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New Oscar Nominee Opens Friday at THE NEON

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Hello Everyone.

As many of you already know, we will open THE ILLUSIONIST on Friday (2/11). Oscar-Nominated for “Best Animated Feature,” several of you have expressed a big desire to see this film. Of course we also have the added bonus of checking out a special short film during select screenings. FALLING UP is a beautiful stop-action film made by Dayton native Djuna Wahlrab. This stunning film, with sets based on local architecture (and an opening live/animated scene shot in downtown Dayton), will play before THE ILLUSIONIST during the 3:00 and 7:30 screenings during the week of Friday, February 11 through Thursday, February 17. Read more about FALLING UP by visiting the official website at – http://fallingupmovie.com/

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Falling Up from Djuna Wahlrab on Vimeo.

Synopsis for THE ILLUSIONIST: “THE ILLUSIONIST is a story about two paths that cross. An outdated, aging magician, forced to wander from country to country, city to city and station to station in search of a stage to perform his act meets a young girl at the start of her life’s journey. Alice is a teenage girl with all her capacity for childish wonder still intact. She plays at being a woman without realizing the day to stop pretending is fast approaching. She doesn’t know yet that she loves The Illusionist like she would a father; he already knows that he loves her as he would a daughter. Their destinies will collide, but nothing – not even magic or the power of illusion – can stop the voyage of discovery.
A script for THE ILLUSIONIST was originally written by French comedy genius and cinema legend Jacques Tati as a love letter from a father to his daughter, but never produced.
Sylvain Chomet, the Oscar-nominated and critically acclaimed creator of THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, adapted the script and brought it to life in his distinctive hand- drawn animated style.” (taken from Sony Classics press notes)

Click here to visit the official website for THE ILLUSIONIST –http://www.sonyclassics.com/theillusionist/

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Plan on joining us for our Annual OSCAR Screening Party on Feb. 27. The show starts at 8:00 (doors open at 7:30) – FREE Party…no tickets required – first come, first serve. Ballots are now available in our lobby, and prizes are arriving daily (screenplays, soundtracks, dvds, etc.). The big prize – provided by our friends at Square One Salon & Spa – will be a salon gift basket complete with champagne and movie goodies. Join fellow movie lovers as we celebrate the “Cinephile’s Superbowl.” You must be present to win prizes. Special thanks to the folks at ThinkTV for helping us to get a signal for the telecast!

Details about the regional premiere of a documentary called NORTH DIXIE DRIVE will be available soon. It is scheduled to play on Saturday, March 26.

We hope to see you soon,
Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for February 11 – February 17:

BLUE VALENTINE (R) 1 Hr 52 Min
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:15, 2:30, 4:50, 7:20, 9:40
Monday – Thursday: 2:30, 4:50, 7:20

THE ILLUSIONIST (PG) 1 Hr 20 Min
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1:00, 3:00*, 5:10, 7:30*, 9:30
Monday – Thursday: 3:00*, 5:10, 7:30*
(*denotes preceded by FALLING UP)

COMING SOON:
As always, all dates are tentative.
Due to Oscar Season, we know that many of these dates will change.
In some cases, titles may disappear.
Feb. 18 RABBIT HOLE
March 11 CEDAR RAPIDS
TBD ANOTHER YEAR
TBD I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS
TBD BARNEY’S VERSION
TBD BIUTIFUL
TBD SOMEWHERE
TBD TINY FURNITURE
TBD CASINO JACK

Toronto – THE FILMS – Day #5 (+ An Old Friend)

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After getting some needed tickets early this morning, I met up for lunch with a friend – Bill Taylor.  We met in line for TALK TO HER at TIFF in 2002, and we’ve stayed in touch all these years. He’s a talented filmmaker, and we will screen one of his films – THE YOUNG PRIME MINISTER – at this year’s LGBT Film Fest (it plays with I KILLED MY MOTHER on opening night – Friday, Sept. 24).  Do you already have tickets?

In regards to screenings, I saw three films today.

First off was Susanne Bier’s IN A BETTER WORLD.  Bier is an incredible filmmaker.  The first film I saw by her was also at the 2002 festival – OPEN HEARTS.  She is also responsible for the original BROTHERS (the superior film on which the American remake was based).  IN A BETTER WORLD is quite wonderful.  The film goes back and forth from a refugee camp in Africa to a small town in Denmark…and follows two families along the way (one of the protagonists is a doctor who makes trips to aid with medicine at the camp).  There are lots of details to the plot, but the film is essentially an examination of ethics while pursuing justice.  The photography is lovely, and the performances are great.  Being that Sony Classics has picked it up, I imagine we will bring it to THE NEON.  (sorry…no subtitles on the trailer)

Next up was Julian Schnabel’s MIRAL – starring Freida Pinto (from SLUMDOG) and with smaller parts by Hiam Abbass (from LEMON TREE and THE VISITOR) and Vanessa Redgrave.  The film is the true story of an orphaned Palestinian girl growing up in the volatile Arab-Israeli War.  Though not his best work, the story is of epic scale and is a strong story.  With Schnabel as a Jew and the author of the book – Rual Jebreal (the main character of the story) – as a Palestinian, the creation of the film already nods toward peace.  The final credit states, “This film is dedicated to everyone, on both sides, who still believe peace is possible.”  This film will certainly spur discussion.

MIRAL was introduced by Schnabel, Pinto, Abbass, Jebreal and a couple other supporting actors.  Their Q&A after the film made the film have even more impact.

Lastly, I saw John Cameron Mitchell’s RABBIT HOLE – based on the Pultizer Prize-Winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire.  The film stars Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as parents who are grieving the loss of their 4-year old boy who was hit by a car.  The film opens 8 months after the accident, and though the film is full of sadness, it has very funny moments as well.  The film is honest and beautifully photographed.  I loved it!  As an added bonus, Mitchell, Kidman and Eckhart introduced the film (and many other cast & crew were in the audience).  This was the world premiere.

In addition to stars at their screenings, I also saw Dev Patel and Harvey Weinstein today.  (And I forgot to mention in an earlier post that Josh Brolin asked me for directions the other night.)

More highly anticipated films coming soon!

Thanks for reading.