pipes proved to be the real star of the show.
Pulling liberally from his debut For Your Entertainment, the singer whipped concertgoers into a frenzy during uptempo numbers like the fan fave "Strut,...
- 6/24/2010
- MTV Music News
Photographer-turned-filmmaker Bobby Sheehan began his career documenting the late-'70s NYC punk scene, which was around the time that he befriended cabaret singer and drag artist Joey Arias (also memorably seen in Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Wigstock: the Movie). However, it wasn't until Arias found and shared his biggest success with puppeteer extraordinaire Basil Twist—their wild 2008 stage collaboration "Arias with a Twist"—that Sheehan decided to turn his camera on the both of them in Arias with a Twist: The Docufantasy:
This euphoric documentary explores the dynamic creative relationship between Arias and Twist, but it also takes us on a tour of downtown New York's club, art, fashion, and performance scene starting in the late '70s, a time when these worlds were in constant dialogue, constantly inspiring each other. Director Bobby Sheehan has unearthed never-before-seen footage from the era of Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Keith Haring,...
This euphoric documentary explores the dynamic creative relationship between Arias and Twist, but it also takes us on a tour of downtown New York's club, art, fashion, and performance scene starting in the late '70s, a time when these worlds were in constant dialogue, constantly inspiring each other. Director Bobby Sheehan has unearthed never-before-seen footage from the era of Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Keith Haring,...
- 4/24/2010
- GreenCine Daily
Klaus Nomi was a prominent figure in the New Wave scene of the '80s in New York City, not only for his gorgeous counter tenor that made pop and punk songs into opera but also for his iconic look and stage presence. Watching the documentary The Nomi Song, I can only wish I was around when he was performing, perhaps in the same clubs I went to many years after his death. With campy futuristic stage performances and an iconic look that was a mix between a space alien, a Kabuki performer, and the robot from Metropolis, he was the one shocking the seemingly unshockable downtown punk crowds.
This doc about his short career and early death from a mysterious disease we now know is AIDs has fantastic footage of him performing live, shots of the East Village as it was then and now, and, of course, tales from...
This doc about his short career and early death from a mysterious disease we now know is AIDs has fantastic footage of him performing live, shots of the East Village as it was then and now, and, of course, tales from...
- 2/23/2010
- by Jenni Miller
- Cinematical
The glittery fall-out from Adam Lambert's campy For Your Entertainment album cover reveal continues. Lambert woke up this morning (after spending part of his evening at the "Michael Jackson's This Is It" premiere), and took to Twitter to defend his artistic vision.
The "Idol" rocker wrote, "Thank you to those who appreciate and understand that the album cover is deliberately campy. It's an homage to the past. It Is ridiculous. For those that don't get it: oh well. Glad to have gotten your attention." He closed with, "Androgyny. Rock n roll."
He's right. The androgynous look and science-fiction influence were both very much a part of the glam rock movement in the '70s, even spilling into the early '80s with New York City-based artist (and personal fave) Klaus Nomi. Lambert's makeup on the For Your Entertainment cover seems more of a throwback to '80s glam rock,...
The "Idol" rocker wrote, "Thank you to those who appreciate and understand that the album cover is deliberately campy. It's an homage to the past. It Is ridiculous. For those that don't get it: oh well. Glad to have gotten your attention." He closed with, "Androgyny. Rock n roll."
He's right. The androgynous look and science-fiction influence were both very much a part of the glam rock movement in the '70s, even spilling into the early '80s with New York City-based artist (and personal fave) Klaus Nomi. Lambert's makeup on the For Your Entertainment cover seems more of a throwback to '80s glam rock,...
- 10/28/2009
- by Jim Cantiello
- MTV Newsroom
Top 10 bring their three-hour concert to Los Angeles.
By Jim Cantiello
Kris Allen performs during the American Idols Live! tour in Los Angeles, California on Thursday
Photo: C. Flanigan/FilmMagic
Los Angeles — On Thursday night, the latest crop of "American Idol" superstars returned to the city that helped make them famous as the American Idols Live! tour descended upon L.A.'s Staples Center.
It was my first opportunity to get to see the infamous tour — it always hits the NYC area when we're super busy with Video Music Awards stuff — and it did not disappoint.
First of all, the energy in the room was dizzying. Before the show even began, the crowd erupted anytime L.A.'s own Adam Lambert popped up onscreen in never-ending monitor loops advertising Ford, Coke and Disney World. (It wouldn't be "Idol" without the product placement!)
The nearly three-hour concert kicked off exactly the...
By Jim Cantiello
Kris Allen performs during the American Idols Live! tour in Los Angeles, California on Thursday
Photo: C. Flanigan/FilmMagic
Los Angeles — On Thursday night, the latest crop of "American Idol" superstars returned to the city that helped make them famous as the American Idols Live! tour descended upon L.A.'s Staples Center.
It was my first opportunity to get to see the infamous tour — it always hits the NYC area when we're super busy with Video Music Awards stuff — and it did not disappoint.
First of all, the energy in the room was dizzying. Before the show even began, the crowd erupted anytime L.A.'s own Adam Lambert popped up onscreen in never-ending monitor loops advertising Ford, Coke and Disney World. (It wouldn't be "Idol" without the product placement!)
The nearly three-hour concert kicked off exactly the...
- 7/17/2009
- MTV Music News
(Rock 'n Roll High School director Allan Arkush, above. Photo courtesy of NBC.)
by Jon Zelazny
Editor’s Note: this article originally appeared at EightMillionStories.com on April 24th.
Jersey City native Allan Arkush has enjoyed a prolific career in television, currently producing and directing for the hit series “Heroes.”
He started in show business at Bill Graham’s legendary Fillmore East concert theater in New York City, then worked for the equally legendary low-budget movie producer Roger Corman. 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of Arkush’s solo directorial debut, the beloved cult classic Rock ‘n Roll High School.
I met with Arkush in his home office in West Los Angeles, and tried to keep from drooling all over his killer record collection.
Did you go to Springsteen last night? I thought he was amazing.
Allan Arkush: He really was. I thought it was interesting that he started out with some fairly dark songs: “Badlands,...
by Jon Zelazny
Editor’s Note: this article originally appeared at EightMillionStories.com on April 24th.
Jersey City native Allan Arkush has enjoyed a prolific career in television, currently producing and directing for the hit series “Heroes.”
He started in show business at Bill Graham’s legendary Fillmore East concert theater in New York City, then worked for the equally legendary low-budget movie producer Roger Corman. 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of Arkush’s solo directorial debut, the beloved cult classic Rock ‘n Roll High School.
I met with Arkush in his home office in West Los Angeles, and tried to keep from drooling all over his killer record collection.
Did you go to Springsteen last night? I thought he was amazing.
Allan Arkush: He really was. I thought it was interesting that he started out with some fairly dark songs: “Badlands,...
- 5/10/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
MUNICH -- Independent film sales house Media Luna said Monday that it has sold the German documentary The Nomi Song, winner of the Berlin Film Festival's Teddy Award for best documentary, to New York-based entertainment indie Palm Pictures for release in the United States and the United Kingdom. Details of the deal, which was made in Cannes, were not revealed by a Media Luna spokeswoman. The Nomi Song, directed by Andrew Horn, documents the life of German countertenor Klaus Nomi, a pop icon based in New York during the New Wave era of the 1980s. Poised to become one of the first major video stars as MTV took off, Nomi's rise to superstardom ended when he became one of the first prominent victims of AIDS.
- 5/25/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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