New AMERICAN MASTERS documentaries will premiere this fall on PBS about filmmaker Richard Linklater, artist Tyrus Wong and author Edgar Allan Poe. Descriptions follow:
American Masters: Richard Linklater -- dream is destiny. Premieres nationwide Friday, September 1 at 9/8c on
PBS (check local listings). Boasting a trove of never-before-seen archival footage, American Masters: Richard Linklater -- dream is destiny provides an unconventional look at the fiercely independent style of filmmaking that emerged out of Austin, Texas, in the late 1980s and 1990s. Early writings from Linklater's journals and telling interviews with the subject himself are intermingled with clips from some of his most beloved films, including Slacker, Dazed and Confused and Boyhood, revealing the extent to which his filmmaking existed (and continues to exist) decidedly outside of the production power bases of Hollywood and New York. Other interviews include actors and collaborators Matthew McConaughey, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Jack Black, Julie Delpy and Kevin Smith, as well as colleagues and friends, including the late Jonathan Demme. Co-directed by Karen Bernstein (American Masters: Lou Reed - Rock and Roll Heart, American Masters: Ella Fitzgerald - Something to Live For), American Masters: Richard Linklater -- dream is destiny marks the directorial debut from The Austin Chronicle editor and SXSW co-founder Louis Black. An original board member of the Austin Film Society (founded by current artistic director Richard Linklater), Black has long been a staple in the Austin filmmaking community and the extent to which he is inseparable from his subject is palpable throughout the documentary. 90 minutes.
American Masters: Tyrus Premieres nationwide Friday, September 8 at 9/8c on
PBS (check local listings). Discover the unlikely story of pioneering Guangzhou-born, American artist Tyrus Wong, who overcame a life of poverty and racism to become a celebrated painter, who once exhibited with Picasso and Matisse, a Hollywood sketch artist, and 'Disney Legend' for his groundbreaking work on the classic animated film Bambi. Previously unseen art and interviews with Wong, movie clips and archival footage illustrate how his unique style -- melding Chinese calligraphic and landscape influences with contemporary Western art -- is found in everything from Disney animation (Bambi) and live-action Hollywood studio films (Rebel Without a Cause, The Wild Bunch, Sands of Iwo Jima, April in Paris) to Hallmark Christmas cards, kites and hand-painted California dinnerware to fine art and Depression-era WPA paintings. Filmmaker Pamela Tom (Two Lies) corrects a historical wrong by spotlighting this seminal, but heretofore under-credited figure who passed away in 2016 at the age of 106. This year marks the 75th anniversary of Bambi (August 1942). 90 minutes.
American Masters -- Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive Premieres nationwide Monday, October 30 at 9/8c on
PBS (check local listings)
AMERICAN MASTERS draws on the rich palette of Edgar Allan Poe's evocative imagery and sharply drawn plots to tell the real story of the notorious author. The film, featuring Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated actor Denis O'Hare (This Is Us, American Horror Story, Take Me Out), explores the misrepresentations of Poe as an alcoholic madman akin to the narrators of his horror stories. It reveals the way in which Poe tapped into what it means to be a human being in our modern and sometimes frightening world. Determined to re-invent American literature, Poe was an influential literary critic and magazine editor. He invented the modern detective story and refined the
Science fiction genre. Yet, he is remembered primarily for his handful of horror stories. Poe famously died under mysterious circumstances. The fact is, the mystery around Poe's death is the least of it. The real question at the heart of this film is why Poe continues to be one of the most popular writers in the history of Western literature -- and one of the most misunderstood. Written and directed by Eric Stange (The War That Made America, American Experience: Murder at Harvard). 90 minutes.
Photo: Richard Linklater /Courtesy of Detour Films
