Film Society of Lincoln Center Presents THE CANYONS & An Evening with Paul Schrader Tonight

The Film Society of Lincoln Center previously announced it would host An Evening with Paul Schrader tonight, July 29. The evening will include the World Premiere of Schrader's drama THE CANYONS, the highly anticipated first public screening of the film, which will then be followed by a conversation between Schrader and the New York Film Festival Program Director, Kent Jones.

Additionally, the upcoming July/August issue of Film Comment Magazine features an in-depth exclusive interview with Paul Schrader, as well as an essay discussing and commenting on the DIY effort he, screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis and producer Braxton Pope undertook to make the film, the struggles and rewards of working with Lindsay Lohan, the decision to cast adult film star James Deen to star opposite her, and the film and potentially career transforming performance from Lohan that resulted from it all. The article can also be found on FilmComment.com.

Kent Jones, the New York Film Festival Program Director, said, "On one level, THE CANYONS is a visually and tonally precise, acid-etched horror story of souls wandering through a hyper-materialist hell, with a fearless and, I think, stunning performance by Lindsay Lohan at its center; on another level, it's an inspiration and an example to us all: it's difficult for me to imagine another filmmaker of Paul Schrader's stature diving into the world of crowd-sourced moviemaking, let alone with such fervor, dedication and rigor."

Directed by Paul Schrader from Easton Ellis' script, THE CANYONS focuses on a calculating young movie producer Christian (James Deen) who makes films to keep his trust fund intact, and his actress girlfriend, Tara (Lindsay Lohan), who tries to hide an affair with an actor from her past. However, Christian discovers the truth and the couple is soon thrust into a violent, sexually-charged tour through the dark side of human nature.

Schrader addresses many subjects frankly and thoroughly in the July/August Film Comment Magazine. Some excerpts included below, and the full interview and essay can be found at: http://www.filmcomment.com/article/the-noise-factor and http://www.filmcomment.com/article/shooting-stars.

Discussing THE CANYONS as cinema for the post-theatrical era:

"..we're making art out of The Remains of our empire. The junk that's left over. And this idea of a film that was crowdfunded, cast online, with one actor from a celebrity culture, one actor from adult-film culture, a writer and director who have gotten beat up in the past-felt like a post-Empire thing. And then everything I was afraid of with Lindsay and James started to become a positive. I was afraid we wouldn't be taken seriously and people would think it was a joke. My son and daughter didn't want me to do it. That just shows you how conservative young kids are."

Schrader talks about Lohan's initial discomfort with adult film star James Deen being cast as her co-star:

"When we first met with her. In fact, she was trying to get him out. The first read-through, I looked over at her notepad and she was making a list of other actors who could play these roles. I said, 'Lindsay, I'm not gonna let you recast this movie.' She was always wary of Deen. A little bit because of the porn thing, but also her fear was that he would steal her thunder."

And the ultimate rewards of working with Lohan:

"From a selfish point of view, from a director's point of view, that is, from my point of view, it was a treat to work with Lindsay. All the drama, the mishegas, all the stress-that means little. A director can shoot around misbehavior. He can't shoot around lack of charisma. I just wish it were easier for Lindsay."

Tickets for An Evening with Paul Schrader are now on sale for Film Society of Lincoln Center Members and Film Comment Magazine subscribers. Tickets for the General Public will go on sale on Thursday, July 11. Tickets are $15. Visit www.FilmLinc.com for additional information.

For information regarding Film Comment Magazine subscriptions go to: http://www.filmcomment.com/pages/subscribe-to-film-comment-magazine

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
Founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center works to recognize and support new directors, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility and understanding of film. Among its yearly programming of film festivals, film series and special events, the Film Society presents two film festivals in particular that annually attract global attention: the New York Film Festival, which will soon present its 51st edition, and New Directors/New Films which, since its founding in 1972, has been produced in collaboration with MoMA. The Film Society also publishes the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, and for over three decades has given an annual award-now named "The Chaplin Award"-to a major figure in world cinema. Past recipients of this award include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sidney Poitier, and most recently - Barbra Streisand. FSLC presents its year-round calendar of programming, panels, lectures, educational and transmedia programs and specialty film releases at the famous Walter Reade Theater and the state-of-the-art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, Jaeger-LeCoultre, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stonehenge Partners, Stella Artois, the Kobal Collection, the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com and follow @filmlinc on Twitter.

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