Sedona News from SEDONA.TV

September 2, 2010

Film Festival welcomes legendary actress and dancer Marge Champion for screenings of ‘Showboat’ on Sept. 7

Filed under: sedona film fest,sedona film festival,sedona movies — Tags: , — admin @ 1:10 pm

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to welcome legendary actress and dancer Marge Champion to town for special screenings of “Showboat” on Tuesday, Sept. 7. Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne will be hosting the films and conducting live Q&A discussions with Ms. Champion following both screenings. Showtimes will be at 3:30 and 7:00 p.m. at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres. This is part of the film festival’s “Living Legends” series.

“This is a big coup for Sedona and for anyone who is a Marge Champion and ‘Showboat’ fan,” said Patrick Schweiss, festival director. “To get to experience this film the way it was meant to be seen — on the big screen — and then get to meet Ms. Champion herself and enjoy a Q&A with classic movie master Robert Osborne goes beyond description. It is Hollywood movie magic at its finest … live, right here in Sedona!”

Riverboat entertainers find love, laughs and hardships as they sail along on the Cotton Blossom riverboat in “Showboat”, which was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Musical Score and Best Cinematography. Ms. Champion stars as Ellie May Shipley in the classic, lavish musical.

From novel to Broadway smash to three film versions to stage revivals, like “Old Man River”, “Showboat” just keeps rolling along. Produced by Arthur Freed and directed by George Sidney, this 1951 version of the saga of riverboat lives and loves has glorious stars (Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Marge and Gower Champion) in Technicolor radiance. A made-from-scratch 170-foot paddle wheeler, timeless songs, extravagant dance numbers and an equally timeless outcry against racial bigotry, “Showboat” has stood the test of time and remains one of film’s — and Broadway’s — most beloved musical extravaganzas.

The Cotton Blossom, owned by the Hawk family, is the show boat where everyone comes for great musical entertainment down south. Julie Laverne and her husband are the stars of the show. After a snitch on board calls the local police about Julie (who’s half- African-American) being married to a white man, they are forced to leave the show boat because down South interracial marriages are forbidden. Magnolia Hawk becomes the new show boat attraction and her leading man is Gaylord Ravenal, a gambler. The two instantly fall in love and marry. Magnolia and Gaylord leave the Cotton Blossom for a whirl-wind honeymoon and begin to live in a fantasy world. Magnolia soon faces reality quickly, that gambling means more to Gaylord than anything else. Magnolia confronts Gaylord and after he gambles away their fortune he leaves her — not knowing she is pregnant. Magnolia is left penniless and pregnant, and is left to fend for herself, and make a new start. Two of her friends — dancers Ellie May Shipley and Frank Schultz (Marge and Gower Champion), take her to audition for stage manager Jake Green and help turn her life around.

A celebrated dancer, actress, and choreographer of stage, screen and TV, Marge Champion, together with her then-husband and partner Gower Champion, excelled at the “story dance”, a combination of dance and pantomime, which they performed to great renown on Broadway, in several films, and on television. Ms. Champion was a human figure model for the heroine of Disney’s animated “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937), and later modeled for the blue fairy in “Pinocchio” (1940). She made her film debut in “The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle” (1939) and went on to star in dozens of films, television shows and Broadway musicals. In 1975, Ms. Champion won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for creating the dances for the celebrated TV-movie “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom”.

Ms. Champion, who turns 91 just days before her Sedona appearance, is still dancing daily and is featured in the short film “Keep Dancing” which will play before both screenings of “Showboat”. After celebrated careers, legendary dancers Ms. Champion and Donald Saddler became friends while performing together in the Broadway Show Follies (2001). When the show closed, they decided to rent a private studio together where they have been choreographing and rehearsing original dances ever since. At 90+ years old, they continue to pursue their passion for life through their love and mastery of dance. “Keep Dancing” seamlessly blends 9 decades of archival film and photographs with present day footage to tell a story through dance of the passing of time and the process of aging.

“Keep Dancing” director, Greg Vander Veer, will join Ms. Champion and Mr. Osborne for the Q&A discussions.

The title sponsor of this special event is L’Auberge de Sedona Resort. Additional support is provided by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Sedona and the Sedona Community Foundation.

“Showboat” will be shown at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 3:30 and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $12 each or $9 for Film Sedona members. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office, 1785 W. Hwy. 89A, Suite 2B, or by calling 282-1177.

For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.com.

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July 16, 2010

See “The Extra Man” tonight in Sedona under the stars!

Filed under: sedona film fest,sedona film festival — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:31 am

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present “Cinema Under the Stars” at Tequa featuring the exclusive Arizona premiere of the sophisticated, moving and offbeat comedy “The Extra Man” on Friday, July 16.  There will be one screening of the film outdoors at the Tequa Marketplace courtyard in the Village of Oak Creek.

A live concert performance by Meadowlark — the duo of Rick Cyge and Lynn Trombetta — will kick off the evening at 7 p.m. Come early, bring lawn chairs and blankets … and enjoy the sounds of these renowned performers! The film will follow the concert at approximately 8 p.m.

“Just like last month, this promises to be an extraordinary night of music, film and fun as we celebrate summer with the second of our ‘cinema under the stars’ events,” said festival director Patrick Schweiss. “Where else can you experience an incredible concert and an award-winning film under the beautiful Sedona night skies?”

The Sedona premiere of “The Extra Man” marks the film’s debut two weeks before it’s U.S. theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles. The comedy features a stellar ensemble cast led by Academy Award and Tony Award winner Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, Katie Holmes and Academy Award and multi Golden Globe nominee John C. Reilly.

A sophisticated and moving comedy, “The Extra Man” follows Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.  When a deeply embarrassing incident forces him to leave his job at an exclusive Princeton prep school, Louis heads to New York City to make a fresh start.

He quickly finds a nine-to-five job at an environmental magazine, where he encounters an entrancing, green-obsessed co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes). But it’s Louis’ new home life that really sparks his imagination. He rents a room in the ramshackle apartment of Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), a penniless, wildly eccentric but brilliant playwright.  When Henry’s not dancing alone to obscure music or singing operettas, he’s performing — with great panache — the duties of an “extra man”, a social escort for the wealthy widows of Manhattan high society.

These two men, separated in age by more than forty years, develop a volatile mentor/apprentice relationship. Through a series of urban adventures where they encounter everything from a leaping lion to a wildly jealous hirsute neighbor, from drunken nonagenarians to a shady Swiss hunchback, Louis and Henry form a memorable bond that bridges their differences.

“Anyone who has lived in New York City has met someone like Henry Harrison,” said writer Jonathan Ames, who penned the novel that the film is based on as well as co-wrote the screenplay. “Impossibly charming and sophisticated, despite having no fixed income or easily discernible job, Henry is the kind of person who knows how to get into the opera for free, wangle invites to the poshest of parties, and winter in Florida with the jet-set. In other words, he’s just the kind of mentor that shy, passionate, would-be writer Louis Ives needs when he moves to Manhattan to pursue his literary dreams.”

The mentor-protégé relationship between Henry and Louis is at the heart of “The Extra Man”, brought to the big screen by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, the Oscar-nominated team who directed the indie hit “American Splendor”.  The New York Times raves that “The Extra Man” is “hands down Kevin Kline’s funniest role in years.”

Food and beverages will be available for purchase from the Tequa Marketplace restaurants. In addition, movie snacks and concessions will be available to benefit the Sedona Boy Scout Troop 48. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and beach towels.

The title sponsors for the event are Tequa Marketplace and the Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition. The series is also made possible by a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Sedona and the Sedona Community Foundation.

“The Extra Man” will be shown outdoors at Tequa Marketplace in “Cinema Under the Stars” on Friday, July 16 at 8:00 p.m., with a pre-film concert beginning at 7:00 p.m. This event will go on rain or shine! In case of monsoon rains or bad weather, the event will be held in the Hilton Sedona Resort Ballroom, adjacent to Tequa Marketplace.

Tickets are $12 or $9 for Film Sedona members, and will be available starting at Tequa beginning at 6 p.m. that evening. Cash or checks only. Film Sedona members can purchase tickets in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office, 1785 W. Hwy. 89A, Suite 2B, or by calling 282-1177. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.com.

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February 22, 2010

Get ready for the 2010 Sedona International Film Festival!

Filed under: sedona festivals,sedona film fest,sedona film festival — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 4:35 pm

Michael Moore, special guest at the 2010 Sedona International Film Festival

Starting tomorrow, Harkins Sedona Six Theatres hosts the 16th annual Sedona International Film Festival! This year’s festival features special guests Michael Moore and TCM’s Robert Osborne. Enjoy 145 of the best independent films over six full days as Sedona proudly takes center stage from today until February 28th.

Tonight is Preview Night. The Arizona premiere of Italian documentary feature film “Terra Madre” is at 5:00pm followed by a special free event at 7:30, the Pachamama Alliance Presentation with Neal Rogin and Mark Dubois.

For more information, and to buy passes, visit sedonafilmfestival.com.

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August 19, 2009

Award-Winning Documentary "The Cove" Debuts in Sedona 9/1

Filed under: sedona,sedona az,sedona events,sedona film fest,sedona movies,sedona theater,the cove — megan @ 11:53 am

Film Festival Presents Critically-Acclaimed Oscar Hopeful

Producer to Attend and Host Q&A

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the debut of the award-winning, critically-acclaimed documentary “The Cove” on Tuesday, Sept. 1. There will be two screenings of the film at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres. The film kicks off the festival’s four-week “What’s Up, Doc?” Documentary Series featuring award-winning documentaries from festivals around the world.

“The Cove” is taking the world by storm and quickly becoming one of the best reviewed films of the year. The documentary garnered more than 30 top audience choice awards from prestigious film festivals around the globe, including Sundance. Roger Ebert rates the film four stars and calls it a “certain Oscar contender.” The New York Times says “The Cove” is “an exceptionally well-made documentary that unfolds like a spy thriller – one of the most audacious and perilous operations in the history of the conservation movement.”

Producer Fisher Stevens will be in Sedona to present “The Cove” and host Q&A discussions following both screenings.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhrAPw_Z1X4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1]
“The Cove” Movie Trailer – CAPTIVATING!


In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan lies a shocking secret that a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep hidden from the world. At last, the truth of “The Cove” comes to the fore in an act of covert filmmaking that turns a documentary into a gripping action-adventure thriller – and a heart-pounding call for help from the world’s oceans.

“The Cove” begins in Taiji, Japan, where former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry has come to set things right after a long search for redemption. In the 1960s, it was O’Barry who captured and trained the 5 dolphins who played the title character in the international television sensation “Flipper.” But his close relationship with those dolphins – the very dolphins who sparked a global fascination with trained sea mammals that continues to this day – led O’Barry to a radical change of heart. One fateful day, a heartbroken Barry came to realize that these deeply sensitive, highly intelligent and self-aware creatures so beautifully adapted to life in the open ocean must never be subjected to human captivity again.

This mission has brought him to Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonders and mysteries of the sleek, playful dolphins and whales that swim off their coast. But in a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and “Keep Out” signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. The nature of what they do is so chilling – and the consequences are so dangerous to human health – they will go to great lengths to halt anyone from seeing it.

Undeterred, O’Barry joins forces with filmmaker Louie Psihoyos and the Ocean Preservation Society to get to the truth of what’s really going on in the cove and why it matters to everyone in the world. With the local Chief of Police hot on their trail and strong-arm fishermen keeping tabs on them, they will recruit an “Oceans Eleven”- style team of underwater sound and camera experts, special effects artists, marine explorers, adrenaline junkies and world-class free divers who will carry out an undercover operation to photograph the off-limits cove, while playing a cloak-and-dagger game with those who would have them jailed.

The result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery that adds up to an urgent plea for hope.

Director Louis Psyihoyos, one of the world’s most sought-after photographers and a co-founder of the Ocean Preservation Society, first encountered – or rather didn’t encounter – Ric O’Barry while attending a marine conference at which O’Barry was supposed to be a keynote speaker. When O’Barry was banned at the last minute by the event’s sponsor, Sea World, Psihoyos’ curiosity was piqued. What he couldn’t have known is that this curiosity would lead him to seek out O’Barry, and eventually compel him to undertake an incredible filmmaking adventure – as he and his crew used high-tech military grade equipment, bold free divers and a fearless sense of urgency to carry out a perilous underwater shoot that was entirely under cover.

He could not have foreseen that his crew would, in the process, expose not only the hidden truth about dolphin hunts but also a major human health hazard, government corruption, the declining state of our oceans and one man’s emotional battle for redemption.

“Hollywood could hardly have contrived a more dynamic scenario,” raves David Edelstein from National Public Radio. Mary Pols from Time Magazine says “The Cove… puts Hollywood capers like Mission: Impossible to shame.” And Kenneth Turan with the Los Angeles Times calls the film “a powerful and effective piece of advocacy filmmaking.”

Producer Fisher Stevens, who will be in Sedona to present “The Cove”, is also an accomplished director. Stevens has appeared in more than 40 stage productions including the Tony award-winning Torch Song Trilogy, as well as more than 50 films and television programs. He will host a Q&A discussion following both screenings.

The title sponsor for the event is Go Electric, Sedona Electric Vehicles; the supporting sponsor is Vora Financial. The series is also made possible by a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Sedona.

“The Cove” will be shown at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10, or $8 for Film Sedona members, and will be available starting at 3:00 p.m. that day in the Harkins lobby. Cash or checks only. Film Sedona members can purchase tickets in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office, 1785 W. Hwy. 89A, Suite 2B, or by calling 282-1177.

For more information, visit: http://www.sedonafilmfestival.com/.

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