CHICAGO – What is one of the greatest survival instincts of the pandemic? Creativity. The Zoom web series “What Did Clyde Hide?” is the result of a creative effort from Executive Producer/Show Runner Ruth Kaufman, Producer Sandy Gulliver and Director Sean Patrick Leonard. Kaufman and Leonard talk about the series, naturally, via Zoom.!—break—>
Amazon Studios
Podtalk: Director Tom Harper Flies High with ‘The Aeronauts’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 6, 2019 - 12:12pmCHICAGO – When we last saw Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones together, they were portraying husband and wife in the Stephen Hawking bio “The Theory of Everything.” Now they are 19th Century high-flying hot air balloonists in “The Aeronauts,” opening December 6th, 2019, and directed by Tom Harper.
Podtalk: Director Felix Van Groeningen of ‘Beautiful Boy’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 21, 2018 - 10:13amCHICAGO – In a film certain to get Oscar buzz, “Beautiful Boy” opened on October 19th in Chicago, and opened the recent Chicago International Film Festival. The delicate and sensitive portrayal of addiction features fine performances from Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet, guided by director Felix Van Groeningen.
Film Review: Stylish, Well Performed ‘You Were Never Really Here’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 15, 2018 - 7:44amCHICAGO – Actor Joaquin Phoenix almost solely specializes in portraying broken souls, but he also does it with such intensity that he adds necessary depth to those characters, to allow for their redemption. As a hit man for hire in the new film “You Were Never Really Here,” he again reaches beyond the darkness.
Film Review: Matt Damon in ‘Downsizing’ Offers Few Small Pleasures
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 22, 2017 - 9:55amCHICAGO – “Downsizing” is an interesting premise that doesn’t ultimately go anywhere interesting. Part of the problem is that writer/director Alexander Payne doesn’t seem to know what kind of a movie he wants it to be… it’s part cerebral Woody Allen futuristic comedy, part sci-fi social satire about Midwestern malaise, and winds up failing at both.
Film Review: Woody Allen Has Run Out of Ideas with ‘Wonder Wheel’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 10, 2017 - 8:06amCHICAGO – Woody Allen emptied out his junk drawer of discarded script ideas and somehow managed to convince Kate Winslet to star in it. That’s the gist of the latest “serious Woody” entry in the Oscar winner’s long running career. Woody Allen has had some timeless triumphs, but lately he’s been more about quantity than quality.
Film Review: American Legal System is Put on Trial in ‘Crown Heights’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 1, 2017 - 9:41amCHICAGO – There is no justice for the poor. That should be carved in stone on courthouses beside all the platitudes of American “equality” and “law.” In an eye-opening narrative film based on a true story, “Crown Heights” explores just how an impoverished individual can be found guilty and imprisoned unjustly for years.
Interview, Audio: Abby Quinn, Gillian Robespierre & Elisabeth Holm of ‘Landline’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 31, 2017 - 6:19amCHICAGO – It takes a collaborative village to make a movie, and part of that collective came to Chicago to promote “Landline.” Director Gillian Robespierre, Co-Writer Elisabeth Holm and debut actress Abby Quinn were essential to the film, which is set in 1990s New York City and features Jenny Slate in the lead role.
Interview, Audio: Actress Jenny Slate Answers the Call in ‘Landline’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 30, 2017 - 6:49pmCHICAGO – Jenny Slate keeps getting more high profile, both in voiceover work (“The Secret Life of Pets”) and as an actress. Her latest film is “Landline,” her second with director Gillian Robespierre. In the film, Slate portrays an engaged-to-be-married “adult” who is having trouble coming to terms with her life.
Film Review: ‘City of Ghosts’ Puts Citizen Faces on Syrian Crisis
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 24, 2017 - 9:36amCHICAGO – Syria has become a distant place, disconnected from the wider world through civil war and extreme sociopolitical instability, including the takeover of some regions by ISIS (the Islamic State). “City of Ghosts” looks at Raqqa, a Syrian city with the iron boot of ISIS on their necks, and the citizens who risk their lives to tell that story to the world.
Interviews: Honorees of Awards Night at the Chicago International Television Festival
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 9, 2017 - 8:13am- 53rd
- Amazon Studios
- Awards Night
- Chicago International Film Festival
- Chicago International Television Festival
- Chicago Justice
- Cinema/Chicago
- Dean Richards
- FCB-Chicago
- Gold Hugo
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Interview
- Jill Arthur
- Joe Sedelmaier
- mcgarrybowen
- Michael Kutza
- Patrick McDonald
- Sam Flancher
- The Martin Agency
CHICAGO – It was an evening to honor the past, current and future brands in TV media at the 53rd Chicago International Television Awards Night on Thursday, March 23rd, 2017. TV advertising creator Joe Sedelmaier, WGN-TV Entertainment Reporter Dean Richards and Amazon Studios – represented by Development Executive Jill Arthur – were the individual honorees at the ceremony.
