Chicago International Film Festival

CHICAGO – Ben Foster has stolen scenes in works as diverse as “Six Feet Under,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “3:10 to Yuma,” and “Alpha Dog,” but he truly shines in the spotlight of the lead role in “The Messenger,” giving the best performance of his career to date.

CHICAGO – The legendary Martin Landau was recently in Chicago with two films in special presentation at The 45th Annual Chicago International Film Festival - the classic “North by Northwest,” also releasing on Blu-Ray tomorrow, November 3rd, 2009, and the new drama “Lovely, Still,” co-starring Ellen Burstyn.

CHICAGO – In our latest horror edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of “The House of the Devil”!

CHICAGO – The legendary Willem Dafoe, star of modern classics like “Platoon” and “Shadow of the Vampire,” is still one of the hardest working men in Hollywood. He has two films opening this week, a cameo role in “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” and a lead in the controversial “Antichrist,” which he brought to the 45th Chicago International Film Festival and took time for an interview with HollywoodChicago.com.

CHICAGO – “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassas,” the long anticipated final film of Heath Ledger, directed by Terry Gilliam, was previewed last night at the Chicago International Film Festival at their “surprise’ screening.

CHICAGO – Film and TV icon Martin Landau accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival in the same hotel he stayed at while filming Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” in 1959.

CHICAGO – As the 45th Chicago International Film Festival comes to a close, this year’s award-winning and most popular films are being screened one more time. All of the screenings will be held at the AMC River East 21 theater at 322 E. Illinois St.

CHICAGO – “Mississippi Damned,” the feature film winner of the Gold Hugo, the top prize at the Chicago International Film Festival, was a labor of passion for producer Morgan R. Stiff and director/writer Tina Mabry.

CHICAGO – Last Saturday at the Chicago International Film Festival was a very important debut for the new film “Chicago Overcoat,” directed by newcomer Brian Caunter. The hometown audience gave big thumbs up to the gritty mobster film.

CHICAGO – The winners for films in competition at the 45th Chicago International Film Festival were announced in a ceremony on Saturday night at the famed Pump Room at the Ambassador East Hotel. Michael Kutza, Founder and Artistic Director of the Chicago International Film Festival, Mimi Plauche, Head of Programming, and Jesse Berkowitz, Documentary and Short Film Programmer, proudly announced the winners.