Podcast

CHICAGO – Facing extinction, the Midwest Independent Film Festival was resurrected through the efforts of new Executive Director Erica Duffy, who will introduce the rebooted “Midwest Film Festival” to Chicago on February 22nd, 2020.

CHICAGO – “High Fidelilty” is back! The iconic 2000 film, which was set in Chicago, is being rebooted as a Hulu series featuring Zoë Kravitz.

CHICAGO – One of the hottest films from the first half 2019 festival season was an emotional story about family, and scored the Best Picture at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 8th. “The Farewell” is a breakout for both the lead actor Awkwafina (“Crazy Rich Asians”), Zhao Shuzhen (who won the Indie Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress) and their director Lulu Wang. Wang’s story of her grandmother became a universal spirit about our relative connections.

CHICAGO – Gratefully, we live in a post-Weinstein environment of #metoo, and one of the first films to comment upon it is “The Assistant,” written and directed by Kitty Green. Coming off its run at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, the film explores a low level female production assistant (PA) as she navigates an office overwhelmed by a successful-but-abusive bossman.

CHICAGO – When we last talked to Kevin Pollack, Chicago’s answer to the Sultan of Swing, he was embarking on his once-a-month song reveal for the fall of 2019. The whole thing culminated in the release of “Holiday,” a feeling-the-vibe celebration of taking a break.



CHICAGO – In the midst of these divisive times, there is always FOX News to further contribute to that divisiveness. The legacy of that news channel may ultimately be for the settlement of their sexual harassment lawsuits. Director Jay Roach (“Game Change”) explores the particulars of the situation in his new film “Bombshell.”

CHICAGO – What is “Inner Worlds”? Imagine exploring the workings of a piano, the strings inside, the body that keeps those strings in place, and the other elements that make up the guts of the instrument. Then imagine creating music not from the keys, but from those innards, and performing a whole concert.

CHICAGO – TONIGHT (12/13/19) is the Chicago release date of writer/director Jennifer Reeder’s “Knives and Skin,” a noir mystery that contains more than what’s on the surface. The historic Music Box Theatre is the locale (7:15pm), and there will be numerous opportunities to see Reeder in person (click the link below).

CHICAGO – 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.

CHICAGO – Theater art is collaborative, and it’s often the design of a stage that sets the tone for the play that unfolds. The Curious Theatre Branch presents an original holiday play called “Xmas in Lost Pines,” opening Friday, December 6th, 2019 at the Prop Thtr (theatre) on Chicago’s Northwest side, with four performances through December 13th (all 8pm).