Author

Dano Nissen

EventsLifestyle

Vine & Vinyl Hosts First Wine Market in Los Angeles

by Dano Nissen
written by Dano Nissen

Vine and Vinyl is adding a little kick to wine tasting. 

They hosted their inaugural Wine Market on Friday, Jan 13 at Brother Brother clothing store in West Adams, Los Angeles. This wasn’t your staid, swirl and sniff, suit and tie, talk about the weather, be home before dark affair. No, this was tasting wine with swagger.

“Vine & Vinyl’s Wine Market aims to reinvent the wine tasting experience, which is typically a monotonous and singular event, through exciting and interesting experiential pairings,” said event organizer Gordy Webb. 

Attendees got impromptu tattoos (@orangejuicetattoos @weakallover @), ate shrimp tacos street food style (@correasmarket), danced to a few DJ sets (K-Wash, Dirty Dave,  Saurio) and — of course — drank some wine (Jumbo Time Wines, Good Boy Wine). 

“The natural wine makers that we partner with are making wines in small batches, which allows them the freedom to get creative with their processes. While bigger wine companies are focused on the consistency between bottles, wineries like Jumbo Time and Good Boy are focused on making the most interesting and fun wine that they can and the minimal intervention and preservatives makes each bottle in a batch unique,” said Webb. “Good Boy’s “Weird Year” Pet Nat perfectly captures the creativity that’s allowed with small batch wines, with intense hints of watermelon and guava that a bigger winery would never even come close to producing. Whether it’s shrimp tacos, thumping dance music, or the satisfying pain of a tipsy tattoo, Vine & Vinyl hopes to compliment these unique natural wines with an experience that’s equally as exciting.”

Webb has future Wine Markets in the works. He said, “You can expect to see Wine Market returning monthly in the LA area. Just like the natural wine it’s inspired by, each event will be a fun and unique experience.”



0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EntertainmentEventsFilmThe LatestUncategorized

On the Scene: Floyd Mayweather, Scottie Pippen and More Talk What They “Fear”

by Dano Nissen
written by Dano Nissen

Nothing like friends to get you over your fears. 

Horror /thriller director Deon Taylor gathered a group of his friends in Santa Monica on Monday night for a panel about fear, which happens to be the title of his upcoming movie. His friends have not only faced down fear, but have achieved greatly in spite of and in some cases because of it. 

Amongst Taylor’s squad was arguably the pound for pound greatest boxer of all time Floyd Mayweather Jr., the other half of Michael Jordan’s dynamic duo on the 90s Chicago Bulls Scottie Pippen, rising star of the upcoming “Fear” Ruby Modine and producer and Hidden Empire Film Group executive Roxy Avent. CNN anchor Van Jones moderated the panel, asking Taylor’s friends about their fears and how that motivated their success. 

Pippen spoke about how his brother was paralyzed at a young age in a freak accident and how that taught him how precarious life is. Mayweather Jr. talked about struggling when his father, who mentored him in boxing, went to prison when he was 16. Modine related how she aims to forge her own career and doesn’t want to live in the shadow of her famous father Matthew Modine and Avent discussed her upbringing in the projects and the adversity she faces a black female film executive. 

Taylor talked about how he made the film when fear was at the top of mind in the public consciousness, both with the pandemic and the George Floyd killing. 

“‘Fear’ is a film that explores the mind. Making a film during one of the most fearful times in our lives gave way for some of the most thought-provoking conversations I’ve had as a filmmaker,” said Taylor. “Understanding the impact of fear is something I am intrigued and excited about. It’s a powerful emotion that connects us all and the panel assembled for this important conversation will provide unique perspectives on ways to conquer it.”

Also in attendance, but not on the panel, were former NBA star Baron Davis, actor Dennis Quaid, rapper T.I., martial arts actor Michael Jai White and rapper Master P. The evening kicked off with an artist painting images of skulls and other macabre subjects redolent of the movie. There was an open bar, ordoeuvres and plenty of mingling amongst Taylor’s friends. 

“Fear” hits theaters Jan 27.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EventsFilmThe LatestUncategorized

“Retrograde” Director on Filming Under Fire in Afghanistan

by Dano Nissen
written by Dano Nissen

What happens when a never ending war ends?

Director Matthew Heineman captures the final months of the 20 year long war in Afghanistan in his new documentary “Retrograde.” Heineman is known for his Oscar-nominated doc “Cartel Land” and his narrative feature “A Private War.” His films are gonzo in the most dangerous and intimate of moments. His unfettered access lets you feel like you’re there — often in places you feel like you shouldn’t be.

“Fly on the wall” comes to mind when describing his films, but Heineman says he hates the term. “No offense to flies, but they don’t have a lot of agency,” he said. He, as a filmmaker, does, however. And he gained access to those “fly on the wall” shots by building trust with his subjects and pounding at bureaucratic hurdles and logistical setbacks.

After a Monday screening of “Retrograde”, the director sat down for a Q&A to discuss how the film came together.

“The goal is to become part of the fabric of the daily lives of our subjects so they can be comfortable,” said Heineman of his style of filmmaking. “You can have those surprising human moments you would never ever get if you just helicoptered in and tried to film.”

Heinman put himself in some life threatening situations. “A lot of people think I’m this adrenaline junkie and love getting shot at, which I don’t —for the record. I don’t do this for the thrill of it,” he said. “If you’re risking your life for something it has to be for some form of a greater purpose or story I really believe in.”

He recounted the filming of a scene where he’s backseat in a helicopter in a particularly dangerous area. The Taliban began firing. He said, “When you’re in the helicopter and rockets are being shot at you there is no object button. There is no I want to go home. You are there. You’re in it.”

He continued, “In those situations the only thing I have agency over is my camera. And that is what I choose to focus on. I focus on framing and exposure. I’m mixing sound when I’m filming. Those are things I can control. If I’m going to risk my life to get a scene I’m going to get it right.”

“Retrograde” is produced by National Geographic and available for streaming on Disney +.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EntertainmentEventsThe LatestTVUncategorized

How to Climb a Skyscraper Like Thor: ‘Limitless with Chris Hemsworth’

by Dano Nissen
written by Dano Nissen

Whether you’re Chris Hemsworth or a journalist for the Knockturnal we all get stressed out. 

Spiders, taxes, birthday party planning and heights are amongst the top stressors. The last of which, got Chris Hemsworth and me sweating bullets.

National Geographic organized members of the media to scale Hudson Yards skyscraper with City Climb to promote their show “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth.” We strapped into a harness and up we went.

Dr. Module Akinola prepped us for the high altitude, high stress trek. Hemsworth also got the spiel. She appears in the first episode of the series to equip the “Thor” star with valuable de-stressing tools before he walks atop a Sydney skyscraper.

In the episode, and at Hudson Yards, she explained the box breathing method. Imagine a box. Start at one corner. Inhale for four seconds. On to the next corner. Hold your breath for four seconds. Next corner. Exhale for four seconds. Last corner. Hold for seconds. Repeat.

I did the exercise, as did Hemsworth, and made my way up. The piece de resistance was leaning over the edge of the skyscraper, stretching myself over all of New York City with two straps and a harness preventing me from plummeting hundreds of feet. Flouting the conventional wisdom of “don’t look down,” I indeed stared down at all the ant-size people walking around lower Manhattan.

Akinola, an Associate Professor at the Columbia Business School,  spoke to The Knockturnal about her experience working with Hemsworth and National Geographic on the series as well as practical tips we can all use in our daily lives to calm down. One of the big takeaways from the interview, the episode and the series writ large is we all experience stress. As we do aging, death, illness, physical strain etc. You can be a Marvel superhero from Asgard and still face human challenges like the rest of us. The key is not to dread these as ailments, but to accept them as inevitable parts of humanity and learn to confront them.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EntertainmentThe LatestTVUncategorized

On the Scene: ‘Limitless with Chris Hemsworth’ Tackles Death

by Dano Nissen
written by Dano Nissen

It starts with the end. 

National Geographic’s “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth” aired its sixth and final episode at the Jazz at the Lincoln Center premiere on Nov 15.

The show, which is available for streaming on Disney +, puts Hemsworth through physical trials — from high wire walks to ice plunges. The last episode, however, gives the “Thor” actor a trial of a more metaphysical nature.

The title is “Acceptance.” Hemsworth spends three days in a retirement community preparing for death. It’s a meditative episode to close out the stunt-filled series.

“I lost both my parents this year,” said series creator Darren Aronofsky at the post-screening panel. “As I was losing my mom, I watched it on the couch with my dad next door to my mom as she was passing. Half way through I paused and asked, ‘Is this ok?’ Because there’s a lot of heavy shit going on. He was like, ‘Yeah, keep it going.”

Aronofsky said watching the cut of the final episode was “extremely helpful” for him in coping with the deaths of his parents.

Along with “Limitless,” Aronofsky has been promoting his film “The Whale,” which premiered to plaudits at TIFF. It too deals with grief and family.

Hemsworth had family on his mind after the final episode. “It made me think about my family in a more intense way and my kids,” he said. “And not taking anything for granted.”

His big takeaway from making the series is to live in the present. “It’s the narrative in the past and the future that can scare us and become overwhelming,” he said.

An interactive reception followed the screening and panel. Attendees could take pictures in front of a green screen, strap on VR helmets to get a taste of the high octane thrills and take a seat in zero gravity chairs. The event kicked off with a man grappling down a rope from a cable car on the ceiling.

All six episodes are available for streaming on Disney +.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EntertainmentFilmThe Latest

‘The Menu’ Review: It’s Overdone

by Dano Nissen
written by Dano Nissen

A prefix menu builds from tantalizing appetizer through hearty main course to palate cleansing dessert. “The Menu” menu does not. 

What we want is a rich, propter hoc meal full of nuanced flavor. What we get is a serviceable but ultimately not so well done, well done hunk of meat.

Ralph Fiennes plays the impresario of a fine dining experience for the most elite of guests on a remote island. They call him Chef. His character has more in common with the sadistic SS Commandant he plays in “Schindler’s List” than with anyone you’ve seen on the Food Network.

The conceit is right there in the trailer. Rich people run around a violent rat trap set by a psychopath chef. It’s exactly the movie you expect. Subversions? Twists? Turns? No. The courses don’t build off one another. It’s the same class warfare moralizing tepid torture over and over. It’s your Rachel Ray-loving Grandma’s version of “Saw.”

It’s not terrifying enough to be an effective horror movie. Not funny enough for a comedy. And it’s not smart enough to be elevated in either genre.

Here are two scenes that instantiate the failure of the film as both a comedy and horror movie. Fiennes’s Chef curates a twisted eating experience to teach his patrician diners a lesson. Soliloquizing to his victims, as movie villains are wont to do, he quotes Martin Luther King. Ironic. Funny even, if left at that. A Black diner looks dumbfounded at the tone deafness. Ok, we get it. Another diner gives a “he really just quoted MLK.” Seriously, we GET it. Another diner follows suit. It’s a movie so committed to ruining its own jokes. Take a cue from the film’s subject: if you leave something in the oven too long it gets burnt.

On the horror front, we too get seared to oblivion. In what is supposed to be a shocking initiation into the violence and insanity of Chef’s game, a predictable dud kicks off the mayhem. Chef lays out white plastic sheets. He invites his sous chef out to present a dish called “the mess.” He berates the man, humiliating him by listing off his failures, intimating that his life is not worth living. I wonder what he induces the man to do to shock his audience given what has physically and emotionally been set up? We know the punchline as we wait for the buildup to get over with.

The comedy/horror mashup might have worked had this been a delightfully campy affair with guts and one-liners galore. This, however, is decidedly not that.

Fiennes and Anya Taylor Joy are always a treat to see light up the screen. The movie is competently directed by HBO mainstay Mark Mylod (“Succession,” “Game of Thrones”). But there’s no auteurship that brings “The Menu” beyond a watchable, yet forgettable episode of an anthology horror series you might see on TV.

It’s an easy to swallow movie — you won’t spit it out — but nothing to rave about on Yelp.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EntertainmentFilmThe Latest

‘Armageddon Time’ Exclusive Interview: Banks Repeta and Jaylin Webb Talk Friendship and Learning from Legendary Actors

by Dano Nissen
written by Dano Nissen

Banks Repeta and Jaylin Webb play friends in the family period drama “Armageddon Time.” Sometimes life imitates art: The young actors became friends behind the camera as well. 

The two hung out in New York City for the two week shoot. For Webb, it was his first time in the city. He visited the Empire State Building, The Oculus and rode the subway for the very first time. When not filming, the two sparred in ping pong. “We’re both now professional ping pong players,” said Repeta. When asked who was the better ping ponger, the boys pleaded the fifth. The matches were friendly apparently.

Both teenagers in the dawn of their careers, Repeta and Webb act alongside some of the most illustrious veterans in the industry — Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong. With experience comes wisdom, which was imparted on the boys.

“[Jeremy Strong] sent me a note that said that acting is like a game of imagination. It’s what you make of it,” said Repeta. “And Anthony taught me that you need to speak clearly because it matters.”

He shared that Hopkins taught him about the medieval Persian poet Rumi to inspire his acting. Repeta reciprocated with a much more contemporary medium — he taught the octogenarian Oscar winner a Tik Tok dance. Repeta proceeded to show his dance moves during the interview.

Webb said director James Gray gave him some lasting advice. “The camera can always see through you,” Webb said Gray told him.

Repeta plays Paul Graff, a fictionalized version of a young Gray. Even though much of the plot is based on the director’s childhood, Gray didn’t want to burden Repeta with details.

“He didn’t want me to know personal information,” said Repeta. “He wanted to see what I could do with Paul.”

“Armageddon Time” is currently in theaters.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EventsFilmThe Latest

On the Scene: ‘The Good Nurse’ Cast Talk Real Life Hero Behind Movie at Premiere

by Dano Nissen
written by Dano Nissen

The putative most prolific serial killer in US history was taken down by kindness. 

“The Good Nurse” tells the true story of a night nurse who brought a colleague, and friend, to justice after she discovered he had been killing patients. She goes up against the hospital bureaucracy’s negligence and her conflicted feelings towards someone she considers a trusted friend. This is not a serial killer movie glorifying the twisted mind of a murderer. It’s a movie about a working single mom stopping evil with goodness.

The Knockturnal spoke with the cast, writer and director of the film at the Oct 18 premiere in Manhattan.

Jessica Chastain plays the eponymous nurse, the real life Amy Loughren. Chastain said she learned a lot from Laughren, who often visited the set. “She was so great with me because she taught me a lot about her compassion and her empathy and humanity,” said Chastain. “One of the very first conversations I had with her is I asked her why she worked as a night nurse and she said she wanted her girls to think they had a stay at home mom.”

She continued, “She worked all night long taking care of others working at the hospital. She’d come home and do the grocery shopping and the housework while her kids were at school and then take care of them when they were out of school. She really was at no moment taking care of herself And i learned a lot about that from actually talking to her.”

Eddie Redmayne plays the serial killer Charles Cullen. He, too, was able to speak to Loughren, who had a close friendship with Cullen until she learned of his crimes. “[It was] extraordinary talking about the intimacy of her friendship and the specifics of that and the real love that she had,” said Redmayne. “Also this man had a seemingly amazing humanity. But there was this other side that she met twice and it was a different human being.”

He continued, “Violence was ended through compassion and reminding this man who was doing horrific things of his humanity.”

Danish director Tobias Lindholm helmed the film as his first English language feature. He’s directed several episodes of David Fincher’s serial killer Netflix show “Mindhunter.” He’s also the writing partner of Thomas Vinterberg and collaborated on the scripts for “The Hunt” and 2021’s Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film “Another Round.” Lindholm and Vinterberg are adherents to the Scandinavian film movement Dogme 95, a set of rules which extol naturalism and vérité.

“I’m proudly on the shoulders of Dogme, but Dogme is always proudly on the shoulders of [John] Cassevetes,” said Lindholm. “So it’s a circle. I think I’m bringing some [Ingmar] Bergman to the table and some [David] Fincher and some 70s great movie making.”

Lindholm joined the chorus of praising the real life good nurse. “Without her insistence on human values, friendship and love there would be no story to tell,” he said.

“The Good Nurse” is in theaters and available for streaming on Netflix.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EventsFilmThe LatestUncategorized

On the Scene: ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ Cast on the True, the Made-up and the Weird at NYC Premiere

by Dano Nissen
written by Dano Nissen

Divine inspiration captures a musician in a glorious moment. It’s fleeting. The rush is on. Right then and there, an impromptu recording session produces their hit song you know and love — in real time. But that only happens in movies. Right?

“I was watching the Michael Jackson ‘Bad’ video on TV, the world premiere,” Weird Al Yankovic told The Knockturnal. “And immediately thought — ‘fat’. They were walking through the turnstiles in the subway. What if this guy was like 900 pounds and couldn’t get through the turnstiles? And before the video was over I had a concept for the video.”

Weird Al’s “Fat” is to Michael Jackson’s “Bad” as “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” is to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “The Doors” or “Sid and Nancy.” Biopics tend to take artistic liberties, not limited to the genesis of songs. “Weird” tends to take artistic liberties with those well-trodden artistic liberties. 

In real life, no, Yankovic did not write most of his songs spontaneously, nor did he have a torrid love affair with Madonna nor did he make mortal enemies of Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar — all of which happen in the movie.

“A lot of times when I write a song it’s a matter of me thinking about something for a long period of time,” said Yankokovic. “[‘Bad’ is] the exception to the rule. Usually it’s me thinking about what are the variations on the theme I can explore.”

The Knockturnal spoke to the cast, director and some of the real life people who inspired the not so true story at the New York premiere of “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” at Downtown Brooklyn’s Alamo Drafthouse on Nov 1. 

Daniel Radcliffe, standing on the carpet with Yankovic, is noticeably shorter. About eight inches. His vocabulary also differs. 

Radcliffe, beginning to speak about his favorite Weird Al song not included in the film called “Bob”, let out a reflexive “ah, fu-,” narrowly avoiding consummating the f-bomb. A cursus interruptus. “I didn’t even get through the whole word,” he said. “So it’s fine.”

Yankovic has not and has never, according to himself and all known documentation, sworn. “He doesn’t. It’s true. I do, unfortunately. I grew up on film sets so I swear like a sailor,” said Radcliffe. “And I’m English, so it’s like charming when I do it.”

Despite the disparities, Radcliffe pulled it off. After all, he didn’t have to play the teetotalling, clean-mouthed, sperm donor eligible (Yankovic’s a cool six foot) version of Al. Radcliffe plays Weird Al’s parody of Weird Al — international sex symbol, MMA-trained, binge boozing, libidinous rockstar Al. 

“Dude, it was one of the things that I loved getting to do in the film,” said Radcliffe. “Everyday I was getting to do a fight scene or a song and dance number or comedy with Rainn Wilson or Evan [Rachel Wood].”

One of those song and dance numbers is “I Love Rocky Road,” a parody of Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.” In the film, Radcliffe lip syncs the song in front of a rowdy crowd of bikers, punks and other hard-looking folks. Along with his performance in Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” parody “Like a Surgeon,” Radcliffe cited “Rocky Road” as his favorite to do. 

“I was never in a band growing up and I got to live out that fantasy during that sequence,” he said. “Al was on set everyday. He would come in with notes occasionally, mostly about musical stuff we were doing.”

While interacting on set, Radcliffe said he never urged the man he was spoofing to spoof himself and his most famous role — Harry Potter. Weird Al has taken on many big franchises like “Star Wars” (twice) and “Spider-Man,” but has never gone to Hogwarts. “I’m almost surprised it hasn’t happened anyway. Potter does feel like it’s pretty rich ground for parody,” said Radcliffe. 

During one of Yankovic’s days on sets, he had a rather famous friend and fan visit — and make a brief cameo in the film. “The making of this movie was a blur,” said Lin-Manuel Miranda. “I was there for a morning. I got to hug Al.”

Miranda has long admired the parody artist, gushing over him in numerous interviews. Now, he’s friends and coworkers with a larger than life figure to him. He said, “I feel like I’m friends with Santa Claus.”

His Saint Nick-esque persona notwithstanding, Yankovic is pretty approachable, according to the “Weird” director Eric Appel. Appel said he wanted Yankovic’s blessing to do the movie so he reached out to mutual friend Patton Oswalt to set up a meeting. 

In that very first meeting, Yankovic threw out some of the more outlandish components of the film, namely, Pablo Escobar’s appearance as a primary antagonist. “That came from the very first conversation I had with Al in 2019,” said Appel. ”I believe Al had just binge watched all of ‘Narcos.’ And Escobar was just right there on the tip of his brain. He was like, ‘I think it would be really funny if we had a sequence in the movie where I turned into John Wick and Escobar just makes sense as a 1980s super villain.”

Even the pitch meeting smacks of a parody of an off the walls Hollywood boardroom. “I saw someone’s tweet a while ago that said this movie feels like someone’s fake movie from ‘30 Rock,’” said Appel. He did an impression of Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy talking to Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon from the NBC show, “We got Harry Potter as Weird Al, Lemon.”

Yankovic didn’t just take the idea of Escobar from watching Netflix; he took one of the actors from streamer’s hit show to play the drug lord. Arturo Castro, who plays a prominent member of the Cali cartel in “Narcos” and Escobar in “Weird, joked, “This is the only part that was a real fact. Al Yankovic got rid of Pablo Escobar.”

As for the surviving Escobars and their acolytes who might watch his repeated portrayal of Colombian cocaine emperors, he said, “I really hope they have a sense of humor.”

Weird Al didn’t really face off with Escobar in the jungles outside Medellín. He didn’t do practically anything featured in the movie. But he wouldn’t have done any of this at all — the successful novelty music career, the fake biopic — without the mentorship of Dr. Demento. 

Early in his career. Yankovic came under the tutelage of Barry Hansen, better known as the Los Angeles comedic radio broadcaster Dr. Demento. 

As the movie goes, Weird Al submits a tape of “My Bologna,” a parody of The Knack’s “My Sharona” to Dr. Demento, played by Rainn Wilson, to instant acclaim and commercial success. Dr. Demento actually did receive that tape, recorded in a bathroom at Cal State San Luis Obispo, by a curly-haired college student. But it didn’t catapult Yankovic into overnight stardom. Hansen said it took about six years for Yankovic to cultivate his art and gain mainstream traction. 

“Every year it seemed like he learned to do something new, something better,” said Hansen of those first six years. “He started out making these homemade tapes and then he started being able to produce his own records. Then he started being able to produce his own videos. Now he’s co-producer of this movie.”

“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” is available for streaming on Roku. 

 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts