Harold and Maude

CHICAGO – Mention the name Colin Higgins and it might draw a blank. But mention the film “Harold and Maude” (1971) and any cinema room will light up with passion. Higgins took his Grad Thesis screenplay from his late 1960s USC days and created (with director Hal Ashby) a legitimate 1970s classic. This film, and many other fan favorites, are in the documentary The Life and Films of Colin Higgins” … directed by Nicholas Eliopoulos. Click COLIN for info and tickets.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on Star 96.7 WSSR-FM (Joliet, IL) reviewing the new Blu-Ray edition of “Harold and Maude,” the cult classic featuring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort in the ultimate May/December lesson about freedom, passion and love.

CHICAGO – Jer Sklar has created a one-of-a-kind feature film debut – “Tom of His Life” – the story of a boy who ages four years every hour, living his entire life in one day. The film has a week-long run at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, with Sklar making an appearance on May 8th, 2021, with a Q&A moderated by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com (click here for tickets).

CHICAGO – One of the great movie character actors is hale and hearty at age 85. Tom Skerritt has over 50 years of roles, and has appeared in such film classics as “M*A*S*H,” “Harold and Maude,” “Up in Smoke,” “Top Gun” and “Steel Magnolias.” Skerritt was at the 7th Chicago Critics Film Festival for the 40th Anniversary of “Alien.”

CHICAGO – The name Hal Ashby might not be as familiar to today’s film watchers, but the movies he made in the 1970s are considered classics… like “Harold and Maude,” “The Last Detail,” “Shampoo,” “Coming Home” and “Being There.” The short spark of his creative energy is profiled in a documentary by Amy Scott simply called “Hal.” The film opens at the Gene Siskel Film Center on November 9th, 2018. For details and ticket info, click here.

CHICAGO – An original voice, in an original conceptual movie, is a rare category of cinema art. Director and lead actor Pat Healy, working from a script from Mike Makowsky, has fashioned “Take Me,” a thriller about kidnapping and having the tables turned.

CHICAGO – People adore “Harold and Maude.” When the Criterion Collection announced the release of Hal Ashby’s 1971 dark comedy earlier this year, I’ve never seen so many “Likes” on Facebook for the announcement of a DVD/Blu-ray release. What is it about this film that has allowed it to sustain for over four decades? Pick up the Criterion DVD edition and decide for yourself.