On this edition of INTERVUE, a new documentary uncovers the fascinating untold history of China’s One-Child policy and the generations of parents and children forever shaped by this social experiment. The documentary is One Child Nation from Amazon Studios. I sat down with the movie’s co-director Jialing (Lynn) Zhang to discuss this powerful film.
In our second part of our Blinded by the Light INTERVUES, I sat down immediately with Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll author Sarfraz Manzoor, Viveik Kalra who plays Javed and Aaron Phagura who plays Javed’s mate Roops in this amazing film.
Bring family and friends together with The Beatles’ music inspired film Yesterday, on Digital September 10, 2019 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand September 24, 2019. Jack’s life is changed forever when he discovers he is the only person on earth who remembers the music of The Beatles and must decide if he truly wants the spotlight, or if all he needs is love, after all. Filled with heart and humor from beginning to end, Yesterday on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital comes packed with exciting bonus features including deleted and extended scenes, live performances at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, an alternate opening and ending and several featurettes with the filmmakers and cast that take fans further into the charming story. Hailed as “Funny, original, and touching” (Patrick Stoner, “Flicks” WHYY-TV (PBS)), Yesterday is a rock-n-roll comedy about music, dreams, friendship, and the long and winding road that leads to the love of your life. Stay in, “re-experience the Beatles’ songs as if they’re brand-new” (Mara Reinstein, Billboard) and celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Beatles’ Abbey Road this year with the perfect at-home movie night when you own Yesterday on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital.
On this edition of the INTERVUE, director Gurinder Chadha has brought the music of the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, and created a wonderful film that tells an amazing story in the upcoming film Blinded by the Light. Inspired by the true story of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor, this wonderful film tells the tale of Javed, a British teen of Pakistani descent, who discovers the world outside his family life and 1980’s hometown through the music of Bruce Springsteen. I sat with Ms. Chadha to talk about meeting Bruce and bringing Manzoor’s story to the big screen.
Hollywood loves movies about itself. Singing in the Rain, Sunset Boulevard, La La Land all follow in that tradition. While auteur director Quintin Tarantino has been using his films to comment on show business throughout his last eight pictures, his ninth deals with it directly. Combining the acting expertise of Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and a talented cast, Tarantino takes the audience on a long but rewarding ride through Hollywood’s underbelly and what it means to make it in the industry in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.
Walt Disney Pictures gives one of its most beloved animated features a modern-day spin in The Lion King, from director Jon Favreau. The voice cast includes Donald Glover (Simba), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar), Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (Nala) and, reprising his role from the original version, James Earl Jones as Mufasa. As with the original film, I wasn’t too fond of the remake.
There seems to be one independent film a year that captivates critical attention, creating Oscar buzz a full nine months before the Oscar nominations even come out. This year that film seems to be The Farewell. It has everything critics and the Academy loves; representation, brilliant directing, sophisticated but not pretentious feel, based on a true story. However, it’s the film’s bittersweet nature and human story that could propel this film far.
On today’s INTERVUE, it was the year 1994 that the epic Disney movie The Lion King roared its way into our lives. The story, the songs, the magic still resonates with us today. This weekend, we get to experience the magnificent adventure of Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbaa and the mighty Mufasa all over again with an updated version of the movie. I recently sat down with the youngest stars of the movie, JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph play the young Simba and Nala. We talked about
IFC Films’ OFFICIAL SECRETS advanced screening with National Whistleblowers Summit + Film Festival at the National Press Club. Right to left: Gavin Hood, Katharine Gun, Martin Bright.
A pre-Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival publicity rollout began last night with an advanced screening of Gavin Hood’s (Eye In The Sky) new film “Official Secrets” which opens in September 6th in D.C., at the National Press Club. Special guests included writer and director Gavin Hood and real-life inspirations, whistleblower Katharine Gun (portrayed by Keira Knightley) and journalist Martin Bright (portrayed by Matt Smith). “Official Secrets” screened to a full house with many notable whistleblowers such as Marcel Reid, Sheila White, Robert J. Maclean, Dr. Matthew Fogg and influencers like members of the National Press Club, Government Accountability Project, Project on Government Oversight and staffers from various representatives offices on the hill.
In The Farewell, director Lulu Wang puts her real-life experiences on the big screen. When her family decided to not tell her grandmother that she had stage 4 lung cancer and instead plan a wedding to bring the family together, Wang struggled with that decision and the cultural differences between the American life she had been living and the Chinese way of life that connected her to her grandmother.
Wang first documented this tale on NPR’s This American Life in 2016. Now, Wang has recounted the story in a more emotional way on the big screen, in theaters this Friday. I sat down with the director to talk about her directorial influences for the film, the brillance of actor Tzi Ma, the difficulty of finding an actor to play “you”, and the lessons she’s learned along the way.
