New York City’s AMC Empire Theater hosted a screening of ‘Trevor: The Musical’ on June 20.
1998’s Velvet Goldmine celebrated it’s 4K re-release at the Tribeca Film Festival
On Sunday June 12th I attended the premiere of “Vengeance.” A BJ Novak directorial debut, featuring an ensemble cast including Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, Boyd Holbrook, J. Smith-Cameron, and Dove Cameron.
Vengeance is a darkly comic thriller following a journalist who travels from New York City to West Texas to investigate the mysterious death of a young woman. On the red carpet, I got to speak with Issa Rae. For Issa Rae, at this point in her career the most important thing for her is to do stuff with intention. She doesn’t want to keep busy for the sake of saying she’s doing something.
In the film, she provided comedic relief and overall guidance to BJ Novak’s character. While navigating how to tell his story, Novak’s character relied heavily on Issa for insight on how to tell a compelling true crime tale.
I also had the opportunity to speak with the wonderful J Smith Cameron. In our conversation she talks about coming from a theater background, which helps her prepare for her character by starting with the script. Her character is sweet but sassy, and definitely a protective mama bear.
Last but not least I had the pleasure of speaking with legendary producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions. Coming from a traditional horror film background, Vengeance is a different direction for Blum. During our chat he spoke about the difficulty with filming right before the start of the pandemic. When the pandemic hit they had to pause the production and pick back up again when regulations started to loosen. This posed it’s own challenges but overall they were able to overcome.
After the screening members of the cast approached the stage and did a Q&A Panel. Many members of the cast gave praise to BJ Novak. They were thrilled to be a part of the project. Ashton Kutcher spoke on the relevance of drug addiction, especially in the wake of the pandemic. As well as the increase of overdoses this last year.
The audience responded well to the film. Laughing along during the comedic parts, and remaining engaged as the plot began to turn and knew elements were revealed. BJ Novak himself was glowing with gratitude. It was evident he was proud of his work and excited to watch it on screen for the first time with a live audience.
Gia Coppola is one of the many directors for the film The Seven Faces of Jane, starring Gillian Jacobs.
Visionary filmmaker Baz Luhrmann explores the life and music of Elvis Presley in ‘Elvis,’ starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks.
Get ready to embark on a journey into the BEBA universe, and uncover the coming-of-age story directed, written, and co-produced by first-time feature film-maker, Rebeca Huntt.
“The Courtroom” is an emotionally intense, and powerful film, that showcases the true story and verbatim script that was documented in court, in the case of Filipina immigrant Elizabeth Keathley, (played by breakout star, Kristin Villanueva), who mistakingly voted while on a K3 Visa, and therefore, faced a heartbreaking deportation case.
Alberto Belli directed the film GATLOPP, which will be released on digital and on-demand on June 23rd.
Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump and Director Nadia Hallgren graced us with their presence at the 26th annual American Black Film Festival. “Civil” was screened at The New World Center in Miami receiving a standing ovation from the festival-goers. This groundbreaking documentary follows the life of Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump as he takes on different police brutality cases such as Breanna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, and many more. This documentary amplifies the injustices in a society that should be unified and protected.
The Knockturnal had the opportunity to chat with Ben and Nadia about the making of Civil and the Films influence. Ben started out by giving thanks to Kenya Barris who served as the producer for this project.
“[Kenya Barris] could’ve done another comedy and played it safe but he knew this part of the black experience in America is equally important.”
Nadia touched on the powerful impact the media had as it pertains to exposing the realities of what goes on in Black America.
“People were coming out marching for George Floyd in South Korea, Austria, and all of these places so we know this was just a special moment that resonated throughout the world.”
At the end of the interview, Ben shared his sentiments and praises Nadia for including his mother in the documentary.
“For her to be able to see this in her lifetime meant a lot to me because all I have and all that I am to be is because of my mother’s sacrifice.”
“Civil” is now streaming on Netflix.
One of the most kindhearted true tales to come out of the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival is the true story of Jerry and Marge Go Large.
Led by Bryan Cranston and Anette Benning as none other than Jerry and Marge Selbee, respectively. After being forced to retire from his decade-long factory job, Jerry figured out a legal loophole in the lottery system that grabs his attention as he and Marge try and win all the marbles. A statistic lover’s dream, the Winfall machines led Jerry to discover the mathematical flaw in the game that meant guaranteed winnings if enough tickets were bought. And boy did Jerry purchase thousands – quite literally.
Jerry soon realizes there’s a lot more where that came from, and his wife Marge supports him throughout and soon joins in on the fun along with their friends in town. At the same time, a student at Harvard University finds out and join in on Jerry and Marge’s game, but you’ll have to watch it to find out who went large.
The film was directed by David Frankel (Marley & Me, The Devil Wears Prada) and successfully delivered another feel-good drama that leaves any viewer with a smile throughout the course of the film. Bryan Cranston and Annette Benning share undeniable chemistry. Rainn Wilson (The Office) also stands out as the convenience store employee who appears to be playing a merge of Dwight Schrute and himself in the film.
We were at the Tribeca Film Festival Premiere of the film where we talked with Larry Wilmore who stars as Jerry’s accountant. Catch the story here!
Jerry and Marge Go Large is Now Streaming on Paramount+!
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