On March 23, new women empowerment campaign Actually She Can teamed up with Patricia Arquette to host a breakfast celebrating women in film and to start a discussion around the gap between the amount of female filmmakers in the business and men.
The final book of which the Divergent films are based on has been split into two movies, and part one, which is called Allegiant, has arrived.
On Monday, February 29, the Meatpacking District hosted a “Battle of the Breakfasts” from the area’s hottest brunch restaurants.
On Feb. 23, Sunshine Landmark Cinema hosted the premiere of the new indie movie, Ava’s Possessions. It’s a genre bending film about a girl who was possessed for a month (losing all memories of her life during that period of time), and somehow has to figure out how to piece her life back together afterwards. The movie first premiered at SXSW last year. Check out our exclusive interview with the writer-director, Jordan Galland, and Louisa Krause, who plays Ava, below.
The Knockturnal: So tell us about your movie! What compelled you to write it and direct it?
Jordan Galland: I’ve always been a fan of exorcist films, so it took me a little while to find an original way into this, but I knew if I wanted to work in the genre, I had to do something a little bit different. So that’s why it’s about a girl recovering from demonic possession rather than the build up to being possessed. So the movie opens with the exorcism where most of those movies sort of end. And I’m just a fan of those type of movies, like Rosemary’s Baby and sort of older 70s’ possession movies.
TK: Normally, possession movies aren’t comedic.
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JG: Yeah, my last two movies are actually more comedic. This is more of a mix, creepier, scarier, but there’s an inherent awkward dark humor to the scenes of you know, a girl who doesn’t remember what happened to her—and then the priest tells her that she was possessed. And then she has to confront her family and friends and they’re all very—they keep her at a distance. You know, her mom has an eyepatch, her dad has scratches on his neck. There’s certainly a creepy sadness to it, but it’s funny as well. And then, the idea of just having a recovery group that’s kinda like AA for people who have been possessed, that just kind of followed naturally once I had the concept, the original concept. And that, there’s a lot of humor to that idea. But we approached it very straight, without trying to chase the joke, it just sort of happened.
TK: Did your cast bring anything to the table that you didn’t expect? What changed once you really got it on its feet?
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JG: The actors are great, and I definitely in the cast process tried to find people that I could really rely on when it’s like crunch time when we’re filming, so there was a lot open to their ideas and lines that they come up with and that type of thing. It was a low budget film, we shot it in 18 days, so there was very, very little time to make sure that something would fit the script if it didn’t. A location that we got could often determine what was gonna happen in the scene.
TK: Was the script very loose?
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JG: Yeah, I mean to some degree. It was my third film, so I kind of knew how…I knew what to expect. My other movies were very similar shoot schedules, so this time around I knew a little bit more of what I could work with and what I can’t. It wasn’t loose in the sense…it was a very solid script. But I think having it be that solid allowed it to let us just use it as a blueprint when we were in battle.
The Knockturnal: So what attracted you to this project?
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Louisa Krause: The story. It picks up from a young woman’s life right after the exorcism. I thought that would be fun, that would be fun to do! That has never been done before! Let me bite into that.
TK: Have you been in other horror-exorcist type of movies?
LK: Not any exorcist films, but I did just recently do…it just came out called the Abandoned, which was a horror film. This is more of a genre…actually mystery driven, and I loved that I was playing this Nancy Drew character who’s trying to piece her life back together. And also just the style of the film was so cool.
TK: It sounds like the hangover but for exorcisms.
LK: Yeah, yeah! And it just looks so neat, you know. I was telling Jordan, it looks kind of like those Lisa Frank trapper keepers! I would have been a fan girl of this movie in my youth, I would have thought Ava was so cool and I would have wanted to be her. It was fun to play a sort of strong female character trying to piece her life back together. I could really grab onto that.
TK: What do you like about this movie that’s different?
LK: I think demons are sexy. There’s a sexy side to them.
TK: This movie exploits the sexy side.
LK: Yeah it was fun. It was totally fun to be a demon. To go in that direction. I should have done my homework and given you a good logline, but I promise you will have a good time. You will be entertained.
Following the screening, guests headed over to The Mockingbird Bar for tacos and SVEDKA cocktails. The film hits theaters March 4.
Acclaimed singer/songwriter Hozier’s music video for “Cherry Wine” will be a “clarion call to highlight the issues” of domestic violence. On Valentine’s Day 2016, the music video dropped starring Oscar-nominated actress Saoirse Ronan as a woman in a physically abusive relationship. The video is a moving portrayal of the horrors of being in an abusive relationship addressing the issue head on. Hozier says of the song, “With the song Cherry Wine, I tried to get across the difficulty of coming to terms with and facing up to domestic violence and the dynamic of an abusive relationship.” Speaking of her decision to join forces with Hozier, Ronan says, “The song has always been one of my favorite tracks on his album. I hope through the video and song we can shine light on the issue and complexity of domestic abuse and in doing so help those caught up in the cycle of domestic violence.”
Hozier, Columbia Records, Island Records, and Sony/ATV Music Publishing will donate their respective proceeds from downloads of this special single to a series of international domestic abuse charity organizations which provide support to victims and survivors of domestic abuse while also engaging in advocacy and community outreach.
On Wednesday February 17, health company Well+Good teamed up with Even Hotels, a new wellness focused hotel, to present a Fashion Week Wellness event. Guests were treated to 45 minute yoga classes, meditation and reiki sessions, facials, manicures, and more! Also there was healthy cookbook extraordinaire, Candice Kumai, and Dr. Drew Ramsey, author of 50 Shades of Kale.
Candice Kumai gave a live demonstration of how to cook healthy snacks (peanut butter and chocolate balls!), easy green smoothies (secret ingredient: matcha powder), and quick Japanese bento boxes. She also shared with us an exclusive health secret: eat less meat! Her trick is to think of meat as a treat, not an every day food. Dr. Ramsey also was there to give us tips on how to use more kale in our diet, the superfood. There was also yummy kale and gin cocktails, a surprisingly smooth combo.
Guests were given gift bags for ultimate pampering, relaxation, and health to help them get through the rest of hectic fashion week. In the goody bags were copies of Candice’s new book, Clean Green Eats, a tinted lip conditioner from Ilia, nail polish from Deborah Lippmann, Stem Cellular Eye Lift Masks from Juice Beauty, Pür Miracle Mist, Essential oils from Naturopathica, and more!
On Thursday Feb. 11, Mixology Clothing Company partnered with W Hotel Union Square to throw a fashion week party to celebrate their new social media campaign #howimix. The event was hosted in the Great Room, where there was a live DJ event, open bar, and photobooth provided by Vodka Marionette. Guests included Jordyn Jones, DJ Xenia Ghali, and Entertainment Tonight correspondent Carly Steel.
The idea behind Mixology’s #howimix campaign is to inspire the fashionable girl who doesn’t want to break the bank with an all designer wardrobe by buying one or two statement pieces they can wear forever and mix high and low fashion. Instagram users can hashtag their photos and share inspiration with each other, building a community of Mixology shoppers.
The W New York – Union Square is located in the 1911 beaux arts Guardian Life building. Central to glamorous shopping, electric music venues and a dynamic art culture, it is a contemporary spot for you to see and be seen.
Photo Credit: Travis W. Keyes
The annual amfAR gala took place at the Mandarin Oriental New York on February 11.
“How to be Single” is mostly about being single in New York, so there are a few expected shenanigans to call out off the bat.
On February 4, Hickey Freeman debuted their Fall/Winter 2016 collection in Soho during New York Fashion Week 2016.