Fresno Filmworks has built an audience by filling the void created by the city’s cineplex monopoly. The group screens first-run films (both international and American, both feature and documentary) that would otherwise get delegated to the Netflix cue (or Amazon Prime, I suppose). The films tend toward the unconventional (for those with blockbuster tastes) and the venue is no multiplex.
Like, you can order a scotch in the lobby. And drink it. In the theater.
For June, Filmworks is pushing even those boundaries some, with its first ever double feature. That’s two different independent films in one night. The award-winning independent comedy “Gimme The Loot,” will screen at 5:30 p.m., followed by the campy B-movie throwback “The Ghastly Love of Johnny X,” at 8 p.m.
As a bonus, “Johnny X” director Paul Bunnell, star Will Keenan, costume designer Kristina West and executive producer Mark Willoughby will be on hand after the screening to talk about the film.
As a double bonus, there will be an after-party at The Voice Shop. Admission is free with a ticket stub from either program. There will be music, snacks and a cash bar.
Filmworks has generously offered us tickets to give away to our readers. To enter, simple leave a comment below telling us what’s the best movie you’ve seen Filmworks present (I particularly liked “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson”). The contest will close at noon, June 13. Winners will be chosen at random and notified via email.
We will give out one pair of tickets to each show, so be sure to tell us which you’d like to see.
You can read more about eachfilm over at the Filmwork’s Film Forum blog. Check out the film trailers (and the full contest rules) below.
The 9th Annual Fresno Film Festival kicks off tomorrow night at the Tower Theatre. The festival, presented by Fresno Filmworks, runs the full weekend, with five feature-film presentations, more than a dozen short-film screenings and a number of post-screening discussions and other fun stuff for all you cinephiles.
Our movie critic Rick Bentley screened two of the features (“Paris-Manhattan” and “Blancanieves”) and word around the office is they were stellar. You can read his reviews in tomorrow’s 7 Section.
In the mean time, we have tickets to festival to give out to couple Beehivers (that’s you). Because the festival starts tomorrow, this is a quickie. Leave a comment on this post. Tell us why your love Fresno Filmworks (or haven’t yet been introduced). We’ll pick two winners at random. Contest will close at 4 p.m. today and winners will be notified by email. NOTE: These are actual physical tickets, so winners will need to come down to The Bee’s front lobby by 5 p.m. tomorrow to pick them up.
No repeat entries, please. Check your email tonight to see if you’re the winner. Complete rules are on the jump.
1. CELEBRATE THE RAT PACK
The Fresno Philharmonic will have some fun Saturday night with its “Rat Pack: A Symphonic Celebration” at the Saroyan Theatre. Here’s my cover story in Friday’s 7 section. In it I highlight the contributions of Fresno City College to the local jazz scene, as well as check in the three Broadway veterans portraying Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. Pictured below: Mike Dana, Larry Honda and Craig Von Berg of City College. (Bee photo by Craig Kohlruss.) [Details]
1. FRESNO GRAND OPERA’S ‘LA RONDINE’ Tonight’s opening night performance is a big deal. It marks the first time Fresno Grand Opera will attempt a fully staged performance (with lights, set and costumes) at the Shaghoian Hall. With only about 750 seats, this venue is about a third smaller than the Saroyan Theatre, where the company has staged operas for more than a decade. Fresno Grand Opera picked an intimate opera for this more intimate venue, and I’m curious to see the results. I wrote about the venue change — and checked in with lead singers Rebecca Davis and Chad A. Johnson — in my Sunday Spotlight column. And I focus on the Italian conductor Valerio Galli, pictured below, who is making his American debut, in Friday’s 7 section. [Details]
1. JOURNEY TO THE KINGDOM OF SWEETS
For many people, it just isn’t Christmas until you’ve seen “The Nutcracker.” The Central California Ballet production features some top-notch professional talent in the leading roles, including Michaela DePrince and Taureen Green, both of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier; Aurora Frey (pictured) and David Beir, who play the Snow Queen and Snow Queen; and Courtney Boyd, who plays the Dewdrop. Don’t forget to check out my story about DePrince — she was an African orphan who became a star ballerina — in Thursday’s Life section. [Details]
1. SWEDE IT UP Swede Fest is bigger and better, back for its 10th installment Sunday. It’s happening at Tower Theatre, a dream realized for organizers of this quirky film festival. It showcases low-budget parodies made by everyone from average joes to seasoned pros. Creativity, ingenuity and a sense of humor are king at Swede Fest, so you never know what you’re going to see. It’s free and open to movie lovers of all ages. For more on Swede Fest’s growth and rise to popularity, read this Q & A with the organizers. [More]
Fresno Filmworks continues its series of classic film screenings at the Tower Theatre this Sunday with The Gold Rush, and we’re giving away a pair of tickets.
From Filmworks:
This complete, fully restored 35mm version of the 1925 masterpiece of silent cinema stars Charlie Chaplin as his iconic character The Tramp. The movie tells the story of a lone prospector’s trip into the Alaskan Klondike in search of gold and riches. The film – moving, hilarious, and full of Chaplin’s trademark invention – has long been unavailable in its original form, following the star’s 1942 abbreviated “sound version” and his dictate that the original only be screened with live orchestral accompaniment.
Tickets to Sunday’s 3 p.m. screening cost $5, but you can enter to win a pair by leaving a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Thursday, September 13, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
It’s the second week of the month — you know what that means. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to the Fresno Filmworks showing of the Canadian dramady Take This Waltz. Screenings are at 5:30 or 8:30 p.m. Friday.
From Filmworks:
The Canadian dramatic comedy stars Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Sarah Silverman. Williams portrays a happily married freelance writer who falls in love with the rickshaw driver who lives across the street. Despite their chemistry, she suppresses her attraction, but the certainty about her domestic life soon shatters. As she steals intense moments with her new lover throughout the steaming, humid Toronto summer, she faces uncharted questions about what her five-year marriage relationship has done to love, sex, and to her image of herself.
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. A winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and CHECK IT. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, September 12, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
*Special Notice* Fresno Filmworks’ series of classic film screenings will continue this Sunday with The Gold Rush, so look for another Fresno Filmworks ticket giveaway Tuesday.
Well, this is annoying. If you followed the little controversy that broke earlier this week over the Fresno Filmworks August screening, you’ll recall that the distributor behind the movie “Bernie” forced Filmworks to pull the film from its schedule. The reason? The film opened at Regal’s Manchester theater last Friday, beating out today’s scheduled Filmworks screening, even though Filmworks had long had the film on its schedule.
After the Friday opening at Manchester, the folks at Filmworks gritted their teeth and decided they’d show “Bernie” anyway. But on Tuesday, Millennium Entertainment told Filmworks it couldn’t show “Bernie” in any form. The reason? The Filmworks screening would compete with Manchester for “Bernie” customers. Filmworks switched gears and announced it would play the acclaimed Japanese family drama “I Wish.”
Now comes the really silly part. After all of this, it turns out Regal pulled “Bernie” out of its Manchester theater after just a week. The last screening was Thursday night. So the movie isn’t playing anywhere today. And if Filmworks had been allowed to go ahead with its original plan, Millennium would have made some extra bucks.
Fresno Filmworks continues its series of classic film screenings at the Tower Theatre this Sunday with Chinatown, and we’re giving away a pair of tickets.
From Filmworks:
“The 1974 crime drama was directed by Roman Polanski. The movie, set in the seedy underbelly of 1930s Los Angeles, set a high-water mark in film noir, and it holds the No.2 position in the American Film Institute’s list of all-time best mystery films. At the request of a beautiful bombshell, a private eye becomes entangled in a complex scandal of greed, depravity, and corruption surrounding Southern California’s water wars. The film is credited with raising the profile of the historical land disputes over water rights that led to Los Angeles drawing water from the Owens Valley, east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston. The film earned 11 Academy Award nominations, and it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for writer Robert Towne. The movie was director Polanski’s last made in the United States before he fled for Europe.”
Tickets to Sunday’s 3 p.m. screening cost $5, but you can enter to win a pair by leaving a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Thursday, August 9, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
The distributor for “Bernie” is making Fresno Filmworks pull its Friday scheduled screenings of the film. The reason? The indie film starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey opened last Friday at Regal’s Manchester theater. It slipped in with no advance notice after The Bee’s deadline for the Friday 7 section, which was printed with no review or indication the film had opened.
This occasionally happens in the Fresno market: a distributor will make a late decision to open a film on Friday without telling the media about it — either because it’s unorganized or simply doesn’t care. Most of the time the distributor doesn’t buy any print or TV advertising. And because Regal doesn’t advertise showtimes in The Bee anymore, the only way that audience members know it’s opening is through a random encounter with Fandango. (And then those same distributors often turn around and complain that people in the Fresno market don’t go to smaller films.)
Filmworks president John Moses says that “our non-theatrical venue apparently threatens the commercial run.”
A substitute film will be screened: the new Japanese release “I Wish.”
I caught up with Moses to ask a few questions about the situation.
Question: Were you surprised when “Bernie” opened here last Friday?
“Bernie,” with such star power, is a good fit for the commercial theaters, but I was still surprised that it opened the week before our playdate. When no review ran in last week’s “7,” I surmised that it had slipped in without advance notice to you, too. So far as our board is aware, no trailers ever played for the film, which is why we risked booking a film with such prominent actors.
UPDATE, 8/7: Sorry, folks. Looks like Filmworks will not be able to show the movie Bernie as planned. Instead, the Japanese film I Wish will be shown at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., and we’re giving away tickets to that.
From Filmworks:
This Japanese family drama is hailed by The Guardian as “a gem of world cinema by a gifted master of the craft.” Written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, the film tells the story of 12-year-old Koichi, who lives with his mother and retired grandparents in southern Japan. His younger brother, Ryunosuke, lives with their father in the north. The brothers have been separated by the divorce of their parents, and Koichi’s only wish is for the family to be reunited. When he learns that a new bullet train will soon open, linking the two towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment these new trains pass each other at top speed. Critic Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post says: “The original Japanese title of ‘I Wish’ translates literally as ‘miracle.’ … It’s about the wonders of everyday life and of childhood imagination.” In Japanese, with English subtitles.
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. A winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and CHECK IT. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, August 8, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
*Special Notice* Fresno Filmworks’ series of classic film screenings will continue this Sunday with Chinatown, so look for another Fresno Filmworks ticket giveaway Wednesday.
Original, 8/6: It’s the second week of the month — you know what that means. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to the Fresno Filmworks showing of the comedy Bernie. Screenings are at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Friday.
From Filmworks:
“The American independent comedy stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey. Black portrays funeral director Bernie Tiede, one of the most beloved residents of the tiny town of Carthage, Texas. Bernie teaches Sunday school, sings in the church choir, and is always willing to lend a helping hand. No one is surprised when he forges an odd connection with an affluent but cranky widow, played by MacLaine. The widow quickly becomes dependent on Bernie and his generosity, as he struggles to meet her growing demands. The people of Carthage are shocked when it’s discovered that the widow has been dead for some time and Bernie is being charged with murder. Directed by Richard Linklater.
Fresno Filmworks continues its series of classic film screenings at the Tower Theatre this Sunday with The Birds, and we’re giving away a pair of tickets.
From Filmworks:
The 1963 horror film is directed with masterful suspense by Alfred Hitchcock. The movie tells the story of the malicious, unexplained attacks by marauding birds of all shapes and sizes on the residents of Bodega Bay. Critics have called the movie a landmark technical achievement and Hitchcock’s “purest expression of an arbitrary universe.” The famed director employed thousands of real, trained birds and his own filmmaking ingenuity to create this psychologically complicated and eerily quiet study of violence. Starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, and Suzanne Pleshette, with sound design by noted composer Bernard Hermann.
Tickets to Sunday’s 3 p.m. screening cost $5, but you can enter to win a pair by leaving a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Friday, July 13, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
It’s the second week of the month — you know what that means. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to the Fresno Filmworks showing of the Canadian drama Monsieur Lazhar. Screenings are at 5:30 or 8 p.m. Friday.
The film tells the story of an Algerian immigrant substitute teacher who brings emotional stability to a Montreal middle school class that’s shaken by the tragic death of their well-liked teacher. While the class goes through a difficult healing process, no one in the school is aware of Mr. Lazhar’s painful former life back home; nor do they realize that he is at risk of deportation at any moment.
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. A winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and CHECK IT. Deadline to enter is Thursday, July 12, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
*Special Notice* Fresno Filmworks’ series of classic film screenings will continue this Sunday with The Birds, so look for another Fresno Filmworks ticket giveaway Wednesday.
Fresno Filmworks continues its series of classic film screenings at the Tower Theatre this Sunday with The Misfits, and we’re giving away a pair of tickets.
From Filmworks:
The 1961 American drama stars Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. A western unlike any other ever made, the movie revolves around three jobless cowboys and a lone woman who keeps house for them. In what some critics have called an elegy for the Old West, director John Huston draws us into their strange world, the carnival atmosphere of a small-time rodeo near Reno in the early 1960s, and a wild horse roundup in the mountains nearby. In the film, Monroe and Gable give their final screen performances. The movie, adapted from a screenplay by Arthur Miller, also stars Montgomery Clift.
Tickets to Sunday’s 3 p.m. screening cost $5, but you can enter to win a pair by leaving a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Thursday at 5 p.m. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
It’s that time of the month again. (Not that time — calm down.) We’re giving away a pair of tickets to the Fresno Filmworks showing of the film Turn Me On, Dammit! Screenings are at 5:30 or 8 p.m. Friday.
From Filmworks:
“This coming-of-age comedy from Norway tells a story that is rarely explored in film: It wryly examines the unbridled sexual appetite of a teenage girl. Acting newcomer Helene Bergsholm plays Alma, a 15-year-old from a tiny hinterland town who is consumed by her hormones. Alma’s fantasies range from sweetly romantic images of Artur, the boyfriend she years for, to down-and-dirty daydreams about nearly everyone she lays eyes on.”
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. A winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and CHECK IT. Deadline to enter is Thursday at 5 p.m. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
*Special Notice* Fresno Filmworks’ series of classic film screenings will continue this Sunday with The Misfits, so look for another Fresno Filmworks ticket giveaway Wednesday.
Original:Fresno Filmworks continues its series of classic film screenings at the Tower Theatre this Sunday with the showing of Roman Holiday, and we’re giving away a pair of tickets.
From Filmworks:
“This beloved 1953 romantic comedy stars Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as a princess who escapes her royal duties to experience Rome as an ordinary tourist. Peck plays a reporter who discovers her true identity, but he falls in love with her before his exclusive story about her escapade goes to press. The movie co-stars Eddie Albert, is directed by William Wyler, and was co-written by Dalton Trumbo during his Hollywood blacklist days.”
Tickets to Sunday’s 3 p.m. screening cost $5, but you can enter to win a pair by leaving a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Friday, May 11, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
Original:As usual, there’s a lot to do in Fresno this weekend, and one of the things to add to your social calendar is Fresno Filmworks monthly screening. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to their showing of the film Footnote Friday, May 11, at either 5:30 or 8 p.m.
From Filmworks:
“This Israeli family drama was nominated for a 2012 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie tells the story of an intense rivalry between a father and son, both eccentric professors and public intellectuals who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. The son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star who feeds on accolades and endlessly seeks recognition. When Eliezer learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the country’s most valuable honor for scholarship, Uriel unexpectedly faces a difficult and emotional choice. Director Joseph Cedar won Best Screenplay at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for the script. In Hebrew, with English subtitles.”
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. A winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Thursday, May 10, at 5 p.m. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
*Special Notice* Fresno Filmworks’ series of classic film screenings will continue this Sunday with a screening of Roman Holiday, so look for another Fresno Filmworks ticket giveaway Thursday.
Yesterday we gave away a pair of tickets to Saturday’s program, and today we’ll give away a pair of tickets to Sunday’s 7 p.m. program featuring the animated romance Chico & Rita, as well as the festival awards.
All you have to do to win Sunday’s tickets is leave a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Thursday, April 26, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
For more information about Fresno Film Festival showings, click here.
Yesterday we gave away a pair of tickets to Friday’s program, and today we’ll give away a pair of tickets to Saturday’s 8 p.m. program featuring the Iranian family drama A Separation.
All you have to do to win Saturday’s tickets is leave a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, April 25, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
Check back tomorrow when we’ll give away tickets to Sunday’s 7 p.m. program featuring the animated romance Chico & Rita, as well as the festival awards.
For more information about Fresno Film Festival showings, click here.
It’s that time again, film lovers. The 8th Annual Fresno Film Festival, hosted by Fresno Filmworks at the Tower Theatre, is this weekend and we’ve got tickets. Three pairs of tickets, to be exact, which we’ll be giving away over the course of the next couple of days, starting today.
Today’s ticket giveaway is for Friday’s 7 p.m. program, which features the short film Lone-Illness and the Belgian comedy The Fairy, as well as entry to the festival’s opening champagne toast welcoming the filmmakers and public.
Tomorrow we’ll give away a pair of tickets to Saturday’s 8 p.m. program featuring the Iranian family drama A Separation, and Wednesday we’ll give away tickets to Sunday’s 7 p.m. program featuring the animated romance Chico & Rita, as well as the festival awards.
All you have to do to win Friday’s tickets is leave a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Tuesday, April 25, at noon. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
For more information about Fresno Film Festival showings, click here.
Fresno Filmworks continues its series of classic film screenings at the Tower Theatre this Sunday with the showing of The Maltese Falcon, and we’re giving away a pair of tickets.
From Filmworks: “The 1941 John Huston adaptation of the iconic Dashiell Hammett detective novel stars Humphrey Bogart as hard-boiled detective Sam Spade and Mary Astor as femme fatale Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Detective Spade’s search for his partner’s killer leads him to a group of determined individuals who want the jeweled falcon of Malta for themselves. Filmmaking legend Huston, in his directorial debut, sketches the dark and cynical world of Malta with painfully deep perception. His protagonists become caught up in a web of intrigue as they pursue “the stuff that dreams are made of.”"
Tickets to Sunday’s 3 p.m. screening cost $5, but you can enter to win a pair by leaving a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Friday, March 9, at 10 a.m. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
There’s a lot to do this weekend, and one of the things to add to your social calendar is Fresno Filmworks monthly screening. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to their showing of the film Le Havre Friday, March 9, at either 5:30 or 8 p.m.
From Filmworks: “This comedic drama from Finland won the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The movie paints a warmhearted portrait of the French harbor city of Le Havre, where fate throws a young African refugee into the path of a well-spoken bohemian who works as a shoeshine man.”
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. A winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it. Deadline to enter is Thursday, March 8, at 10 a.m. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
*Special Notice* Fresno Filmworks’ series of classic film screenings will continue this Sunday with a screening of The Maltese Falcon, so look for another Fresno Filmworks ticket giveaway Thursday.
Update: I worded this incorrectly earlier, so let me clarify. The winner gets ONE pair of tickets that allows them into two programs.
Original:Fresno Filmworks is showing the short films nominated for 2012 Academy Awards at the Tower Theatre this weekend, and we’re giving away TWO one pair of tickets to one lucky winner.
Winner will be able to choose two programs to attend: the live action program is at 5:30 p.m. Friday; animation at 8:30 p.m. Friday; animation at 3 p.m. Sunday; documentary at 5:30 p.m. Sunday; and live action at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. A winner will be chosen at random and will be notified by e-mail, so please leave a real e-mail address and check it.
Deadline to enter is Thursday, February 9, at 9 a.m. One entry per person. You’re ineligible if you’ve won something from us in the past 30 days. Complete rules after the jump.
Fresno Filmworks has built an audience by filling the void created by the city’s cineplex monopoly. The group screens first-run films (both international and American, both feature and documentary) that would otherwise get delegated to the Netflix cue (or Amazon Prime, I suppose). The films tend toward the unconventional (for those with blockbuster tastes) and the venue is no multiplex. 
