🍿 ‘The Wedding Banquet’ hits theaters

Please don t make me chicken jockeyApr The success of Minecraft is one of the first major things that has made me feel like I m aging out of a certain demographic I m only don t me But nothing nothing has made me feel older than a certain internet trend surrounding Minecraft If you ve never heard the words chicken jockey I m so sorry for what I m about to share with you During the Minecraft movie when Jack Black s character says those magic words theater-goers mostly it seems teenage boys throw their popcorn into the air And their icees And their water bottles And their salsa You get the picture As you might imagine this is not only a matter for other movie-goers but the poor theater workers who have to clean everything up between screenings It s gotten so bad that Regal Cinemas has gone so far as to announce special chicken jockey screenings Godspeed Without further ado Action The Atlanta Film Festival starts next week on April with an opening screening of David Fortune s Color Book I ll have an interview with Fortune publishing next week and you can grab your tickets for the festival here The film festival also just disclosed the lineup for this year s Creative Conference Learn more about those panels and discussions here On April the Plaza Theatre is hosting a special screening of the film Goodbye Horses The Several Lives of Q Lazzarus The documentary is about the life and music of singer songwriter Diane Luckey also known as Q Lazzarus and the screening will feature a Q A with director Eva Aridjis The Cannes Film Festival has released the lineup for its event including new movies from Wes Anderson and Kelly Reichardt The Writers Guild of America issued a new assessment last week stating that writing jobs on television declined by percent over the - season Over the past minimal weeks I interviewed three actors in the national touring productions of Peter Pan and Shucked to see what life is like on the road You can learn about their schedules and tour hacks here This week s newsletter includes a conversation with the resident SNL photographer a look into a new documentary about the Atlanta Olympics and Jim Farmer s interview with the members of the creative club of the new film The Wedding Banquet Plus a review of the Ryan Coogler movie Sinners what s filming in Georgia this week and a few reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break Thanks for reading SammiePhoto by Luka Cyprian Bleecker StreetAndrew Ahn Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran talk reimagining The Wedding Banquet Ang Lee s film The Wedding Banquet was the first gay movie filmmaker Andrew Ahn ever saw Now Ahn has directed a modern version of the classic The new The Wedding Banquet is co-written by Ahn and screenwriter James Schamus who also co-penned the original In the film Min Han Gi-Chan is a Korean gay man living in Seattle upset that his boyfriend Chris Bowen Yang will not marry him They live in the guest house of their best friends lesbian couple Lee Lily Gladstone and Angela Kelly Marie Tran who are trying to have a baby When he realizes his candidate visa is almost up and he might have to go back to Korea Min has an idea he and Angela can marry to get a green card and in return he can pay for Lee s IVF treatments Ahead of the film s release this weekend Jim Farmer spoke with Ahn Gladstone and Tran about the making of the movie for the Georgia Voice Check out that interview here Let s celebrate Spring at Town Brookhaven next Thursday SPONSORED BY TOWN BROOKHAVEN Join us on Thursday April from to p m for Spring Festival on the Town at Town Brookhaven A variety of family-friendly springtime programs will take place on the green space including a petting zoo two Earth Day-themed DIY craft programs for kids and adults unique area vendors face painting lemonade popsicles a photo area music games and more Merchants are offering promotions get more information here Photo courtesy of Atlanta Story Partners The Games in Black White and the partnership at the center of the Olympics The Atlanta Olympics has been covered extensively by news media and historical documents alike Whether that be coverage of amazing athletic feats of the terrible terrorist attack in Centennial Olympic Park or of activists opposition to the Games in Atlanta numerous stories and perspectives have been shared through the years With The Games in Black White filmmakers Bob Judson and George Hirthler aim to shine a light on the partnership that brought the Olympic Games to Atlanta in the first place that between businessman Billy Payne and Civil Rights icon Andrew Young The film is playing at this year s Atlanta Film Festival on April at the Rialto Center for the Arts Check out my conversation with Hirthler and Judson here Photo by Mary Ellen MatthewsIn conversation with SNL photographer Mary Ellen Matthews Mary Ellen Matthews has been the resident photographer at Saturday Night Live since Now she s sharing her famous portraits in a new book Issued in conjunction with the sketch comedy show s th anniversary The Art of the SNL Portrait features a collection of photos taken by Matthews during her tenure with the show think the photographs that pop up of the host or musical guest when the show transitions from a commercial break back to live offerings Matthews was in Georgia this week for a book signing and I spoke to her about her career and the creation of the book Check out that conversation here Photo courtesy of Warner Bros Sinners is a B-level extravaganza with A-level ideaWEEKLY FILM REVIEW The devil s music is a phrase that has been weaponized about plenty of genres rock n roll jazz throughout history When Pastor Jedidiah Saul Williams uses the phrase to his son Sammie Miles Caton he s referring to the blues Given that Sinners Ryan Coogler s new vampire movie opens with Sammie covered in blood clutching a sharp sawed-off guitar neck mighty close to his preacher father s back while Jedidiah begs him to leave evil in the dust you d be forgiven for thinking that Coogler is setting up a story that rests on a confrontation between vampires evil and religion good As Sammie shakes and sobs in his father s arms we re left wondering if he ll be able to overcome whatever malevolent force has left him in such a state Except that s not quite where we ll end up Sinners does not have such an easy definition of good and evil or even of freedom and repression the typical map of which so several vampire stories have laid upon A messy sexy grotesque extravaganza that feels as much like a southern gothic as it does a slasher Sinners also has more complex ideas about liberation particularly Black liberation and how the past and the future connect than you might expect Read my full review here Photo via zachbraffWhat s filming in Georgia Here s a closer look at what s filming in and around your neighborhood Cape Fear a new thriller TV series from Apple TV starring Amy Adams and Javier Bardem who is also executively producing the series alongside Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg has started filming this week in Atlanta according to a casting call Clean Hands a feature film about the true story of a drug cop who became a recovery advocate started filming in the state of late according to the Georgia Film Office The film stars Zach Braff and Esther McGregor both pictured above Lifetime s new TV movie Teen Beauty Pageant started filming this week as well according to the Georgia Film Office There s not a ton of information about the film out there besides what can be located on the Film Office s website For a look at everything else filming in Georgia take a look at the Georgia Film Office s production list Photo by Lola Scott design by Aaron StrandCrash Zoom Cannes lineup and an Anora PVOD success Welcome to Crash Zoom a podcast where we take a deep dive into film and entertainment industry news Each week join me and my cohost indie filmmaker Aaron Strand as we explore how things happening at the highest level trickle down and affect the independent artist This week we discuss the lineup for the Cannes Film Festival the new stunt category coming to the Academy Awards and more Check out the new episode here Lights Camera Action When it comes to movies television music whatever it may be it s easy to get stuck inside of your comfort zone It s easy to avoid certain pieces of pop way of life because you think they re just not for you But the best feeling in the world is finding something that surprises you and changes your mind On a current episode of NPR s Pop Values Happy Hour the hosts discuss the pop society that changed their mind Listen here If you like me feel bad about David Zaslav the CEO of Warner Bros Discovery and you wish to feel worse about the state of everything he s doing Michael Wolff s Intelligencer article about the unlikely movie mogul is the profile for you Check it out here Jurassic Park is no surprise my favorite Steven Spielberg movie I was a kid obsessed with dinosaurs and there is no dino movie better than Jurassic Park On last week s episode of Blank Check Sean Fennessey joins hosts David Sims and Griffin Newman to discuss Spielberg s blockbuster masterpiece You can listen to that episode here The post The Wedding Banquet hits theaters appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta