CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Oscar
Film Feature: Preview for 37th Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, Thru Nov. 22, 2020
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 13, 2020 - 1:23pmCHICAGO – The great advantage of film festivals this year, if we’re to see a silver lining, is that most of the offerings are available to a wider audience via online virtual screenings. The 37th Chicago International Children’s Film Festival will be virtual/online and available to children of all ages from November 13th-22nd, 2020.!—break—>
Film News: 2020 Oscar Nominations Seem Golden Globe-ish
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 13, 2020 - 10:28amCHICAGO – In a sense of deja vu from the recent Golden Globe Awards, the nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards has been named on January 13th, 2020. This breaks a precedent of the last ten years, with the Oscar ceremony moved up to February 9th from it’s usual position in late February to early March.!—break—>
Oscar Week: Co-Directors Explain How ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 22, 2019 - 10:42amCHICAGO – The Best Animated Film category at the 91st Academy Awards honor both these visual treats and their status in the new Golden Age. The visual density of today’s animation reaches a new height in a rare Walt Disney Studio sequel, “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” This is a follow-up to “Wreck-It Ralph,” a huge animated hit film. Returning to guide the sequel, which has Wreck-It Ralph “inside” the internet, are co-directors Phil Johnston and Rich Moore.
Oscar Week: Directors Betsy West & Julie Cohen on Their Nominated Documentary ‘RBG’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 20, 2019 - 2:50pm- 91st
- Academy Awards
- Anthony Kennedy
- Betsy West
- Clarence Thomas
- Elena Kagan
- Feminism
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Interview
- John Roberts
- Julie Cohen
- Justice
- Magnolia Pictures
- Neil Gorsuch
- Notorious
- Oscar
- Patrick McDonald
- RBG
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Samuel Alito
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Stephen Breyer
- Supreme Court
- Women’s Rights
CHICAGO – Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the notorious “RBG,” has been a steady and abiding voice on that high court since 1993. But how much do we really know about this unassuming and highly admired jurist? Co-directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen answer this question in their documentary “RBG.” The film is one of five nominees competing for gold in the Feature Documentary category, to be given on Sunday at the 91st Academy Awards.
Oscar Week: Interview with Nominees Yalitza Aparicio & Marina de Tavira of ‘Roma’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 19, 2019 - 10:35amCHICAGO – One of the more pleasant surprises of the 2018 film year was the rise of the connectively expressive film “Roma,” written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Not only is it nominated for Best Picture, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director at the 91st Academy Awards, but the two lead actresses – Yalitza Aparicio and Maria de Tavira – are nominated for Best Actress and Supporting Actress. Jon Lennon Espino, contributor at HollywoodChicago.com, interviewed both actresses last October at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival.
Oscar Week: Podtalk with Director Bing Liu of Oscar nominated Feature Doc ‘Minding the Gap’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 18, 2019 - 4:06pmCHICAGO – All through the 2019 Oscar Week, HollywoodChicago.com will rerun significant articles from 2018 that feature the nominees associated with Sunday’s Academy Award ceremony. Today is a Podtalk with director Bing Liu, who was the filmmaker behind a Best Documentary Feature nominee, “Minding the Gap.” The film seems to be a nostalgic profile of Liu’s youth in Rockford, Illinois, as he goes back to his hometown to explore the skateboarding culture that kept him balanced while growing up in a difficult home environment. What he found out about himself was an organic reveal in the film, both shocking and cathartic.
Film Review: Relatable Togetherness Highlight 2019 Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 17, 2019 - 12:03pm- Academy Awards
- Alison Snowden
- Andrew Chesworth
- Animal Behavior
- Animated
- Bao
- Bobby Pontillas
- Canada
- China. Pixar
- David Fine
- Domee Shi
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Ireland
- Late Afternoon
- Louise Bagnall
- Movie Review
- Nominated
- Nominees
- One Small Step
- Oscar
- Patrick McDonald
- Short Films
- Shorts TV
- Trevor Jimenez
- USA
- Weekends
CHICAGO – The relationships in our lives affect who we are, whether they are momentary or long term. Interestingly, like the Oscar nominated Live Action shorts, the Animated Short Film nominees have that similar connective themes in four of the five stories. Family relationships, son-to-mother, mother-to-daughter, daughter-to-father and parents-to-child, are explored in poignant and expressive ways. The Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago are currently showing all the shorts in one program. Click here for more information.
Film Review: Childhood is a Major Theme in 2019 Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Films
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 12, 2019 - 4:24pmCHICAGO – There are four films among the five Oscar-nominated Live Action Shorts for 2019 that have childhood in their theme, and they all are telling about situations in the more in-your-face dark circumstances of life today (or in the case of one film, 25 years ago). The Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago are currently showing all the shorts in one program. Click here for more information.
Film News: 2019 Oscar Nominations includes ‘Minding the Gap,’ by Chicago’s Kartemquin Films
Submitted by PatrickMcD on January 22, 2019 - 10:51am- 2019
- 91st
- A Star is Born
- Academy Award
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Picture
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Supporting Actress
- Bing Liu
- Black Panther
- BlacKkKlansman
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Bradley Cooper
- Film News
- Freddie Mercury
- Green Book
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Host
- Lady GaGa
- Minding the Gap
- Nominations
- Oscar
- Patrick McDonald
- Roma
- The Favourite
- Vice
CHICAGO – Chicago’s Kartemquin Films continues their winning streak, as director Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap” scores an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary. The 91st Academy Awards will take place on February 24th, 2019.
Film Feature: HollywoodChicago.com Remembers Neil Simon
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 1, 2018 - 8:19am- 91
- Academy Award
- Barefoot in the Park
- Dead
- Dies
- Felix
- Film News
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jack Lemmon
- Jon Espino
- Lost in Yonkers
- Michael Spike Walters
- Neil Simon
- Neil Simon is Dead
- Obituary
- Oscar
- Passed Away
- Patrick McDonald
- Richard Dreyfuss
- The Goodbye Girl
- The Odd Couple
- Walter Matthau
- Your Show of Shows
CHICAGO – Writer Neil Simon was an American treasure, and created humor that anchored his often neurotic characters into our consciousness. From his early days in 1950s TV (“Your Show of Shows”) to winning a 1990s Pulitzer Prize for “Lost in Yonkers,” he refined and produced “the laugh.” Simon died on August 26th, 2018, at age 91, in New York City.