Ryan Whitaker, writer and director of stunning new film ‘Surprised by Oxford,’ talks bringing the emotional and beautiful story to life on screen.
The Knockturnal attended the premiere of ‘Tár’ at the 60th New York Film Festival.
Based on the best-selling book series by Bernard Waber, ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’ features a star-studded cast and creative team that brings the beloved character off of the page and onto the big screen in an irresistible way.
Noah Bambauch the mumblecore king presides over new postmodern territory.
Don DeLillo’s “unfilmable” gold standard pomo masterpiece “White Noise” has emerged from development hell to the hands of Noah Bambauch.
At first glance, he seems an unlikely steward to bring the classic book to life after its nearly 40 year gestation. He’s known for his slice of life narratives with realistic characters speaking naturalistically. In other words, the polar opposite of the DeLillo novel. DeLillo speaks the language of the absurd and parodic. Bambauch speaks the language of New York apartment hunting and divorce lawyer contracts — real life things as they happen in real life.
But the sensibilities of DeLillo and Bambauch share some threads, woven together for a faithful adaptation. To wit, “White Noise” is fundamentally a story about a family. And Bambauch knows a thing or two about depicting a family on the big screen, having directed “Marriage Story,” “The Squid and the Whale” and “The Meyerowitz Stories.”
Bambauch spoke to the Knockturnal at the film’s North American premiere kicking off the 60th New York Film Festival.
“It is about a family,” said Bambauch. “The gap between what we say and what we mean. What we say and what we feel. What we think about ourselves and who we really are. Those are things I’ve explored in a lot of my movies.”
“Family mythologies are in a lot of my movies too,” he continued. “Parents tell their children and children have to unlearn them later. In this case you have all of that. But then you also have family as a microcosm of the culture. You have that line: ‘Family is the cradle of the world’s misinformation.’ You have Essentially the kids shouting facts and saying things we don’t know if they’re real or not. After a while you lose track wishing yourselves and you create your own facts. That’s something that is both true of a family and something we see is also true of the American culture at large.”
White Noise hits theaters Nov 25 and will be available for streaming on Netflix Dec 30. The film stars Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig and Don Cheadle who were all in attendance for the premiere.
In this exclusive interview, Kate Hudson and Ana Lily Amirpour discuss Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon with The Knockturnal‘s Kinsey Schofield.
Happy Halloween! If you’re looking for a great escape this spooky season, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is your go-to popcorn pursuit. Kate Hudson plays Bonnie Bell: a street-wise stripper and single mother. The How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days goddess recently said that her tougher-than-nails character is inspired by pop icon Cardi B.
Based in New Orleans, where Hudson famously films a large number of her movies, Bonnie Bell stumbles upon a mystifying woman with supernatural powers. Influenced by Mona Lisa’s perplexing abilities, Bonnie sees the mysterious stranger as a Godsend and immediately starts trying to monetize her superpowers. Once the NOPD starts chasing the duo… all hell breaks loose.
Evan Whitten plays Hudson’s son, Charlie, and fierce defender of Mona Lisa Lee. No. His performance didn’t make me cry. Happy opposite day.
I would describe this movie as wildly wonderful and extremely fun.
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon stars Kate Hudson, Jeon Jong-seo, Craig Robinson, Ed Skrein, and Evan Whitten. The film and written and directed by the fantastic Ana Lily Amirpour.
Want to watch Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon today? Stream it on Hulu Plus! You can also rent or purchase Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon on Google Play, Vudu, and Amazon Instant Video.
Kinsey Schofield is a contributor to The Knockturnal and you can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
The movie Bros starring Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane was released on September 30th.
In the face of rising gas prices, inflation, and a housing crisis comes Netflix’s newest original documentary Get Smart With Money. Directed by Stephanie Soechtig and produced by part2 pictures, the documentary follows four people from varying socioeconomic backgrounds facing unique financial struggles across the United States. To achieve their goals, they are paired with a financial coach who helps sort through the bills, spending habits, and modes of income to change their money mindset. The four coaches —Peter Adeny, Tiffany Aliche, Ross MacDonal, and Paula Pant— provide the subjects with guidance and advice tailored to their situation.
As a Gen Z person who doubts they will ever own a home, the documentary felt incredibly relatable. Although the subjects came from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, it was easy to resonate with their frustration. Why can’t I fund my life even though I have two jobs and work 50 hours a week? Will I be running from student loans my whole life? Is my daily oat milk latte from the local cafe really the source of my financial problems? Many financial issues facing Generation Z tend to be systematic, which can feel overwhelming. But Get Smart With Money is a gentle reminder of things that can be controlled within finances. The documentary covers basic financial literacy like reducing, spending, budgeting, saving and investing. It’s an approachable first step in gaining financial literacy in a time that is oversaturated with information. The documentary follows these four individuals through a year of scrimping, saving, and setbacks. At the end of the year nobody has become a millionaire, but everyone is in a better financial place: debts have decreased and budgeting is not a traumatic experience. It’s a real ending that reassures its viewer that it can get better and the taking the first step is possible.
The Knockturnal recently attended a special screening of Prime Video’s “My Best Friend’s Exorcism,” directed by Damon Thomas, at Nitehawk Cinema in Prospect Park Brooklyn. The film was based on the Quirk Books novel of the same name by Grady Hendrix. It hits streaming services this Friday, September 30th. Chris Landon from Happy Death Day produced it. The film boasts an amazing cast of emerging talent, including Elsie Fisher, Amaya Miller, Rachel Ogechi Kanu, Cathy Ang, Clayton Royal Johnson and Christopher Lowell.
Set in 1988, the film follows high school sophomores Abby and Gretchen, who have been friends since 4th grade. After a weekend getaway at a lake house near the scene of an occult murder years ago, Abby begins to act strange. She turns cruel and starts enacting schemes to turn her friends against one another. Gretchen soon begins to suspect that her best friend is possessed. Spurred by a desire to help her and guilty about having left her behind on a misadventure near the lake house where her odd symptoms seem to have began, Gretchen sets out to find a cure to Abby’s mysterious ailment. She enlists the help of a bodybuilding youth minister who believes he knows the just the thing that’ll restore Abby to spiritual health.
Before the start of the movie, author Grady Hendrix gave a short introduction. He shared that when he first pitched the book, he had no book to sell, just a title. His agent liked it so much that Hendrix wrote a book to match it. Thank you, Amazon, for the invitation. We enjoyed our evening at Night Hawk Cinema, which offers cocktails and tasty concessions and food.
Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi brought a celebration of Black love to New York on September 28 to commemorate the premiere of his new Netflix animated series, “ENTERGALACTIC.”
With help from love connector, Bumble, and Netflix’s Strong Black Lead team; the festivities kicked off with a Black Love Brunch hosted by ENTERGALATIC star, Teyana Taylor. Kid Cudi, who voices the shows artistic protagonist “Jabari,” was in attendance alongside his co-star Jessica Williams; who voices Jabari’s love interest, a photographer named “Meadow.” Williams, no stranger to the rom-com genre, is also know for her role in HBO’s Love Life. Going from “Mia,” to “Meadow,” Williams described ENTERGALACTIC in two words: “Juicy and funny.” “Juicyfunny,” she exclaimed in a brief interview, making the two words one.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 28: Kid Cudi and Jessica Williams attend the Entergalactic Brunch to celebrate Black love at CATCH Steak on September 28, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Netflix)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 28: Guests attend the Entergalactic Brunch to celebrate Black love at CATCH Steak on September 28, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Netflix)
Executive producers Kenya Barris, Karina Manashill, and Ian Edelman were also in attendance during the brunch held at Catch Steak. DJ couple, DJ Mos and DJ Kiss, set the tone for a dance filled afternoon before the showing of a never before seen ENTERGALATIC trailer; a little tease before the premier.
That evening, the red carpet was rolled out for cast, crew and various VIPS before the series premiere held at New York’s Paris Theatre. More cast mates, including Ty Dolla $ign, and executive producers such as Dennis Cummings and Fletcher Moules came out to celebrate with Vagina macaroons (a nod to an ENTERGALACTIC episode), drinks, mini bowls of pasta and more at Nebula NYC.
The Tyler Twins – Netflix Entergalactic 9/28/22
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 28: (L-R) Kenya Barris, Jessica Williams and Scott Mescudi attend the Entergalactic Premiere at the Paris Theatre on September 28, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Netflix)
ENTERGALACTIC premieres on Netflix on Friday, September 30. Filled with music, fashion and art, the series captures the euphoric feeling of being high (via weed) and falling in love; all while serving as a love letter to New York City.
“It was such a shock for me to become a pop star, it’s not what I wanted. I just wanted to scream,” Sinead O’connor’s enchanting voice says through the speakers of the IFC theater. Nothing Compares by break out director Kathryn Ferguson isn’t your average biopic documentary. The film recounts the Irish musician’s exceptional rise to international fame and her sudden exile from mainstream pop. Something to note is that the film features no talking head segments with the various people interviewed. In the Q&A after with Ferguson, she reveals this was meant “to keep [the audience] there, in the moment.” This also allows for the audience to finally “hear Sinead in her own words,” Ferguson says, a counter to the reductive media O’connor battled in the 90s. Ferguson maintains this more artistic feel, especially earlier in the film. Although the film is about 70% archival footage there is very little footage of O’connor’s early life. Ferugson and her crew shot their own breathtaking archival footage to illustrate O’connor’s harrowing upbringing in Ireland and create a more cinematic experience for the viewer.
The film is able to bring O’connor into the 21st spotlight by analyzing her life through a contemporary feminist lens. The scene of O’connor’s at the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary concert is tragic; her face is tight and the audience is a mix of boos and cheers. In contrast the film ends with a compilation of 21st activism in the US and Ireland (like the 2017 Women’s March and Appeal the 8th) as well as a recent live performance by O’Connor. Ferguson wanted to leave the audience feeling galvanized. The mission of the movie, Ferguson says, is to “inspire youngsters to stand up and make a change because, Christ, we need it right now.”