Jonathan Demme News

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best film musicals since the sound era began; see if your favorites made the list!

The United States Artists (USA) announced today that dancer/ choreographer Dianne McIntyre is one of fifty recipients of their 2020 USA Fellow award. Each of the fifty recipients will receive a $50,000 cash award of unrestricted funds.

Variety reports that Neil Young will crowdsource several of his albums in an effort to provide a complete archival release.

Multi-hyphenate James Mangold will receive the Cinema Audio Society Filmmaker Award at the 56th Annual CAS Awards on January 25th, at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown. 

Shout! Factory TV, the digital entertainment streaming service, is set to launch its first original digital docuseries CULT-TASTIC: TALES FROM THE TRENCHES WITH ROGER AND JULIE CORMAN. Created, written and co-produced by Ashley Sidaway and Robert Sidaway, the 13-part series about the life and work of Roger and Julie Corman, provides viewers an extraordinary look inside the Cormans' cinematic universe and features extensive in-depth interviews. The series will premiere November 15th on Shout! Factory TV's Amazon Prime Video Channel and via Roku Channel's Premium Subscription.

Westport Country Playhouse's world premiere translation and adaption of Molière's comedy, a?oeDon Juan,a?? by Brendan Pelsue, directed by Playhouse associate artistic director David Kennedy, will begin Tuesday, November 5 and run through Saturday, November 23.

The cast album for the critically acclaimed Broadway production of David Byrne's American Utopia, has been released today, with music and lyrics by David Byrne. It is available now via the Nonesuch Store, iTunes, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, and other digital service providers. The two-CD version will be released on November 22 and is available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store; a vinyl edition will be available this winter. The cast recording track list is below.

Center for Performance Research, which supports the development of new works in contemporary dance, performance and related forms, is pleased to announce its 2019 Fall Technical Resident, Big Dance Theater.

NYU Skirball will present The Road Awaits Us,  two North American premieres and one beloved solo from Big Dance Theatre on Friday November 8 and Saturday, November 9 at 7:30 pm at NYU Skirball.

The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC), a nonprofit cultural arts center and one of the most successful suburban film houses in the country, announced today that its 18th annual gala, Celebrating Trailblazers, will honor three talented pioneers on Tuesday, Sept. 24 with dinner designed and catered by Blue Hill.

From Friday, October 4 through Thursday, October 10, BAM presents a new restoration of Gregory Nava's classic of Chicano cinema Selena (1997), a star-is-born tribute to the late Tejano singer, starring Jennifer Lopez in her breakout film role. 

Joana Vicente and Cameron Bailey, Co-Heads of TIFF, today announced the TIFF Tribute Gala, an annual awards fundraiser to support TIFF's year-round programmes and core mission to transform the way people see the world through film, and to celebrate the film industry's outstanding contributors. The event takes place Monday, September 9 at the Fairmont Royal York, during the 44th Toronto International Film Festival. To recognize their leadership in creating a union between social impact and cinema, the TIFF Tribute Gala will introduce the new TIFF Impact Award. Participant Media will receive the inaugural award, which will be accepted by Founder and Chairman Jeff Skoll and CEO David Linde, marking an incredible 15 years of social action through storytelling. The TIFF Tribute Gala will also include the new Mary Pickford Award, honouring a female emerging talent in the industry. The inaugural award is given this year in celebration of United Artists' 100th anniversary. The recipient of this award, as well as additional honourees for the TIFF Tribute Gala, will be announced in the coming weeks.

From Friday, July 19 through Tuesday, July 23, BAM presentsIntimate Epics, a five-day, six-film series of intimately-focused works by master filmmakers—including Spike Lee, Edward Yang, Chantal Akerman—all with run times of over three hours.  

From Friday, June 28 through Thursday, July 4, BAM presents a 30th anniversary run of Brooklyn icon Spike Lee's culture-shifting masterpiece Do the Right Thing (1989). Screenings before 6pm will play in a newly restored 4K DCP; screenings after 6pm will play in a brand new 35mm print.

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the first wave of guest presenters who will celebrate Denzel Washington at the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award on June 6, 2019, at a Gala Tribute in Los Angeles. Chadwick Boseman, Jodie Foster, Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman (2011 honoree), Michael B. Jordan, Issa Rae, Julia Roberts and Cicely Tyson will all be in attendance to pay tribute to Washington's life and work. In addition, multitalented film, television and music video artist Melina Matsoukas (AFI Class of 2005) will receive the 2019 Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal, recognizing her extraordinary creative talents.  

Yesterday, May 2, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its 2019 FilmWatch and FilmCraft grant recipients, which included the Jacob Burns Film Center (Pleasantville, NY), a nonprofit five-screen cinema and education center and one of the most successful suburban art houses in the country. The $10,000 FilmCraft grant will support JBFC's inaugural REMIX Artist-in Residence.

Ben Platt stopped by TODAY to perform the song 'older' off of his solo album, 'Sing To Me Instead' which was released today! Before the performance, Platt talked with Hoda Kotb about how he warms up his vocals with hand warmers!

The 21st Annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival, co-founded and hosted by Chaz Ebert and also known as 'Ebertfest,” announced today the final slate of films for the 2019 event.  

The Cinema Audio Society Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing Motion Picture - Live Action was presented to the sound mixing team from “Bohemian Rhapsody” of John Casali, Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, Niv Adiri, CAS, Mike Tehrani, Glen Gathard, Jemma Riley Tolch.

ADIR 26 FILMS announces the launch of its Kickstarter campaign for “Reefa” (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reefathemovie/reefa) starringJeffrey Wahlberg, and the greenlight for production of its independent film starting in March 2019 with an expected launch date of Fall 2019.